RLC students sing backup for Groban

JOYCE JACKSON
Copy Editor

It’s not very often students receive the musical surprise of singing with a multiplatinum artist.

That’s just what happened, though, to Richland jazz singers when chorus director Dr. Michael Crawford told them they would be singing backup for Josh Groban.

“I think they’re having a hard time believing this is actually going to happen. So they’ve worked hard,” Crawford said.

Rehearsals for the event have been taking place Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Crawford said a few weeks ago an agent for Groban contacted him to ask if the jazz singers would be interested in working with Groban during his upcoming tour through Texas in October.

Crawford, who had never met Groban, said he was happy to say “yes.” The performances will take place Friday in Austin and at the Fair Park Music Hall in Dallas Sunday.

“The shows are about an hour and a half,” he said. “We will back him up on two songs: “Anthem,” from the musical “Chess” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from “Carousel.”

Crawford said he and the backup singers will just come out and sing these two songs with Groban. He will learn more details Friday, when they are scheduled to arrive in Austin. Dress rehearsals are at 2 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m.

Groban’s most recent collection, “Stages,” came out in April. It consists of songs from Broadway musicals, such as “Les Misérables,” “Carousel,“ and “The Fantasticks,” among others.

Groban requires 20 singers. They are: Sopranos: Natalie McCurley, Rachel Moon, Rachel Trevino, Rhina Restrepo, Angel Hare, Ashely Fuentes; altos: Martha Schessler, Bethany Zientek, Veronica Merritt, Maria Beltran; tenors: Crawford, Garrett Dunaway, Josh Usry, Steven Singleton, John Villalas; baritones: Brandon Jones and Nick Paldino, and basses: Alex Gonzales, Valentin Lopez and Drew Bramlett.

“The jazz singers were chosen because they are my best singers,” Crawford said. “I have to have 20 singers. I only have 12 jazz singers, so I’ve augmented it with eight other singers from the chamber group.”

Crawford said he won’t be taking any rhythm section players, just the 20 singers on the trip, and they equally are divided among men and women.

Groban wants the backup singers to wear black.

“They stipulate black for men and women … no sparkles, which I told my singers, you know, they really have to be almost part of the wallpaper,” Crawford said. “No hair, no makeup, nothing like that that stands out. They’re really not paying a lot of money to hear us. They’re paying a lot of money to hear him.”

After the performance in Dallas, he and the singers will have their pictures taken with Groban, which they are pretty excited about, Crawford said.

“I think this is an incredible opportunity for our singers to be involved. Even if people don’t listen to his music, they know the name,” he said. “And, I would guess that a lot of people have listened to him. He’s quite a phenomenon.”

Crawford has sung some of Groban’s pieces and said while Groban can cover both tenor and baritone, his songs are very difficult to sing because he has such a wide range.

Crawford said he thinks it speaks well for Groban as an entertainer to be able to make this opportunity available to college kids because every place he goes, he contracts with a college group for backup singers.

“He wouldn’t have to do that,” Crawford said. “He could probably figure out something else, so I think he does it for all the right reasons.”

There’s one other aspect of importance for the jazz singers.

Crawford said they’re earning $2,000 for each performance, which will be used to help finance a spring tour for 16 jazz singers.

“The Choral Department gets the $4,000 for a trip to Seattle next March for a local jazz festival,” he said. “We travel every spring, but this is a little more costly, so the fact that this came along is really pretty good.”

New student ambassadors

Twenty new student ambassadors will represent Richland at off-campus initiatives and help engage potential and current students in the Richland experience. They promote college events and student engagement activities, serve as campus recruitment tour guides and collaborate to enrich student participation in clubsand organizations, according to the Richland College website.

Front row, from left: Itzel Sosa, Zahara Wadud, Hassan Najem, Bertille Maffo, Danielis Guzman, Elisha Muniz, Henry Pham, Saron Tesfaye, Victorine Akoma. Middle row: Domenica Barboza, Bianca Banda, Sundas Sheikh, Parveez Natha, Bel Khuu. Back row: Steve Ehlert, Chris Smith, Witt Wortham, Ricardo Rosales and Edwin Newbold. Image courtesy Richland Communications & Marketing department.

Jackie Reynolds: health professions organizer

AHLAM MARYAM AL MAHROOQ
Staff Writer

Reynolds helps students on the health path. Staff photo Vanessa Myron.

