Dana represented Mesa College and as Foothill Conference Champion she competed against colleges from all of Southern California.

“It was definitely a highlight of my year to hear our rivals Grossmont College cheering for me as I ran the race,” she said.

Between track and college classes, this English composition major keeps her balance by meeting with professors during office hours and going to tutoring.

“She is a student athlete that represents Mesa College well academically and athletically,” said Head Track and Field Coach Renee Ross. “She understands that she is a student first and an athlete second. She is an excellent role model.”

Her dedication, discipline and drive have also paved the way for her to achieve second place overall in Foothill Conference for 100m hurdles, fifth place overall in Foothill Conference for high jump, and nineth place overall in Foothill Conference in long jump.

“She has incredible discipline and dedication to the sport of track and field,” said Coach Ross. “She is successful because she has passion and drive. She continues to set goals for herself and does everything possible to meet the goal with her commitment.”

Felt’s track record displays what a good attitude, hard work and perseverance can achieve. “No matter what hardship comes her way, injuries or sickness, etc., she makes sure to always have a smile on her face and an outlook that is always positive,” added Coach Ross.

Sept. 7, 2011, marked another day Felt will live with forever. She had her third heart surgery.  “I’ve had a pacemaker put in. I wasn’t allowed to move my left arm for a month and a half. I had a routine of lifting and running every day. It was definitely a tough adjustment,” she said.

Felt’s attitude can be summed up in this statement: “As long as I can do this, I can do anything.”

Her family’s support has always been a big part of her life. “My mom comes to every single meet,” said Felt.

When asked about any athletic or professional role models, Felt explained that she has never looked up to athletes. “Even though there are several amazing professional athletes, everything I need to reach my goals and thrive as a person and as an athlete, I see in my mom,” she said

Felt’s advice to Mesa College students is “Don’t let anything get you down. If you have any passion for it, you will thrive.”

These catalytic converters are important for the car and help keep the air cleaner. They convert the harmful compounds in the car exhaust, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides, into harmless ones.

 
An email from the San Diego Community College District states “most of the thefts were from late model Toyota pickup trucks.” These trucks are targeted because it is easier to remove the part from a vehicle that does not need to be jacked-up.
While the converter is the only part that seems to be targeted, it is important that students make sure all things related to their car are secure.

 
For Mesa college student Alexander Gonzalez, his concern is frank. “S*** happens,” Gonzalez said. Being a student that parks off campus Gonzalez feels that if something happened to his car the “school doesn’t have a problem” or would be blamed by him. “You pay 20 bucks for a pass” as well as security, added Gonzalez.

An easy way for students to keep their car and their belongings in it safe is to double check that their cars are locked. With newer model vehicles being equipped with a remote control it is as easy as waiting to hear the horn or see the lights flash confirming that the car is locked.

However, many students on campus have older model vehicles that require a driver to manually check to see if each door is locked. While it may be a small amount of time to circle the car and check that everything is secure, it is well worth it. It beats having to come back and find that something is missing from the car.

The email from SDCCD also included some helpful tips to prevent car parts from being stolen and broken into: “Park in well lit areas…park close to entrances of buildings…engrave your license plate number on the converter to make it traceable… purchase a vehicle security system.”

Every day, students walk toward class along Mesa College Drive and they can hear the loud sound systems that other students have. While some may find it entertaining to blast their system as they get onto campus it seems that their loud music is a priority over the safety of the car.

This is a prime example of students asking to get something stolen. The car owner is just displaying what he or she has in the car that is of value right before they park and leave it alone for at least an hour and a half. And an hour is all a thief needs to infiltrate the car. Then the owner will be driving home with no music to listen to or even possibly need to call for a ride.

In addition to keeping the music down students should also keep other valuables in their car hidden such as iPods, wallets, money, phones, etc. Also make sure that the windows are rolled up and to push in the side mirrors, because there are so many bad drivers and parkers on campus.
While an alarm system may deter someone from stealing it does not actually stop him or her, it is just a sound that lets others know that something is being stolen.

Over the years since its launch, Facebook made its money with advertisements, as most websites do. But what set it apart from other companies of that stature, was that it was a privately held company. Emphasis on the “was.”

