Archive for 2010
Online Extra: Football snaps 29-game losing streak
By James Kelley
Well that didn’t take long.
The Pima Community College football team snapped its 29-game losing streak in its season opener Sept. 4 at Phoenix College, winning 17-14.
Sophomore running back Andy Garcia provided the game-winning touchdown on a four-yard run. Garcia had a stellar night, rushing for 80 yards on eight runs.
The Aztecs’ last win was 63-2 over Verde Valley, a semi-pro team, on Aug. 25, 2007.
The win also snapped Pima’s 48-game losing streak to college teams. The Aztecs’ last true win came in the 2004 Pilgrim’s Pride Bowl, over No. 4 Kilgore College.
In the Sept. 4 victory, Pima’s freshmen quarterback combo of Zander McKean and Zach Schira went 7-16 for 76 yards. McKean was 3-7 for 22 yards, while Schira was 4-9 for 54 yards.
Sophomore running back Ronald Hopper scored Pima’s first touchdown, on a one-yard run in the first half. Freshman kicker Adam Valenzuela kicked a 39-yard field goal in the third quarter.
PCC’s offense gained 257 yards, 81 rushing and 76 passing. Freshman running back Damion Bracy had 49 yards on five rushes.
Freshman receiver Chris Howard led the Aztecs in the air with four catches for 28 yards. Sophomore receiver Scott Campbell had Pima’s longest reception, 28 yards, on his only catch.
The Aztecs’ home opener is Saturday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. against No. 16 Eastern Arizona College. All Pima home games are at Tucson Electric Park, 2500 E. Ajo Way.
Tickets are $6, and $4 for students.
Follow us on Twitter for sports news and scores
Student newspaper turns 40 this year
By Sierra Russell
The Aztec Press was founded 40 years ago and was originally entitled Graffiti Press.
Over the years, the name changed a few times yet one thing remained the same: the publication was a way for students to have their voice heard.
Especially during the volatile days of the 1970s, there was a lot to talk about.
The impending impeachment of Nixon, legalization of abortion, increasing awareness of the dangers of smoking, the apprehension of the “Son of Sam” and local prostitution rings were just a few of the topics covered by the school paper.
Another common theme throughout the ‘70s was the rehabilitation of released convicts and their adaptation back into society.
Several articles discussed the dangers of drug abuse and shared stories of people who were on their way to recovery.
Growing awareness of the risk of sexually transmitted diseases was evident in several articles.
A story from October 1977 stated that nudist colonies were good for your health and approved by the Maryland chapter of the American Heart Association.
In many of the early issues of the Press, articles were written in Spanish and there was a strong focus on the civil rights movements that were spreading wildly across the states.
In such fiery times, it should come as little surprise that two common advertisements were for tequila and cerveza.
Illustration by James Kelley
Charlotte’s Family Fun Time offers activities Sept. 11
By Jordan Condra
Remember those talking farm animals, that crazy pig named Wilbur, and Charlotte, the spider who wrote special messages in her web?
If so, prepare to get reacquainted with the characters from “Charlotte’s Web.”
Pima Community College’s theater department will host Charlotte’s Family Fun Time on Saturday, Sept. 11, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the West Campus Black Box Theatre. The free event is a preview to upcoming performances of “Charlotte’s Web.”
There will be plenty of child-friendly games, activities and treats to keep the entire family entertained. Participants can make masks of their favorite farm animals, and use pipe cleaners to create itty-bitty spiders that will actually be used during the performance.
Other activities will include cast introductions, glimpses of scenes from the performance, a Q&A session with the actors and a tour of the set.
“We’ll have a lot of fun activities for the kids and, of course, the cast will mingle with everybody,” Director Mickey Nugent said. “It’s going to be great.”
Rent-a-text catching on with Pima students
Students wait to pick up rental books at the West Campus bookstore. Aztec Press photo by Gabi Pina.
By Kyle Wasson
To combat the high cost of textbooks, Pima Community College bookstores have partnered with Follett Higher Education Group to offer “Rent-a-Text.”
By offering 50 percent or more off the cost of new textbooks, the rental option has instantly become an affordable alternative for PCC students.
PCC student Reba Lomelino took advantage of the new option. “I paid over $300 last semester for all of my books,” she said. “Today I walked away spending less than half.”
