Volume XXX - Issue 7 www.theskylineview.comNovember 17, 2011

Turn to page 7 and review what occured on Veteran’s Day

“Batman: Arkham City” is no joke!Page 5

Read of the plans of Andres Portillo on page 11

It seems as though there’s been nothing but bad news for California community colleges recently, and students and faculty alike are being greatly impacted.

Changes need to be made, and the California Community College Chancellor’s Office assembled the California Community Col-leges Student Success Task Force to brainstorm solutions to our many problems. The recommendations they came up with affect almost ev-ery aspect of the community college system, from registration priority to educational planning to course offerings. These recommendations could help solve many issues facing the community college system, such as the obvious budget problems and the significant drop-out rate. However, these solutions require considerable effort on the part of both the students and the teachers, and some changes may not be desir-able for everyone.

The second chapter of the 76-page report the task force published addresses the lack of progress from many community college students. They blame this on lack of guidance throughout the college process. Many of the recommendations in the report are focused on increas-ing student success, for example by helping them graduate and perhaps transfer to a four-year school. One of the task force’s main concerns is getting students on a structured path

to meet their goals.One recommendation the task

force made is to require students who performed poorly on diagnostic tests (similar to the placement tests many of us take now) and “show a lack of readiness for college” to find a support source, such as a course in student success, which must be provided by the school for new students.

Another suggestion in the same chapter is for schools to highly en-courage incoming students to declare a program of study upon admission and to require a declaration after two semesters. If a student does not de-

clare a program of study, the student should be provided counseling and educational planning to help them get on track.

The task force also sees a prob-lem with the community colleges’ priority enrollment requirements. Currently, priority registration is awarded solely based on accumula-tion of units. The task force sug-gests a new set of criteria that will reinforce its mission of creating successful college students.

The task force recommends that continuing students who are “in good standing who are making progress toward a certificate, degree, transfer

or career advancement objective” be given priority registration. This would include students who are working on pursuing basic skill building.

The task force also believes continuing students should lose their enrollment priority if they either do not follow their educational plan, are placed on academic probation, fail to declare a program of study by their third semester, or earn more than 100 units.

Financial aid could also be im-pacted by the suggestions of the task force. They recommend requir-ing students who receive Board of

Governors fee waivers to adhere to certain conditions: The student must identify a goal for their education and meet “progress standards” (to be determined at a later date), and the number of units covered by fee waivers would be limited to 110.

Course offerings could be direct-ly affected as well. One paragraph in the report details how courses should be funded based on how much they’re included in students’ educational plans. They suggest the state not subsidize any class that is not included in a program of study. They believe this will incentivize schools to push students to come up with a solid path for their educational goals.

These recommendations could be positive or negative, depending on who you ask. On one hand, the implementation of these policies could increase graduation rates and better prepare students for the workforce. On the other hand, these suggestions mostly require the use of a lot of resources on the part of the school (for instance, creating success courses for new students or having enough counselors for every single student).

These measures will have to be voted on before they can be imple-mented. There is no definitive date by which the task force thinks these policies will be carried out, but one thing is certain: Our schools are in trouble, which endangers the future and prosperity of our entire state.

New task force suggests new registration policiesA recently published report recommends changes to solve colleges’ problems

By Blair Hardee

The occupy protests around the country continue, and students around the country are marching for their future and to fight perceived inequalities, but students and recent graduates aren’t the only ones who are involved in the protests. Even professors and people who work in the area were involved in the protests.

A negative image has been paint-ed by many media outlets about who the movement is, but if you go for yourself, you’ll see a large variety of people. San Francisco and Oakland are the two local protests of the movement that draw in people from all walks of life, including Skyline students and professors. In fact, the American Federation of Teachers and its local chapter strongly sup-port the movement.

One such professor who’s at-tended a protest is Jeff Diamond, a political science teacher who teaches California and United States Politics at Skyline.

“I attended a protest because I think it is important to publicize the growing inequality in our society,” said Diamond. “In my limited ex-perience, I have not seen protesters being violent or endangering public

well-being, although obviously some have. This is a serious problem: While the vast majority are peaceful, a few threaten the public perception of the movement either through their stupidity or even possibly as paid agent provocateurs. I hate to seem paranoid, but such things have been done in the past.”

Diamond is correct in saying that things like this have been done before. Recently there was evidence

of its being done in Egypt at the pro-tests there to justify violence against the protesters.

The protests have been com-pared to a liberal answer to the Tea Party by a lot of people, but many of the protesters disagree.

“In some ways it’s parallel, but in other ways it’s not,” said Doug Sherman, a Skyline English profes-sor. “It looks more like something that’s happened in Egypt, specifi-

cally Cairo, than anything the Tea Party has done.”

One of the big problems en-countered is claims of violence and problems for the businesses in the area. The result has been police employing questionable methods, which has drawn even more atten-tion to the protests.

“As for police conduct, mostly from what I hear, it has been var-ied—in many cases courteous and

professional,” Diamond said. “In some cases criminal, and criminally liable.”

The protesters that were spoken to said they saw opportunists, in par-ticular, the easy-to-spot anarchists who were taking advantage of the situation. Protesters felt that these people weren’t an accurate represen-tation of the movement. Even people who work in the area of the protest have similar things to say.

“One of the biggest victims in this protest seem to be small business owners in the vicinity, and I feel this has to do partly with the public image the Occupy movement has been given, but also because of the inconvenience their encampments have caused,” said Greg Comstock, a San Francisco resident who works in Oakland. “This is a sad consequence, but I strongly identify with the mes-sage that the income disparity in our country is the greater crime.”

Police have dispersed the Oak-land camp at a humongous expense, but judging from the website or-ganized by the protests, they plan on going strong regardless. So the stalemate between the police and the protesters continues with no end in sight.

Occupy Oakland: the occupation persists

Registration policies will be affected if the suggestions made by the task force are made into statewide requirements.

