While the majority of the campus was on winter break, the Men’s Gladiator basketball team was still playing hard.

The team maintained a 3-4 win-loss ratio, which brings their current record to a 13-7. They currently average 78 points a game.

Their latest game was in San Francisco and was a devastating loss by 30 points. Their next game is on Feb. 5 at home against Cañada College.

When talking to Coach McMiller about the team’s improvement since the beginning of the season, he said, “I’ve seen improvements with these guys. They are maturing and evaluating things more. They are all growing in a positive direction, and as a team, they have grown together.”

There has been a ton of growth this season compared to recent ones. The accomplishments made this season compared to the last two have been monumental, but there is no reason to stop there.

Coach McMiller said this when talking about how they are doing this season compared to others “Obviously a huge improvement on every level. The last two years we have won 11 games in total, this year we have won 13 with eight more to go…”

After their game on Wednesday, Jan. 29 Isaiah Veal, number 3, said this when asked about what their biggest challenge as a team is, “It’s trusting each other to make forward progress, we need to trust each other more.”

Coach McMiller said this about heading into the final stretch of the season, “Now that we are in the last 3rd of the season, we are trying to polish up things and to get ready for a playoff run. We are in good shape and have been dancing between second and third place. If we continue to strive and do well, we can take second place.”

When asked about the mentality going into these last games, Izayah Talmadge, number 2, said this” We need this one.”

That’s how it is, and they are currently down three games with seven more left in the season. The Gladiators team needs to make something superb happen to end the season right.

Talking with Rashad Faust, number 0, he said that a highlight of this season was seeing that there were a ton of guys who wanted to play, and we got them to play.

Lastly, Coach wanted to end with this “I appreciate the community coming out, and I hope we can grow our community and get them to come and support the program.”

Bus fares for AC Transit were raised on January 1, 2020, for the Adult, Youth, Senior, and Disabled single ride cash fares. However, switching to a clipper card rather than paying as you ride can help riders save during their daily commutes.

Robert Lyles, Media Affairs manager of AC Transit, confirmed that although single ride cash fares have gone up, clipper cards offer a discount. 

Adult prices were raised from $2.35 to $2.50. Youth, seniors, and disabled fares were raised from $1.15 to $1.25. With the clipper card, adults can save ten cents from the previous pricing, paying $2.25. Youth, seniors, and disabled fares can save up to 13 cents. This makes the single-ride fare $1.12.

Lyles also added that “AC Transit also conducted significant public outreach six months in advance of the fare change — specifically intended for riders to offer their feedback on any proposed changes. We also conducted a Title VI Equity Analysis. This analysis specifically seeks to determine if fare changes create disproportionate impacts on low-income populations and people of color. The Title VI Equity Analysis determined that the July 1, 2019 fare change would not cause an adverse impact.”

Natasha Larsen is 18 years old and attends Chabot College. Luckily for her, she only has to pay youth prices for the bus. Adult pricing begins at the age of 19. When asked if she was aware of the single-ride cash fare raise, she replied that she had no idea. Larsen buys the day pass at $2.75, allowing her to ride the bus as many times as she needs within that day.

I asked Larsen why she doesn’t use a Clipper Card, since it eliminates the use of having to carry cash, and you can reload it at the BART station. She replied, “Every time I go to BART, I’m usually running late, I don’t have time to actually set anything up.” 

It is possible to set up youth discounts with a clipper card through applications that must be sent in via email, mail, or fax.

I asked Larsen If it’s an inconvenience, she stated, “Kind of. As someone who’s in a rush a lot, it’s hard for me to get around to it. But then I never do because as soon as I get home, my mind is off of all that stuff.”

The BART’s official YouTube page “BARTable” has a simple two-minute video on how to reload your card at the station. Clipper has created not just several ways for their customers to get a hold of a card, but also several ways to get discounts.

Known to the world as one of the best NBA players to have graced the court and referred to as The Black Mamba, Kobe Bryant was one of the greatest players to wear an NBA uniform. Bryant played for the Los Angeles Lakers for all 20 seasons of his career and led the team to five NBA titles. 

Bryant, born Aug. 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, PA, died in a helicopter crash Sunday, Jan. 26, in Calabasas, California, at the age of 41 alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna” Gigi” Bryant and seven others.

Wearing the number 24, Bryant was a shooting guard, and an 18-time All-Star and two-time NBA MVP. Bryant averaged 25 points a game in his career and ended as the NBA’s fourth-highest scorer of all time and the NBA’s first guard to play for 20 seasons. 

Bryant started his career with the Lakers in 1996. He was the youngest person ever to play in an NBA game. Bryant was just 17-years-old when he signed with the Lakers, but he didn’t play in an official NBA game till he was 18. 

