Veterans Day is the definition of an American holiday. it is a holiday that honors those who fought for our country as well as our ideals of justice and liberty. However, it wasn’t for an American war that the holiday was founded, but for the first great war of the 20th century. On November 11 (or the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month”) of 1918, Europe first celebrated Armistice Day in memory of the soldiers who died in World War I. It was not until the end of World War II that the tradition of Armistice Day was spread and evolved into Veterans Day for America and Remembrance Day for members of the British Commonwealth. This is how the holiday we know today grew to span not only cultural and language barriers, but also entire oceans. Equally as diverse as the people who celebrate this holiday are the customs used to do so. For Remembrance Day, red poppies have served as strong yet simple symbols of respect. The flower was picked from the scenes of many violent battles during World War I for how it embodied the lands war has threatened. Within households everywhere, families wait stricken with worry for their loved ones in active duty to send word home or perhaps to one day soon return. To honor their children that went off to war, American mothers used to sew flags of red and white with large blue stars for each one serving in the military. These “Blue Star Mothers”, as mentioned by resident Veterans Day Historian Eric Narveson, out of love began a tradition that is in use today by dedicated friends and family all over the

country. Some people choose to spare two minutes of silence to resolutely honor our past and present veterans. All activity of daily life freezes out of respect for the heroes of war. Veterans Day is even alive on our college campus with an observance event hosted by Mr. Narveson for the benefit of the community. Veterans were invited to share with the campus their perspective on war and the eventual return home. Cervando Diaz, an EVC student and a veteran of the ongoing war

in the Middle East, had very moving words to share about his experiences. Cervando used his presentation to draw connections between his own motivations and those of other soldiers who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq. With an admirable level of professionalism, Cervando illustrated the necessity and grim determination that makes victory in war possible despite the horrors that soldiers have endured Anxiety and fear fresh off the battlefield was palpable as he commentated on videos about his

fellow veterans. The challenge he was most unprepared for, Cervando said, was his return to the United States after serving years as an infantry man on foreign soil. With all the difficulties our veterans have to face in service to our country, the least they could have earned is our respect. So the next time you see a red poppy pinned to a vest or a blue starred flag hanging in a window, think of the veterans who safeguard our way of life.

M e s s e n g e rPRESENTED BY THE: EVERGREEN VALLEY COLLEGE NEWSPAPER CLUB

Every Christmas it seems like you can separate into two categories the “good” gifts you received from the “bad”. The bad gifts are usually gifts that seem inconsiderate and irrelevant to the recipient. They can also be uncreative or generic gifts that did not have much thought put into them and were purchased last minute from a Walgreens. However, there are ways you can avoid being the “bad gift” giver yourself. Everyone should be mindful of their own personal hygiene, so it’s safe to say that some people would really appreciate a gift from Bath & Body Works. One of their lotions can cost as little as $6 and usually

smell great. By giving one of their products as a gift, we are also sending the message

that we want the recipients hygienic habits to be luxurious. But if we were to

give someone a cheap $2 bar of Dove soap from Wal-Mart, we are sending the message

that we think that person possibly smells bad and needs to clean themselves better and we can also be pegged as cheap. Money is always a good gift; maybe not the most creative gift, but a good gift none the less. The problem with giving currency as a gift is the form in which it is given. When it comes to money, in my opinion, paper is perfect. A gift card is

Remi KlothStaff Writer

Don’t Give a Bad Gift

Vo l u m e 2 , I s s u e 6

see Gifts pg 5

Anthony Di SelviestreStaff Writer

College Campus Best Kept Secret:College Moms

Everyday I wake up with my eyes crusted over and half awake in a zombie-like state as I get ready to take my 2 year old daughter to daycare so I can get to my classes on time. Its almost like a reflex – get ready, make breakfast, stuff food down my throat, wake baby, make her eat, get her ready then run out the door. Being a mom and keeping up with school - its the secret that everyone knows, yet we know very little about.

