Renegade Rip, Issue 4, Oct. 18, 2023
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The <strong>Renegade</strong> <strong>Rip</strong><br />
Vol. 100∙ No. 4 Wednesday, <strong>Oct</strong>. <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2023</strong><br />
Bakersfield College<br />
Promenade returns<br />
to BC on <strong>Oct</strong>. 21<br />
News, Page 2<br />
UCLA professor<br />
speaks at BC<br />
Campus, Page 6<br />
Opinion, Page 7<br />
Who will replace<br />
Kevin “Noises McCarthy? Off” full of<br />
fabulous chaos<br />
Opinion, Page 8<br />
MAYA COLLINS/THE RIP<br />
Antelope Valley team serving the ball over to BC’s number 14 Haley<br />
Tedrow and number 17 Aubree Dees on <strong>Oct</strong>. 11.<br />
MADELINE RUEBUSH/THE RIP<br />
UCLA professor Juan Herrera shows Chicano community<br />
organizations in Fruitvale during <strong>Oct</strong>. 11 presentation at BC.<br />
HONEY CROWDER/THE RIP<br />
Small line of students forms outside the Language Arts<br />
building bathrooms.<br />
The <strong>Renegade</strong> <strong>Rip</strong> @bc_rip Follow us online at www.therip.com
Page 2<br />
News<br />
The <strong>Renegade</strong> <strong>Rip</strong> www.therip.com<br />
Wednesday, <strong>Oct</strong>. <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Annual <strong>Renegade</strong> BBQ<br />
By Ari Montez<br />
Reporter<br />
On Saturday, <strong>Oct</strong>. 21 from 1p.m to 5p.m., the <strong>Renegade</strong><br />
Promenade and Alumni BBQ will take place on campus,<br />
before the homecoming football game against Moorpark<br />
Raiders.<br />
The <strong>Rip</strong> spoke with Courtney Carter from the Bakersfield<br />
College Foundation to get an idea of what to expect this<br />
year. The event will feature a variety of different attractions<br />
this year. Such as live music, the alumni BBQ, the beer garden,<br />
different vendors and much more. One adult ticket<br />
will come at the cost of $25 and will include a BBQ dinner<br />
and general admission to the homecoming game. Visitors<br />
can expect to see all the live music performed by the BC students.<br />
Some of which will include the jazz band, choir and<br />
even a performance with Baile Folklorico dancers. There<br />
will also be many different vendors to choose from with different<br />
things. Like churros, agua frescas and a plate of food<br />
to go with the homecoming game that night.<br />
“It’s going to be a lot of fun” Carter added. She also encourages<br />
anybody attending to sign up for the Alumni Association.<br />
The alumni Association is free to sign up and offers<br />
a variety of different benefits. Some of which include, <strong>Renegade</strong><br />
football season ticket purchasing priority, free soda at<br />
<strong>Renegade</strong> home games and much more. The main sponsor<br />
for the <strong>Renegade</strong> Promenade will be the Human Energy<br />
Company which helps make events like this able for BC to<br />
enjoy. This is the work of many amazing groups on and off<br />
campus who try hard to make events like this enjoyable. Anyone<br />
attending will be accommodated with great food and<br />
entertainment to kick off the annual homecoming game.<br />
HNIP offers internships<br />
By Julian Caro<br />
Reporter<br />
Bakersfield native Andres Burgos, the Associate Director<br />
of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities<br />
(HACU), delivered a<br />
guest lecture regarding the<br />
HACU National Internship<br />
Program (HNIP) in the<br />
<strong>Renegade</strong> Event Center on<br />
Monday, <strong>Oct</strong>. 9. The event<br />
was hosted by the MESA<br />
(Mathematics, Engineering,<br />
Science Achievement)<br />
program.<br />
According to Burgos,<br />
HACU’s mission is to “focus<br />
on advocacy and getting<br />
resources for students<br />
that attend HSI’s (Hispanic<br />
Serving Institutions).”<br />
One of the primary ways<br />
in which this is achieved is<br />
through HNIP, which gives<br />
students the opportunity to<br />