For the last 20 years, Jackie Reynolds has organized an event in the spring called Health Professions Information Day. The week-long event hosts notable speakers from surrounding facilities and university medical personnel, as well as health profession programs.

“I think it is important to boost the students up that way and show them the ways to do that, give them some support,” Reynolds said.

That’s one of reasons she organizes it. She feels community college students sometimes have a problem getting into medical school. By hosting different representatives, it gives students a chance to reorganize themselves and compete on an equal playing field with university students. In addition, when students come to a presentation they are more likely to learn about a field they never knew about, as well as find out if the program is competitive. They are also able to decide if a particular field is suitable for them.

Reynolds is known as a professor who keeps on advising, exposing, helping transition and providing students information about the area of medical and academic institutions as well as health-related careers.

Reynolds is a member of the Texas Association of Advisors for the Health Professions. She has been at Richland since 1985 and graduated from Texas A&M University in 1973. She then earned her master’s degree in 1975 from the University of Hawaii and received an Excellence in Teaching Award from Richland in 2015.

In addition, she was honored by the American Society for Microbiology and worked for a few hospitals, including Parkland Hospital, as a clinical microbiologist.

Reynolds was a research microbiologist for Abbott Laboratories. She also taught on different campuses, including El Centro College and at the medical school at the University of Hawaii.

Reynolds said she loves microbiology because it involves a lot of lab work.

“I get bored easily, so I am always trying to reinvent the wheel,” she said.

Reynolds has a different approach to teaching. She believes instead of doing the boring stuff, such as reading off the PowerPoint in class, she focuses on case studies and puts students in groups, analyzing and putting together jeopardies for reviewing materials in the lab. That way students are able to improve their critical thinking skills.

Reynolds said communication and participation are enough motivation to keep students studying effectively in subjects that interest them. Some students are big communicators and others are totally silent. That presents a problem when a student needs an evaluation letter for medical school.

Reynolds wrote a lab manual for two microbiology courses. It was for Richland students, but it’s available for any student. It saves them money. Reynolds is in the tutoring center, and she opens her office once a week for about an hour.

Reynolds said, “Life gets in the way, but when you commit to doing something at the beginning, you should just go all the way. Don’t stop to do other things. Just keep moving.”

The other face of domestic violence

“It needs to be addressed. Domestic violence happens every day and it happens in all segments of our society,” Richland faculty and counselor Dr. Don Thomson said.

Domestic violence impacts women, men and children of every age, background and belief.

Francisco Martinez, left, and Elvis Pham ask for information about “I commit” bracelets from Greg Weasah. Staff photo Blanca Reyes

Statistics show 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men in the United States have suffered severe physical violence by an intimate partner, according to whitehouse.gov.

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Richland is taking part in the efforts made to create a society free of violence.

“Today and every Thursday in the month of October we’re going to spread awareness about domestic violence,” Kristi Nealy student life office coordinator said.

Lt. Melissa Jacobs said throughout the month the Richland police department, the Student Life Office and the Counseling Center are trying to persuade people to commit to speak out if they know of or see an act of domestic violence.

“[It is like a] ‘See something, say something’ promotion,” Jacobs said.

Although most victims of domestic violence are women, there are a significant number of males who suffer from domestic violence and are less likely to ask for help out of fear of being ridiculed because of a lack of understanding.

Also, more money is spent in prevention campaigns for women, so people are more aware of abuse against women.

According to information on domesticviolencestatistics.org, however, men are more likely to be victims of attacks with a deadly weapon. According to one study, 63% of males as opposed to 15% of females had a deadly weapon used against them in a fight with an intimate partner.

Thompson said when talking about domestic violence, the desire of have power plays an important role. He added that every day people want more and more power. Usually, that power is translated in controlling and abusing their partners.

“Women can abuse the power they have,” Thompson said.

Lt. Jacobs said although men have the same resources that women have, the problem is that it is more difficult for a man to say that he is being abused than it is for a woman.

“Many people think men can’t be abused,” Jacobs said.

Another barrier to breaking this myth is the lack of research dealing with men as domestic violence victims. Society is less likely to view abuse of males as seriously as any other form of abuse and feel little or no empathy for men.

In addition, just a few shelters are designed for men; most of these places accept only women and children and some have very strict rules about the age limit for boys.

