Author Archives: Karla Tovar

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A Star is Born: Worth Watching?

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In the world of pop culture, there is one specific superstar artist everyone needs back in their lives, and to make another album that will make you strike a pose. That superstar artist is Lady Gaga. She is back but making her debut on the big screen with the Academy Award winner as well as making his first directorial debut Bradley Cooper in the new movie called A Star is Born (ASIB).

This film was released on October 5, 2018. This film is about Ally Campana who was an unknown songwriter who was discovered by a country superstar singer Jackson “Jack” Maine who’s an alcoholic and drug user who saw Ally performing a song at a Drag Bar.  As Jack was mentoring Ally not only he was starting to fall in love with her but started to help reach her dream into becoming a famous songwriter.

Vanity.com stated that ASIB made 44 million dollars in the U.S., and 56 million worldwide the first weekend it was released. This movie has taken over the box office dramatically. This movie will automatically be nominated for next year’s Academy Awards.

The way Lady Gaga performs in the movie is what makes this movie so powerful and emotional. Majority of the songs in the movie is written by Gaga.  Daniela Criollo, Hayward Resident, enjoyed the movie and stated: “The music in the movie is so organic, and the way she just sings each song is just amazing.”

Of course, this movie isn’t for everyone because it is a drama/romance genre. Kelly Vance, a writer for the East Bay Express has certainly expressed his opinion on the movie on Rotten Tomatoes, and in his article. Vace states, “Just TV-commercial pathos and huggy redemption. Filmmaker Cooper, who reportedly “inherited” the vintage movie franchise from his pal Clint Eastwood, strives for a fast-paced, ultra-realistic, music biz environment and achieves it.”

A Star is Born’s soundtrack includes all 34 songs in the movie. It also includes the hit singles “Shallow” that is sung by Gaga, and Cooper together, and “I’ll Never Love Again.“When Gaga appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to talk about the movie, she explains what her experience was like singing with Cooper.

Gaga states “ The truth is I like singing with him, and at the end of the day I know from being close with Bradley you know he says it to me on camera, in the film, and says it to me in real life all you gotta do is trust me. The truth is we trusted each other, and the ideas you know not to “act” at all. You know to sing, to communicate, to have a conversation. And when we did our scenes together we did them over and over and they were different every time because we were doing it live.”

The question you might ask is “Is this movie worth watching?” Hell yes! Not only because Lady Gaga is in it but the overall storyline of the movie and if you just love country music. You can also stream the soundtrack on Spotify, Apple Music, or buy the album. Just make sure to bring a box of tissues and personal snacks before heading to watch it!

South Hayward City Council Meeting

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On September 11th, the Hayward city council members hosted their meeting at Matt Jimenez Community Center, after returning from their summer recess, to talk to the community about the current state of South Hayward, and AC Transit elimination of bus line 22.

Hayward City Councilman Al Mendall expressed his concerns about the current situation of South Hayward. “It is in need and deserves many improvements. It is a great community, the people living there are wonderful but there aren’t enough resources.”

Mendall continued, “There aren’t enough parks, there are no services on Tennyson like banks. The nearest bank is on Mission Blvd. which is badly needed in the community. Crimes have also been an issue, and the city has worked on that…”

Many Hayward residents attended this special meeting.  Many residents expressed their concerns and opinions on the vision plan of the Tennyson Corridor Project during the public speaking segment.

Rosa Salguero, local Hayward resident expressed her concerns on the overall future of Hayward. “I am more concerned about affordable housing, as well as for the residents of South Hayward who won’t get the resources they need.”

One of the most important topics of the meeting was AC Transit shutting down the bus service of bus line 22. Many students and Hayward residents depended on using this line to get to school, work, and Downtown Hayward.

Councilman Mendall did express his opinion on this topic. When asked if the City of Hayward has control of AC Transit Mendall stated “The city does not have control of AC Transit’s decisions. AC Transit is their own agency. The decision was made by them not us.”

