The Screamin` Eagle - West Hills Community College District

WHCL’s Black History Month celebration rocks
Robert Davis puts spirit and joy into the evening
Thomas Chelland tracks the Haiti pledges.
Marlon Hall MCed the WHCL event
The Screamin’ Eagle
Official Student Publication of West Hills College Lemoore -- March 2010
Fun was on menu for Gospel & Gumbo night
By Gustavo Arevalos
Eagle reporter
An evening of remembrance, celebration and
good eating -- in honor of Black History Month
-- was hosted by WHCL’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) for the 4th annual “Gospel & Gumbo,”
Thursday, Feb. 25.
And what a crowd it was as over 100 stuffed
the college Conference Center as smiles lighted the
room and the spicy crisp smell of gumbo romanticized the setting, pleasing noses and eyes.
President Don Warkentin, after welcoming the
celebrants, passed the baton to Dr. Marlon Hall to
MC the two-hour celebration. WHCL Vice President Sylvia Dorsey-Robinson reminded the crowd
to be grateful for gifts and asked the guests to give
to the unfortunate people of Haiti.
Thursday’s crowd joined with previous efforts
to raise $1,264.18. When the total was announced,
Warkentin and others posed for the dozens of cameras with a huge check to go to Doctors without
Borders. Dozens of shirts, decorated and signed by
Photos by Charles Duncil
WHCL President Don Warkentin and Dr. Mar
lon Hall display the check for $1,264 to Doctors
Without Borders marking the money raised by students, faculty, staff for Haiti relief.
students, used as wall decorations, will also be sent
to the earthquake survivors.
The gumbo – a new treat, concocted and served
by the WHCL culinary department -- was delicious
as sausage, shrimp, rice, hush puppies competed
for taste buds.
With those taste buds dancing, the Praise dancers, a trio of young women from Renewing Faith
Christian Tabernacle, dressed in African style
dress, reminded through dance America’s sad history of slavery. But the trio was the start of a magical and musical night.
Singing “Praise Him,” the Young People’s
Choir of Last Day’s Ministries called the Holy
Spirit as the crowd’s feet began tapping and many
joined in the song.
Four members of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity
from Fresno State kept the crowd going in a stomp
style dance. Legs were smacked, feet stomped the
floor, and they shouted, “PHI BETA SIGMA!” Dr.
Hall, a fraternity member, cited other nationally
known members including George Washington(continued on page 5)
Wine & Wellness to benefit first, future RN graduates at WHCL
From District sources
A major milestone is in the works
for West Hills College Lemoore’s first
class of registered nursing students.
Now in their final semester of classes,
the 35 students are looking forward to
the college’s first “pinning” ceremony.
But first they need to find a way to
cover the expenses for the event.
Teaming with the WHCL School
of Culinary Arts, the nursing students
are hosting “An Evening of Wine &
Wellness” on Friday, March 5 from 6-8
p.m. in the college conference center.
Cost is $40 per person.
Wine from the Central Valley and
Central Coast will be featured along
with hors’ de oeuvres created by the
culinary students.
Nursing students will also have a
chance to show off their skills using
state of the art mannequins that simulate
medical patient conditions.
Director of Nursing Charles
Freeman said that WHCL is fortunate
to have the most current simulation
equipment available including babies
and small children.
“Our students have a chance to
identify and assess critical situations
and practice technique responses on
lifelike patients before they ever touch
a real person. We’re able to create crisis
situations on demand. This practice
helps the student gain confidence and
poise and improves their performance
in a real clinical setting, which can
make the difference between life and
death,” Freeman said.
“During “Wine and Wellness”
students will show off the skills they’ve
learned,” he said, “adding that the
culinary students will have the same
opportunity to present their finest fare.”
“We’re hoping to raise enough
money to help cover the pinning
ceremony for the first class and to
establish an endowment for future
classes,” he said.
Tickets are still available for the
event and can be obtained by calling
the nursing office at 559 925-3490.
P2 VIEWS
Yours and Ours -- March 2010
This page is reserved for the opinions of readers -- West Hills College Lemoore students, staff, faculty and administrators
WHCL must do with limited dollars
Eagle photo by Charles Duncil
Black History Month alive!
