December – Angelica Wallingford

Paris attacks hit home

Parisian born San Diego City College professor Philippe Patto shares his reactions and thoughts on the Nov. 13 Paris terror attacks

On the night of Nov. 13, one of the deadliest attacks on French soil since World War II occurred in multiple locations across Paris and Saint-Denis claiming more than 132 lives.

Meanwhile, 5,000 miles away, San Diego City College professor Philippe Patto was in a park with his husband walking their dog when he heard the news that his hometown was under attack.

“My husband had the phone and he got beeped for an alarm,” Patto said. “He checked and he told me the news and right away.”

Patto heard from a friend in France via email about the situation but had poor reception so he and his husband went back home.

“We had the headline and I was devastated when I heard,” Patto said. “I didn’t know what was happening.”

The attacks started at approximately 9:20 p.m. French time and lasted until 9:53 p.m.

The three suicide bombers detonated an explosive belts near a gate and on the outside of the Stade de France stadium during an international soccer game, according to Reuters. A fourth suicide bomber detonated another bomb in Le Comptoir Voltaire restaurant, killing himself and injuring one person.

In the midst of the several suicide bombers detonating their explosives, gunmen opened fire in the front of the A La Bonne Biere bar and the terrace of the La Belle Equipe restaurant, killing a total of five people and severely injuring 18 more, Reuters also reported.

The deadliest of the terror attacks happened during an Eagles of Death Metal concert at the Bataclan theater and concert hall where gunmen opened fire on the crowd killing 89 people and injuring many others.

Luckily, Patto had no family in the area during the attacks.

“When it happened, I didn’t think it would affect me this much and it really hit me hard, I’ve been trying to grasp what happened,” Patto said. “What shocked me the most was that it took place in France.”

French President Francois Hollande has called the terror attacks an “act of war” and places blame on the Islamic State (IS).

“France will be merciless in its response to the Islamic State militants,” Hollande said, according to the BBC. “(France) will use any means within the law … on every battleground here and abroad together with our allies.”

While the culprits responsible for act remain unknown, IS has taken credit for the attack stating that “eight brothers wearing explosive belts and carrying assault rifles” attacked “carefully chosen” individuals, according to the BBC.

Patto feels that Hollande’s instant reaction to the attacks was expected and that as a leader Hollande wanted to show the French people that the government was doing something and that those responsible wouldn’t just get away with it.

“I’m just hopeful that we will not take drastic measures and go into war with somebody,” Patto said about the possibility of France entering into war. “We don’t even know where they are, we don’t even know who they are.”

Patto hopes that the end result will be a well balanced one and that Hollande will reach out to other countries so that attacks of this magnitude will not happen not only to the French people but anyone around the world.

The attacks sparked a great debate over admitting Syrian refugees not only in the United States but around the world. Since the attacks, Congress swiftly passed a bill that suspended the admittance of both Syrian and Iraqi refugees into the U.S. and 31 governors oppose accepting Syrian refugees into their states, according to CNN.

“That is fear,” Patto said “As long as we react out of fear we are not any different than the terrorists.”

“I think it’s wrong for the government to implement such drastic measures like that,” student Raul Flores said about congress’ decision. “You can’t place all the sins of the attackers onto the refugees, they can’t be condemned for what the attackers did.”

In contrast to the U.S., Hollande said that France will accept more than 30,000 Syrian refugees within the next two years.

Patto cites the outpouring of support from all around San Diego, such as the candlelight vigil at the House of France in Balboa Park, as something that is much needed during this situations for both the people of France and the Syrian refugees

“We should never act out of fear, we should react out of love and try to understand,” Patto commented. “I say to my students ‘there’s plenty of love in the world,’ it’s the thing we need right now, love not fear.”

Originally published in City Times, December 2015.

A campus divided

Bridging the gap between City College’s ASG and its students

Off in the corner of a somewhat vacant part of campus, only steps away from the social hub that is City College’s cafeteria sits the Associated Students Government (ASG) offices. Tucked away in the corner of D-105 is a small office with two desks stacked with papers and files. It’s typical to see people running in and out, sometimes with papers in hand, getting signatures from and updating information to ASG President Adam Garcia.

“I believe that it is important to have that ASG/student connection because it is the ASG leadership that represents all City College students,” Former ASG President Carolina Moreno said via email.

