Student Voice

Duet for ‘The Soloist’Photo by Franz Tinio-Lopez

Solo work– Steve Lopez signs a copy of ‘The Soloist’ for an Oxnard College student on Oct. 21

Author and columnist Steve Lopez speaks to OC and MC about award winning bookJesus Meza IIIRobert Pond Staff writers

Traveling across two cam-puses in a day, Los Angeles Times columnist and author of“The So-loist” Steve Lopez spoke at both Oxnard and Moorpark colleges on Oct. 21.

Lopez came to Oxnard Col-lege through the Oxnard College Literature Arts and Lecture Series, while “The Soloist” is Moorpark’s One Campus, One Book selection.

Lopez spoke about his re-lationship with the focus of his book, Nathanial Ayers, a homeless schizophrenic who is also a gifted violin player.

Ayers lives on Skid Row and met Lopez while the reporter was searching for possible column ideas.

“It’s a snapshot of all the fail-ures in life,” said Lopez.

“How does this exist and so-ciety isn’t doing anything about it?”

Lopez also explained what brought Ayers to Los Angeles in

the first place: the search for his father.

“So he wandered the streets frightened and alone, not know-ing where to go or what to do, he met somebody who changed his life by the name of Beethoven,” said Lopez.

Lopez also spoke on the differ-ence of the book and the movie.

“In real life I’m married in the movie I’ve had a divorce,” said Lopez.

“And when I went to see the movie with my wife she said, ‘well maybe it’s not such a bad idea.’”

The students at Oxnard Col-

lege said they enjoyed the presen-tation.

“It was good hearing his rela-tionship with the musician,” said 24-year-old Andy Ortega, unde-clared.

“What he did to Nathaniel, helping him with everything, that shows great character.”

Moorpark students also shared the same sentiment.

“I thought it was very en-lightening and very necessary,” said Graham Carpenter, 18, unde-clared.

For more coverage check out www.StudentVoiceOnline.com.

Tawni Staples Staff writer

America’s National Day of Writing left its mark on Moorpark’s campus with presenta-tions by David Langness and Joanna Miller on Oct. 20.

Langness, former writer for Rolling Stone Magazine, visited Moor-park’s campus to give a lecture on the impor-tance of homelessness in America.

Langness also co-produced the docu-mentary “The Chorus,” which focuses on char-acters living without homes.

In addition to writing for Rolling Stone Maga-

zine and co-producing “The Chorus,”Langness also helped write the book “Saving Grace,” which was proclaimed to be the best photogra-phy book of 2008.

Aside from the sem-inar given by Langness, there were other activi-ties students could par-take in during the Na-tional Day of Writing.

There was a writing wall, which provided students an opportunity to express themselves.

At the end of the day, there were many draw-ings, quotes and names on the wall to represent Moorpark College.

See WRITING pg. 3

Leaving a mark with their words during National Writing Day

Brennan WhitmoreNews editor

After serving Moor-park College’s Exotic Animal Training Zoo for 30 years, Schmoo the sea lion passed away on Wednesday.

The cause of death is not yet known, but according to Zoo Op-erations Supervisor Michyln Hines, it is be-lieved to be complica-tions from old age.

She went on to say that most sea lions live to be 30-years-old when in captivity, which was approximately Schmoo’s age.

Leading up to her death Schmoo’s health had steadily declined.

Despite this, the ani-mals passing still came as a shock.

“It did not come as a surprise,” said Hines. “But anytime you lose

an animal it’s a shock. It’s like losing family.”

Gary Wilson teach-es animal training at EATM, and worked with Schmoo as a trainer.

He says that himself and the students that helped train Schmoo miss her.

“She was a very big part of our lives,” said Wilson.

Schmoo was very patient with the instruc-tors and students who worked with her, ac-cording to Wilson, even in her advanced age.

Currently Schmoo’s body is at Seaworld for the autopsy, and the spe-cific cause of death won’t be known until Nov.

EATM acquired Schmoo in 1981 as part

of the animal collection in support of the two-year program at Moor-park College. She also was tapped by Holly-wood for roles in both commercials and fea-ture films, one of which being the 1983 film “The Golden Seal.”

“Aside from all the students that she trained, she touched the lives of thousands of children who came here,” said Hines.

Dean of the Exotic Animal Training and Management Lori Ben-nett says that while Schmoo will be missed by her trainers and the students who worked with her, part of work-ing with animals is deal-ing with death.

Despite this, she says it still can be hard.

“You get very at-tached, it’s like losing a friend,” said Bennett.

Popular EATM sea lion dies at the age of 30

James WilliamsStaff writer

For sophomores at Ventura College, trans-ferring is an issue grow-ing more intimidating with every passing day. Luckily, the Transfer Center is here to help.

Over the past few weeks, the Ventura Col-lege Transfer Center has held CSU and UC trans-fer workshops to help students with the appli-cation process.

Aseneth Cota, a transfer counselor, helps and educates students on the transfer process.

“They are going re-ally good,” said Cota. “We’re busy doing things everyday. It’s going to be a tough year because of the cutbacks.”

School and education is a valuable commod-ity for every individual, and the counselors at the transfer center are work-ing extremely hard to get students situated.

Continuing educa-tion has never been more important and more dif-ficult than it currently is.

Universities are be-

ing forced to cut back on students and staff, result-ing in a lowered amount of accepted applications. This puts more emphasis on the need for students to get into the Transfer Center and see with their own eyes what the possi-bilities are for them next year.

“Students need to be best prepared for trans-ferring and their career,” said Cota. “The informa-tion is ever changing. The ability to meet with reps from UCSB and UCLA is very helpful for the students.”

The Transfer Cen-ter has had a variety of CSU and UC reps from all over California come in to explain their pro-grams and important upcoming dates.

There are more workshops coming up that will give vital in-formation about trans-ferring for the fall 2010 semester.

For more informa-tion on the Transfer Cen-ter and the upcoming workshops, call (805) 654-6473 and make an appointment.

Photo by Jake HendersonGraffiti EncouraGEd– Students at Moorpark College write on the walls of Raider Walk as a part of writing day.

Oxnard Digi Film Festival chooses winnersStory Page 5

Photo courtesy of Exotic Animal Training Management ProgramfarEwEll to a friEnd– After 28 years at MC Schmoo passes.

Photo by Hannah DaveycaptivatEd audiEncE– Students at Moorpark College listen to Steve Lopez in the Moorpark College Blackbox in the PAC.

