UNIONServing the campus

community since 1946

May 3, 2012 Torrance, California

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University appeals workshop

A university appeals workshop will take place today, from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Humanities Building Room 306. Everyone is invited to go, for more infor-mation interested persons may visit the transfer center or call 310- 660- 3593, ext. 3408.

UC basic workshop on Tuesday

A UC basics workshop will take place Tuesday, May 8 from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Humanities Building Room 306. Everyone is invited to go, for more infor-mation interested persons may visit the transfer center or call 310- 660- 3593, ext. 3408.

Clothing drive is currently underway

The Honors Transfer Club along with the Honors Transfer Program is conducting a cloth-ing drive until tommorrow. Donations can be made in bins located around campus. Email Joe Holliday at jholliday@el-camino.edu for more info.

Commencement speech deadline

Students interested in becom-ing a commencement speaker must enter a speech to the Stu-dent Development Office by Monday, May 7. Visit the EC website for further details.

Now enrolling for swimming lessons

Registration for swimming les-sons begins Monday, May 7. It will offer a half hour, high quality swimming lesson with a low student-to-instructor ra-tio with instructors who are Red Cross Water Safety In-structor certified.

EL CAMINO COLLEGE

Cary Majano/ UnionBreana Chavis, 2, Daughter of Charles Chavis, 28, History Major. Breana is playing with magnets while learning about how the force of gravity works.

UNION Children enjoy a day of fun for Childrens Day

Eman Elshiyab

Fitness challenge promotes health and unity among staffKenneth BerryStaff Writer

Promoting health and fi tness, the staff and faculty will be join-ing together to participate in the Warrior Wellness Challenge.

The Challenge is a fi tness challenge created by Athletic Direc-tor Tony Barbone and Strength and Conditioning coach Kim Jones that promotes participation, unity, and accountability among fac-ulty and staff from different departments. The challenge started last Wednesday.

“My mindset was to fi nd something on campus that would unify employees so no matter what your participation level is, no matter if your group wins a lovely prize, everybody wins.” Tony Barbone, Athletic Director said. “I wanted to make a statement as a commu-nity that wellness is important.”

Individuals from a department will earn half of a point for every 30 minutes spent working out in the fi tness center per day. Work-outs lasting 10-20 minutes will earn one fourth of a point per visit. If every member in the department works out for a minimum of 30 minutes a day three times a week then each team member earns an extra point for their team that week. Any team member that works out four times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes will earn the entire team four extra points for the week. Any team member that works out fi ve times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes will earn the entire team fi ve extra points for the week.

“It’s not as though the team who loses the most weight at the end of the month wins,” Kim Jones, strength and conditioning coach said, “The goal is to get people in here as often as possible.”

Team members must sign in at the Fitness Center sign in sheet as well as on a separate Warriors Wellness Challenge check in which will track team member’s points. Team members will then state their name and team name to an available Fitness Center em-ployee, so they can document arrival and departure times.

“The more people use the center, the more it help us out with funding and prove that we need this place.” Jones said, “If we need more equipment it’ll be easier to purchase it because we can prove that there’s a lot of traffi c in here.”

There are three teams competing in the Warrior Wellness Chal-lenge: The Facilitators, Health Science Alliance and the LRU/Li-brary team. Health Science Alliance is being pegged as the early favorite.

“It’s more about participation,” Jones said. “It’s literally you get points for showing up whether it be for an hour or 30 minutes.”

The Health Science Alliance team members are as follows: Rory Natividad, Tony Barbone Carolyn Biedler, Kim Jones, Kari Brody, Julie Meredith and Patty Miller.

“Across the board I’m proud that I can personally help people get better because what I do is about injury prevention and perfor-mance,” Jones said. “Since it’s just starting we’re going to tweak it as the months go on, but maybe we’ll have to change things up to

keep people excited and motivated.”The LRU/Library team members are Wilma Hairston, Lisa

George, Sheryl Kunisaki, and Jol Valencia. “I won’t be competing in the challenge but I am the coordinator

for the team,” Ed Martinez, Public Access Librarian said. The Facilitators team members are Ora Bryant, Tom Brown,

Luis Bonilla, Donald Rile, Steve Marselle, and Keith Pipkin.

Latino and hispanic cultures to be discussedZachary WeberStaff Writer

Differences between Latinos and Hispanics will be discussed today in the East Dining Room from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

The Diversity within the Hispanic and Latin Community event is for the faculty and students to learn about La-tino heritage.

Vincent Robles, librarian and pro-gram coordinator, is in charge of the event and discussed what is going to take place.

“What we’re going to do is have a panel of different Latinos. We are go-ing to have someone from El Salva-dor, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and someone of Mexican descent,” Robles said.

Robles adds how this event teaches Hispanic and Latinos to interact with each other and how there is diversity within the different Latinos.

“The idea is that we are trying to share with others on the campus wheth-er it be students or faculty the differ-ences and feelings that exist with cer-tain Latinos and some instances it’s the words we use,” Robles said. “We all speak Spanish but the purpose is to understand, to educate us and let the world know, that there is diversity in the Latin world,” Robles said.

Claudia Striepe an instructional li-brarian who is involved with this event explains how Hispanics aren’t just one group and that there’s something new to learn about each Hispanic culture.

“The mission was to dispel the myth that Hispanics were one group then alert people of the nuances of the vari-ous groups and let us learn something that we did not know previously,” Stri-epe said

She also discussed the cohesiveness of the Latino group and how they still have similarities even though they are from different ethnic groups.

“It did seem to be a lot more family oriented there was a lot of cohesiveness among the individual groups as far as knowing a lot about their culture and customs,” Striepe. A cohesiveness that although we are different we still have this common language so they might have been rivalries, but they seem friendly that everyone was hanging together accepting that they were His-panic.”

One student who will participate in the event talks about his favorite part and why he likes attending the event.

“I would have to say the questions and answer section because we fi nd a set of questions to answer the ones that the public are asking are helpful for them,” Daniel Martinez said a Mexican student.

Guitars bring people together Carina GomezStaff Writer

Campus will be fi lled with the sounds of string-ing guitars tomorrow and Saturday, as guitar en-thusiasts attend the third annual ‘Guitar Festival.’

It will be full of activities from concerts to master classes and guitar clinics is free and open to the public.

“The event originated in 2009 as an opportu-nity for guitar players to get together with people they wouldn’t normally be exposed to from the music industry.” Dr. Chris Mello, director of gui-tar said.

Students will have a chance to meet with vol-unteer clinicians, who will give lessons on differ-ent guitar styles such as classical, jazz and rock/metal.

Students interested in participating at the workshops can attend those that will take place at the Music Building in Room 134.

The rock/metal workshop will take place to-morrow with German Schauss from the Los An-geles Music Academy (LAMA).

Those interested in learning about classical guitar can attend Saturday at 10 a.m. with Matt

Greif, from EC, followed by a workshop featur-ing Jazz at 1 p.m., with Bruce Foreman, from the University of Southern California.