BLAIR HARDEE/THE SKYLINE VIEW

Occupy Oakland protestors take to the streets.PHOTOS COURTESY OF GREG COMSTOCK

Citizens take to the streets to protest social inequitiesBy Stephen Benoit

2 November 17, 2011SKYLINE VIEWTHE

N E W S

The Financial Key to Your Success

Financial Education Workshops

Workshops conducted by Financial Aid Office, San Mateo Credit Union, and SparkPoint at Skyline College

Workshops funded in part by Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Pay Yourself First! Learn how to build your savings

Oct 18: 12:30 – 2:30 pm Oct 19: 6:00 – 8:00 pm

How Does Your Cash Flow? Learn how to create & stick to a budget

Nov 15: 12:30 – 2:30 pm Nov 16: 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Credit Do’s and Don’ts Learn the basics of what affects our credit scores

Dec 6: 12:30 – 2:30 pm Dec 7: 6:00 – 8:00 pm

By William Nacouzi

PG&E to overhaul local infrastructureStructural changes come at expense of consumers

PG&E revealed on Nov. 10 that it plans to spends $400 million over the next two years in order to upgrade its natural gas network, elective op-erations and customer services. The announcement came only a month after hiring Anthony Earley as its newest CEO.

Earley was selected after the San Bruno pipeline disaster, replacing CEO Peter Darbee in an effort to give the company a new appear-ance.

The $400 million is part of a $2.6 billion plan that PG&E plans to carry out over the next three years, improving its pipelines along with repairing and replacing its aging pipeline network throughout the state.

According to the PG&E spokes-man Brian Herzog, the $400 mil-lion will not result in any increase for ratepayers (household owners), but in order for it to be able to raise the $2.6 billion it needs, the com-pany plans to ask state regulators to make customers pay 90 percent of the cost.

According to an article by Steve Johnson and Paul Rogers of mer-curynews.com, the plan calls for overhauling 20 percent of PG&E pipelines by inspecting hundreds of miles of aged pipes, replacing other gas lines and adding automated valves. However, the plan still must be approved by the California Public Utilities Commission.

PG&E estimated that the cost customers will be responsible for is

$1.96 billion by 2014. This means that a typical residential gas custom-er’s monthly bill will increase from $1.93 to $47.16, while the rest of the costs will be billed to customers over 40 years.

This decision has led to public outcry against PG&E. Customers are claiming it is unfair for consumers to pay for PG&E’s mistakes and for something they should have being doing right in the first place.

“Do I approve? No,” said Skyline professor James I. Wong when he was asked about the plan. “They should have been maintaining and upgrading the pipelines before, and they’re making us pay for the repairs? This should have been done earlier.”

When asked what he thought of

the appointment of Anthony Earley as the new CEO of PG&E, Wong said that sometimes it’s good if they have a new vision and if they person-ally want to make improvements.

Skyline college educator Kath-erine Harer also thought that while repairs are necessary, placing the financial burden on consumers was unfair.

“I think they need to repair all the pipelines,” said Harer. “What happened here right in this neigh-borhood is a good example of how they weren’t doing a good job of maintaining (the pipelines), and I do not think that customers should have to pay more. It’s not a good time for utility companies to be charging more money for something they should have done in the first place.”

Changes in store for Skylinecoffeeshop

By Nina Smirnov

The Staff

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Editor In ChiefStephen Benoit

Online EditorBlair Hardee

Multimedia EditorWilliam Nacouzi

Social Media EditorJervis Lawas

News EditorMatt Pacelli

Features EditorJulianna Leon

Opinions EditorJoe Barrack

Entertainment EditorDaniel Beckman

Sports EditorRich Estrada

Chief Copy Editor Liz McMahon

Copy EditorNina Smirnov

Photos EditorEstrella Benavides

Graphics EditorDiana Rodriguez

P.R./Business ManagersTerence Chin

Sarawut Saechang

Editors At LargeJJ Valdez

Marc ArguelloJay Johnson

Staff WritersLea NaqishbendiCamille Wieland

Dean Kevin SantosChris Korp

Kent Foster

PhotographersJonathan Chan

Roxanne WahabMilan Subedi

CartoonistsJJ Valdez

Alyssa Koszis

Faculty AdviserNancy Kaplan-Biegel

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MATT PACELLI/THE SKYLINE VIEWPG&E workers work on a pipline in San Bruno.

The Skyline Coffee shop will undergo managerial and structural changes this winter.

As many students are aware, an outside business provides Skyline College with its coffee. Its contract has ended, and the district wishes to bring the current business model of College of San Mateo’s coffee shop to Skyline.

On Thursday, Nov. 3, the ASSC held a special presentation during its 2-4 p.m. meeting. The presentation, led by Thomas Bauer, the Director of Auxiliary Services for the San Mateo County Community College District, outlined plans for the new café area to come.

To those unfamiliar with the lay-out of the cafeteria as it currently is, the snack bar area has two entrances, one of which is gated off. The snack bar and café area will be split into two, separated by half of a wall. The snack bar will remain where it is, but now there will be a café added to its other side, with two gates welcoming students into either the coffee con-cession area or the snack bar.

In addition to the changes to the café, Skyline will see changes in the overall layout and furnishing of the cafeteria, with chairs that will allow students to plug in their laptops for homework or Internet browsing purposes.

“President Stroud has really pushed that she wants to see that area around the fireplace [in the cafeteria] as like the living room of the build-ing, but she wants it to have furniture similar to what we have at College of San Mateo that’s more like a cyber lounge,” Bauer said.

“I’m concerned that there’s going to be more crowding in the kitchen area,” said Skyline student Michael Asuncion. “If they set up a coffee stand right next to the kitchen, es-pecially in the morning, it’s going to be more of a zoo.”

For those worried about the rush and crowd, there is a solution. The coffee shop will have two espresso machines and two cash registers to dilute traffic. The café will also have Skyline College colors and will offer a full Starbucks menu, which is used at Cañada and College of San Mateo. The prices will not be raised; they will still be what can be referred to as college prices.

“[The] process will take place over the spring, and really what my hope is, is that the redesign to downstairs will be finished by the summer,” Bauer said as to when the changes in the cafeteria will occur. “This coffee shop will be built and it will open on January 18. I don’t want the campus to go without hav-ing this service.”

It looks as though Skyline stu-dents are in for many surprises to come in respects to the new cafeteria overall as well. According to Bauer’s presentation, the area will make bet-ter use of space and will have deco-rative furnishings such as bamboo plants. “It’s gonna be very warm; it’s gonna be very inviting; it’s gonna be very comfortable,” Bauer said.

