Renegade Rip Issue 1 Feb. 10, 2021

Women’s March goes
virtual in Kern County
News, Page 2
BC welcomes new head
wrestling coach
Features, Page 6
Vol. 96 ∙ No. 1 Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021 Bakersfield College
The Renegade Rip
PHOTO COURTESY OF SONYA CHRISTIAN
Chancellor Burke, Sandi Taylor, Sonya
Christian, and Jeff Chudy posing outside
the BC stadium.
Tom Burke to retire before next fall
By Amaya Lawton
News Editor
Follow us online at www.therip.com
Tom Burke, the chancellor of the
Kern Community College District
(KCCD),will retire in July.
The KCCD board has set out to
look for a new hire to fill the position
of district chancellor.
Burke explained that he plans on
helping his successor get settled and
hopefully fully positioned before July
so that he may retire early.
As for the future of the KCCD,
Burke explained that he is very optimistic.
The staff and administrators are
good for the district to continue
to grow stronger, and financially,
KCCD is the strongest in California,
he stated.
According to the KCCD website:
“The Chancellor’s Office oversees all
operations of the Kern Community
College District. Subdivisions within
the Chancellor’s Office include
Office of the General Counsel, Office
of Research and Reporting, and
Governmental and External Relations.
The Chancellor’s Office also
serves as Kern Community College
District’s liaison with the KCCD
Board of Trustees.”
Throughout Burke’s career, he
has witnessed some events that have
made him proud to be the chancellor
of KCCD, including attending the
graduation of some incarcerated students
around Kern County.
“To see these students and what
they have achieved, I was just awed
by it,” Burke said.
He also stated that he was honored
to be able to work for the community
and help students throughout his
career.
Burke explained how he was proud
of the way the district has navigated
the funds for the Student Center and
creating a new way to budget without
having a negative fallout.
Burke has been working full-time
since he graduated from Cal Poly
San Luis Obispo in 1981 (he also has
a master’s degree in Business Administration
from CSUB) and plans to retire
to spend more time with his wife.
Burke served as a budget and business
services director for BC beginning
in 1997. In 2001, he became the
Chief Financial Officer for KCCD.
“He served for many years as an influential
member of many statewide
budget committees during a time
when the state’s community college
system was shifting its budget allocation
and funding models,” BC President
Sonya Christian explained.
He has plans set out for his retirement,
which include travel (when it
is allowed again), as well as catching
up on the fishing and hunting trips he
missed out on while working.
He said that he will miss the people
and students that he has met throughout
his career at KCCD.
“I am so thankful for BC and
KCCD,” Burke said. Both have
helped him achieve the career goals
that he set for himself.
Christian stated, “ During his time
as chancellor of the district, which
started in 2017, Tom Burke has
maintained a laser focus on ensuring
that all three colleges in the district
are fiscally sustainable and that we
all have the funding in place to help
The Renegade Rip
students.”
Christian emphasized that Burke’s
knowledge, integrity, and sociability
are well noticed and respected by
committee members on the Student
Centered Funding Formula Oversight.
“Tom Burke has worked tirelessly
to keep a fiscally-sound budget at the
district, which has enabled BC to expand
to more than 40,000 students,”
Christian said.
“Thanks to Tom’s financial foresight
at the district level, BC has been
well-positioned to support students
during the shift to virtual instruction
brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Burke explained that the district
has started to research and develop
a program in order to create a standardized
IT system for the colleges
across the district.
A pilot will be launched in the near
future.
@bc_rip
@bc_rip

News
Page 2
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021
Women’s March goes virtual in Kern County
By Alexis Delgadillo
Reporter
The 2021 Women’s March Kern
County took a different approach
than previous years and was held virtually
this year on Jan. 23. The annual
event was live streamed over zoom
due to the pandemic and California’s
stay-at-home order.
This Women’s March began a
mere four years ago nationwide after
former President Trump’s inauguration
in 2017. Since then, there have
been thousands of people around the
nation and in some parts of the world
that have attended these marches.
The march is a global organization
that advocates for addressing
social issues, ending violence against
women, labor rights, LGBTQ rights,
along with many more causes.
The march was hosted on zoom
from noon to 2:00 p.m. and was later
posted via YouTube so more people
would be able to view the event.
This year’s Women’s March central
theme was empathy, courage, and
hope. To bring the theme’s messages,
the virtual march included a variety
of women guest speakers, performers,
and more.
The zoom event was hosted by
NaTesha Johnson and included
many different prominent women
of Bakersfield ranging from a young
eighth-grade activist to a great grandmother
who has been an activist since
the 70s. Their age was not the only
thing that diversified the speakers
and performers, there were people of
different ethnicities, pronouns, and
backgrounds making it a very inclusive
event.
Women’s rights wasn’t the only
main point of interest, the 2021 inauguration
of President Joe Biden and
Vice President Kamala Harris and
the end of Trump’s presidency was a
recurring topic in many of the speakers’
speeches.
“It’s a new day, a new year, a new
administration, a new beginning,”
said guest speaker Reverend Nancy
Bacon, an ordained minister in the
United Church of Christ, and active
with global ministries in Tijuana and
Uganda.Many of the speakers spoke
highly of the new Vice President
Harris. They collectively praised her
for not only being the first woman
vice president in history but as well
for being the first person of color in
history.
Speaker Raji K. Brar, a business
owner and community leader in the
Central Valley said, “The women’s
march was birthed out of rebuke to
the patriarchy and the misogyny that
permeated the White House, four
years later we have put a woman in
that same White House.”
Most of the speakers said they are
hopeful about what the next four
HALEY DUVAL / THE RIP
Supporters march through Mill Creek Park in the 2019 Women’s
March Kern County in downtown Bakersfield, Jan. 2019.
years must hold with the ushering in
of the new administration many still
warned that there are still injustices
to overcome.
Some spoke of the racial injustices
that have been occurring for
decades and pointed out that we are
still fighting to overcome them, while
others brought light to the struggles
that many LGBTQIA+ people are
continuing to face and how for many
these struggles have gotten worse
during this pandemic.
Olivia Garrison, a LGBTQIA+
activist said, “According to the Trevor
project Covid-19 has had serious
implications for the mental health of
LGBTQ youth, queer and trans kids
have faced a bombardment of hardships.”
