Hey! Look! The baby boomers are here! We’re panthers and we’re stalking the corridors of Chaffey College with our silvery hair and our gentle wrinkles, looking for the right classroom. Have you noticed us? (We’re generally age 50 to 65…)

Chaffey College has long had a sizable contingent of baby boomers on campus. Records show that roughly 650 to 790 of us have registered for classes in the last 5 years. Our numbers wax and wane but mostly show a steady increase over the years. Nationwide, boomers make up almost 4% of all college students in the U.S. At Chaffey this semester, we top that at almost 6% of students. So why are we here and how do we fit in among our younger peers?

At the Student Exhibition that opens at the Wignal on December 3, check out the large piece that looks like a portrait of the Dutch master Rembrandt. The student who created this digital piece is Robert LeClair, a baby boomer who returned to college for vocational reasons and discovered something new and challenging.

His piece is an assertion that computer graphics is part of art history. Rembrandt made some 40 self portraits that gradually revealed a lifetime of tragedy and loss. In this homage to the master, LeClair echoes Rembrandt’s infusion of humanity, religion and family into his work, using his wife as model, as Rembrandt frequently did.

I first encountered Robert LeClair in a summer class for computer graphics.

Our final project that summer was to create a “propaganda poster” to persuade our peers to accept our point of view on a topic we felt passionate about. I thought, oh boy, here we are, the golden oldies, the silver panthers, oh let’s be honest, us old folks seeking to propagandize to the teens and twenty-somethings in our class. Robert came up with a winner, a simple anti-abortion poster, featuring an adorable baby with a simple message: I’m not a political issue, I’m a real thing.

At the bottom of the poster, in very small lettering he added, “This message brought to you by God.” The class loved the poster; not all appreciated the wording at the bottom. But Robert continues to try to slip in hidden and he hopes subtle messages. In the web design class, he created a web page inspired by the movie “2012” and listing all the end of the world predictions created by various cultures and societies, from the Mayan to the Christian. He also slipped in an evangelical message that he hoped would subtly get his Christian message across.

LeClair wasn’t always so intent on doing missionary work among young people. He spent 30 years in a career in the printing industry, starting out as a lithographic stripper and moving up into management of the stripping department and finally to managing the transition from the old printing process to the current computerized web printers. When that was done, the stripping department was abolished and some 30 people were laid off. When he found himself laid off, he decided to take advantage of the time he had to return for a formal degree in graphic arts, to better prepare himself to re-enter the work force.

But after 3 years at Chaffey, LeClair had to admit he was burned out on two-dimensional arts. He was sick of Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator. He had worked in typography and in two dimensions all his professional life and was ready for something different. He found it in motion graphics and multi-media, discovering a more dynamic approach to the visual arts. His time at Chaffey has opened the possibility of creating commercials, working in video.

But LeClair, like many baby boomers, has already lived a full professional life, has already raised a family and hears the lure of retirement calling. With children in Florida and Arizona, he finds himself with the financial security to leave Southern California and go where he chooses. It’s tempting.

LeClair will pick up his Associates’ Degree in Graphic Design with an emphasis on Motion Graphics and Multimedia. He could continue and become a teacher with a few more years at college. After all, he has been teaching kung fu since he received his black belt at age 19. “Kung Fu means excellence,” Le Clair says, “and it doesn’t mean excellence in the martial arts. You can have excellence as a garbage collector. That’s all.”

LeClair embodies many of the traits ascribed to boomers returning to college. And Chaffey has managed by dint of its teachers, to make it a welcoming and productive place for us. I’m hoping in this blog, to introduce you to other members of my age cohort at Chaffey. We come in all sizes, shapes, colors and persuasions. Our reasons for coming are varied. But we all have unique stories. Not one of us is the same. I promise.

To Honor the Vets: the first All Women's Color Guard debuts

It was half time, November 14, Chaffey vs. Mt. SAC.. The announcer was blaring on about 50-50 tickets, fans were milling about, looking to head down to the snack bar.

In the dark eastern end of football field, a small group began a stately procession onto the track. Emerging from the darkness, 4 soldiers marched shoulder to shoulder in close formation holding aloft the National Colors(American flag), the Army’s flag and two rifles.