In April 2001, Bryant married 19-year-old Vanessa Laine, and the two stayed married through all their trials and tribulations. 

The basketball legend partnered with the nonprofit After-School All-Stars as part of the Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation. He also ran an annual summer camp called the Kobe Basketball Academy.

In November 2015, he announced that he would retire at the end of the season. On Apr. 13, 2016, Bryant sold-out the Staples Center and gave fans everywhere a magnificent performance in the last game of his career, scoring 60 points and leading the Lakers to a win against the Utah Jazz. 

Bryant leaves behind his wife and three daughters Natalia Diamante, 17, Bianka Bella, 3, and Capri Kobe, 7-months. His parents Joe “Jellybean” Bryant and Pam Bryant, along with his two sisters Sharia and Shaya Bryant.

A public memorial service will be held Monday, Feb. 24, at 10 a.m., in Downtown Los Angeles, at the Staples Center.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that 1,080 patients in 48 states and the US Virgin Islands have developed lung illnesses associated with vaping. At least 18 people have recently died from using vaping products. 

E-cigarettes are electronic devices that resemble pens or USB flash drives. The devices heat a liquid that vaporizes into an aerosol that the user inhales. A significant number of patients have experienced respiratory illnesses from vaping nicotine and cannabis. One puff generates a distinctive cloud of steam which lingers in the air.   

At Chabot College, Janette Muñoz, Student Health Clinic Supervisor, says she is very concerned about the increase in youth becoming addicted to nicotine. “It seems like [e-cigarette] commercials are targeting young users more and more,” says Muñoz.

A sophomore Chabot student, who preferred not to be named, said he has been vaping flavored pods for one year. He thinks the news coverage is sensational and pertains to heavy users only. 

However, experts disagree. The American Lung Association asserts that “even in small doses, inhaling the two primary ingredients found in e-cigarettes — propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin — is likely to expose users to a high level of toxins and that the more ingredients a user is inhaling, the greater the toxicity.”

Common ingredients in e-cigarettes include nicotine, flavorings, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-an active ingredient in marijuana), and toxins. Other ingredients include benzene (an organic compound found in car exhaust), heavy metals such as lead, and the herbicide acrolein (used to kill weeds).

People who vape may experience chest pains, shortness of breath, coughing, diarrhea or nausea. The CDC recommends that anyone who experiences any of the above symptoms after vaping should contact their physician as soon as possible.

The unnamed sophomore at Chabot started vaping to stop smoking cigarettes and plans to quit vaping in six months.

E-cigarettes were marketed as a safe alternative to smoking tobacco, and as a tool to stop smoking. In fact, no US studies have proven that vaping is a safe alternative to smoking for young adults.

Have you ever walked past the 200 building on the Chabot campus and heard someone singing and playing the guitar? If so, that’s Don “The Guitar Man” Fuller. He writes his songs and has been playing them during his lunch hour for the past 15 years. He sits on a bench between the 100 and 300 building singing and playing his acoustic guitar Monday through Thursday. 

Fuller says he enjoys playing on campus. It’s his outlet. “I enjoy playing. The reason I’m out here playing is basically for my mental health. I appreciate people stopping by and giving me compliments it’s heartwarming.”

Fuller has opened for Country singer Dottie West, has played with the actress/singer Madonna’s guitar teacher, and with the San Jose garage rock band named Count Five. The group is best known for their hit single Psychotic Reaction. Fuller said, “I played with Count Five, a San Jose and the Cleveland Hall of Fame band. We played together at my house.”

“Love for Love”, “When You Woke Me Up” are the songs Fuller wrote. “Fluffy Monkey Butt” is a funny, unique song he also wrote with a student on campus. 

Fuller stated, “It was eight years ago when a student was watching people walking by and saw them walking with their cellphones. I just started singing “Fluffy Monkey Butts.” We wrote that song to get the student’s attention who were walking with their cellphones. It caught their ears.” 

Fuller can also be very serious about the songs he wrote. “Home on The Range” is a song he wrote. His song talks about kids that are losing to drugs, and it may cut to the heart of many people. It’s an Anti-Drug song. 

One of the lyrics of that song is “…. The last straw was when I walked into the bathroom. You had a glass pipe in your hand; it was a stone reaction. When was the last time you just weren’t wasted, then you had the nerve to ask me if I wanted to taste it? Life is so strange, making me want to go back home. Back home On the Range.”

The lyrics talk about a person walking in on a friend using crack. His friend tempts him to use it but refuses. Fuller says he sings it twice a week. It’s his favorite song.

Fuller was born in Massachusetts but raised in the Bay Area. He was four years old when he first learned how to play the piano, then five when he learned how to play the Ukulele.

