FEATURES: Free massages at student lounge provide students with relief from finals

By Omar Castellon
Staff Writer

Photo by Omar Castellon

As the semester draws to a close, the prospect of finals is enough to send most students into stress-driven madness. Even for the most studious among us, an occasional break is in order. On Nov. 29, close to 30 aspiring masseuses from Charter College were offering free massages at the student lounge.

The event, which was headed by Shanna Ulrich, began at 9:30 a.m. and continued until 1:30 p.m. Within a matter of hours, Ulrich said that the amount of people serviced was "approaching a couple 100."

In reference to the others waiting for their massages, she said, "We also have a stack of papers about two inches thick."

FEATURES: "Style" by Lauren Conrad offers universal fashion tips

By Maria Cortes
Staff Writer

Fashion designer Lauren Conrad has answered the prayers of teenage girls everywhere and published a book called “Style,” which provides universal fashion advice and tips for girls of all ages. The book ranges from how to dress for dates to job interviews, girls’ nights and to how to properly apply makeup to different skin types. This book covers all its bases.

As the head designer of three different clothing lines LC, The Lauren Conrad Collection and Paper Crown, this is Conrad’s area of expertise and she provides nothing but the best advice in her book.

"Style" is divided into three different sections: Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle. Each section, and its chapters, is formulated to help you create your own unique look and show off your confidence and beauty.

NEWS: Mandy Borquez charged with embezzlement and indenity theft

By Ben Fassett
Staff Writer

Mandy Borquez, 33, was arrested on Nov. 9 and charged with six counts of embezzlement and identity theft. The former accounting assistant allegedly made away with $500,000 dollars during her tenure from the Student Development fund, revenue provided for by students from such activities as athletic events, snack bar sales and student club accounts.

Signs of discrepancies first appeared in early 2010, spanning almost the entire length of Borquez’s tenure which started in 2004. Borquez tended her resignation in February, after which a 10-month investigation was launched by the Commercial Crime Bureau. Enlisting the help of a bonding agency, Antelope Valley College was able to recoup $233,906 of the embezzled funds.

NEWS: Three men arrested in attempted taxi heist

By Travion Bynum
Staff Writer

On Nov. 19 three young men tried to carjack a taxi at knifepoint in Palmdale. The suspect’s names were Alejandro Topete, age 18, Isai Segovia, 23, and Angel Aguilera, 20. “They were all being held in lieu of $100,00 bail. They were arrested Wed night and booked on suspicion of carjacking,” Deputy Robbie Royster said.

The cab driver was on a call in the P-14 residence. Two friends were waiting outside. One hopped in the back, while the other quickly ran to the driver’s side window and held a kitchen knife to the cab driver’s throat. The suspects kicked the cab driver out, stole his wallet and other belongings, and drove off.

The cops searched the area and found the abandon cab. A more thorough search revealed the suspects in a compact car. They all fit the description.

SPORTS: Women's volleyball team to play Pierce in the postseason

By Codie Walsh
Staff Writer

Photo by Mindy Simmons

Our soccer team was not the only team to make it to the postseason. The women’s volleyball team has defeated San Bernardino, giving them first place in the Foothill Conference. The team will be playing Pierce College on Tuesday Nov. 22 at 7 p.m.

“I’m very proud of the girls,” said Assistant to the Head Coach Mark Cruz. “Next, we have to execute the game plan. We have to do our homework.” Support your team as they go up against the number one seat.

SPORTS: Marauders to confront COC

By Codie Walsh
Staff Writer

Photo by Codie Walsh

Saturday, Nov. 19, marks the first game of the postseason. Your first-place Marauders soccer team will be going up against College of the Canyons at 2 p.m.

“I came from COC. Alumni players of mine are staffed as coaches. That’s where I spent five years. So it has the bad and the good,” said Head Coach Stupar. “The good is, I think it’s going to be an epic game. Two years ago we beat them pretty bad, so they’re looking for a comeback and what better way to do it in quarter finals?”