intern with different government<br />
agencies. Burgos toted, that their internships are<br />
“extremely unique opportunities” where students do “significant”<br />
and “real time work.”<br />
Internship durations of 15-week are offered during the<br />
JULIAN CARO/THE RIP<br />
Andres Burgos presents HNIP opportunities to MESA students.<br />
fall and spring seasons, with a 10-week internship occurring<br />
during the summer. Additionally full-time, part-time, and remote<br />
positions are all available to best fit a students’ schedule,<br />
and all internships pay $17 per hour.<br />
Internship opportunities can be local or even require temporary<br />
relocation to Washington DC, however HNIP does<br />
help to pay for travel and living<br />
arrangements.<br />
Burgos shared that his team<br />
treats everyone like they are<br />
first generation students, because<br />
there are a lot of firsts<br />
for the student throughout<br />
the process, like traveling, being<br />
in a professional environment,<br />
creating a resume, and<br />
interning for the first time,<br />
which can all be challenging.<br />
Ritik Kumar, peer-mentor<br />
for MESA (Mathematics, Engineering,<br />
Science Achievement)<br />
the organizers of the<br />
event, stated that, “MESA<br />
hosts these events to encourage<br />
students to apply” and<br />
emphasizes the importance<br />
of “students to get these kinds<br />
of exposures especially in STEM.”<br />
The HNIP application opens for the summer session on<br />
November 17; it does not require a GPA to be input and is<br />
open to all majors.
Page 3<br />
News<br />
The <strong>Renegade</strong> <strong>Rip</strong> www.therip.com<br />
Wednesday, <strong>Oct</strong>. <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2023</strong><br />
BC performs “As You Like<br />
It” by Shakespeare<br />
Lilli Smyth<br />
Reporter<br />
“As You Like It” was presented at Kern’s 39th Annual Festival.<br />
Directed by Brian J. Sivesind and hosted by Bakersfield<br />
College’s Performing Arts Department. Viewing for the<br />
show was available on <strong>Oct</strong>. 5, <strong>Oct</strong>. 7, and will continue on<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>. 11, and <strong>Oct</strong>. 13. All plays displayed during this festival<br />
are performed at the Edward Simonsen’s Outdoor Theatre<br />
on the main Bakersfield College Campus.<br />
Known as one of Shakespeare’s more joyful and romantic<br />
comedies, “As You Like It” is about Rosalind, a young<br />
woman whose world is thrown into disorder. Her father has<br />
been usurped, she has been banned from the royal court,<br />
and she must pretend to be a man to disguise her identity.<br />
Even to the love of her life. Her new life is intertwined with<br />
many interesting characters, to her court’s jester, to a lovesick<br />
shepherd.<br />
The cast’s costumes took a more modern approach to the<br />
clothing and comedy, utilizing iconic songs such as “Sound<br />
of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel, Neil Diamond’s, “I’m a<br />
Believer”, and the court jester’s rendition of Neil Diamond’s<br />
“Sweet Caroline”. Duke Senior and his followers in the Forest<br />
of Ardenne wore stereotypical hippie clothing. The lighting<br />
technicians were skillful in their techniques of color and<br />
spotlight, amplifying some comedic moments on stage.<br />
The Edward Simonsen’s theater was filled with laughter<br />
and applause throughout the performance, marking these<br />
nights a successful reenactment of Shakespeare’s work.<br />
While next year’s plays haven’t been announced, they are<br />
pleasantly anticipated.<br />
CRYSTAL GUTIERREZ/THE RIP<br />
The Forest of Ardenne in BC’s presentation of “As you<br />
like it.”<br />
Trunk-or-Treat comes to BC<br />
By Julian Caro<br />
Reporter<br />
Bakersfield College will be hosting<br />
this year’s Trunk-or-Treat event on<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>. 27 in parking lot 3 from 5 p.m. to<br />