The school will begin hiring student workers soon.

3November 17, 2011 SKYLINE VIEWTHE

OPINION

Put the give in Thanksgiving

Many students lacking focus in college

Give back to the community this season

EDITORIAL

Today more than ever people are immersed in multi-tasking. We wake up, check our

email on our phones while prepar-ing breakfast, update our Twitter feed as we put on our socks, and try to finish our assignments an hour before they’re due, all while making sure we stay up to date on what’s happening according to Facebook, NPR or wherever else we can find an engaging web link. Amid all of this multi-fac-eted chaos, something has been lost—our focus. We are so driven to succeed in so many different things that we’re being pulled in a million different directions without having any time to get our heads on straight enough to do one thing right.

I’ve seen many fellow stu-dents fall victim to the tantalizing

tentacles of doing too much. Yes, there is such a thing as too much, people. Being a student today is a whirlwind of activity. We become overwhelmed because of the many technological advantages that previous generations may not have had. In addition, we also have more leisure time. We’re hesitant to even do one thing well since our attention is being used up by a mil-lion different things at once.

I am in no way suggesting

that I am above this influence. As I write this, I have the TV on

behind me and Aphex Twin on in my head-phones. My sugges-tion to those of us (myself included) stretching our intel-lectual and social abilities too thin is to compartmental-ize. Take chunks of time to focus on just one thing.

Scary, isn’t it? It may be difficult to steer clear of check-ing your phone or email while you’re in the middle of some tedious reading, but here’s another piece of

advice that ties in to my previous

Modern technologies are pulling students in too many directionsmorsel of wisdom: Sharpen your focus. Where are you trying to go in life? If you’re aiming to transfer out of the foggy graveyard moor that is Skyline, think of the sprawl-ing, sunny quads at UCLA or UC San Diego. If you’re training to be a nurse, picture the faces of the people you’ll be helping. My point is that we’re all here for a reason. Channel the reason you started here in the first place, and use it to amplify your drive in the direction you wish to go.

As a student, I know it can be immensely difficult to even think straight, but using time manage-ment and focusing on our goals can help us today as students and tomorrow as capable and respon-sible citizens. Because trust me, with the state of the world today, we have to let go of our Facebook addictions sooner or later.

“We are so driven to suc-ceed in so many different things that we’re being pulled in a million different direc-tions.”

November is a month of gratitude. With holidays like Veterans’ Day and Thanksgiving, it’s hard not to think of all the good things we have in our lives, take a step back, and truly appreciate how blessed our lives are.

Here at the Skyline View, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the im-portance of both of these holidays and what we can do as students to be more conscious of their social significance and the meaning they hold in our community.

Many of us take Veterans’ Day as an excuse to laze around, sleep in or go to parties, but it’s important to remember and ap-preciate why we get the day off in the first place: the courageous individuals who have fought and continue to fight to protect our country.

For decades, America’s young men and women in uniform are willingly sent to countries on the other side of the world to fight and in many cases die in order to preserve the freedoms that we so often take for granted.

Even now, the American military is still locked in what has become a decade-long war fighting terrorism in Afghani-stan, trying to root out Islamic militant groups and bring some sort of stability to the troubled nation.

Because of their great sac-rifice, our country’s veterans deserve that we at least take one moment of our day to truly appreciate the sacrifices they’ve made.

This ties in to the other afore-mentioned holiday—Thanksgiv-ing.

One of the most tragic things about war is the loss of family members, and the Thanksgiv-ing holiday exists in part that we might appreciate all the love and support that we receive from our families.

The origins of the Thanks-giving tradition are rooted in a celebratory feast, which was shared by the early American settlers and Native Americans.

Thanksgiving isn’t simply about getting together with the people we love to share a large meal with. It’s about appreciat-ing everything we have.

When other countries are suf-fering so much, we have it rela-tively easy here in the United States, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t people in the States suffering from poverty, homelessness or starvation.

In fact, there are many people in the local Bay Area communities who need our help and are counting on the gener-osity of others who are more fortunate than them.

That’s why we want to ask that this year, as you’re sitting down with your family, carving your turkey and drowning your mashed potatoes in gravy, think about what you can do to pay it forward.

There are many easy ways to give back to the community, even right here at Skyline! Starting Monday, Nov. 14, you’ll be seeing barrels for the annual Canned Food Drive. The food drive will run until Friday, Nov. 18. All you have to do is drop some cans into a barrel or donate some cash to help someone.

There are also various food kitchens and pantries right here in the Bay Area that give aid to those who don’t have families to go home to or who simply can’t pay to feed the families they have.

You can also visit sites like http://bayareahunger.org/donate.html to find local food banks closest to you and ways to help someone in hunger.

Donating and volunteering are great ways to show your ap-preciation for the good things in your life. Truly realizing and be-ing thankful for the abundance of good in your life should make you think about what it would be like not to have such things. That may make you want to make a change.

Despite the reasons behind why someone may be suffering, is it really so difficult to lend a helping hand at least once a year?

Remember what it felt like to celebrate your high school’s spirit

week? It felt awesome to be a part of something that everyone takes so much pride in. Not too long from now, we might be attending universities where students’ and staffs’ apparel are adorned with school logos. Parking lots will be filled with cars that have school bumper stickers and license plate holders. Now, who says Skyline can’t have a community of faculty, staff, and students who feel proud of the place we spend so much of our time at?

Whether good or bad, no one can forget their high-school ex-perience. After graduating, adults deem their college years some of the best in their lives. In contrast, that sense of school pride is almost nonexistent in the community col-lege level.

Although many students are in and out of community colleges each year, the time and effort spent are still valuable. While some stu-dents head to a four-year college straight out of high school, others will never get to sit in a class-room again. In between, there are those who will be done with their academic careers after community college. And for these students, community college will be their last chance to fully live the college experience.

Now some of you might argue that there really isn’t much to be boastful about here at Skyline, but that’s only if you look at the glass half empty. Our sports teams may not be Division I material, but at least we have an athletic program. We may not have brick walls adorned with ivy, but Skyline’s modern architecture has a charm all its own. Our parking situation might not be the greatest, but how many university parking lots can boast an ocean view?

