Uncategorized

Maloney Takes Position at El Camino

Writers and Poets: Call for Submissions

Thanksgiving Canned Food Drive

Stockdale Students Tour Taft Campus

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.

Halloween Costume Contest

Legalization of marijuana a popular topic among students

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.

Petroleum and Education

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.”

Date Night Basket Raffle

Alex Epstein: More Than Just a Man Who Loves Fossil Fuels

By Ashley Renteria

Alex Epstein

Alex Epstein, a Duke graduate in philosophy of 2002 and author of the book The Moral Case of Fossil Fuels, attended this years West Kern Petroleum Summit in Taft, California.

Sporting a green t-shirt which read “I love Fossil Fuels” under his blazer, the founder of Center for Industrial Progress delivered an informative and detailed discussion about the future of energy, what it means for the world and environment to really “be green” and the moral philosophy of how do we know what is wrong or right for the environment and the people in it.

“Humans change nature,” Epstein argued that society and environmentalists are focused on being green and what it really means for humans and the earth to be green.

Epstein believes there is “No debate over morals, but there is a debate over expiration dates” when talking about green energy versus petroleum and fossil fuels. As a believer in energy abundance, Epstein expressed that “being green is not about saving humans, but we should save the planet from humans.”

In terms of going green with our energy sources by taking fossil fuels out of the equation and reducing our carbon footprints in order to help preserve our environment, Epstein notes if we look at North and South Korea at night, South Korea is lit up and bright with lights while North Korea is completely dark which makes sense why North Korea has the lowest carbon footprints in the world.

That isn’t the point, while North Korea may have the lowest carbon footprint in the world, South Koreans are happy and they live their lives to the fullest in ways that they can. Another point Epstein brought up was that if society and those who want to preserve the environment by reducing carbon footprints, should those people not have children?

When talking about shifting our energy sources to something more “natural” or sun powered, Epstein pointed out that fossil fuels are already fueled by the sun, they’re just preserved by nature. While all forms of energy are manufactured in some way because “humans invented resources by turning nothing into something.”

Alex Epstein may have a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and written a book, but there is more to him than just the data and statistics he provides for his discussions.

After speaking on stage in front of hundreds at the West Kern Petroleum Summit, Epstein went outside of the tent where Mercedes-Benz of Bakersfield was hosting an after celebration and began talking and mingling with guests.

This year was Epstein’s first time being a key speaker at the West Kern Petroleum Summit.

“I had been to Kern County once, years ago at the beginning of my career and was very impressed by the oilfields and by the history.” This being his first time speaking at an event where the main focus is energy and petroleum issues, Epstein wanted to emphasize key ideas in his speech to inspire those who listened to be champions and thought leaders rather than just supporters of the moral case of fossil fuels and green energy.

In his speaking career he has gone from speaking to an audience of about 3 people to 5,000. When asked if he still gets nervous speaking in front of crowds, Epstein stated “Nervous is just really about ‘are you confident you can do the job?’ and how important do you think the job is . . . . It’s important I get nervous.”

Epstein said he likes to socialize and talk to his fans and supporters because he has been in the same position where he’s been a fan of someone’s work and has tried to talk to them and get them to sign books. He put forth a positive, confident attitude that made it easy for supporters to engage and socialize with him.

Prettiest in Pink

Dancing demonstaration

The judges

The fans

A particiapnt

Prettiest in Pink

On October 21 in the quad, the annual Pretty in Pink event was held. The festivities consisted of a fashion show, a dance demonstration, and a guest speaker.

Though the event is fun to the extent of comical, it is for a serious cause. Pretty in Pink is to raise awareness for breast cancer. Men of Taft College staged a fashion show competing against each other to decide who was prettiest in pink. Many of the participants were student athletes on various sports teams at TC.

The judges used the criteria of (1) outfit—how much pink was in the outfit, (2) presence, and (3) replies given in the question and answer portion of the competition. Dr. Chris Chung-We and Dr. Leigh Golling presided over the judging.

Barbara Shryver was the guest speaker. She spoke on Relay for Life, an organization that raises money to help fight cancer. Relay for Life has many local activities in Kern County that raise money for the charity.

The event was well attended with the crowd cheering for their favorite fashionista. The fashion show was hosted by the ASB while raising awareness on breast cancer.