Monthly Archives: February 2020

The Collective Work of Chabot’s Black History Month

While it’s the shortest month of the year, Chabot College and the Black Education Association (BEA) made sure to recognize Black History Month this year with a whole arrangement of events. The highlights included screenings of prominent Black movies like “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” “Queen and Slim,” and “Black and Blue” to more significant events that honor African American students on campus like the Black Arts Festival and Black Scholars Family Night.

“Although it’s the shortest month in the year, it’s about recognizing black people’s struggles, accomplishments, how far we come, but also how much further we have to go.” said CIN student Salimah Shabazz, more commonly known as “Ms. Mack.” 

There was something for everybody to celebrate in Black History Month!

All of the events are under a series, Embracing Ujima: Collective Work & Responsibility for the African American Community. This February started with the event, Black History Month Kick-Off — Embracing Ujima. 

Ujima is one of seven principles in African heritage, with its meaning associated with collective work and responsibility. Keynote speaker Dr. Matais Pouncil kicked off the series on Feb. 6, and spoke about black history as well as what Ujima meant for him. 

Keynote speaker Dr. Pouncil, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at West Valley College, “is the first African American man to earn an Ed.D. from UC Irvine,” said the Coalition of Black Excellence. Pouncil conducts research on black culture, diaspora, and sociocultural and economic class.

The Feb. 11, keynote speaker Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud talked about what it means to be a student while Black, discussing the collective responsibility that comes with having an education. 

Stroud has been head of numerous college districts, with 35 years in education. Stroud also served as a presidential appointee on the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability of Young Americans for President Barack Obama, according to the Peralta Community College District, where she is currently the Chancellor.

Student organizations demonstrated the collective responsibility to support the community. Many students came to the events, especially the keynote, with prominent Black student organizations on campus coming to show strength in numbers. 

My Sister’s Keeper is an organization that empowers women on campus by developing leadership skills and self-love. Their members were particularly inspired by Dr. Stroud. 

“A lot of people in this room may not know her name or recognize her and the work that she’s done. But she’s done a lot, locally, and nationally,” said student Sara Costa, Secretary of My Sister’s Keeper. “It’s important to see a black woman having this much power while also being humble and willing to come and talk to us and share her experiences.”

G’Neva Winston, Community Engagement Officer of My Sister’s Keeper, agreed and brought up the famous Malcolm X quote, “the black woman is the most disrespected person in America.”

Winston also attended the Black Arts Festival on Feb. 19. Currently a film major, she was excited to see black filmmakers at the event. “I even took my mom to see it, and she was so supportive!” said Winston. Filmmaker Caleb Jaffe presented his short film, “It’s Not About Jimmy Keene,” in the Chabot planetarium. From Sundance, the film is about a police shooting of an unarmed black teen, which causes friction within a mixed-race Los Angeles family. 

Spoken word artists Tongo Eisen-Martin and Landon Smith began the event with performances along with an open mic and artist discussion.

For film screenings, Mack coordinated the screening for the documentary “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am” and the discussion that followed. She suggested the movie be shown after she was introduced to the author in her “English 101: Evolution of a Black Writer” class. “Because of Toni Morrison, I’m taking a fiction class,” Mack said. “I want to be the next Octavia Butler, Audre Lorde, and many more.” Morrison was a novelist and writer who wrote the celebrated trilogy, “Beloved,” and was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1993.

Brian Augsberger, a counselor at EOPS, took part in organizing some of the events, particularly the Black Scholars Family Night. “I’m encouraged by seeing the community of Chabot coming together to celebrate something important,” Augsberger said. “These events are not just for the Black community but the entire community.”

While Black History Month is over, Ms. Mack says, “every day is Black History Month.”

The Call of the Wild Review

The Call of the Wild is like a trip to a zoo where the animals also view the animals from a safe distance.