During a quick survey at Downtown Campus, 43 of 50 students said they took the rental route.
“Students can finally afford to buy all of their supplies and not worry about the burden of purchasing a textbook,” Downtown Campus Bookstore Manager Joshua Young said.
Since commencement of the rental program, the Downtown Campus bookstore has recorded more than $30,000 in savings, Young said. Savings rise to more than $200,000 when Northwest Campus and West Campus bookstores are included.
The “Rent-a-Text” program is available in campus bookstores or online. Students pick up the textbooks at the campus bookstore of their choice.
Students can use various payment methods ranging from cash to financial aid.
While using the rented textbooks, students can highlight and take notes “within the normal wear and tear associated with coursework.”
Students may also buy their textbooks at the end of the semester if they decide to keep them.
What’s the catch? Just as with movie rentals, there are fees for non-returned books. Potential costs include processing fees, late fees and purchase of the text if the book is not returned.
To learn more about the “Rent-a-Text” program, contact any PCC bookstore by phone or on the Web at www.pima.bkstr.com. You can also register online through Follett at efollett.com or at www.rent-a-text.com. Follett also has a Facebook page.
Students walk past signs advertising Rent-a-Text.com. Aztec Press photo by Ed Adams.
Chancellor: be a lifelong learner
By Astrid Verdugo
Pima Community College Chancellor Roy Flores says his ambition while growing up in East Chicago was to work at the local steel mill. Because of a recession, he didn’t get the job.
Flores decided to join the Air Force instead, and served for four years.
Though he was born in Laredo, Texas, and lived in Indiana before moving to Chicago, Flores said his time in the military enlightened his understanding of America’s diversity.
“I learned that the country didn’t look like East Chicago. It was broader and bigger,” he said. “We knew distinctively from movies what the rest of the country was like but to actually know someone with different experiences, background, foods and customs … it was fascinating!”
Flores later received a master’s degree in economics and a doctorate in monetary theory and regional economics at Indiana State University.
He worked at the U.S. Department of State as an economic adviser in Washington D.C., where he says he obtained a sense of the important roles that community colleges play.
Flores was a chief administrative officer at Northern Virginia Community College in charge of finances, physical plant and information technology. He also served as president at Allegheny Community College in Pittsburgh and president at Elgin Community College in Elgin, Ill.
He has been PCC’s chancellor since 2003.
His advice to PCC students is to be open to new ideas.
“Find joy in doing a job really well for its own sake,” he said. “Master whatever it is you are doing, and do it well.
“If you want to learn how to dance, for example, then learn it as best as you can and you’ll feel good about it.
“Or if you want to shoot basketball, improve yourself so that you are comfortable with the game. You don’t have to be a Kobe Bryant.
“If it’s playing an instrument, just master it and do it well,” he added. “Or if you buy a computer, learn how to use it really well, so that you are comfortable with it.”
Flores suggests that students try to see connections among the courses they take, whether it’s psychology, writing or Japanese history. Read things related to the topic of study, just for enjoyment.
“Try to understand other societies, and how they view the world,” Flores sad.
“Go online, and search the Web,” he added. “These are things I certainly didn’t have when I was in school. The Web will give you entertainment, knowledge and everything else. So, try to find out what’s going on in other worlds — find out everything you can.”
Flores emphasized that doing so will reinforce the subject matter the student is taking. He also stressed the need to do things for pleasure and not just for work.
“I don’t think you could be successful in something you find distasteful,” Flores said. “You could get by and pass the class, but you’ll feel really good if you strive to master, improve and find joy in it.”
Flores enjoys approaching the world like a child and being open to everything. Because of his curiosity and thirst for learning, he channel surfs while watching television.
“Whether I see something obscure about the depths of the oceans, like discovering some plant, or fish or life no one had dreamed existed, or something real mundane like how to cook the best apple pie, I can’t help but learn,” Flores said. “My mind can focus on anything that is available at the moment.”
His professional duties include serving on the board of directors of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.
A typical day for the chancellor includes waking up at 4:30 a.m. He checks his computer for e-mails and for the local temperature, then stretches for a seven-mile run.
“With any job, it’s important to be physically fit, and that’s the truth of it,” Flores said.
