EXPERIENCE
Sacramento City College 1/2010—5/2010

The Express, Staff Writer and Reporter

• Researched background information, conducted interviews and reported news events, and wrote articles for the City College newspaper.
• Worked with editorial staff to generate ideas for opinion articles and to contribute opinion pieces.

EDUCATION
Sacramento City College 8/2009—present

California State University, Chico 8/2007—5/2009

RELEVANT COURSEWORK
Sacramento City College 1/2010—present

• College Newspaper Production

References Available Upon Request

Journalistic Resume (.pdf version)

May 3, 2010
by Joe Ezaki | Staff Writer

Featuring the works of current City College students, the Graphic Communication Club will recognize the best student design projects in its third annual design showcase May 17 from 2-7 p.m. in the Student Center.

“It’s a positive experience no matter what level you’re at,” said graphic communication major and last year’s best of show winner John Conley.  “It’s always good to get feedback on your work.”

Coined Brainstorm Student Showcase, the event will also feature four face-off competitions, modeled in the style of the television show “Iron Chef”. Contestants will be challenged to complete an impromptu design assignment in 30 minutes, according to the club’s Web site.  Attendees will be able to watch what each contestant is doing via a projector.

Defending faculty champion – Graphic Communication Department chair Don Button – will again compete in the faculty face-off competition, which pits graphic communication professors against each other to determine which professor reigns supreme.

Graphic communication professor Aaron Winters will participate in the faculty face-off for the first time.

“He’s my boss.” Winters said about facing Button in the competition. “I may let him win.”
Additional honors at the event include Best of Show and Popular Choice Awards.  Best of Show will be chosen by a panel of judges consisting of local professionals working in the design field, while those in attendance will choose the Popular Choice Award.

According to Button, the showcase will allow students to show the public what they’ve been learning. Additionally, local professionals will be in attendance, providing students an opportunity to display their talents and network with those in the field.

Having local designers present is a highlight of the event, Conley said.

Competing students will also serve as representatives of the school, as local high school students will be invited to see what a graphic communication class is all about, Button said.

According to the entry form, submissions are open to all students registered in one or more classes in graphic communication during fall 2009 or spring 2010, and entries are to be submitted on May 6 and May 7 between noon and 4 p.m. and on May 10 between noon and 3 p.m.

To see the original article, click here.

May 3, 2010
by Joe Ezaki | Staff Writer

City College will celebrate Cinco de Mayo and educate the campus about the true meaning of the Mexican holiday tomorrow from noon to 1 p.m. in the Student Center.

According to event organizer, City College counselor and Puente Project coordinator Sandra Guzman, the event will be “a celebration of culture, a celebration of achievements, and awareness of what [Cinco de Mayo] is.”

Guzman said it will be a lively celebration with a band playing, light refreshments, and a discussion on the controversial new legislation in Arizona that allows police to ask about immigration status.

“We’re talking about actually incorporating a public forum on the new law or assembly bill that has recently been signed in Arizona,” Guzman said. “And kind of having an open mic discussion on what that means. So I think in the last half hour we’re going to use this opportunity to educate people on this bill.”

Cinco de Mayo is a commemoration of the Mexican army’s victory over French forces in Puebla, Mexico, in 1862. It is not Mexico’s Independence Day, however, which is Sept. 16.

Some argue Cinco de Mayo has become a highly commercialized day in America.
“It’s just another way of making money,” said second-year criminal justice major Marlon Lara.

“Cinco de Mayo is one of the great American traditions of getting drunk and having a lot of salsa and celebrating something that most people have no clue about what caused this to be an event to be remembered,” said Communication Studies professor and Chair of the Voting Rights Committee for the California Democratic Party Chicano Caucus Steven Ybarra.

According to Lara and Ybarra, both self-proclaimed, proud Chicanos, Cinco de Mayo is a time to get together with family and enjoy their time together.

“It may mean different things to different people, but I think there is an underlying tone of beating the odds,” Guzman said, referring to Mexico’s unlikely historical victory.

To see the original article, click here.