Q&A about the COVID-19 vaccine
By Brisa Flores
Reporter
The first President’s
all-campus virtual seminar
series of the spring
semester was held on
Feb. 2, a Q&A session
about Covid-19 was discussed.
Nicky Damania,
the Director of Student
Life here at Bakersfield
College, introduced the
panelists.
Dr. Sonya Christian,
Bakersfield College
President, was present
and joined alongside
Dr. Michael Saag, the
Dean of Global Health
at the University of Alabama
in Birmingham.
Two BC students, Ian
Spark, a BC pre-med
student, and Kassandra
Sweeney, a BC public
health sciences student,
were also panelists at
the meeting.
Dr. Saag kicked the
webinar off with, “We
need to all have a sense
of who we are as people.
What makes us tick,
and once you have that
grounding, then the
world is your oyster, and
you can find your path.”
Spark and Sweeney
asked Dr. Saag a series
of questions regarding
COVID-19 and the
vaccine. Dr. Saag went
on to give in-depth answers
about the vaccine
and how it works.
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The Renegade Rip is produced by Bakersfield College
journalism classes and is circulated on Thursdays
during the fall and spring semesters. The newspaper is
published under the auspices of the Kern Community
College District Board of Trustees, but sole responsibility
for its content rests with student editors. The Rip is
a member of the California Newspaper Publishers Association,
Associated Collegiate Press, and California
Colleges Media Association.
When Spark asked
how does the body’s
immunization process
work, Dr. Sagg
explained,the vaccine
primes the body’s immune
system for when
the virus enters the
body, the immune system
will know what
to look for and how to
respond to it before
anyone knows they are
infected. Sparks then
asked if the vaccine is
safe for cancer patients
currently undergoing
treatment or chemotherapy.
“Yes, it’s safe, but one
of the concerns we have
is that people who have
cancer or an autoim-
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor-in-Chief.........................Haley Duval
Digital Editor........Hugo Maldonado Garcia
News Editor......................... Amaya Lawton
Features Editor.............Sydney Mcclanahan
Opinions Editor....................Victoria Meza
Editor......................................Nick Covello
Copy Editor...........................Joselyn Green
mune disease or something
else where they’re
getting chemotherapy
or some of these immune-based
therapies
might not have quite
the response in the protection
that we would
want them to have ordinarily,”
Dr. Sagg answered.
Sweeney asked, with
all the misinformation
going around, what
can educators do to
help keep communities
informed about the
immunization process
and make them more
comfortable about getting
the vaccine? Dr.
Sagg responded with,
“These otherwise trust-
The Renegade Rip
Adviser.........................................Erin Auerbach
ed voices who are giving
them truthful information
suddenly are no
longer trustworthy, so
that’s one thing that I
think we have to overcome.
The way we can
overcome that, in my
opinion, is to work with
focus groups and people
talking to peers.”
Sweeney also asked if
there are any additional
risks with attempting to
accelerate the developmental
process of the
vaccine. Dr. Sagg replied
that the speed of
the developing process
did not harm the process
at all.
Dr. Sagg also spoked
about his work at the
STAFF
Reporters/photographers:
Jimmy Aleman, Teresa Balmori
Perez, Jaylene Collins, Charr Davenport,
Alexis Delgadillo, Brisa
Flores, Clarecca Hargis, Jared
Johnson, Saioa Laverty, Razan
Makhlouf, Aubrianna Martinez,
Angeles Mendez
University of Alabama.
Sagg said he worked
with other colleagues
where they came up
with a plan to have
8,000 COVID tests a
day in all 52 campuses
in Alabama, where they
tested about 220,000
students in all. He then
went on saying helped
them get a hold of the
epidemic early on in
the breakout. Dr. Sagg
closed the webinar with
two Hamilton quotes:
“When it comes time to
get your vaccine, don’t
throw away your shot.”
and “History has its
eyes on us.”
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News
Page 3
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021
Kern County Democratic leaders
call on Kevin McCarthy to resign
By Charr Davenport
Reporter
The Kern County Democratic Central Committee
and the Democratic Women of Kern joined
together, on Jan. 11, to call on local Republican
Congressman and House Minority Leader Kevin
McCarthy to resign due to his influence on the riots
at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“The mayhem that terrorized the Capitol was
incited by the President and his allies, who fed
their supporters a steady diet of misinformation
and dangerous rhetoric. Bakersfield Representative
Kevin McCarthy, in his role as House Minority
Leader, has been among the most vocal and influential
members of Congress to engage in this type
of behavior,” the local groups said in a joint press
release. The release also accused McCarthy of violating
Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to
the Constitution as well as his own Oath of Office.
“We called on his resignation because he does
not represent the people anymore,” said Christian
Romo, Chair for the Kern County Democratic
Central Committee. “He represents Donald
Trump and his billionaire friends.”
According to Romo, the Kern County Democratic
Party has plans to keep the pressure on
McCarthy until he resigns, as well as plans for if
he does not resign. “The only way to remove him
from office would be getting a 2/3 vote from his
colleagues in the House. We want to pursue that
route as well. If he doesn’t resign, we’re going to
ask for his colleagues to take him out.”
Robin Walters, president of the Democratic
Women of Kern, wants McCarthy to take responsibility
for his part in the riots. “I think he [McCarthy]
and his kind are to blame. If you can’t tell
people the truth, if you continue to allow the incitement
of racism and crazy conspiracy theories
and the false notion, absolutely false, that this election
was not secure, you are responsible. I would
say he was responsible because he spoke out about
that.” Despite that, Walters does not think McCarthy
will resign. She is, however, hopeful for the
future of Kern County. “I think there are lots of
people in Kern County, more than you know, that
are Democrats. I also think there are lots of thinking
Republicans. I don’t think the thoughtful Republicans
in this town abide by the Trump lies and
the McCarthy groveling at Trump’s feet. I don’t
think they like people that are just after personal
power and personal gain.”
Agreeing with Walters is Elise Modrovich, who
is currently in the running for Assembly District
26. “He [McCarthy] won’t resign… Right now
he’s trying to work his way back into his power position.
