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May 3, 2024

ARC River Tales with Nisha Beckhorn, Dean of Counseling and Transfer Services

American River College proudly celebrates the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander heritage month and would like to cordially invite you to join us in welcoming this month's River Tales speaker, Nisha Beckhorn! 

Nisha shares her story of growing up in India, finding community at American River College, and sheds light on what an individual's heritage means to her and our campus. Please take a moment to watch Nisha's video on the ARC YouTube channel.

You can also meet Nisha and ask her questions in the UNITE Center on Wednesday, May 8 from 12:00 - 1:00 pm.....there will also be cookies!

Get Ready for Finals

Finals are just around the corner, Beavers! The last day of regular instruction is Friday, May 10. Final exams will be held from Friday, May 10, through Thursday, May 16. View the final exam schedule and check with your instructors to confirm your exam day/time.

We’ve put together a list of tips to help you get ready for your finals and take your final test. 

Pre-Test

• Access online tutoring support
• Have a final paper or project with a lot of writing? Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) can help support you!
• If available, take a practice exam
• Be prepared – study class materials
• Determine when you will take your final exams
• Your physical and mental health is important. Don’t forget that as a student you have access to TimelyCare with 24/7 mental and medical virtual care for students.

Taking the Test

• If you’re taking a test for an online class: 
• Find a quiet test-taking spot with minimal distractions and check your computer to make sure the location has adequate internet. Technical problems? Don’t panic. Contact your instructor immediately detailing the exact problem.
• Don’t leave the test page – you may lose your work
• Clear your mind before you get started: put both feet flat on the floor, sit up straight, take a slow deep breath (or two or three), and begin!
• Plan your allotted time – keep your eye on the clock
• Give yourself time to check your work before turning it in

Best of luck on your final exams – you've got this! And remember, summer is almost here.

Textbook Buyback and Rental Returns

Sell Your Textbooks

At the end of each term (or whenever you no longer need the book), the college bookstore will buy back textbooks based on the book’s current market value and if the book is scheduled to be used by an instructor next term.

You can sell back your books in one of two ways:

1. Online via the bookstore's partner website, ValoreBooks; or
2. In-person at the Bookstore – view store hours and sell back FAQs

Return Textbook Rentals

If you rented textbooks this semester from the bookstore, be sure to return them by the return date on your receipt or packing slip. Learn more about book rentals on the FAQ page.

You can return your books in one of two ways:

1. In-person at the ARC Bookstore – view store hours
2. Ship your rentals to the store, using the shipping carrier of your choice. Note: Shipping is at your expense.

• Sign in to your bookstore account using the same email address you provided at the register in-store or entered when you rented online. Note: If you don’t know your password, that’s OK – just click “Forgot Password” to reset. 
• Once you’ve signed in, you will be navigated to the Rentals page to view your Rental Account Information and Rental History. 
• Click “Return all Rentals by Mail” and follow the steps to print your packing slip.
• Print your packing slip, and include it with your rental shipment. Your packing slip is crucial to include in your box – it identifies you, what you’re returning, and where to send your rentals.

For questions, please contact the ARC Bookstore at arcbookstore@losrios.edu or (916) 484-8111.

Jewish American Heritage Month

May marks Jewish American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the rich history, culture, and contributions of Jewish Americans to our society. Join us as we honor and recognize the diverse experiences and achievements of the Jewish American community.

Model UN Wins Awards

ARC Model United Nations club won two awards at the 73rd Session of the Model United Nations of the Far Weast Conference. 

1. Best pre-conference documents for the Asia-Pacific Region. Hannah Lupse was chosen to be one of five student speakers at the Opening Plenary.
2. Award for the Delegation in the Art and Practice of Diplomacy.