The main character, the dog Buck, was animated with CGI. The CGI was one of the movie’s strengths, in particular the animal fur. Buck’s slightly cartoonish appearance makes a point that he acts differently, more human, than the other dogs.

However, for this reason, Buck is also the film’s weak point. He is introduced as a rich Californian’s pet dog, who is kidnapped and sold far north as a sled dog during the 1890s Klondike gold rush. Throughout the story, Buck is haunted by a giant wolf spirit, representing his return from pet to beast, the “call of the wild.”

As each trial passes, Buck undergoes no change but is rewarded as if he had. He shows mercy in a fight to the death yet the loser accepts self-exile. Buck chases rabbits as he did in California, but lets it go free when he finally catches one. He pounces onto a human target in three different scenes, but never bites them.

The plot took a few unexpected turns, but between the twists it was easy to see ahead. A canoe rows down the river, of course it goes over a waterfall. Buck wants John Thornton (Harrison Ford) to quit drinking, so of course John finds one last bottle and gives it up willingly.

John was the only human character to be fully developed, because most others did not appear long enough in the story to do so. Perhaps this was done to let the audience understand how Buck feels every time he leaves someone behind.

The best human character in the film was the unnamed man in the red sweater, whose job is to beat new dogs into obedience. This man’s wide eyes, deliberate speech pattern, and fighting stance uniquely indicated he was not talking to a human.

The filmmakers took advantage of four government subsidies to shoot on location in California and the Yukon. The camerawork shows plenty of the landscape, but the music brings to mind beauty and wonder, rather than forbidding and overwhelming.

Harrison Ford narrates in character throughout the film, which forces a human’s perspective on what should be a dog’s story. Nothing was gained from the narration that was not covered a second time in dialogue.

This is a movie you could watch with your kids, but probably not a movie your kids will show their kids one day. The Call of the Wild was released in theaters February 21, 2020.

Democrats Debate in the Silver State

The Democratic Party hosted a debate in Las Vegas, Nevada on Feb. 19 for candidates to show they could beat President Donald Trump in the November election. The six participants were former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Elizabeth Warren, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

The candidates held similar positions on health care. The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was considered the standard for a new policy.

Bloomberg fought criticism of the New York City Police Department’s “stop-and-frisk” policy, not releasing his own tax records, and having multiple nondisclosure agreements with female former employees.

Sanders was asked about releasing his health records because of the heart attack he had last year. Some of the others compared Bloomberg and Sanders to Trump in 2016 when he was being criticized for lack of transparency.

The moderator asked about the minority-owned small businesses who benefited under Trump’s tax cuts. Warren and Biden intend to have the government provide capital to minorities to start new businesses.

Most candidates’ plans for environmental protection involved redoing everything former President Barack Obama had done that Trump has since undone. Warren plans to ban mining and drilling activity so it will not be motivated by big profits. Biden thinks fossil fuel companies can be held responsible for their damage, as was the tobacco industry.

A sample of Chabot students found that those who watched the debate favored Elizabeth Warren. Lisa Navarro felt “more strongly” that she will be voting for Warren. Kameron admired that Warren “was coming at all the candidates” and that she “made her presence known.”

Chabot Professor Leads Educational Trip

Chabot College history professor Rick Moniz organized an educational group trip to Cuba in January 2020. Moniz has led such visits since the 1990s as a program known as the Faces of Cuba. The U.S. Department of State’s website says that tourist visits to Cuba are prohibited and that trips for “certain specific activities” are allowed with restrictions. Moniz explained that educational trips are one of the permitted exceptions.

Moniz has been to Cuba 40 times. The trip in 2019 was going to be his last, but people requested one more. Around fifteen people, the majority unaffiliated with Chabot arrived at Havana’s airport on January 3 for a ten-day stay.

A third of the people on the trip were fluent Spanish speakers, one of whom knew the dialect because he was born and raised in Cuba. On the other hand, the son of a host family was able to speak English.