The 4th annual Gospel & Gumbo, part of West Hills College Lemoore’s
observance of Black History Month, filled tummies with gumbo -- a new taste
treat for some -- prepared by the college culinary Department -- and minds
with tradition and joy. The evening, designed by Dr. Marlon Hall and others,
had almost everyone standing and singing praises -- and hugging each other.
Now that we are almost mid-way through the spring semester, I thought
I would provide you an update on our plans for our class schedule for the
coming summer and fall. For community colleges, the California state budget doesn’t appear to be getting any better. Although we don’t anticipate any
more cuts to our budget, in planning our
schedule of courses we will have to rely
on the same dollars that we had this year.
In order to have a more balanced
fall and spring schedule, we will reduce
our summer offerings so that we are only
offering general education courses, basic
skills, and some vocational offerings.
This will allow us to save dollars to add
a few more courses to the fall schedule
and several more courses to our spring
2011 schedule. Our instruction office is
working with our counselors and advisors to schedule courses that the vast
majority of our students need to fulfill
their educational plans.
I urged all students to check with
their counselors and advisors to deterPresident Don Warkentin
mine the best possible plan of action when choosing their class schedule. Although many community colleges will not be offering a summer term, West Hills will do everything
we can to develop the best possible schedule that funding allows. In addition,
we are committed to increase the number of online classes to alleviate scheduling conflicts.
We all hope that the state budget improves soon. Until then we will do the
best we can for our students.
Don Warkentin, President
Fresno City College First Amendment question aired
Recently, the news was inundated with headlines concerning
Fresno City College health instructor, Brad Lopez. According to student
accounts, Lopez offered a creationist
view concerning health teachings and
openly professed his personal views
concerning homosexuals and abortion.
American Civil Liberties attorney Elizabeth Gill asked the college to tell Lopez to “teach, and not
preach.” On behalf of the A.C.L.U.,
Gill asked for an “unbiased and medically accurate” curriculum.
How can the curriculum be unbiased if only one view is presented?
Scientists, including philosopher
Sir Francis Bacon, mathematician Johannes Kepler, Albert Einstein, and
Isaac Newton, believe that an entity to state their opinion? Instructor Loexists and is responsible for what we pez’s stage is a valid one; he teaches
see in nature. They believe there is health. Are the issues valid that sur“abundant evidence that the universe round health matters for homosexuwas designed by a super intelligent als, and post-traumatic matters conagent, who purposed
cerning abortion?
that the universe Have a differing view of First His unpopular apshould exist and be
proach – to some
Amendment rights for
capable of supporting instructors? Send an e-mail to -- promotes critical
advanced life.” (1)
[email protected] thinking, such as
Having the courthe query reportage to present an idea
edly made in class,
that is debated is the true rationale of “Is Jesus haploid or diploid?” Look
unbiased views.
at the venue for these opinions -- a
Perhaps we’re confused here; health class, for goodness sake! Not a
where does it say you forfeit your per- chemistry class or calculus class, but
sonal opinions and beliefs to become a beginning health class.
Something we have learned is
a teacher? Where in the First Amendment does it say teachers are not in- this simple reality: There’s your stocluded as individuals with the right ry, there’s our story, and somewhere
in the middle lies the truth. The students have their version of how they
were traumatized and offended by
the professor’s teaching methods.
Do you want to know what we say?
Drop the class, find one supporting
the idea your great-great-great-great
grandmother scratched her armpits
and swung from branches. Or, better
yet, recognize and respect differences in opinion and belief. Although
presented an unconventional way,
figure out what haploid and diploid
cells are!
We have sat through health, science, and biology classes where the
instructor certainly had views and beliefs different from ours.
Viva la difference!
1.) www.godandscience.org
W.O.W.!
The Screamin’ Eagle
--
March 2010
--
Page 3
Words of Wisdom for T.E.A.M. Teach
Kick-off
Banquet
2010 held
By Katherine Hardin
Eagle editor
The 5th annual T.E.A.M. Teach
Kick-off banquet was held in
the conference center of WHCC
Lemoore on Feb. 4. T.E.A.M. Teach
is a Lemoore campus program
geared toward the empowerment and
development of future teachers.
The annual event was attended
by Rookie members, Single A and
Double A (community college level),
Triple A (university transfers), Major
League (credentialed teachers), with
numerous mentors, college instructors
and guest speakers.
