The San Jose Barracuda, the Sharks AHL affiliate team, is currently riding a 13 game winning streak, and is on top of the AHL — and that's great news for the Sharks.
Ever since the Barracuda moved here from Worcester, Mass., it's only been great news for the Sharks. Because they play in the same stadium, sending players up or down becomes as simple as a little paperwork and asking them to switch locker rooms, not cross-country flights.
This allows the Sharks to have a significantly deeper roster, since they can call up new players at a moment's notice. So the Barracuda's win streak is great news for Sharks fans, since it demonstrates how even the minor league players are ready to play in the pros.
And if you're watching hockey, be on the watch for Joe Thornton to score his 1,000 assist! (More on that next week).
Originally published in La Voz News.
Andrea Torres’s family fled Peru, a country riddled with human rights violations and terrorists against America, when she was 2 years old. They quickly overstayed their temporary visas and settled down permanently.
Growing up in a predominantly white community, Torres, 18, psychiatry and political science major, felt different and was treated differently.
Read the full story at La Voz News (archived version).
Originally published in La Voz News.
De Anza College offers “The Language Exchange,” a program that gives students the opportunity to learn a new language by sharing their own native language, in the Listening and Speaking Center. For example, students seeking to learn English as native Korean speakers will be matched with English speakers who aim to learn Korean.
“I strongly recommend this program to other people, since this program could help students with not only academics, but also their future lives,” said former Language Exchange participant Haiyin Jin, 25, economics major.
Read the full story at La Voz News (archived version).
For a little change, I'd like to talk about the impact of sports upon us this week. The following opinion piece was first written for La Voz, and can also be read on their website.
Super Bowl commercials have become the latest victim of extreme politicization. Two commercials stood out from the rest by featuring pro-immigrant advertisements in the midst of a political climate deeply divided over immigration law. Specifically, Budweiser aired a mostly fictional story of their founder traveling to America to brew, while 84 Lumber’s ad followed a mother and daughter’s odyssey to America in search of a better life.
The widespread disdain toward non-white outsiders, which in turn has created massive backlash toward these advertisements, is no doubt repulsive, but caution should also be exercised when critiquing the placement of such politicization. Understanding the complexities of political institutions and society are no doubt essential, yet it is alarming that every facet of society has become so politicized; ironically, this desire to achieve an elevated political consciousness actually turns many off from the importance of politics.
Football — what was once simply a calming means of unwinding from the harsh winds of an oppressive world — has now become another headline news center for political drama.
President George H. W. Bush and his wife practically wheeled themselves out of a hospital to prepare for hosting the game. New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, and quarterback, Tom Brady, received sharp criticism for their support of Donald Trump, even to the point of losing thousands of dedicated fans.
Meanwhile, the NFL Players Association publicly opposed President Trump’s immigration ban three days before the game, with the NFLPA’s president saying “Our Muslim brothers in this league, we got their backs.”
Let’s not forget the veterans and active service members that are frequently honored before NFL games, except that’s an advertisement too – the Department of Defense paid NFL teams over $5 million over four years for those promotions.
Even though it’s an America’s pastime, football, and other similar mindless outlets, provide the role of allowing us to escape whenever we need a break from reality, and for nearly three hours on Sunday, America got its break, except for those commercials. If we keep getting nagged about an issue, even if we’re generally supportive, t will eventually become incessant to the point of promoting nihilism.
When Meryl Streep spoke out at the Golden Globes, she turned a relaxing event of celebrating fawning into a political shitstorm which redirected all attention back toward Trump controversies. Even she was mostly correct, the efficacy becomes questionable after such repetition as many will become desensitized.
Politics are undoubtedly more important than ever now, but for our sanity’s sake, let’s keep it to a minimum in football. That means commercials too.
Originally published in La Voz News.
The De Anza Dons baseball team is off to an extremely strong 4-1 start to the season. Despite not having a home field, the team pulled off two wins against a tough Yuba College team and split with Folsom Lake College.
“We’ve been kind of over achieving in a lot of people’s minds, other than ours, but it’s going really well so far,” Devon Canty, 19, shortstop and communications major said.
Read the full story at La Voz News (archived version).
He did it: Patrick Marleau scored his 500th career goal. He truly is Mr. San Jose Shark.
I had the pleasure of attending the next home game on Saturday right after he reached the milestone in Vancouver, and nearly lost my voice chearing for Marleau. They mentioned his accomplishment once before the game and again during a break, and each time Marleau would only stand up and acknowledge the crowd cheering for him when he realized they would not stop until he did.
He's had his ups and downs, but he's truly a team player.
“I think when you hit a mark like this, you start thinking about everyone that’s helped you along the way,” Marleau said.
And on Saturday at home, Marleau assisted on both Sharks goals, helping out his teammates who had helped Marleau score his over the past two weeks.
Congrats Marleau, and thanks for the 20 years of hockey. Can't wait to see you raise the Cup.