Many just accept children who are 13 years or younger, according to the domesticviolencestatistics.org website.

Nealy said the best way to understand domestic violence against men is to think how a women feels being abused.

“The physical evidence of domestic violence against women is clear, but men suffer from domestic violence as well,” Nealy said.

The Richland team is giving away purple bracelets with the phrase “I commit,” which means the person who is wearing it is aware of the problem and can help to the victims.

According to domesticviolencestatistics website, to win the battle against violence everybody needs to be aware and take an active part finding the solution and men who suffer domestic violence can only receive help if they break the silence. Not reporting domestic violence because of the stigma attached is the main reason that men currently receive few services, and one of the reasons that studies on the issue are so few.

Jacobs said approximately 30 percent of the men who are abused report it. She emphasized the importance of breaking silence.

For more information about resources, students are invited to stop by El Paso Hall, Room E082 to talk to one of the counselors (no appointment needed), El Paso Hall, Room E040 or be referred to the right people, or contact the Richland police department at 972-860-4290.

Student senators start new term

Joyce Jackson
Copy Editor

Ten student senators elected to the Student Government Association will begin one-year terms, starting Oct. 5. The election took place Sept. 29-30 on campus and consisted of 14 potential students in a race for 10 open positions.

The newly elected senators are: Nneoma Anyanwu, Yaritza Arteaga, Dandre Brumfield, Troy Hardin, Ashley Ikemenogo, Zion Mike Nimoka, Jay Saadaddin, Ashton Self, Sundas Sheikh and Greg Weasah.

“This is a place where students can voice concerns over issues related to Richland,” said Carter S. Bedford, director of the Office of Student Life.

The new senators will serve in the fall and spring semesters, but not during the summer.
They will be eligible for re-election in the fall of 2016.

Bedford said the SGA is important because it gives students opportunities to advocate for their key issues with the administration.

Some of the issues the SGA tackled last year include smoking policies, food options at various locations on campus, such as Subway and Starbucks, as well as water bottle refill stations, Bedford said. He explained the only qualification to be part of the SGA is you have to be a currently enrolled student and maintain a 2.0 GPA in good standing.

“I would encourage students to partake in any process that affects them,” he said.
Sonia Aikhionbare, SGA president, was elected last April and will be president until April 2016.

Aikhionbare, 18, has been a student at Richland for two years and is majoring in biochemistry. She plans to start at Texas Tech University in the fall of 2016.

“Senators’ duties include being at the meetings, as well as voting for anything that’s on the table,” she said. “It’s mandatory that they go to all the meetings.”

As far as voting on issues, it’s “60 percent plus one” of the 10 senators.

“The senators are expected to be able to interpret ‘Robert’s Rules of Order,’ and getting used to what they can do for the student body,” she said. “During each committee we vote for committee chairs. Each committee picks what’s most important to them. The general body gets to vote on the issue brought up.”

Aikhionbare said the SGA decided to keep everything exactly the way it was with the smoking policies.

“There should be some places assigned for smoking, while other places are not,” she said. “We can’t do anything about our vendor, Subway. In 2017, we can get another vendor … It’s up to the administration, but we do have some kind of an influence.”

The general body meets every other Monday at 2:30 p.m. in El Paso Hall, Room E031. Check with the Office of Student Life for the exact dates throughout the semester.

Committing to complete your degree

Ryan Derenbecker
Staff Writer

Faculty and staff on campus are committed to help raise the graduation rate on this campus and that is why Office of Student Life has organized Complete With Me Week. During this week, students can participate in different activities, which are designed to raise awareness about the importance of getting a degree among the student body.

Kristi Nealy, Office of Student Life coordinator, said the events are designed to encourage students, to not just start college, but to finish, whether they’re getting a certificate or transferring to another university.

The Ducktoberfest is one of the events organized for Thursday, Oct. 15. It will be held on Guadalupe Field from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Snow cones and cotton candy will share space with games and inflatable attractions. All activities are free to all students.

Friday, Oct. 16, wraps up the week by returning to business. Tables will be set up to provide students one last chance to commit to completing their degrees by signing a pledge.

“We’re going to have goodies and giveaways. It’s a fun way to close out Complete With Me Week,” Nealy said.

Students come to Richland with different goals. Some of them are here to earn an associate degree; others to take the required courses before they transfer to a four-year institution where they can earn a bachelor degree.