As a mom and full-time student, I always wondered just how it is that all the other moms do it! I never really hear any parents on campus discussing the difficulties of juggling school work and diapers. As far as I know, other than financial resources, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of peer support or parents helping parents organizing on EVC campus. More importantly, for me as a woman, where are all the moms in college? So I set out on a mission to locate other student moms and ask them for their story. One such mother, Jackie Gamboa, 24, is working on her Masters degree at San Jose State University. “It takes a lot to balance,” she said with a slight giggle afterward,

“Homework time and family time are hard to distinguish - the baby comes first.” she said overall it is a challenge to balance everything. Gamboa has been a student mom almost since her college days began. Her daughter, Yaocihuatl, is now six years old. When asked what she thinks is the hardest aspect of being a parent and going to school she replied, “Finding time to do homework,” and Gamboa said that when the baby was smaller it was a lot easier. She said, “I was able to do homework then, but now, it’s a lot harder to distract her.”

Gamboa thinks it would be a very good idea to find other student moms and have play days together with other families. She also wishes she had taken turns babysitting with other moms.” I feel like my daughter was very isolated.” She said with a solemn look in her eye. “There should be more advocacies for parents in school. There should be changing rooms and play grounds on campus, even the school should be more open to

see Mothers pg 4

The December 2011

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Featured Stories:Pg.2 St. Andrew’s Day

Pg.3 Turkeys, Midterms, Nesquick bunnies and More Free Stuff!

Pg. 5 Holiday Stories

St. Andrew’s Day Celebration

When people think of Evergreen Valley College, the first thing that comes to mind is our level of cultural diversity. This is because from our clubs, in our names, and even walking between classes we see representatives of our entire planet gathered to teach and learn. These opportunities to exchange information are gladly not limited to our classrooms and arrive to us in a variety of guises. On November 15th, our campus celebrated its 35th annual St. Andrew’s Day event to celebrate the patron saint of Scotland. St. Andrew’s day celibrations were brought to us this year by the efforts of Sterling Warner of the college faculty. The celebration was an opportunity to watch the Celtic arts in action and embrace a fascinating culture. To start off the event, a marching band of bagpipers and drummers played music with sufficient volume to rattle the bones and iconic enough to stir the soul. Afterwards there were performances by one of San Jose’s Highland Dance crews who dressed in beautiful outfits that complemented their intricate routines. These dancers are so skilled they have even earned the right to compete in official tournaments against native Scottish dancers. Showcasing the diverse and poetic oral traditions of Scotland, were poem readings by students as well as a returning ‘a cappella’ (without instrumental accompaniment) singer. Kilts of decorative plaid as well as designs of clan and county heritage were on display by many of the performers and also on sale by the local Celtic Shoppe. Also on sale were jewelry, artwork, head wear and food, all of authentic Scottish influence. These celebrations of St. Andrew’s Day and those before it have only been possible thanks to the participation of EVC students and teachers. Those in attendance were rewarded with a tasteful presentation of Scottish customs dating from before the coming of the Roman Empire. Yet again the cultural diversity of our college finds an outlet that is both intriguing and informative.

Page 2 - News 2011NewsPRESENTED BY THE: EVERGREEN VALLEY COLLEGE NEWSPAPER CLUB

Photo Credit: Edward Balaoro & Jerome Guiang

As I stated in my platform when running for your In-ternal Vice President position of the Associated Stu-dent Board here at Evergreen Valley College, I am tired of packing my recyclable waste when I leave campus. Sometimes I stay on campus for well over 10 hours, and carrying around garbage is at the very least annoying. If you haven’t noticed, here at EVC, the only recycling receptacles we have available to us are provided by the California Conservation Corps (a great organization, I will remind you), and allow for recycling of strictly bottles and cans. You have seen them, right? Those blue and white recycling containers with a smallish round hole at the mouth—intended to allow students and staff to recycle. I love this; recycling is obviously a very good thing.