My challenge to you is to take more pride in our school. Don’t be ashamed to wear Skyline apparel or even decorate your car with Skyline stickers (I’m sure you already have a SMCCD parking permit stuck on your windshield anyway). Or come support your student athletes at their next home game. Lord knows they could use some love.

We all have our own goals in life. Each of us has a unique journey to reach them. How-ever, remember that our different journeys have led us to one place: Skyline College.

NINA SMIRNOV

Tr o j a n s lack spiritMore students should represent Skyline College

JERVIS LAWAS

On the importance of Thanksgiving

--Nina Smirnov

4 November 17, 2011SKYLINE VIEWTHE

OPINION

Increase Your Income & Assets!

Visit the SparkPoint CenterServing Students and the Community

650-738-7035 – SkylineSparkPoint@smccd.edu – Bldg. 1, Room 1222

Programs and Services Financial Education Career and Employment Services English Language Institute The Grove Scholars Program Food Pantry Tax Preparation Assistance

Call Today! 650-738-7035

Or visit us inRoom 1222

“Now that we won’t get the funding, it’ll hurt us all. It would’ve been good to get more supplies. I’m in auto-motive, so it would’ve been good to be up-to-date on the tech-nology.”

Taylor Aanenson

“ I f ee l l i ke we could’ve used [more funding]. It would have helped professors and students equally in the classroom. All of us here would ben-efit from up-to-date technology, especially those who will go on to invent the next wave of technology.”

Kim Yee

“If it did pass, it would have helped students here at Skyline. Having that funding and sup-plies would have made life on campus fun for us. You want your col-lege experience to be good, which will get more students to come here in the future.”

Ray Gaela

“If it were to pass and Building 1 were to get rebuilt [or] upgrad-ed, it would be better for the students. Looking at [Building 1], it really looks out of place. It looks like it doesn’t fit the image of the school. It would be good for students if they learn and study in a building that has a more upbeat environment.”

Frances Gonzales

“It doesn’t really af-fect me that much, but the students here now and in future genera-tions will suffer because they won’t get the prop-er supplies that they need now, or any time it seems.”

Melissa Hayden

“If it were to happen it would’ve been good; it would’ve improved life on campus for the students. Then they would be more com-fortable here, and they might stay on campus for longer hours taking advantage of its ser-vices.”

Gabriel Coelho

HURT & HEAL by JJ Valdez

The failure of Measure O

At Skyline, parking is always an unpleasant issue. I believe that mo-torcycle drivers should have to pay for parking and avoid using parking spaces designated for cars. After all, they have their own parking spots.

One issue related to motorcyclists taking parking spots designated for compact vehicles is that of safety. Many students will try to find a parking space close to their classes, while others just take whatever they can get. Far-flung Lot C is often so remote and isolated that it lacks a feeling of safety when students re-turn to their cars at night, especially in light of recent events at Skyline.

Another issue is space. Often when looking for parking, I suspect that Skyline does not have as many parking spaces as there are actual students who drive to school. For those who are not willing to resign themselves to Lot C, it can some-times take upwards of ten minutes to find a spot for their car.

Paying for the privilege of park-ing is also expensive. A permit for the semester will run you a princely sum of $40, but it’s preferable to the pay-by-day option.

But while many of us invest our precious time and money into obtain-ing a permit and finding that perfect spot for our car, there are some who have the privilege of parking almost wherever they please without any permit at all: motorcyclists.

Skyline parking lots have rows of smaller spots reserved for motorcy-clists, free of charge. But time and

DIANA RODRIGUEZ

HURT HURT HURT HURT HURT HURT

ESTRELLA BENAVIDES/THE SKYLINE VIEW

Motorcyclists do not requre parking permits.

Parking lots need regulationMotorcyclists should be more cognizant of other drivers in Skyline parking lots

We’re back from the Journal-ism Association of Com-

munity Colleges Northern California Conference at Sacramento State University.

With all the new people on staff it’s been interesting to impart what I know and watch many former editors do the same.

This year we brought home some awards that make me very happy, and more may be on the way. We’re draw-ing close to the end of the semester and I have to say I’m so proud to have been Editor-in-Chief over this staff. We have some incredibly hard work-ing people and dedicated journalists in training.

We won awards for the work of two staffers last semester. Dean Kevin Santos brought home first place in

bring-in features photography and Robyn Graham brought home second place in bring-in features. Our opin-ions editor Joe Barrack brought home honorable mention in on-the-spot opinions writing. We also brought home general excellence for our online edition thanks to the hard work of our online editor Blair Hardee.

Overall I’m incredibly happy with my staff and I really wish my time as editor-in-chief over them was longer.

The View From Herewith Stephen Benoit

Dear Johnny is dealing with his own relationship issues this week and will be back in the next issue.

again I’ve seen motorcycles and scooters taking up the regular-sized spots that I pay for.

According to Skyline’s Chief of Public Safety Brian Tupper, mo-torcyclists are not prohibited from parking in regular spots despite not having permits. These students are only fined if they leave their vehicles parked in “no parking” areas.

Skyline students have different opinions on the issue. Simon Ca-banero believes that motorcyclists shouldn’t require permits and sub-mits that it’s actually a good way to reward motorcyclists, whose vehicles have fewer emissions.

“I don’t mind them not paying,” Cabanero says. “That’s great since

they help the environment.”Princess Evangelista holds the

opposite position. “Motorcycles parked at a regular

parking spot stills take up space and should be required to have a parking permit,” Evangelista says.

Some motorcycle drivers are sympathetic to car drivers and park in their specially designated parking spaces, but some are not as consider-ate and use the car parking that car drivers pay for. Many car drivers including myself would appreciate a little more consideration from motorcyclists.

November 17, 2011 SKYLINE VIEWTHE

When I played “Arkham Asylum” (“A.A.”) back in 2009, I felt it had captured what it felt like to be Batman. All the gadgets, combat and dealing with his Rogues’ Gallery was the closest you could come to being the Dark Knight yourself. That is, until “Batman: Arkham City” came out.

With the sequel to “Arkham Asylum,” everything has been upped tenfold. With more gadgets, a totally redone combat system and over a

Batman game is no joke

by Jay Johnson dozen villains, “Arkham City” makes its game-of-the-year predecessor look mediocre.

