Hablando mi Verdad: July 2010

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Ben Lomond Family Helps All Students Receive School Supplies

Corinne Speckert - Santa Cruz Sentinel Correspondent

Article Launched: 08/03/2008 12:00:00 AM PDT

Ben Lomond student Autumn Bushard along with her sister and mother collected money outside Palace Arts on 41st Avenue Saturday to buy school supplies for San Lorenzo Valley students.

Autumn, 12, who helped provide 300 students with backpacks and supplies last August, is working with Valley Churches United Missions of Ben Lomond to buy everything from rulers to calculators for students who otherwise couldn't afford them.

The Bushard's, who worked with the Santa Cruz County Board of Education last year raising money for school supplies, made more than $600, and Saturday they hoped to beat that.

"It's for families that don't have enough money for supplies so they come to Valley Churches, fill out a form, and get a backpack full of goodies," Autumn said. "My little sister has a friend that doesn't have a lot of money to do stuff with, that helped urge me on."

Valley Church will divide the money by grade level, with elementary schools receiving $40 per student and middle and high schools receiving $60 per student. The money helps support students' for a year and Valley Church provides gift cards for new shoes with every $40 dollar donation made.

After spending about five hours collecting money Saturday, the Bushards went to several office supply stores, hoping to buy enough supplies at a discounted price, to ensure every student starts this fall with fresh supplies.

"Everyone feels good going to school with a new pack of crayons," said Autumn's mother, Anna Rawson-Bushard. "If they don't have the [needed] supplies, it's just doesn't work.

Redwood Pizza in Felton is also helping out by donating 33 percent of their Aug. 12 sales and donations are being taken at Luminous Threads in Felton.

"People just need to see that's it's not only them that needs this stuff but it's everyone. There's a lot of people worse off. If everyone donated a dollar that would be fantastic," Autumn said.

Nonprofit Fights Hunger, One Head of Lettuce at a Time

Corinne Speckert - Santa Cruz Sentinel Correspondent

Article Launched: 07/27/2008 12:00:00 AM PDT

Ag Against Hunger, a nonprofit that works to collect leftover crops from commercial harvests, worked with 30 volunteers at the Santa Maria Ranch in Watsonville, collecting 4,800 to 5,000 pounds of lettuce Saturday to help feed the hungry.

The nonprofit has been providing produce to food banks in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties for the past 18 years, keeping food banks such as Grey Bears and Second Harvest stocked, to ensure that every income level gets their five servings of vegetables and fruit a day.

"There are a lot of hungry people right here in our own area," said Ananda Jimenez, volunteer coordinator for Ag Against Hunger. "One in five families in this tri-county area is food insecure, which means they might have to make the choice of buying healthy food or mac 'n' cheese. This is helping low-income people to have a healthy diet."

About 77,000 pounds of produce were collected last year, and this year, Ag Against Hunger hoped to collect close to 100,000.

"This is such an important part of the nation's bread basket," said volunteer Chris O'Connor of Carmel Valley while pointing to a truck full of baskets of lettuce. "You get out and you pick in the fields and you have such a better appreciation for all the produce you see in the grocery store. I couldn't imagine that everything on that truck would be dirt on Monday. If this didn't get picked by the volunteers today then the machines would come over and harvest new [produce] over it."

Of all the produce collected, food banks within the tri-county have first dibs and the remainder is then distributed to surrounding counties and rural areas. About 300 volunteers with Ag Against Hunger make several trips a month to various farms to continue providing food to the needy.

"This should be a requirement for every kid that goes to school in Monterey County," O'Connor said.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Volunteers Bring New Life to School Garden

By Corinne Speckert - Santa Cruz Sentinel Correspondent

Posted: 08/09/2008 09:17:05 AM PDT

Family, volunteers and Rio del Mar Elementary School staff came together through good old fashioned hard labor Friday to expand the school's garden before school starts Wednesday.

Around 20 Morgan Hill, Watsonville and Soquel Home Depot employees worked with about a dozen family and staff members to paint, plant, dig and lay soil and gravel to get the school's Lifer Lab garden, which had remained unused for 10 years, ready to go and grow.

GATE resource teacher and project volunteer Ted Alternburg came up with the idea after reading a request for compost buckets from fifth grade Rio del Mar teacher Martin Sweet. After discussing possibilities for expanding the garden, Alternburg presented a proposal to Home Depot, and what started off as a small project grew into a total transformation of the property.

"This is a dream that I was able to put down on paper and now here it is. It's quite literally a dream that has become reality," he said. "Students are involved in the process of getting food scraps from the cafeteria kitchen to put in the compost, and after watching the compost go through its process and mixing it with the soil in the garden, they grow and eat vegetables the next fall. And [they] know that the compost that helped feed those plants came from their own kitchen. It's really [about] seeing the cycle of nature and being involved with it."

Staff plans for the garden to be finished around September and will use it to give students planting and growing demonstrations, in order to teach students about nutrition.

"This is a great opportunity to be able to bring the learning outdoors and be able to expand our children's learning and make hands-on science more available to our students. And that's where the learning really happens," Rio del Mar Principal Deborah Dorney said.

The school's garden expansion, which has been underway since March, has been a community effort. Home Depot, along with the support of their employees donated a $3,000 dollar gift card to the school for supplies to finish their project, and Graniterock and Paradise Landscaping donated more than $2,000 in labor and materials.

"Lack of funding affects a lot of projects that our children used to benefit from [so] when I got Ted's message we acted on that and formed what we call "Team Depot," Home Depot project coordinator Lynn Gainey said.

Alternburg said that he hopes to replicate this garden project at other schools and has started planning discussions with Lakeview Middle School in Watsonville.

Recipes from family and friends in Hospice cookbook

Corinne Speckert - Santa Cruz Sentinel Correspondent

Article Launched: 08/13/2008 12:00:00 AM PDT

The fundraising group, Friends of Hospice, put a spin on their usual efforts by introducing a cookbook, "Cooking With Friends of Hospice," providing family cooking and unique recipes, showing friends and family how to eat and live well.