Fuller mentions, “at ten years old; I started playing the guitar. My family was all musical. My grandparents had a band. My Uncle had a band, and I was in his local band.”

He has written Over 100 songs and performs daily on campus.

His inspirations for writing songs are things that happen in day to day life like; driving a car, eating food, or birds. Fuller stated, “I write about anything that goes on, anything that’s around. It doesn’t matter if I write a song about a bird or a smelly trash can. I don’t have to be inspired to write songs.”

Fuller has also contributed background music toward multiple TV shows for Chabot TV Channel 27 Comcast. Chabot Television Studio Manager/Engineer Sujoy Sarkar mentions, “I begged him for it. When I first started, I was by myself, and we needed some background music to use. I saw him outside and asked him if he happened to have a way to make some background music for TV and he said sure. Ever since then, he gives us some background music, and so I have his music for background on TV Shows.”

It’s OK if you want to play your guitar and sing a song with Fuller. So, the next time you hear someone playing a guitar and singing, don’t be shy and walk on by. Stop and take a listen and lesson from Don “The Guitar Man” Fuller.

Over 800 people have filed with the Federal Election Commission to run for president, yet only three women made it to the third presidential debate. The three women are senators: Kamala Harris from California, Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota, and Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts. This is the first time that the three women have run for national office. There appears to be a lot of excitement about the prospect of having a woman on the Democratic ticket.

On Sept. 12, the top 10 presidential candidates met in Houston to debate. September’s debate allowed voters to witness the candidates’ demeanor on the same platform. Whereas Klobuchar sounded forceful, Harris appeared joyful and diplomatic. Warren seemed eager to debate and deftly responded to challenges from Joe Biden — the leading candidate in the presidential race.

Chabot student, Veotis Latchison II, thinks all the female candidates are strong. His advice to these women is to speak louder, powerfully, and respectfully. Latchison thinks highly of Elizabeth Warren but prefers Cory Booker over Warren.

This year, Warren has been the most competitive among the top female candidates and has occasionally edged out Biden in national polling.

For Harris and Klobuchar, their campaigns face pressure to gain traction since Iowa and New Hampshire voters will cast their votes in Feb. 2020. A look at the candidates’ positions on College and Immigration in Table 1 may explain the senators’ current rankings.

Table 1

Senators Harris and Klobuchar both served as prosecutors, government attorneys who brought charges against defendants.

In the September debate, both Klobuchar and Harris were asked to defend their records. 

Harris responded by stating that she developed “requirements that a state law enforcement agency would have to wear cameras and keep them on full-time” and that she “created police officer trainings … on the issue of racial bias.”

Klobuchar referred to two incidents where perpetrators were found and jailed. She asserted that her prosecutor’s office made changes, such as to pursue “white-collar crimes in a big way, diversify the office in a big way, [and] work with the Innocence Project to make sure we do much better with eyewitness ID.”

Harris sounds strong when she is talking about barriers she overcame to succeed in her career. However, she often changes her position on critical issues, including her health care plan. 

According to the website FiveThirtyEight, Harris has received nearly as many endorsements from Democratic leaders as former Vice President Biden. Representing the populous state of California has helped catapult Harris to the debate stage. But Harris’ support from last summer has declined precipitously in California and other states according to recent polls.

Klobuchar continues to voice moderate positions on hot issues and often touts her ability to get work done. According to Quorum (a legislative tracking company), Klobuchar has introduced more than 70 bills in 2019, more than any other US senator in the current Congress. These bills have not yet been enacted, but often include bipartisan sponsorship. The majority of these bills have been referred to the appropriate legislative committee for consideration.

Warren worked as a Harvard law professor before joining the Senate in 2013. She has a good command of the issues and a reputation for bold plans. During the debate, however, Warren did not directly respond to questions on whether she would increase middle-class taxes to help pay for her expensive proposals.

Several polls are regularly conducted of voters in early primary states by various media outlets. According to Real Clear Politics, polling averages show Harris and Klobuchar in single digits below Warren, except in California. The average polling percentages for all female candidates expected to debate in October are shown in Table 2. For comparison, polling percentages for former Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii also appear in Table 2.

Table 2

As the American public becomes more familiar with these women, some may drift into higher tiers or end up withdrawing from the race. On the other hand, one of these women may become the nominee or earn a spot on the 2020 Democratic ticket. 

The next debate will be on Tuesday, Oct. 15, in Ohio. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii recently qualified to join the October debate. Since there will be at least 11 candidates debating, the candidates may be divided into two groups and perhaps have more time to explain their views. 

To participate in the presidential primary, you must register to vote beforehand. To register online, visit https://registertovote.ca.gov/ or scan the QR code on the right. The deadline to register is Feb. 17, 2020, to cast your vote in California’s primary on Mar. 3, 2020.