Comfortably poised in her chair; long blonde wavy hair falling over her shoulders with bunny earrings neatly pinned to her ears, Meret Patrenos has become a well-known fixture in The Voice office.
All good things eventually come to an end and after four semesters at The Voice, Patrenos is moving on in her life and career.
“It is hard to imagine The Voice office without Meret,” said Sharon Weltz former Business Manager who worked with Patrenos for two years.
Patrenos brought with her extensive talent and knowledge in the photo journalism and photo editing realm. She is best known for her sports photography. Putting herself in the midst of the action in order to get the best shots.
“The thing I think The Voice will miss the most is her photos. Her photos are great,” said Warren Brannoch, GCC student who has worked with Patrenos for two years.
Her ability to master the software in the newsroom is mind boggling—flying flying across the keyboard in a blur. She is a fountain of knowledge, always willing to lend a helping hand or kind words to new reporters who may be struggling.
“She [is] always easy to talk to. You [can] always go and talk to her about anything. Schoolwork, The Voice stuff, anything really,” Brannoch said.
Her kind and gentle spirit is easily seen, and paves the way for her admirable ability to inspire those around her.
“Her leadership style can be described as demanding ones’ best while offering gentle encouragement and instruction along the way,” said Weltz.
Patrenos graduated Glendale Community College with her Associates in Art in Fall of 2012. She is currently enrolled in Northern Arizona University’s extended campus program working on her bachelors in Administration of Justice.
“Meret has a broad range of interests, and I can see her succeeding in all of them because she meets every challenge with unwavering passion, and dedication,” said Weltz.
Her devotion to The Voice has been steadfast. It is not uncommon to see her alone in the newsroom well after everyone has gone home working diligently to produce the best product she can.
Patrenos has brought an artistic flare to The Voice with her creative talents and willingness to step out of the box.
“The overall layout and design of the paper looks better,” said Brannoch.
Patrenos will be greatly missed as she embarks on new adventures. There is no doubt, whatever path she takes in life, she will be successful.

As the Supreme Court discussed the legality of gay marriage, the senate was passing a piece of toxic legislation most media outlets seemed to miss.
The laws of this land were never meant to protect those who seek to harm our populace. The incestuous relationships between corporate giants and regulatory governing bodies are being emboldened daily. Eventually, it will be the people who elevated these “lawmakers” to their positions who will pay the ultimate price—while those guilty of harm, are free from any legal recourse.
According to RT.com, on March 26 the senate passed a legislative rider, which is an additional measure having nothing to do with the original bill, buried 78 pages in the Senate Continuing Spending resolution bill, named the Farmers Assurance Provision. This craftily hidden gem allows the Monsanto Company to essentially, operate above the law. Their quest for profit seems to overshadow their ability to operate with human decency. Monsanto is the leading producer and seller of genetically modified organisms and genetically engineered seeds.
Both parties can claim responsibility for this disastrous piece of legislation. Disinfo.com reports Roy Blunt (R-Mo) worked with Monsanto in order to craft the verbiage in the bill, which allows Monsanto to sell any kind of GMO’s and GE’s they see fit to farmers across America.
With help from the right side of the aisle, the president signed it despite a petition he received with more than 250,000 signatures asking him to strike it from the bill.
“What it says is if you plant a crop that is legal to plant when you plant it, you get to harvest it. But it is only a one-year protection in that bill,” Blunt said during a press conference.
According to Beforeitsnews.com, Blunt’s defense of the bill could be explained by the $64,250 Monsanto gave to his campaign between 2008 and 2012.
With absolutely no oversight, a year could be all it takes to cause irreversible damage to the environment.
The World Health Organization has cited concerns about what happens when these seeds cross pollinate with non-GMO plants. This happens with wind and insect pollination, thus having the potential to alter the ecosystem.
According to NaturalNews.com, a GMO is a plant or animal which was created by a gene splicing technique called biotechnology. Scientists merge DNA from different animals and plants into one seed. According to nongmoproject.org it causes these seeds or animals to be unstable.
The corn and soybean concoctions conjured up by Monsanto actually contain levels of the poison Roundup. Certain seeds are classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as pesticides.
Farmers are convinced to plant these crops when they are told the seeds will produce crops resistant to bugs and other pests. As these pests attempt to eat off the crops, they die simply by eating the same food that will eventually make its way around the country and into local grocery stores.
Monsanto, who brought Agent Orange to fields of Vietnam, tells consumers their foods are safe because there have been no concrete studies to prove to the contrary. According to Globalpost.com, when Agent Orange spread on the fields in Vietnam, is estimated to have killed 400,000 people, deformed 500,000 and another 2 million have been diagnosed with diseases.
Reuters reported on Sept.19, 2012, French scientists conducted a two-year-long research study on 200 rats being fed with the NK603 Monsanto corn. They separated the rats into 10 groups, each with the same amount of males and females. The rats were given different levels of the GMOs.
The results showed rats with mammary tumors the size of small oranges growing on them. They also developed severe liver and kidney damage leading to premature death.
This same food will now be grown all over America with no oversight or regulation. Monsanto is free to do as they please with the food supply for an entire year.
This is not a Republican or Democrat issue. This is a human issue. Groups normally opposed to one another are able to find common ground when it comes to the food on their family table. The Sierra Club along with the ACLU has been noticeably vocal on the issue. With the recent signing of what is now being called the Monsanto Protection Act, the Tea Party is becoming involved as well, citing their concerns about a company being granted immunity.
Monsanto’s tentacles reach far beyond the border of the United States. Their products are being grown around the world, and are not being met with positive feedback in other countries.
According to Huffpost.com Australia farmers cut the words “No GMO” into their corn fields on Oct. 9, 2008. In Mexico City on Feb. 26, 2009 in Zocalo Square 35 tons of corn was dumped in an act of protest. There are numerous billboards on the streets and subways of Paris decrying the use of these seeds. The European Union, Brazil and Hungary have also come out against the use of Monsanto’s GMO’s.
The days of farmers growing food from seeds produced from the earth have given way to food being grown from experiments in a laboratory. Science is not perfect. Without the ability to hold Monsanto accountable for their possible oversights the people are left vulnerable while the politicians have their pockets lined and campaigns funded.

