Feb - Rio Hondo College

Board UpdateDuring the meeting the boardcommended Maria Clavier andMaribel Garcia for their service on theCitizens Oversight Committee. Theboard thanked them for their timeand dedication, and congratulatedMaribel Garcia on her appointmentas Superintendent, El Monte CitySchool District.Club Rush and Student Services FairRio Hondo students had a chance to check out campus clubs they might want to join at the Club Rush andStudent Services Fair on Feb. 6 in the Mid Quad. Coordinated by Student Life and Leadership, students alsohad the opportunity to learn more about ways to participatein student government as well as the array of servicesthat are available to them.As students chatted with club and services repsand munched popcorn a DJ blasting tunes addedto the festive ambience. Rio Hondo College has 32campus clubs serving a wide array of student needsand interests.Student Mental Health GrantDr. Dyrell Foster,dean of StudentAffairs, providedinformation onthe two-yearMental HealthGrant from theCalifornia MentalHealth ServicesAuthority. TheCollege will use the $245,516 grantto focus on prevention and earlyintervention strategies that addressthe mental health needs of students,faculty and staff. Funds will help tolaunch a student mental health website that will include self-assessmenttests. The College also plans to startan Active Minds student chapter thatfocuses on mental health advocacyand education. A campus-wide “YouMatter” spring campaign will drawattention to the various initiatives.Sabbatical Leave ReportBill Korf of the Theater Departmentprovided a lively presentation on hisyear-long study of a new theater formcalled devising. Devised Theater iscollaborative creation of a new workwhere the creators are also performersin the work. Devising came to RioHondo’s theater department lastsummer when students devised a playcalled “Tek-nal-eh-jee”, based on theprompt “what do we lose when we usetechnology in our lives.” Students gavea performance to illustrate.Accreditation UpdateDr. Adam Wetsman, co-chair ofthe Accreditation LeadershipTeam, provided an update on theCollege accreditation process. Herecommends that staff and facultytake “Accreditation Basics – An onlineworkshop on the basic principlesof accreditation.” They can do soat the Accrediting Commission forCommunity and Junior College website www.accjc.org.Happy 50th Birthday Rio Hondo!A campus-wide Celebration, complete with a giant birthday cake and the installation of a time capsule,will take place on Thursday, March 14 in the Mid Quad. Activities will take place throughout the day, withAssociated Students of Rio Hondo College sponsoring interactive activities. The time capsule installation willtake place at 1 p.m.The Associated Students of Rio Hondo College will attempt to set a newGuinness Book of World Records by gathering more than 1,821verified signatures on a giant birthday card.A variety of items, from College artifacts to students’messages, will be sealed in the Rio Hondo Time Capsule,installed in the Dr. Phil Putnam memorial in the MidQuad, for 25 years.A special event, DAGU Cultural Performance, cosponsoredwith Cerritos College and San Diego StateUniversity Confucius Institute, will take place March21 at the Cerritos College Student Center at 7 p.m.

Black HistoryMonth CelebratedRooted in the Past,RIO HONDO COLLEGE ASSOCIATED STUDENTS IN COLLABORATION WITH THE STUDENT LIFE & LEADERSHIPDEPARTMENT INVITES YOU TO CELEBRATE DIVERSITYKICK-OFFDate: Tuesday 2-12-13Time: 12:30PM - 1:30PMLocation: Middle QuadJoin us in the Middle Quad as we kickoff Black History Month with activitiessuch as: Cultural Information Tables Entertainment Student Appreciation Day (FreeFood with ID)PANEL DISCUSSIONDate: Wednesday 2-20-13Time: 1:00PM - 2:00PMLocation: Student Union SU-201“Rooted in the Past,Growing toward the Future”Join us as we present a panel of RioHondo College faculty and staff whowill share personal artifacts related tothe African American experience.Growing Toward the FutureFILM SCREENINGDate: Wednesday 2-27-13Time: 1:00PM - 3:00 PMLocation: Student Union SU-201Associated Students will be screeningthe film, “THE GREAT DEBATERS”.Stop by for FREE POPCORN andlearn about Black History.“You Will Stand Up And Cheer!”For more information contact the StudentLife & Leadership Office:Location: SU-201 Phone: (562) 908-3427www.riohondo.edu/studentBlack History Month kicked off Feb.12 in the Mid Quad with culturalinformation tables, entertainmentand more.MESA/TRiO Student Support ServicesSTEM Spring RetreatOn Saturday, Jan. 26, 80 participants in MESA/TRiO SSSSTEM kicked of the spring semester with a retreat. The daybegan with a panel discussion that examined how a Science,Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) degree canaid in humanitarian and social justice efforts. Omar Dana, afourth year engineering student from USC’s Virterbi School ofEngineering, showcased the organization Engineers WithoutBorders. The student chapter completed projects in Hondurasthat increased the quality of life for people in remote areas.Dr. Steven Chambreau, from Chemists without Borders, explained the efforts of the organization to ensuresafe drinking water. Finally Dr. Susan Kane from the USC Department of Cancer Biology shared latest incancer research.After lunch, the students split up into two groups. The future engineers were treated to a speed mentoring sessionwith professionals from the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and graduate students from Caltech.The second group met with Rio Hondo alumni who transferred to UCLA last fall. Three students, JeniceMartinez (Mathematics & Economics), Edgar Bocanegra (Mathematics) and Uriel Hernandez (Physics),shared their first quarter experience.MESA student Roxana Del Toro said after the session, “We go through much struggle and often feel we are notgood enough. This session inspired me. I learned that Rio Hondo and MESA prepares us well for transfer.”Program Director Dr. Gisela Spieler-Persad was encouraged too. “Having students come back and tell othersthat MESA/TRiO SSS STEM prepares them well, inspires us to keep doing what we are doing.”A Feb. 20 panel discussion titled“Rooted in the Past, Growing towardthe Future” featured faculty and staffwho shared personal artifacts relatedto the African American experience.The film “The Great Debaters” wasscreened on Feb. 27 in the StudentUnion. The 2008 drama follows adebate team from the historicallyblack Wiley College who advanceuntil they compete with Harvard.Americans have recognized blackhistory annually since 1926, firstas “Negro History Week” and lateras “Black History Month.” Thetradition as it evolved through the20th Century serves as an importantreminder of the contributions ofAfrican-Americans to this country.Save the Date! Rock’nMemories Dance ConcertThe Rio Hondo Dance Program will celebrate 50 years of dance whenit performs Rock’n Memories May 9-11 at 8 p.m. in the Wray Theater.The faculty and student choreographed concert is set to the musicfrom 1963, including Top 100 hits like Fingertips by Stevie Wonder,My Boyfriend’s Back by The Angels, Heat Wave by Martha and TheVandellas, Be My Baby by The Ronettes, Take These Chains from MyHeart by Ray Charles, and (You’re The) Devil In Disguise by Elvis Presley.Also included in the 50th Anniversary Dance Celebration is a medley ofsongs from the musical Hair performed by the full 60 member cast.