Friends of Hospice started off as a group of 10 women in 1984 and has exploded with around 100 volunteers today, helping to contribute around $125,000 dollars annually to the Hospice of Santa Cruz County.

This year to celebrate Hospice's 30th anniversary, Friends introduced a cookbook comprised of recipes donated by more than 200 people in the community, ranging from volunteers, families of former hospice patients and Bittersweet Bistro chefs, to children in Hospice's grief programs.

"We get a lot of community support, which is wonderful because there are so many groups out there trying to raise money. We started off saying we need 300 recipes and then we had over 400," Friends of Hospice and cookbook committee member, Libby Alexander, said.

Hospice of Santa Cruz County doesn't only help people with a life threatening illness feel more comfortable but offers several programs to help people with family or friends in hospice through the grieving process. Among the support programs Friends of Hospice helps fund are Healthy Understanding of Grief HUG, a support group for children; the transitions program, for people with a life-limiting illness; and provides grief counseling in schools.

"Hospice is trying to get out in the community and educate and prepare people to get their lives together ahead of time. The work they do isn't just for the dying, it's for the living, too, through grief support programs," Alexander said. "Dying is something everyone can relate to. If they have had it in their family or not. It's something that touches everyone."

Libby, who became involved with Friends of Hospice after her husband was killed in a plane crash in 1980, leaving her to raise her four and eight year old children, has been working with hospice for 15 years and said that a lot of people have the misconception that hospice is only for the sick, when in fact it is for anyone in the community, working by helping the living deal with death.

"So many people use Hospice more and more everyday. They are trying to get out the word, and I think people are becoming more aware that it's for the living also," Friends of Hospice and cookbook committee member Betty Bly said. "

Through cookbook sales Friends of Hospice hopes to make $8,000 dollars and has already sold more than 200 copies in less than two weeks.

"Friends of Hospice is incredibly important to us, not only as fundraisers in the community but as ambassadors," said Cathy Conway, director of development at Hospice of Santa Cruz County.

Cookbooks are $15 and are available at Caress Day Spa in Capitola, Mint in Scotts Valley and online at www.hospicesantacruz.org.

Lasagna Santa Cruz

Recipe donated by Libby Alexander

1 14.5 oz can, Mexican style stewed tomatoes

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

1 4 oz can diced green chiles

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. water

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 cups cooked, roughly chopped chicken a rotisserie chicken works great.

9 oz. no-cook lasagna noodles.

2½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

Sour cream, cilantro and avocado slices for garnish

Combine tomatoes, tomato sauce, chiles, chile powder, cumin, garlic, water, salt and pepper. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir in chicken. Spread thin layer of sauce in a 7x11 inch, two quart baking dish. Put three noodles over this layer. You will need to break them somewhat to fit the dish. Spread with 1/3 sauce. Top with 1/3 cheese. Repeat twice. Bake at 375 degrees for around 25 to 30 minutes, or until heated through and noodles are tender. Garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream, chopped cilantro and a avocado slice if desired. Serves six.

Lifelong Pen Pals Meet Face to Face for the First Time

Corinne Speckert - Santa Cruz Sentinel Correspondent

Article Launched: 08/05/2008 12:00:00 AM PDT

Exciting, mysterious, different and unique are the words Martha Cepress of Santa Cruz used when talking about meeting her lifelong pen pal, Vangelis Papoudakis from Piraeus, Greece, for the first time Friday.

Papoudakis, also known by Martha as Angelo, the translated version of his Greek name, came to the United States for his honeymoon with his wife, Elini, and took the opportunity to finally meet his pen pal face-to-face, after writing their first letters 26 years ago in 1982.

Cepress and Papoudakis, who spoke to each other for the first time only a couple of days before Papoudakis' arrival, talked about how it wasn't easy staying in contact during a time when phone cards, instant messaging and text messaging weren't available.

"It was hard because there was no Internet. It's hard to connect through letters. How do you arrange plans through letters?" Cepress said. "Through e-mail it's almost like taking away the mystery of a pen pal. The mystique is gone, going to the mailbox and seeing the letter, but e-mail lets us have more of a conversation."

Cepress and Papoudakis, who both had numerous pen pals from around the world, became correspondents through a company that matched people based on interests and countries. Although they both lost touch with other pen pals, they managed to maintain their relationship through letters filled with pictures, newspapers, tourist brochures, post cards and voice messages taped on cassettes.

"I had to first think in Greek, translate to paper, and then record [messages] on tape," Papoudakis said.

Papoudakis said his friends and colleagues in Greece couldn't understand why a 42-year-old man would want to maintain such a long-distance relationship, and that he had to explain to them why it's important for him to spend his honeymoon in America.

"The majority of my colleagues [made fun of me]. A traditional honeymoon is to go to the islands. No one ever thinks to go to the States. [But] we have common thoughts. [Cepress] knows all my previous affairs and I know hers," Vangelis said, while laughing. "You can't erase history."

Cepress was 14 when she first started writing 16-year-old Papoudakis. Now in their early 40s with families of their own, they can reminisce about their past conversations about politics from the Cold War era and the years of Ronald Reagan's presidency and discuss future meet-ups.

Sitting with Cepress' husband, Jimmy, and Papoudakis's wife, Elini, the friends at the Walnut Street Cafe on Monday, joked about when they'd see each other again. Cepress said they can't wait another 25 years, when they'd be retirement age.

"Our next meeting would be in Miami," Papoudakis quipped.

"In a wheelchair with blankets and wet socks," Elini chimed in.

Scotts Valley festival provides art, fun with a cup of wine

Corinne Speckert - Santa Cruz Sentinel Correspondent

Article Launched: 08/10/2008 12:00:00 AM PDT

Thousands of people turned out to enjoy art and drink local wine at the ninth annual Scott's Valley Art and Wine Festival on Saturday.

Organizers say that the lively festival with around 140 booths full of food, crafts and booze draws around 10,000 people over the weekend. It was started by the Scotts Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Scotts Valley Art Commission in 2000.