We have an opportunity, but I don’t know
how long we’ll have it. There is a chink in his armor,
so if we can get a strong candidate, we have a
shot at Kevin.”
Not everyone in the Kern County Democratic
Party is happy with the call, however. Julie Solis,
who ran for the 34th District in 2020 and was recently
arrested for trespassing at McCarthy’s office
on Jan. 11, does not think the party is doing
enough. “I think that just releasing a statement
that says ‘Resign,’ although it is appreciated, isn’t
enough. If you really want to make an impact,
then we need to start mobilizing. We need action.”
As of Feb. 4, Kevin McCarthy has not yet made
a response to the calls for him to resign.
BC webinar explores
the power of gaming
Discussing racial and
gender equity at BC
By Jaylene Collins
Reporter
Bakersfield College’s Student
Government Association (BCSGA)
held a webinar via Zoom with the
Southern University of California
(SUC) professor and video-game
executive Gordon Bellamy, last
Tuesday, Feb. 2.
The theme of the webinar was
“The Power of Gaming.” Bellamy
spoke about his career path, education
programs in the gaming industry,
and the importance of gaming.
Throughout the webinar, Bellamy
also answered various questions
from the audience.
Coming from a family of lawyers,
Bellamy spoke of how he was
expected to become one himself.
Thus, Bellamy went to college to
pursue a career as an attorney but
due to lack of interest, his career
path changed.
Having a love for sports and video
games, Bellamy decided he wanted
to work at the video game company,
Electronic Arts (EA) or ESPN.
Eventually, Bellamy landed a job at
EA and worked his way up the ladder.
Most notably, Bellamy worked
as the lead designer twice for the
popular game, “Madden NFL.”
He later left EA and helped to start
Z-Axis, a smaller video game company
that created extreme sports
games. Z-Axis was later bought by
video game publisher, Activision.
As an educator, Bellamy now
teaches at USC. He is a faculty
member for USC Games, a program
that helps students who want
a career in the gaming industry.
“You cannot wait for the world to
act on you,” Bellamy stated. “If you
want to get into the game industry,
then you have to act on the world
and start making games.”
At USC Games, there is a video
game design track and video game
engineering tack undergrad and
masters students are able to take,
as well as extracurriculars such as
a course on how gaming streaming
services work and esports teams students
can join.
Bellamy said his favorite part of
his job was being able to watch his
students grow.
“The people who I’ve mentored
who have gone on to do and create
things that I couldn’t even imagine.
That’s my favorite thing, to see
them thrive and grow is super fulfilling.
Seeing people be their own best
selves,” Bellamy said.
Bellamy then spoke about the importance
video games played in his
life. Besides the fact Bellamy worked
as a video game executive, he said
games were always important to
him.
“Games matter to me so much
because games have rules that we
all share,” Bellamy explained. “For
me, games were always a default
space where I could simply be and
be as good as I was and share an
experience with people who are all
navigating the same set of rules. We
look for default set spaces where we
could be who we are as unique individuals.”
Then he spoke of how important
it was for people to be able to find
that unique set space for themselves
in video games.
The webinar then came to a close
after Bellamy answered a few questions.
The full webinar is available to
watch on the BCSGA Facebook.
By Brisa Flores
Reporter
A webinar with three academic
senate leaders was held to discuss
their views about their racial and gender
equity perspectives in the public
higher education, on Jan. 29.
In this four-part conversation series,
Lark Park, director of the California
Education Learning Lab, was joined
with Academic Senate leaders Dr.
Dolores Davison, Dr. Robert Keith
Collins, and Dr. Mary Gauvain.
The California Education Learning
Lab was passed as a bill in 2018
to close gaps between equity and
achievements in students who specifically
want a STEM career.
Dr. Davison is the President of the
Academic Senate for the California
Community Colleges and a Professor
of History and Women’s Studies
at Foothill College. Dr. Robert Keith
Collins is the Chair of the Academic
Senate of the California State
University, an Associate Professor of
American Indian Studies at San Francisco
State University, and a four-field
trained anthropologist. Dr. Gauvain,
is the Chair of the Academic Senate
of the University of California and a
Professor of Psychology for the University
of California Riverside.
The three guests answered a series
of questions about the topic of racial
and gender equity.
One of Park’s first opening questions
to the senate leaders was when
talking about race and gender equity
about students, what they really talked
about, and faculty talking about
the same thing.
“Equity is really about providing
students with the opportunity and
support that they can succeed,” stated
by Dr. Gauvain.
Gauvain then went on to say that
students should be able to succeed
and do what they want to do and not
be tied restrained by society,”Equity
really just is a fundamental core value,”
she added.
Dr. Collins explained how it is important
for faculty to use their voices
to bring up the issues about “fairness
and impartiality.”
“Faculty are really using the classroom
to engage these issues not only
in terms of research that helps to
grow fields but also so that they turn
into pedagogical resources,” Dr. Collins
said. He explained this will help
students know what fairness really is
and how the lack thereof can cause
more inequality and impartiality in
an environment like school.
Dr. Davinson gave her perspective
as the President of the community
colleges, “I would argue that at any
of our 115 degree-granting institutions
and 116th which is a fully online
college you will see faculty making
significant changes throughout the
institutions to ensure that equity is a
central focus of everything they do in
and out of the classroom, the athletic
field, the counseling office, the lab,
wherever they are.”
The panelists continue to answer
questions from their perspectives
from the campuses they work at and
how their campuses implement the
idea or topic of race and gender equity
to be talked about or minimize
the gaps caused by and h0w similar
the ideas of these campuses are even
if they are from different campuses.
Dr. Davinson brought up how faculty
should be involved in this discussion
and the student services professionals
because they are the ones that students
usually see and communicate
with more to be able to minimize this
gap with race and gender.
They also discussed what keeps
them inspired during quarantine and
what they admire about their comrades.

Features
Page 4
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
Wednesday Feb. 10, 2021
BC choirs find a new way to perform
By Teresa Balmori Perez
Reporter
The Bakersfield College Choirs have adapted
to a safe and virtual environment while still being
able to rehearse and perform in an outdoor setting,
while following safety precautions.