The guitar festival gives students an opportu-nity to learn about guitar programs in the music fi eld and offers information on transferring.

Students will also have a chance to meet with other students from different colleges who share their same interests.

“Students interacting with other people who share their same interests is a great feeling.” Mel-lo added.

Concerts and other musical events will also take place during the festival.

Famous guitarist Martha Masters, will per-form at the Marsee Auditorium showcasing her “Martha Masters Resident Artists Concert” on tomorrow at 8 p.m.

Students can buy concert tickets at the ticket offi ce for only $15.

Some students are delighted to have an event take place.

“I am excited for the festival, its going to be an interesting experience.” Adam Montana, music major said.

Club on campus focuses on reading Daniela MessarinaStaff Writer

Readers unite as staff and faculty members put together a small group called the El Camino Readers, where so far 15 members are sharing and discussing books they have read through an online web database called GoodReads.com.

Opened to a variety of individuals, members post their ideas through this web database and have the advantage of fl exible hours.

Irene Graff of institutional research said she and a few employees started gathering ideas.

“We haven’t advertised it widely yet,” Graff said. “If students want to join, they are welcome to.”

Claudia Striepe, instruction librarian,said her, along with Graff and others, who helped put this group together, have been talking about this for quite some time.

“GoodReaders.com itself is an excellent site,” Striepe said. “You have your own book shelf, set yourself a challenge on how many books to read in a particular time frame, and [keep] track to how many read.”

Striepe said they decided to go via this web-

site, so that members can read what they want, pass on the information and share books of inter-est, without the hassle of having to meet.

Patricia Shauf, 26, nursing major, said she would need more information about this group in order for her to join and see how it differs from a book club.

“It’s cool to put your opinion out there for a book,” Shauf said. “Maybe it will be the Yelp of book clubs.”

Rebekka Asher, 21, mathematics and chemis-try major, said she would be willing to join as long as she isn’t reading any poetry.

“As soon as I hear poetry or deep literature, it sounds like school work,” Asher said.

Bryan Park, 19, political science major, said this event is a great way to promote more stu-dents to read.

The next step for the Reader’s group is to have people involved in a community by building con-tributions to follow-up on the discussions.

“We might include a link of the college library website,” Graff said. “But that would be down the line, if we fi nd that it’s a benefi cial way of ex-changing ideas.”

Kyle Borden/UnionJan Hearn, informational technology services; Lisa Wang, instituional research and Carolyn Pineda are using the elliptical machine in the fi tness room.

Features: First date deal breakersPage 3

Campus cleanliness should be responsibility for all Thomas SchmitStaff Writer

With shards of glass crunch-ing underfoot, a student care-fully steps over a Doritos Lo-cos box stained with brownish slime. Paper bags adorned with every conceivable fast-food logo blow past his foot like garish tumbleweeds. Scattered ciga-rette butts and candy wrappers like autumn leaves breeze down the walkway. This might sound like the city dump, but it is actu-ally the scenery in Parking Lot H.

While EC is currently re-vamping the campus with new buildings and remodeling, for example the Math, Business and Health Sciences Building, stu-dents here are not taking care of the campus as they should be.

Unfortunately, even a full time staff of custodians and groundskeepers can only do so much in the wake of more than 27,000 students, groundskeeper Fernando Vincente said.

“A lot of the groundskeepers

don’t actually get to do much grounds maintenance. Most of the time we just have to deal with the trash,” Vincente said. “Without exaggeration, I proba-bly spend fi ve or six hours a day just cleaning up after students.”

And while some spots on our campus could be called dirty, others are down right disgust-ing. Public bathrooms are never really held up as paradigms of cleanliness, but many EC stu-dents refuse to even enter some of the restrooms on campus.

“I think I saw something moving in one of the toilets,” Gustavo Aguilera, 18, business major said.

Some students wish others would do their part in keeping the bathrooms clean as they are used by students themselves.

“The Art Building bath-rooms are fi lthy, it’s absolutely disgusting in there. I don’t know if it’s some girl’s idea of artis-tic expression, but they need to artistically make it less stinky,” Anne Cabalum, 21, History ma-jor said.

While some mess has to be expected, the problem only be-comes worse when students be-gin deliberately damaging the campus.

“There’s vandalism every-where, but it’s really bad in the bathrooms. There’s like entire conversations on the walls,” Ve-ronica Grindle, 20, Graphic De-sign major said.

While graffi ti might be an eye sore for students, to painter Jimmy Macarino it’s a distrac-tion that keeps him from deal-ing with more important issues.

“Yesterday I spent three hours cleaning up graffi ti in the men’s bathroom of the Humani-ties Building and I still didn’t get all of it,” Macarino said. “I see a frustration. There’s this situation with the campus cut-ting classes and fi scal issues for everyone and I think this is how students vent that. You can feel it when you look at their vandal-ism,” Macarino said.

Macarino went on to cau-tion students that with repeated budget cuts and an uncertain fi -

nancial future, they may have to start taking up some of the load themselves.

“Everything we do here is for the students, we really care

about them, but every little thing they can do to help us re-ally does go a long way to make the campus a better place,” he added.

2 El Camino College Union May 3, 2012NEWSPOLICE BEATBy Daniela Messarina

Students writing on ground detained

April 17 1:05 p.m.— Offi cers arrived to Parking Lot H and ob-served a male subject writing in chalk on ground level. They spoke to the subjects engaging in activity. The subjects were detained.

Staff member returns to missing car system

April 23 6:24 p.m.—A fe-male staff member arrived to her car located on the fi rst level of parking Lot H and discovered her navigation and stereo system were missing. A stolen report was fi led.

Offi cers respond to altercation

April 27 11:30 a.m. —Offi -cers responded to a call near the Marsee Auditorium regarding a physical fi ght. The four subjects were detained.

Kyle Borden/UnionTables around campus are often left with food and wrappers and unclean.

Dianey VayStaff Writer

With a chance to lose weight and reduce the risk of heart disease, stu-dents might consider eating dark chocolate on a daily basis.

According to an article by usa-today.com, eating dark chocolate in addition to working out regularly can reduce heart disease, and cause weight loss by speeding metabolism, while satisfying chocolate cravings.

“I have heard that dark choco-late has a lot of antioxidants,’ Betsy Rodriguez, 23, french major, said. “I would try eating dark chocolate daily just to fi gure out whether or not the theories are true.”

While some may consider eating chocolate to test the theories, others may not be easily persuaded.

“There is no relevance in exercis-ing and eating dark chocolate,” Vin-

cent Steward, 22, sports medicine major, said.

While he has heard that chocolate can reduce the risk of heart disease and cholesterol, he is unsure if these statements are true but would only eat dark chocolate because he enjoys it.

Before purchasing a favorite chocolate bar, students might want to do some research to learn more about how dark chocolate is benefi -cial for the body.