8 p.m. The event will feature festively<br />
decorated trunks which will be handing<br />
out candy to children and providing information<br />
and resources to parents/<br />
guardians as well.<br />
While the event is a Halloween festivity,<br />
it is also in honor of Domestic<br />
Violence Awareness Month (DVAM).<br />
The event will provide a chance to better<br />
educate the community on intimate<br />
partner violence and therefore prevent<br />
any possible future incidents or assaults<br />
within the community.<br />
Adrianna Oceguera, BC’s Campus<br />
Prevention Education Specialist,<br />
is overseeing the event for the second<br />
year now. She is inviting the community<br />
to participate, targeting an attendance<br />
of around 1,200 people which is<br />
an increase from last year’s estimated<br />
attendance of 1,000 individuals.<br />
She also urges participation from student<br />
clubs, as the previous year’s event<br />
featured a total of 24 trunks, of which<br />
12 were student organized and 12 were<br />
community organized. A competition<br />
will be held for the best student-led<br />
trunk, best group costume, and best<br />
overall costume in the kids, youth, and<br />
adult categories. Prizes will be awarded<br />
to the winners.<br />
Oceguera established the need for<br />
DVAM awareness and prevention, especially<br />
noting that 20 people every<br />
minute experience a case of intimate<br />
partner violence.<br />
Additionally, she noted that 26.4%<br />
of female students and 6.8% of male<br />
students experience rape or sexual<br />
assault, while 23.1% of transgender,<br />
genderqueer, nonconforming (TGQN)<br />
students experience a case of sexual assault<br />
during undergraduate work.<br />
Oceguera’s goal is to reach “0 assaults”<br />
and “0 incidents” on campus,<br />
through the application of the social<br />
ecological model that starts with educating<br />
the individual and having rippling<br />
effects across a community. The<br />
model will be on display at this year’s<br />
trunk-or-treat.
Page 4<br />
Sportss<br />
The <strong>Renegade</strong> <strong>Rip</strong> www.therip.com<br />
Wednesday, <strong>Oct</strong>. <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2023</strong><br />
BC volleyball<br />
wins again<br />
By Samantha Britt<br />
Copy Editor<br />
BC’s volleyball team played<br />
against Antelope Valley College<br />
Wednesday <strong>Oct</strong>.11 at<br />
6:00p.m.<br />
The team yet again secured<br />
another victory at home. BC<br />
managed to stay undefeated<br />
all three matches.<br />
Through the first match the<br />
team remained on top of their<br />
game, ranking already to 25<br />
points while Antelope Valley<br />
were far behind scoring only<br />
12 points in the end. BC kept<br />
a constant higher score then<br />
Antelope Valley each match,<br />
the second match ended 25-<br />
15 then the third match that<br />
ended the game was 25-12<br />
again.<br />
Aubree Dees and Kya Jones<br />
had a strong defensive front<br />
row, Jones totaling in 25 digs<br />
and Dees with 14 kills by the<br />
end of the game. Jones served<br />
the ball over five times and<br />
each time the opposing team<br />
was unable to complete the<br />
pass, so it was easy points for<br />
BC.<br />
The team had six blocks<br />
throughout the matches, 69<br />
digs and a total of 12 aces.<br />
Faith Ward was a part of<br />
scoring the team four more<br />
aces.<br />
The leaders of this game<br />
were Brianna Bowyer with 14<br />
kills, Haley Fedrow with five<br />
blocks, Kya Jones with 25 kills<br />
and Jones again with five services<br />
aces.<br />
Next match BC volleyball<br />
team will be visiting Glendale<br />
Wednesday <strong>Oct</strong>. <strong>18</strong> at<br />
6:00p.m. After that game it<br />
will complete the first half of<br />
league play for BC.<br />
MAYA COLLINS/THE RIP<br />
Number two Kya Jones and number five Rylee Beasley<br />
covering the front row ensuring the opposing team<br />