“We’re going to do fitness work this week. It’s going to come down to the final 10 minutes of the game,” said Stupar. “It’s either fitness or depth. We have the depth but if we could be fitter than that, we’ll match up well with COC. It will be decided in the last 10 minutes of each half. Hopefully it will be us.”

FEATURES: "Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3" learns from its past mistakes

By Omar Castellon
Staff Writer

When the original “Marvel vs. Capcom 3” was announced, members of the franchise’s more dedicated fanbase were soon chanting “10 more years,” a reference to “Marvel vs. Capcom 2’s” longevity. Unfortunately, their sentiments were cut short because a few months after “MvC3’s” release, Capcom announced a follow up called “Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.” Those same fans were soon chanting “10 more months” in jest. Nevertheless, it seems that most are excited for this new iteration of “Marvel vs. Capcom,” which brings a number of drastic changes.

The most obvious of these changes is the roster increase, with 12 new fighters added, bringing the total number of playable characters to 50. Given that the game features three-on-three combat, there are 117,600 possible team combinations. Needless to say, there is room to experiment. Of the new characters, the Capcom fighters are mostly recognizable, but the Marvel side delves into more obscure characters, such as Nova, Rocket Raccoon and Iron Fist.

FEATURES: Katz n' Jammers

By Mindy Simmons
Staff Writer

Photo by Mindy Simmons

Katz n’ Jammers is a 50’s style diner located right off Lancaster Boulevard. It should have a blue ribbon outside its window to advertise its malts and shakes, because these things are a blend of heaven. Although its hours are odd, only being open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., its are worth the tricky scheduling.

I was excited when I read the menu, which had no shortage of bacon and avocado. The issue at hand was the fact that it was about 8 a.m., and I cannot be trusted to make vital food decisions that early in the morning. The pressure was on after the waitress had already visited us once, so when she came back the second time and asked if we were ready, I grumbled a, “yeah, okay,” and ordered the item that had “customer favorite” next to it. I appreciated that the products were fresh, but that’s all I really thought of them. Sure freshness is a huge factor when it comes to food, but flavor is just as important. For me, the chicken was under-seasoned and just bland.

NEWS: Reduced state prisoner population expected to leave counties with heavy burden

By Katharine Wilson
Contributing Writer

There have been many misconceptions and mixed messages from the media concerning Gov. Jerry Brown’s “realignment” plan for prisoners passed in April with Assembly Bill (AB) 109 according to Lt. Jackie Galapon, public information officer for the California State Prison in Lancaster, CA.

“We are not transferring any inmates to county jails,” Galapon said. “We won’t release any inmates early.” The state prison population will decrease gradually over the next two years as convicted felons currently in prison continue to serve the time of their respective sentences.

MTV cancels American "Skins" over child pornography

By Maria Cortes
Staff Writer

Back in January, MTV aired its own adaptation of the UK show “Skins”. The show is based on nine adolescents who immerse their lives in music, drugs, sex, and alcohol. While the UK version of the show was widely successful, the American version didn’t do so hot.

As soon as the first episode aired on MTV, the Parents Television Council labeled it  as “child pornography” and started attacking the show’s sponsors. They said that the show was promoting teen sex, as the characters are no older than 16, and live a lifestyle of excessive drinking and drug use. As the attacks went on, the show’s sponsors slowly started backing out until MTV announced that “Skins” would not be coming back for a second season.

SPORTS: AVC ties Rio Hondo to become the Foothill Conference Champions

Alexandria Fulladosa blocks a defender from
the she continues to drive downfield. Fulladosa scored the only goal for the Marauders/ Photo by Brandon Bird

The Marauders celebrate. Their 1-1 game against Rio Hondo
was enough to become the Foothill Conference Champions/ Photo by Brandon Bird

SPORTS: UFC on Fox preview: Cain Velasquez vs Junior dos Santos

By Omar Castellon
Staff Writer

This Saturday has the potential to be the most important day for the UFC and mixed martial arts as a whole. The televised broadcast will only feature a single bout, but the entire undercard will be streamed on Facebook. Nevertheless, that one fight, a heavyweight title match between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, promises to be a spectacle.