“There is a lot of misadvertise-ment out there, for example, there may be a box of cereal that would be considered good for you and turns out to have a lot of sugar,” Chrissie Zartman, 28, fi tness center assistant said. “I am not a diet person. I try eating as healthy as I can,” Zartman said. “I would rather be able to have more information to consider wheth-er or not it (eating dark chocolate ev-

eryday) is good for me.”Katherine Lemus, 19, biology ma-

jor said she would not try the choco-late diet without doing research on it fi rst.

“If eating dark chocolate and ex-ercising regularly will cut the risk of heart disease, then I would defi nitely try it,” Lemus said.

Aside from the idea that dark chocolate may reduce certain health risks, some students believe that the effect of a diet would depend on an individual’s lifestyle.

“I don’t believe in diets, but I do know the more you work out, the better it is for whatever diet you choose,” Roddy Lee, 21, chemistry major, said.

Chocolate lovers might be able to reduce heart disease

Viridiana Vaca-Rios/UnionDark chocolate may be good for one’s health along with diet and exercise, satisfying people’s sweet tooth.

Mayu KataokaStaff WriterViridiana Vaca-RiosEditor-in-Chief

Lighted candles, good ambiance and a delicious dinner prepared by one of the best chefs in town is where her date took her for the night. The beautiful surroundings, followed by good chatter brought giggles and laughs and allowed them to get better ac-quainted during their delightful night. As the dinner came to an end, she smiled and though that she’d found a keeper, until the check arrives and he expects her to pay for dinner.

No matter how well a date is going or how much one is attracted to the other person, fi rst date deal breakers can eliminate any chances of a budding romance.

First Date Deal Breakers

“Honestly, fake hair that’s like not theirs,” Austin McCauley, 20, undecided major, said.

“Not opening the door for me would be a huge factor, and someone who smells and looks bad,”

Elizabeth Hernandez, 22, nursing major said.

“Someone who has a self-absorbed attitude is defi nitely a turn off,” Josh Melendez, 20, business economics major,

said. “We all know there are obviously beautiful girls every-where but you don’t need to shove it in my face.”

“I don’t like girls who are so busy texting someone else during a date,” Steve Tran, 22, undecided major, said.

“Someone who smokes and someone who makes you pay for the date is a turn off,” Yisel Gonza-

les, 18, design major, said.

“Defi nitely someone who cuts you off mid-sentence like they didn’t hear a word you said,”

Julianna Burrows, 24, business major, said.

“I think poor manners like burping would be a turn off,” Clarissa Vert, 19, chemistry major, said.

“Not making eye contact with me would be a date deal breaker,” Gary Samuelian, 21, kinesiology major, said.

“I don’t like awkward silences,” Christian Samia, 18, nurs-ing major, said.

“If they don’t dress well and they’re wearing the wrong wardrobe would not be good,” Erica Cobos, 20, child-

hood education major, said.

TIPS FOR MEN FOR A SUCCESSFUL FIRST DATE(ACCORDING TO THE WEBSITE, FIRST DATE TIPS)

• Wear something appropriate

• Be polite and give her attention.

• Don’t be late

• Chivalry is not dead: Be a gentleman

TIPS FOR WOMEN FOR A SUCCESSFUL FIRST DATE(ACCORDING TO THE WEBSITE, MAG FOR WOMEN)

• Dress appropriately

• Practice good mannerisms

• Listen more and talk less

• Don’t ask too many personal questions

Men Women

FEATURESMay 3, 2012 El Camino College Union 3

EDITORIAL4 El Camino College Union May 3, 2012

Associated Collegiate Press Regional Pacemaker Award1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007

California Newspaper Publishers’ Association Gen-eral Excellence Award1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005

Journalism Association of Community CollegesGeneral Excellence Award1991, 1992, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

The Union is published Thursdays by Journalism 11 students at El Camino College, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance, Calif. 90506, and one copy is free to the student body and staff.

Unsigned editorials and cartoons are the opinion of the editorial board and do not refl ect the views of the student body, the staff or the administration. Letters to the editor must be signed and must be received one week prior to publication in the Union offi ce, Humanities Building Room 113.

Letters are subject to editing for space, libel, obscenity and disruption of the educational process. Single copies of the Union are free; multiple copies can be requested through the Union.

Editor-in-Chief ......................................... Viridiana Vaca-RiosNews Editor......................................................Viridiana Vaca-RiosAssistant News Editor ....................................Jorge MaldonadoCo-Opinion Editor....................................................Carolyn AytonCo-Opinion Editor....................................................Dennis Norris Features Editor ......................................... Viridiana Vaca-RiosArts Editor...................................................................Candice CrissSports Editor...............................................................Candice CrissPhoto Editor .......................................................... Kyle BordenAdvertising Manager ..................................... Stephanie Alcorn Adviser ........................................................... Lori MedigovichAdviser ..........................................................Kate McLaughlinPhoto Adviser.............................................................Gary Kohatsu Technical Support ..................................................... Don Treat

Vol. 65, No. 16May 3, 2012

E-mail: eccunion@gmail.comNewsroom: (310) 660-3328Advertising: (310) 660-3329

Pre-test substance use may benefi t test scores Do you ever experience

excessive sweating, nausea, or low self-esteem prior to taking a class test? Chances are that you are a victim of test taking anxi-ety. One thing for sure is that you are from alone. Test taking anxiety has become a burden to many students across the nation.

Th is anxiety disorder has become a killer to even the most calm and confi dent stu-dents we socialize with daily. Fortunately there may be a way to hinder some of those symp-toms in order to ease the test taking process and possibly im-prove test scores for you.

All it may take is some help from substances. Yes, sub-stances like alcohol and mari-juana can contribute to taming the anxiety that occurs just as you are ready to take your test.

It may seem counterintuitive, but some substances can im-prove scores.

For instance, the drug Ad-derall, one of many often re-ferred to as a study or cramming drug, has been shown to assist some students in their studies by helping them to focus, es-pecially those who suff er from Attention-Defi cit/Hyperactiv-ity Disorder (ADHD).

People who have ADHD struggle with the ability to fo-cus, control impulses or plan ahead.

In a recent CNN.com article, writer Aaron Coo-per cites a 2008 story from the journal Nature in which several scientists said “We should wel-

come new methods of improv-ing our brain function. Safe and eff ective cognitive enhancers will benefi t both the individual and society.”

Th e key to utiliz-ing this and other potentially powerful study aids is to work in conjunction with a medical professional. Self-medicating is dangerous and may make anxi-

ety worse. In addition, using drugs

without a prescription is illegal and should not be done.

If students consult with a doctor and use some drugs proven to be benefi cial in certain situations, then it can be benefi cial.

However, even if part of a medical program, drug use can get out of control, so stu-dents should be careful to use substances as prescribed and stay in contact with their doctor.

Students should also realize that while some prescription drugs can have positive eff ects on academic performance, those improvements are usually short lived.

According to an opinion piece in Th e New York Times by psychologist L. Alan Sroufe, after three years the positive ef-fects of medication on academic performance diminished, and after eight years the eff ects were completely gone.