The group visited several museums around the country: the National Art Museum; the Jose Martí Museum, a history museum dedicated to an early Cuban independence advocate; an Afro-Cuban heritage museum in Havana; and one covering the 1961 national literacy campaign, which resulted in today’s 99.8% literacy rate, according to the CIA World Factbook.

The group visited an organic farm. These farms originated from the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. The loss of a significant trade partner forced Cubans to be more self-sufficient. In addition, the end of Soviet pesticide imports led Cubans to resort to organic farming.

Much of the tour was spent in places where Cubans work today. A Red Cross office building works on monitoring hurricanes, assessing damages, and rebuilding. According to the Red Cross, Cuba experiences hurricanes so often that the people are familiar with how to evacuate and thus have a low fatality rate. A center for climate change monitors how Cuba will be affected by hurricanes in the future.

The group visited a polyclinic, but some members got to experience Cuban health care firsthand a few days earlier when one person was injured in a fall. According to Craig Shira, who was at the hospital with this person, after the wound was cleaned and given a compress to stop the bleeding, the whole process took 90 minutes, including stitches, an X-ray, and receiving medication.

Throughout the trip, the visitors stayed at host family houses, which are government-approved and identified on the outside with a blue anchor. These families hosted two to six guests each.

On the sixth night, however, everyone stayed at a hotel in Havana, which is the capital and largest city in Cuba. The reason for a hotel stay at that point in the trip was to provide a contrast.

According to Moniz, tourism is an essential industry in Cuba because the American embargo holds back other business sectors. However, outsiders who stay isolated to hotels and typical tourist sites learn nothing about the Cuban people.

Chabot economics professor Ken Williams took the opportunity to speak with locals about money. Williams says, “Cubans pay one twenty-fourth of [the prices that outsiders pay],” due to Cuba having dual currency to protect its economy from outside influence. Cubans use pesos in everyday life; outsiders must use the “convertible peso,” which is also called the cuc (pronounced “kook”) or Cuban dollar.

The group exchanged money at the official rate when they first arrived at the airport. Williams was also interested to hear about the existence of hundreds of paladares, private restaurants allowed by the communist government.

The day before the hotel, the group had visited the site of the United States’ unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. Later that day, the visitors went east and met a community defense group. Moniz compares them to a neighborhood watch.

Originally created to stop counter-revolutionaries, today such groups function as community organizers. The visitors gave hygiene supplies to the group, who then distributed them to the community based on need.

The arts were not forgotten. The visitors went to an art show featuring local artist Lester Campa. Later that week was a dance company that combined Spanish and African influences and related to the Santeria religion.

A fortress in Havana has hosted a cannon ceremony every night at 9 p.m. for the last 200 years. The ritual originally signified that the port gates were closed for the night, but is now done for tradition.

The group was also able to attend the national semifinal baseball game, Havana’s Industriales, against Camagüey’s Toros.

Iran and America: The Lasting Effects of Soleimani

On Jan. 3, 2020, an American drone sent a missile toward the Baghdad Airport, killing Iranian Major General Quassem Soleimani, thus creating more tension in an already strained relationship. Our overthrowing of Pahlavi was a more quiet issue. But, President Donald Trump was extremely vocal about the killing of Soleimani.

Long seen as a terrorist by the United States (sanctioned under both former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama), Soleimani was divisive for Iranian citizens, said an unnamed student (who we will call Leyla) the first generation daughter of an Iranian immigrant family in an interview.

“It’s honestly a complicated picture,” said Leyla, “ … and even Iranian expatriates and Iranian-Americans can’t fully understand it. Some Iranians (the same ones who are loyal to the regime and support the more conservative version of Islam) saw him as a hero. They say Soleimani fought ISIS and Israel. Other Iranians see him as a terrorist himself. As for Iranian-Americans/expatriates, they almost universally hated him before and hate him now, just as they do the Islamic regime as a whole.”