So, what is the issue? Why am I taking containers from the Fresh and Natural Café, styrofoam cups from Jamba Juice, and triangular pizza boxes from Pizza My Heart home with me in my school bag? Because as I stated previously, our receptacles are intended for two types of recyclable materials. Two types. Out of the hundreds of things that can be recycled, we, a campus of a over eight thousand students are able to recycle two types of materials. One can only imagine what a student body of this magnitude produces in a day in waste. Or, in a se-mester, or in a school year—or since the campus opened its doors to the community in the 1975. Think of paper alone! I have seen exactly two blue square-ish plastic bins with lids, also provided by the Conservation Corps on campus. These bins, however, have proven to be elu-sive. I have seen one on a certain day in front of Gullo II; on another day in front of the portable buildings; and

yet on another day I fail to locate the containers at all. And what does this all mean? Quite simply: I want all-inclusive recycling on our beautiful campus. In addition to alleviating obvious pressures on landfills in our areas (with 100% recyclable materials no less!), I will be al-leviating my frustrated mind on the issue. So far, my research has been discouragingly potentially expensive. I am working to see a more cost effective way to see this dream through. There are many unforeseen logistics in-volved beyond getting the physical containers onto our campus. These, will, of course, need to be figured and worked out before any action is taken. I look forward to updating you with further details about my efforts.

Amy DundonInternal Vice President

Anthony Di SelviestreStaff Writer

A Cleaner Tomorrow

MothersContinued

students who have kids.” She said she doesn’t feel that SJSU or most college campuses are very supporting of parent students. “I would advocate having more organizations that have parents helping parents while in school. We need more resources of that kind.”Anonymous (name asked to be witheld), would agree. In her opinion, getting homework done while taking care of a child is one of the most difficult aspects of parenting and attending college.Garcia, currently taking online classes at San Jose City College, started her education when her son Isaiah was a little older. He just turned six last month and is accompanied by a newborn sister just added to the family. “Plan ahead. Make sure you make time for everything that needs to get done. Make sure you still spend time with the kids.” She sternly gives her advice while nursing her 8 month old baby. As a breastfeeding mom, she feels that planning ahead is extremely important in order to ensure that everything gets done. Garcia described the experience of parenting and going to school as “Busy, very busy,” but she added that it’s “Not overwhelming but you have to be very coordinated.”

The best piece of advice I felt came from Maria Elena Martinez, 28. She attends full-time here at Evergreen Valley College. As a mother of a two year old daughter, Letty, she advices moms to take time for themselves. “It helps to really just give yourself some air to breath and take naps every so often. Take a walk in the park with your kids and go out in nature. It gives your spirit a lift.” Martinez felt this has saved her sanity more than a couple of times. Sometimes as mothers we forget that we are individuals too, with the need to have our own space or time to just relax. “Often we forget to just breathe.” Martinez notes. As she said this, she drew in a breath of fresh air, inspiring me to do the same.

Page 3 - News December 2011NewsPRESENTED BY THE: EVERGREEN VALLEY COLLEGE NEWSPAPER CLUB

An apple a day will keep the doc-tor away. A platitude such as that holds more truth now than it ever did in the past, even with all the modern advancements in medicine we, as a human species, have made. Fruits serve as natural enhancers for the body’s defense system against disease and pestilence. Without fruits, we’ll be gluttons for sickness and early graves as the body can only fortify its walls so much on its own. Think about it. If 14th century sailors did not discover the boon effects of Vitamin C within oranges, will we still have an America to call home? Although scurvy is a thing of the past, the lesson it teaches is a vital one. Fruits will save your life. However, sometimes fruit can be a double-edged sword. It’s hard to believe that something we reap from Mother Nature has the potential to harm us as well. Relating to what I had to address last issue about soda causing massive weight gains and incurring adverse effects, fruit can also be a culprit. That is, in the form of juice. You might think I’m crazy for say-ing that but the truth is, fruit juice can be just as bad as soda. Any juice that goes through a distillation and manufacturing process is bad news. Now, I had previously mentioned that homemade juices are viable substitutes for soda and I’m not trying to contradict my-self here, but it is also a better alternative to manufactured juices. The fact you squeeze

the juice yourself ensures that there are no sneaky additives or chemicals slipping into your drink. It is still best to just eat the fruit. Ruminate it like this: if you were a dog and your owner snuck in some chocolate, not the kindest thing to do. Picture the owner as the corporation who produces the bottled juices. You see the juice or food in this case, and consume it without so much as a thought beforehand. You feel good about yourself but inside, your body is overtaken by sugar and chemicals. It’s pretty ubiqui-tous that people think by drinking juice, they’re being healthy. To an extent they are correct, since juice does still provide es-sential nutrients and vitamins. However, it comes with its draw-backs compared to eating the fruit itself. Sometimes you may drink an 8-oz cup of orange juice in all its sweet, satisfying, tanginess and go on about your day thinking you’ve already got your daily serv-