Laws should reflect the morals of the people they govern, that is the democratic way. The efficacy of the democratic way is, however, up for debate.

The most recent challenge to the democratic process is the legalization of marijuana in California, seemingly an economic decision; at least that is what the proponents would have us think.

But for me, something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

As of March 24, the “Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010” will appear on the November ballot. A hum of excitement hovers like a cloud above marijuana smokers.

Let’s take a brief gander at marijuana and the law.

The year was 1937 and the “Marihuana Tax Act of 1937” [sic] was passed into law. Regardless of the act’s lawful ramifications, the negative sentiment toward marijuana is clear.

In the transcripts of the congressional hearings on the Marihuana Act, Harry J. Anslinger, then drug czar and the act’s main proponent, associates marijuana use with Muslim assassins of the 11th century B.C.E.; not exactly sly rhetoric.

How can you compare recreational pot smokers to assassins?

My point is this: The negative connotations surrounding marijuana use have been drilled into us — even our parents — for years.

Smoking pot is taboo, and those that partake form a counterculture of delinquents.

However, now that our state is broke, pot smokers suddenly look like a new source of income.

But I’m shouting a loud and resounding “NO!” I’ve been forced into the shadows of my own culture for years, forced to withstand the scrutiny of family, friends, and state just to be taxed for the very thing I was outcast for? No. I want retribution.

I don’t want legislation for the legalization of marijuana to pass because our state needs a few extra dollars. No, I want that legislation to pass because there is nothing morally wrong with smoking marijuana, and I want the legalization campaign to reflect that sentiment so voters know exactly what they are voting for.

Sure, I might be getting drawn into semantics.

Sure, my quest might be quixotic. But it is what it is, and I will be voting “no” for the legalization of marijuana.

To see the original article, click here.

April 5, 2010
by Joe Ezaki | Staff Writer

OK, here it is people: We live on a giant rock that’s orbiting thousands of miles per hour around — that’s right — a giant ball of fire. Believe it or not, it’s going to get hot — it’s not all global warming.

So, to all of you Gore followers, sorry, I’m not buyin’ your “end-of-the-world” crap. No, no hear me out. I’m not a right wing, anti-Gore type of guy, but there are a few things I will buy.

First and foremost, I know that I’m lucky to be here; I’m lucky to live in one of the best cities, in the best state, in the best country in the world.

Second, I know that all living things are in a constant state of flux.  I know that my body temperature rises and falls, I know that the temperature of my town rises and falls.  And I know from history that the temperature of the world hasn’t remained constant, see: Ice Age.

Third, and finally, I’ll buy the notion that there is more I can be doing for my environment; more that we can be doing for our environment.

Global warming may or may not be a relevant issue. Regardless, I don’t need a scientist to tell me that our water isn’t blue, that our air isn’t clean, and that Los Angeles sucks (in terms of smog, not the Clippers…). The point being this: our water once was clear, our air once was fresh, and Los Angeles never had either of those.  I want things to be beautiful like that again.

It comes down to efficiency, ladies and gentlemen. Efficiency is simple: use all of the energy that is consumed. Cars, for example, are extremely inefficient. According to the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Web site, fueleconomy.gov, “Only about 15 percent of the energy from the fuel you put in your tank gets used to move your car down the road or run usefuly accessories, such as air conditioning.”

Everything in our lives can be broken down into energy consumption and energy available. The gas you put in your car had to be transported to the gas station, requiring energy. Before that it had to be refined, requiring more energy. Bottom line, there is a lot of energy that is being wasted from start to finish.

This isn’t a call for all of us to start growing our own food and becoming one with nature. But what I am asking for is your awareness. Be aware of all that goes into the things that make up your daily life and maybe, just maybe, try to improve the efficiency of your life. That means walking up those stairs, taking the bus, and maybe trying out your green thumb. It’s not as bad as it sounds, I promise.

To see the original article, click here.

March 22, 2010
by Joe Ezaki | Staff Writer

It’s finally here, the moment we’ve all been waiting for: spring break. A welcome spectacle after the first grueling eight weeks of school, spring break marks the halfway point of the semester. Many students will remain at home in Sacramento, but many City College students have plans to travel.