Furthermore, after Soleimani’s death, thousands of his supporters flooded the streets to grieve their “martyr,” as Leyla described (although there is a belief among critics of Soleimani that these mourners were paid by the government). Leyla sees hope for U.S. — Iranian relations, however: “It seems that both the U.S. and Iran are interested in de-escalation, which is a surprise for me considering both of these governments are stubborn and confrontational.”

Should war actually occur, Iranian citizens will be hurt most, said Leyla. “Just like how it was Iraqi civilians who paid the price for America’s war in their country. At a minimum, I foresee even more sanctions by the U.S. against Iran. These sanctions prevent the Iranian people from acquiring necessary medications and raise prices of all goods to a point where the masses can’t afford them. Warfare by economic sanctions doesn’t hurt the Ayatollah and his followers. It hurts the people of Iran.”

Looking into the history of the two nations, Chabot history Professor Rick Moniz gave us some more insight. In 2015, the Obama administration, along with multiple countries, agreed with Iran that periodical check-ins would occur after the discovery that Iran was developing nuclear weapons. In return, sanctions would be lifted, thus returning some economic power. This deal, however, was abandoned by President Donald Trump in 2018.

Professor Moniz made it clear that the diplomacy of previous administrations should be considered when interacting with other nations stating that “we had a policy in place that was seeking to begin to if not normalize relations with Iran, at least try to prevent them as best as possible from developing nuclear weapons. And by all accounts, that was seemingly working. Independent observers were monitoring. The question in my mind is, every time we get a new administration, is that open season on policy? And in my thinking, no, it can’t be open season. You’ve got to have consistency in policy.”

Professor Moniz also elaborated on the dangerous patriotism in both America and Iran. “I don’t think that there’s any intention by the administration to do anything to ratchet up the pressure that’s already in place with its sanctions … and [Iran]’s bellicose jingoistic policy … And we don’t learn anything … this isn’t the first time we’ve engaged in this kind of behavior with other nations. With similar, poorer results. If the desired result is regime change, it’s not oftentimes what happens.”

Just as Leyla stated earlier, Professor Moniz reminds us that the American people are not invincible; that the citizenry will suffer first. “It’s in the President’s hands, and that’s a lot of power we give to one individual … So if Congress isn’t going to put a leash on the President, and he can just go stumble into any conflict he wants, then we the American people are left with what the consequences are.” Professor Moniz said as he shifted in his chair, considering the outcome of further aggression.

Moniz continues saying that the consequences “could be another war, where we send men and women to fight. What’s Iran in the scheme of things? There’s a hell of a lot of oil there. Our policy is often predicated on what are the resources that a nation has that we want?’ … we support the Saudis. One could argue that they don’t make for a very good ally. But they have a lot of oil. Are we being manipulated? Are we going to go to war with Israel over Iran? The American people need to say wait a minute, is that in our best interest? And your conclusion would probably be not.”

As with previous interactions with world leaders, President Donald Trump was quick to speak on the power of the U.S. only three days after the death of Soleimani.

The President stated, “Our great American forces are prepared for anything. Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world.”

In response to Trump’s statement, the Chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned on state television “to withdraw from this field,” and that if the withdrawal does not occur, the U.S. “will definitely regret it.”

The tension is still ever-present, but it seems that both countries have laid down arms at this point. Given the American role in the Iranian Revolution, it’s important to remember that Iran has a right to be angry with America.

We overthrew the democratically elected Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and replaced him with the dictator Khomeini. There is, without a doubt, fault on both sides. What must be considered, however, is who will suffer from these faults.

San Francisco Giants Hire First Female Manager

With the addition of Gabe Kalper as the new manager, the SF Giants also hired the first female coach in Major League Baseball, Alyssa Nakken.

According to KRON 4, Nakken, a former softball player for Sacramento State University, has now become the first full-time female coach on a major league staff.