Following dinner, guest speakers
offered their words of wisdom
(W.O.W!) for next team in the
educational field:
*Rafaela Llamas, Stratford kindergarten teacher, who reminded everyone, “It’s all worth it.” *Aaron Haley, local 5th grade
teacher, whose speech centered
on his genuine love of the craft of
teaching. *Gaynl Potter, Hanford High
School English teacher, presented the
six things she knew for certain about
teaching.
*Jay Thomas, Lemoore High
School math teacher, with his spin on
Photo by Frances Squire, WHCCD marketing director
T.E.A.M. leaders pose during the kickoff banquet, from left Aaron Haley, 5th grade; Rafaela Llamas, kindergarten;
Vera Kennedy, WHCCL Sociology; Jay Thomas, high school math; Gaynl Potter, high school English.
E=MC2 *Vera Kennedy, WHCL sociology
instructor, and her words of wisdom
and encouragement.
The guest speakers, picked for their
lasting influence and positive input
to the program, were chosen from
the ranks of former WHCL students.
The individual presentations were
moving, inspiring the educational
students to follow in the teacher’s
footsteps.
Discourse included advice on
innovative lesson planning, dealing
with bad days, having enthusiasm
for subject matter, and possessing a
genuine love for the students you are
blessed to teach.
A presentation was offered
regarding the 5C Experience;
a summer program at WHCC
Lemoore geared toward 6th-8th
graders in an effort to plant seeds
that a college experience is in
their future. Many of the guests
at this evening were actually 5C
mentors in the past, volunteers who
contributed their time and energy
to this positive experience for
students.
The meal was catered by West Hills
Culinary Department and district
marketing director and T.E.A.M.
Teach supporter, Frances Squire,
photographed the presentations.
T.E.A.M. Teach offers counselor
support, mentors, and a textbook
check out program, all designed at
making the educational process for
prospective teachers as seamless as
possible.
For further information regarding
this phenomenal program, contact
[email protected] to become
part of a winning team!
The Screamin’ Eagle
-- March 2010
AGS revived
on Lemoore
campus
By Janaye Pierce
Eagle reporter
West Hills has many diverse
clubs; some old and some are new.
This semester a not-so-old club has
returned. With budget cuts and no advisor students were unable to join the
honorary club Alpha Gamma Sigma.
However, with a new advisor,
Vera Kennedy, the club is up and running.
On Feb. 9 the AGS club held its
first meeting with new students introducing themselves and veteran members catching up with old friends.
After the students feasted on their
pizza, the officers introduced themselves and explained the “gist” of the
club. The officers announced their
positions and described their job titles
while letting the students know that
they each represented a different side
of AGS.
Some deal with community service, others deal with advertisements,
and some deal with Leadership Conferences. The students were allowed
to pick any of the officers and sign up
to become a specific member of that
group’s activity.
The club is very excited to be back
on campus and running,” one member said. To sign up for the club meet
with Vera Kennedy.
--
Page 4
Kennedy
mentioned
that students could pick
as many groups as they
wanted and stressed that
California universities recognized AGS as an honor
society. “The universities
think highly of this club so
being involved allows for a
better transfer application,”
the advisor added.
Since this is an honor
society, usually it would
seem would need a high
GPA to attend, but this is
not the case. The advisor
allows membership with
no basis on GPA.
The AGS plan a get-toknow party at the Lemoore park on March 6.
Contact Kennedy for
more info.
No time to go to the Library to meet with a tutor?
Working on a deadline?
RELAX
Now you can submit your writing assignment or questions to one of our tutors
from the comfort of your own home computer!
Simply forward your questions or writing assignment via email to the tutor
coordinator at:
[email protected]
Once your request is received, it will be forwarded to one of our trained tutors.
You will receive a response to your paper or questions with lots of suggestions
for revisions, tips and/or techniques within 48 hours or less.
Our tutors will not provide you with answers or simply “correct or revise” your
assignment. Instead, we will set you up for success by providing you with the
tools you need to succeed.
Carlos Cota
Photo by Charles Duncil
*Applications for a tutor are available in the library at the front desk. This service is available to all registered students with a tutorial application on file.