"There's gorgeous stuff here and a great variety of arts and crafts. I think the selection process is really working because I haven't seen anything I don't like," said Jim Jolly of Scotts Valley, who was attending this event for the second year in a row.

Around 250 volunteers helped make the two-day festival -- it continues from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today -- happen in SkyPark. One volunteer, Karen McNamara, said that this year's festival is the largest one yet, with more booths than ever.

"This is my only weekend to give to Scotts Valley," she said of why she volunteers. "I feel it's good to give back to the community, whether you like your community or not, and I happen to love this community."

Local wineries such as Bargetto Winery and Domenico Wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains, and breweries such Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing and Santa Cruz Ale Works, filled the booths along with a large display of crafts, ranging from paintings, sculptures and hand-blown glass.

"I like this show because it's relaxed. It's on the grass, in a park setting and I think people just like to walk around," said Lorinda Bechtel, who has been sculpting animals from high-fire clay, under the name, "Wild Earth Sculpture," for the past 30 years. "Although I'm not selling as much as I would at a bigger show, I think this is the way it's intended to be, with music and outdoors."

Two bands, "Trusting Lucy," playing an acoustic rock style of original songs and the cover-band, "The Original Wise Guys," along with students from Scotts Valley Performing Arts, provided a variety of music and entertainment for festival spectators.

"We play everything from AC/DC to Black Eyed Pees," Original Wise Guys member Harvey Chaffin said. "We do something by Lionel Richie, Tower of Power and Wilson Pickett."

Festival proceeds go toward the Scotts Valley Chamber of Commerce and help to fund nonprofits such as Lions and Kiwanis of Scotts Valley by giving them a chance to have booths and raise money at the festival.

Air Force Food Reaches New Heights

Corinne Speckert - Santa Cruz Sentinel Correspondent

Article Launched: 07/09/2008 12:00:00 AM PDT

Ted Burke, co-owner of the Shadowbrook and the Crow's Nest restaurants and National Restaurant Association board member, completed a 35-day quest in February to find the U.S. Air Force base serving the best institutionalized food in the world.

Burke, representing the association, was part of the Hennessy Awards evaluating team; he and three others evaluated six national and two international bases -- Incirlik, Turkey, and Dakota, Tokyo.

Among the eight Air Force bases judged, Tyndall Air Force, outside Panama City, Fla., came out on top, due to top leadership and food service, Burke said.

After three days of training in San Antonio, Burke and the others spent a half-week at each base evaluating criteria such as how closely recipes were followed, measuring, ingredients, food, sanitation and quality.

Breakfast items ranging from French toast, pancakes and eggs to dinner items such as stuffed peppers, liver, fish, pasta, chicken, turkey and sometimes steak.

Evaluations started around 5:45 a.m. and went through 6 p.m., starting again at 10 p.m. for the midnight meal. Scoring generally took about two days to complete. Committee members averaged four and a half to five hours of sleep a night with one day off a week to travel.

"Institutional food can absolutely be good, even great," Burke said of the challenges the military faces. "The stereotype of institutionalized food used to be old ladies in hair nets with metal trays. That day is long gone. Today it is very top notch. In fact, some of our Fortune 500 facilities and prestigious educational institutions use food service as a recruitment tool."

The differences, Burke noted, between institutionalized and restaurant food are that institutionalized food is more formalized and less artistic because most cooks don't have a culinary background. Much of the food is pre-prepared in bulk, then brought out to serving lines.

"The Air Force has requirements more strict than in our homes. For example, if leftover food can't be re-used within 24 hours, it's thrown out. My home refrigerator has much different rules. However, the Air Force cannot take any chances because they can't afford to have an entire wing go down that's in charge of defending our country."

Burke said he would gladly represent the National Restaurant Association on the mission again.

"First, the people I met were just fantastic, from the highest in leadership ranks to the people who had been in the service for less than a year. Second, each place I went to I got a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I could never duplicate again. Things such as getting to put my hands on an F-22, America's newest fighting plane, while standing on the tarmac alongside the base general, to sharing a two-hour luxury bus ride in from the Tokyo airport with Miss USA."

To learn more about the Hennessy awards or how to join an evaluation team go to www.hennessyaward.org.

High School Students in Watsonville Pick up Long-Awaited Diplomas

CORINNE SPECKERT - Santa Cruz Sentinel Correspondent

Article Launched: 07/19/2008 12:00:00 AM PDT

They missed their chance to graduate in June, but about 40 students from Watsonville and Pajaro Valley high schools stuck with their studies over the summer.

Their work paid off Friday as they picked up diplomas during a ceremony at the Henry J. Mello Center. "It feels good to graduate," said Nadia Noriega, dressed in her gold cap and gown.

Though they didn't get to join in the June festivities, the second-chance graduation ceremony was just as sweet.

June graduates came to show support, screaming friends' names and spinning noise makers. Families applauded as the black- and gold-gowned graduates walked across the stage to get their diplomas.

The students weren't able to graduate in June because of missing credits or failure to pass the California High School Exit Examination. Some still had more work to do, and couldn't participate in Friday's ceremony.

"Some students are so far behind in credits they're going to have to finish up at adult school. The ones that graduated this summer are the ones that had only one or two classes they had to make up," said Terry Eastman, district curriculum director. "By coming back this summer they have that 2008 as their graduation date and that's really important to them."

Noriega, who didn't graduate earlier because she didn't pass the state exit exam, said she knew of five other students who didn't graduate for the same reason.

"You want to graduate with your friends and class, but because of [the exam] you can't," Noriega said.

After the ceremony, the band JCA of Watsonville played what they called "romantic rock" to signify the student's last day of high school.

Volunteers Work to Restore Soquel Creek

Corinne Speckert - Santa Cruz Sentinel Correspondent

Article Launched: 08/17/2008 12:00:00 AM PDT

Volunteers worked with the Resource Conservation District Saturday to help beautify the forest around Soquel Creek by plucking invasive plants that had taken over the habitat.

Bill Lovejoy/Sentinel

Steve Kennedy of the Soquel Neighbor's Alliance roots out some invasive plant life near Soquel Creek Saturday morning.