Although some substances can have positive eff ects, they often represent a short-term so-lution to a potentially long-term problem.

Illustration by Dennis Norris

Individualism depends on making fi ne distinctions

Please select the ethnicity that best describes you: Asian, Black or African American, Native American, Hawaiian or Pacifi c Islander, White or Caucasian, Hispanic or Latino. Every college student has been faced with these discrimina-tory check boxes at some point.

It makes sense for college applications to want to com-partmentalize our ethnicities into simple groupings.

After all, demographics are easier to report when there’s only fi ve or six categories.

However, a person’s iden-tity isn’t something that can (or should) be boiled down to a generalization.

At 1 p.m. today in the East Dining Room, there will be a discussion on diversity in the Hispanic/Latin community. An important topic is the dif-ference between the Hispanic classifi cation and its Latino counterpart.

Both terms are typically lumped together, or Hispanic is used as a blanket term for all Spanish-speaking ethnicities.

Not only is this inaccurate, it’s also demeaning.

According to Hispanic-Cul-ture-Online.com, “Hispanic” refers to people from countries that Spain colonized, whereas “Latino” refers to people with Latin roots, which could en-

compass any country colonized by the Romans.

Clearly there’s a difference, but most government docu-ments simply use the term His-panic.

The United States has al-ways been known as a melting pot of cultures.

Usually this is regarded as a positive sentiment, suggesting that people of all ethnicities can fi nd a home here and bring their unique customs into the community.

But perhaps the melting pot has been stirred a few too many times, because now we’re los-ing our cultural identities.

Hispanics and Latinos aren’t

the only victims. Irish people are White. Samoans are Pacifi c Islander. Koreans are Asian.

Any smidgen of individual-ity has been decimated.

How can we maintain our personal identities in a world where we’re so unceremoni-ously grouped into these broad classifi cations?

For starters, discussions like the one today. By opening a line of communication and in-forming people that Hispanic should not be used as a general term for all Spanish-speak-ing people, we are spreading awareness.

Enlighten people. A per-son may be German, Scottish,

Middle Eastern or Italian. Is it fair to just call him “White?” Should we throw out the terms Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Taiwanese in favor of the all-encompassing “Asian?”

One of the most impor-tant aspects of our identity as Americans is that our culture is made up of all different eth-nicities and cultures that blend their traditions together to cre-ate an American heritage.

Generalizations offer noth-ing to the masses. They sim-ply bring minimal information about one’s heritage to light.

Sadly this is not enough to gauge an appreciation of some-one’s cultural lineage.

Black, White, Asian, Native American and Hispanic are in-ept descriptions of race.

In order to establish a proper respresentation of one’s race, there should be more options available on applications.

As a person you are proud of where you came from and de-serve the right to fully respre-sent every nationality that is in your blood.

If we continue to pack our-selves into these general ethnic labels, we lose the fi ner pieces of what our culture consists of, different ethnicities of the world.

The Issue

• Students are using sub-stances prior to class

Our Stand

• Substances prescribed by a doctor can help students

Unemployment may increase enrollmentCOMMENTARY

As the economy appears to crumble, workers who have lost their jobs may think of continuing their education in hopes of ob-taining more or new skills leading toward a different lifestyle.

In a research article by ncsl.org (National Conference of State Legislatures) “The national unemployment rate dropped slightly in March 2012, to 8.2 percent... The number of long-term unemployed remained steady, at approximately 5.3 million workers.”

Out of the approximate 5.3 million workers, only a handful may attempt in admitting them-selves into schools to make lost time productive.

The U.S. Census Bureau has projected that over the next decade approximately 20.7 mil-lion students will be enrolled in both private and public colleges. That number may increase by 1 million the following year.

In other words, the rate at which students are being admitted into institutions such as commu-nity colleges and universities may partially be due to the unemployment rate.

However, one idea that may cross through an individual’s mind is how he or she will get enough money to continue with education.

While the unemployed may have little money in their pockets, a solution to their tight budgets may be due to the use of loans and grants.

A CNBC article stated, “Beefed-up revenue and enrollment coincides with relaxed rules on for-profi t institutions receiving federal aid, as well as the expansion of the Pell Grant program pushed by President Obama.”

While the unemployed may be supported for educational purposes through federal aid, how much will students receive in federal aid due to admission rates?

As of July 2009, the maximum Federal Pell Grant increased to $5,350, stated an article by educationgrant.com. Nearly 3 years later, that number has increased by $200.

While the number of enrolled students and unemployed workers increases, the timing in which money for students will be less readily available is unpredictable.

Aside from unemployed workers, the whole nation seems to be under budget and in the fu-ture may not be so willing to lend or further in-vest in the future of education.

Could this be a once-in-a-lifetime opportu-nity for the unemployed to continue their educa-tion while using federal aid?

Perhaps the unemployed are taking this op-portunity to enroll themselves in an institution before the money disappears.

Diane VayStaff Writer

UNIONEL CAMINO COLLEGE

—See related article on Page 2

Work trumps school as top priorityCAMPUS INSIGHT

“My class comes fi rst.” Those are the words heard from professors across the nation. Somehow these professors have seemed to ignore the state of our economy while individually placing themselves as our

prominent priority. This sense of entitlement seems to be mis-

guided arrogance. Not to say that the professors and their classes are not valuable, but students have other responsibilities that trump some of our classes.

From our jobs, social life, extra curricular activities and scarce time of rest and relaxation, we have consistent stressors that need to be re-strained. I am by no means asking for school to come easy, but when we cannot make it to class for a lesson, test or presentation, there should be more options for us to make up the absence.

It’s understood that teachers have hundreds of students, deadlines and their own personal life as well. I’m just asking that they understand that times have changed.

The price of attending school has increased substantially with every passing year, forcing students to place a premium on work in order to get through school.

Financial aid is benefi cial but does not ap-ply to everyone and can take weeks to receive. Books are far from cheap and usually must be bought within a week of class.

Classes are up to $36 a unit to go with gas be-ing up to nearly $5 a gallon. Combine that with rent, parking, bills and any other life expenses and stress becomes a way of life.

We’re all trying to adapt to the continuous changes that have been occurring in society. These things take time to adjust too and in many instances our priorities places our jobs in more short-term importance than school.

Sure school will pay off in the long term but the only way to maintain consistency in school is to rely on your earnings from work to get you through it.

Helping us out with a make-up test or two, understanding our inability to achieve perfect at-tendance and working with our schedules could only increase our chances of succeeding.

The views expressed in Campus Insight are those of the authors. They do not represent the views or opinions of the Union, its staff, editorial board or advisers. This column is available to students and faculty. All ar-ticles may be submitted to eccunion@gmail.com. Please note that articles may be edited for content and length.