Twenty-two colleges and universities attended this year’s conference where the theme was Human Security: Our Shared Responsibilities in the 21st Century. ARC represented Malaysia, with nine students attending the Conference from April 11 - April 23. Students participated in a simulation of Committee sessions in the United Nations. Covering topics such as: “Genocide and mass atrocities,” “New generation of nuclear weapons and power plants,” “Protecting and promoting the roles of women in food systems,” and “Ensuring access to services for victims of human trafficking.” This is the 20th year ARC has sent a delegation to the MUNFW Conference. 

Congratulations to the Model UN team!

2024 Integration Bee Results!

The Math Department at ARC hosted its 10th annual Integration Bee on Friday, April 19. The Integration Bee is a math competition with an emphasis on the Calculus topic of integration – finding antiderivatives - for students in Math 401 or higher. Students took a qualifying test to enter the competition, then solved rounds of integral problems until two finalists remained. A speed round determined this year's winner! It was an exciting competition.

This year's top 5 Integration Bee experts are:

1st Place: Aryan Morasa

2nd Place: Hank Taylor

Tied for 3rd Place: Sabreen Shresta and Raymond Ran

4th Place: Juan SanFelices

If you have any of these students in your classes, please congratulate them on their achievements.

PTK All-California Academic Honor Roll

The Community College League of California released the 2024 Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society All-California Academic Honor Roll and ARC students Jeremiah Kennedy and Hannah Lupse were selected. "These students embody academic excellence," said Dr. Larry Galizio, President and CEO of the Community College League of California. "Their dedication and hard work serve as an example for their peers and communities.”

Chancellor Office Hours

Los Rios Chancellor Brian King will be hosting monthly office hours at each Los Rios college. This is an opportunity for faculty, staff, or students to drop in and talk to Chancellor King about any topic(s) important to you or your college in general. 

Chancellor King's May Office Hour at American River College will be on Wednesday, May 8 from 2:00 to 3:00 pm at the main campus in the Center for Leadership and Development, Student Center. Come on by and say hello!

Important Updates for Financial Aid

New Enrollment Intensity Criteria for Pell Grant:

Beginning in the 2024-2025 academic year, the Pell Grant will no longer be based on traditional enrollment statuses like full-time, three-quarter-time, half-time, or less-than-half-time. Instead, a new term called "enrollment intensity" will be introduced. Enrollment intensity is calculated as the percentage of full-time enrollment at which a student is enrolled, rounded to the nearest whole percent. This change aims to provide more accurate financial aid disbursements tailored to individual student circumstances.

Cal Grant and Student Success Completion Grant:

Please note that the Cal Grant and Student Success Completion Grant will continue to be awarded based on the traditional full-time, three-quarter-time, half-time, and less-than-half-time enrollment statuses.

For more detailed information, please visit the Los Rios Financial Aid Disbursements and Refunds webpage.

FAFSA Inactivity Policy:

If you've started but not completed your 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), please be aware that incomplete FAFSAs will be deleted after 45 days of inactivity. An incomplete FAFSA is defined as one that is started but not submitted, and abandoned with no activity for 45 days. To avoid any disruption in your financial aid application process, we encourage you to complete your 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible.

Interfaith Literacy Series

Interfaith Literacy x Overcoming Antisemitism in Higher Education

Wednesday, May 8, 3:00 to 4:30 pm, Zoom (RSVP Required)

The nation was horrified in August 2017 when White supremacists converged on Charlottesville, Virginia, chanting “Jews will not replace us” and “Blood and soil.” Unfortunately, this trend has only continued to gain momentum since 2018. On May 12, 2020, the Anti-Defamation League reported that the American Jewish community experienced the highest level of antisemitic incidents in 2019 since tracking began in 1979. Now, polarization over the crisis in Israel and Palestine is contributing to a rising climate of anxiety and fear in Jewish communities. Although student clubs can be a place for affinity groups to gather, ARC, like many community colleges, does not have a Jewish student club. This panel bridges this gap by inviting a Jewish campus organization, Hillel International, to speak about the experiences of Jewish college students. Whether students keep kosher or have never attended synagogue, whether they identify as Queer, Black, Ashkenazi, Sephardi, or all of the above: Hillel enables Jewish college students to freely explore what being Jewish in today’s world means to them and will share these stories as well as resources for supporting Jewish students. This talk will be hosted and moderated by Dr. Bill Zangeneh-Lester and features Lisa Armony - Executive Director, Campus Climate Initiatives for Hillel International; Mark Rotenberg - Hillel International’s General Counsel and Vice President for Academic Affairs; and Mara Lee Grayson - Director of Hillel's content development.