Velasquez has a record of 9-0 and claimed the heavyweight belt with a phenomenal TKO of Brock Lesnar in October of last year. As a two-time All-American at Arizona State University, Velasquez has had no trouble adapting his well-honed wrestling skills to MMA. Through the years, he has accentuated his wrestling with an ever improving striking and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game. It can be argued that Velasquez is one of the few heavyweights to actually show marked improvement between fights. Unfortunately for him, the man that will stand opposite of him has shown the same level of growth and will likely be the toughest opponent of his career.

OPINION: Medical marijuana crackdown

By Maria Cortes
Staff Writer

The crackdown on medical marijuana laws and dispensaries has recently been escalating. Many medical marijuana businesses have shut down, while others are getting notices that they have 45 days to shut down or risk prosecution. There have been a number of protests and demonstrations orchestrated by The Marijuana Policy Project and numerous advocacy groups to stop these attacks.

My question is: does this really come as a shock to anybody? Is anyone really all that surprised that marijuana businesses are being attacked?

Let’s face it, these businesses aren’t all that harmless as people like to think that they are. Not everyone who goes to visit them are in serious need of medical marijuana. I became aware of a 16 year old boy with asthma who was given the green light to buy medical marijuana. If this doesn’t send up a red flag, I don’t know what will.

FEATURES: Foreign films pt.2

By Ben Fassett
Staff Writer

This is the continuation of the Foreign Films feature presented in the latest issue of the AVC Examiner.

England
“Keeping Mum”

Our first look into English film opens with a young, very pregnant woman riding a train with a smile on her face that never seems to go away. She treats everyone who approaches her with a never-ending supply of courtesy. She’s also just been caught with the bodies of her husband and lover leaking blood from her trunk. After finding her incompetent to stand trial, they lock her away in an asylum.

Years pass, and an elderly Grace (Maggie Smith) is released upon the unwitting public. She finds work as the housekeeper for a vicar (Rowan Atkinson), who can’t seem to get his affairs in order. His sermons are dull, the townspeople harangue him and their constant need for his attention has made him fail to notice the problems with his family. His wife (Kristen Scott Thomas) is seriously contemplating an affair with her golf instructor (Patrick Swayze, whose character is very fun to hate), who plans to run away with her to Mexico. His daughter (Tamsin Egerton), on the other hand, seems to be attempting to sleep with every suitable male candidate in her postal district.

FEATURES: Foreign films

By Ben Fassett
Staff Writer

Due to formatting issues, we were not able to include this spread in the online edition of the Examiner. Fortunately, it is available for viewing here.

Open publication - Free publishing - More avc

NEWS: Seefus and Stults victorious in trustee elections

By Kristi Phillips
Staff Writer

From AVC’s last trustee race there were two seats open on the board of trustees, and after many weeks of debating who was going to win, the election results are finally in.

The two candidates that won the election are incumbent Jack Seefus and Lew Stults. Seefus took the lead with 4,053 votes and Stults coming in a close second with 3,950 votes.

The other candidates also came close to winning: Steve Fox came in third with 3,733 votes, Marginese Streeter in fourth place with 2,320 votes and Margaret Chavez in fifth with 1,591 votes.

FEATURES: Please bring Porto's to the AV

By Mindy Simmons and Codie Walsh
Staff Writers

Porto’s Bakery & Café is a place that makes us wonder; why is the closest one to the Antelope Valley at least 40 minutes away and how many signatures do we need to bring one closer to home?

There are three locations: Burbank, Downey and Glendale. We went to the Burbank location on Magnolia Blvd. Now, we don’t know if we can call it a trifecta based on the fact that we haven’t been to the other locations in Downey and Glendale (the original), but knowing what quality comes out of the Burbank bakery, we could take a guess that all three would be worth the drive. If anything, it gives us an excuse to review the other locations. Oh, twist our arms; we’ll go and check out the other two locations for the sake of factual journalism.