“Pain and Gain” starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Anthony Mackie tells the story of a number of 1999 Miami New Times articles surrounding the brutal kidnapping, extortion, and torture of several victims by an organized group of criminals otherwise known as the Sun Gym Gang.

The movie opens with a short monologue by Daniel Lugo who is man who believes in fitness.

Fitness for Daniel being physical as well as financial. When Daniel Lugo attends a seminar by guidance speaker Johnny Wu, he leaves the presentation wanting more out of life.

When a new customer comes in named Victor Kershaw, Daniel Lugo figures him as just another regular customer, but as the day goes on he finds out that Victor Kershaw is a self-made, rich business man.

After Lugo completes a few training sessions with Kershaw, he begins to envy his life and thinks of him as a crook who doesn’t deserve his fortune.

As Lugo begins to formulate a plan to extort Kershaw he first needs to find worthy accomplices. Daniel recruits another personal trainer named Adrian Doorbal who works at the Sun Gym with Lugo. Over time the trainers grew to be friends and have decided they’ll still need one more person to successfully go through with their plan.

When a recently released convict by the name of Paul Doyle stops by the Sun Gym, Lugo and Doorbal make him a proposition. Unfortunately for the two trainers, Doyle has recently turned to religion and has no plans of turning his back on God.

After Lugo continues to work on Doyle he eventually caves and the group forms the Sun Gym Gang. With the successful acquisition of his new partners all Lugo has to do now is to follow through with his plan to successfully extort Victor Kershaw.

As the gang goes on to try and kidnap Kershaw at his home they fail, but later try again and successfully incapacitate him.

As the story progresses the Sun Gym Gang they continually try and work over Kershaw to turn over everything he has worked for. After a few days of torture, Kershaw eventually gives in to the gang’s orders.

As Lugo soon finds out that Kershaw will be a recurring problem he decides to formulate a plan to kill him. The Sun Gym Gang makes Kershaw drink an absurd amount of alcohol and tie him to a car and try fake a car accident.

Unfortunately for the Sun Gym Gang, Kershaw survives all attempts on his life unknown to them. Eventually Kershaw appoints a private investigator named Ed DuBois III to look at his case since the officials were not believing his story.

Throughout the rest of the story Mr. DuBois keeps an eye on the Sun Gym Gang and attempts to catch them in the act of another robbery.

The film was an average film at best, it treated the cases of crime as a comedy which will undoubtedly offend some people but overall the film was mildly entertaining. The actors’ performances were great. As Mark Wahlberg devoted himself to the character physically by going up to 205lbs he also molded himself into the hot-headed Daniel Lugo. Mark Wahlberg’s presentation of Daniel Lugo was amazing. One other notable performance was that of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s character was Paul Doyle who provided much of the comic relief. The film is definitely a great ride full of steroids, laughs, and just plain craziness but still just an one of the “okay” films to start summer off.