doesn’t score.<br />
MLB Playoffs<br />
Sports Buzz<br />
By Gesus Garcia<br />
Reporter<br />
“<strong>Oct</strong>ober Baseball” is<br />
a popular term among<br />
all MLB fans, as it means<br />
it’s time for the postseason<br />
to get underway. Just<br />
in the last five years, the<br />
baseball world has seen<br />
many thrillers and memorable<br />
moments that will<br />
be remembered for a long<br />
time.<br />
In 2019, the Washington<br />
Nationals were at 19-<br />
31 in the middle of May,<br />
with almost no hope of<br />
making the playoffs, let<br />
alone winning the World<br />
Series. But after they<br />
sneaked into the National<br />
League Wild Card, the<br />
Nats pitching staff went<br />
on an incredible run to<br />
capture the franchise’s<br />
first championship. Nevertheless,<br />
the most memorable<br />
moment came from<br />
designated hitter Howie<br />
Kendrick. In Game 7 of<br />
the World Series, Kendrick<br />
hit the go-ahead<br />
homerun to defeat the<br />
Houston Astros 6-2, a<br />
moment that Washington<br />
fans will never forget.<br />
Although the Tampa<br />
Bay Rays were in the losing<br />
end of the 2020 World<br />
Series vs the L.A. Dodgers,<br />
people will be talking<br />
about Brett Phillips’ walkoff<br />
hit in Game 4 for years<br />
down the road. Down 7-6<br />
in the 9th inning, the Rays<br />
utility player smacked a<br />
ball to center field. After<br />
a couple of miscues by<br />
the Dodgers defense, two<br />
runs were able to score,<br />
which at the time allowed<br />
the Rays to tie the series<br />
at two.<br />
Gesus Garcia<br />
The following year saw<br />
the Atlanta Braves win<br />
the World Series for the<br />
first time since 1995. To<br />
get there, they needed<br />
to rely on unsung hero<br />
Eddie Rosario. With superstar<br />
Ronald Acuña Jr.<br />
out for the season, Rosario<br />
was just supposed to<br />
be a below average replacement.<br />
But don’t tell<br />
him that, as Rosario set<br />
a record for most hits in<br />
a playoff series with 14.<br />
The most memorable of<br />
them all was undoubtedly<br />
the three-run homerun<br />
he hit in Game 6 of the<br />
NLCS, which propelled<br />
the Braves to the World<br />
Series.<br />
The 2022 MLB playoffs<br />
were all about Bryce<br />
Harper. Although he fell<br />
short of the title, the twotime<br />
MVP had his signature<br />
moment when he hit<br />
a go-ahead two-run home<br />
run to send the San Diego<br />
Padres home in five games<br />
of the NLCS. As Harper<br />
rounded the bases amid<br />
a roaring Philadelphia<br />
crowd, FOX broadcaster<br />
Joe Davis called it “the<br />
swing of his life.”
Campus<br />
Page 5<br />
The <strong>Renegade</strong> <strong>Rip</strong> www.therip.com<br />
Wednesday, <strong>Oct</strong>. <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2023</strong><br />
Trauma expert visits BC<br />
By Mason Almaguer<br />
Reporter<br />
Last Tuesday on <strong>Oct</strong>. 11th at the<br />
Campus Center, licensed therapist<br />
Dave Seymour talked about healing<br />
from past trauma.<br />
“We’re all compelled to repeat our<br />
past,” said Seymour, a professional with<br />
25 years of experience in psychology.<br />
He explains that our trauma is reflective<br />
of our childhood and what we went<br />
through during our formative years. He<br />
explained that if you experienced a<br />
traumatic event during childhood, you<br />
will always go back to the mindset you<br />
had then whenever you face adversity.<br />
He said this is normal behavior for<br />
someone who has trauma they haven’t<br />
properly dealt with.<br />
He said that people who discover they<br />
have certain mental issues think it’s genetic<br />
and that they were just born like<br />
that. But, according to Seymour, it has<br />
nothing to do with our origins.<br />
He talked about some misconceptions<br />
relating to trauma. He outlined that as<br />
people we usually interpret it as something<br />
terrible happening in our life and<br />