Shirley MunozEngineering Major

OPINION

CAMPUS VIEWPOINTS

Are strip searches acceptable in any arrest?By Thomas Schmit

Christian Chick, 20, Mechanical Engineering

“Yes. You can’t trust anyone go-ing in to jail. It’s supposed to be semi-safe, so they should be searched no matter what.”

Connie Nguyen, 26, Geology

“No. People have a certain amount of basic rights that they’re entitled to, like human dignity.”

Jose Alvarez Avila, 19, Communications

“Yes. You wouldn’t want them going to jail with anything that could harm another person in jail.”

Lindsay Callen, 18, Undecided

“No. People have a right to keep their clothes on, even when get-ting searched. I think it’s going way too far.”

Jose Turcios, 30, Architecture

“Yes. Th ey should be allowed to search everyone, but I think they should only use it when they have probable cause.”

Tram Mai, 22, Accounting

“No. It’s not a good thing, it’s a total invasion of privacy, and I think they’d be discriminatory with it.”

Allowing offi cials to legally strip search an individual for a minor offense before being admitted to prison may be one step closer to safety.

While being arrested, an individual may be searched briefl y to the point where visible items such as weapons and drugs are confi scated. While a strip search may be considered a de-grading intrusion on those who are being arrested, the searches assure the safety of police.

During an arrest, an indi-vidual may have some of their rights stripped away. However, that individual could be smug-gling weapons or other illegal substances into jails, and a strip search would prevent that pos-sibility.

Strip searching inmates pre-vents assaults on both offi cials and fellow inmates.

In an article by theacru.org, “Over 13 million people are processed through jails every year in America. There are 10,000 inmate assaults on jail staff each year.”

With 10,000 inmate assaults on offi cials, the probability of an inmate having a weapon should not be ignored.

Perhaps not all of the in-mate assaults involved the use of weapons. However, strip searching for weapons rules out that possibility from the begin-ning.

According to an article on heinonline.org, “Courts have long recognized the need for police to search an arrested person as a protective measure, both to save the offi cer from harm and to recover incrimi-nating evidence before it is dis-

posed of by the suspect.”Although some may argue that a strip

search may only be used for the means of personal safety for both offi cials and inmates in prison, others may argue that it is an invasion of privacy.

Strip searching even for minor offens-es such as traffi c violations is absolutely ridiculous. Laws are supposed to protect the people, not humiliate them.

In an effort to protect jail offi cials the Supreme Court recently ruled in favor for offi cials strip searching individuals for “even minor offenses.” People should

not have to be strip searched for a case involving a mere traffi c violation that in-volves a night in jail.

It is wrong that the Supreme Court wants to treat every individual who com-mits an infraction as a criminal. Cases that should defi nitely be taken into con-sideration for strip searching should

involve high suspicion of vio-lence, or drug-related cases.

The Supreme Court’s deci-sion to allow strip searches in any arrest is an absolute viola-tion of the Fourth Amendment as it states clearly; “The right of the people to be secure in their own persons.” Clearly this rul-ing is a violation of civil rights.

Everyone wants to feel safe and law offi cials are no excep-tion, however it is not necessary to jeopardize people’s dignity, value and self-esteem.

Many of these strip search cases can even lead offi cials to corruption. Let’s not forget that jail offi cials commit the same careless acts many people with clean records commit. If for any reason a heated argument sparked between an offi cial and an inmate, that offi cial could abuse this new law and strip search the inmate for the sole purpose of humiliation.

With so many other options to help protect offi cers, the need to strip search people for minor violations is absurd. The gov-ernment should keep fi ghting the most wanted criminals out there, and give the people with clean records and minor offens-es a break.

Not every citizen who makes a mistake is a dangerous crimi-

Illustration by Dan Baldonado

CAMPUS CORNER

By Mayu Kataoka

Rebekka Asher is the presi-dent of the Associated Students Organization (ASO).

How did you get involved

in ASO?

I ran last year in the ASO elec-tions and what inspired me to run for ASO president last year was that I absolutely love El Camino. El Camino means the most to me, it’s my home.

What is your philosophy as president?

My philosophy is that without a good internal relationship you can’t help someone externally. So we can’t help the students of the school and fulfi ll what our goals are without fi rst having that structure.

What makes ASO stand out this year?

We have good relationships with everyone in ASO and ev-eryone knows how to work to-gether. We are almost confl ict free, which really helps be-cause now we can really work towards the whole budget crisis on campus, winter session and all those things that really mat-ter to the students.

What events is ASO involved in?

We’ve done two movie nights now and currently we’re doing a service drive for the military. We’re going to have boxes set around campus and you can do-nate things. We are also doing a hair donation where you can donate a portion of your hair for cancer patients.

How can students join ASO?

You can run in the elections, which are in three weeks. You can also just wait for fall semes-ter to come around and you can have an interview and be ap-pointed into the senate, which is how a lot of ASO members actually join. They go through an interview process panel and get appointed.

Rebekka AsherPresident

Associated Students Organization

Strip searches assure the safety of police and other inmates.

Strip searches violate civil rights and cause

embarrassment.

UP FOR DEBATE

Are strip searches acceptable in any arrest?

Carina GomezStaff Writer

Cultural weddings offer infl uence to American celebrations COLUMN

Months of sketching and picking out silk fabric, search-ing through countless crochet patterns and fl ipping pages in fashion magazines all came to fruition on March 17, when my aunt tied the knot to her Italian lover.

I fl ew into Lima, Peru for the occasion. It’s one of the most celebrated ceremonies for Peruvians, full of dancing and multiple dishes and drinks to choose from.

The amount of detail my aunt and uncle put into the wedding at a privately-owned ranch made it a memorable one. There were bleached muslin cloths wrapped around the tent, fl oral vines and cream rose pedals scattered on the tables.

Most weddings today aren’t as creative. It’s always the same boring fl owers, the same cook-ie-cutter wedding cake and the same droning music.

When you’re celebrating such an important moment of

your life, one that will (hope-fully) only happen once, shouldn’t it be tailor-made for you?

My aunt’s wedding was full of personal touches that made the experience an embodiment of her.

I was glad to be part of a tra-ditional ‘happy hour’ celebra-tion during my aunt’s wedding, where two Peruvian guests dressed in Inca outfi ts came out on the dance fl oor and in-troduced cultural and thrilling music and dances.

I have attended weddings where I met fresh faces and socialized most of the time. But that’s it! Most American weddings lack the cultural and

personal experience of the Pe-ruvian wedding I attended.

American weddings are very predictable. The bride’s wedding gown will be white with a long train as she walks the traditional aisle with her bouquet of roses. There will be the tossing of the bouqet and garter. And fi nally ending the night with the same “party” songs that have been playing at gatherings since the ‘70s. How many times have you been forced to dance to “Y.M.C.A.” at a wedding? Too many times.

America is a melting pot of cultures, but unfortunately that often means that cultural tradi-tions are abandoned in favor of more “American” options.