Verdict 3.75/5

Students all around campus are excited for this year’s summer movie hits. As summer gets closer, more and more trailers are coming out reminding students of the blockbusters that will be hitting the silver screen.

Some of the more popular movies to be making an appearance this summer are “Iron Man 3” starring Robert Downey, Jr., “Man of Steel” directed by Zach Snyder and produced by Christopher Nolan, “The Wolverine” starring Hugh Jackman and “The Great Gatsby” starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Students sounded off about what they have on the top of their summer viewing lists, and the lists were anything short of being lackluster as many of them picked what are sure to be fan favorites.

“‘Iron Man 3’ or ‘The Wolverine,’ what can I say, I like the heroes,” said Joe Killbrew GCC student.

“If I can I will probably watch any of the superhero movies. I love superhero movies, I grew up reading all of the DC and Marvel comic books,” said Charles Threat GCC student.

While superhero movies seem to be the main choice for GCC moviegoers, there are others genres students want to watch.

“‘Star Trek: Into Darkness,’ mainly because I thought the first one was great, and look forward to this new incarnation of the great franchise,” said Paul Kxitkovskyi GCC student.

“I’m excited about ‘The Great Gatsby,’ not because it was a great book but mainly because it has great actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Daisy Buchanan and Tobey Maguire,” said De’Jon Sickles, GCC student.

“‘The Lone Ranger,’ due to the fact that I like the cast and crew that are making it,” said Daniel Cronin GCC student.

“‘The Great Gatsby’ is one that pops out to me because I read the book in high school. I’m curious to see if the film is portrayed like how my imagination pictured it,” said Gustavo Cacheux Jr, GCC student.

GCC students have spoken and made some great picks, it will be interesting to see which movie will come out on top at the box office. All the movies mentioned have great stories to offer students, and will be sure to entertain a few GCC moviegoers.

Although, many of these movie previews look great, we have all been to a movie or two that has not lived up to its name.

It appears some students have been through this experience far too many times, whether they experienced a bad superhero flick or just a bad theatre experience in general.

“I refuse to spend $9 to $10 to sit in [darn] shoebox,” said Philip Mond GCC student.

While there is some negative feelings toward this summer’s movies, other students hope for a better experience this time around.

“I guess the [‘Man of Steel’] movie, I’m not a fan Zach Snyder who’s directing, but I’ll give it a shot,” said GCC Dahney Jackson student.

In the weeks leading up to Earth Day Glendale Community College students gathered around and coordinated a plethora of go green events as part of celebrations for our planet’s cleanliness.

The GCC annual Dumpster Drive was the highlight of this week mainly due to it being a collective effort from GCC students.

While most students were sleeping and getting their rest for the long day ahead some GCC students’ woke up bright and early at around six to get to help the environment at this year’s annual Dumpster Drive.

The Dumpster Drive began at 6:45 a.m. on April 18 just a few short days from Earth Day.

“A lot of classes are offering up extra credit because it’s so early in the morning, but it’s a great way to jump in and help see what we can do with our environment,” said Marc Taylor, third year GCC student.

Although extra credit was a sure motivator for these students, some just wanted to help and make our environment better.

“I really do care about the environment, and the extra credit doesn’t hurt,” said Kristina Strava, third year GCC student.

The Annual Dumpster Drive is in its sixth year and stronger than ever. A crowd of 30 plus students participated and helped with the green effort leading up to Earth Day.

“[The Dumpster Drive] is mainly about going through the garbage and separating the plastics from the trash,” said Steven Gurrola, second year GCC student.

Regardless of the huge amount of debris the students quickly went to work as they separated the trash and recyclables.

“I like to see the environment looking nice, and recycling is always good. It helps save on a lot of stuff, so yea I’d guess I’d consider myself pro-environment,” said Montell Jordan, second year GCC student.

With some pro-environment students helping out in the Dumpster Drive there is no need to worry, as it seems that Glendale Community College is in safe hands with the help of its students.

“This is my first time doing the Dumpster Drive, and it was fun and kind of cool seeing what people were throwing away,” said Tari Jones, first year GCC student.

As the event went on students continued to pile loads of trash and recyclables in the designated areas, within no time the students were making a noticeable dent in the huge amount of scattered debris.

“I enjoyed the Dumpster Drive and it’s a good cause,” said Rachael Halby, first year GCC student.

As the team effort paid off, the students participating in the Dumpster Drive finished right on schedule, leaving with smiles on their faces as they walked away from the experience, feeling satisfied not only with their extra credit but also, with the feeling of being a Green Guacho.