The Screamin’ Eagle
--
March 2010
--
Page 5
Meet the Golden Eagle 2010 men’s golf team
The men’s 2010 golf team -- sporting record numbers heading into
the season’s first match on March 1 -- are from left, Coach Dave Neer,
AJ Maxedon, freshman, from Tulare Western, Steve Tarkon, sophomore, from Lemoore High, Matt Kairis, sophomore, from Hanford
West, Randy Smith, freshman, Central High, Jed Noonkester, sopho-
more, from Yosemite High, Frank Rodriguez, sophomore, from Lemoore High, SJ Ban, sophomore, from Ireland, JD Brewer, sophomore,
Hanford High, Alvaro Lopez, freshman, Lemoore High, Steven Green,
freshman, from Hanford High, Cole Neal, freshman, from Lemoore
High and Coach Wahl.
Top six golfers ready for Monday’s first match
The men’s golf team finished qualifying for the
first match at Riverbend Golf Course last week, according to Coach Dave Neer.
The six that qualified for the first match are:
Steve Tarkon, Cole Neal, John Smith, JD Brewer, AJ
Maxedon, and Jed Noonkester.
They will play the first conference match Monday, March 1, at Kings Country Club, in Hanford
Gospel & Gumbo
(continued from page 1)
Carver, Al Sharpton, Jerry Rice and
former President Bill Clinton.
The Brotherhood Choir of Last
Day Ministries electrified the crowd,
singing praise to God and Jesus. “Get
against Fresno City College (last year’s state champ),
and Reedley College. The fourth member of the conference, COS, did not field a team this year.
“We will play 12 conference matches, each one
with all three teams playing,” Neer continued. “The
top two teams will advance to the Northern California Regional Championship at Butte Creek Country
Club on May 10.
up in me Lord!” was the refrain and
over and over the audience repeated
those lyrics. (Some might say the
Lord had arrived and was enjoying
Gumbo too.)
The Total Praise and Worship
Apostolic Church Praise team kept
the fire burning with “Make his praise
Each week will there will be two spots open
for that week’s matches. These will be the two high
averages for that week. All seven remaining members of the team will have a chance each week to
make the playing team for the next week. The five
members that did not make it this week are: Steven
Green, Matt Kairis, Kiko Rodriguez, Randy Smith,
and Alvaro Lopez.
glorious!” When Myeisha Johnson
sang her solo the crowd was in a
trance, followed by the Praise Dancers with another dance.
Darlene Neal, musical director of
Lilly of the Valley Emmanuel Church
of Jesus choir, “rocked” the room as
other choirs joined and praised the
Lord with “O. Happy Day!”
Thursday was an evening to give
thanks, to remember African American history and culture. It was God’s
day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s day,
Rosa Parks’ day -- it was Dr. Marlon
Hall’s day -- a day of freedom, a day
of worship.
Page 6 -- WHCL’s Screamin’ Eagle -- March 2010
WHCL’s first RN class will be pinned on May 29
Soon-to-be-nurses are, front left: Kim Surber, Orva Johnson, Kelly Pfleger, Kuljit Bains, Lorna Smith, Mirian Aldaz, Raysa Daza, Jocelyne LeSech, Denise
Lee, Beatrice Aguayo, Lisa Alvarez. Second row: Tom Johnson, Salena Nowak, Stephanie Anderson, Susan Dula, Ana Comaites, Erin Isbell, Silvia Echeveste,
Katrina Pimentel, Inna Kaiger, Tasha Batesole, Irina Bernik, Enrique Mendoza. Top row: Nathan Kush, Maria Diaz, Mandeep Bains, Saundra Beckley, Steven
Fulleylove, Sarah Nance, Sara McGuigan, Melisa McCall, Joshua Domenech, Jennifer Byrd, Isaac Smith. (Not shown Kerrie Campbell.)
WHC Lemoore to pin
school’s first RN class
RN, others offered
in Lemoore and
Coalinga sites
It was years in the coming, but
West Hills College Lemoore’s first
registered nurse class will be pinned
on May 29, according to district
sources.
The RN class of 24 for the twoyear program is expected to be the
first of many as the college’s offering
in health care classes continues to
grow.
Also joining the RN program
will be vocational nurses in an
articulation program that will help
licensed vocational nurses become
registered nurses, according to
Charles Freeman, director of health
career programs for the college. Classes are also offered for nurse
assistants, medical assistants, EKG
technicians and emergency medical
technician training.