In 2014 she began working as an intern with the Giants in Baseball operations.

In an interview with KRON 4, Kapler said: “Alyssa and Mark are highly respected members of the organization, and I’m delighted that they will now focus their talents on helping to build a winning culture in the clubhouse.”

Mark Hallberg was also hired on as an Assistant Coach with Nakken.

While she is the first female coach in the MLB, another Bay Area team, the San Francisco 49ers made it to the Super Bowl with the first female coach in the NFL, assistant offensive line coach, Katie Sowers.

The Bay Area teams have some strong female representation in their coaching staff, and it is continuing to grow.

Transfer Tuesday Was a Success!

“Exploring transfer opportunities?” says a campuswide email sent by Chabot College to students. For those who haven’t got the message, the Transfer Center is organizing Tuesday workshops this semester to help students transfer to their university of choice on Feb. 11, Feb. 18, March 17, March 31, April 14, and April 21. All workshops are from 12-1 p.m. in room 758.

Topics being covered will include the basics of transferring, funding your transfer education, transfer admission guarantees, and applying to schools like CSUs, UCs, and private schools. Representatives from universities will also be present to talk with students looking for specific school-related information. Students will be asked to bring copies of transcripts from all colleges and universities attended, high school transcripts, and any Advanced Placement (AP) scores and/or International Baccalaureate (IB) scores.

Sponsored by the Chabot College Transfer Center located on the second floor of Building 700, the Center provides services and resources to support students through the transfer process. The Center hosts workshops every year, and this semester is the first time all workshops will be part of a titled series.

Frances Fon, a counselor who’s been working with the Transfer Center for ten years, is organizing the series of events. She came up with the idea of the series through looking at the most common topics brought up by students she’s seen. “I’m finding that if we put it together as a series, students can learn and obtain more information that they want and digest information that they need. They can then partner with their counselor to take the implications from what they learned and develop their plan for transfer.”

To expand outreach, Chabot College sent out a campuswide email to students on January 30. Transferring student Lydia Vasquez heard of Transfer Tuesdays, but does not intend to go. However, she “feels as though for students who don’t know a lot of these things, this would be really helpful. Especially when there are other students going through the same thing as you there, and you get to have small group discussions to figure things out.”

Fon hopes that through attending, “students will not only have more clarity in their own transfer direction, but I hope they can walk away with their personal next steps. That’s my goal, to make students feel they know where they’re at in the transfer process, and then the next step can be to go see a counselor, or to go talk to a college representative.”

Chabot’s Gladiator Day

Chabot College held this semesters Gladiator Days on Tuesday, Jan. 28, and Wednesday, Jan. 29. The event ran in the cafeteria in building 2300, from noon to 1 p.m. both days.

“I think it’s a great day to become aware of other clubs and programs on this campus and a great day to connect and socialize with your fellow classmates and teachers,” said Gustavo Y., a Chabot student who went to the event.

Numerous clubs had tables. Some have been at the college for many years, and a few are new this semester. Some new clubs in attendance include the Animation Club, CATE Club (Chabot Association of Teacher Education), Chabot Cheer Team, and Computer Hardware Club.

The Student Senate gave a free lunch to those who filled out a bingo card with stamps from the tables.

Chabot also had tables to promote its various services, programs, and academic departments. These included: APIEA (Asian Pacific Islander Education Association), CalWORKS, Chabot Library, Disabled Students’ Programs & Services, El Centro, EOPS/CARE, Financial Aid Office, FRESH Food Pantry, Learning Connection, MESA (Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement), PACE (Program for Adult College Education), Pathway Program, RISE (Restorative Integrated Self-Education), Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, TRiO, and Veterans Resource Center.

A handful of outside groups even showed up: Census 2020, Friends of Chabot College, and League of Women Voters.

There are some clubs and Chabot programs that were not present at the event. A complete list of clubs can be found at the Chabot College website.