we remember it years later and still feel<br />
pain from it. But, Seymour explained<br />
that the major issue with trauma is that<br />
people don’t agree that they’ve gone<br />
through trauma.<br />
He continued by saying, “What our<br />
brain registers becomes our reality.”<br />
What we feel and think concerning<br />
ourselves becomes real to us. He explained<br />
that we must learn not to rely<br />
solely on our brain because it can lead<br />
us down the wrong path and make us<br />
perceive things the wrong way.<br />
Continuing, Seymour said that when<br />
people try to make progress they stop<br />
at a certain point. He simply stated,<br />
“We get ahead and then we get back<br />
behind.”<br />
He elaborated that at first the person<br />
is motivated by guilt to move past their<br />
trauma. But, after that motivation is<br />
gone, they feel content and stop making<br />
progress. As a result of this they go right<br />
back to the mindset they were originally<br />
in before all the work they did.<br />
Dave Seymour then turned his attention<br />
to the physical. He said people need<br />
to depend on their bodies to keep them<br />
present and in the moment. They cannot<br />
get lost in their thoughts or let them<br />
be in full control. They must ground<br />
themselves in the physical realm to stop<br />
themselves from thinking of the past.<br />
Overall, he discussed being aware of<br />
yourself and where you are mentally<br />
and physically. If you aren’t then you<br />
will not know when you’re being pulled<br />
away from your “new life.” You won’t<br />
be able to move on from the past and<br />
truly experience the present.<br />
Deep Cuts: religion in music<br />
By Ari Montez<br />
Reporter<br />
The semester’s second installation<br />
of Deep Cuts and Conversation took<br />
place on <strong>Oct</strong>. 11. Where BC professors<br />
Reggie Williams and Kyle Burnham<br />
and students discussed religious undertones<br />
in music.<br />
The conversation began with one student<br />
and member of the audience requesting<br />
they play the song, “Take me<br />
out” by Franz Ferdinand. The track has<br />
a descending bassline that is pleasant to<br />
the ear. Kyle Burnham shared with the<br />
audience that the Scottish rock band<br />
was inspired by music played in American<br />
sports like football while making<br />
the song.<br />
The next song played was “Bombtrack”<br />
by Rage Against the Machine<br />
and was also suggested by another audience<br />
member for its connection to<br />
protesting and religion. Kyle quickly<br />
pointed out the unique rhythm section<br />
which displayed a more laid-back feel<br />
ARI MONTEZ/THE RIP<br />
Kyle Burham and Reggie Williams<br />
pose in front of TOOL’s “The Patient”<br />
video.<br />
while the lead guitar and vocals were<br />
delivered with high intensity.<br />
On the subject of protest music,<br />
Kyle made his next choice and played<br />
“Burning Beard” by the band Clutch.<br />
Reggie first pointed out the “Pentecostal<br />
overtones” which featured the band<br />
playing in church to a crowd of robots.<br />
He also touched on the theme of unconditional<br />
faith in the lyrics and how it<br />
could potentially harm one’s ability to<br />
think freely.<br />
The final selection was “The Patient”<br />
by TOOL. The seven-minute track was<br />
picked by Reggie continuing the subject<br />
of religion. He spoke a little bit about<br />
the double meaning behind the word<br />
patient and how it related to religious<br />
followers of any kind. The song starts<br />
slowly but eventually builds up and tells<br />
a greater story on how the lead singer<br />
deals with his own struggles with faith.<br />
“My favorite part about Deep Cuts<br />
is just getting to sit down with students<br />
and music professionals and just appreciating<br />
good music,” Reggie Williams<br />
said.<br />
The final installment of Deeps Cuts<br />
and Conversations is scheduled for Nov.<br />
8 at 1:30 p.m.
