Photos By Rene Thompson and Daniel Johnson
Tag: Daniel Johnson
Skills USA 49 annual National Leadership and Skills Conference
June 22 to 28 in Kansas City Mo. students from CNM competed for national level awards in their fields of study. “Skills USA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce, Skills USA helps all students excel in their training programs and future technical, skilled and service careers, including health occupations. Nationally, Skills USA serves more than 300,000 high school and college/postsecondary students and their chapter advisors who are professional members,” according to SkillsUSA Champions at Work.
7,000 B.C. saves the day for aspiring artists
By: Daniel Monaño, Staff Reporter | Photos By: Daniel Johnson
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a Melvin Van Peebles reference!
7,000 B.C. might have chosen the name whimsically, the B.C. stands for Baadasssss Comics, in homage to Van Peebles’ acclaimed independent film Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, but the group takes comic books seriously, Chuck Larantz, president of 7kBC said.
7kBC is a local nonprofit organization that supports current and aspiring independent comic book writers and artists in New Mexico while promoting an understanding of the cultural significance of comic art through seminars and workshops around New Mexico, Larantz said.
The group rotates meeting locations between Albuquerque and Santa Fe on a monthly basis. The next meeting will be in Albuquerque, he said. Details about the next meeting will be posted on the group’s website, 7000bc.org.
“For five bucks, which is our monthly dues, if we ever collect them—we’ve been kind of lax about that— anyone can attend our meetings and we encourage anyone interested in comics to come out to one of our events.”
Jenn and John Meyers are a comic book writing and drawing duo based out of Albuquerque, and the married couple also serve as board members of the group, and help organize events and projects, of 7kBC, they said.
John said that the meetings have provided him with a good place to get another set of eyes on his work in order to improve it.
“It’s a nice outlet to go to other people who work in the same field and get support, get help, get feedback and stuff like that. So it’s been a really rewarding experience,” John said.
Jenn graduated from CNM with an associate degree in Fine Art, and said that 7kBC is a great place for aspiring artists to get feedback from peers and refine their craft in a comfortable environment.
“For me it almost worked like therapy, because there’s a certain point where you’re working and you think you’re not going to make it as a comic book artist. And when you’re around these other people they tell you their experience and you find out it’s not just you that can’t sell, it’s just been a bad year or it was just that convention that was like that. So it’s been really supportive and encouraging,” Jenn said. Alina Mackenzie, a member of 7kBC, said that the meetings focus on peer-editing of members’ work and lessons on the logistical aspects of making a comic, such as making thumbnails, storyboarding and printing a finished comic.
7kBC has helped Mackenzie to integrate her fine arts background into her comics, she said.
“It’s a perfect place for people to come and get more involved (in comics). I’m an art student at UNM and it has really helped me learn about developing comics, especially using fine art to tell a story with pictures,” Mackenzie said.
Todd Bernardy is an independent comic book writer and artist who is currently self-publishing a comic book called “Kukui Project” and who said that 7kBC helped him to find his focus in comic making.
“7,000 B.C. really helped me focus on getting the first thing finished, and the first thing is the first issue. Getting 22 pages of artwork that’s lettered in a printable form and getting out there and going to the shows. That’s what happened at 7,000 B.C.— that’s how I got into doing conventions and that’s how I got into doing shows,” Bernardy said.
It can be difficult, especially for artists, to earn a living in the comic industry, so when someone first begins making comic books they need to have a clear idea of what they want to do, to focus on each individual step of the process, and to practice, he said.
7kBC played an important role in refining each of those aspects for Bernardy, he said.
“At 7kBC everybody was really responsive to my work and was really constructive to my drawings. At all the meetings you go to everybody is really supportive and I’ve never been to a meeting where anyone has been overly critical. They’ve also been really constructive.”
Every year 7kBC puts on a 24-hour workshop in which the participants have to draw and write a 24 page comic in 24 hours, Larantz said.
Aliina Mackenzie said that the 24-hour comic day is a great way to immerse oneself in comics and that she looks forward to it all year.
“It’s my favorite day of the year, I like it more than my birthday,” Mackenzie said.
Todd Bernardy said that he got the idea for one of his projects from the 24-hour comic day.
One year during the 24-hour comic day he said that at 3 a.m. he had the horrifying thought of running out of coffee and invented Java Man, the coffee-defending hero of his series “Thunder Groove Bone.”
Jenn Myers said she had never participated in the 24-hour comic day but that she commends the artists and writers who can get it done.
“I have done it on my own and I think it’s crazy. I have no ability to stay up. I have to sleep a lot so I don’t know how they do it,” Myers said.
For more information on 7,000 B.C. visit 7000bc.org or the Facebook page at facebook.com/7000bc.
To check out Jenn and John Myers’ comics “All the Growing Things”, “The Vagus Rehabilitation” Project and much more, visit typodmary.com.
Working together
By Daniel Johnson, Investigative Reporter
Inaugural CNMunity day attracts many students, orgs
The Executive Council of Students is trying to create a semi-annual CNMunity Day, since the first event received so much support, Stephen Martos, Criminal Justice major and president of ECOS, said.