The BC choirs have decided to begin their semester
through Zoom due to the high cases of
COVID in Kern County. However, they are planning
to meet in person for rehearsals this spring
semester. “We will begin with each section coming
in to meet with me in the outdoor theatre. This
will include about eight people or less at a time.”
According to Jennifer Garrett, the choir director at
BC “each of us must do the health questionnaire
and be approved to come onto campus.” To insure
the safety of the students temperature checks are
required before anyone enters the rehearsal, Garrett
explained. “I even prop open all of the doors
so that no one has to touch a door and everyone
uses hand sanitizer anytime they come out of the
building.”
It has been a challenge to conduct during the
pandemic due to not being able to hear how the
person is pronouncing their vowels or the tone of
their voice because people are not side by side,
Garrett explained. They have also had problems
using Zoom. “ We all are well aware, the latency
on Zoom makes it impossible for us to unmute
and sing. It is utter chaos,” Garrett said. “ This can
be quite discouraging and unfulfilling to someone
who signed up for a choral or instrumental music
experience.”
Despite all the challenges through conducting
a choir online, it has been surprising how the students
have dedicated themselves to continuing to
make music and finding ways to share music with
each other, Garrett explained. “Music is a big part
of who we are and
to not have that avenue
of expression has
caused many to suffer
from significant depression
and anxiety,”
Garrett stated.
As for adapting to
conduct in a virtual
environment, Garrett
explained that
students were able
to put together a virtual
concert entitled
“Becoming Us.” The
virtual concert premiered
on YouTube
Premium on Nov. 30,
2020. The students
were able to do this
by prerecorded music
through their phones
and through the engineering
software,
Logic Pro X. They
then filmed the concert
at the BC Outdoor
Theater, Hart Park, and through pictures of
students holding up inspirational signs all while
socially distancing, Garrett stated. According to
Professor Garrett, the choirs will be doing a virtual
concert on May 15 at 7 p.m. The concert will
be named “Of Things That Matter Most” and
will premiere on YouTube Premium. “ This concert
will be a little different than the last concert,”
Garrett stated. “We are rehearsing over Zoom and
also in small groups, socially distant in the Outdoor
Theatre.”
Professor Garrett explained that she is grateful
PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER GARRET
The Bakersfield Choirs rehearsing through Zoom while holding up
inspirational quotes.
for her students that continue to share their talents
with other students and the world. She hopes that
they will continue to lift each other through any
challenges they face. Garrett looks forward to seeing
more people join their choir for the fall semester
of 2021.
For more information on the BC Choirs, students
can email professor Garrett, or one can go
to the BC website and look for any events or additional
information. Students can also go to their
YouTube page, “Bakersfield College Choirs” for
any live or prerecorded performances.
PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER GARRETT
The Renegade Chorus singing in the Outdoor Theater at BC.
PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER GARRET
The Bakersfield Choir Chamber Singers at Hart Park.
BC’s theater program goes virtual
By Jaylene Collins
Reporter
The Bakersfield College Theatre
Department students and professors
are working to create two productions
for this spring semester.
Complying with BC’s COVID-19
guidelines, most rehearsals are now
held over Zoom.
“It’s not ideal,” said Brian Sivesind,
a theater professor at BC. “But we are
able to work with small groups and
talk in theory about how the shows
will look.”
During these Zoom rehearsals,
everyone is preparing to record segments
of the play with small groups
that will meet in person later in the
semester. These clips will be put together
to create a full show that can
be watched safely from home.
Still, putting together productions
virtually comes with a new set of
challenges.
The department is not able to do
everything they were able to do in rehearsal
pre-COVID through Zoom;
they are unable to focus on the looks,
blocking for the show and actors are
no longer able to practice in the environment
where they will be performing.
“For the direction, it’s really a challenge
to communicate when we aren’t
in person,” Sivesind explained. “The
screen limits interaction and we can’t
really see the whole picture. We focus
on how things sound and how actors
deliver lines, but even that isn’t completely
clear when coming through
the internet.”
Sivesind added that they also had
to carefully select the productions
the department would be putting on.
The shows could not have any crowd
scenes and had to be capable of being
split up evenly between the actors.
Sivesind also said they did not focus
on the pandemic for this semester’s
theme because they think people
need some escapism right now.
However, virtual production has
not been all negative; Sivesind stated
a positive to recording productions
is that students are now able to
learn more about the film and television-based
aspects of acting instead
of just the live theater acting.
Despite the setbacks that come with
the pandemic, Sivesind said the department
is working through it, trying
to find the positives and learn
new things that can be applied to the
department in the future.
Although the pandemic makes everything
more stressful, Sivesind said
it is still important to pursue art.
“While survival is always the priority,
art is an essential element of
society that we too often take for
granted,” he said.
Productions planned for this spring
are: “Fairy Tales,” by Angela Carter
that
will be directed by theater professor
Cody Ganger and “The Last Days
of Judas Iscariot,” by Stephen Adly
Guirgis which Sivesind will direct.
The productions will be premiering
in March and April, respectively, and
they will be available on the
streaming platform Vimeo.

Features
Page 5
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021
BC student organizations have
incorporated the app Discord
for virtual connections
By Teresa Balmori Perez
Reporter
The Bakersfield College Government
Association (BCSGA)
has come up with the idea of
adapting to the free chatting service
called Discord.
The Bakersfield College Discord
was first established in the
fall of 2019 for testing services,
but soon became public and
popular among students at the
start of the pandemic in March
2020. The Discord currently has
over 800 members and around 5
clubs at the moment. The clubs
consist of Women in Science
and Engineering (WISE), Computer
Science, Ethics Bowl, Japanese
Culture, and Sexuality and
Gender Acceptance (SAGA),
according to Benjamin Balderrama,
Student Life Programmer
Manager at BC. Discord also has
a few professors on the app.
“Discord is more like a chat
server where people talk or text
in real-time and acts like a virtual
common space everyone can go
to,” according to Balderrama.
“Just like you would go to the
huddle, a class, or bench, you can
just go visit and start talking.”
