Please see Board President Billy White’s important announcement.
Shelley Klein
Assistant to the President
West Kern Community College District/Taft College
29 Cougar Court
Taft CA 93268
661-763-7711
By Ashley Renteria
On Wednesday October 28th, Taft College’s ASB held a costume contest in the quad at noon. Students and faculty were encouraged to dress up and join in the festivities. Several members of the faculty dressed up with some friends for a themed group while some flew solo and entered the contest themselves.
Three costume groups showed up in impressive costumes and makeup of Batman and friends, Ghostbusters and the Pink Ladies and T- Birds from Grease.
The Pink Ladies and Greasers
Ghostbusters with Joe’ll Chaidez as Slimmer
Solo entrees were Batman, Pumpkin Head, Sandy from Grease, Beetlejuice and Cleopatra who is soccer coach Myisha Cutrona’s daughter.
Pumpkin Head
Batman
Beetlejuice
Cleopatra
Each member and group had the opportunity to do a runway walk, dance or showcase a talent for the judges.
Music was playing and contestants were laughing and interacting while the judges made their tough decision of who the group and individual winners would be.
Beetlejuice was the individual winner of the costume contest and won a goodie bag with a gift card while the greasers from Grease won the group portion of the contest. They won a gift basket filled with goodies.
Beetlejuice wins for individual
The Pink Ladies and the Greasers
Stockdale High students tour TC campus.
By Hector Gutierrez
Students from Stockdale High School arrived early Oct. 23 and met with Shery Black, outreach coordinator, to view the Taft College campus.
A total of 18 students were accompanied by two of their counselors from SHS: Lisa Hance and Kristen Lackey. This is the third time Lackey has visited the school on an annual basis. The students were not recruited, but in fact they volunteered themselves to tour the school to see if it was right for them.
This doesn’t come as a surprise to the counselors because Stockdale High is one of the top five high schools that Taft College draws from. It is one of the closest high schools from Bakersfield making Taft a good fit for its graduates.
The students began their tour in the administration building where they received catalogs and handbooks with greater details of the school and community. They continued past the county library and into the Student Union G-11 module where they met with Shoshanna Kukuliev, a Taft College student trustee and senator on a state level.
She discussed with the students the importance of time management; having to work three jobs while attending school, the former ASB president understands the value of managing your time wisely.
Black concluded the tour in the library where the students were amazed at the cleanliness and architecture of the building.
Shery Black (center) talks to Stockdale High School students.
Nolan Cooper, a senior at Stockdale, is interested in journalism and has his eyes on Taft College to pursue that career.
“I did not know what to expect before coming here because I have not heard much about Taft and haven’t been here myself,” Cooper said. “I am surprised at how nice it looks and how small the class sizes are, but I was overwhelmed by the drive which can make or break my decision.”
The drive is a common dilemma for high school graduates that reside outside of Taft.
In the end the students left with better insight of Taft College and can now make a well-informed decision for their future.
Black is expecting Vista West and Nueva High schools to visit Taft later in the semester.
The legalization of marijuana for recreational use is a topic than many people have an opinion on, whether they are for or against it. College campues’ in America are a place full of opinions, so I asked a few anonymous Taft College students what they thought.
The first student I asked said that they do smoke marijuana occasionally, but that they would not vote to legalize it because they think that it would cause a lot of people to act irresponsible. Another student that I asked said that they think that it would bring in millions of tax dollars, the way the Colorado and Oregon have had their marijuana tax’s raise hundreds of millions of dollars. I don’t think his speech was improvised, but he made some good points. A lot of students that I asked were right on the fence, but most said that even though they do not smoke, they think it should be legalized.
Whatever your opinion is, get out and vote.
Kevin McCarthy
Alex Trebek
By Alberto Muro
United States Representative Kevin McCarthy took to the stage at the West Kern Petroleum Summit and began by welcoming everyone in attendance and then spoke about his duties in Washington D.C. Students of Taft College and Taft Union High School were in attendance and McCarthy concluded his speech by mentioning, “America is a strong country when we work together” and encouraged students to succeed.
Ninety-one separate companies were also seated in the room based on their sponsorship status. Chevron, WSPA, LINN Energy, and SoCalGas were one of many companies in attendance.Petroleum Summit appointed emcee and game show host Alex Trebek introduced Rob Duco, Christina Sistrunk, and Bob Barnes as speakers of the Innovation Powering California panel.Trebek then called on Kevin McCarthy to be the moderator of the panel.
T. Boone Pickens receives key to the city from Taft Mayor Randy Miller and Taft Councilman Dave Noerr
Innovation Powering California panel
Due to the severity of a recent storm, Public Affairs Manager of Southern California Gas Company Rob Duco filled in as a replacement for CEO Dennis Arriola.CEO and president of California Resources Corporation Todd Stevens also could not make an appearance and was replaced by executive vice president Bob Barnes.The three panelists answered questions regarding the history of their companies and the work ethics they expect from their employees. Most importantly, the panelists encouraged students showing an interest in the oil to further their education.Rob Duco highly recommended that students first get their high school diploma because it shows that the individual has of dedication. A high school diploma also signifies that the potential employee will show a great work ethic as well. Duco also pointed out that every position in his company requires a high school diploma. “Our entry level diggers and ditch makers need a high school diploma.”
Next, Christina Sistum supports the idea that the employees at her company should pursue an education. Employees with an educational background are beneficial to Aera because it helps pick the right people for the job. Sistum said, “Contributing to education is what Aera encourages,” so potential employees should not stress on making time for an education with her company.Executive Vice President of California Resources Corporation (CRC) Bob Barnes indicated that helping schools are in his best interest. Barnes fortifies the education system in California by “sponsoring schools around the county by accommodating on what they need.” Taft College also contributes to the growth of CRC by providing the workforce they need.
Oscar Serrato/Jon Carrithers
In attendance was Taft College student Oscar Serrato who was invited to the Petroleum Summit by his instructor Jon Carrithers. When asked about what drove his curiosity to attend the summit he said, “I was drawn to attend by the lineup of speakers which ranged from Congressman Kevin McCarthy to representatives of all the major oil and gas producing companies that surround Taft.
“The information provided by the key speakers further motivated Oscar to pursue his interest in petroleum. Oscar’s previous experience in the oil industry allowed him to have faith in fossil fuels, and he took a strong stance by saying, “The key speakers only strengthened my stance on the oil industry. Besides being the safest industry I have ever worked in and the most environmentally stringent, I believe the major energy producing companies will only continue to evolve to better serve the community.”
Overall, Oscar was satisfied with the knowledge he gathered from the key speakers of the summit and concluded with, “Many people are quick to suggest other forms of alternative energy; however, renewable energy currently is very unreliable and doesn’t even come close to sustain our energy demands.”