DAGU InternationalCulturalPerformanceMarch 21Assemblyman Ian Calderon VisitsRio Hondo CollegeOn Friday, Feb. 22, the Honorable Assemblyman Ian Calderon made his first visit to Rio Hondo College.He was greeted on campus by Trustees Vicky Santana and Angela Acosta-Salazar, Interim Superintendent/President Teresa Dreyfuss, Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Kenn Pierson, Government andCommunity Relations Director Russell Castaneda-Calleros and Student Trustee Lupe Pasillas. During hisvisit Assemblyman Calderon answered questions about Governor Brown’s proposed budget andProposition 39 funding opportunities. He also discussed the importance of restoring previouscuts made to categorical programs. While on campus, Assemblyman Calderon also met withstudents at an Inter-Club Council (ICC) meeting and the MESA Program. He spokewith them about the value of higher education and his advocacy for students.In partnership with the San Diego StateUniversity Confucius Institute, RioHondo College and Cerritos Collegewill be hosting a Dagu internationalcultural performance on Thursday,March 21, at 7 p.m.Traditional Chinese operaticstorytelling and story-singing will beperformed by nationally acclaimedartists in China, including actress/singer Yang Fengjie, actress/sihu playerWang Hongmin, three-stringed luteplayer Zheng Liwen and actor/luteplayer Xia Yan.The program will include performancesfrom traditional and cultural Chinesestories such as the war story ChangBanPo, the romantic fantasy CapturingSanLang and the comedy Tao Hwa Jian.“These stories are very well-knownin China,” said Rio Hondo Professorand Cerritos College Trustee Dr. ShinLiu. “The evening will be a greatintroduction to Chinese culture foranyone who is interested.”Traditional tea and tea cookies will beserved after the show.The first 100 guests will be eligible to beentered into a free drawing to win oneof a variety of food, tea, and other giftcertificates and prizes.Guests will also have an opportunityto meet the artists following theperformance, with a donationrequested. Signed photographs fromthe performers will be available as partof this special addition to the evening’sfestivities. All proceeds benefit futureinternational and global awarenesseducation programs at the colleges.For more information contact theCerritos College Media Relations Officeat 562-653-7878 or Student ActivitiesOffice at 562-860-2451 ext.2475.Forensics Team Scores Big AgainOur forensics team scored big again in its continued series of tournaments,this time at the fourth-annual Golden Cowboy Swing Tournament on Feb.8 – 10 at Glendale Community College and California State University, LosAngeles. Forensics students competed against some of the country’s topforensics teams that included Western Kentucky University, University ofHouston and Arizona State University. Highlights included: Feb. 8, Glendale Community College: Team Maddie Kiphen & OvidioSanchez took Bronze in Open (Senior) Parliamentary Debate. Feb. 9, Glendale Community College: Ovidio Sanchez placed fourthand Adrian Ramos placed fifth in Novice Impromptu. Maddie Kiphentook sixth place in Open/Senior Impromptu and fifth place in OpenParliamentary Debate. Feb 10, Cal State Los Angeles: Ovidio Sanchez placed first, AdrianRamos placed second, and Yisella Mariscal placed third in NoviceImpromptu. Jessica Ruvalcaba took first place in Novice Prose andAdrian Ramos first place in Dramatic Interpretation. Ovido Sanchezplaced first in his event category as well as placed first in each of hiselimination rounds.Rio Hondo forensics team members Maddie Kiphen and Ovidio Sanchez