Their rules for the messaging
service are simple at the moment
due to students not causing any
harmful activities, Balderram
explained. However, they do
require students to follow the
basic rules that Discord has set
in place. “I try not to play big
brother and let the server go
about its business and help students
when directly contacted,”
Balderram stated. BC also tries
to remove any content that violates
the rules and withdraws or
bans any users that are not following
them.
Balderrama was encouraged
to use the chatting service after
moderating different YouTubers
and streamers. “Discord is
helpful for online games so people
can play like they are right
by each other,” Balderrama explained.
“You can have so many
different channel topics so everyone
can feel invited.” He has
been familiar with the messaging
app for 4 years now.
According to Balderram, Discord
does have some similarities
with the Surviving BC Facebook
page. “I do have a feeling the
Discord will be the younger traditional-age
college students and
gamers while Facebook can have
older students or students not so
much into games,” Balderrama
stated. They both allow students
to socialize and get to know each
other.
As for the future, Balderrama
still hopes to be moderating the
app and will continue it, even
after the pandemic ends, he explained.
He believes that it would
still be a fun and interactive way
to communicate with other students.
For more information about
Discord, one can go to the BC
website and search for events
or discussions happening on
Discord. One can also contact
Program Manager Balderram
through email for more information.
Renegade Events
Campus Events
Feb. 10: Renegade Fitness, from 12:00 pm
to 1:00 pm on https://cccconfer.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ggUBfbxVQkWkqJtaBTnEEw.
Feb. 10: Among Us Live Stream on Twitch/
Discord, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm online at
https://discord.gg/5VuFBJZ.
Feb. 11: Renegade Fitness, from 12:00 pm
to 1:00 pm on https://cccconfer.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ggUBfbxVQkWkqJtaBTnEEw.
Feb. 11: Discord Discussions: Aftermath of
Stock Market and Reddit, from 2:00 pm to 3:00
pm online at https://discord.gg/5VuFBJZ.
Feb. 11: A2MEND Welcome Session, from
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Zoom.
Feb. 12: Renegade Fitness, from 12:00 pm
to 1:00 pm on https://cccconfer.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ggUBfbxVQkWkqJtaBTnEEw.
Feb. 15: Renegade Fitness, from 12:00 pm
to 1:00 pm on https://cccconfer.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ggUBfbxVQkWkqJtaBTnEEw.
Feb. 19: CPR, AED & First Aid Certification
Courses, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm at Performing
Arts Center Room 101.
Feb. 24: Energy-Water-Food-Nexus Webinar,
from 10:00 am to 11:30 am, Location: Online
BC Sexuality and Gender Acceptance
club host new series “My rainbow road”
By Saioa Laverty
Reporter
Bakersfield College
SAGA (Sexuality
and Gender
Acceptance Club)
had guest speaker
Jude Salas-Jackson
to talk about his experiences
as a transgender
manas part
if the club’s new series
“My Rainbow
Road”, on Feb. 3.
The series will
have a new guest
speaker every
Wednesday of the
spring semester to
share LGBTQ+
success stories in the
local community.
Jude is a former
Bakersfield College
student and member
of the SAGA
club who now works
in the field of biology.
SAGA stands
for sexuality and
gender alliance, and
the club has guest
speakers weekly to
discuss personal experiences
related
to sexuality and/or
gender and share
their wisdom to
people in the club
or anyone who is interested.
To start off the
meeting, Jude was
asked to share his
story and some details
about his life.
He began by sharing
how he identifies.
“My preferred
pronouns are he/
him but I am also
okay with they/
them pronouns”
Salas-Jackson said.
Jude goes on to
explain that he was
born female, and
for the first twenty
years or so of his life
he tried to embody
society’s definition
of what it means to
be female, which he
felt “never quite fit”.
Jude was exposed
to the terminology
that described
how he was feeling
in a medical terminology
course
he was enrolled in
at Bakersfield College.
The course
was discussing
something called
“Gender Identity
Disorder”, which
is now an outdated
term. Jude said that
he related to many
of the descriptions
of “Gender Identity
Disorder” which
helped him to fully
realize that he is
transgender.
After Jude shared
a little bit about his
experience with determining
his gender
identity, he gave
everyone in the
meeting an opportunity
to ask him any
questions they have
or share any other
additional comments.
There were
many questions
asked, which Jude
was able to clearly
answer. There were
also many faculty
members who came
to congratulate Jude
on his transition
and also share his
involvement in their
class or whatever
it was they were in
charge of.
One question that
PHOTO COURTESY OF HELEN ACOSTA
BC SAGA guest speaker Jude Salas-Jackson.
Jude was asked was
if his studying of
biology ever contradicted
with his
identity. Has being
trans changed his
view of biology?
Jude answered that
studying biology
has actually allowed
him to even further
confirm his identity.
He elaborated
that a professor he
had told the class
that “sex and gender
were social constructs”.
There are
traits that are more
associated with being
female and others
more associated
with being male,
but these were all
determined by society.
In reality gender
is more of a spectrum
rather than an
option between one
or another.
Jude’s story about
his gender identity
and discovering
who he is was an
inspiration to many,
which is evident
from the amount
of faculty and students
who came to
congratulate him.
His contentment
with being himself
was evident through
his welcoming and
warm personality
which he maintained
throughout
the entirety of the
meeting. Jude was
confident and comfortable
with who
he was which was
an incredible thing
to see from a young
transgender man.

Features
Page 6
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021
Bakersfield College welcomes new
head wrestling coach Marcos Austin
PHOTO COURTESY OF MARCOS AUSTIN
BC’s recently announced head wrestling
coach Marcos Austin (left) with former BC
athlete Keithen Estrada (right) during the
2019 State Championship.
By Razan Makhlouf
Reporter
Marcos Austin is no stranger to coaching, as
he was a co-head Coach at BC for the past seven
years.
He started wrestling at the age of ten and was
fortunate to be part of the Bakersfield College
wrestling team as a student, assistant, and has
been promoted as the Head Wrestling Coach on
Jan. 6 after the resignation of Brett Clarkin last
December.
Austin was welcomed as a wrestling coach with
confidence that he will bring energy and enthusiasm
to the team.
According to the Bakersfield athletics website
the BC Athletic Director Reggie Bolton, “He is
more than qualified to lead the program and will
bring plenty of energy and enthusiasm in leading,
mentoring, and coaching our student-athletes.”