The reality is only 8 percent of students graduate at Richland while 30 percent of students transfer to a bigger university, according to data posted on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) website. As for gender, the overall graduation rate at Richland is 9 percent for male and 15 percent for female students, according to the latest data available from the National Center for Education Statistics. Note that not all students at the institution are tracked by these rates. These numbers refer to students who began their studies as full-time, first-time degree or certificate-seeking students.

Chronicle staff remembers Marshall Siegel

Joyce Jackson
Copy Editor

Marshall Seigel, left, seen pictured with a student, was the Richland Chronicle’s advertising adviser. He died June 25.

After a 40-year career in the publishing business, Marshall Siegel’s last job was for the Richland Chronicle newspaper doing what he loved best – working with journalism students as an advertising adviser for student media.

Siegel died in June at age 85 and a memorial was held in Dallas at Lefty’s Restaurant, where a group of relatives, friends and co-workers met to honor him. It was one of his favorite restaurants.

Siegel leaves behind his wife, Joy and two adult children who live out of state, as well as a number of grandchildren.

Starting out many years ago as a young reporter at the Chicago Tribune at $35 a week, Siegel eventually progressed into advertising and later founded a trade magazine, Gralla Publications, which became extremely successful over the years.

Erica Edwards, program coordinator for journalism and student media, shared one of her favorite memories of Siegel.

“I told him about having used video footage of the Hindenburg disaster, circa 1937, to make a point about radio news coverage of that period in one of my classes, and he said, without missing a beat, ‘Oh, yeah, I was there’.”

“What an amazing legacy of experience,” Edwards said.

“Marshall was truly a joy to work with,” Edwards said. “He was highly knowledgeable, true, but more significant to our students was his commitment to giving back. He certainly didn’t have to work here, but I think he so enjoyed his interactions with students and colleagues that it made it all worthwhile to him.”

Edwards said Siegel approached any issues that came up with the advertising process with amazing good humor, professionalism, yet with a twinkle in his eye.

“I miss him greatly,” she said.

Matt Hinckley, now a history professor at Eastfield College, said he met Siegel in the fall of 2002 when both were students at the University of Texas at Dallas.

“I knew him for 13 years. We were in a class together at UTD,” Hinckley said. “It was a graduate seminar on the Vietnam war. I was taking that class for a master’s degree. Marshall was auditing the class, as any senior citizen could get a free class at UTD.”

As the two of them sat together and became more acquainted, Hinckley recalled that on the last day of the semester, Siegel turned to him and said, “You know, I sure wish there was a journalism course that I could volunteer for.”

That was all it took. Hinckley was the assistant dean of Richland’s Chronicle newspaper and soon thereafter, Siegel started volunteering as a writing coach for journalism students. That was in 2003.

Hinckley said Siegel was a good choice for the Chronicle because he was good at working with students of all ages and backgrounds.

“He knew how to tear apart a really bad story, a bad first draft. As you know, he would bleed all over that paper,” Hinckley said. “But he knew how to get the writer to rewrite it and make it better. He knew how to use the language to say more effectively what that writer was trying to say.”

Siegel was the perfect choice for the journalism department, Hinckley said, because of his advertising and public relations background.

“It was his advising that took advertising revenues from under $10,000 to $75,000 a year,” he said. “The money he brought in funded a lot of student travel and bought a lot of equipment.”

Hinckley said he will always remember Siegel because he was a “mentor and a friend.”

“He always had a funny one-line zinger to share,” Hinckley said.

Other journalism students and staff remember seeing Siegel’s small red sports car, which was always parked in the same place by Fannin Hall. Also, he loved eating at Subway, especially tuna sandwiches and would make his way down around 10:30 a.m. every day to pick up a sandwich, sit at the small tables by
the newsroom to monitor the news on TV as he enjoyed his lunch.

State ‘fare’: Food and more on opening day

Angela Martinez
Staff writer

On the first day of the State Fair, many people gather to see what new things the annual event bring as well as revisit old favorites. The fair will rung from Sept. 25 to Oct. 18. Staff photo Blanca Reyes.

The State Fair of Texas has begun a 24-day run including food, football and fun for the crowds. The gates opened Friday at Fair Park in Dallas with the theme “Passport to Texas.” One new attraction is the Lone Star Horse Spectacular, offering the history of Texas through horses, flags and music.

