IVC holds successful club day

Students gather on the IVC quad to participate in Club Day.

Many students gathered at the Irvine Valley College quad on Wednesday for the first club day of the academic year.

Over 16 clubs being represented eagerly spoke with students, while club members stood on a stage in front of the SSC and energetically described the objectives of their groups. 

Students gather on the IVC campus for Club Day.

A member of the American Criminal Justice Association, Madison Morris, was impressed by the large number of students who showed interest in her club. 

“We’re thrilled with the turnout,” Morris stated, “and we’re excited to see who emails us back.” 

Anderson Perroti, 21, signed up for the IVC Green Team Alliance after speaking with the three-time president, Crystal Love. Perrotirespected the mission of the club to bring recycling and free trade coffee to IVC.

A member of the Christian Students at IVC group, Isaac Acosta, stated that the group had gathered over 100 signatures on their sign-up forms. Acosta, like other club groups at the expo, knew that the amount of people who actually commit to the clubs unfortunately declines. 

“We usually have a big turnout the first week,” Acosta stated, “and then it starts diminishing from there.”

Acosta feels that being a part of a club is an important part of college life and that more students should get involved in something they are passionate about. 

The IVC Math Club recruits more members. 

“It’s a great way to make friends and be a part of a community,” Acosta stated. 

All clubs encourage both IVC and Saddleback students to join.


To learn more about joining a group, go tohttp://www.ivc.edu/student/clubs/Pages/default.aspx

2012 Video Music Awards: Why the Lack of Viewers?

The 29th annual MTV Video Music Awards, held last Thursday night, only had 6.1 million people watching compared to their record 12.45 million viewers from the previous year.

The amount of Saddleback students who watched the VMAs has a shockingly low number as well. After an informal survey of 24 students, only four, or 17 percent, watched the VMAs this year.

One reason for the drop in viewership is due to the unusual day of the week and time the show aired: a Thursday at 8pm. Last year, the show played on a Sunday at 9pm. 

The VMAs changed the day and time so it wouldn’t interfere with the coverage of the Democratic National Convention.

Kyle McDaniel, a 17 year old Saddleback student, watched the VMAs in previous years, but not this time. He was one of the millions watching President Obama accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for his candidacy for the 2012 presidential election. 

Other students like Marissa Miramontes had no idea the VMAs were playing because of a lack of advertisement.

“I didn’t know it was on,” Miramontes stated, “and I would have watched if I had known it was on.”

David Knicker, a 20 year old Saddleback student, watched five minutes of the VMAs and then turned it off. His reasons for not watching the VMAs had nothing to do with the Democratic National Convention or lack of advertisement.

Knicker said he didn’t watch the whole thing “because of One Direction, Justin Bieber and other boy bands. Today’s music is all about sex, lies, and infidelity.”

Whether you missed the VMAs due to the Democratic National Convention, lack of advertisement, or the music just wasn’t your favorite, you can still check out the highlights of the show by going to www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/2012.com

Students Agree: Carly Rae Jepsen is a one hit wonder

The popular song "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen has been engraved in all our minds since beginning its climb on the Billboard charts in February, but will Jepsen's new single "This Kiss" do as well as her last?

"Call Me Maybe" became so popular because of its energetic beat and unbearably catchy lyrics. "This Kiss," which released September 10th, sounds very similar to Jepsen's first hit. Even though Jepsen's last hit was named "Song of the Summer" by Billboard Magazine, many Saddleback students groaned at the news of Jepsen's newest album.

"[It] sounds exactly like pop songs in general," Ben Phan, 18, said. "It's very generic with four beats or so."

David Knicker, 20-year-old Saddleback student, is a musician himself. Knicker dislikes Jepsen's music so much he said, "I would pay money to have her kicked out of the music industry."

19-year-old Avilene Otero liked the beat of "This Kiss," and thought the lyrics were catchy. Even though Otero had some praise for the song, she admitted that she wouldn't buy it.

Even though 26-year-old Jepsen teamed up with fellow Canadian pop artist Justin Bieber, and American band Owl City for her newest album, students said that none of Jepsen's music would be found on their iPods. The students even agreed that Jepsen is a fad and that her newest single will not do as well as her last.

It appears that Saddleback students have already heard all they want to of Jepsen.

Jepsen's album Kiss releases September 19th, and is being sold on ITunes and Amazon for $11.99.

www.amazon.com

www.carlyraemusic.com

www.itunes.com

Blood donators make a difference

Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo has a healthy storage of donated blood thanks in part to the Saddleback students and faculty who donated, confirmed Ed Ferrer - a clinical lab scientist at Mission Hospital.

Five weeks ago, hospitals across the country were facing one of the worst blood shortages in 15 years, according to American Red Cross Nurse Edward Orlobski.

Blood shortages in the summer are common due to people vacationing and lack of students donating blood.

On August 28, Orlobski stated that Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo was 2,000 bags short for the month. Since then, two successful blood drives have been held on the Saddleback campus.

Thanks to those who donated, Mission Hospital now has a healthy surplus of blood that will save the lives of countless patients.

Ferrer is thankful for the efforts of the American Red Cross and all those who donated, but stresses that Mission Hospital can always use more blood donations. 
“If [the blood] is in short demand, the American Red Cross usually gets to us straight away to help out,” Ferrer stated, “but we can always use more blood.”

With the flu season approaching, the American Red Cross website reminds donors not to donate if they have flu-like symptoms.

The next blood drive on the Saddleback campus is November 7, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.