Spring break comes as a welcome departure from school on Mar. 29. Students will use their time off to relax and, hopefully come back to the last half of spring semester refreshed and ready to finish the school year strong.

“It’s a good time to recharge for that last little push to the end of the school year,” says third-year student Kevin Farrell, a criminal justice major, who is going to Pismo Beach with his family. “It’s nice to get away, get to chill on the beach, hang with my family, eat good food, and just not have to worry about anything.”

But what if you simply cannot go anywhere for break? Not a problem, according to history professor and coordinator of the international studies program Riad Bahhur.

“There are ways of traveling internally. You don’t necessarily
have to change location in order to consider your context and to do different things,” says Bahhur. “Do something you haven’t done before, but do it at home.”

Other than simply relaxing over break, students seem to be excited about the food they will experience.

City College student, Lara Doranian, who is going to Long Island, N.Y., says she is looking forward to eating Italian food during her trip to New York and Farrell, a self-proclaimed eater of good food, claims that the “Firestone Grill in San Luis Obispo has the best tri-tip sandwich.”

Even if you aren’t going to a new city, it is important for you to relax.

To see the original article, click here.

Finding an activity that fits us naturally is a feat many can’t claim. However, this isn’t so, for Steven Zhang.

Zhang, a third-year sociology major at City College, has found his niche in fencing. His combination of skill sets, paired with his work ethic and positive attitude, has made him into a champion.

Zhang is the only community college fencing competitor to win the top state title when he placed first in the Mixed Novice Foil division at the second Northern California Intercollegiate Fencing League tournament held on Nov. 21, 2009 in Fresno, Calif.

Zhang won his first tournament last November at Fresno State and another in Berkeley, the first weekend of March 2010.

“I never came into fencing with the mentality to win a lot of competitions,” Zhang says. “It was fun for me, so I did it.”

Zhang started the sport at the beginning of September 2009 after his older brother suggested he try fencing. Zhang began to attend City College’s weekly fencing club meetings. At City College, fencing is not an official sport. Students practice and compete as a club.

“It really shows the strength of our fencing program,” says club adviser, biology professor and fencing coach Brian Gillespie on Zhang’s unprecedented back-to-back tournament victories.

In the last tournament at UC Berkeley, only one fencer from City College didn’t make the top 10 of their division, so it’s not just Zhang that has been showing what the Panthers are made of.

“We have more people that are new,” says third-year student and fencing club president Stephen Crane. “The other schools are the same way. But we’re doing better than them, and we’re a very small school.”

But it’s not just the coaching that has Zhang outperforming his competition, it’s his incredible work ethic.

According to Gillespie, Zhang spends a lot of time outside practice studying and watching the sport.

“Steven’s greatest talent is that he can see fencing,” Gillespie says. “That is he can watch, not only what he is doing and what his opponents are doing, but he will watch any other bout and he can see what people are doing right, and what they’re doing wrong, and apply it very quickly.”

Zhang maintains a positive attitude, pushing himself, but still remembering that the point of sports is to have fun.

“The day I stop having fun, that’s the day I’m going to stop [fencing],” Zhang says.

To see the original article, click here.

March 22, 2010
by Joe Ezaki | Staff Writer

City College has provided male students with a forum for outreach and support with a newly chartered student club known as The Barbershop.

“There’s a disconnect in general between males and college,” said Barbershop adviser Parrish Geary.

The Barbershop concept originated four-and-one-half years ago as a result of Vice President of Student Affairs Michael Poindexter and former City College President Art Tyler’s idea, to cultivate young men into successful students and upstanding individuals by providing an arena with positive role models.

Traditionally, barbershops have been a place of conversation, where men not only go to get haircuts, but also to discuss the current state of affairs. City College’s Barbershop is the same way, minus the haircuts.

Geary said the goal of the club, first and foremost, is to fix that disconnect by encouraging males to be more involved and successful at City College.

“[Men] got a lot of negative stereotypes that are on campus,” Poindexter said. “But a lot of it is because people don’t know how to be men.”