SPORTS: Marauders beat Chaffey 1-0

By Cornell Hudson
Staff Writer

“It’s the big rematch that everybody’s been waiting for,” said Head Coach John Stupar. After suffering their first loss of the season to Chaffey College just a month ago, the AVC Marauders took the field Tuesday evening with one goal in mind: winning. The Marauders did just that and came away with a 1-0 win over the No. 2 Lady Panthers. That historic goal came from star forward Stacy Guijarro in minute 91 of a great defensive battle between the two teams. Guijarro’s shot also gave her the title for most points in a season by a Marauder and tied the AVC record for most goals in one season with 25. The win improved the Marauders record to a very impressive 14-2. The next match for Antelope Valley College will be away from home against San Bernardino Valley on Friday, Nov. 4 at 3:00 p.m. Hope to see you there!

SPORTS: Countdown until tip-off

By Cornell Hudson
Staff Writer

With the NBA lockout still in full effect, many basketball fans are looking for some type of substitute that can hold their attention. Well, starting Nov. 10, the AVC Men’s Basketball team will travel to Ventura for their first tournament of the season. The Marauders will return home Dec. 2 to take on Glendale in the annual Gregg Anderson Memorial tournament. The AVC Women’s Basketball team will also kick their season off on Friday, Nov. 18 in the Vaquero Shootout out in Glendale. They’ll be coming back home Dec. 15 to host the AVC Holiday tournament at 7 p.m. Make sure you mark those dates on your calendars and come enjoy some great basketball.

NEWS: Police investigation into judge's abuse

By Ben Fassett
Staff Writer

A police investigation is underway, joining a judicial probe after video (made in 2004) appeared on the Internet of a disabled, 16-year-old girl being beaten by her father – who happens to be a Court-At-Law Judge for Aransas County, Texas.

Judge William Adams confirmed that he was the man in the graphic video which shows him striking her with a belt and a board. “She’s mad because I’ve ordered her to bring the car back, in a nutshell, but yeah, that’s me,” Adams said when asked about his daughter. He went on to say that “in my mind I have not done anything wrong other than discipline my daughter when she was caught stealing. I did lose my temper. I’ve apologized. It looks worse than it is.”

OPINION: To go to class or not to go to class; that is the question

By Maria Cortes
Staff Writer

Monday morning on Halloween I lugged myself out of bed and got ready to go to class. Halloween is technically not a holiday to the school districts and if they said you had to go to class, you had to go to class. That was that. I spent the entire car ride cursing the world for making me go to class on my favorite holiday of the year.

Much to my surprise, almost everyone in my political theory class showed up. I suddenly felt less angry. At least I wasn’t the only one miserable that they had to be there. It got me thinking: how many people actually showed up to class on Halloween?

FEATURES: "Battlefield 3" offers one of the year's best multiplayer experiences

By Omar Castellon
Staff Writer

It’s safe to say that of all the first person shooters made available this year, none have been more anticipated than “Modern Warfare 3” and “Battlefield 3.” While we still have to wait a few more days for the former to hit store shelves, the latter has been out for just over a week. In that time, I’ve had the opportunity to become well acquainted with the game.

The first thing I noticed as I loaded the single-player campaign was how gorgeous the game looked. Everything from the textures to the lighting demonstrates incredible detail. I can only imagine how much better it would look on a quality PC. The character models are especially attractive and for the most part steer clear of that dead-eyed look that seems to plague realistic games. Unfortunately, the graphics are overly bloomed (overexposed might be the best way to think of it).

NEWS: Jerome "Jerry" Witte: Sept 14 1939-Oct 8 2011

By Sarah Niemann
Staff Writer

On Oct 8, Antelope Valley College lost a longtime adjunct professor, decorated service member and family man.

Witte joined the Illinois National Guard at the age of 16. After being discharged he worked for Aerojet General Corporation as an Engineering Aide.