Next time you are at a wed-ding, think about the traditions and culture behind it. Attend-

Daniela MessarinaStaff Writer

Please connect with me by email at daniela.messarina@gmail.com

Follow me on Twitter @ECCUnionDaniela

Join the conversation online at www.eccunion.com

The views expressed in this column are those of the author. They do not repre-sent the views or opinions of the Union, its staff, editorial board or advisers.

May 3, 2012 El Camino College Union 5

Diane VayStaff Writer

Students get artistic freedom with bronze castingMayu KataokaStaff Writer

Nothing beats that fi nal mo-ment. After many long hours creating a sculpture, a mold , a wax replica, a ceramic shell, the bronze is heated to 21,500 degrees and then the fi ery mol-ten metal is poued and a bronze casting is created.

First introduced more than 3000 years ago, the traditionof bronze castin is carried on to-day by Russell McMillin in his Art 83 class, where students participate in a bronze pour.

To McMillin, the process has meaning beyond more aca-demia.

“Students should take this course because it’s like a test run for life,” McMillin, said. “All the skills you need in life are prominent in the class.”

Taking the time to set goals for every step is crucial to the fi nal product so the class is of-ten seen as a metaphor for life.

“A lot of gratifi cation, sweat and tears are involved by the fi nalized product,” McMillan said.

Professor McMillin was hired in 2002 to bring a con-temporary art element to the bronze-casting course and to keep the course going that was started back in the ‘70s.

“My favorite part about teaching is the growth the stu-dents achieve during the class,” McMillin said.

With practice and choreo-graphed routines, students usu-ally have to quickly adapt to the intense work environment to ensure safety for both them-selves and others.

“It’s really intense and it

makes students focus,” McMil-lin said. “They learn to handle in challenging and stressful situations.”

Lily Kurosaki, 21, studio art major, likes the class for giving her “artistic freedom” and the hands on experience.

“It has its challenges but it’s very rewarding,” Kurosaki said.

“I defi nitely learned something I never thought I could do.”

Kurosaki’s recalls how life changing it was for her when she fi rst saw the pouring of the bronze.

“I could never imagine mak-ing something out of bronze at a community college,” Kurosa-ki said. “It gave me a new per-

spective on what art really is.” As students continue to ex-

pand their knowledge in class, the art department will show-case their work at the open house held May 18, from 6 to 9 p.m. where they will also be having a demo of the bronze pouring at 7 p.m.

McMillan also added that

anyone is welcome to come Monday and Wednesday nights from 6 to 9 p.m. to check the class out and for bronze pour-ing Wednesday nights around 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in ARTB 125.

“If you work as hard as you possibly can, then good things are going to happen in your life,” McMillan said.

Singer challenges the status quo

Eman ElshiyabStaff Writer

With a part of his lips, he opens his mouth and begins to use his voice as a musical in-strument, revealing his perfor-mance skills produced by his 14-year experience in music.

Hamid Ala, 32, vocal performance major, has been studying voice for 14 years and hopes to get his masters and PHD at USC School of Music and dreams of becom-ing an EC voice professor.

Recently, he was accepted as a music major at Cal State University at Long Beach where he attends The Bob Cole Conservatory of Music School.

Ala has been taking cours-es at EC simultaneously.

Born with cerebral palsy brain damage, Ala had more to overcome than others. In-stead of dealing with the stress and frustration that came along with his disability, he found an alternative way to deal with it.

“All my life, I’ve always loved to sing,” Ala said. “It

helped me deal with hardships that came with having CP; it took my mind off of all my frustrations.”

When Ala enrolled in EC, he became a part of the stu-

dent learning resource center for disabled students and took college a step at a time.

Ala’s instructors all knew how much he loved to sing, so they told him to take a voice class with Hedley Nosworthy, voice professor.

“Everyone talked about Pro-fessor Nosworthy’s voice class and how he won singing com-petitions all over the world,” Ala said. “At fi rst I was very intimidated, and I didn’t be-lieve I was cut out for his class, but I knew it would help me deal with my CP stress, so I enrolled.”

After a couple voice classes, Ala spoke with Nosworthy one

day after class and told him he was going to drop the class because he felt like his dis-ability was getting in the way of learning.

Fortunately, Nosworthy didn’t allow that to get in Ala’s way of becoming the singer he’s always wanted to be, Ala said.

“When we started working together he could not even match pitch,” Nosworthy said.

“In a short time he was able to do it and has not looked back since.”

After many extra hours of voice lessons during Noswor-thy’s offi ce hours, Ala learned to sing classical music in four different languages.

“Everyone told me it was impossible for me to sing clas-sical music because I had CP and speaking in English was diffi cult enough for me,” Ala said. “But I wanted to prove them wrong and so I learned how to sing in English, Italian, German and French.”

“I have been here at El Camino for 21 years and have never come across such a person who challenges the status quo regularly,” Noswor-thy said. “Bluntly, I fi nd him amazing. He has conquered aspects of vocal performance

that some students only dream about.”

Ala also passed an audition for Disney, where he sang a piece from

“The Hunchback of Notre Dame”

called “God Bless the Out-cast.”

“People fl ocked to his stan-dard and realized quite fully his uniqueness and potential,” Nosworthy said. “I’m told that some of the execs were even crying.”

Singing, Ala said, has taught him what is important in life.

“When I sing it’s not about me,” Ala said. “It’s about showing other disabled and not disabled students to live their dreams, have hope, love everyone and not worry about silly problems.”

STAR RISING

ON THESCENEBy Jorge Maldonado

Theater

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”Shakespeare with a twist. The Campus Theatre presents “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” directed by Carolyn Almos. The production will open next Friday at 8 p.m. in the Marsee Auditorium and will continue until May 20. Tickets are $15. For more information, contact 1-800-832-ARTS or visit the Ticket Offi ce.

Music

“On Ensemble/Takio 2.0”Drumming to their own beat,

“On Ensemble/Takio 2.0” combines Japanese drumming with elements of hip hop, rock, and electronica. Performing next Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Marsee Auditorium tickets are $26. For more information, contact 1-800-832-ARTS or visit the Ticket Offi ce.

“Martha Masters, guitar”Martha Masters stops by EC to perform works by Vinas, Scarlatti, Garrido, Piazolla, Pujol, Bach, Dyens, and Tadic at 8 p.m. tomorrow in the Marsee Auditorium. Tickets for “Martha Masters, guitar” are $15. For more information, contact 1-800-832-ARTS or visit the Ticket Offi ce.

ARTS6 El Camino College Union May 3, 2012

Robert Long/ UnionThe transformation of the ceramics pieces made by the students are out from the kiln and ready to be taken out for processing.

Robert Long/ UnionJan Davids, 43, undecided major, works on bottle sculptures for Russell McMillin’s bronze casting course

“The Five Year Engagement” makes big laughs but not big salesDaniela MessarinaStaff Writer

Directed by Nicholas Stoller, producer of “Bridesmaids”, “The Five Year Engagement” stars Jason Segel and Emily Blunt in a romantic comedy about the complications that come with some engagements

Tom (Jason Segel) questions whether he should continue dreading living in the blizzards of snowy Michigan with his fi ancée, Violet (Em-ily Blunt), or move back to the Bay Area in San Francisco as a sous chef.