The premise is that after the events of “Arkham Asylum,” Doctor Hugo Strange convinced the Mayor of Gotham to allow a large

section of the city to be walled off and created into a massive prison facility. Bruce Wayne, Batman’s alter ego, campaigns against it and is subsequently captured by Strange’s guards and taken into Arkham City. Here Strange reveals that he knows Wayne’s secret identity as Batman and that he has plans for him and all the other criminals in Arkham City. This is where the game starts.

From “Arkham Asylum,” the decision to change it into an open-world game was an improvement. While “Arkham Asylum” was

technically open world, it still had that linear feel of “go to this area and do that.” “Arkham City,” on the other hand, gives you the feeling

of being able to take your time and do whatever you want.

There isn’t just a main mission point to go to every time you get free reign of the city. There are 15 side missions that you can complete at your leisure, including taking down some major villains in the city or gliding missions that let you hone your main way of travel around Arkham.

One of my favorite parts of “Arkham City” though has to be the mas-sive amount of villains that the developers managed to put into the game.

“Arkham Asylum” had only about seven villains that you actually fight. In “Arkham City”s main story line, side missions, the Catwoman side

missions and Robin Challenge packs, there are about 21 major villains whom you have to take down.

Each boss fight has been improved greatly as well. Instead of just rehashing the same Titan/Bane fights from the previous game, all the fights have their own unique feel. For instance, you can’t fight Mr. Freeze head on or he’ll just shoot you; you need to take him out using the environment.

The only downside to this game has to be the length of the story line. Just playing through the story, I managed to beat it on normal in about two days. What makes up for this short story isn’t just the great acting, story and graphics, but the abundance of side missions

available to you.

Returning from the first game, are the Riddler’s trophies and riddles that you must solve to defeat the Riddler. The difficulty of collecting the

trophies has been raised, so it’s not as easy as it was in the first game, and because there are about 400 to get, it will take some time to finish.

It’s very rare that a sequel outshines the original, but “Arkham City” manages to do just that. Double the villains, an open world environment,

new gadgets, an amazing story and great voice work easily make “Arkham City” one of the best games this year.

ENTERTAINMENT

5

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November 17, 2011 SKYLINE VIEWTHE

FEATURES

7

by Joe Barrack

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VETERANS’ DAY

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MILAN SUBEDI/THE SKYLINE VIEW

U.S. Air Force veteran Frank Diokno served in Qatar for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

8 November 17, 2011SKYLINE VIEWTHE

FEATURES

itself, and the second table was aimed at raising awareness of breast cancer, despite the fact that October had passed.

“Well, October was breast cancer awareness month, so even though breast cancer awareness month is over, we kind of feel that it’s still an issue year-round,” said Kayia Louis, ASSC Senator. “So we are trying to get the message out that we’re thinking about them, that we care about them and we’re just try-ing to spread a little joy.”

Ian Mackenzie of the Environmen-tal Club said their main goal was to raise awareness of environmental is-sues here on cam-pus so that students are more conscious of their surrounding environment and the cost to the environment of all the items which they use in their daily lives.

“We try to make people more environmentally aware of what they can do for our planet and encourage more tree planting, recycling, reusing, that type of thing,” Mackenzie said.

Club rush dominates the quad

by William Nacouzi

On Monday, Nov. 7, Skyline Organization and Club Council (S.O.C.C) held a Club Rush down at the Quad.

Although not all clubs were present during the event, nevertheless, it proved successful. All the tables were taken by various clubs, including the Environmental Club, As-sociated Students of Skyline College, the Ceramics Club, the Christian Fellowship Club, Skyline Against the Cuts, Phi Theta Kappa Club, Pre-Pharmacy Society Club, Honors Club, Journalism Club, Administration of Justice Club.

Club Rush kicked off at 10 a.m. with very little fanfare and small groups of club members setting up shop or ready and eagerly awaiting students’ questions and explaining their club’s purpose to interested passersby.

The day began slowly with small groups of students stopping by to check out tables, but by 11 a.m. the quad was filled with students as they checked out the congregation of clubs and learned about future activities.

All the clubs had examples present at the each of their table of activities, to illustrate what they were promoting. The Ceramics Club had bowls at their table available for students, the Administration of Justice Club and a number of other clubs had pamphlets present, then there was the Environment Club and Pre-Pharmacy Society Club which had cardboard posters at their tables showing their club activities.

The ASSC manned two tables. One was for the ASSC

The Pre-Pharmacy Club was also present and represented by Katrina Cheung, whose table content was aimed at raising student awareness of the dangers of misusing drugs like Adder-all and Ritalin, which some students take to increase their own cognitive abilities during exams. These drugs are often taken without a medical precription from people or friends who do have one, which can lead to overdoses or worse.

The Pre-Pharmacy Club also wanted to raise student aware-ness of the fact that pills and other medical drugs do look similar to candy. This is especially important for parents or students who spend a lot of time around children because failure to notice the difference between the two can result in accidents.

To drive the point home, the Pre-Pharmacy Club had a test available for students to take. They had pairs of pictures of drugs and candy, which looked very similar, and students had to state which was which.

These three clubs are only a sample of the clubs here at Sky-line, and the purpose of each, is to raise students awareness to the issues and problems around them each day but also motivate them to join a club.

Club Rush ended at 1 p.m without a bang but with silence. By that time students were back inside their salt mines working towards their own education and enlistment. Club members from all the clubs present at the event packed up for the day and left the tables empty and still.

WILLIAM NACOUZI/THE SKYLINE VIEW

ASSC Sens. Alejandro Gallardo and Kayla Louis promote breast cancer awareness.

Diverse clubs converge to inform students

“We try to make people

more environmentally

aware of what they can

do for our planet.”

–Ian Mackenzie

November 17, 2011 SKYLINE VIEWTHE

FEATURES

9

Jenny is one of the busier students on the Skyline college campus. Between her ballet practices, gymnastics training, archery, and harp and piano instruction, it is hard to believe that she has any time for her college schoolwork at all. By the way, would you have ever guessed that she is only 14 years old?

Jenny Vo Phamhi could be described as a wunderkind. At the young age of 14 and techni-cally still in the 9th grade, Phamhi is taking the full 11 units at Skyline allowed to concurrent high school students. She is currently preparing to take her PSAT and is completing her high school coursework through home study, so she will have time to conquer the grueling non-academic side of her schedule. However, her work outside of Skyline does little to impede her ability to awe her instructors here at the college.