Visit Ventura County’s spookiest haunts Story Page 8

Oct. 28 - Nov. 10, 2009 w w w . S t u d e n t V o i c e O n l i n e . c o m FREE Vol . 6, No. 3

Transferring made easy at Ventura College

Oxnard College2

Student Voice • VCCCD • Oct. 28, 2009

Students join new charter of honors society

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The University of Values

Franz Tinio-LopezStaff photographer

Twenty-four students were in-ducted into the new Oxnard College Beta Rho Tau Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society in a ceremony on Oct. 21 in the Clocktower Auditorium.

Phi Theta Kappa was founded in 1918, and with over 1200 chapters, is the largest honor society in higher education serving two-year colleges. It offers exclusive programs and benefits for its members while developing ca-reer preparation, networking and com-munity service.

A group like this has been desired by Oxnard College for a long time.

“It was the priority of Oxnard Col-lege President Dr. Richard Duran to have an honor society on campus,” said faculty adviser Carolyn Dorrance.

The induction and chartering ceremony began with a processional by the students into the auditorium. Dorrance as master of ceremonies in-troduced the guests and speakers that included Marta Garza-Laird, a found-ing faculty member of Oxnard College, as the evening’s speaker. Barb Murray from Minnesota represented Phi Theta Kappa and spoke about the purpose of the society.

Murray then led the Oxnard College students in their pledge, who then were called forward by Robert Cabral, president of the Ox-nard College Faculty Senate.

Duran congratulated the students as they came up front and signed the roster in the Beta Rho Tau chapter notebook and the Beta Rho Tau chap-ter charter. They then took a small blue candle and lit it from primary candle on the induction table and received a flower.

The student officers of the new chapter came forward and took their pledge of office and were recognized by Barb Murray.

They signed the Beta Rho Tau chapter record book and spoke briefly.

“As part of their induction, the new members promised to uphold the standards of Phi Theta Kappa and also promised to aid their fellow members in all worthy endeavors,” said Dor-rance.

The ceremony ended with a pro-cessional out the stage door of the auditorium to the reception.

“The ceremony was awesome; many people commented on how beautiful it was,” said Dorrance.

For a slideshow of the ceremony, go to www.studentvoiceonline.com.

Photo by Franz Tinio-LopezAn honor–Charter members of the Oxnard College Beta Rho Tau Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa honors society sign the chapter charter, notebook, and light blue candles at the induction ceremony.

Dedication of Student Services complete

Sherylyn AndayaStaff writer

Despite rainy weather conditions, Oxnard College’s annual Multicultural Arts Day still drew a crowd of student, faculty, staff, local high school students and community members underneath the overhanging of the Student Servic-es Center to celebrate diversity.

The event was held in front of the new student services building due to the rain. It is usually held on the grass area by the LA-building and old cafete-ria, but because of the rain it was set up in front of the new building to protect the vendors with a roof.

The multicultural Festival, which features music, dance, art and food vendors, was a free event open to the public.

Entertainment included music, played in the cafeteria by a band and the Pacifica High School dance team performed in the cafeteria.

There was a book clearance in the new Student Services Center. Colorful art from Ako Eyong was also displayed inside of the building.

Channel Islands High, Pacifica High, Camarillo High and Oxnard High were among the local high schools invited to attend the event. They are invited every year to come celebrate at Oxnard College for the multicultural festival.

Maria Morales, a 14-year-old high

school student said, “It’s pretty fun.” Morales especially liked “the learn-ing how to dance part in the gym.” A Zumba tutorial was performed in the gym, which was conducted by Jose Cornelio, and belly dancing was per-formed in the cafeteria for many peo-ple to come and watch. Morales also mentioned she would come back next year to attend this event.

“It was fun,” said Maria Nino, a 17-yr-old high school senior, but stated “It could’ve been more cultural.”

Many people enjoyed the different options available to them.

“The entertainment and the food, especially the tacos,” were the favorite of Miguel Melchor a 17-year old high school student.

To see more photos of the Multi-cultural Day, check out www.Student-VoiceOnline.com.

Multicultural Day shows off diversity

Photo by Franz Tinio-LopezShAke it– The belly dancing demonstration in the cafeteria was a popular attraction.

New building is now official on Oxnard campusSherylyn AndayaStaff writer

Oxnard College President Richard Du-ran as well as members of the Ventura County Community College District Board of Trust-ees, came together to celebrate the dedication of the new Student Ser-vices Building on Oct. 22 and were joined by stu-dents, faculty, staff and community members.

Mary Jones, health center coordinator, was the master of ceremonies and acknowledged the

capital required to pro-duce the building.

“The first time any public comment was made to, or by the board, regarding the measure S Bond, that occurred Oct. 9, 2001,” said Jones.

Board members, including chair Robert Huber and Arturo Her-nandez and Duran were among those to deliver speeches at the dedica-tion.

Visions of the build-ing, how it started, through Bond Measure S, a $356 million dollar bond, and how voters of Ventura County made it possible, were all dis-cussed.

At nearly 38,000 square feet, the two-sto-ry Student Services Cen-

ter houses several needs for students such as ad-missions and records, the Student Business Of-fice, counseling and the Health Center.

“More students are utilizing the Health Ser-vices Center,” said Du-ran. “We have become for some their primary healthcare source in their homes.”

Following the speeches was the tra-ditional ribbon-cutting ceremony.

According to Duran, many dedications are still to come. The new Performing Arts Center should open in January 2011.

Share your views on the building at www.studentvoiceonline.com.

3

Student Voice • VCCCD • Oct. 28, 2009

Ventura College

For More Information Call: Ventura College Transfer and Career Center

805-654-6473 or 805-654-6411

Thursday, October 12, 2006 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. VC Quad

UC CAMPUSES

UC Berkeley UC Davis

UC Los Angeles UC Merced

UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Cruz

CSU CAMPUSES

CSU Bakersfield

CSU Channel Islands CSU Chico

CSU East Bay Humboldt State

CSU Monterey Bay CSU Northridge

Cal Poly SLO CSU Sacramento

INDEPENDENT Colleges & Universities

Antioch University Arizona State University

Art Center College of Design Cal Lutheran University

California College of the Arts California Institute of the Arts

Ex’pression College for Digital Arts FIDM

Fresno Pacific University Idaho State University

Menlo College National University

Notre Dame de Namur University Otis College of Art and Design Paul Mitchell of Santa Barbara

Prescott College San Diego Christian College San Francisco Art Institute

University of Hawaii @ Manoa University of New Mexico Ventura College of Law

Westmont College Woodbury University

AND MORE!

For More Information Call: Ventura College Transfer and Career Center

805-654-6473 or 805-654-6411

Thursday November 5, 2009

10 a.m. to 1 p.m. VC Quad

Transfer Day 2009

Angela BrazaVC campus editor

Students ready to break away from the stress and chaos of mid-terms can relax at the Tutoring Center’s fourth annual Scrabble Day.