“On my way to work, I’ll call the office,” he added. “Typically my calendar is well crafted, and it’s full. You try to stick to it, but sometimes the unexpected happens, so it has to be modified significantly.”
He meets with the vice chancellor, campus presidents and others to talk about issues and opportunities on a wide variety of topics. He deals with the legislature, works with universities and interacts with community college colleagues.
“Basically, that’s a regular full day,” Flores said. “Then you figure out it is 5 o’clock, and you wrap it up for the day.”
Pakistan aid slow to arrive
By Debbie Hadley and Jordan Condra
Monsoon season in late July resulted in the worst flood Pakistan has ever had. The devastation has displaced millions of Pakistanis and more than 1,600 are reported dead. Yet the U.S. media has been slow to provide coverage of the crisis.
Rashad Rogers, a Pima Community College political science major, criticized the response.
“I think it’s an outrage,” he said. “That’s what the press is for but no one is talking about it and no one wants to talk about it.”
While entire villages have been ruined, and water and food are short in supply, contributions to Pakistan are less than donations for Haiti earthquake relief. Billions of dollars less.
International aid pledged totals more than $800 million so far, while donors have pledged nearly $10 billion in aid to Haiti.
One reason for the stark difference: studies show that media coverage concentrates on natural disasters with higher death tolls.
The flood in Pakistan, which happened much more slowly than an immediate catastrophe such as an earthquake, put many houses and acres of land under water but does not have the dramatic effect of other natural disasters.
Another factor could be Pakistan’s public image in the United States.
A recent CNN poll found that 78 percent of Americans hold mostly unfavorable views of
Pakistan.
Many Pakistanis also share a dislike for Americans. A July poll conducted by the Pew Research Center Global Attitudes Project showed that 59 percent of Pakistanis described the United States as an “enemy.”
The U.S. government has taken steps to help Pakistan. Dan Feldman, the Obama administration’s deputy special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, has said the United States will provide up to $150 million in aid.
U.S. helicopters have also helped provide medical transport for displaced Pakistanis living in temporary camps. The flood has created an infestation of water-borne diseases.
Both Feldman and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have downplayed suggestions that U.S. aid is aimed at boosting America’s image with Pakistanis.
“We’re doing it as a response to a humanitarian crisis,” Feldman said.
Krystal Hardiman, a PCC veterinary technician student, pointed out the irony.
“We’re giving them aid and they say that they don’t like us,” she said. “I just think they could show a little bit more respect to the United States because we are out there helping them.”
Pakistan isn’t the only country to react that way, Hardiman added. “We give more money in donations than any other country in the world to countries that are in need and don’t like us. But that’s the United States – that’s the beauty of it.”
Chris Messer, a PCC theater major, believes Americans should provide aid because Pakistan is suffering. “There are a lot of people that have lost everything they’ve got.”
To help with the Pakistan flood relief effort, look to the sidebar below. The international groups listed are reputable organizations that help ensure donations go to people in need.
How to donate
American Red Cross
1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-435-7669)
UNICEF United States Fund
1-800-FOR-KIDS (1-800-367-5437)
Doctors Without Borders
1-888-392-0392
Oxfam America
800-77-OXFAM
U.N. World Food Program
Hypnotic reaction
Audience members rest in a deep state of relaxation as “Hypno Joe,” 56-year-old Joe DeCarlo, entertains during Welcome Week activities at West Campus on Aug. 31. From left are Mario Portillo (wearing face bandages for imaginary cuts), Student Life Coordinator Rosemary Ortega, Joshua Reyes and Ashley Lopez. In the photo below, a hypnotized Reyes does his best Britney Spears imitation.
Aztec Press photos by David Mendez
Student leader not shy about getting involved
Story and photo by David Mendez
The first words out of her mouth after introductions were, “I’m shy.” Her body language supported her claim.
But however shy she claims to be, Sugey Lopez doesn’t hide how strongly she feels about, well, anything.
Sugey (pronounced “sue-hay”) Lopez, 26, is in her third semester at Pima Community College and her first term as West Campus Student Government president.
Sugey Lopez, West Campus student body president
Her administration’s fingerprints are evident from the moment you walk into Student Life offices and see volunteers wearing blue and orange “Get Involved” shirts.