“I am now completing my 39th year of teaching at the college level, and I have not until now had such a young and extraordinary student as Jenny,” says Skyline College Professor James I. Wong. “Additionally, I can see that she is such a good person. She inspires me to become a better instructor and a better person.”

Phamhi’s weekly schedule is busy enough to make most people dizzy just by looking at it. She attends four ballet practices a week, each one lasting over an hour. Phamhi also practices piano for 45 minutes each day and attends gymnastics practice once a week, not to mention her once-a-week archery training. However, learning and playing the harp is the most valuable and cherished part of her extracurricular activities.

Phamhi practices the harp for over an hour every day, and one of the best is teaching her. Douglas Rioth is San Francisco Symphony’s principal harpist and Phamhi’s harp instructor. She understands what a huge financial commitment it was for her mother to secure such a renowned instructor for her, and so she pours her heart and soul into it.

Her current Skyline academic schedule includes a hybrid online/classroom biology class, tennis so she can learn to beat her cousins, and what is turning out to be her new love and possible new career goal,

creative writing.“I really like writing, creative writing,” Phamhi says. “Writing is a difficult career and

there’s a lot of uncertainties about it. As rewarding as it may be if you are successful, I still love science–maybe I’ll be a journalist for a science magazine.”

When asked who she credits for her success, she immediately says her mother, who is a doctor of ophthalmology, and then her principal at Parkside Intermediate School in San Bruno, Angela M. Addiego. The trust and leeway given to Phamhi by Addiego to pursue her studies in a way unique to her allowed Phamhi to develop the self-discipline she would need for her high-speed rise through academia. Phamhi’s principal from her intermediate school is proud that she is attending Skyline, but by no means shocked.

“Jenny being at Skyline does not surprise me as she was taking high school and college classes when she was in middle school (and getting A’s),” wrote Addiego via email. “In fact, I expect her to finish junior college in a year and head off to a university to earn her degree and higher-level degrees before she is twenty years old.”

When asked how the rest of her Skyline classmates could learn the secret to her monu-mental time management skills and attain the same self-discipline needed to achieve at her high level, her answer was simple and applied to every aspect of her life.

“I just tell myself you get it done now, so you don’t have to do it later,” Phamhi says.If you would like to hear an example of Phamhi’s creative writing, she will be appearing

on November 19, 2011 at the Third Annual Performance Arts Showcase at the Skyline Col-lege Theater at 7:30 p.m. to recite a spoken word piece.

ESTRELLA BENAVIDES/THE SKYLINE VIEW

Kevin Simmers is lithe, precise and in the constant pursuit of refining his students.

MILAN SUBEDI/THE SKYLINE VIEW

Self-confidence is one of the many qualities that Jenny Vo Phamhi possesses.

by Christopher Korp

We see professors everyday, but let’s face it—we don’t know very much about them.Granted, we’ve all wondered about what our professors do when they leave the campus.

All faculty members have a life story, like physical education instructor Kevin Simmers. He has been teaching for 32 years, and his specialties include teaching ballet, yoga and Pilates here at Skyline and at the CSM Athletic Club. However, his skills aren’t just limited to the aforementioned physical activities, as he also teaches jazz dance and acting. In addition, not only does he teach at the community college level, but he currently teaches a senior citizen fitness class that originated as a course at Skyline at the Arroyo Center in South City.

“I love to teach, I love to share what I know about each subject and my experience. I feel fairly unique because most teachers in a dance department don’t always have a professional career,” Simmer said.

Such is not the case for Simmers, who “came late to teaching” after a professional career of dancing and acting. He notes that he didn’t ever conceive of teaching as he grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and later majored in art in college. He remembers being very serious about professional dance when he was younger and recalls training at the Peninsula Ballet Theater in San Mateo.

His training was not just local however; he took his career to New York, where he studied under great teachers. He even took his career a leap further and danced with the National Ballet of Ireland. Simmers has had professional train-ing in dance, but his talents also encompass acting.

“At a certain point in my dance career, I wanted to open my mouth. So I went to the Drama Studio of London and studied as an actor and graduated from there.”

However, even with a masters in theater and directing, he had trouble finding a job. Fortu-nately, a friend who was an instructor at Skyline mentioned that the community college was looking to hire an aerobics instructor, and Simmers took the job. While at Skyline, Simmers revived the yoga program which had, up until his hire, been dormant.

“Ever since, it’s been largely popular,” he said. He’s been teaching yoga for 12-13 years and Pilates for 8 years. He is also involved in the Pilates certification program at CSM.

Today, as a physical educator and acting coach, he continues doing what he loves in San Mateo, San Bruno, and even Frankfurt, Germany, where every year he’s invited to teach at the Goethe University and the Chaincourt Theater Companies, both located in the German city. Simmers has taken his love of the arts far and wide, which reflects his passion for what he does and connects to the Skyline students he imparts his knowledge to.

“The diversity at Skyline is really quite extraordinary,” he says. “ Sometimes I look out at my students and I’m amazed at people whose ancestors come from all over the world. I feel a part of the great American experiment of trying to make this all work—to make us all work together.”

If you’re interested in upcoming dance events, Simmers’ ballet class final will be held on Dec. 9 from 11-12:30 in the dance studio located in building 3. The final will be open to anyone interested in watching.

Simmers maintains that his classes offer something to students that can truly help them be healthier.

“I tell my students that 25 years from now, after you’ve raised your family or you’re at a certain point in your life, it’s the yoga class you’re gonna come back to in your local community, or the Pilates class. You’re not gonna say, ‘I think I’m gonna take trigonometry again’. I think I do something of importance, of great value. It’s a gift to be able to be paid to do what you love.”

P R O F I L E S

by Nina Smirnov

Accomplished and talented, teenager does everything

Instructor Kevin Simmers shares his passion for dance

“She inspires me to

become a better in-

structor and a better

professor.”

–James I. Wong

“The diversity at Skyline is really quite

extraordinary. . . . Sometimes I look out

at my students and I’m amazed at people

whose ancestors come from all over the

world. I feel a part of the great Ameri-

can experiment of trying to make this all

work—to make us all work together.”