The event will take place on Friday, Oct. 30 from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Tutoring Center.

Scrabble Day will arrive just as midterms begin to wind down. Antonio Huante, an instructional lab technician at the Tutoring Cen-ter, says that this event will allow students to calm down and rest their minds after weeks of study-ing and testing.

“It’s an entertaining, interac-tive environment where students can release their stresses and just have fun,” Huante said. “Many students get stressed out dur-ing midterms, but playing a few games of Scrabble allows them to release some of that anxiety.”

While Scrabble Day is a re-laxant for some participants, ac-

cording to Huante, it is a friendly competition for others. It is a tour-nament in which those who accu-mulate the most points after each round can continue vying for the grand prize.

“It’s a secret,” Huante said of the prize. “It is being donated by a senator from ASVC, Raymond Morua, who is also one of our tu-tors.”

While he cannot mention what the prize is, Huante says it will be good.

Sharon Oxford, a tutorial spe-cialist, is excited about Scrabble Day.

“It’s the perfect opportunity for students to come by and just have a blast with other people,” she said. “It’s also a good way for students to learn more about the Tutoring Center.”

Scrabble Day will be open to the public, and past events have seen students, faculty, tutors, vol-unteer tutors and club members all partake in the fun. Registration is free, but the Tutoring Center

does ask all clubs to pre-register in order to estimate the appropri-ate number of attendees.

Huante expects a good turn-out at this semester’s event.

“Last semester we had about 40 people come by,” he said. “We actually had to stop taking peo-ple at one point.”

Gina Moore, a 20-year-old English major, plans to attend the event with her friends.

“We’ve been studying non-stop since the semester began, so this will be a nice break for us,” Moore said. “The only think-ing we’ll have to do is making sure what we’re spelling is a real word.”

Moore also notes something on the flyer that caught her at-tention: “Free snacks and drinks? Count me in!”

For more information regard-ing Scrabble Day, stop by the Tu-toring Center, located on the first floor of the library and Learning Resource Center, or contact the center at (805) 648-8926.

File photos by Antonio HuarteBuy a vowel–Contestants at the 2008 Scrabble Day share their love of the English language.

Zack PoisalStaff writer

The Ventura College Pirates men’s basketball team is on a mission to

bring back a lost tradition, one step at a time.

Starting with the hiring of new Assistant Head Coach Joey Ramirez, the Pirates put the icing on the cake of change by bringing back their famous midnight madness practice sessions.

Ventura’s midnight practice was the second official practice for VC, and the first time the public was able to watch the team.

The madness showcased five, five-minute inter-squad scrimmages, a dunk competition, and a lights-out, three-point competition.

The inter-squad scrimmage fea-tured numerous fast-break points by Hawaii native Jon Keen, three pointers by Ventura High School graduate Paul Batausa, and defensive hustle from ev-ery player on the court. The dunk com-petition featured Jon Keen, Jeremiah Slowik, Jordan Harris and Troy Wat-

son. Watson beat out his competitors and took the slam-dunk crown.

Moises Barrera gave his teammate, Seth Bradish, a large lead after the first minute, draining 16 three-point-ers in his minute of action. Barrera and Bradish would eventually be named three-point champions, outlasting Paul Batausa and Pierce Brooks 20-16.

Jordan Harris is one of four return-ing players this year. Harris has been granted a leadership role this year for a squad dominated by freshman.

“It feels a little different,” Har-ris said. “Last year we had a lot more sophomores, and leaders.”

Even though there is a lack of soph-omores on the team this year, Harris still expects the team to be competitive, and wants to play hard every game.

“I expect to win, win a lot of games, play hard and be a top competitor,” Harris said.

Although Ventura features many new faces, there are players that have grown up watching the Pirates every year. Freshman Nolan Smith grew up watching the Pirates play, as well as having family play for them, includ-ing his father, Don Smith, and brother, Hylas Smith.

Smith is looking forward to a suc-cessful season.

“We are coming together pretty well, the camaraderie is getting there, the chemistry is getting there,” Smith commented. “The coach staff is work-ing hard, so I think are going to be pretty successful.”

“We play hard” is Ventura’s mot-to; it is posted all over the gym, and it is the motto head coach Will Cowen believes his team should play by.

“Play hard every night,” Cow-en said. “Compete for a conference championship.”

Midnight Madness returns to Ventura

Photo by Zack Poisal Hoop tHere it is– Freshmen Dan Keen slams one home during Midnight Madness.

Moorpark College4

Student Voice • VCCCD • Oct. 28, 2009

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Photo by Jake HendersonSpell check– Students gather to write on the wall of writing set up along Raider Walk on Oct. 20. Students were encouraged to write or draw on the wall, similar to the freedom of speech cubes outside the Performing Arts Center. In addition to to the wall, the event also had presentations by Journalism Professor Joanna Miller and “Finding Grace” author David Langness.

Continued from pg 1

On top of this, San-dra Hunter hosted a spe-cial reading for the Na-tional Day of Writing.

Langness stated many facts about the homeless people he has met in the process of his works that students would not normally ex-pect out of homeless people living on Skid Row.

“I enjoyed the semi-nar because I didn’t know that a lot of the homeless people there were once successful, I

thought they were all addicted to drugs,” said 18-year-old EMT major, Cody Melamed.

“And I didn’t know that people could actu-ally come out of that, I thought they were stuck there once they got there.”

Following the book “Finding Grace,” Lang-ness plans on collaborat-ing with photographer Lynn Blodgett to publish a book of pictures and stories on homeless vet-erans in America.

“What he’s doing is key to [Moorpark’s Year of Service] because you

know David had the op-portunity to not be of service to others, to in-stead do the Hollywood thing…he has found a way to take his talents and put them to use to people,” said Kathryn Adams, Year of Service organizer.

Not only has Lang-ness written books on the social problems in America, but he has also helped Proposition 36 get to where it is today.

Proposition 36, The Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act, had little supporters be-fore the election.

According to Lang-ness, no politicians or organizations would back up Proposition 36 because they claimed it would make them seem too light on drugs.

Once Proposition 36 was passed on Nov. 7, 2000, an estimated 12,000 prisoners who were put in jail for homelessness or drug use were emitted into treatment.

It costs $ 25,000 to house a prisoner and $ 8,000 to put a criminal through treatment.

Although not ev-eryone who has been through treatment has

succeeded, it has helped a significant number of drug-addicts as well as helped tax dollars go elsewhere.