The event gathered about two dozen student volunteers from student organizations to help at four local non-profit organizations: Contact Tree New Mexico, Rio Grande Community Farms, Restore and Mandy’s Farm, he said.
“Our new goal is to make it a bigger and better event and hopefully have it held twice a year,” he said.
Some of the participating student organizations were Anthropology club, Phi Theta Kappa-Alpha Upsilon Chi, Chemistry Society, American Indian Science and Engineering Society, Art Club, TRiO Achievement Group and Math League, Martos said.
Going for the gold
By Daniel Johnson, Investigative Reporter
SkillsUSA winners head for nationals
The CNM chapter of SkillsUSA will send 19 students on to the national SkillsUSA competition this summer, Alain Archuleta, State Coordinator for SkillsUSA and part-time Electrical instructor, said.
The 19 students earned theirs spots in the nationals, which will be held in Kansas City, Mo. from June 24 to 28, by placing first in the state championship held April 4 through 6, he said.
CNM students took 19 gold medals, 19 silver medals and 15 bronze medals for a total of 53 medals during the state championships.
“The students that participated and represented their respective trades were awesome, but if they thought they were in a pressure cooker while competing at state, wait until they are on that national stage representing New Mexico instead of just CNM,” Archuleta said.
Active Shooter training offered on Montoya, Westside campuses
By: Daniel Johnson, Investigative Reporter | Photo By: Daniel Johnson
to do in the event of an active shooter on campus.
Training will be provided on multiple campuses to teach faculty and staff what to do if an active shooter situation should happen on campus.
Montoya and Westside campuses will each host two training sessions which will be similar to the two sessions recently completed on Main campus, APD Patrolmen First Class James Vautier said.
“I loved the turnout for our first session, I was surprised at how many people attended,” he said.
The training provided by Vautier was created using data collected from the NYPD, the Virginia Tech massacre, APD psychologists and mental health case studies from past shootings, he said.
Vautier’s technique is similar to the Run, Hide, Fight technique, but focuses more on what a person can do to prevent a shooting, Vautier said.
Vautier believes that getting people to be aware without being paranoid is the best way to ensure that someone will spot a shooter before anyone gets hurt, he said.
“I want people to have an idea of what to look for with a person who may need help, but I also want them to know what to do in case an active shooter event was to occur on campus,” he said.
Deaf Services Coordinator Faith Timm, who attended the Main campus session, said the training could have been more focused specifically on active shooters on college campuses, but still felt it was helpful.
“I thought the training was good and worth my time and I would recommend that all staff and faculty make it to the training if they can,” she said.
Healthy options may be coming soon to campus cafeterias
By Daniel Johnson, Investigative Reporter
Sodexo, the company that prepares and serves food for Main, Montoya and Westside campuses will be ready to switch to more locally grown foods if it is requested by the administration, said Sodexo Campus Services General Manager Greg Fullmer.
Fullmer’s comments came after the New Mexico Grown Fresh Produce for Meals Bill, HB338 passed the committee and moved to the Finance and Appropriations committee.
The bill would mandate that funding be provided for New Mexico K-12 public and charter schools for the purchase of local fruits and vegetables for school meals beginning in 2014, according to the New Mexico legislature website.
Administration members of CNM control pricing and food choices in the cafeterias, so if they request a change in menu, Sodexo will make the changes, he said.
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Organization opens assistance to homeless students
By Daniel Johnson, Investigative Reporter
The New Day Youth and Family Services organization is introducing a transitional living program for 17 to 21 year olds, said New Day Housing Continuum Director and Life Skills Academy Director Evone Zander.
To join the transitional living program, students are required to fill out a confidential online application form at http://www.ndnm.org and attend the life skills academy for one month.
While in the application process, students can elect to stay at the group’s shelter and will work with a specialist to determine if they are classifiable as homeless, she said.
“Helping people while educating them to survive in the world today is our main goal,” said Zander.
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Registration program to assist in return of lost, stolen bikes
By Daniel Johnson, Staff Reporter
The new bike registration program on campus is a free and easy process that could assist security in returning stolen or lost bikes, said Security Lieutenant Bernard Rogers.
Registering a bike will give security detailed information such as brand, model, color, wheel size, value, and type of bike which allows officers a better opportunity to search for and locate a missing bike, he said.
To register a bike, owners must complete a simple registration form, he said.
“We are happy and proud to register any student, faculty or staff member that has a bike because the main goal is to try and prevent bikes from being stolen at all,” said Rogers.
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Crazy about movies
By Daniel Johnson, Staff Reporter
Pschology class explores mental illness in film
The Psychology and Film class, PSY 2233, was developed to focus on the portrayal of mental disorders in film and discuss whether those portrayals are accurate or inaccurate regarding the disorders referenced, said Full-time Psychology instructor Jane Bardal.
Mental illness is normally associated with violence in media and film and even though some tragic incidents occur, not all mentally ill individuals are violent, she said.
“The inaccuracies of mental disorders in film have a major impact on mentally ill people in a negative way, so we look at what is portrayed accurately, but more importantly, what is inaccurately portrayed in films like “A Beautiful Mind” and “Psycho”,” she said.
Looking at the symptoms, causes and treatments for major mental disorders is a big part of the core curriculum, she said.