Page 6<br />
Campus<br />
The <strong>Renegade</strong> <strong>Rip</strong> www.therip.com<br />
Wednesday, <strong>Oct</strong>. <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2023</strong><br />
Speaker on Chicano history<br />
By Madeline Ruebush<br />
Editor in Chief<br />
BC welcomed UCLA professor Juan Herrera to discuss geography<br />
and Chicano/a history on Wednesday, <strong>Oct</strong>. 11 as a<br />
part of the Levan Center’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage<br />
Month.<br />
Herrera is a PhD graduate at Berkely and a recently tenured<br />
professor at UCLA. Herrera’s talk “The Struggle Continues!<br />
Latinx Geographies and Why Thinking Relationally<br />
Matters” asked “what does it mean for us to celebrate Hispanic<br />
heritage month with a special lens?”<br />
“I’m interested in how human beings create space,” Herrera<br />
stated after his introduction; he thinks of himself as a<br />
“storyteller of space.”<br />
Much of Herrera’s understanding of space and activism<br />
stems from his research surrounding Fruitvale, a Latinx community<br />
in Oakland with origins from the 1960s civilrights<br />
era.<br />
When interviewing Chicano activists from that era, he discovered<br />
that a lot of them remembered their experiences<br />
through the physical locations they interacted with.<br />
One older activist he interviewed decided to draw up map<br />
to explain to organizations that she helped create or interacted<br />
with during her time empowering the Chicano community.<br />
To explain this phenomenon, he coined the term “cartographic<br />
memory,” which is in the title of his first book:<br />
“Cartographic Memory: Social Movement Activism and the<br />
Production of Space.”<br />
“I’ve learned that so much of social struggle is spacebased,”<br />
he continued later in the talk, emphasizing how<br />
Fruitvale’s community spaces would not have been possible<br />
without activists’ intent to make them.<br />
Participants were then able to ask Herrera questions before<br />
the event wound down.<br />
Attending the event was BC English professor Richard<br />
Marquez who personally connected with Herrera’s talk. “It<br />
made me realize that we have those spaces here,” Marquez<br />
said, explaining how his grandparents participated in the<br />
“Juarez” organization in Bakersfield which continues to serve<br />
the community to this day.<br />
Hopeful UCLA transfer and current BC student Lorenzo<br />
Gomez found the talk “enlightening,” and stating that attending<br />
made him feel less intimidated to attend UCLA.<br />
The Levan Center will be hosting two other guest speakers<br />
for Hispanic Heritage<br />
Month. On<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>. <strong>18</strong>, BC Alumnus<br />
Cuca Montoya<br />
will showcase<br />
her art in the Levan<br />
Center, and<br />
on <strong>Oct</strong>. 24 Monica<br />
Castellanos will<br />
present “Saving<br />
Lives: The work<br />
of Consul Gilberto<br />
Bosques in<br />
France” in Spanish<br />
at the BC Ballroom.<br />
MADELINE RUEBUSH/THE RIP<br />
Herrera shows photos of Fruitvale to the audience.<br />
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Editor-in-Chief...............Madeline Ruebush<br />
Digital Editor..............Nic “Peter” Chavaria<br />
Copy Editor...........................Samantha Britt<br />
STAFF<br />
Reporters/ Photographers:<br />
Mason Almaguer<br />
Jared Buys<br />
Julian Caro<br />
Maya Collins<br />
Breana “Honey” Crowder<br />
STAFF CONTINUED<br />
Reporters/photographers:<br />
Natalie Flores<br />
Gesus Garcia<br />
Trevor Glenn<br />
Crystal Gutierrez<br />
Jorge Gutierrez<br />
Marcos Huerta<br />
Joaquin Machado<br />
Ari Montez<br />
Lilli Smyth<br />
Sandra Terrel<br />
Hector Vizcarra<br />
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<strong>18</strong>01 Panorama Drive, Bakersfield,<br />
CA 93305<br />
-Phone: (661) 395-4324<br />
-Email: ripmail@bakersfieldcollege.edu<br />
-Website: therip.com
Page 7<br />
Opinion<br />
The <strong>Renegade</strong> <strong>Rip</strong> www.therip.com<br />
Wednesday, <strong>Oct</strong>. <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2023</strong><br />
Does BC really give a crap?<br />
By Honey Crowder<br />
Reporter<br />
HONEY CROWDER/THE RIP<br />
(Left) Gender-neutrual bathroom with a wall hole.<br />
(Right) Student Life Office bathroom.<br />