“Internally, every person has a great need to, I think, be of service to others…I think as adults that if we lose that and we’re self-centered and only think about our-selves, we lose the op-portunity to have enor-mous joy from helping others,” Langness said.

The way Langness spoke of poverty and other social problems in America inspired stu-dents to make a differ-

ence, especially 17-year-old undecided major Cameron Kolkey.

“I think that it would definitely motivate me to help more because I see that it can actually make a difference…it’s not just a waste of time,” said Kolkey.

Hunter will tie in story telling with the Year of Service on Nov. 15 at noon in the film studio.

Th next Year of Ser-vice event will be John Horton and his presenta-tion on the inner game of service on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m.

WRITING: Literature and its impact

Clubs and free pumpkinsCash prize for best logo design Timothy WeisbergSports editor

The Moorpark Col-lege Multicultural Day Planning Committee is holding a design contest for the logo that will be used for this year’s Mul-ticultural Day activities.

The theme for Mul-ticultural Day this year is “Service Without Bor-ders” and contestants are urged to incorporate this theme into their de-signs.

According to Jerry Caplan, a member of the Multicultural Day Plan-ning Committee and philosophy professor at Moorpark College, the logo design contest is a great way for up-and-coming graphic artists to show off their work, and gain experience in a competition focused on graphic design.

“[It] is a chance to get some real experience in a graphic design com-petition, presumably like one would expect in the business world,” Kaplan said.

The grand prize is $200 for the artist whose work best interprets the theme, and their win-ning design might be used on T-shirts, shop-ping bags, posters and possibly other media to publicize the event.

Two runner-ups will win $50 for their respec-tive designs.

Kaplan is excited to be apart of an annual tra-dition that has spanned 20 years, and believes that the event will be en-joyable for students.

“We are very proud that Moorpark College has supported this en-deavor for the past 20 years,” Caplan said.

“It is always a fun, educational, and festive day.”

The deadline for submitting your logo de-sign is Monday, Nov. 23 at 3 p.m.

Email Jerry Caplan at (805) 378-1400, ext. 1608 or by email at jcaplan@vcccd.edu for a design contest entry form or for any other questions or concerns.

Robert PondStaff writer

Pumpkins, candy and Halloween decora-tions were all at Moor-park College for Club Day on Oct. 27

Moorpark played host to a Halloween themed Club Day, where both age-old clubs and new upstarts were out advertising.

“The importance of club day is to show the students all the clubs that are out there,” said Ryan Krebs, president of the Associated Student Gov-ernment. “To let them be able to get involved in a club, and just to let the clubs have fun decorat-ing and doing an activity on campus.”

Clubs are a part of campus life and this

event is just one of the ways for clubs to get their message out.

Promotion was cou-pled with a contest by the Associated Students to see which club could design the most Hallow-een themed booth.

Kimberly Folck, 18, theater arts major and member of the Gay Straight Alliance, said that the event was a great way to pitch clubs to students.

“I think it advertises more what we’re try-ing to put out there, and what we’re all about, for any club,” said Folck.

Many new clubs were represented, in-cluding the World Stu-dents, the Philosophy club, Moorpark Muggle Quidditch and more.

Samantha Hart, an

18-year-old biology ma-jor, felt that the event was smaller than she ex-pected.

“It’s smaller than I’m used to at my high school, but it’s pretty nif-ty, however, because it’s all dressed up for Hal-loween,” said Hart.

Oscar Zambrano, 19, a psychology major, felt

that the event served its purpose well.

“I think it’s really a good chance for students to see what we have on campus, because not many people know we have a Jewish club or Moorpark Muggle Quid-ditch or the GSA either, or the Psychology Club,” said Zambrano.

Photo by Jake Hendersonking of clubS–The Track and Field and Knitwits club were both on hand at Club Day on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

Arts & Entertainment 5Student Voice • VCCCD • Oct. 28, 2009

VC Opera Theatre offers dramatic wisdom

‘The Read’ highlights student poetry with help of workshopsTawni StaplesStaff writer

“The Read” at Moor-park College, Sandra

Hunter’s monthly read and poetry workshop is an extraordinary experi-ence.

The poetry work-

shop began at 4 p.m. on Oct. 14 and gave poets from many different age groups insight and ad-vice on their poetry.

“It’s a really wel-coming forum for peo-ple who might not be so comfortable with the art form yet,” said Shae

Sveniker, 24, radiological technologies major. “It’s a good way to develop a new talent.” The work-shop helps poets who are signed up for open mic to practice before recit-ing in front of a crowd.

D’Lo, who was to re-cite poetry and speak at “The Read,” joined the group at the end of the workshop to collaborate on ideas and have fun with Moorpark’s poets.

Hunter had writers recite their ‘duet poems’ first, most of which were comical and amusing.

Some poets really poured their heart out on stage, whether their poems were out of anger, joy, or fear.

Leigh was phenom-enal with her poems about war, friends pass-ing, and new loneliness. Crystal Salas, an 18-year-old English and creative writing major, as well as a Razor Babe, put on a wonderful performance with writings about liv-ing in LA. Both Salas and Leigh made excep-tional choice of words and possessed voices of intensity. Sveniker had a

style of poetry much dif-ferent than anyone else’s. He says he is inspired to write political poetry and poetry that people would not expect. “I’m influenced by Bucky Sin-ister of San Francisco, as well as David Lerner, Alan Koufman and Ra-chel McKibbins,” Sve-niker said.

To end October’s read, D’Lo hit the stage with a charisma and en-ergy like no other.

Her style of poetry can be very controversial, and people cannot help but listen to what she has to say. In between poems and verses, D’Lo cracks a few jokes and leaves listeners wanting more.

“There’s no such thing as writer’s block. I think that it’s fear and sometimes it’s just shear laziness,” said D’Lo. “Because I feel that we’re around such enormous, great beauty all the time, so, what couldn’t we write about?”

The next read will be held in the Library Learn-ing Resources building on Nov. 18 at 5 p.m..

Alexander DuenezStaff writer

Movie maniacs were in heaven on Oct. 16 and 17 as the Oxnard Student Digi Film Festival invaded downtown Oxnard’s Plaza Cinemas.

Many students took part in the two-day event that included work-shops, contests and prizes.

“We’re extremely proud about this part of the festival,” said Kitty Merrill, festival director and Oxnard College film professor. “It’s a wonderful op-portunity to learn about filmmaking and to meet other talented and creative people who may just help you out on your next project.”

Multiple awards were given to lo-cal independent filmmakers in appre-ciation for their hard work, dedication, and their ability to get their message

across to the viewers.Ernie Vasquez, Gustavo Lopez,

and Christian Chavez had one of the most popular entries. The producers of the sketch comedy show “Contraband TV,” were awarded first place for Best Comedy Short.