While Austin’s new role as a coach requires him
to do more paperwork than before, his approach
to the students and the wrestling philosophy will
stay the same.
He is surrounded by an incredible coaching staff
all of whom have been with the program since he
began as the co-head coach.
It is no surprise that the covid-19 has taken its
toll on all sports programs, and with wrestling being
the ultimate contact sport, one would ask how
a wrestling program would move forward.
For Austin the answer is simple, “Wrestling as a
sport must adapt. I have and continue to be challenged
this year. I will continue to adjust to meet
those challenges,” he said.
Austin’s goal is to put the team in a better and
stronger position than previous years.
For him, success is not about the immediate
gratification of winning, or the dissatisfaction of
losing, it is about growth, development, and having
a good mindset.
“It is about the journey, not just the immediate
outcome” he said.
Austin is confident with his team of young athletes
this season he said the “team has ten returners,
including five state qualifiers coming back.”
Austin shared he is “hopeful that life will go
back to normal, and students will go back to
school soon, rough times, as well as good times,
do not last.”
He is aware though, that it is important to keep
students safe while staff continually work to motivate
and enhance their learning environment
within those protocols.
Local vendors came together for the
Bakersfield Underground Collectors
By Charr Davenport
Reporter
The Bakersfield Underground Collectors Outdoor Monthly Meetup was
held Saturday, Jan. 30, outside of Downtown Toys-N-Comics despite COVID
19 concerns.
The gathering went from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and featured various local collectors
and vendors.
Funko Pops, Hot Wheels,
action figures, and tamarind
based rim dips were
just some of the items being
sold.
Crystal Quintero, owner
of the food-based business
Lenguas Venenosas, was
among the vendors, selling
and giving away free
samples of her homemade
tamarind based rim dips.
While she had sold at other
events, this was her first
time at the Bakersfield Underground
Collectors Outdoor
Monthly meetup.
Among the vendors was
also Devin Radney, a “collector
of everything” for the
past 27 years and a vendor
for the past year. Radney
stated that he liked the purpose
of the monthly meetup.
“Everybody is into the same
stuff, so it works.”
PHOTO COURTSEY OF CHARR DAVENPORT
Father-daughter duo Mario Saldana and Maria Saldana sell their Hot
Wheel collection.
Javier Bautista, the organizer of the monthly event, is also a collector and
vendor.
“We’ve been doing this for 6 to 7 months,” according to Bautista. To abide
by guidelines, the event was held outside and every vendor was required to
wear a mask, Bautista explained.
Though not every vendor actually wore a mask, the majority of vendors
practiced forms of COVID 19 safety precautions. “As long as we’re safe, we’re
okay,” said Steven Trejo, who shares a
vending booth with Victoria Briano. David
Juarez, an employee for Bakersfield
Underground & Collectables, explained
that as long as he wears a mask and carries
hand sanitizer, he is not too worried.
Chris Guadarrama, another vendor,
said he was not worried at all about
COVID 19. “Most people wear a mask
and most vendors have hand sanitizer,”
he explained.
However, Jim Gillis, owner of the new
collectible shop KRRJ Collectables, expressed
concern over COVID 19 but
also felt the event was needed despite
concerns. “We are outdoors and that
helps out. People need to feel like they’re
human beings.”
According to the Kern County Public
Health Department as of Feb. 2, there
have been 94, 467 total resident cases in
Kern County, with 32,229 of them being
recorded as recovered.
There have been 624 resident deaths.

Reviews
Page 7
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021
What to expect when
whatching WandaVision
By Sydney McClanahan
Features Editor
WandaVison” isn’t something
you’d expect from Marvel.
Though humorous and different,
you might find yourself slightly
confused.
Directed by Matt Shakman
and written by Jac Schaffer,
“WandaVison’s” first two episodes
premiered on Disney+ on
Jan. 15th in the classic blackand-white
sitcom style.
Think “I Love Lucy” or the
“Dick Van Dyke Show.” Studio
laughter, witty remarks, and chaotic
situations but add superpowers
into the mix.
Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth
Olsen), is your not so ordinary
50’s housewife who uses her
powers for her daily duties while
trying to fit into life in the suburbs
with Vision (Paul Bettany),
who as opposed to his android
body, appears human where he
does an office job that even he
isn’t sure of what its about.
The first episode begins with
a Wanda and Vision gazing at
a heart drawn onto the date on
the calendar, however, neither
of them are sure of what it’s for.
They begin to realize throughout
the episode that they have little to
no memory of their life together
as they’re questioned by Visons
boss regarding their life story.
How they met, when they were
married, none of it.
Of course along with a sticky
situation comes more crazy antics,
humor, and new characters
such as Agnes (Kathryn Hahn)
their nosey neighbor.
For the Marvel Comics Universe
fans, you may have a handle
on what’s to come, but those
coming in blind might even forget
that they’re watching a Marvel
production.
Though subtle, any hits or out
of the ordinary things can be notable
to remember throughout
the episodes.
You may even notice a Marvel
reference or two in each, such as
a commercial break for a Stark
Industries toaster.
Don’t be fooled by how this
show appears. Fun and comical,
but for Wanda and Vision that’s
far from normal.
Something is off in this Marvel
Universe and it will be interesting
to see it all play as they continue.
If you haven’t already, it’s definitely
worth a watch.
Following the current three
already out, Disney + will be releasing
a new episode weekly.
Bucky’s Hot Chicken
will test your taste buds
CLARECCA HARGIS / THE RIP
The Bucky’s Hot Chicken food truck located on the corner
of Brimhall and Coffee.
By Clarecca Hargis
Reporter
The best thing to do in Bakersfield
whether you’re a local or
not is to stop at a family-owned
food truck.
If you’re in the mood for hot
and spicy chicken or particularly
Nashville hot chicken, Bucky’s
Hot Chicken is a must stop.
Locally owned, the blue food
truck puts a spin on hot chicken.
Located on the corner of Brimhall
and Coffee, you can find
Bucky’s parked in the Chevron
parking lot.
The food truck specializes in
three meals, chicken tenders,
chicken wings, and chicken sliders.