It is no secret that Bakersfield College has been getting a<br />
major facelift as Covid-19 loosens its grip on campus, but are<br />
our bathrooms going down the toilet?<br />
In the Language Arts building more than a hundred students<br />
now are at the mercy of two toilets on the second floor.<br />
While the bathrooms have been converted to gender-neutral<br />
the campus has continued to improve its fight for gender<br />
equality, but it stands to question what exactly has been improved.<br />
From a giant hole in the wall due to a missing cover, drab<br />
lighting, and a sloppily finished paint job, the left bathroom<br />
was akin to an abandoned warehouse. The right bathroom<br />
at least looked better as it was fully finished except for a dim<br />
and dirty light.<br />
Students have described the discrepancy between the Student<br />
Life building bathrooms and the Language Arts bathroom<br />
as huge, with some even saying that the Student Life<br />
bathrooms look like a hotel while the Language Arts bathrooms<br />
resembled a sketchy gas station.<br />
Students may also miss class waiting for the bathroom as<br />
some students stated that they have almost missed half of<br />
their lectures because of the minimal available toilets.<br />
Students who decide not to occupy the depressing-looking<br />
bathrooms now rely on port-a-potties located near the<br />
front door outside with no knowledge of how often they are<br />
cleaned, emptied, or refilled with basic necessities such as<br />
toilet paper or soap. Students who do have to use the porta-potties<br />
may not even get the chance to properly wash their<br />
hands as the wash station<br />
may go on without being<br />
replenished with water.<br />
And other students are<br />
unable to use them at all<br />
as they are non-wheelchair<br />
accessible.<br />
As we start to get deeper<br />
into the semester, many<br />
question if the port-apotties<br />
are a temporary<br />
fix or are the students in<br />
deep doo-doo.<br />
HONEY CROWDER/ THE RIP<br />
Port-a-potties and wash station<br />
outside LA.<br />
Exorcist is frightfully bad<br />
By Trevor Glenn<br />
Reporter<br />
“The Exorcist” franchise returns to theaters 50 years after<br />
the original film. It fails to compare where it can’t compete.<br />
The original was such a trailblazer and is still a strong movie<br />
today. David Gordon Green’s try at the franchise is extremely<br />
forgettable.<br />
Green’s latest installment to the franchise serves as a direct<br />
continuation of the 1973 film, ignoring the other four in the<br />
series. In 2021, Universal Studios bought the rights to the<br />
franchise for the devilish price of an estimated $400 Million.<br />
This, compared to the $27 Million made from opening week<br />
is underwhelming.<br />
“The Exorcist: Believer” serves as the first film in a new<br />
expected trilogy. Due to the poor response from critics and<br />
audiences, it’s hard to imagine Universal greenlighting the<br />
following two movies but only time will tell. This movie feels<br />
like a far cry from its original counterpart. When it comes<br />
to remakes or soft reboots, you need a strong trust from fans<br />
you won’t ignore its predecessor. Green should know this by<br />
now, considering the response to his “Halloween” franchise<br />
reboot.<br />
This movie stars Lidya Jewett and Olivia O’Neill as two<br />
childhood friends who become victim to the demon of this<br />
film. These girls performed great considering they don’t have<br />
many lines outside of being possessed. They were as scary as<br />
they could be given how lame the script was and how embarrassingly<br />
obvious the scares were. The original film stared<br />
Linda Blair as Regan McNeal, a young girl possessed by the<br />
demon, Puzuzu.<br />
This film could have done so much with the demon and it’s<br />
dynamic against two bodies but failed to make it interesting.<br />
There is no real correlation from this movie to the original<br />
and the plot feels spoon-fed to the audience. We do have<br />
returning characters, but they are hardly utilized and seem<br />
to only be there for the sake of returning fans. The actual<br />
Exorcism act of the film feels rushed and unsatisfying as the<br />
big climax.<br />
In all, the only frighting thing about this movie was how<br />
bad it was. Hopefully Universal can revive the franchise<br />
again at their next attempt with “The Exorcist: Deceiver.”