This webinar will be recorded. If you can't attend, you can access the recording when you have more time. If you can attend, there will be a Q&A session at the end of the discussion. Audience members can submit their questions. The event is open to both LRCCD employees and students.

Interfaith Literacy x Interfaith and Historical Perspectives on the Crisis in Israel and Palestine.

Thursday, May 9, 3:30 to 5:00 pm, Zoom (RSVP Required)

This multifaith, multidisciplinary panel discussion will challenge the ways the crisis in Israel and Palestine is being framed in binaries and false dichotomies—Jews versus Arabs, Palestinians versus Israelis, left versus right—it's more complicated, with more stories than just two. This talk will be hosted and moderated by Dr. Bill Zangeneh-Lester and features Dr. Najwa al-Qattan - an Associate Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at LMU and the recipient of awards from the SSRC, the Middle East Studies Association, and the Turkish Studies Association; Dr. Amir Hussain, a Muslim, who teaches about Islam at LMU and is the outgoing president of the American Academy of Religion (AAR); and Dr. Gil Klein, an Israeli, and Associate Professor of Theological Studies at LMU has been awarded research fellowships at the Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan and the Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard University.

This webinar will be recorded. If you can't attend, you can access the recording when you have more time. If you can attend, there will be a Q&A session at the end of the discussion. Audience members can submit their questions. The event is open to both LRCCD employees and students.

Contact ARC Professor of Religious Studies Dr. Bill Zangeneh-Lester with any questions at ZangenW@arc.losrios.edu.

May 7 is National Fentanyl Awareness Day

Fentanyl is involved in more deaths of Americans under 50 than any cause of death, including heart disease, cancer, homicide, suicide and other accidents. Illicit fentanyl is driving the recent increase in US drug overdose deaths. It is odorless, tasteless, extremely potent, and used to make fake pills disguised as Oxycontin, Percocet and Xanax. You can’t tell which pills contain a lethal amount of fentanyl. 

Learn more at fentanylawarenessday.org and spread the word to save a life. Free fentanyl test strips are also available in the Student Health and Wellness Center.

Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental health is an incredibly important part of overall health. We would like to encourage all of our students, faculty, and staff to practice self-care and mental wellness in honor of the national observance of May as Mental Health Awareness Month. 

If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can access immediate support by calling 911 or through the:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call 988
• Crisis Text Line: Text Courage to 74174
• County Crisis Hotline: (916) 732-3637
• Suicide Crisis Line: (916) 368-3111

College Resources

Everyone deserves care and support, at Sac City College we have many different resources available including:

• The Los Rios Center for Mental Health and Wellness 
• TimelyCare, which is available 24/7/365 to help care for your medical and mental health needs

Undocu-Knowledge Workshop Series:

Mental Health for Undocumented Students

Don't miss out on this essential mental health workshop designed just for you. Join us online Wednesday, May 8, from 1:00 to - 2:00 p.m. for an empowering session focused on nurturing your well-being, accessing resources, and fostering resilience.

Our presenter will guide you through valuable strategies for managing stress, enhancing self-care practices, and navigating the unique challenges you may face as an undocumented student. Together, we'll build a supportive community dedicated to promoting mental health awareness and fostering a sense of belonging.

Career Preparedness Workshops

All students are invited to attend a variety of virtual workshops this month that can help with your job and career search! Click on the workshop title below for more information and to register in advance via Handshake or Zoom. 