The conservation district started the volunteer cleanup in 2004, when volunteers helped restore native plant ecosystems by pulling invaders like ivy and reeds. They planted 50 native plant species in 2005.

"[Volunteers] are really essential because we have very limited grant funding to get work done on these sites each year," restoration ecologist Jennifer Stern said. "So any help we get is really critical to the success of the project."

Stern taught volunteers which plants to pull so that they can apply what they learned to their own yards.

"I started off here and couldn't find any of the bad [plants] but now realize they're all bad," volunteer Steve Kennedy said. "Soquel Creek is a tremendous resource for our community and it's really not utilized. We would just like the creek to be in better shape. Anything we can do for Soquel."

Since 2004, volunteers have helped by planting berries for birds and saving trees that provide nesting habitats and shade for steelhead trout in the creek.

The conservation district has about five volunteer days per year throughout the county. They also provide education, technical assistance and outreach to land owners and land users through multiple programs, teaching them how to restore, conserve or enhance natural resources.

Stern said that it takes at least five years of maintenance to build a strong plant community.

"We're hoping to shift to 100 percent volunteer efforts at these sites next year. So it will be even more important that people come to these volunteer days," she said.

People who want to be added to the volunteer list can contact Jennifer Stern at 464-2950, ext. 24.

Car Show Aims to Raise Money for Watsonville High Sports Programs

Corinne Speckert - Santa Cruz Sentinel Correspondent

Article Launched: 07/27/2008 12:00:00 AM PDT

Students and educators tried Saturday to reclaim some money for Watsonville High sports programs after the Pajaro Valley school board cut 25 percent from all high schools' athletics budgets in May.

Kelly Mano and his dog Taylor of Watsonville arrive at the car show in Mano's 1957 Ford Thunderbird

Students, educators and supporters joined together Saturday at Watsonville High School for "Wily's Hot Rods and Hogs" car show and flea market to help raise money for the school's athletics department, which lost $86,000 due to the budget cuts.

After a day of selling raffle tickets and baked goods, Watsonville High will still be around $83,500 short of its goal.

Saturday's event took on added urgency in light of the city of Watsonville's decision to ban fireworks sales for the Fourth of July, a fundraiser that provided some sports such as track and field with around 60-70 percent of their budget, according to Brad Hubbard, Watsonville High's athletic director.

"It's causing a hardship for wrestling and other sports that benefited off firework sales," Hubbard said. "We've done these fundraisers before, but this year they take on added importance because of the cuts. We have some nice donations but we have a ways to go."

Hubbard said Watsonville High School Principal Murry Schekman hopes to eventually make up the $86,000 that the district cut from their school, but for some schools, it's out of the question.

"I think a lot of departments took some pretty heavy hits. From my understanding, middle school athletics aren't receiving any funding at all," Hubbard said.

For athletic programs that don't benefit from firework sales, students and staff are trying to stay positive, in a time where funding is tough to find.

"I think we're more successful with the car show," Watsonville High School freshman cheerleader Mariah Wilkins said. "A lot of people came and we sold a lot of stuff. We're grateful that a lot of people came today. We just want to raise enough money so that we can hopefully make it to competition."

Hubbard said proceeds from Saturday's event will be put into a general fund, expected to go to all sports, as well as to help pay official fees. The money could also be used to pay additional coaching stipends to replace the 20 stipends that were cut in May.

The athletic department hopes to continue the same programs from last year for this coming school year through fundraisers such as Saturday's. But at this point, they don't have enough money.

"I think with the spirit that goes on in Watsonville High School, that they're going to bounce back pretty well," Tracy Wimber of Watsonville said. "I think everyone has been pretty aware of what kind of circumstances that the fireworks had on losing money and I think we're all here to pitch in as a community to help our high school."

Japanese Cultural Fair brings a taste of the Far East to Santa Cruz

Corinne Speckert - Santa Cruz Sentinel Correspondent

Article Launched: 06/22/2008 12:00:00 AM PDT

The annual Japanese Cultural Fair was back in Santa Cruz Saturday with traditional Japanese music, performances, food and textiles to give residents a taste of the Far East.

The event at Mission Plaza Park kicked off with a martial arts demonstration by Aikido of Santa Cruz and ended around at 5 p.m. with the Watsonville Taiko Group performing a dance comprised of drumming and folklore.

The day was made up of 20 different events, including raffles, workshops, music and dance, a tea ceremony, storytelling and a meditation stage. Children had a chance to participate as the San Francisco Taiko Dojo taught them how to play drums.

"This form of drumming is a very traditional form, originally done to accompany religious ceremonies and other high performance art forms," San Francisco Taiko Dojo member John Rochelaeu said.

Taiko, regarded as sacred since ancient times, uses drumming to ward off evil spirits. It has exploded in popularity with around 200 groups.

"It's just great for everybody to see it, once you hear the drums you just kind of fall in love and you want to try it. That's mainly what we're here for, just to spread it around and let people experience something that they don't normally get to see," Rochelaeu said.

The fair featured an abundance of Japanese food along with shops filled with Japanese goods such as fans, kimonos and flying carp flags.

"The dancing and the music is very authentic but the food not so much, it's more Americanized and elaborate than you find in Japan," said Penny Duncan, who has been attending this fair for 20 years.

The fair, which is supported through donations, sponsors and grants, is made possible by a crew of 50 volunteers. Planning starts in September and continues all year long, taking six to seven months alone to recruit the performers.

"We just wanted to provide the opportunity for the community people to understand Japanese culture and this is the only chance that they have to come close to Japanese culture and we never charge admission because how many people can go to Japan?," said event director Chieko Yoshikawa. "Most people think the Japanese culture is just sushi, and sake or geisha and that's what we want to change, little by little."

Fabled Brookdale lodge holds "spirits" tour

Corinne Speckert - Santa Cruz Sentinel Correspondent

Article Launched: 07/15/2008 12:00:00 AM PDT

Music about death, a ghost hunt and psychic readings filled the rooms of the Brookdale Inn and Spa on Saturday night when psychics Faye the Tattooed Artist, Miss Oblivious and Vinsantos performed in the Ill Famed Spirits Tour.