The trio later took third place for Best Comedy Short for their second episode.

“It’s a sketch comedy show, with music videos, shorts: it’s a melody of things,” said Chavez. “The point of Contraband TV is if we, any way shape or form make you feel uncomfortable I feel like we have done our job. I believe that’s the best thing that come out of the show.”

The festival ended with a bang as an after party was thrown right after the presentation of the films.

The after party was held at Casa

Escobar, where the viewers and the di-rectors got a chance to enjoy free food, live music and dancing.

Merrill and her all-star crew were credited for making the event possible; the fourth successful year for the Ox-nard Student Digi Film Festival.

The staff hopes to see double the results from this year for the next mak-ing that the fifth straight successful film festival in Oxnard.

“I’m looking forward to another successful year to come and hope to get more entries in,” said Merrill

Students display work for Digi Film Festival at OC

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Hannah DaveyOC campus editor

Lights glare. A pearl of sweat slides down your make-up caked face. You face a dark crowd of nameless faces, enjoying your perfor-mance on stage. You take a deep breath from your diaphragm, your stom-ach expanding for the final note. The note cre-scendo comes from the band and you just belt it. The crowd gives you a standing ovation.

While this may seem like a fictional story, or the life of a famous ac-tor, out of reach from the average student, the life of this performer can be attained.

The Ventura Col-lege Opera and Musical Theater program teaches students the fundamen-tals of working in a the-ater.

Scott Groeneveld, a Ventura College gradu-ate and program staff member, hopes he and the other staff can give students skills for the-ater, and the rest of their lives.

“We want to give them the theater experi-ence from the ground up,” said Groeneveld. “We want to give them the joy we’ve experi-enced for years.”

The Ventura Col-lege Opera and Musical Theater, or VCOMT pro-gram, was established in 1998 after a dry spell of productions at the col-lege.

Linda Ottsen, with

the help of fellow mu-sic department faculty members Burns Taft and Robert Lawson, brought the VCOMT to life after opera workshop was added to the music cur-riculum.

Utilizing the finan-cial assistance of commu-nity members and local businesses, Ottsen ran the program until her re-tirement, when Elizabeth Helms took over, provid-ing even more passion to the program. “The focus is on the process, rather than the product,” said Helms. “We find there

aren’t very many com-munity colleges that teach audition technique and song and that’s what we’re doing.”

The program begins teaching theater etiquette from the beginning, start-ing with auditions. The staff teaches audition techniques including song choice, how to pres-ent themselves and what directors are looking for. The students then go through a mock audition held by the staff.

“It’s the toughest part,” said Groeneveld. “You’re putting yourself

out there to be judged.”With the mock audi-

tion, students improve drastically before their real audition for the se-mester show the VCOMT produces. There are two shows every school year: a small production in the fall and a larger one in the spring.This semester’s production is Joe Masteroff and Jerry Bock’s “She Loves Me,”

a heartwarming musi-cal that formed the basis for the films “The Shop Around the Corner,” “In the Good Old Summer-time,” and “You’ve Got Mail.” “She Loves Me” is the story of two co-workers in a Budapest perfume shop, Amalia and Georg, who instant-ly dislike each other the day they meet. They end up unknowingly becom-

ing pen pals and falling in love.

“I think it’s an in-teresting commentary on how we just look through people who could be very important to us,” said Helms.

For an exclusive vid-eo interview with Dani-ella Portugal “Amalia,” and a sneak peek of “She Loves Me,” go to www.studentvoiceonline.com.

Photos courtesy of Elizabet HelmsLove–Daniella Portugal and Geoff Helms embrace one another. Below, the cast gathers on set for “She Loves Me .”

Photo by Franz Tinio-LopezFiLm- OC Television alumni, who formed Contraband Video, were answering questions from students at the Student Film Maker Workshops at Oxnard College. From left: Ernie Vasquez, Christian Chavez, Gustavo Lopez and Ryan Guillermo.

Ara OrtizAssitant sports editor

The Oxnard College men’s soccer team had a hard pill to swallow, falling to College of the Canyons 4-2 on Tuesday.

Early in the first half, the Condors were controlling the game by maintaining possession and containing field po-sition.

As the game pro-gressed, however, the Cougars were able to ex-ecute offensively and at-tack the Condor defense. The Cougars scored two goals over a five-minute span to take a 2-0 lead,

and led 2-1 at the half.The Cougars had the

same recipe for success in the second half, play-ing more aggressively.

After the Cougars scored on a long free kick, Condors freshman midfielder Abel Pacheco scored a goal, narrowing the margin to 3-2 in favor of the Cougars.

The Condors had some opportunities to tie the game up off some passes that set up shot attempts, but were un-able to capitalize.

The Condors paid the price for their missed opportunities, giving up their fourth goal of the

game, ending any chance for a comeback.

Nellis, who scored one of Oxnard’s two goals, was still upbeat about his team’s play de-

spite the loss.“We kept posses-

sion and passed it well,” he said. “We just need to finish the chances we create.”

Although the Con-dors lost, Nellis remains confident that they will only get better.

“We’ll get it right next time,” he said. “We just need to keep passing it and we’ll have it with our potential.”

Oxnard defense plays poorly, loses to Canyons College 4-2

Sports6Student Voice • VCCCD • Oct. 28, 2009

Photo courtesy of Ventura County Star.Breaking away– Ventura College’s Khristian Guillory, right, trys to avoid the following College of the Canyons Cougars defense during a National Northern Conference game Saturday night at Ventura College. The Pirates forced five turnovers on defense, and won the 126 Highway rivalry 23-6.

Ventura stuns Canyons College, improves to 6-1 on the seasonTim WeisbergSports editor

All it took was 58 seconds for Ventura Col-lege (6-1, 3-0 Northern Conference) to seal a vic-tory.

The Cougars fum-bled on the second play of the game, giving the Pirates the ball inside the Cougar 20. Two plays later and less than a min-ute into the game, the Pirates were up 7-0, and never looked back.

After Dominique Morris rumbled into the end zone for the first score of the game, the Pirates had all the mo-mentum, cruising past Canyons College (5-3, 2-2 Northern Conference) 23-6 Saturday night at Ventura.

When a Cougar player ran into his own man and fumbled the ball, the game’s fate was

clear.If it weren’t for a fake

field goal try on fourth down, the Pirates would have scored on their first two possessions while the Cougars fumbled on their first two posses-sions.

A great punt return by Pirate receiver Nick Karam erased the failed fourth-down conver-sion, giving the Pirates excellent field position. Pirates’ quarterback Antavius Sims threw a six-yard strike to extend their lead to 14-0.