–Kevin Simmers

11November 17, 2011 SKYLINE VIEWTHE

ENTERTAINMENT

By Will Nacouzi

WILL NACOUZI/THE SKYLINE VIEWTrojans attack together en route to their 3-2 victory over Monterey Peninsula

Lobos from scoring which proved successful thanks to great team work by the Trojan defense and goalkeeper, Luis De Paz.

Michael McNab outworked everyone on the field, putting in his second goal of the game thanks to an assist from Shadhi Fara, putting Skyline up to 3-1.

At this point in the match, Mon-terey Peninsula College’s sense of urgency took over as they put together a sequence of plays that resulted in a goal, cutting the deficit back to one in favor of Skyline.

Trojan head coach, Daniel Link called a timeout to refocus his play-

Portillo plans to shine in sophomore campaignSoccer standout to return in 2012

11November 17, 2011 SKYLINE VIEWTHE

SPORTS

ers. This decision benefited the team as they got back into the field and managed the game, winning their season finale with a final score of 3-2.

The end of the match saw the whole Trojans team celebrating and in joy at the victory, one of few which they have had this season while the visitors returned home with no wins at all this season.

“It was just what my team need, we were struggling and under pres-sure and kind of worried. I believe that my goal just released the stress from everyone and then everyone started to relax,” said Juan Gomez,

Skyline finishes the season strongMen’s soccer team beats Monterey 3-2 to cap off 2011 season

The men’s soccer team played their last game of the season on the Friday Nov. 11 against Monterey Peninsula College beating the visit-ing Lobos, allowing them to end the season with a win.

The game kicked off at 2:45 p.m on Veterans Day with rain quickly soaking both teams and spectators alike well before the match started. It was clear however that both teams were ready for 90 minutes competition.

Throughout the game, both teams played well offensively moving the ball with accurate passes and com-

munication. After a long stretch of alternating possession, Monterey Peninsula was the first to score half way through the first half of the game. The Lobos’ lead was short lived however as the Trojans stepped their game up and scored on two drives toward the net by Michael McNab and Juan Gomez. The Men’s soccer team celebrated and held off Monterey Peninsula’s attack for the rest of the half.

The second period of the game kicked off with Monterey Penin-sula College on the offensive which drove the Trojans back into their half of the field, fighting to prevent the

when asked about the third Trojan goal (and his first of the season).

“We communicated very well, we worked hard, we finished the sea-son on a positive note, we deserved this win,” added Shadhi Fara after the match, as he and his teammates celebrated.

“We’re definitely a family on that field and we stuck together all season. It was a tough season. We believe that its not how you start but how you finish and today we finished strong.”

Skyline’s secret weapon, a young 18 year old freshmen standout from this year’s men’s soccer team, Andres Portillo, out of Westmoor High School will be returning to the Trojans for the 2012 season.

There’s no denying that it was a rocky season for the Skyline Men’s soccer team, and if there was a way to sum up and describe how the season went for the inexperienced young team, it would be a season to “defeat hardships”.

Despite the bumpy 3-10-1 con-ference record season, it’s no secret that this team has the potential to be a tough team to beat next season, perhaps maybe a championship contender in their own conference. Skyline will be returning 21 sopho-mores for next year’s men’s soccer team of the 25-man current roster.

Currently, Andres lead the team in goals this season with 7, along with 4 assists. On his first game ever in a Skyline Trojans uniform, Portillo scored a hat trick (3 goals) to beat Shasta College in a non-confer-ence match.

Daniel Link, the men’s soccer head coach at Skyline described Portillo as a very good kid who knows the game well, and is very talented. Link confirmed his skills to be on a different level than some of the other players he has coached in the past.

“His first, second, and third step is outstanding, you don’t see

a player with his burst too often”, said Link.

As a student athlete, Portillo is currently enrolled in 15 units and was challenged with some of his grades academically, as well as being challenged about his lead-ership quality from the Skyline men’s coaching staff. Despite the challenges that Portillo faced, it still didn’t stop him from being a standout athlete on the men’s soccer team. Link emphasized that Andres is constantly working on his grades, and how his presence on this team is a major impact.

“Sometime his intensity is lack-ing, so his playing time has been lim-ited”, Link admitted. “We have had talks with him, he is looking to turn things around and get serious…he knows his change of attitude can change our season, he has that type of ability.”

Ceasar Verastegui, a sophomore this season will not be returning back next season to the Trojans. Verastegui, one of three team cap-tains this season simply explained the impact that Portillo has on this team.

“He adds a lot, I definitely wish him as well as the rest of the team good luck next season.”

After speaking to the young 18 year old, it didn’t take too long for Portillo to tell me what he hopes to gain from playing Soccer at Skyline.

“I want to play for Sunderland, a pro-fessional team in England”, Portillo said proudly.

Portillo also understands the challenges of being a good team next season, and rec-

ognizes the mistakes he’s made towards the team and coaching staff this season.

“I felt like I haven’t r espec ted them as coaches as much as I should have in terms of me doing my part, said Portillo. “I’m not go-ing to stop, I plan on talking to the coaches that I’m going to do whatever it takes

to be better next season, even if it means eating differ-ently or lifting weights, but most importantly I know I need to get my priorities straight.”

Andres voluntarily de-cided to attend Skyline even

after being contacted by Feather River College to play soccer. At the time, Portillo ultimately decided to stay near home after not being ready to leave his family, friends, and girlfriend to attend and play soc-cer 5 hours away from home at Feather River College in Quincy, California.

“I wasn’t ready to leave my family, friends, girlfriend, I just thought it be easier to come here…I knew about the good coaching…I love the coaching staff here.”

By Terence Chin

Freshman Andres Portillo is one of many reasons

to look forward to next season.

MILAN SUDEMI/THE SKYLINE VIEW

Paterno gets what he deserves

SportsSkyline Upcoming Games

11/18 VS Feather River Col. 5:30 p.m.11/22 @ Solano College 6 p.m.12/08-10 Fresno City College Tourney12/15 VS Cerro Coso College 6 p.m.

Women’s Basketball11/18 @ Cabrillo College 7 p.m.11/23 VS Gavilan Vollege 3 p.m.11/30 VS Napa Valley College 6 p.m.12/02 @ Solano College 5 p.m.