Corinne Speckert/Sentinel
Vinsantos Defonte performs as part of the Ill Famed Spirits Tour at the Brookdale Inn and Spa on Saturday

Brookdale Lodge has a history of being haunted, since its opening in 1870, with employees claiming they have seen spirits roaming, particularly one of a little girl who drowned in the creek running through the dining room. Others say they can hear a baby crying, which supposedly was drowned by its mother in the lodge's swimming pool. With so much reported paranormal activity, what better place for two psychics and a death worshiper to try and talk to spirits?

Cheyanne Payne, who goes by Miss Oblivious, started off the night by sharing her knowledge of Victorian death and displaying her creative hand-made dolls, depicting devils, skeletons and human characters from the Victorian era.

Next Vinsantos Defonte, known for his underground performances and as the former Miss Trannyshack, sang theatrical tunes on the piano from his "A Light Awake Inside" album with a focus on death.

"I would wake up and go on the balcony and there would be a funeral with everyone dressed in black and carrying caskets through the streets," Vinsantos said describing his childhood. "I just write what I feel and I have a heavy spiritual influence, especially when it comes to the other side, and I have a fascination with death. A lot of my songs are about getting there because it's so interesting."

Faye Okaba, also known as the Tattooed Artist, closed the night with psychic readings of the crowd, followed by a ghost hunt where guests were encouraged to take pictures in attempts to catch a glimpse of orbs, which they say are spirit energies visible as a stream of light on cameras.

As a psychic, Faye works to filter information for people, saying that most don't recognize spirits or ghosts because they're afraid of becoming crazy. While attempting to communicate with guests' mothers and fathers, Faye said that connecting with spirits is a way to overcome the fear of death.

"I think after tonight I believe a little more. Everything she said about my mother was correct," said Mary "Missy" Sjostrom of San Bruno. "What was interesting, too, was she mentioned about a brother, and I did have a brother that passed on about four years ago. And he was very close to my mother and so it sounds like they're together."

Others, such as Mike Morris from Maryland, was told he is too self-critical, and he is still uncertain about whether the entire psychic-reading deal is legitimate.

"I don't [believe in psychic powers], but it doesn't mean that other people shouldn't. It just doesn't feel right to me, but it could be true to other people," he said.

Parking Problems Persist

Packed lots and permit prices continue to frustrate students

By: Corinne Speckert, The Spartan Daily

Posted: 8/27/08

Despite SJSU's 19 campus parking lots, three garages and a free shuttle going to and from campus, students are having trouble finding parking.

"Parking is definitely a problem," said Steve Hardin, a freshman business marketing major. "It's an issue that needs to be addressed."

Hardin said finding parking is possible, but it's difficult and students have to be willing to take their chances by parking on streets.

"I was here at quarter to 7 a.m. and was already on the third floor," said Debbie Walde, a junior business major. "I heard if you get here at 9, just forget it."

With a record number of freshmen attending SJSU this fall, university police has been out in full force, trying to manage the overflow of students.

Sgt. John Laws of the University Police Department said traffic control has been lighter this year compared with others and to help accommodate SJSU's 32,000 to 33,000 students, the department is directing students to parking lots, encouraging the use of the Park and Ride lot and hiring more staff.

"We just hired one new bus driver, so we're hiring staff and making sure we have bus drivers to get people where they need to be," Laws said.

Students who manage to find parking may be hit with a fine for violating parking restrictions, said UPD Sgt. Mike Santos.

"There is no such thing as a free two-week period where no one gets cited," Santos said. "Generally, when students are cited, they just have to pay the fine but risk the chance of getting a hold placed on their record (if they don't pay)."

Tony Valenzuela, associate vice president of Facilities Development and Operations, said that to help accommodate students the school plans to increase student housing, which would decrease the need to drive, and leave more parking for commuters.

Valenzuela also said the extra freshmen may help turn SJSU into a residential campus because of the higher demand for housing. The school plans to increase student housing in Hoover, Royce and Washburn Halls from 600 beds to 2,200 by 2010, and until then, he hopes the school's 7,846 parking spaces will be sufficient enough.

"We need to prove (that campus housing) has demand, and this year we can say we're full," he said. "We want to be a residential campus and can only do that with more students coming in. The waiting list to get into housing is showing that we do have demand. Because of the size of our campus, as of this time, we don't have any solutions except increasing residential campus."

Although increasing student housing may save some parking spaces, students currently living on campus are struggling to find parking themselves.

"I live on campus, and they don't have any parking," said Erin Ellis, a sophomore psychology major. "They're sold out, and I'm on two wait lists, and everyone says they can't do anything. I have to pay $8 every day, but that doesn't guarantee nights, and a parking pass is over $300 a semester. I talked to some of my friends at different universities and they don't pay half of what we pay."

Ellis said she's weary about using the Park and Ride lot because she would need to leave her car there overnight, and she can't guarantee that it would be safe.

Rap Artist 'Wobbles'

By: Corinne Speckert, The Spartan Daily

Posted: 9/15/08

The album "Beast" by V.I.C., which debuted last spring, seems to have a sexual animalistic theme with a pop of religion and some hard beats.

Throughout the album, V.I.C. makes references to being "a beast" and several of his songs focus on getting girls and "the beautiful mating ritual," which he talks about in his songs "Bop Skit" and "Wobble," saying to "notice how the female wombat sprays her pheromones."

In the song "Duck Off Skit," in which he talks about "the lions and the lionesses, she likes to claw," V.I.C. sounds like an African tour guide on a safari. This is perhaps an accent he learned to mimic from his father who emigrated from Ghana.

From the fast-paced "I'm The Shit" to the slower "Flawless" and "Wifey Type," in which he tries to sound tough by repeating "V.I.C. is hard," he comes off sounding unoriginal.

"Wobble" and "Bop Bop Bop" both have great rhythm, making for a great workout on the dance floor, but are by no means PG-rated. The lyrics, again, sound generic with V.I.C. focusing on being "the man" and chasing women.