ing of Vitamin C, you’re wrong. In reality, you’ve just drunk the equivalent of four or-anges and consumed 22 grams of sugar, just five grams short of the amount found in Dr. Pepper. Surprised? You should be. Imagine that, eating four oranges in one sitting. Not

even a health fanatic, or expert for that matter,

would tell you it’s the grandest thing to do since hang-ing dice in your beat-up Cadillac as a desperate mating call. It’s not the 1970s and it’s not required to eat four whole or-anges. One orange is good enough to keep your Vitamin C stores suffi-cient for one day. Whole fruit such as

oranges contain fiber, which is more filling

than juice. It satisfies your hunger and keeps you from un-

necessary calorie intake. One of the main reasons why kids are over-

weight is because parents are fooled by the supposedly nutritious fruit juice. Juice

will not even provide ample sustenance. ½ cup of apple juice is equivalent to one apple. 8-oz or ½ cup is barely anything. To make matters worse, you’ll want to drink more just to be satisfied. This leads to additional sugar consumption and all the calories that tag along. A 12-oz cup of grape juice is 159 cal-ories. Most people need twice that amount to feel quenched. 318 calories for a drink and its fruit juice too! Watch out Starbucks, you may have a rival in the works. If you must drink juice, take some food with it. The solids will slow down the intake of sugar. Juice companies often blur the line between actual nutritional value and just another sugary beverage. They are more interested in making a profit than impacting health, generating $10 billion a year in sales. The fact is, drinking fruit juice will raise the risk of diabetes through the roof, as much as 20%, especially if consumed daily. Sarah Keogh of the Albany Clinic in Toronto men-tions, “Eating whole fruits takes the body longer to break the sugar down, but drink-ing juice allows the sugar to enter the blood stream directly, affecting insulin levels.” She adds, “We should not abdicate fruit juice en-tirely. It’s still good for us, if we have it once a day, fresh squeezed and not bought or from concentrate.”

Juice: Just Another Sugar High

Photo Credit: Jamba Juice

Man Quac LaSr. Staff Writer

As EVC moves into December, the Asso-ciated Student Government (ASG) has been work-ing to bring life back to campus. For October ASG threw “A Night in the Twilight Zone”, a Halloween party. Winners of 80’s week and the Halloween costume contests were announced, earning $50 to $100 for their efforts. Also, did anyone else notice the giant Nesquick bunny walking around campus? The ASG is also sponsoring a canned food drive. Bins for are located in various places around campus, like the Math and Science building or in the Student Center, and anyone wishing to help with donations can bring in canned foods from now until the last day of semester. In the month of November the ASG brought back the Turkey Bowl. Turkey Bowl is a flag football tournament between the clubs on campus. After two days of flag football, and many, many free hot dogs (school events usually mean free food), the Pacific Islander Club took 1st place and were named Turkey Bowl champs. Some of the clubs chartered this past month were: Black Student Union (BSU) and, for anyone wanting to learn how to dance, Hip Hop Club. Also, the ASG attended a conference, the Student Senate for California Community Colleges (SSCCC), in order to better represent the students at EVC. Every Community College has an Associated Student Government, or ASG, and they all keep in contact with one another. That is the purpose of SSCCC, to keep a constant flow of contact between all the local boards. The EVC ASG is a local board

that reports to a higher Government board at the state level. Every year there are two conferences held for these ASG’s, one for the Fall semester and one in the Spring. At the SSCCC the whole Student Senate, made up of all local ASG’s, make decisions (resolu-tions) to pass along to the Board of Governors. These resolutions are discussed, altered and then voted on. The passed resolutions are sent to the Board of Governors and the ones that fail are either altered or lost. FREE STUFF: As Midterms approach the ASG has planned to give out free school supplies, such as test scan-trons, pencils, blue books and much more. Look out for flyers posted to find out the location of the giveaways. As always, if you want to learn more about your Student Government, our office is located in the Gullo building; upstairs down the hall from the bookstore. Meetings are held every Thursday at 3pm in room G-206, by the TV area. Want to know more about ASG? Login to your Facebook account and search “Evergreen Valley College Associated Student Government”. This is the easiest way to learn of upcoming school events – free food!- and important information regarding Evergreen.