Lopez designed the shirts, as well as blue fliers advertising Welcome Week events, which ranged from free popsicles to an iPod Touch giveaway.
It’s all part of Lopez’s strategy on how best to spend her time as president.
“We want to do it big,” she says. “I don’t feel people knew student government was here in the past.”
Lopez wants to institute a feeling of community. She would like students to feel as comfortable on campus as she does, and to not have to search for that feeling. To that end, she’s spearheading an effort to make all students feel included.
She notes she’s a member of many groups: a Mexican national, a graduate with multiple degrees and a lesbian. In fact, she moved to Tucson to be with her girlfriend, a former PCC employee.
Her sexuality turns out to be a motivating factor, in part because of her family life. She was raised in a religious family and realized two weeks after her 21st birthday (and two weeks before leaving on a religious mission) that she was gay.
“I was told, ‘You had so much potential when you were straight,’” she remembers. “What changed about me?”
Her goal: “I want to prove that, no matter who you are, no matter what you’re like, you can still make a difference here.”
She says Welcome Week Fall 2010 was a larger affair than in previous years. The second week of school included karaoke, a hypnotist, two organization fairs and free massages.
Similar events will be discussed for the future, with “discussion” a key word. “We’ve already been getting great feedback” regarding Welcome Week, she says, and would like to hear from students on what they’d like to see next.
She invites students to attend Student Government meetings. The first takes place Wednesday, Sept. 8, at 9 a.m. in the Student Life offices located near the cafeteria.
Lopez also wants to involve faculty by organizing educational events. She hopes instructors will give extra credit to students for attending.
She hopes campus clubs, athletics and student government can work together to support each other.
“I will try my best to work with sports and with music,” she says. “We can’t reach everyone by ourselves…we’re not supposed to be alone.”
West Campus isn’t all that’s on her mind, either. Given the opportunity, Lopez would “love to do a mega-event” with Pima’s other campuses.
“I would like to join forces with them,” she says. “After all, we’re all Pima. We all have the same name.”
Lopez is currently enrolled in Pima’s nursing program. “I always wanted to pursue a career in medicine,” she says.
For now, Lopez continues to work at her classes and helps publicize student government through activities such as handing out Welcome Week fliers to classmates.
“What I like is that people are starting to know me, goingm ‘Hey she’s in my class,’” Lopez says. “It’s better to start with one or two, instead of a hundred.”
So maybe she is shy after all. But if you get the chance, don’t hesitate to talk to Lopez about ways to improve West Campus.
“We want students to tell us what they want and need,” she says. “The college needs to care for students.”
Jump the Otis
By C. Taylor Bock
Veterans group welcomes new members
By Liza Porter
Vets helping vets: That’s the main purpose of the Pima Community College Vets4Vets Club, which held its first board meeting of the semester Aug. 27 at Downtown Campus.
“What we want to do is have a gathering place,” said PCC employee and V4V advisor Tim Kelliher, a veteran himself.
“We’re here to help the veterans,” Kelliher said. “From whatever era they come from, to get into school and be successful.”
V4V meets every Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. at the Student Life Office at Downtown Campus (LB-171) for both social and practical purposes.
During the V4V meetings, Kelliher and student advisers help veterans with any problems they may have, whether regarding enrollment difficulties, adjusting to college life or finding a job.
V4V president Chris Clemens and resources director Robert Tobara have much experience helping guide fellow student veterans through the cumbersome registration process many vets must undergo to receive GI Bill benefits and other financial aid.
Election of new officers will take place on Sept. 14.
Fall semester Vets4Vets social activities include a fundraising barbecue at Downtown Campus on Sept. 7.
Also in the works is a rock concert on Halloween weekend at the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Post 4903, which is now one of V4V’s sponsors.
“They adopted us,” Clemens said of Post 4903.
“It’s one of the few posts around town that is actively seeking Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans,” Tobara added. “A lot of the other posts around town are still very, very resistant to let them in.”
VFP Post 4903 will donate use of its hall for the concert. The music will be “younger-generation, more of the assault-your eardrums rock,” Tobara said. More information about the concert will be available soon. Check the “Groups” tab on MyPima for updates.
Post 4903 is also involved in a food and clothing drive organized by Vets4Vets. Donations will be accepted Oct. 4-8 in the Downtown Campus Student Life office. Clothes and food collected will go directly to homeless veterans in Tucson.