Mendall continues, “We heard this complaint many times, and we understand how concerning it is for everyone. I don’t understand why this change was made. It doesn’t seem to be a good change, and I know that myself and the city are actively trying to reach out to AC Transit to talk about that, and see how to restore that service. It is still not a done deal yet.”  

Councilman Mendell also mentioned that a newly improved park is being built on Tennyson, and there are two grocery stores scheduled to open on Mission Blvd.

Michelle Sifontes, Veterinary major, did express her concern about the bus line 22 service. Sifontes states, “I think I speak for many students and adults that have jobs that shutting down bus 22 is a real set back and causes a problem. I live on Mission, and I have taken bus 22 to help me get to school.” Sifontes continues, “Shutting down this bus can prevent people, especially those with no other form of transportation, from getting to where they need to go.”

If you are interested in attending the next City Council meeting it will take place on September 25th at 5:30 pm at Hayward City Hall.

School Wi-Fi Updated

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As many can agree, a slow internet connection is one of the most frustrating things to ever exist. This is especially true for anyone trying to use the campus Wi-Fi, as many students know the long history of Chabot’s Wi-Fi signal. After years of poor signal strength and student complaints, the campus Wi-Fi was finally improved over the summer.

Over the summer, 324 wireless access points were installed throughout the campus, including one in every classroom. These access points run 802.11ac and allow internet connection throughout the school to run much faster than it did in in previous years.

The project to improve the campus wireless connection started on July 23 and concluded on August 15, right before the start of the fall semester. Access points were installed in most of the school buildings, including 100, 1400, 1900, 2400, 3100, 3400, 3000, 2500, 2600, 2800, 2900, and 4000. Eventually, more access points will be installed throughout the school to fill in dead spots and to especially improve the internet connection in areas with the biggest need for wireless internet.

One first-semester student, Angel Aguilar, states that she came into Chabot admiring the strength of the campus Wi-Fi as it is. “Where I go, the Wi-Fi is strong,” states Aguilar. “I don’t have any problem at all.” As someone who never experienced the campus Wi-Fi in recent years, first-time students will be greeted with better Wi-Fi speeds and will not have to struggle with connecting their devices to the internet.

A longtime student at Chabot College, Doonie Love, recalls his experience with the slow internet speed of the campus Wi-Fi before this semester. He says “the Wi-Fi has improved slightly, just enough for it to function in the science building, but not enough to download a file or watch an online tutorial.”

Many students and faculty use our Wi-Fi for lectures in class or catching up on online classes, or just to watch Netflix on our laptops. Let’s just see how the current Wi-Fi holds up.

Digital Media Day

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Chabot College teamed up with the Hayward Unified School District for Digital Media Day for High School Seniors on April 27, 2018, in the Event Center. Students from Tennyson High School and San Leandro High School attended the event.

The purpose of the event is for the instructors to showcase the opportunities of the Arts, Media and Communication Department here at Chabot College offer, from Audio, Photo, Game Design, Studio Art, Stop Motion, After Effects, and Television Workshops.  

The students sign up for a workshop based on their interest in the available workshops. Each workshop had a one-hour session for students to preview what it is like taking a class at Chabot.

Tennyson High School teacher Jayne Ruiz who is part of a media academic program called CMMA. She states “I really love how this specific department at Chabot wants to help our students, and for myself to interact in the workshop I can learn with the students.”

Ruiz continues, “ I just love attending to Digital Media Day. I love the after effect class because the students enjoyed doing something very similar to what they are currently learning in the CMMA classroom but applying new techniques that Professor Lothian taught us.”

The majority of the students enjoyed attending the event. They enjoyed the workshops and talked to current Chabot students about their experience here at Chabot. These kinds of workshops really make an impact on high school seniors.

The next Digital Media Day will be in the fall, and hopefully, more high schools in Hayward take the opportunity to attend an event like this.