Recapping With the Basketball Team

While the majority of the campus was on winter break, the Men’s Gladiator basketball team was still playing hard.

The team maintained a 3-4 win-loss ratio, which brings their current record to a 13-7. They currently average 78 points a game.

Their latest game was in San Francisco and was a devastating loss by 30 points. Their next game is on Feb. 5 at home against Cañada College.

When talking to Coach McMiller about the team’s improvement since the beginning of the season, he said, “I’ve seen improvements with these guys. They are maturing and evaluating things more. They are all growing in a positive direction, and as a team, they have grown together.”

There has been a ton of growth this season compared to recent ones. The accomplishments made this season compared to the last two have been monumental, but there is no reason to stop there.

Coach McMiller said this when talking about how they are doing this season compared to others “Obviously a huge improvement on every level. The last two years we have won 11 games in total, this year we have won 13 with eight more to go…”

After their game on Wednesday, Jan. 29 Isaiah Veal, number 3, said this when asked about what their biggest challenge as a team is, “It’s trusting each other to make forward progress, we need to trust each other more.”

Coach McMiller said this about heading into the final stretch of the season, “Now that we are in the last 3rd of the season, we are trying to polish up things and to get ready for a playoff run. We are in good shape and have been dancing between second and third place. If we continue to strive and do well, we can take second place.”

When asked about the mentality going into these last games, Izayah Talmadge, number 2, said this” We need this one.”

That’s how it is, and they are currently down three games with seven more left in the season. The Gladiators team needs to make something superb happen to end the season right.

Talking with Rashad Faust, number 0, he said that a highlight of this season was seeing that there were a ton of guys who wanted to play, and we got them to play.

Lastly, Coach wanted to end with this “I appreciate the community coming out, and I hope we can grow our community and get them to come and support the program.”

Get a Clipper, It’ll Save You Money

Bus fares for AC Transit were raised on January 1, 2020, for the Adult, Youth, Senior, and Disabled single ride cash fares. However, switching to a clipper card rather than paying as you ride can help riders save during their daily commutes.

Robert Lyles, Media Affairs manager of AC Transit, confirmed that although single ride cash fares have gone up, clipper cards offer a discount. 

Adult prices were raised from $2.35 to $2.50. Youth, seniors, and disabled fares were raised from $1.15 to $1.25. With the clipper card, adults can save ten cents from the previous pricing, paying $2.25. Youth, seniors, and disabled fares can save up to 13 cents. This makes the single-ride fare $1.12.

Lyles also added that “AC Transit also conducted significant public outreach six months in advance of the fare change — specifically intended for riders to offer their feedback on any proposed changes. We also conducted a Title VI Equity Analysis. This analysis specifically seeks to determine if fare changes create disproportionate impacts on low-income populations and people of color. The Title VI Equity Analysis determined that the July 1, 2019 fare change would not cause an adverse impact.”

Natasha Larsen is 18 years old and attends Chabot College. Luckily for her, she only has to pay youth prices for the bus. Adult pricing begins at the age of 19. When asked if she was aware of the single-ride cash fare raise, she replied that she had no idea. Larsen buys the day pass at $2.75, allowing her to ride the bus as many times as she needs within that day.

I asked Larsen why she doesn’t use a Clipper Card, since it eliminates the use of having to carry cash, and you can reload it at the BART station. She replied, “Every time I go to BART, I’m usually running late, I don’t have time to actually set anything up.” 

It is possible to set up youth discounts with a clipper card through applications that must be sent in via email, mail, or fax.

I asked Larsen If it’s an inconvenience, she stated, “Kind of. As someone who’s in a rush a lot, it’s hard for me to get around to it. But then I never do because as soon as I get home, my mind is off of all that stuff.”

The BART’s official YouTube page “BARTable” has a simple two-minute video on how to reload your card at the station. Clipper has created not just several ways for their customers to get a hold of a card, but also several ways to get discounts.