V4V wants to encourage all campus veterans to come check out the club, especially women.
The board is concerned that they haven’t made enough of an effort to reach women veterans attending PCC. The club is even going to the extent of changing the wording of their constitution to be less gender-specific.
“We need women here,” member Fernando Felix said. “Women do things. Men, we can talk about it, but I find that women are more effective.”
“We do have experience and knowledge,” Maria Elena Moreno said. The sole woman vet attending the meeting, she said it with a smile.
For more information about Vets4Vets and upcoming events, contact Chris Clemens at 272-9929 and silverwolf6669@netzero.com, or Robert Tobara at 881-0814 and robert.tobara@yahoo.com.
Abel Moreno, Robert Tobara and Chris Clemens discuss issues. Aztec Press photo by Liza Porter.
Battling the Books: Veterans return to college
By Liza Porter
The veteran population at Pima Community College has tripled in the last year, according to Holly Tackett, Student Services Specialist in the Admissions and Registration Department at Downtown Campus.
PCC statistics show that 1,626 veterans and their dependents are utilizing the G.I. Bill so far this fall.
An Aztec Press series, “Battling the Books: Veterans Return to College,” will explore the experiences of war veterans who enroll at PCC following discharge from the military.
Who are the veterans at PCC’s six campuses? Do they have unusual obstacles to overcome while settling into a college career? How is the experience different for men than for women? What does it take to get set up on the G.I. Bill?
These are the types of questions we hope to answer in “Battling the Books.”
We welcome input from veterans and other students, instructors and administration. Contact Steve Choice or Liza Porter at aztecpress@pima.edu or 206-6800.
Resources for veterans
Peer support for Iraq/Afghanistan-era vets can be found at www.vets4vets.us.
Local contact: Chris Clemens, president: silverwolf6669@netzero.com
“Military Guide to College” can be found at www.studentveterans.org. Choose “Resource Library” at the top of the site.
The American Council on Education’s “From Soldier to Student: Easing the Transition of Service Members on Campus” can be found at www.acenet.edu. Choose “Military Programs” under “Programs and Services.”
PCC Veterans Office
Pima Community College District Veterans Office
Address: 4905 E. Broadway, Suite B220
Phone: 206-4715
E-mail: veterans@pima.edu
Financial Aid: 24 hours a day / 7 days a week at:
| Email: | cofinaid@pima.edu |
| Phone: | 206-4950 |
| Fax: | 206-4566 |
Or visit any campus Student Services Center during normal college business hours.
Instructor wins Bellwether Prize for socially responsible literature
Story and photo by Liza Porter
When Naomi Benaron writes, the scenes she’s trying to capture flow across her mind’s eye.
“I see it cinematically,” she says, sitting at the kitchen table of her home in northeast Tucson.
Benaron is a former Pima Community College student and now teaches writing at both PCC and at UCLA Extension. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Antioch College in Los Angeles.
“It’s what John Gardner calls the fictive dream,” Benaron says. “That phrase has always stuck with me.” The late Gardner wrote “On Becoming a Novelist,” one of the classic books about fiction writing.
Benaron’s manuscript “Running the Rift” won the 2010 Bellwether Prize for Fiction and will be published by Algonquin Books in the fall of 2011.
It is the 10th anniversary of the Bellwether, which was established and funded by Barbara Kingsolver and is the largest prize in the country for a first novel.
Most of “Running the Rift” takes place during the Rwandan genocide of the mid-1990s when at least 800,000 people were murdered. It tells the story of Jean Patrick, a young Tutsi boy whose dream is to race in the Olympics.
Naomi Benaron relaxes in her backyard with her dog, Scout.
Benaron’s own experience in running and swimming competitions inform the book. She has participated in marathons and triathalons, even the Iron Man. She also traveled to Rwanda several times to do research for the book.
The Bellwether Prize is awarded to a work of “socially responsible literature,” which is defined on the Bellwether website as literature that, “for the purposes of this award, may describe categorical human transgressions in a way that compels readers to examine their own prejudices.”
The socially responsible novel cannot just describe those transgressions, however. Social responsibility is defined as “a moral obligation of individuals to engage with their communities in ways that promote a more respectful coexistence.”