Despite running the same number of plays on offense in the first quar-ter, the Cougars had 68 fewer yards of total of-fense.

The Cougars fum-bled the ball seven times, losing the ball five times.

The Cougars had a chance to make it a game on a long pass play that put them inside the Pi-

rates’ five-yard line, but a personal foul negated the play, and the Cougars eventually fumbled for the fourth time, as Pirate linebacker Loren Powers recovered the ball.

The Cougars had 10 penalties for 125 yards in the game, but none more costly than the one that nullified on the long pass play.

Despite Sims being out with an injury for the remainder of the game, he managed to complete 10 of 13 passes for 107 yards, and even ran for 62 yards on eight carries in the first half.

The Cougars’ ane-mic offense prevented any comeback.

In fact, the Cougars were on the verge of get-ting shut out for the first time since the football program was revived in 1998 if it weren’t for a meaningless touchdown pass by Justin Morales

with 2:35 remaining.Linebacker Ryan

Panapa said he had been told his entire football career how important it was to win the turnover

game.“Growing up all I

heard from my coaches was if you win the turn-over game you would win the game,” said Pan-apa.

The Pirates have a true challenge awaiting them when they travel to Bakersfield College next-

Saturday.However, Panapa

believes that tonight’s victory will give the Pi-rates a lot of drive and energy that will be criti-cal for their game at Ba-

kersfield.“It (the win) will

give us a lot of momen-tum going into our next game,” Panapa stated.

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Moorpark Raiders reorganize, acquire new softball coachTim WeisbergSports editor

The Moorpark Col-lege athletic department decided to shake things up with the hiring of Will Thurston as the new softball coach for the Raiders.

Thurston is in his 31st year of coaching at Moorpark, and most recently served as the head coach for the men’s golf team. As coach, he led the Raiders to the 2008 South-ern California Championship. The golf team qualified for the California C o m m u n i t y College Athletic Assocication (CCCAA) State Championships in three of his nine years.

Thurston is in his second stint as the soft-ball coach for Moorpark, coaching the team for ten years. In his first stint with the Raiders, he won the Western State Confer-ence (WSC) Coach of the Year award seven times, and his team won nine WSC championships in ten years.

As a coach, he post-ed an astonishing 115-12 (.905) record, creating a true WSC dynasty under his ten-year tenure.

Thurston is excited to be coaching the Raider softball team again, and hopes to guide the team back to the success it had when he first coached the team.

“It is a real privi-lege for me to return to the Moorpark College

softball pro-gram as head coach,” Thur-ston said in a press release. “My past ex-periences as their coach were incredi-ble, and I want

to help out the current and future stu-dent athletes to share the same type of success that

I enjoyed.”Last season, the

Raiders won the WSC championship for the first time since 2002, and Thurston now has an op-prtunity to guide Moor-park to two consecutive WSC championships in his first season back as the head coach.

Raiders off to 14-1 startTim WeisbergSports editor

The Moorpark Col-lege women’s volleyball team continues to shine, sweeping Cuesta College in three sets (25-22, 25-16, 25-12) Friday night at Raider Pavilion.

Rachel Olynik led the team with 14 kills and 5 blocks, while Una Siljegovic added 12 kills, and Mimi Sander had 23 digs.

The team celebrated

Breast Cancer Awareness night, where players from both teams wrote names of people they know who either died or survived cancer. Raider Pavilion had an entire wall of its gym decorat-ed to commemorate the

awareness night.The Raiders im-

proved to 14-1 on the year, and remain in first place with a 4-0 record in Western State Confer-ence play.

Raiders are blown out, remain winlessShoaib NajmuddinStaff writer

The Moorpark Col-lege football team con-tinued to struggle Satur-day evening, remaining winless (0-7, 0-3 North-ern Conference) after a crushing 63-28 loss at home to the Allan Han-cock College Bulldogs.

Both offenses ap-peared in sync, scoring on their first two posses-sions of the game.

The Bulldogs (7-1, 3-1 Northern Conference) took a 14-7 first-quarter lead thanks to a touch-down catch by receiver Ryan Bullock and a one-yard scamper by running back Chris Richards.

Raider receiver Evan Yabu tied the game with a 13-yard touchdown catch to begin the second quarter, but the Bulldogs used a pair of Jesus Diaz nine-yard touchdown runs to take a 28-14 lead.

Following a Jona-thon Mesa six-yard touchdown rush for the Raiders, the Bulldogs ex-tended their lead late in the second quarter.

With 13 seconds left in the first half, receiver Mathew Simms scram-bled into the end zone to give Allan Hancock Col-lege a 14-point advan-tage.

A bad snap caused quarterback Ian Shultis to fumble, leading to a Cougar touchdown.

The Bulldogs forced another turnover on downs to begin the half, and capitalized with a touchdown run by Diaz.

A Justin Bradley 14-yard touchdown catch made the score 56-28 af-ter three quarters.

The Bulldog de-fense continued to flex its muscles in the game’s final quarter, holding the Raiders scoreless.

Raider linebacker Jerome Rollins does not believe that his team will remain winless.

“When you lose game after game like this it can be very unset-tling,” said Rollins. “It’s frustrating but it won’t be long before we get our win.”

Will Thurston

Photo by Tony SinticChasing him down- An Oxnard defender attempts to stop a Citrus player from moving the ball downfield in a game at Oxnard College on Oct. 20, 2009. Citrus College won the game 4-2.

Photo by Kyle Rayget down– Moorpark’s Ryan Hidalgo pulls Allan Hancock College’s Chauncy Gordon off the pile and throws him back for a loss in a National Northern Conference match-up Saturday night.

Opinion 7

Student Voice • VCCCD • Oct. 28, 2009

Animal cruelty videos should not be protectedShould videos of

animals being tortured and killed be protected under the First Amend-ment, especially when the act is not?

According to an article that ran in the Los Ange-les Times on Oct. 6, the Su-preme Court heard the case of whether a 1999 law that expressly p r o h i b i t e d the sale and distribution of crush videos, which depicts small animals being crushed to death under a women’s high heel shoe, goes against freedom of speech.

Causing cruelty to animals is illegal. Get-ting caught video taping

said animals being treat-ed cruelly is also illegal. So then why should dis-tributing the video not be illegal as well?

Justice Antonin Scalia believes that the First Amendment pre-

vents the government from limiting any kind of speech or expression, unless it involves sex or obscenity.

He also is afraid that the law could prohibit the sale of hunting vid-eos. The problem with

that argument is that a man with a gun and a hunting license shooting a deer is a far cry from a kitten being tortured. These are animals that are killed for a sexual fe-tish, and no matter how you spin it, they are de-picting something that can only be defined as obscene.