Thanks,And See you Next Year!

-Associated Student Government

Turkeys, Midterms, Nesquick bunnies and More Free Stuff!

Photo Credit: Edward Balaoro & Julie Ngo

Photo Credit: ign.com

Page 4 - Arts & Entertainment December 2011Arts & EntertainmentPRESENTED BY THE: EVERGREEN VALLEY COLLEGE NEWSPAPER CLUB

Club Advisors:

Marjorie Clark

Sterling Warner

Upper Management:

Editor in chief:

Alexander Daryanani

Chief of Graphics Department:

Edward Balaoro

Writing Department

Senior Writers:

Heather Garcia

Jessica Diaz

Michael Felix

Lisa Mae Enrile

Allan Pham

Managing Editor:

Francisco Zarate

Webmaster:

Alex Velasco

Web Editor:

Man Quoc La

Marketing Director:

Lisa Kim

Lisa Mae Enrile

Allan Pham

Amy Dundon

Writers:

Remi Kloth

Graphics Department

Senior Layout Management:

Steven DeMartini

Layout Management:

Madison Muong

Senior Photographer:

Nicholas Ta

Photographers:

Jessica Cervantes

Sarah Goodwin

Funded in part by EVC Associated Student Government

newspaper.editors.messenger@gmail.com

Jerome Guiang

Gamer’ s Corner

Halo is a multi-million dollar science-fiction first person shooter video game. The franchise was created by Bungie and now is managed by 343 Industries, which is now owned by Microsoft Studios. Halo centers on an interstellar war between humanity and an alliance of aliens known as the Covenant. The Covenant worshipped an ancient civi-lization known as the Forerunners who had perished in combat with the parasitic Flood. In games like, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3 the player plays as Master Chief John-117, a cybernetically-enhanced human super soldier and his companion who is the AI (Artificial Intelligence) Cortana. The term “Halo” refers to large habitable ringed structures, but is also a weapon cre-ated by the Forerunners to destroy the Flood and other life forms that were mutated by the parasitic Flood. In short, Halo is a different game in that the back-story is much, much larger than the story in the game encom-passes. They’re really trying to save Earth from the overwhelming Covenant threat.

There are other games that tie into the

franchise as well with side story lines. There is: Halo: Reach, which is a prequel to the first halo game. There is also Halo 3: ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper) which is an expansion for Halo 3 where the players as-sume the roles of elite human United Na-tions Space Command soldiers. There is also another game called Halo Wars. Halo Wars is a real-time strategy game where the player leads groups of human soldiers aboard the warship Spirit of Fire in an effort to stop an ancient fleet of ships from falling into the hands of the genocidal alien Covenant. Halo Wars isn’t a first person shooter, it is a strat-egy and defense game.

There are also books that are based on the game Halo. It’s a really good read and you get to learn how John, aka Master Chief, came to be the hero we admire in the series. All of them are really good games and the books are awesome. Understanding Halo lore is akin to reading an entire series, much like the Harry Potter string of novels. Even with its inventive and stylized realism, plasma weapons and suspenseful twists, Halo without its story or mechanics is like Bonnie without Clyde. Halo is a very ac-complished series that sparked the next level in first-person shooters.

People tend to undermine it as another

basic sci-fi frag-fest, but they tend to forget the innovations that Halo has imprinted onto the face of gaming today. A lot of other de-velopers have used Halo’s innovative con-trols and brilliant story telling to fashion their games.

In my honest opinion, the game deserves all the credibility and honors it gets. It’s a really deep game that players can get lost in, story and game-play wise. Like Call of Duty and Gears of War have their own merits but do not excel in both respective elements, its one at the expense of the other. Halo does not have that, it’s a good game all around.

These games are only for the consoles:

Xbox, Xbox 360 and PC. But Halo: Combat Evolved, the first game made by Bungie is now on Macintosh.