"Wobble" has a great beat and makes you want to dance in your car until you listen to the lyrics, which relate to the notion that few rap songs can refrain from mentioning women, "shakin' their boobies like congos" and telling them to "wobble it, and I'ma gobble it."

The song, "Beat It," takes the degradation of women in rap music to a whole new level with the lyrics, "I don't let the pussy beat me up, I beat that pussy. I'm a man and can beat my wife up." The song continues by talking about men rubbing their "nuts" on women's chests.

"Get Silly," which features lyrics from Soulja Boy, is V.I.C.'s self-proclaimed hot single. It's catchy by rhyming lyrics with silly, dealy, willy and philly but in essence is about getting high and stealing women from their current boyfriends. "I'm da reason why you wanna loose ya man girlfriend. The fellas in the back and they twissin' up a philly."

As soon as you thought you couldn't listen to one more song about women and mating rituals, V.I.C. throws a twist in the mix with "By Faith." In this song V.I.C. raps about religion, violence and politics, talking about the denial of the right to pray in schools. "World filled with darkness, how a man can kill his wife and leave her heartless. No God in the schools, let us pray. All I know in this world is to live by faith."

V.I.C. strays away from the traditional rap style of music by including the easily recognizable "na na na na" Batman theme in "We Ridin" and making a reference to the popular '60s TV show "Gilligan's Island" in "Get Silly": "I be wildin' on a island somewhere just like Gilligan."

Overall, this album seems to lack a concise theme and has some offensive lyrics but provides a diverse balance of music through "By Faith" and has a nice variety of jiving dance beats, pop culture and hard and soft lyrics in the songs, "Beat It" and "Flawless."

Students Give First of Weekly Symposium Series Mixed Reviews

By: Corinne Speckert, The Spartan Daily

Posted: 9/15/08

When it comes to careers, students need to use common sense and avoid making rash decisions.

This was the message Xilinx CEO Willem Roelandts imparted on a room of about 200 students and faculty Thursday, the first speech as part of the Silicon Valley Leaders Symposium in the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering.

The symposiums, which will run weekly through mid-November, feature industry and technology leaders to give students pointers on how to be successful in the business world.

Xilinx, a programmable chip company based in San Jose, is one of the world's largest chip manufacturers, and was ranked No. 5 on Fortune magazine's annual "100 Best Companies to Work For" list in 2005.

Roelandts spoke about the do's and don'ts of the corporate world and the importance of exploring different career opportunities.

"Always find a job you really like to do. Life is too short to do something you don't like to do," he said. "If you have a job that you're excited about, it will show in the results, and you will do very well in your career."

He said students need to go through life with their eyes open and should work on broadening their skills at every job they encounter.

Roelandts also spoke about the necessity of understanding one's own strengths and weaknesses and those of others to effectively work as a team.

"Most people have strengths and weaknesses and please understand that it is not a question of good or bad," he said. "People are shades of gray. They are combinations of good and bad things, and it's very important that whatever you do with your friends, with your spouse, with your colleagues, is to understand what are their strengths, what are their weaknesses."

Roelandts said once students figure out their strengths and weaknesses, they are able to strengthen their strengths and minimize their weaknesses.

"The emphasis on teamwork - working with people as opposed to against people to get the job done - is one of the most important things I took away from this lecture," said Joshua Magana, a junior electrical engineering major.

Roelandts said students need to be honest with themselves and choose a career based on what they like, not on what others think they should do.

Marques Mallare, a freshman computer engineering student, said although he isn't entirely sure about his major, Roelandts' speech on doing something you enjoy has stuck in his head.

"With computer engineering, I don't really know exactly what it is right now," he said, "but hopefully, later on, I'll figure it out. And if I enjoy it, then sure, I'll stick with it."

Although several students said they found the lecture beneficial, some said they wished Roelandts would have focused more on engineering and what to do after graduation.

"I was hoping to get a bit of information about who his competition is, who he sees there, but he obviously wouldn't go there when I asked," said Joshua Hogan, a junior mechanical engineering major. "The question was put to him about graduating - what to look for in a company, how to move into either graduate studies or going straight to work. I wish he would of just kind of focused more on that."

Roelandts said 25 to 30 percent of Xilinx engineers are former SJSU students, and he offers summer internships at Xilinx to give students a taste of the high-tech world.

"It's very good for both the company and the student because the student can see what it really is to work in the company, but the company also appreciates what they can do," he said. "It gives you a step ahead when you join: You know already the people; you know what to do."

Speaker: There's Always a Problem to Solve

By: Corinne Speckert, The Spartan Daily

Posted: 10/13/08

The ever-growing field of biomedical engineering is what Frazier Healthcare Ventures partner Julian Nikolchev spoke about Thursday as part of the Silicon Valley Leaders Symposium in the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering.

"Biomedical engineering is always going to be a big field. It's exciting because there's always a problem to solve and it's very fast growing," he said. "There's always interesting problems, so it's always fun and it's never boring."

Throughout Nikolchev's presentation, he discussed numerous medical treatments he is working on, such as new breast cancer treatments. He said he hopes to eradicate breast cancer and change it from diagnosis and treatment to prediction and prevention.

"The breast cancer treatment seems like the most profitable and most beneficial out of all of them. I think this one would be the most contributive toward advancements in technology compared to other ones," said Nick Johnson, a freshman civil engineering major.

Nikolchev discussed some other projects such as his invention of a glove-like device for humans, which looks at how people extract heat in attempts to control the overheating of athletes.

"I like to have several balls in the air, and I actually find that for me that works a lot to identify solutions from different fields," Nikolchev said. "You learn about something from one concept and you can try it in another area. I think it also helps some people focus and stay focused on one idea until they solve it."

Alex Dunlap, an electrical engineering major, said Nikolchev's explanation of the obstacles he's had in his career and his experience were what he took away from the presentation.

"His experience in the biomedical field and the things you have to take into account in order to bring a product from concept to existence is what I liked because that's the field I'm trying to get into," he said.

Kudo Sdsian, a freshman electrical engineering major, said he enjoyed Nikolchev's input on medical developments and how to get new technologies out to the public.