Obscenity laws in most states say that in order for something to be truly obscene, and therefore not protected, it needs to lack any seri-ous literary, artistic, po-litical, or scientific value. So you could theoreti-cally bring forward an “expert” and have them explain how crush vid-eos are culturally rel-evant works of art, but it would be hard to justify why they have to actu-

ally kill something to get to that point. Child pornography is not pro-tected, because it is evi-dent that a child is being harmed.

So if the entire point of the video is another kind of creature being harmed, why is there so much objection to deem-ing it obscene?

It’s an important question to consider, how far can someone go before they have crossed that thin line. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. asked whether a pay-per-view channel where people are killed hourly should be protected as well.

Let’s go even fur-ther here. If crush videos are protected, could we eventually see a maga-zine called “Smashed Puppy Dog?”

Michael GalassoOnline editor

Health care is a basic hu-man right.

There are those who op-pose health care reform and

any sort of government pro-vision of health care who would disagree with that statement.

Regardless of whether or not you agree with the politics of President Obama, the health care system in our country is incapable of supporting our growing na-tion. Opponents of Obama’s health care reform are quick to cite numerous vagaries in the proposed bills as sticking points for their opposition.

One of the lightning bolts for debate is the presence of a public option, or govern-ment-funded health care for all American citizens. Radical opponents of the idea throw around words like “social-ism” and “Nazi” in an effort to catalyze the public into ac-tion.

The fact of the matter is that the modern Republican tenant of less government in-volvement with private citi-zens appears, on its face, to stand against everything be-ing proposed by the Obama health care plan.

In actuality, the bills be-ing shaped in Congress are becoming less controversial as the days go by. On Oct. 14, the Senate Finance Commit-tee voted to approve its ver-sion of health care legislation, clearing the way for Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, to combine the finance bill with an already approved version from the Senate health committee.

In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi must combine three different versions of the bill before the measure can be combined with the Senate’s ultimate product. Accord-ing to the New York Times, the Senate Finance bill will expand the existing Medic-

aid program and create new, state-run insurance programs for people living below the poverty line.

Coverage will not be provided for illegal immi-grants. This aspect of the bill reached a boiling point dur-ing Obama’s speech on health care reform in September.

It was this commitment by Obama that led to Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina’s infamous “You lie!” In real-ity, according to FactCheck.org, the current House bill specifically forbids coverage for illegal immigrants. Even opponents of the cost of the inevitable health care bill have less to complain about now. The projected cost of the bill is $829 billion over the next 10 years.

This staggering figure, really quite minuscule when compared to the entire gross domestic product of the United States, $14.4 trillion in 2008, would be fully offset by a combination of taxes on high-cost insurance policies and savings in the current Medicare spending by the government.

Even with all this aside, the basic belief that health care is the right of every hu-man being on this planet is really what’s going to divide people. Either you think that health care should be provid-ed by a nation’s government, or you don’t.

The details are essentially beside the point and all that remains is a question of eth-ics. Don’t be afraid of your opinion; just make sure it isn’t made for you by a cable news channel, a presidential speechwriter, or even a writ-er for your school newspa-per. Find the facts and think for yourself.

Hannah CoyleOpinion editor

Free health care for every-one would be great; everyone deserves happy, healthy lives and it would be wonderful if the government could pay for that. Howev-er, how is the government going to pay for this and is it worth the cost? Just like with cer-tain medi-cines, they may fix one problem, but are the side effects worth it? Some ar-gue that health care is a basic need, and that like education, it should be provided for everyone. Plus it would be nice, really nice. And in a perfect world, a lot of things would be nice. Uni-versal health care would give the government a lot of con-trol over us. More taxes will be needed, that’s money go-ing out of our paychecks and straight to the feds to decide what to do with our hard-earned cash. We should take a look at other countries who have implemented universal health care and see how it’s working out for them.

“In Sweden, the wait for heart surgery can be as long as 25 weeks, and the average wait for hip replacement sur-gery is more than a year” says an article in the Los Angeles Times by Michael Tanner and Michael Cannon. “Many

of these individuals suffer chronic pain, and judging by the numbers, some will probably die awaiting treat-ment.” In a 2005 ruling of the Canadian Supreme Court,

Chief Justice Beverly McLach-lin wrote, “access to a wait-ing list is not access to health care.” Another concern is that if health care becomes uni-versal, people will over-use it and there won’t be enough help and attention from doc-

tors to go a r o u n d . An article by Michael T a n n e r , published by cato.org, addressed this issue.

“ T h e Europeans have run into a very simple eco-nomic rule.

If something is perceived as free, people will consume more of it than they would if they had to pay for it.” said Tanner. “Think of it this way: if food were free, would you eat hamburger or steak? At the same time, health care is a finite good. There are only so many doc-tors, so many hospital beds and so much technology. If people over-consume those resources, it drives up the cost of health care.” Ulti-mately what it comes down to is power, how much do we want the government to control us? How much of our tax money are we willing to give?

As George Washington said “Government is not rea-son, nor eloquence. It is force. And like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearsome mas-ter.”

What advice would you give a student to help them get a job?

Moorpark– Cyrus Soto, 20

Moorpark– Francesea De Caro, 20

oxnard– Laura Reyes, 27

oxnard– D.J. Kelly, 21

Ventura– Cassandra Saucedo, 20

Ventura– Monique Rodriguez, 19

“Look anywhere and everywhere. Ap-

ply in person so the employer can see

you and get the feel for what you can

do. Make a good impression.”

My advice is to just keep trying and

calling those places back. Keep ask-

ing and don’t give up. Be persistent.”

“Know who you’re working for.

Anticipate the questions they’re

going to ask.”

“Look presentable. Don’t use

any slang. Be humble. Compli-

ment, but not too much.”

“Keep your head up and just

going till you get what you want.

Don’t let yourself to look des-

perate”

“Act like you want it. Don’t act like

you need the job and don’t take it

personally if you dont get the job.”

Selling drugs ruined life

In upper-middle class suburbs, youth in-habitants enjoy the good life: great schooling, wealth, etc. Amidst this life that metaphorically aligns with the beautiful weather, there are always those few cold days each year. This story exempli-fies one of those chilling days. I will never forget that freezing January night. The appeal of that place is like a cave. White paint covers the cinder-block walls and writings of curses adorn every-thing from the ground to the gray, metal door.