Pros- All great games and art designCons- None Special thanks to my two friends who are

fanatics of the Halo Franchise; Man La and Karol Nevarez

Madison MuongStaff Writer

Page 5 - Arts & Entertainment December 2011Arts & EntertainmentPRESENTED BY THE: EVERGREEN VALLEY COLLEGE NEWSPAPER CLUB

a nice idea, especially if you are not too familiar with the person that the gift card is for. Though, three things need to be taken into consideration when deciding to give someone a gift card. The first thing to consider is the business/use that the gift card is for. Secondly, does the recipient have any interest in purchasing a product from that particular business? Last is the amount of money on that gift card sufficient for a worthy gift? Remember, a $5 gift card to Bath & Body Works can only cover the cost of a tiny 3oz. bottle of hand sanitizer. There are prepaid gift cards available like the Visa Gift card that allows you to put in an amount of money and spend it at any place that accepts Visa. A gift that involves exercising can be considered very offensive to certain people. Giving someone a gym membership or an exercise video is like telling them that they are fat and need

to lose a few pounds. If you are going to confront someone about their weight issues, please try to do it after the holidays.Holiday themed clothing can be an annoying gift to receive; like a thick knit sweater with reindeers on the front for example. One can only wear holiday themed clothing during and around the time of that particular holiday and not seem out of taste. Other bad gifts can be coupons, cleaning supplies, plants, and toys without batteries. So if you are planning on giving someone a gift for the holidays this year, please be considerate and try to give a gift that is relevant to the recipient. Spend some time and effort on the presentation of the gift; that means no newspaper wrappings! Thinking about the details can make your gift worthy of being in the “good gift” categories.

It’s a curious and wondrous time, the holidays sure do bring out some new verve and feel in the air. It’s as if all are entranced by the nostalgia and love we all shed on one another during our varied festivus. Unfortunately, hate and resentment are two very familiar and overpowering emotions that arise in people this time of year. Why might you ask do people start to feel this way this time of year? Many factors contribute to these emotions: loneliness, career stagnation and, the worst, holiday cheer. I know, it seems strange that the holidays would elicit such reactions in a person’s emotional state. But lets face it, if you’re alone and struggling in the dating world, seeing a bunch of people frolicking and doing happy couple things might just make you feel some resentment. Then there’s the happy family stuff too. Are you recently divorced and unable to see your kids regularly? This too causes stress. All this commercialized hyper material expectations thrust upon society annually make people view themselves as less complete because their lives do not mirror the expected pattern. I say forget the picture box view of the world, and live

yours happily. While it may be discouraging to deal with these problems, you should not dwell on them too much. You have many other positive and incredible things going for you that you’re brushing aside because you’re the only single adult at thanksgiving, or your ex-wife took your kids to Cabo for Christmas with her new boyfriend “Malcolm”. Just remember to talk to you’re friends and sort your problems out. And if you’re friends are too inundated, seek out a counselor. They could really help you get through the down side. Remember also that people always pile up on themselves too harshly, you’re busy! You have class, homework, finals and who only knows how many group projects (the most mind numbing) going on during this final month of the semester. Do not allow these obstacles to force you into making long-term decisions. Momentary anguish has a way of doing this, be positive in your good works and take pride in what good you do. Where its easy to forget and to push yourself down, find courage and pick yourself up. You might just start to enjoy the holidays once again.

Its sad to say that the majority of American families would rather swarm malls at the last minute to search for Christmas gifts rather than educate themselves about other holidays, such as Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday celebrated by millions around the world. Kwanzaa has a cultural message that brings the fullest sense of being both as a human and African. The idea of Kwanzaa is to engage in an ancient and living cultural tradition that reflects the best of African thought and practice in its reaffirmation of the dignity of the human person in community and culture, the well-being of family and community, the integrity of the environment and kinship with the celebration, and a rich resource and meaning of one’s culture. Current American culture has essentially lost sight of such strong and wonderful ethnic ties when it comes to any sort of holiday. The first harvest of celebrations is from December 26th to January 1st. The name Kwanzaa is originated from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which in Swahili means “first fruits”. Kwanzaa began in ancient Egypt and has journeyed its way to the modern times. Kwanzaa builds on the five fundamental activities of Continental