ASG runs like a well oiled machine, with its cogs turning and producing events on campus, such as Spirit Day in September and the Halloween carnival in October, advocating for student concerns and making the decisions on how to spend student funds. However, even with some events producing up to 250 participants, the gap between ASG and students seems to have drifted over the years.

“I only know (about ASG) because I was looking for a club to join and happened to pass by their office,” student Muna Diriye said of her knowledge of ASG.

Even with the obvious gap between student government, Garcia said that participation has been up since previous semesters. Voter turnout for elections has gone up from one percent to about three percent.

“I believe our voter turn out on campus increased by two percent, I believe, so as opposed to semesters before,” Garcia said. “Our percentage before was one percent, so out percentage increased by two so it went up to three percent so I believe it was three or two percent.”

Aside from the events on campus ASG hosts a weekly event, Talk Thursday, which involves an informal approach to talking to ASG senators about issues that students might have with classes, financial aid and whatever else is on the student’s mind.

“The board gets involved with playing board games and what not with the students,” Garcia explained about the atmosphere of Talk Thursday. “We don’t want to approach students in you know an intimidating way, you know we’re the Associated Students Government, just more of a friendly ‘we’re here, talk to us’ type of venue.”

However, student turnout to Talk Thursday depends on the location of the informal meeting.

“It depends on where we do it,” ASG Senator Breona Harris said.

“Because we don’t have a set location… Right now the buildings being constructed, the BT (Business Technology building) just got done and the AH (Arts and Humanities) as well,” Garcia added. “We usually do it between the cafeteria and then we usually move it over to the MS (Math and Science building), so it depends on where’s the most traffic.”

Although ASG reaches out to students with Talk Thursday and campus events, some students feel that ASG only makes the effort to reach out to City College’s population when election time rolls around.

“… I feel like during the rest of the year, you only hear them speak up when they are trying to get people to vote for them during election season,” Diriye explained.

Whatever way students feel about ASG, Moreno urged more and more students to get involved and that doesn’t essentially involve becoming an ASG member.

“Get involved. Voice your concerns. Share ideas. Even if it’s just showing up to ANY event happening on campus or a campus club,” Moreno said. “You don’t necessarily need to join ASG (to get involved).”

ASG and student involvement does show some optimism with some students having a genuine curiosity about learning and getting involved with ASG and ASG events.

“No, not really,” student Lexy Allen eagerly replied when asked about being aware of ASG. “But I do want to know about this student government we have on campus. What do they do, what are they all about?”

Originally published in City Times, December 2014.

Square Enix drops a game-changer with ‘Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix’

Oh, nostalgia. So long are the days where controllers had wires extending to the console and games weren’t running in high definition. Sometimes gamers yearn for a little nostalgia every now and then. “Kingdom Heart 2.5 HD Remix” is the perfect remedy for any gamer wanting that feeling without having to dust off the old Playstation 2 and all while taking advantage of the glorious HD consoles we have today.

Square Enix’s final mix of the fan favorite series is the perfect blend of the dark undertones of the “Final Fantasy” universe and the colorful world of Disney — all in pristine high definition with added cut scenes, redone musical scores and brand new boss fights that keep players on their toes.

“Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD ReMix” is broken up into two games — “Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix” and “Birth by Sleep Final Mix” and exclusive high definition cut scenes from the Nintendo DS game “Kingdom Hearts Re:coded.” The final mix versions of both “Kingdom Hearts 2” and “Birth by Sleep” were never released outside of Japan — until now — and it was the best decision that game director Tetsuya Nomura and the folks at Square Enix ever made.

“Kingdom Hearts 2” has always been a really good roleplaying game (RPG) that has always stood the test of time. “Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix” doesn’t fall short to its predecessor and when played on HD consoles like the PS3 or PS4 enhances the experience.

Taking place one year of years after the events of the first “Kingdom Hearts” game, “Kingdom Hearts 2” sees main characters Sora, Donald and Goofy reunited after Sora awakens from basically a coma. This time around the trio are on a mission to find King Mickey and Sora’s best friend Riku, who, after the events of the first game, are both wandering in the Realm of Darkness.

The twists and turns start right as the player begins the game. Instead of playing as the fan favorite and main character Sora, the player starts out playing as a new character named Roxas. There’s more than meets the eye with Roxas, as everything and everyone is not what they seem. The connection between Roxas and Sora runs deeper than just being able to wield the keyblade, which makes playing through the introduction a very interesting — albeit long — experience.