Upcoming workshops include:

Cover Letter Workshop

Tuesday, May 7, 12:00 - 1:00 pm

A cover letter is always an important document to have readily available when applying for jobs. It’s important to know what to include and how to prepare one. Join us to learn how you can stand out and land you that interview!

Sharpen Your Interview Skills

Friday, May 10, 12:00 - 1:00 pm 

Are interviews causing you stress and anxiety? Mastering the art of interviewing is a skill that can be acquired, honed, and improved with practice over time. 

Cap Decorating

Graduates can head over to the UNITE Center on Wednesday, May 8 from 3:00 - 5:00 pm to customize their graduation caps with markers, stickers, and other creative materials to express their personalities and celebrate their academic achievements in a unique way!

Natomas Blood Drive

There is an emergency need for blood donations in our community. The ARC Natomas Center, Natomas Chamber of Commerce, and Vitalant are partnering to bring a bloodmobile to the Natomas Center parking lot on Monday, May 6 from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm. Please register in advance by booking an appointment!

ACE Information Sessions

The Accelerated College Education (ACE) program at the Natomas Center puts you on the fast track toward a Bachelor's degree! Join us on Zoom for an information session on May 6, June 4, July 10, or August 1 from 5:30 - 6:30 pm to learn more about this program designed for working adults who wish to complete 46 units of general education transfer and associate degree requirements.

ARC Natomas Center is hosting a Math Jam

August Math Jam with the Natomas Center is back! Math tutors will be leading lessons on various math topics to help students feel more prepared for their Fall courses. Topics covered will include college algebra, trigonometry, and pre-calculus. Please take note of which lessons occur on which days so you register for the correct one! Registration is required ahead of time- preferably by August 1. Lunch is provided each day.

Deal Me In!

X-Sale is Back!

The X-SALE Is upon us - just in time for Mother's Day! Find us outside the Ceramic Lab on Tuesday, May 7 and Wednesday, May 8 from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. Fantastic artwork for sale at great prices! We will also be raising money to feed the cats on campus by selling kitty bowls. Cash or check only.

Come Celebrate the Music!

Community Spirit

Monday, May 6, 6:30 pm, ARC Theatre Lawn Area

The American River College Concert and Symphonic Bands present "Community Spirit" featuring special guests, The Rancho Cordova River City Concert Band. Seating will be on the lawn. Please bring some blankets and low-back chairs. This event is free!

Le Printemps: Musique de Compositeurs Français

Tuesday, May 7, 7:30 pm, ARC Theatre

ARC Concert Choir directed by Dr. Bobby Halvorson presents: Le Printemps: musique decompositeurs français.

Buy tickets now!

Vocal Jazz Ensemble

Wednesday, May 8, 7:30 pm, ARC Theatre

ARC Music presents the Vocal Jazz Spring Concert featuring special guest, the Vibe Street Band.

Buy tickets now!

Black Student Success Week

Black Student Success Week wrapped up on April 26, but if you missed any of the amazing The Black Hour Webinars, the recordings and webinar materials are available for you to view at any time!

The Parrot

Squawk! Squawk! Issue #181 of The Parrot ESL Newsletter has beautiful pictures, beautiful poems, and beautiful ideas to help you have a beautiful May! We hope you enjoy perusing this month’s offerings from The Parrot staff and the ESL students of American River College.

In this issue:

• Mission Possible: Nelofar Noori (page 1)
• Blossoming Stars—A Poetic Picture (page 37)
• The Beauty Hidden In Us: an original poem by ARC ESL student Emma La Torre Gonsalez
• Ukrainians Like Their Food Except… (page 7)
• John Masefield’s “The West Wind”: A Treasure Chest of Rhythm & Rhyme (page 1)
• 50,000 Gather for Eid (page 12)
• Jokes from Eugene (page 31)
• Who is Elahel Sahel? Find out in “The Untold Stories of the Women of Afghanistan” (page 20)
• Moroccan Story Circle: Al-Halka (page 35)
• Breaking Through Art (page 37)
• and much, much more . . .

ARC Events Calendar