Between Poindexter and Geary, the men hope to create an environment in The Barbershop where students can take control and make changes.

“It’s males trying to bring males together, and trying to make a change and a difference on Sacramento City College,” said student and Barbershop participant Matthew Hill.

“We’re going to have to look at what are the things that we need to be doing…that can help our men be more successful in their classes and in their lives,” Poindexter said.

To see the original article, click here.

To provide City College students with a forum in which to speak frankly about issues that could potentially spark controversy, the introduction of last semester’s Real Talk Club provides students a safe and judgment-free outlet for thoughtful discourse.

With the motto “Keep it real,” club president D. Del Toro and company want to address issues that plague our daily lives.

“[We tried to] create a club where we can have real talk on sensitive issues that people are not comfortable talking about, either one-on-one or in a group session: racism, sexism, homophobia, religion, politics, discrimination, things of that sort,” said second-semester City College student Del Toro.

Del Toro and fellow founders Saidah Pires and Tighearnan Lee, as well as club adviser and City College psychology professor Lisa Gunderson, want to create a safe environment for people to express themselves without fear.

“I think that when people from different backgrounds, from different walks of life, from different perspectives, can sit down in a room and respectfully agree, maybe even to disagree, just to hear each other, that that can help start to slow some of this stuff down,” Gunderson said.

But it doesn’t end there.  Real Talk’s vision is to enact change through example. While other clubs do not return funds to the InterClub Council, according to Del Toro, Real Talk plans to give 5 percent of all of its earnings back to the school.

According to Del Toro, Real Talk wants to reach out to the community to show what it is like to live in harmony.

“We want to build a strong community here on campus,” Del Toro said. “We want to be that model for incoming students to Sac City. We also don’t want to stop just here on campus. We want to reach out to the community and contribute to the community.”

Club members put the desks in a circle and begin to have some real conversations. With a consistent attendance of 20 people, there are plenty of ideas and subjects floating around the room.

“They originally started meeting every other week,” Gunderson said. “They’re now meeting weekly because people want it.  They want to sit and talk about what’s happening in classes and what’s happening in their lives. So we’re filling something, and I’m not quite sure yet what that is.”

“It’s liberating, it’s enlightening [and] ultimately it just educates people,” said Michael Griffen, a sophomore who has attended all Real Talk meetings.

To see the original article, click here.

February 22, 2010
by Joe Ezaki | Staff Writer

On a bleak Saturday morning in February, with clouds looming overhead, you could and would find most college students still asleep. But not the City College swim team.

Instead, on this Feb. 6 morning, the swimmers are in Hoos Pool for their intra-squad meet and the start of this year’s season under the eye of a new coach.

“Training for these first couple of weeks was pretty intense, but I‘m excited to be back in the pool,” says sophomore Estrella Ramirez, sister of All-American and former City College swimmer Victoria Ramirez.

Even with a small team of 12, Hanson isn’t concerned with team points.  Instead he wants his swimmers to focus on bettering improving themselves.

“We’re creating a new culture, and the culture is about getting better, every single day,” Hanson says.

Despite his short time with the team, Hanson’s message has already been heard by the athletes under his tutelage.

“I’m hoping to cut down a couple seconds in each of my events,” says freshman Brad Kajiwara.

According to Hanson, by encouraging swimmers to push and better themselves, they  will ultimately be helping the team.

Preaching a consistent message and practicing what you preach are essentials to coaching, both of which Hanson holds dear.  While continuing to work with this season’s squad, Hanson says that he wants to recruit swimmers who fit into his system he wants swimmers that want to push themselves.

With plain enthusiasm, Hanson is building a solid foundation and has his sights set on the future.

“I’m excited, I have a lot of big plans and ideas for the program and just want to start out,” he says.

Hanson gets a special twinkle in his eye when talking about his team and program.  Clearly excited, and in a tone that denotes a mission statement, he says, “We’re going to be growing a program that I can be proud of, that our players and athletes can be proud of, as well as the school.”

To see the original article, click here