My first JACC conference

Last weekend, the TM staff attended SoCal's JACC convention. JACC stands for Journalism Association of Community Colleges. The convention started Friday noon and culminated with an awards presentation on Saturday night.

The convention consisted of various workshops such as "Headline writing" and "Getting and using good quotes."

My personal favorite was "Getting into journalism without any experience." The guest speaker was Gustavo Arellano, reporter from the OC Weekly and the author of the popular "Ask a Mexican" column. The highlight of the weekend was me getting an autographed copy of his book. The tragic ending to my weekend, was losing that book.

Aside from the workshops, there were also on the spot competitions that were held. I participated in the Critical Review and Feature Writing competitions. By far, my favorite was the Critical Review.

We were asked to review a play called "Urinetown." The play was hilarious, and I highly recommend it. The Feature Writing was on a Newspaper owner who was advocating recognition for Latino reporters. His goal was a good one, but his mode of presenting it was dull and lacked enthusiasm.

The conference was at Cal State Fullerton, which coincidentally was only a few miles away from the wildfires that raged during the weekend. Smoke penetrated the air and cast a shadow over the city, while the smell of smoke infiltrated the buildings. It was an eerie sight to stare at the sun through clouds of smoke.

The Prop. 8 Debate: What you missed.

A TM trifecta covered the Prop. 8 debate held in the Teleconference Center here on campus last Thursday. The room was jam-packed with supporters from both sides. People lined the hallways and sat on the floor next to me, as we watched both speakers give their side of the tale.

Each side brought up good points, as well as each side having their wacky supporters. One thing I appreciated from the Yes on 8 side is that they never tied in religion to support their beliefs. It's a common misconception from people against Prop. 8 that it is greatly influenced by religion.

Now, on the other side, the No on 8 supporters main argument is that they had the right to love whoever they want; a human trait that under the constitution must be protected.

The debate went on without many major disturbances, with a few exceptions.

There was the religious conservative lady who damned the No on Prop. 8 speakers to hell.

There was the liberal hippie college student who referred to an ex US Supreme Court Judge as an "old man."

Both group of speakers took such remarks in stride, although it was evident that they were not pleased.

Prop. 8 passed Tuesday, effectively banning gay marriage in California. The end of this conundrum though, is yet to be witnessed.

Last night I watched No on Prop. 8 supporters march in the streets of Hollywood. They were gathered in large numbers, demanding the right to be able to marry whoever they please.

It is evident that they are not going down without a fight.

Now, I don't support or oppose either side. Frankly, I say ban marriage period. The idea of marriage has been so tarnished that it makes no sense to get married nowadays. My parents have been together for 22 years. They have four kids and are a happy couple. They are not married, even though they have lasted much longer together than do many married couples.

Happy marriage is an idea that has been left behind in black and white family sitcoms.