African “first fruit” celebrations: ingathering; reverence; commemoration; recommitment, and celebration.• Special reverence for the creator and creation in thanks and respect for the blessings, bountifulness and beauty of creation;• Commemoration of the past in recognition of its lessons and in honor of its models of human excellence, our ancestors;• Time of recommitment to our highest cultural ideals in our ongoing effort to always bring forth the best of African cultural thought and practice; and• Time for celebration of the Good, the good of life and of existence itself, the good of family, community and culture, the good of the awesome and the ordinary or unordinary, in a word the good of the divine, natural and social. • Ingathering of the people to re-affirm their bonds between one another.Even though the holiday is beautiful, Kwanzaa remains on the back burner, (or on anyone’s stove-top at all) of current holiday traditions here in America. Hopefully though the lessons taught in the Kwanza tradition can be emulated by others. The reverence in the Kwanza tradition towards family and community are awe-inspiring and good lessons for us all learn

“Doesn’t everyone celebrate Christmas?” You may have asked yourself this on many occasions. Since majority of the residents here in San Jose celebrate the Chris-tian and Catholic holiday Christmas, the EVC newspaper club wants to give the people a taste of two different holidays that are also celebrated around this time of year. Let’s ride the tide on this Foreign Ship. Hanukkah is celebrated on different dates each year, this year the Hebrew holiday is from December 20-28. Hanukkah is an eight day and night celebration which begins on the twenty-fifth of the Jewish month of Kislev, which is the time period around Thanksgiving to Christmas. The word “Ha-nukkah” means “dedication”. The name is a reminder that this holiday commemorates the re-dedication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem following the Jewish holy war victory over the Syrian-Greeks in 165 B.C.E. The Holy War between the Greeks and the Hebrews sparked when the Syrian-Greek Emperor Antiochus, made the observance of Judaism an offense punishable by death. He also ordered all Jews to worship Greek gods. The Hebrews began a bloody revolution to regain their religious identity and would eventually restore their spiritual independence from the imperialists. Traditionally, the celebration of Chanukah is symbolized by the lighting of the Hannukkiyah, spinning the dreidel, and

the consumption of fried foods. In the eight-night span, it is custom-ary to commemorate the miracle of the Ha-nukkah oil by lighting one candle each night from the infamous eight-armed candleholder, Hannukkiyah [or Menora]. Spinning the dreidel is a popu-lar game during the holiday. A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each side. You spin the dreidel and bet on which Hebrew letter will show when the dreidel stops spinning. When you win, you receive whatever is on the table, whether it is gold-foiled chocolate coins, Oreo cook-ies, Nutter Butters, it’s whatever the players choose as a prize. Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of oil which lends to the tradition of eating fried foods such as latkes and sufganiyot during the holiday. Latkes are pancakes made out of potatoes and onions, which are fried in oil and then served with applesauce. Sufganiyot (singular: sufganiyah) are jelly-filled donuts that are fried and sometimes dusted with confectioners’ sugar before eating. The Jewish tradition in the Bay Area is not exactly commercial like Christ-mas. Maybe the games, beautiful art crafts, tasteful foods and the powerful origin can one day pull you to try the wonderful culture.

Holiday Cheer “How do you spell chanekawh?”

Kwanzaa’s story

Alexander DaryananiEditor in Chief

Michael FelixSr. Staff Writer

Gifts Continued

Michael FelixSr. Staff Writer

Photo Credit: Tumblr.com

Page 6 - Arts & Entertainment December 2011Arts & EntertainmentPRESENTED BY THE: EVERGREEN VALLEY COLLEGE NEWSPAPER CLUB

My White Friend I got a best friend and my best friend is white.

I can call on him any time; daytime or night.

I can trust him with my wallet cuz this White is right.

He says “Please and Thank you” cuz he so polite.

That’s right, I call him my homeboy.

And you know what? So what if he’s a white boy.

I’ll take you down like a Rob Roy if you disrespect this Mama’s boy.

His boy scouts hustle candy bars so you call him Dough Boy.

And he’s got the badge to prove it.

You know he has a lawyer and he ain’t afraid to use it.

His lawyer ain’t his dad though cuz I don’t think he’s Jewish.

Which reminds me; I need to find a friend who’s Jewish.

He gang bangs green cuz he keeps the air clean,

Conserves gasoline and has holes in his jeans.

His roof has solar panels that’ll make your eyes gleam

And he only eats organic and that shit ain’t cheap.

If I was locked up, this white boy would bail me out.