“Running the Rift” does just that.
At the beginning of the novel, a famous marathon runner visits Jean Patrick’s school and observes him running a race. The man tells Patrick he has a great gift.
“Look at that lean! A natural!” Telesphore shouted. He shook Jean Patrick’s hand. “I watched you,” he said.
“You know how to run through pain.”
… “It’s hunger. Someday you’ll need to run as much as you need to breathe.” Jean Patrick felt this was the highest compliment the runner could have paid him.
This hunger is present in Jean Patrick throughout the book as the horror of genocide takes over his family and country, forcing him to flee for his life.
Benaron submitted her manuscript to the Bellwether because she is a political writer and that is the only thing she is interested in writing. The $25,000 prize is welcome, of course, but her purpose in writing is to reach people about issues in the world.
“I want to change people,” she says. “I want to put something in their hearts that makes them think.
“There’s people in Africa, and they’re not just little kids on the TV with big huge bellies and worms crawling on them. You know? They’re human beings. They’re characters, you watch them go through the day. They become real. I want people to see people they normally wouldn’t see as real, as real.”
An author can get in trouble writing with an agenda, Benaron says.
“You edit out the agenda. Clearly I have an agenda when I write it. Because I am a political writer, and I wish there were more of them in this world.”
Benaron is not sitting around waiting for “Running the Rift” to be published and her book tour to begin. She is writing another novel.
Her new novel-in-progress (“Fragile Beauty”) takes place in Terezin, a Czech concentration camp during World War II. The Nazis built a false front on an 18th century fortress built by Emperor Franz Josef, and presented it to the world as a model Jewish settlement.
One of the main characters is a dancer.
“The arts is what gave the people the courage to survive in that place,” Benaron says. It was what they had to get through from day to day.”
Josef Mengele, known as the Nazi Angel of Death, sees the woman dance. That saves her life, while everyone else she knows dies.
The dancing was “what she did to know who she was,” Benaron says. In the same way, Benaron cannot separate her writing from herself.
“If I didn’t write, it would be like cutting off an arm.” She touches her elbow. “Not down here, there.” She touches the top of her arm at the shoulder.
Fashion lab makeover adds work space
Story and photos by D.J. Ochoa
Pima Community College remodeled its fashion lab over the summer as part of ongoing efforts to help students gain experience in the billion-dollar fashion industry.
The new West Campus lab offers a spacious work area, new equipment and new curriculum to students who are pursuing a career in fashion.
Instructor Nancy Spaulding checks student projects.
Nancy Spaulding, fashion design instructor, said the redesigned lab uses space wisely.
“The lab was essentially two classrooms, and the facility department at Pima decided to make it one classroom,” she said. “Making it one classroom gives students more room to work on different types of projects throughout the semester.”
Spaulding is no stranger to the fashion industry. Before becoming an instructor at PCC, she worked for fashion companies on the east and west coasts.
A Carl Perkins grant helped the fashion department purchase new equipment.
“We were able to get computerized pattern making, new software that will possibly add new courses, laptops and a lot of new equipment for our lab,” Spaulding said. “We were also able to purchase professional cutting tables that are used in the industry, which the students can use while working on projects.”
The fashion lab also added a new laundry room, a new dressing room and a creative display case.
Spaulding said fashion department enrollment continues to grow, with students eager to educate themselves.
“Enrollment for the fashion courses has increased since I started in the spring of 2007,” she said. “We had about 132 students who signed up for the fashion courses then, and last spring we had around 192 students.”
A fashion department display window looks like a storefront.
Make education your priority
By D.J. Ochoa
Summer is over. As students at Pima Community College, we all know what that means: a new semester is upon us, bringing glorious hours of late-night study sessions and stressing over exams.
With a clean sheet for a new semester, why not start on the right track? Make education the top priority in your life instead of putting it on the back burner.
It might be difficult at first, but trust me: when you finally start taking your education seriously, the semester will fly by and your transcript will be filled with good grades.
I myself had a hard time making school one of my top priorities. I was always a slacker when it came to my education. To this day, I kind of still am — waiting until the last minute to turn in assignments, worrying about studying for a big test and not working to my full potential.
I’ve received good grades in all my classes, never lower than a C. But, there was always a voice in the back of my head that said, “If you had studied harder, you could have gotten a better grade” or “Yeah, a B is all right but an A is better.”