Since 2005, the State Fair of Texas has held a food contest called the Big Tex Choice Awards just before opening day. Last year’s winner for Best Taste was the Fried Gulf Shrimp Boil, and the winner for Most Creative was the State Fair Brew Funnel Cake Ale.

This year’s Best Tasting winner is Christi Erpillo for her Holy Moly Carrot Cake Roly. This dish takes a traditional carrot cake with raisins and carrots and turns it into flattened baked bread with cinnamon.

It is then rolled with a light coating of cream cheese and breaded with graham crackers as well as cinnamon and nutmeg. Cream cheese frosting is drizzled on top and it is dusted with powdered sugar. The Holy Moly Carrot Cake Roly is served with caramel on the side and a caramel macchiato cream sauce.

The 2015 winner for the Most Creative goes to Isaac Rousso for his Smoky Bacon Margarita. This drink is served in a souvenir cup and has a slight twist to a traditional margarita.

Turkey legs and burgers are on the grill for hungry fairgoers. Staff photo Blanca Reyes

A frozen lime margarita is infused with the smokiness of freshly cooked bacon. This is definitely a thirst–quenching drink, but unfortunately for most students, they still need to be 21 to try it.

There were six other finalists including Abel Gonzales for the Chicken Fried Lobster with Champagne Gravy, Rousso for another creation called the Cowboy Corn Crunch, Cassy Jones for the Deep Fried Alligator’s Egg Nest, James Barrera for Fried Beer-Battered Buffalo, Justin Martinez for the Lone Star Pork Handle, and Allan Weiss for the Pretzel-Crusted Pollo Queso.

There were 18 new foods introduced this year on the State Fair of Texas website bigtex.com. Some are simple and easy to guess what they are made of like the Funnel Dunkers, or Fried Kettle Corn. Some are more mysterious such as the Machete, and the Deep Fried Tailgate Party.

The fair runs through Oct. 18 this year and students can find discounted tickets at Richland’s bookstore.

— The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Bridging the gap with police

Bel Khuu
Staff writer

Richland students were invited to participate in a police-sponsored project on Sept. 22 and 23 to help bridge the gap in understanding between community and police.

Benjamin Oh, the community engagement officer for the Dallas Police Department, started the project because the department felt that it was time to provide some answers due to the tension in this country so far this year.

The project consists of a conversation hosted by Dallas Police Chief David Brown. It was broadcast live last Thursday. Police recruits answered questions and concerns from college students.

Carter Bedford, director of Richland’s Office of Student Life, coordinated the project on campus.

“I think that there would be some great questions for the police recruits to think about as they are coming into this new thing. I think about the situation in Arlington, the guy who killed a young man at a car dealership was a rookie police officer,” Bedford said.

Bedford said that despite the officer being an older recruit, he was still a rookie. For clarification, the person he shot was under the influence of drugs.

Celebrating Hispanic heritage

Diana Bonilla
Staff Writer

The Hispanic Heritage Month celebration runs annually from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15. During this time we celebrate the culture of the Hispanic people and recognize the many accomplishments of Hispanics and Latino Americans here in the U.S. Many Latin American countries like El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Mexico celebrate their independence during this time as well.

It is a bittersweet time for Latinos because, although they get to celebrate their culture, they also remember the things they left behind back in their native countries. The Hispanic population traditionally celebrates with parties, concerts and social events. This year’s celebrations, however, have a different twist. This is due in part to the controversy that has been taking place lately relating to Donald Trump and his stand on immigration and most importantly on the Hispanic population here in the U.S.

Hispanics today, more than ever, are proud of their roots and their rich culture, and they are coming together so people know they play an important part in America’s political, socioeconomic and cultural development. Hispanics are defining and redefining America in many ways, and they are making their voices heard, from rallies to marches, in favor of creating a more tolerant America. Latinos also have come together here at Richland, where they also celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

“Latinos Shaping a Nation,” was performed by Will and Company on Sept. 21. The performance addressed problems many Hispanics have faced in the past and are still facing today, including issues with same-sex marriage, gender equality, reproductive rights and social in justice. Following the performance came a Q&A session that gave students the chance to inquire about
these challenges.

To find more information about the play and the faces behind this theater for social change, visit willandcompany.com.