If I was locked out, he would let me crash at his house.

No doubt he’s got a silver spoon in his mouth.

He’ll lend me twenty bucks from his Family’s Swiss Bank Account.

Awesome, totally, gnarly and groovy.

Giving peace and love to a tree is his philosophy.

He’s a hippie who sits at Starbucks with a laptop and a coffee

Wearing an Abercrombie & Fitch V-neck white tee.

He watches X Factor and votes for American Idol.

He loves Ryan Seacrest and hates Simon Cowell.

He goes to Trader Joe’s and buys wine at BevMo

And Martha Stewart designs all of his towels.

Tall white beach boy; blonde hair, blue eyes.

Too hot, too cold, this one’s just right.

That’s a friend for real. That’s a friend for life.

I got a best friend and my best friend is white.

Remi Kloth

Writing about you is the easiest thing to do. Actually, I take that back. It’s complex in a way of not really being able to wrap my exact verses around your excellence. Hiding between these words is me trying to somehow explain your outstanding personality. So eloquently, I’m drawn to you. Like two magnets trying to connect, I mean, I really don’t know you, But I guess I can. Fckn lame. You know that mile long smile you have goin’ on? yah, that drives me insane. It’s my kryptonite. Speaking from an admirer from afar, I can literally sit here and watch you smile for days. Shoot, I’m not complaining. See writing about you comes natural. The hardest part is, finding the perfect words to describe you and your impeccable ways because there are no words great enough to describe you. You’re simply you, and your simply you is simply amazing.

Abigail Marie Pascua

Admirer From Afar

The EVC Messenger, will consider captivating bodies of writing that our student pop ulation offers for possible publication. However, this section is purely for the poetry that our fellow students are willing to share. Here you can express the perceptions

that will help us understand that certain motor that gets you feeling sublime. This sec-tion is here for your beautiful mind to get noticed. DO NOT HOLD BACK.

Michael Felix

P o e t r y C o r n e r

Occupy?Really do we know what we are doing?

Or no, do we just

bring ourselves to ruin?

For it seems like the latter

Rather then what matters

Is what’s really going down.

You have packs of people

Acting like wild dogs.

Distracting from the movement

And forcing the hand of Johnny law.

Should we blame the whole group for the actions of the few?

Isn’t that what the cops say

When they turn and do it to you?

Do we accept the foolishness

And acts that they do?

There’s got to be a better way

For this movement to get through?

News / AdsDomestic VolenceOn Friday October 14, 2011, two classes from Evergreen Valley college: Introduction to Ad-ministration of Justice, and Juvenile Law and Procedures attended an annual multi-law enforce-ment agency event at the San Jose City Hall. The event brought attention to a social issue, Domestic Violence, which unfortunately affects many in our community. The event was very informative and displayed many lessons about the ugly nature of domestic violence. We encourage people to stand up and speak out about domestic violence. As part of the class, students are strongly encouraged to get involved in social issues. We want the students to use the lessons learned in the class to be used to do real things in our communi-ty for positive change. The students met and were photographed with our San Jose Chief of Police Chris Moore and Mayor Chuck Reed. The event also included a two-mile walk through downtown and through the campus of San Jose State Univer-sity. Virginia Montelongo

Photographed: Addie Caine, Joanne Essen, Sabrina Avila, Nata-sha Jackson, Angelina Rodriguez, Sadina Vilchez, Jorge Ahuma-da, Joshua Anderson, Jasmine Ynostroza, Alma Santos, Michelle Speaks, Joey Celio, Alfonso Plascenicia, Alejandro Zamora, Julia Avalos, Monique Flores, Angel MorinPonce, and Tom Fagan.

PRESENTED BY THE: EVERGREEN VALLEY COLLEGE NEWSPAPER CLUB

Page 7 - News / Ads December 2011

P o e t r y C o r n e r

Have you seen these missing children?

EVC

*This is the tentative name of the program, will update with further detail. To find out more, visit our Evergreen Valley College Associated Students

Facebook page - Link stated on front page.

Page 8 - Clubs/ Calendar/ Ads December 2011Clubs/ Calendar/ AdsPRESENTED BY THE: EVERGREEN VALLEY COLLEGE NEWSPAPER CLUB