"I think what you can take away from this presentation is how the field influences development - not so much what development can do but how money drives it," he said, "because if you don't have funding you can't do the research, and if your product isn't necessarily something that is cheap, you can't get it to the masses."

Nikolchev said that throughout his career, he's learned about identifying significant unmet clinical needs; talking to clinicians and observing cases; keeping up with new technology; staying flexible; and recognizing your strengths.

"To be successful in the field, you have to go and observe and just learn as much as possible about the medical component and the medicine, and being able to go and see cases and see procedures. Those things are very important and are the best ways to succeed in this field," he said.

Although Johnson said he found the presentation interesting, he said he wished Nikolchev would have touched more on the cost efficiency of new technologies.

"I'm more interested in how often the methods actually work," he said, "the more economical benefits rather than if they just work because otherwise there's no real point in using them."

SJSU Community Remembers Olympics Salute

By: Corinne Speckert, The Spartan Daily

Posted: 10/20/08

Inema Orukar, a senior electrical engineering major, DeJohn Muhammad, a sophomore justice studies major, and Alex Dunlap, a senior electrical engineering major, entertain students with a stepping routine on the lawn in front of the Smith-Carlos Statue on Thursday.

About 300 people gathered on Tower Lawn on Thursday to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Tommie Smith and John Carlos' black power salute after they won gold and bronze medals respectively in the 200-meter dash at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

"I think what they said opened the gates for humanity," said Ethel Walker, the interim chair of the department of television, radio, film and theatre. "What they said was: Every human being has the right to be treated in a dignified, humane fashion. And that means every human being."

Walker said that although this gathering celebrates two men who fought for change in the past, it's really about the students and activism of today.

"The great thing about Tommie Smith and John Carlos is that they didn't make sacrifices just for the African-American young people that are over here. They made those sacrifices for all of us," she said. "We have a tribute that stands to Tommie Smith and John Carlos, students from San Jose State, who risked their lives to bring attention to those who were left outside of the American Dream. But this legacy celebration should remind us that this is not about the past; it's about the present."

SJSU President Jon Whitmore said this commemoration, by recognizing past leaders who have fought for change, offers great encouragement for students.

"One of the things that we want for students to be is citizens of their communities and of their states and of this nation," he said. "And I think reminding ourselves of the history of some of the people who have stepped forward on this campus before, as examples of people who have made a difference, is a valuable thing for students to be reminded of."

Mark Savage, a senior sociology major, said he thought the celebration of John Carlos and Tommie Smith's efforts could help awaken student activism in a time when it may not be as existent.

"I feel like today, a lot of students are apathetic to social change. So I really feel like this gives students a good message," he said. "(Smith and Carlos) were students just like me, and they stood up, and they made a fight for change, and that change actually progressed to the point where we have the first black candidate for president in our history."

Walker said this commemoration was about students and how they're going to make a change to obtain new rights and preserve the ones we have.

"This election cycle presents all of us with the opportunities to make a stand," she said, "to exercise the right to vote and, above all, to commit to the values and principles that give hope to millions of people. Smith and Carlos have left us a reminder of the price of freedom and it does demand a price. Freedom demands sacrifice. Carlos and Smith dedicated themselves to the journey of finding their place in this universe. The question for all of us has to be, what will your legacy now mean?"

Art Projects Focus on Climate

By: Corinne Speckert, The Spartan Daily

Posted: 10/23/08

Students will be offered the opportunity to gain hands-on experience by working with artists in the creation of the first in a series of artworks developed to increase awareness of global climate change.

Joel Slayton, a professor of art and design who was part of the panel of judges that included international participation, said one of the criteria looked for in artists was an understanding in their approach to the problem of greenhouse gases.

"We wanted the most interesting, radical strategies that we could find, and ultimately the winner would produce a piece of art unlike anything in the world," he said.

The Climate Clock is a collaboration between the university's public art program, the Montalvo Art Center and the city of San Jose. It will allow students the chance to work with three finalists teams that were chosen by a panel of judges in September.

The artists of the three finalist teams are Usman Haque and Robert Davis; Chico MacMurtrie with Amorphic Robot Works; and Freya Bardell, Brian Howe and Brent Bucknum.

On-campus presentations of the projects will begin with the first team in January 2009, the second in fall of 2009 and the third in spring of 2010. The intervals will allow students to work with the artists on their designs for three months.

"Students will get to participate with the artists in ways to help inform the designs," Slayton said. "There will be an opportunity for students across campus, but it will be selective. We'll have to determine how students will get involved, which is completely dependent on the project."

The Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering hosted a seminar in May, where about 50 proposals for the Climate Clock were viewed.

"It was neat when they had the colloquium because they put up renderings created by each artist," said Pat Lopes Harris, SJSU media relations specialist. "And it's neat to see what artists come up with. I'm not an artist, but it blows your mind. Highly imaginative."

Slayton has been working on this project for the past year-and-a-half and said one of the reasons he was drawn to the proposal of the Climate Clock was that he saw it as an opportunity to get SJSU involved.

"When this project was brought to me, a light bulb went off and it was like 'Oh yeah, we can actually take this idea and turn it into something globally important.' And SJSU would have a substantial leadership role in the evaluation of the project," Slayton said.

Belle Wei, dean of the College of Engineering, said in an e-mail that she sees this project as an outlet for student involvement.

"The Climate Clock initiative is a great way to get students involved in interdisciplinary projects that teach them to be environmentally informed and responsible," she said. "We promote projects that develop solutions for environmental sustainability. We want our engineering students to help the world reduce its carbon footprint."

Lopes Harris said that although one of the reasons SJSU became involved was for students, she thinks that it will also help increase environmental awareness throughout the city.

"What we do here is first and foremost for our students but we are always cognitive that what we do here reverberates throughout the valley and that applies to the Climate Clock," she said.

The Climate Clock is expected to be unveiled in 2010 at the 3rd Biennial 01SJ Global Festival of Art on the Edge and will be displayed in Downtown San Jose. The final proposal selection will take place in July 2009.