Buckys offers spice levels of
Country, Mild, Medium, Hot,
and Extra Hot.
Each meal comes with sweet
fries and pickles. The signature
Bucky’s Sauce is the perfect dipping
condiment for the tangy
chicken.
I visited the Bucky’s Hot Chicken
truck on two separate occasions
to create a review based on
consistency.
Each time, there were five to
six small groups gathered around
the food truck waiting on their
orders.
The wait was approximately
20 minutes and worth every second.
One can only try Bucky’s signature
hot chicken by visiting
their food truck.
The truck currently does not
provide online or over the phone
services to place an order.
Bucky’s is not your average
fast-food joint and the price of
the meal shows in its quality of
the food.
The chicken tender and wing
combo, both in the medium seasoning,
was at a high spice level.
However, if you’re a spicy food
lover, the medium spice level is a
perfect start.
Both of the orders carried the
same spice consistency and surprisingly
was a strong amount of
spice.
The Buckys sauce was almost
necessary because of how hot
the seasoning made the chicken.
However, the chicken tenders
were large, juicy, and tender
which made the spice worth it.
The second round of Bucky’s
included an order of the mild
chicken tenders combo that
came with a side of Texas toast.
The mild seasoning made the
chicken enjoyable because it was
the perfect amount of heat.
After finishing the whole meal
I would definitely recommend
the mild seasoning as a starter
for someone who is dabbling into
spicy foods.
If you’re into Nashville chicken
and extreme spice, Bucky’s
Hot Chicken is definitely a place
to try.
My love for films
Films
By Brisa Flores
Reporter
My love for films is
never-ending.
We have been in this
ongoing pandemic
and stay-at-home order
for almost an entire
year already, but
it has made me realize
why I love films and
all the magic that goes
into them.
Living through this
pandemic made me
explore new genres,
and films are much
more than just something
to watch.
We all have our preferred
genres of movies
and TV shows that
we enjoy watching.
If you are like me,
someone who will
pretty much watch
anything, our favorite
genres will tend to
change from time to
time.
For the past month,
my favorite genre
of film has been romance.
I will admit when
someone puts me
on the spot and asks
me what my favorite
genre of film is, I
would rarely choose
romance.
Instead, I name any
other genre.
Romance can either
be the main
genre or subgenre in
a film, which goes the
same for other genres.
That’s the beauty of
it all; multiple genres
can come together to
create one final project
and make people
feel a bunch of different
emotions.
Without meaning to,
I spent the past month
watching almost nothing
but romance films.
I appreciate this
genre because the plot
gives me that comforting
feeling.
The way the directors,
costume department,
etcetera, just
emphasize the films’
whole feel.
They all carefully
select how they want
certain things to be for
whatever the plot is or
how they want to represent
the character’s
relationship development
in their scenes.
One of my favorite
things about this genre
is the types of romantic
relationships and
different tropes that
can be explored within
the film’s story, like
enemies to lovers or
fake dating tropes.
Tropes just really
Brisa Flores
add more to the story
and make it more interesting
without being
repetitive or bland.
As I previously said,
I usually hardly lean
toward the romance
genre when it comes
to watching movies.
Nonetheless, this
time, they gave me
something I did not
know I wanted or realized
was missing for
the past year.
This specific genre
gave me a warm feeling
that I found really
comforting and very
much needed.
Especially during
times like these where
we do not have a lot
of contact with others
and cannot physically
be with people; we
used to be around a lot
before this.
These movies make
me feel as if someone
is giving me a warm
hug, and it makes me
feel like I just drank
a cup of warm hot
chocolate.
Some films I
watched this past
month are Ella Enchanted,
Tangled,
Mamma Mia, and
Grease.
They are all some
iconic films that fall
within the romance
genre with some entertaining
musical
numbers.
They are all similar
in the genre but different
when it comes
to relationship tropes
and plotlines.
If you ever need that
warm feeling, take a
breather and watch a
romance film.
You may never know
if anyone you watch
can become one of
your newest comfort
films.

Opinion
Page 8
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021
COVID-19 is taking its toll
on local businesses
My friendship within
video games
Gaming
By Charr Davenport
Reporter
By Victoria Meza
Opinion Editor
The COVID-19 pandemic
and the lockdown
and changes affecting so
many aspects of daily
life in the United States
that is has caused since
last March have forced
most to put their lives
on hold. Several jobs
were revoked and lost,
a lot of non-essential
businesses had to close,
and everyone started to
wear masks (and some
people donned’s gloves)
to avoid getting contaminated.
Almost a year later,
there are still some
small business that,
even if they are open,
they have a lot of rules
that do not allow customers
to enjoy them
as before. Some pools
are closed, and the way
the professional environment
changed is affecting
most people, the
way they work, the way
they shop and certainly
the way they socialize.
If there is something
good about the pandemic,
it is that showed
everyone that nothing
is forever and that their
economic stability is not
as stable as they may
COVID has left many
foreign students in limbo
By Razan Makhlouf
Reporter
It’s been a year since
COVID-19 has caused
confusion and fear that
completely took over
daily life, as no one had
any idea what was going
to happen. As an international
student, I was
already struggling with
tuition, work permit
restrictions, and all the
rules and regulations
that pertained to us.
Tuition fees for international
students can be
four or even five times
more costly in comparison
to regular students.
The pandemic added
to the challenges
international students
face, many colleges
and universities around
the country get a large
amount of their funding
from international
students. Adding to the
stress, no one seemed
to know what to do because
people had not
faced anything like this
in their lifetime. This
left international students
with no financial
aid, no way to go home
because international
airports were closed,
and no way to increase
the number of hours
allowed to work with a
work permit. Six weeks
later, a lockdown was ordered.
Many businesses
such as restaurants and
shopping malls began
to shut down.
have once considered
it; Suddenly, someone
could lose their job and
be left with nothing else.
So many businesses
have been affected due
to the Covid 19 situation;
the professional
environment changed
in a way that most
people are no longer
doing what they prepared
themselves to do.
A lot of people had to
“go back” and reinvent
themselves. Some people
started working as
delivery drivers, some
people started to work
as a salesperson selling
their stuff, and some
others had to divide
their time to get a parttime
job that would
help them cover the lost
hours and get the bread
to the table.