That’s right; it was a publicly held company. February 1, marked the day when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg did what most people would do with a few billion dollars in reaching distance. He sold it. The site filed for Initial Public Offering (IPO) and is likely to be the largest technology IPO in U.S. history at about $5 billion.

Let’s face it, going public has a way of always changing a company.  In the coming months, likely nothing will change outside of what profile they want you to have next.  In the coming years though, pending the events of Dec. 21, what’s likely to change is majority ownership. As of now, Zuckerberg owns the majority at 24 percent with the rest being split amongst initial investors and employees.

If majority ownership changes, which if history has taught us anything, it will, the overall goal of Facebook would be to put more money in the pockets of the shareholders. It could be leaving the decision making to people who know nothing about the internet let alone the website. There is even a potential that if it becomes too big for comprehension, Mark could be forced to resign by his future board of directors.

Now personally I respect anybody who keeps their company private, much like In-n-Out who hasn’t gone public like most of the fast food industry. Facebook, which is estimated to value $100 billion in the future, is on the verge of becoming bigger than anybody could have imagined. With billions of dollars at hand and over 800 million users, they could venture into anything they want. And as long as you have a profile and click that yes button on the terms and agreements, they can do anything.

This all assuming Facebook continues to grow. Going means you have to deal with Wall Street. Wall Street wants you to grow. When growth slows, the demand growth could hurt its users and the stock value will diminish.

But hey, this move values Mark Zuckerberg at potentially over $28 Billion, not bad for a college dropout.

According to the Parking and Construction page of the Mesa College website, additional parking arrangements have been made with the San Diego National Guard Armory (located on Mesa College Drive), providing students with an extra 208 parking spaces, and is within walking distance of Mesa College. These spaces are available in the rear parking lot of the National Guard Armory, but the front parking lot is reserved for the Armory staff.

Access to these spaces is crucial since the “A” Overflow Lot has now been restricted to only staff/faculty use, which is a loss of 50 parking spaces. Adherence to the rules and regulations of the Amory lots is vital for future contractual needs. However, these lots will be unavailable to students on certain dates. Please refer to the Parking and Construction page of the Mesa College website for the specific dates.

Initially, Mesa College also provided a shuttle service, which was located at San Diego Community College District North City Center on 8401 Aero Drive. The shuttle would drop students off at Armstrong Place near the Allied Health Education & Training Facility (S Building). However, this service has been discontinued due to under usage, according to monitoring from the SDCCD Parking Services.

There are some ways students can help with the parking crisis. As always, students should come to school with enough time to get to class. Leaving 10 minutes earlier will give students more time and opportunity to find parking, as well as minimizing the parking franticness. If able to, students should carpool to school. This will lessen the stress on students and create more parking spaces.

Mesa College student Saul Parra is an example of a student overwhelmed by the chaotic parking, but decided to do something about it.

“It would take over 15 minutes to find parking here. It’s crazy,” said Parra.

Parra decided to avoid the whole issue and began carpooling with friends.

“It just makes things much easier,” said Parra.

Public transportation is also an option. The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System has routes that run all over the San Diego County. This also eliminates the parking hassle altogether, all the while creating more parking spaces.

Another choice is for students to bike to school. There are bike racks located throughout the campus and some near classes, which can be convenient. Without the need to find parking spaces, students will have more time to get to class. Also, biking is another way to fit in some exercise in the daily routine.

For further information, visit the Parking and Construction page of the Mesa College website at http://www.sdmesa.edu/parking/index.cfm.

Some vegetarians will maintain that meat consumption is absolutely unsustainable, but with local small ranches popping up in opposition to dirty factory farms, being “green-friendly” no longer means that you can’t be an ethically sound omnivore.

Sadly enough, today’s commercial farms do not fit the picturesque image that comes to mind while cheerily singing along to “Old McDonald.” Instead, most of the nation’s food comes from CAFOs – Confined Animal Feeding Operations – where animals are kept in tightly enclosed and unsanitary conditions as they are fattened up and readied for slaughter.

Fortunately, a push for greater “farm to plate” knowledge – or knowing exactly where one’s food comes from – has led to an increase in the availability of what is known as “grass-fed” beef.