Spartans Split: SJSU Goes 1-1 vs. BYU Over Weekend

By: Corinne Speckert, The Spartan Daily

Posted: 10/27/08

Senior Sean Scarbrough attempts to score against BYU at the Sharks Ice in San Jose on Saturday night.

With two minutes and eight seconds left on the clock during overtime, Brigham Young University scored to defeat the Spartans' Hockey Team 9-8 at Sharks Ice in San Jose on Saturday.

"We stuck with them, but in the end they got that goal in overtime and that just put us away," said freshman Jeff Sanders.

Saturday's loss appeared to be a letdown for the Spartans after beating BYU 6-2 on Friday.

"I think tonight we were pretty confident after last night's win, and coming into tonight's game, we had a lot of hype and maybe we let it get to us a little bit too much," Sanders said. "But I think after this loss we're going to come together as a team and practice and build off it."

Within the first and second periods of the game the Spartans were ahead 4-3, then 7-5 and tied the game in the third period at 8-8, but fell short in overtime when BYU scored the final point of the night.

Lathan Logan, assisted by Mickey Rhodes, scored during an even-strength play for the Spartans at the beginning of the first period.

Robbie Vaughan, assisted by Rhodes and Andy Dickerson, scored during a power play.

Steven Stichler, assisted by Scott Mattern and Max DeLance, scored during a power play, followed by Rhodes scoring during an even-strength play.

In the second period Skyler Yu, assisted by Jeff Sawhill and Sean Scarbrough, scored during a power play.

Dickerson, assisted by Jeff Sanders and Vaughan, scored during a power play.

Dickerson, assisted by Mike Bodulow and Richie Norris, scored during an even-strength play. Sanders, assisted by Scarbrough and Dickerson, scored during an even-strength play in the third period.

SJSU head coach Ron Glasow said that although the Spartans have talent, they continue making mental mistakes and playing as individuals rather than a unified team.

"We're basically not really a team right now," he said. "We've got a lot of individuals playing that are good hockey players, but we don't play as a team very well. We played really well last night, and then we just became not as focused.

"They think that they can beat anybody, and they just don't stick to the game plan and start making mental mistakes by trying to do things too individually. That's been costing us."

Dickerson, a graduate student and Spartan center, said with the addition of 12 players this season, it's hard for the team to work together when they're still trying to get used to each other.

"For the third year in a row, we have 12 new bodies, so we've had a lot of change and it's been hard for guys to mesh, but we really thought we were coming together after last night's game and this was definitely a step backwards for us," he said.

Dickerson said the team struggled from a lack of effort and from excessive penalties.

"We had some goals that we probably shouldn't have given up, a lot of defensive zone breakdowns," Dickerson said. "It was a team loss, a team lack of effort and it was just night and day from last night to tonight. When we get overconfident, guys start trying to do everything themselves and they stop using their teammates and that's when we get in trouble.

"The problem with this team now is that we keep making the same mistakes over and over again. We don't learn from our mistakes."

In attempts to get back on track for next week's games against Santa Clara and Stanford, Glasow said he plans on picking up the Spartans' training pace.

"It's not that we don't have talent. It's not that we can't be good," Glasow said. "We have good games, and then we do this. They're going to work. We have a price to pay here and we'll pay it."

Campus Recreation Takes Students on a Hike Through Big Basin

By: Corinne Speckert, The Spartan Daily

Posted: 11/4/08

Students hiked the steep trails of Big Basin on Sunday and although the rain kept more than half of them from attending, those who did turn out got a learning experience and a workout exploring the Santa Cruz Mountains, said Ivan Ledesma, a junior civil engineering major.

"The hike was really nice. Most of the time it seemed like it was steep, but it was good exercise and a good view," Ledesma said. "We saw a couple animals and then we saw the waterfalls, which were the highlight of the trip."

Twenty-six students were registered to attend the 10.5-mile hike from Big Basin to Barry Falls, said Kristine Kirkendall, assistant director of fitness, in a phone interview. But because of uncertain weather, less than half of the expected students turned out, Ledesma said.

"It had been raining the night before so everyone thought it would rain again. The rain, it kind of discouraged people from going," he said. "(But) I thought it was a great trip. It was just a small group of 10, so I met everyone and you got to know the other students."

The hike was made available through an Associated Students Campus Recreation program called Outdoor Adventures. The program gives students and faculty a chance to explore different outdoor sports such as white water rafting, snorkeling and shopping, Kirkendall said.

Kirkendall said along with these adventures, she always tries to add an educational component. With the hiking trip, students learned how to purify water from three different waterfalls.

"It was actually fairly simple," Ledesma said. "(The purifier) was a little machine with a hose connected to the main base. You put in water, and put your water bottle under it and purified water would come out."

Kirkendall said purifying water is a good trade to know.

"You really can't carry enough water to keep you (hydrated) at the same time. It's just too heavy," she said. "A lot of it is awareness that it's really not safe to drink that water. There could be animal scat (in it)."

Although the program has been successful with large turnouts this semester, Kirkendall said the program didn't have much success in the past.

"We had (the program) a few years ago, but it fell off and started again in Fall '07," she said. "I think (participation) is getting a lot better compared to last semester. We've struggled sometimes to get the word out, but this semester nearly all events have been filled to capacity."

In attempts to draw in more students, Associated Students advertised the program around campus through posters, banners and the Internet to contact students via Facebook and MySpace, said Bradyn Blower, a marketing associate of A.S.

"We also target housing students through posters and the Campus Village digital screens in order to give students an opportunity to get out of their rooms," said Clifton Gold, the A.S. marketing and events coordinator.

Kirkendall said one of the goals of the program is to get students and faculty outside to explore the land.

"It's always an adventure," she said. "I think students and faculty really need to take the time to get out there and just really enjoy the area. It's a wonderful way for faculty, students and staff to get to know one another and have an experience outdoors. There are always things that challenge students and that's our goal."

Some of the trips Outdoor Adventures program has planned for next semester include a backpacking trip and a two-day camping trip to Yosemite, Kirkendall said.