Being in my cell only minutes, I began to cry. Reason being, my actions had been immature; the dealing of narcotics to minors. Not only would it affect my life, but also those closest to me. Ef-fects on my life include:

hundreds of hours of community ser-vice, thousands of dollars in fines, many drug diver-sion classes, pro-bation, a home

eligible for search and seizure whenever, and the postponement of my ambition to attend a U.C. For my parents, they live with more embar-rassment than me. They gave me all the tools and reason to succeed, and in the end I failed them.

The morning after I saw my brother cry and my mother silent behind bulletproof glass as I re-peatedly squeezed ‘I’m sorry” in-between hy-perventilating. Before the arrest, I took the action of selling narcotics to mi-nors lightly. Remember that if not for your own sake, the pain caused to others is highly sufficient in making an informed decision.

Utilize every posi-tive opportunity given, and enjoy the weather. Because I did not.

Submited by James Becrra

–Editorial–>

–lEttEr to thE Editor

Student Voice7075 Campus Rd.

Moorpark, Calif. 93021Phone: (805) 378-1552

Fax: (805) 378-1438

Editor-in-chiefDavid Lopez

Online editorMichael Galasso

News editorBrennan Whitmore

VC Campus editorAngela Braza

OC Campus editorHannah Davey

A&E EditorKatie Yates

Sports editorsTim Weisberg

Ara Ortiz

Student Life editorSerena Swanger

Opinion editorHannah Coyle

Photo editorTony Sintic

Graphic artistDustin Corzier

Staff writersSherylyn Andaya

Sal AttinelloMichael PrietoJames Williams

Pia DizonAlexander DuenezLouis Hernandez

Jesus Meza IIIAlyssa Avalos

Brett ArveShoaib Najmuddin

Benji GuerreroMallory MartinTawni Staples

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PhotographerJeffrey Farrar

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In print and online at studentvoiceonline.

comSubmit letters to

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–Con–>–Pro–>

Editorial cartoon by Serena Swangerrole swap-If people could get a taste of their own medicine

These are animals that are killed for

sexual fetish

Should America adopt a universal healthcare plan?

Viewpoint

Illustration by Hannah Davey

Serena Swanger

Student Life editor

It’s that time of year again. Every-one is searching for the perfect cos-tume, hanging their faux spider webs, carving pumpkins and satisfying their sweet tooth. Halloween is an exciting time, but originally, it was more than just fun and games.

“Halloween was the old Celtic New Year, when ghosts were said to walk the earth” said R i c h a rd Senate, a re-

nowned para-

normal expert in Ventura County. “It was a scary time and people locked their doors in fear ghosts would come in. Its now a fun time to mock death.”

Considered by its residents to be one of the most haunted cities in America, Ventura County is full of un-explained phenomena.

With its long, twisted history Ven-t u r a County is the ideal place to g o back to the roots of Hal-

loween and discover the supernatural side of the celebrated holiday.

According to Sen-ate, the Olivas Adobe

is the scariest place in

Ventura County.“The Olivas Adobe [is] where a

ghost lady in a black dress has been seen walking on the balcony late at night, [she] could be Dominga Olivas who died during childbirth on Hallow-een Night 1890,” said Senate. “ There is also a ghost girl in a white nightdress seen in the second floor window.”

Surrounding the grounds of the compound lays a well-groomed rose garden, but within its walls, you en-ter a dark, deserted courtyard with a neglected two-story adobe on one side and a beat up back house on the other side.

Beyond its eerie beauty, a linger-ing question hangs in the air.

Is the Olivas Adobe actually haunted?

“My best sightings are ones where I have had more than

one witness,” said Sen-ate “We had an event in

2006 when over 100 people saw a ghost

girl appear and vanish at the Oli-

vas Adobe. I could have hallucinated

[alone], but a group is evidence.”

Another spot believed to be haunted is the old Justin Petit house in Oxnard’s Heri-tage Square.

The re-stored Victo-rian home is

now used as a playhouse and tourist attrac-tion, but has been said to be haunted by its past.

“ M a n y c u s t o m -ers come in c l a i m i n g they’ve seen spirits in the

Petit House as well as some of the oldest hous-

es in the square,” said Anthony McI-nally, 25, a waiter at La Dolce Vita Ris-torante, next door to the Petit House. “I don’t believe in that stuff, but some people say they even see ghosts in here [La Dolce]. These houses are pretty ee-rie at night.”

Although Heritage Square is well kept and often plays host to weddings and tourists, it has a long history full of paranormal possibilities.

“People have gotten pictures of mysterious orbs here,” said Senate. “Heritage Square has several ghosts at the old Perkins house and the church.”

Heritage Square is located at 200 W. 7th St, Oxnard. Tours are conducted on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

A rather cliché, yet equally spooky location in Ventura, is the Ivy Memo-rial Cemetery, formerly Cemetery Park. Dating back to the 1800s, there are countless rumors of spirits roam-ing the grounds.

According to vcparanormal.com, there were satanic rituals conducted there which forced the spirits to wan-der the lot forever.

“As I stood by the tallest family monument there, I felt a cold chill run up my spine. The graves were old and a whole family lied to rest there,” said Moorpark College student Tory Weisz, 21, a film major. “You could definitely feel a supernatural presence.”

The cemetery is located at 5400 Valentine Rd, Ventura and open daily from 8 a.m. -4:45 p.m.

The adobe is located at 4200 Olivas Park Dr, Ventura; open daily from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and tours are Saturdays and Sundays for $10.

For more information, visit the of-ficial Olivas Adobe website at www.olivasabobe.org.

For those hoping to encounter some real paranormal activity this hal-lows eve, Senate and his wife will be conducting an séance behind the Ven-tura County City Hall, at the old city jail. For tickets call (805) 658-4726.

Photos by Serena SwangerPhoto edit by Jake Henderson

Student Life8Student Voice • VCCCD • Oct. 28, 2009

The Scariest Locations in Ventura County

The source of The supernaTural:Clockwise from top: Ivy Memorial Cemetery in Ventura where graves date back to the 18th century and the spirits of those who were laid to rest are said to wander the grounds aim-lessly; The upper level of the main house at the Olivas Adobe in Ventura where over 100 people witnessed a ghost appear and vanish before their eyes; The gateway between the lush rose garden and the desolate, haunted courtyard of the Olivas Adobe; the back house at the Olivas Adobe which is said to be haunted by another female ghost, this ancient structure is all but forgotten; The San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura is also suggested to be haunted by its deceased clergy this is a tomb where one of the Reverend Fathers lies, he is rumored to remain on the grounds as a ghost; An idol in the Mission’s garden where visitors are invited to light candles for those who have passed away.

old peTiT house- Heritage Square in Oxnard contains this restored house and many others, all said to be haunted.