This semester, I am determined to quiet that voice in the back of my head once and for all, and make this semester at Pima better than the rest.
You should do the same. We pay an enormous amount of money to attend this school, so we might as well work hard to see our money go to a good cause.
When there are no more exams to stress over and you walk across that stage to receive your college diploma, you’ll finally know it was all worth it.
Music reviews
By Chris Coco
“Crazy For You”
Best Coast
Let 2010 proudly introduce you to California’s Best Coast with the release of their first full-length album, “Crazy For You.”
Best Coast is from Los Angeles with sounds of beach rock from the 1950s-‘70s, another one of those modern lo-fi / power-pop bands.
Vocalist and guitarist Bethany Cosentino was once in the psychedelic dub-sounding band, Pocahuated, which broke up recently after five years.
The opening track to “Crazy For You,” “Boyfriend,” was considered the “best new track” by Pitchfork.
“Crazy for You” sold more than 10,000 in its first two weeks, and also reached the Billboard 200 at No. 36. The album is 30 minutes long, with 13 songs.
I already consider Best Coast my favorite new band of 2010. I like to think of them as modern Beach Boys with a girl singing.
The lyrics to “Boyfriend” are sad but beautifully done and I like finally seeing a girl’s perspective, unlike the mediocre lyrics of No Doubt.
I am kind of in love with Cosentino too. Apparently Bill Murray is a fan, which is cool in my cookbook. Best Coast is a great band that’s worth checking out.
Favorite tracks: “Boyfriend,” “Happy,” “I Want To.”
“King of the Beach”
Wavves
Wavves has gone through a lot in the past year, mostly through member changes and more publicity.
Since the death of the great and late Jay Reatard, the other members of his band have joined Wavves—Billy Hayes and Stephen Pope.
“King of the Beach” has a little less of the lo-fi sound and somewhat more of a Motown sound.
“There was a conscious effort going into this that I didn’t want to make the same record again,” Wavves founder Nathan Williams said.
“It wasn’t overbearing, but I didn’t want to recreate something I’d done. I wanted to make something bigger, something stronger.”
Unlike the previous albums, “King of the Beach” was not recorded on Williams’ laptop but by Dennis Herring, who has recorded the last two Modest Mouse albums.
I’ve been a fan of Wavves for more than a year and have seen them once with huge disappointment. The first album was OK and the second album was good. This new album is solid.
If you disliked Wavves before or thought it was just OK, please check this out and consider changing your mind for the better.
Favorite tracks: “Linus Spacehead,” “Post Acid,” “Take On The World.”
IMAX experience comes to Tucson
By Conrad Pursley
It’s every Tucson movie-goer’s fantasy to visit an innovative, high-tech theater and remain within driving distance. On Sept. 3, those dreams will be realized when AMC opens its new IMAX theater at Foothills Mall.
As part of a joint-venture agreement between AMC and IMAX to install more than 100 IMAX digital projection systems throughout the United States, our cozy corner of the country was chosen by the powers-that-be.
Perks of the “IMAX experience” include a larger, slightly curved screen that is placed closer to the audience for optimized viewing and a digital projection system with custom lenses that create images with greater clarity, brightness and contrast.
And no movie is complete without concussive sound that makes you jump out of your seat and run for cover. IMAX’s sound system cuts down on distortion, while its acoustic paneling absorbs sound-eliminating echoes for a more immersive movie experience.
All IMAX needs to figure out now is what to do with the tweens who always sit behind you and scream their braces off at every scene.
Aztec Press will give away tickets for pre-screenings of “Star Trek” on Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. and “Monsters vs. Aliens” on Sept. 4 at 10 a.m. Visit the Aztec Press booth near the Northwest Campus bookstore beginning at 4 p.m. on Sept. 2 for first-come, first-served passes.
The IMAX will officially open Sept. 3 with “Inception,” and hold a grand opening celebration Sept. 10 with the new “Resident Evil: Afterlife” digitally re-mastered into IMAX 3-D format.
Other upcoming movies to be released in IMAX format include “Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” (Sept. 24), “MegaMind” (Nov. 5), “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1” (Nov. 19) and “Tron: Legacy” (Dec. 17).
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