Traveling from one Disney-themed world to another on Chip n’ Dale’s Gummi Ship, Sora and company reunite with characters such as Beast from “Beauty and the Beast” and a grown-up Simba from “The Lion King” from Disney and Leon and Yuffie from the “Final Fantasy” universe.

The mixture of characters may not look good on paper but the roles each one takes on in their respective worlds give Sora, Donald Duck and Goofy an advantage when fighting off enemies and leveling the characters up.

Fighting off enemies such as the Maleficent-controlled Heartless from the first “Kingdom Hearts” game and the newly introduced Nobodies is child’s play compared to the games main antagonists — the infamous Organization XIII. Made up of 13 incredibly powerful Nobodies, the organization members serve as the boss fights for the different worlds in the game.

During specific boss fights if the player’s health gets down to zero then the player has the chance to play as King Mickey and wield the Kingdom Key D, the keyblade of the Realm of Darkness. This moment is one of the few times that dying in a game can actually give you an advantage.

The reason why “Kingdom Hearts 2” is such a timeless play through is that there is a ton of replay ability opportunities including going and collecting items, leveling up to 99 and challenging optional bosses like the ever menacing sephiroth. The “Final Mix” takes that to the next level, especially with the newly added critical mode, which can test even the most veteran of players.

A really cool bonus for fans of the longtime series is two exclusive HD cut scenes from the highly anticipated “Kingdom Hearts 3,” rumored to be released next year.

With the count down to “Kingdom Hearts 3” already in full force, gamers can get both their nostalgic and “Kingdom Hearts” fix by turning on the Playstation and playing through “Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix.” After all, a little nostalgia every now and then never hurt anybody.

Originally published in City Times, December 2014.

‘How do you define American?’

The fourteenth annual San Diego Asian Film Festival concluded with the sold out screening of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, filmmaker and Define American founder Jose Antonio Vargas’ powerful emotionally charged documentary “Documented.”

The film tells Vargas’ journey from being brought to America from the Philippines at age 12, finding out he didn’t have the proper documentation during a DMV visit at age 16 and his struggle to reconnect with his mother who he hasn’t seen in 20 years.

The film also documents the moment that he decided to reveal is status as an undocumented American in June 2011 in an essay for the New York Times Sunday Magazine.

“I’m done running.” Vargas wrote. “I’m exhausted. I don’t want that life anymore. So I’ve decided to come forward, own up to what I’ve done, and tell my story to the best of my recollection.”

Vargas’ reconnection with his mother is also a poignant point throughout the film. He tells stories about his life with his mother before he came to the states and shares how he felt when he realized that their lives were vastly different from each other.

“I remember calling mama and saying I won the spelling bee and mama didn’t really know what that was. I think at that point I kind of realized we were living in two different worlds.” Vargas said in the trailer for the film. “So when I found out that I didn’t have the right papers, that I was actually here in America illegally, I had to create a different system of reality in which she was never a factor. I mean we haven’t seen each other in almost 20 years.”

Bsides the gripping and emotional reconnection with his family in the Philippines, one of the major issues that the film discusses is immigration stereotypes In the beginning of the film Vargas talks to students at his old high school and asks them what they think of when think of an immigrant. The immediate response was a Latino labor or field worker.

“People think that this [immigration] is a Latino and brown issue and we need to broaden that.” Said Vargas at a Q&A; for the film. “We need to preach beyond the choir.”

According to statistics from the Pew Research Center there are 11.7 million undocumented persons residing in the Unites States. Out of those 11.7 million undocumented persons only 52 percent of them came from Mexico. The other 48 percent come from places all over the world.

“Documented” succeeds in giving a new face for the immigration reform fight. It’s no longer just the Latino field and labor worker stereotypes that have been embedded into the mind of Americans. No, it’s much bigger then that. It’s students, doctors, lawyers, service workers, journalists, entrepreneurs and many more from places all across the globe.

This documentary is the perfect example of how film can transcend politics, breakdown stereotypes and tell the stories of real people. “Documented” is going to make you laugh and cry at times. It’s also guaranteed to make you think. As the curtains close and the credits roll the film begs the question: how do you define American?

Originally published in City Times, December 2013.