The frustrating delayed wedding arrange-ments start off when Violet receives an accep-tance letter into the post-doctorate psychology program at the University of Michigan.

Because Tom is so madly in love with Vio-let from the day they met at a New Year’s Eve party, he understands how important this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is to his fi ancée and decides to move along with the transition and try something different.

But as weeks pass by, Tom realizes he misses the life he had in San Francisco and begins to experience the diffi culty of not fi nding a job as a chef anywhere in Michigan.

Aside from the misery Tom is going through, Violet becomes so focused in her studies, that she barely has time to realize her fi ancée is mis-erable and that he sacrifi ced his profession as a chef for Michigan.

As more interruptions begin escalating in their relationship, they realize the engagement is slowly being put on the side and minor argu-ments are being ignored.

Although the two are experiencing a differ-ent lifestyle, the comedy is what keeps the fi lm lively for viewers.

What’s interesting about Tom and Violet is the on-going commotion of planning a set wed-ding date.

Tom seems to be testing his love for Violet because he continues living in Michigan, while Violet is conducting an unconscious psycho-logical experiment on whether her fi ancée truly loves her.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the R-rated fi lm struggled at the box offi ce with only $3.5 million last Friday coming in 3rd place.

Positive reports are anticipated at a much higher incentive by the end of this week.

The movie did an awesome job showing the on-going chemistry between the two, aside from the fi ve years of being committed to marrying each other someday.

Overall, the fi lm kept the audience laughing during the moments when Tom and Violet were about to call their engagement off.

This fi lm gives the millions of couples out there another reason why they shouldn’t wait too long for their wedding to happen.

Amira Petrus/ UnionHamid Ala, 32, music major sits in front of EC’s Campus Theater on a cloudy after-noon. Ala is a Tennor opera singer preparing for an upcoming concert.

Violet (Emily Blunt) and Tom (Jason Segal) share a moment in “The Five-Year Engagement” Photo Courtesy of cdc.sreenrant.com

ON DECKCandice CrissSports Editor

GolfSunday-Monday at 7 a.m.at Glendora for So Cal Regionals

TRACK/FIELDSaturday at 10 a.m. at Saddleback for So Cal Preliminaries

BASEBALLSaturday at 1 p.m. at Southwestern for Regional Playoffs

Sunday at 10 a.m. at Southwesternfor Regional Playoffs

SPORTSMay 3, 2012 El Camino College Union 7

Men’s and women’s tennis team compete at 112th Annual Ojai tournament Edwin ArredondoStaff Writer

After a run at the South Coast Conference tournament by the Warriors, some of the play-ers went to the 112th Annual Ojai Tournament to compete against the best players of Southern California.

During the round of 64 in singles, sopho-mores Andrew Sarawasi and Atilla Lassu won their games in 2 sets.

Sarawasi reasserted why he is number one on the EC team, winning his fi rst game, (6-2) (6-2).

Lassu shined as well and took home the vic-tory winning, (6-3) (6-1).

For the round of 32, the game took a turn and the sophomores could not win their matches.

“I felt a little bit tired for this game,” Lassu, said.

He added that he lost focus in key plays of the game.

Lassu was defeated in 2 sets, (6-4) (6-2) and Sarawasi lost in 3 sets winning the fi rst one, (6-3), but losing the next two, (6-3), (6-3).

The Warriors also competed in doubles with Sarawasi and Lassu and sophmores, Kevin Na-kasone-Yasuto Miyawaki.

Both of the teams went through the round of 64.

In the round of 32, Nakasone and Miyaki could not take the victory with fi nal, (6-0) (6-4) scores.

Sarawasi and Lassu won their match, (6-0) (6-0).

The story was different for the round of 16.Sarawasi and Lassi lost their match in 2 sets,

(6-0) (6-4).“They just played better than us,” Sarawasi

mentioned.Even though the Warriors acknowledge that

they have lacked on the court, they managed not to get discouraged.

“I’m looking forward to the next competi-tions,” Sarawasi said.

Lindsay Guardado, sophomore, and Chun Young Shin, freshman, represented the War-riors’ women’s team for this competition.

During the round of 64 in singles, Shin took the victory in 2 sets, (6-1) (6-1).

Guardado couldn’t clinch her game and got a tough loss, (6-2)(6-4).

For the round of 16, Shin won her match, (6-3) (6-1).

The round of quarterfi nals was it for Shin los-ing her game in 2 sets, (6-1) (6-3)

“I’ll try to improve and hopefully take the trophy on the next tournament,” Shin said.

“I expect great things of her (Shin) for the next season,” Steve Van Kanegan, coach, said.

In doubles, Guardado and Shin took the vic-tory in the round of 64 in 2 sets, (6-1) (6-3) and advanced to the round of 32.

The round of 32 was harder but they fought for each point and won their match in 3 sets, (6-2) (3-6) (10-7).

The round of 16 was the last stop for the War-riors, since they lost their match in 3 sets, (6-4) (4-6), (15-13).

• For the latest updates on the Warriors, follow us on twitter: @eccunion

Warriors end season after loss for state championshipMayu KataokaStaff Writer

Erica Bender, Brandon Gregory and Stephen Sor-bom, competed in the state championships this past weekend at East Los Angeles College.

“I just tried my hardest and focused on everything I worked on so hard this season,” Bender said.

Bender placed 14th out of 53 in the 50- freestyle for the preliminary that gave the team three points.

“We were able to score some points at the champi-onships, which is always a good thing,” Corey Stan-bury, coach, said.

Although Bender did not make it to the preliminar-ies and fi nals for her 200- freestyle and 100-freestyle, she was still happy with the outcome of the season.

“I had a really good season and I got personal best times in all of my events,” Bender said.

Gregory placed 16th in the 500-freestyle and Sor-bom did not place in the championship.

“Sorbom’s swims were very close and nothing short of phenomenal,” Stanbury said. “He’s barely a fresh-man and has improved so much throughout the sea-son.”

Shanese Douglas favored the last meet as well for she said that watching everyone support each other was “one of the greatest moments.”

The swimmers said that the strong bond between the team was what helped them get through the season.

“The best thing about this season was being part of a team,” Bender said. “Everyone is so nice and funny and we can just be ourselves.”

Kyle Borden/ UnionSteven Sorbom, 19, swimmer, takes his last lap of the season in EC’s Pool on Monday, April 30.

Badminton team lose chance at South Coast Conference championshipKenneth BerryStaff Writer

Battling physical and mental exhaustion in an intense double-header with Pasadena City College at home on Wednesday, the women’s badminton team rallied as a team but lost both games 15-2.

Pasadena is the No. 1 ranked team in the South Coast Conference.

The previous week the Warriors won because El Camino College Compton Center forfeited and lost at East L.A. 18-3.