Technically, all cattle are grass-fed for at least a limited amount of time, but what makes this category of meat significant is that it is grass-finished, not force-fed corn, soy or grains. This change in diet makes all the difference since corn is not part of the cow’s traditional diet, and therefore causes major health issues for it.

The result is a need to use antibiotics along with growth hormones that contaminate the human food supply. Some of the antibiotics used to treat livestock are similar to those given to humans, so they can decrease the effectiveness of medicine when a consumer is sick, according to Eatwild.com.

A healthier diet for the cattle leads this alternative to factory farmed meat to be leaner, therefore being lower in both fat and calories. Omega-3s are higher in grass-fed beef, and it can have up to four times more vitamin E, according to Americangrassfedbeef.com.

When cooking grass-fed beef, you can grill or pan sear it the same way you would for its conventional counterpart, but it is typically best to use a slightly lower temperature.

Grass-fed beef stars in this recipe alongside the underappreciated, but abundantly delicious, baby purple kale and whole wheat Israeli couscous, making it a well-balanced meal. Depending on the amount of meat each diner prefers, one filet steak can be cooked per person, or a single filet can be divided to minimize red meat consumption.

Whole wheat pearl couscous, a variety of vegetables, portobello mushrooms and a grass-fed filet steak balance out each other in this simple recipe. Photo Credit: Lauren J. Mapp

Recipe: Greens and Grass-fed Beef
Serves 2
1 cup whole wheat pearl couscous
1/4 cup green onions (Kawano Farms)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 portobello mushroom caps, sliced (Kawano Farms)
1/4 cup Pinot Noir
2 cups baby purple kale (Sage Mountain Farm)
12 asparagus stalks (Valley Heights Ranch)
1-2 filet steak (SonRise Ranch)
1 small carrot, peeled and diced (Suzie’s Farm)
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
Bruschetta sea salt, to taste (Salt Farm)
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

In a small sauce pot, bring two cups of water to a boil, then add one teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil, couscous and simmer until cooked to al dente. Once water has evaporated, fold in the green onions and parmesan cheese – season with bruschetta sea salt and black pepper – before packing the mixture into two small ramekins and setting aside.

Using a small sauté pan, heat one teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil and cook sliced Portobello mushrooms until softened, then add pinot noir to the pan. After the mushrooms are cooked through, add kale to the pan and season with half a teaspoon of both the bruschetta sea salt and black pepper.

Lightly steam or sauté asparagus, then set aside.

Rinse steak, pat dry and sprinkle with bruschetta sea salt and black pepper on both sides – brush grill or sauté pan with remaining olive oil to prevent it from sticking. Grill or sauté steak to desired temperature, then layer couscous, kale mixture, asparagus and steak on plate, then garnish with raw, diced carrots before serving hot.                          –Lauren J. Mapp

Pig mural covered fencing in view and a wooden, semi-enclosed patio make Carnitas perfect for those warm sunny days that are only too common in Southern California.

While you wait for your meal, relish in the aromatic smells from the kitchen that dance in your nostrils like a BBQ ballerina.

Crispy eggplant mini kebabs, layered with fresh slices of tomato and blue cheese with a drizzle of sweet glaze are a perfect appetizer to start your dining experience at Carnitas.

Try the shack steak sandwich if you want to spice up your life, or even if you just want to subject your taste buds to a little kick. This sandwich features thin layers of rib eye joined by pickled Serrano chilies and chipotle aioli between two pepper-embedded slices of brioche, accompanied by a side of sweet corn coleslaw.

If dining with a friend, share an order of the spiced fries, served in a quaint paper bag with their homemade ketchup. If you really like the seasoning on them, you can buy a container of their spice mix to make a facsimile of them at home.

The grownup, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup-style mousse cup from What’s Ben Baking is so dangerous that it will make you weak in the knees. The peanut butter mousse is so thick and creamy that it is reminiscent of cheesecake filling, and the dessert is topped with a chocolate lid, adorned with smoked almonds and sea salt.

Carnitas Snack Shack is the perfect quick stop shop for those days when you want something simple, but can’t subject yourself to the evil that is the fast food industry.