Page 8<br />
Opinion<br />
The <strong>Renegade</strong> <strong>Rip</strong> www.therip.com<br />
Wednesday, <strong>Oct</strong>. <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2023</strong><br />
Wanted: Moderate<br />
Speaker<br />
By Jared Buys<br />
Reporter<br />
We need a moderate speaker.<br />
Someone who’s voice will potentially<br />
guide the U.S. House of<br />
Representatives in a way that can<br />
overcome partisan favor and usher<br />
in a period of political savvy, however<br />
unlikely it is we get one.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>. 3 saw a major move occur<br />
in the framework of American<br />
politics. Bakersfield-native Kevin<br />
McCarthy, former speaker of the<br />
house, was ousted from office in<br />
a vote-of-no-confidence bid to reform<br />
the Republican power base.<br />
While Kevin McCarthy enjoyed<br />
support from some corners of his<br />
party, a solid portion of Republicans<br />
in congress are outspoken<br />
critics, mostly from the pro-Trump<br />
wing. In fact, there was even talk of<br />
Trump temporarily filling the role,<br />
no doubt a premeditated power<br />
play orchestrated by McCarthy’s<br />
chief ouster, Congressman Matt<br />
Gaetz, who represents Florida’s<br />
First Congressional District.<br />
Among accusations of cronyism<br />
and Trump’s cult of personality<br />
running wild in Republican circles,<br />
dividing the party, as well as onehalf<br />
of the U.S., democrats have<br />
been dealing with their own minor<br />
cataclysms.<br />
Both President Joe Biden and his<br />
son Hunter Biden are not without<br />
their own controversies, and recently<br />
2024 presidential hopeful<br />
Robert Kennedy Jr. has abandoned<br />
ship on the Democrats for an Independent<br />
Party run.<br />
This all must coincide with the<br />
shift in foreign relations strategy.<br />
According to Reuters, some 52-<br />
61% of Democrats favor backing<br />
the Ukrainian aid effort in their<br />
in their effort in their war against<br />
Putin’s all-in-but-name totalitarian<br />
regime, while under half of<br />
Republicans are in favor. Without<br />
even considering the affect independent<br />
voters in the landscape,<br />
military backing seems to not be<br />
the exclusively Republican thing it<br />
was once thought to be. That position<br />
is almost laughably ironic,<br />
given the Republicans’ unwavering<br />
support of Israel.<br />
I am of course not condemning<br />
Israeli support, especially in the<br />
wake of unprecedented Hamas<br />
terrorist attacks from Gaza which<br />
led to over 1200 Israeli deaths and<br />
nearly as many Palestinian deaths<br />
in retaliatory efforts.<br />
My point is that the current political<br />
climate, both foreign and<br />
domestic, can sorely afford to be<br />
so divisive. Infighting here in the<br />
U.S. is not going to help us help<br />
our allies nor aid in humanitarian<br />
initiatives that will follow these conflicts.<br />
It will not help the search for<br />
a level-headed, mediatory speaker<br />
of the house. Someone who will<br />
bridge the gap in America’s heart<br />
and help steer the country toward<br />
more stability, away from political<br />
extremes on either the right or the<br />
left.<br />
As of writing this, Kevin McCarthy<br />
could still regain his position,<br />
but House Republicans have nominated<br />
House of Representatives<br />
Majority Leader Steve Scalise to<br />
succeed him. Time will tell if a<br />
moderate voice appears in the most<br />
powerful role in congress.<br />
<strong>Renegade</strong> Events<br />
Campus Events<br />
Now <strong>Oct</strong>. <strong>18</strong> - <strong>Oct</strong>. 22: Kern Shakespeare<br />
Festival at Edwards Simonsen Outdoor Theatre<br />
featuring “As You Like It,” “The Winter’s<br />
Tale,” and Luis Alfaro’s “Electricidad.” All performances<br />
start at 7:30 p.m.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>. 19: Great California Shakeout. 10:15 -<br />
10:45 a.m. Statewide earthquake drill.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>. 20: Manufacturing Day, 9:30 a.m.<br />
check-in at the football field with sessions lasting<br />
from 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>. 20: Agriculture Career Expo, 9 a.m<br />
check-in at the Outdoor theater with sessions<br />
lasting from 10 -12 a.m.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>. 20: A Glitch in Time: Y2K Homecoming<br />
dance. 5 - 9 p.m.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>. 21: <strong>Renegade</strong> Promenade Alumni<br />
BBQ. 1 - 5 p.m. Tickets are $25 and include a<br />
BBQ dinner and access to the Y2K Homecoming<br />
Parade and Football game.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>. 24: Saving Lives: The Work of Consul<br />
Gilberto Bosques in France Featuring Monica<br />
Castellanos from 6 - 8 p.m. at the Campus<br />
Ceter Ballroom on the 3rd floor.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>. 27: Performing Arts presents: Measure<br />
Me Sky. 7:30 - 10:30 p.m.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>. 27: <strong>2023</strong> Historically Black Colleges<br />
and Universities Caravan. 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. in<br />
the <strong>Renegade</strong> Ballroom.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>. 27: Final day to withdraw and recieve a<br />
“W” (semester length courses).