“Pasadena’s a really good team,” Jaymie Baquero, coach, said. “We battle and we take them to three games and sometimes we don’t come out on top.”

Corrine Belandres, the top ranked player for EC played Pasadena’s fi rst- ranked and second- ranked players and won one doubles match and one singles match.

Becca Maier played Pasadena’s fi fth and sixth ranked players.

“I improved my serve by trying a new serving technique and it worked out better,” Maier said. “I want to fi nish strong and I defi nitely improved from not knowing how to play to actually stay-ing in the game.”

With the exception of second-year players

Alona Barnes, Kumiko Noguchi, and Vanessa Reid, the bulk of the 16-player roster consists of fi rst-year players.

“I think the whole team has improved,” Maier said. “My lasting memory of this team is just be-ing with all my teammates because they’re just so fun and we always have a good time.”

Alona Barnes played the seventh and eighth ranked players for Pasadena.

“I won both my matches and I’m really happy with my performance,” Barnes said. “I haven’t lost any matches this season.”

Vanessa Reid played Pasadena’s second third and fourth ranked players.

“I could’ve done a lot better but I improved on moving them from side to side,” Reid said. “From my fi rst year to this year I’ve improved a lot and I moved up more than one rank.

The Warriors last game of the season is at home against East L.A. this Wednesday.

“I’d say that our defi ning moment was our fi rst game against East L.A. because everyone brought their A-game,” Belandres said. “They wanted to continue playing better and they have.”

The Warriors, as a whole, did not make it to the South Coast Conference Championships that will start on May 4.

“The attitudes of my teammates are very encouraging and very friendly,” Barnes said. “We’re kind of like a family.”

Baseball team gets prepared for regionalsJorge MaldonadoStaff Writer

In its fi nal games of the season against Pasa-dena City College, the Warriors added more wins to the record while getting ready to head to regionals this week.

With a series of wins in its last games of the season, regionals and a state championship loom over the Warriors as the team seeks to accom-plish its goal of the season with a state champi-onship win.

“The team is playing well, we have to remain consistent and continue to get better by the ba-sic fundamentals,” Tony Asaro, assistant coach, said.

A complete contrast from last week games, the Warriors dominated Pasadena, a team that is last place in the South Coast Conference.

“They had nothing to really lose, if they beat us it means nothing to them (statistically speak-ing), but if we lose it means everything to us, so we try to imagine if they were the fi rst place team and go out there and beat them,” Sean Isaac, pitcher, said.

On Tuesday, April 24, the fi rst of the three games against Pasadena, the Warriors won by a large margin, 19-7.

“One of the biggest factors, we kind of changed our approach to the plate, hard line-drives through the middle, we all had that mind-set, hit the ball straight down the middle, playing offensively,” Cole Trezek, third baseman, said.

Five runs were scored by the Knights in the

fi fth inning giving its team a one run advantage until the Warriors scored an additional eight runs in the sixth and fi ve in the eighth.

“Knocked down a couple runs, we didn’t back down to the challenge of over hitting them,” Trezek said. “We stuck to our approach and end-ed up beating them by a large margin,” Trezek added.

The April 26 game was won with a complete blowout against Pasadena, 11-0.

Pitchers Rafael Ramirez, Grant Wessel, and Sean Isaac threw a complete shutout with 10 to-tal strikeouts and no pitching errors.

“I had faith in my defense to make plays, I just basically wanted to go out there, make strikes, and make those last three outs,” Isaac said.

In the last game of the season on April 27 the Warriors won, 6-3.

Brice Savage, infi elder, scored a total of 3 runs.

“We were really happy to win our last game, plus a spot in playoffs,” Trezek said.

The Warriors will go to the regional playoffs tomorrow and Saturday with times and locations to be announced on the El Camino athletics website.

Super Regionals will be played May 11 to May 13 and if the team qualifi es, the Final Four State Championship May 18 to May 20.

“How we prepare physically or mentally, we won’t change anything,” Asaro said. “We pre-pare our guys from the beginning of the season so we don’t have to change.”

Michael Williams/ UnionPrior to the game on the road at Pasadena City Colege, players are seen having some fun as Arley Shwabb, shortstop, Trinidad Loeza, umpire, and Marvin Flores, catcher, wait with excitement.

8 El Camino College Union May 3, 2012SPORTS

Warriors take home wins in SCC Championship Aryn HicksStaff Writer

The men’s and women’s track and fi eld team looked for wins at the South Coast Conference Championships on April 27 at El Camino College Compton Center.

The Warriors competed in the South Coast Preliminaries on Tuesday, April 24 and the qualifying Warriors came back to on Friday to continue their winning streak.

Rukayah Bent-Mikail who won the triple jump on April 24, came back on Friday to place 3rd with a jump at 18-3 ¾.

Michelle Woodruff won the high jump at 5-6. She also remains undefeated against all JC Com-petition.

Katrina Wilbanks set a new EC school record for women’s pole vault with a jump of 12-0. “Katrina has a 12-0 school-record in the pole vault and is the new Southern California leader. Not

only is it a solid record, but going over 12 feet is exceptional at any college level,” Dean Lofgren, coach, said. “She has room for further improvement in the next couple of weeks.”

The women’s 400-meter relay team won in a season best 47.00. Araya Dixon, Ronisha Vallery, Isis Garland, Ruby Dixon will place into the So Cal Preliminaries

as the top speed. Ronisha Vallery placed 2nd in the long jump at 18-4 ½. She placed 3rd in the 400-meter at 57.85. Brittany Householder placed 2nd in the 800-meter at 2:20.38 with teammate Courtney Morning

placing 3rd at 2:20.67. Salina Ropati placed 2nd in shot put at 40-9 ¾. Earlier in the tournament, Isis Garland placed 3rd in 100-meter with a time of 12.39 and returned

later to place 5th in the 200-meter with a time of 25.34 in the relays. Ruby Davis placed 4th in the Triple Jump at 35-6.Anthony Lewis placed 2nd in the 5, 000-meter at 15:19.83. Alex Villaescusa directly qualifi ed to the So Cal Final in the 10,000-meter and placed 6th in

5,000-meter at 15:51.15. The men’s 400-meter relay placed 5th with a time of 42.72. Victor Martin has been progressing all season. On Friday, Martin became the 7th all time EC performer with his shot-put winning throw of

51-10.“I like to be alone and just focus on the throw,” Victor Martin, shot-putter, said. Overall, the EC women placed 3rd and the EC men placed 4th against eight competitive teams

in the South Coast Conference. The Warriors will be competing this Saturday for Southern California Regional Championship

in San Diego.“This Saturday’s Southern California Regional Championships in San Diego brings together the

Top 27 in each event in Southern California for the purpose of competing head-to-head in races and fi eld events for next Saturday’s (May 12) Final Championships” Lofgren said.” Lofgren said.

Robert Long/ UnionVictor Martin takes fi rst place in shot put with 51-10 and advances to the Southern California Regional Championships.

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