Anyone that loves to nibble on all things bacon, pork and ham will cry wee wee wee all the way home from Carnitas after strolling up to order a meal that surely won’t disappoint.

Pickled serrano chilis and fresh tomatoes add spice and tartness to Carnitas’ rib eye steak sandwich. Photo Credit: Lauren J. Mapp

French fry fans will certainly love munching on Carnitas’ seasoned fries. Photo Credit: Lauren J. Mapp

The eggplant skewer appetizer is a perfect way to start a meal at Carnitas Snack Shack. Photo credit: Lauren J. Mapp

On Oct. 26 2011, U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and 12 co-sponsors introduced the Stop Online Piracy Act, also known as SOPA.

SOPA, and its companion Senate bill, Protest IP address Act (PIPA), were created with a goal of cracking down on websites that participate in copyright infringement.

The goal is fine but the problem is whether or not it will give the government and copyright owners too much say in what online users can and cannot do.

At first there were more Government officials for SOPA than against, but that was before anyone was really aware that these bills were making their way through congress. 

Then sites like Reddit and Wikipedia blacked out for a day to protest these bills and the newfound awareness outraged computer-savvy citizens across the country.

By idly sitting back and letting lawmakers push through SOPA and PIPA it would have essentially brought the nation one step closer to having a government-censored Internet.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) are of course two of the biggest supporters of these bills, as they would protect their music and movies to be illegally viewed and shared.

The most alarming aspect of SOPA and PIPA is that they would allow IP address owners to take actions without having to have a single court appearance. All that would be required is a letter stating the alleged copyright infringement.

Due to websites blacking out and Americans protesting against the bills they have been shelved. Too many politicians got cold feet and didn’t want to upset voters so close to elections. For now our internet remains unharmed

Based on co-screenwriter Ian Mackenzie Jeffers’ short story “Ghost Walker,” which apparently is hidden in the depths of cult literature, The Grey stars Liam Neeson as Ottway in classic, ass-kicking form. He’s battled the Dark Side in The Phantom Menace, pimps in Taken and now in his latest film he takes on a vicious pack of wolves in the outskirts of Alaska.

Beginning at the site of an oil drilling camp at “the end of the Earth” in Alaska, the audience follows Ottway in his daily work activities – working as a wild animal sniper to protect the oil drilling crew. After shooting a wolf prowling around the work areas, he rubs its belly in a comforting manner as it takes its dying breaths, showing Ottway’s compassion animal life.

The loss of his wife (played by Anne Openshaw) and a job in the middle of nowhere has caused a deep depression to wash over Ottway. He decides to take his own life as an escape, but stops when he hears howling in the distance.

His failed suicide attempt is shortly followed by a plane trip back to civilization, but en route he becomes one of the victims to a traumatic crash in the Alaskan tundra. Very few passengers live through the crash, but the few that do band together to try to make it to safety.

Not only are the elements in the cruel artic winter against them, but the survivors soon find out that the natives of the area – a large pack of vicious wolves – will stop at nothing to eliminate them from their territory.

Ottway has spent his career with the oil drilling team hunting animals that approach workers in order to keep them safe, but now the tables have turned. The survivors of the crash struggle to fend off the dangerous wolves that are hunting them, picking off the humans one by one.

One of the biggest criticisms of this film will most likely be the fact that despite its psychologically thrilling trailer, the film seesaws between humor and action.

To say that the characters are rough around the edges and use stereotypical male humor and antics is an understatement. When they aren’t running for their lives, the group spends their time making lewd comments and bagging on each other, but that is what gives the film the element of reality.

Some of the high points of the film include the cinematography – you’ll feel like you’re also weathering the storm – and the musical score by Marc Streitenfeld, which engages the audience’s emotions as well.

Memorable supporting role performances are given by Openshaw, Dallas Roberts as Hendrick, Frank Grillo as Diaz and Ben Bray as Hernandez, but they are far outshone by Neeson’s performance. His acting spans the emotional spectrum in The Grey and is likely to be a popular choice for movie goers this winter.

"The Grey," starring Liam Neeson as Ottway, combines the classic movie genres of psychological thriller and male-oriented comedy in one winter hit. Photo courtesy of Google Images.

The 2011 San Diego Mesa College Gingerbread Competition