In a recent news release by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, health
careers are expected to be among the
fastest growing occupations during the
coming decade. Freeman said that West Hills
works closely with local hospital
boards and other medical providers and
county workforce investment boards
to determine what kind of training is
most needed to help prepare students
for available jobs in the community. Program costs range from just
the cost of a book (the EKG program)
to about $5,000 for the nursing
program and $800 each for the nurse
and assistant and medical assistant
programs.
For details on programs e-mail
[email protected] or
visit the college web site. The health careers office is open
weekdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The office phone is 925-3490.
The Screamin’ Eagle
March 2010--Page 7
by Michael McDowell, Instructor, WHCL Art department
On our recent trip to Mazatlan, Mexico, my sweetie and I noticed there were
some very stylish shoes being worn around town. This was especially visible
during the evenings in social settings. We observed this most particularly on the
Plazuela Machado; a small, but lively, plaza planted with tropical vegetation and
surrounded by small street cafes.
After remarking on the numerous pairs of unusual shoes seen for several
evenings in a row, we became inspired to further investigate this phenomenon
and developed the idea to do a photography project that documented what we
were seeing.
VIVan Zapatos de Mazatlan!!!
The first complication we encountered was neither my sweetie nor I are
particularly fluent in Spanish. We felt confident in asking the initial questions;
however, we weren’t certain how we would perform when it came to the
conversations that might ensue as we engaged strangers we were asking
something of. Nevertheless, our spirit of adventure got the best of us, and we
decided we would plunge in. We also felt that this interaction might be a good
way to practice our communication skills in the language we are learning.
The first approach was the most difficult. We had no idea how individuals
would respond when asked if it would be possible to photograph their shoes, this
request from a couple of complete strangers!
The first few people we asked to allow us to take pictures of their shoes
seemed like they thought we were kidding or crazy, but ultimately they became
excited to be involved in our project. As it turned out, we found people seemed
flattered when asked, and quickly became willing participants.
Another complication arose when we encountered groups of people, some
with interesting shoes and others that were not so interesting. How would we
address those that we didn’t really want to photograph without being insulting?
The solution to this dilemma became obvious; take pictures of the shoes of
everyone in the group that wanted to be included, which was the only diplomatic
thing to do.
It was amazing how infectious the interest in being involved became. This
became most clear when, after making several rounds of the Plazuela shooting
shoes, we began to encounter the eager faces of those that wanted to have their
shoes photographed. It became a sort of
entertainment to us, as well as for those we
took pictures of.
We shot over 100 photographs of shoes
that evening and had numerous interesting
conversations with their owners. Amazingly,
the personality of each individual was often
reflected in his or her footwear. Included in
this article are samples of some of the shoes
we photographed that evening.
Vivan los Zapatos de Mazatlan!
Page 8 -- WHCL’s Screamin’ Eagle -- March 2010
Works:
The Lover (red/black)
Picasso (portrait)
Stone Street (cityscape)
André Burks: a passion-driven painter
By Renn Herrera
Special to The Eagle
This month’s featured artist
is 18 year old André Burks. He
is in his second semester at West
Hills College Lemoore, working
on his general education requirements.
His future aspirations are
working within the film industry,
writing and directing. André does
have other passions which lead
him in taking Michael McDowell’s oil painting class. He is also
a member of the art club on campus, SPLAAT.
Though André is skilled in
many artistic media, he is currently expressing himself through
the use of oils on canvas.
His style is eclectic, but he
does find himself mainly centered
in cubism, having been inspired
by artists such as Pablo Picasso,
who is his artistic role model, and
Georges Braque. Cubism is an
interesting approach to painting in
which the artist replaces obvious
and realistic features of their subject with geometric shapes. André
says, “It’s the idea that destruction
can beget beauty” that attracts him
to this style of painting.
André is pleased by what the
knowledge he has gained so far in
taking McDowell’s painting class.
“Art class has not only taught me
the fundamentals of mixing colors, but I have also learned how
to stop over-thinking my projects,
a weakness of mine as an artist.
I have found the importance of
working more instinctually and
that it’s OK to make mistakes. I
have overall gained a greater appreciation for art.”
His strength as an artist is
his natural ability in drawing
and painting. As a student he is
still exploring many techniques
but says the use of scumbling is
something he is very fond of. “I
am currently working on a portrait that I have wanted to do for
some time now. I am happy it’s
finally being put onto canvas and
am very excited to reveal it when
finished.”
André’s words of advice for
future and present art students
“Follow your passion. Don’t imitate. Be authentic.”