There are only six months until the 2013-2014 Lady Gauchos open their basketball season. There are some things that need to be done before then. With the loss of some great players from the 2012-2013 season, the one thing in mind Coach Brown and assistant coach Sean Brokaw have to do is scout players from local high schools.  Coaching is a full-time job.

Coaches always try to improve the team by coaching to each individual player’s abilities. Coaching is similar to having 15-20 kids along with the family you have at home, have there is no off-time–ever.

With that in mind, when students see a coach from any sport, it does not matter what their record is, congratulate them on what they have done for the team.

There are hundreds of high schools throughout the state, and some great talent in those schools. We all know that we cannot have everyone we want. However, there will be some talent passed onto the junior colleges. Players starting out at a junior college have advantages. Smaller school help develop some great players the big stage of university play is not for every player.

On April 8, 2013 high school seniors made the commitment to play junior college basketball.

GCC women’s basketball is trying to bounce back from a 5-22 record in the 2012-2013 season. There are only four player returning from last year’s team but, this year’s class there are eleven incoming freshman who have chosen to play for the Gauchos.

With the incoming talent the Gauchos hope for a phenomenal upcoming season. There is some exciting talent coming in this year. The new 2013-2014 Freshman are as follows:

Name                           High School                 Senior Year Stats

Jackie Barlow              SanTan                        16.3 ppg

Brittany Doss             Buckeye                      9.7 ppg

Savannah Ecklund       Estrella Foothills         N/A

Jasmine Golding          Coconino                     12.3 ppg

Caitlyn Hetrick           Mountain Pointe         14.7 ppg

Beatriz Martinez        Chandler                      8.6 ppg

Julie Mireles               Tolleson                      3.4 ppg

Catherine Montes       Westview                    9.6 ppg

Jade Scott                    Cienega                        6.7 ppg

A soft warm breeze on a Saturday afternoon made for a perfect day to play host to Central Arizona’s Vaqueros for a double header.

April 13, the first game opened with sophomore pitcher for the Gauchos, Tommy Lay who is 5-6 on the season with an ERA of 2.44

The opposing pitcher for Vaqueros was Niccioli Blank. The Gauchos went hitless an entire game. Blank faced 22 batters, and threw seven inning.  Blank has some great defense from his teammates to help him record his second no-hitter this season.

The Gauchos used three pitchers to try to shut down the high powering offense the Vaqueros brought to Glendale. With the combination of three pitchers, the Gauchos gave up 15 hits on two fielding errors. Needless to say, the Gauchos fell in the first game 10-0 to the Vaqueros.

During the second game the weather had changed a little bit in favor of the offense. The wind picked up blowing out to left field.

The top of the first inning looked bleak for the Gauchos. The Gauchos pitcher,   Matt Haro gave up two quick hits to the Vaqueros, but soon after that, the next three batters he faced were outs, stranding two base runners. Haro was able to get out of the first inning.

Fans were hoping for a Gaucho comeback in the second game.

“I hope this game isn’t like the first one, or I will be home soon to watch the Diamondbacks game,” said Tom Ryan of Glendale.

In the top of the second inning the Vaqueros were able to break the scoreless game taking the lead 1-0.

Bottom of the second inning, Ethan Percell became the first Gaucho base runner of the day however no points were scored.

For the third inning the Gauchos played a good defense keeping a runner at third, with the Vaqueros not scoring.

Bryce Stanage was up to bat for the Gauchos with two outs was able to connect for a hit to deep shortstop with the ball thrown too high for the first baseman to control it, the Gauchos had their second base runner of the day.

Up next for the Gauchos was James Lynch, who was 0-1 in the game, he was able to reach first on a walk.

The Gauchos had runners on first and second with two outs. Up for the Gauchos was Ryan Benedict. With a count of two and two, Benedict was able to connect shooting a line drive shot down the third base line scoring Stanage for the Gauchos first run of the day.

The Gauchos then stranded two base runners in the bottom of the third.

The rest of the game the Vaqueros started hitting. Hitting three home runs topping it all off with a grand slam.

The Gauchos fell in the second game 14-1.  They were outscored 24-1 in a two game series against the Vaqueros of Central Arizona.

“Son, that is what you call a team that never gives up,” said Daniel Monto from Coolidge, Arizona.

With the season coming to an end, the Gauchos have four remaining home games.

Gaucho’s infielder Bryce Stange slides into home safe against Central Arizona Saturday April 13, 2013