Men’s Basketball

Wrestling Women’s Soccer11/19 Conference Tourney 9 a.m.12/03 North Regional Tourney 9 a.m.12/09-10 State Wrestling Champ. 10 a.m.

11/19 @ CCSF (Regional Playoffs) 11 a.m.11/22 Regional Playoffs, Round 2 TBD11/26 Regional Playoffs, Finals TBD

Skyline basketball is back!Men’s team hosts Alameda for season’s first home game

It was a tale of two periods for the Skyline men’s basketball team as they came up short in their 86-75 loss to Alameda College.

Skyline’s previous game against College of Marin was a complete blowout as the Trojans lost 85-55, but their home opener on Friday, Nov. 11, could hardly have begun better with Skyline jumping out to a 45-34 lead at the half.

“We definitely played hard,” As-sistant Coach Eddy Harris says. “I think there was great improvement from our game on Wednesday. The effort, without question, was much better.”

Even though Skyline had trouble all night driving the ball down low through Alameda’s seemingly impenetrable defense, in the first half that didn’t matter because the Trojans seemed to be hitting most of their shots from the court.

Skyline sophomore Kyle Wong led the scoring for his team with an impressive 16 points on the night, though he tried to downplay his dominant performance.

“I felt like I could do a lot better,” Wong says. “More intensity, block down more shots. I always feel like you can play better.”

Wong’s teammates Marcus Chew, Joe Scott and Anthony Smith followed close behind in the scoring, combining for 40 of the Trojans’ 75 points and making a huge contribu-tion to Skyline’s first-half lead.

The team was also aggressive in controlling defensive zone rebounds and creating turnovers in the first half.

“I thought we came out with

the right mindset, played hard and focused,” says Skyline Head Coach Justin Piergrossi. “I thought we played great the first half.”

But midway through the second half, Alameda began heating up, sinking many of their attempts from 3-point range and getting break-aways on Skyline’s mistakes.

Meanwhile, the seemingly fatigued Trojan team was over-whelmed by the Alameda defense, coming up empty on rebounds and committing countless turnovers, not looking at all like the team that had started the game so strongly.

“We turned the ball over too

much to win down the stretch,” Piergrossi says. “We can take care of the ball a little better.”

Kyle Wong echoed his coach’s assessment of the Trojans’ second period play.

“In the second half we sort of let our guard down,” Wong says. “We need to tighten that up.”

As the second half wore on, Alameda inched closer and closer to Skyline, eventually overtaking them and then widening the lead in the game’s closing minutes.

In the end, Harris says, the Tro-jans’ second-period slip was due in large part to the team’s extreme

By Joe Barrack

RICH ESTRADA/THE SKYLINE VIEWSophomore Guard Kyle Wong drives to the basket pasy an Alameda defender.

youth and relative inexperience.“We’re a very young team, and

we have a lot to work on,” Harris says. “We can improve on almost every facet.”

Eleven freshmen make up the bulk of the Skyline team; there are only three sophomores.

“We have a number of guys that did not play competitive basketball last year,” says Coach Piergrossi. “So it’s going to take them some time as a team to come together.”

Yet having a young team, Harris says, means that there is the pos-sibility for great potential, a lot of

which the Trojans displayed against Alameda.

“That’s kind of the exciting part about it,” Harris says. “If they keep working hard like they have been, they’re definitely going to improve.”

Kyle Wong was taken out of the game after going down on a play late in the second half of the game. He limped off the court with an injury that was later determined to be a sprained ankle. Wong hardly seemed worried, though.

“I’ll be fine,” he says. “It’s just a slight sprain.”

The Trojans are also expecting an added boost from starter Nate Gartrell, who was absent from the game on Friday, instead fulfilling his duties as the best man at his brother’s wedding.

The Trojans will play Cabrillo College on Friday, Nov.18, at 7 p.m. in Aptos before hosting back-to-back games against Gavilan College and Napa Valley College on Nov. 23 and Nov. 30.

Exclusive post-game in-

terview with Coach P!

For those of you that have not been following the news, Jerry Sandusky, who retired as the Penn State football team’s head defen-sive coordinator back in 1999, and consequently headed a program called The Second Mile Foundation which helped at risk boys, has been charged of 40 counts of sexually abusing children over a period of 15 years.

Sports is a vast world full of competition and character. For a lot of athletes, their sport is their haven; an outlet where they hone their passions, achieve their dreams, and challenge themselves to reach new heights. Unfortunately, given recent events, our consciousness has been shifted to the darker world of sports where in Penn State football, terrible and unspeakable crimes have been committed. The accusations, shame and news stories have been flying. There has been much controversy over whether or not head coach Joe Paterno should have been fired.

Personally, I believe that although Paterno was a Penn state coach of 46 years that garnered impressive success for the Penn State football team, his conduct was immoral and unethical and I support the Penn State Board of Trustees’ decision to fire Paterno.

I can understand that many sup-port Paterno, holding that he fulfilled a moral and legal obligation when he informed his higher-ups about the information he was given by Mike McQueary, a graduate assistant, concerning Jerry Sandusky’s alleged sexually abusive behavior towards young boys back in 2002. However, imagine yourself in Paterno’s posi-tion. You’ve just been informed of atrocious news, so of course, you report it to a person who you think has the power to stop it. However, herein lies the problem. By inform-ing higher-ups, was Paterno actively seeking justice, or simply brushing an explosive issue beneath the rug?

I simply could not sleep at night not knowing if anything had been

done to solve such a blaring and shocking injustice. I don’t believe that any moral person would rest until they had done something to initiate some kind of official police investigation into this type of issue, or at least take actions themselves to find out the truth. Paterno’s actions (or lack thereof) could be explained by the fact that he has immense pride in Penn State’s reputation, but how could anyone possibly put the repu-tation of a school before the safety of children?

I am by no means saying that Paterno is to blame for what hap-pened. However, I believe that he could have done more to put a stop to something so horrendous. When you really stop to think about the impact of this situation and what it means for the Penn State commu-nity and the lives of the victims, it is hard to be supportive of a person who seemingly did not do enough to put an end to the shocking and shameful behavior that went on for far too long.

By Nina Smirnov

SPORTS OPINION On the Penn State scandal

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