According to the
Kern County Public
Health Department,
there are about 94,113
cases of Covid-19 in
Kern County as of Feb.
1. This means that Kern
County is still under the
purple tier so there are
a lot of business that are
not open such as restaurants,
some theme
parks, and some gyms,
or some activities such
as indoor dining or indoor
concerts, that are
still not allowed.
As of this writing,
there is still businesses
that have remain closed.
Several local businesses
that have sued Calif.
Gov. Gavin Newson
because of the measures
he implemented
to avoid the spread of
the virus, according to
a statement by the journal
BakersfieldNow.
These measures have
been affecting businesses
that had to close their
door permanently or, in
some cases, forever.
Some people are getting
fired from their
jobs permanently or
furloughed for a little
while. Either way, the
circumstances have
made people feel so uncertain.
Also, As reported in
the Bakersfield Californian,
Mechanics
Bank Arena and other
local venues lost nearly
$800,000 due to the
pandemic, converting
it into another consequence
of the current
situation.
Life has changed
since the pandemic
started, and it will be
difficult for it to go back
to how things were. So
Shortly afterward,
schools began to shut
down as well and classes
were shifted to online
schooling. Those who
did not have internet
had to struggle until
they were able to obtain
it or waited until different
programs were offered
so that they were
able to finish off the
spring 2020 semester.
If that wasn’t stressful
enough, a large number
of expenses followed for
safety supplies, including
over-purchasing of
common household
items such as disinfectant
and toilet paper
from fear of shortages.
It’s been an extreme
struggle for so many
people and not much
has been done for international
students.
With all these grants
and financial aid opportunities
being offered to
regular students aside
from loans and scholarships,
or even the option
to work extra hours with
their new flexible schedules,
it was very surprising
that there is very
little to be done for international
students. Instead,
tuition increased
by $600 per semester. It
feels unjust and not at
all expected. At the very
least, it would have been
extremely appreciated
and would have made
an enormous financial
difference to reduce
the number of required
“full-time” units from
many jobs had to move
online, and people had
to reinvent themselves
and learn how to use
certain tools; however,
that could be the bright
side of it. COVID-19
has forced people to
become resourceful in
ways that include and
it’s adapting to the new
technologies and learning
a lot of new things,
like how to socialize at a
safe distance.
Although the situation
is extremely difficult,
there is still hope as
long people stick to the
protocols to prevent the
virus, people are eventually
going to be able
to go back to their jobs
and hang out with their
friends with no fear of
being contaminated.
With the development
and emergency
FDA approval of the
Pfizer and Moderna
vaccines, there is also a
lot of hope. The distribution
is going far more
slowly than most people,
including the new
presidential administration
would like, but
hopefully, this is going
to be a chance to go
back to a slightly different
“normal life.”
12 to 9 for international
students to allow the
ability to balance out financial
expenses.
The fear of failing, or
worry about international
students having
to go back to their home
countries without knowing
if returning to the
United States would be
possible causes so much
uncertainty; Combined
that with the stress of
not being able to pay
everything on time, the
possibility of losing excellent
academic standing,
a lower GPA or
even worse, not getting
a chance to finish your
education when you are
so close to obtaining
your degree, is unlike
any other struggle. We
have all lost a lot this
past year; International
students deserve just as
much assistance as they
put in hard work and
are just as dedicated as
every other student.
Every gamer has
a favorite game. For
some, that game is
a masterpiece or an
industry hit. For others,
it can be an awful
game that for some
reason touched their
heart. For me, it’s “Final
Fantasy XV.”
“Final Fantasy XV”
is a video game developed
by Square Enix
that was released in
2016. It is the, you
guessed it, 60th game
in the Final Fantasy
franchise. That number
does not include
remasters and Final
Fantasy games that
do not share the title,
like “Chocobo
Mystery Dungeon.”
It does, however, include
mobile games
and remakes. Without
those, it is the 49th
game in the series.
The reviews for “Final
Fantasy XV” were
generally favorable of
the overall game, critical
of the weak storyline
(and it is weak),
and very praising of
the four main characters
and their realistic
flaws, anxieties, and
emotions, as well as
their interactions with
each other.
The game follows
Prince Noctis Lucis
Caelum CXVI and
his three friends as
they go on the adventure
of a lifetime.
From this point on,
there will be spoilers.
You, the player, are
Noctis, a 20-year-old
prince who must travel
to another country
to fulfill an arranged
marriage as part of a
peace treaty between
the warring Lucis and
Niflheim. He and his
best friends set off on
what is supposed to
be Noctis’ last road
trip as a bachelor but
quickly turns into the
fight to not only reclaim
his country but
save their world, Eos,
from everlasting darkness.
Throughout the
story, we see Noctis
and friends Gladio,
Ignis, and Prompto
at their lowest of lows
as the tolls of war affect
them in different
ways, both mentally
and physically. But
the beautiful theme of
Final Fantasy XV is
Charr Davenport
friendship. Not only
are Noctis’ friends always
there for him,
but he’s there for his
friends as well. But
beyond that, Noctis
is forced to learn that
he can’t handle everything
by himself
and that he needs to
trust and rely on those
around him, as hard
as it can be.
I was at a low point
when this game came
into my life. I had just
flunked out of Bakersfield
College’s Applied
Music Program, my
relationship with my
family was decently
hostile, I felt like I had
few people I could rely
on, and I felt more
alone than I ever had
in my life. Shortly
after a brief video
game conversation on
the transit bus with a
friend, he lent me his
copy of the game.
I started the game
on Feb. 23, 2018,
and finished one day
short of a month later
on Mar. 22. During
that month as Noctis,
I had a revelation
about friendship and
strength that changed
my life for the better.
Your friends will often
help you if you are
open with them, but
they can not help you
if you hide everything
because they will not
know what is going
on. It’s not weak to
need help.
After learning that
lesson, I became closer
with many of my
friends, including my
best friend, and my
mental health improved
a lot. The
more I opened up and
let my walls down,
the more my friends
would do the same,
eventually resulting in
mutually strengthened
bonds between us. To
get close to others, you
have to let them get
close to you. You have
to be vulnerable.