In slow dignified cadence, the first women’s Color Guard led a group of some 26 veterans who had come to view the rivalry between the Mt. SAC and Chaffey College football teams and who found themselves asked to be honored at a half-time ceremony to honor veterans.

They marched slowly and stopped briefly before the Mt. SAC bleachers where they received a warm round of applause, then countermarched and turned so the color guard began advancing along the 50 yard line, the phalanx of vets curling onto the field behind them.

The Color Guard consisted of four women of the 304^th Sustainment Brigade, stationed at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside. “This will be our very first time for the public,” senior Sargeant Jessica Rosencrans said at the start of the game then added with apparent pride, “and we are the very first all women’s Color Guard.”

In accordance with tradition, they marched toward the Chaffey side, leading the Formation of the Veterans, stopped then presented the Colors. (The American and Army flags) A moment of silence was followed by America the Beautiful played by the Los Osos Band arrayed on the field behind them, and concluded with a repeat of the presentation of the Colors.

The ceremony was warmly received by the fans and appreciated by the veterans as well. Jacqueline Baskett, parent of Keenan Lambert sophomore cornerback, wheeled along with the parade, aided by her family. She had served in the Air Force some twenty years ago and seemed pleased and elated to be honored. Veterans from the opposite side of the field were also welcomed. Leonard Iosefa said, “This was really nice of Chaffey to do for us.” He had driven down from San Jose to watch his son play and was surpised and honored at the ceremony.

Sargeant Rosencrans also said, “We were honored to have been given the chance to perform for your school.”

The idea grew from a newly formed Veteran’s Committee that suggested a way to honor veterans, not just on Veterans Day but during the month of November, which has been designated National Veterans’ Month. The committee is also working on a plan to streamline services for veterans wanting to enroll at Chaffey College. They hope to create an efficient “one-stop” system of centralized services where enrollment, registration and all paperwork for veterans’ benefits can be handled at one place. There are also plans to form a Veterans Club for mutual support, fellowship and the creation of a “safe zone” where veterans can share their concerns among peers who have had similar experiences.

Tailgate Party!

On Saturday afternoon, Chaffey had its annual tailgate party. Everybody was there: the Panther, the basketball team, the dance team, the clubs, family members. The parking lot in front of the stadium was bright with red tents, balloons and tables laden with salsa and chips. The Ravelers provided a background of good old fashion rock and roll.

The fragrances of fajitas, onions and peppers drew a long and snaking line of alumni, parents and students to a dinner catered by Las Brisas of Chino. They had provided dinners at several college events, including a recent event on the Chino Campus.

Despite or perhaps because of the small charge of a dollar, a large crowd gathered around seven tables offering chips and a chance to taste the seven entries to the salsa contest. Others gathered around the Blazing Wings Challenge for the chance to be one of six contestants in a wing eating contest, sure to be spicy, messy and frantic.

The dance team performed and then invited people to dance to the lively music and the line dance that formed was topped off when Chaffey Governing Board Member Katie Roberts came down strutting, swaying and finger snapping.

Around the perimeter of the action, club tables manned by the ASCC, the Child Development Center. Unity, Together Plus, AMan, AWoman, PAGE, the Pre Med Society, GSA, and the Future Teachers offered activities, popcorn, pastries and treats, some for a donation, some for free!

Meanwhile, in the judging booth, Governing Board member Katie Roberts, Auto Tech faculty Sherm Taylor, Ann Perez of the Admissions and Records office, Chaffey Foundation Board member Loren Sanchez and ASCC president James Applewhite all dutifully took notes and carefully entered their judgments of all the salsas. Many, many bottles of water were emptied during their ordeal. At stake were $100 and $50 gift cards and baskets for the best overall, fan favorite, hottest and most original salsas.

At a nearby table, a drawing for the Blazing Wings Challenge, sponsored by the Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar, produced six cheering and enthusiastic contestants, including Chaffey Foundation Board Member Wayne Scaggs, Dan Kelly, Moses Estrada, nursing major Alexandria Peterson, Scott Earl and speech pathology major, Breana Musella. The men proved to be the bigger pigs, with first place going to Dan Kelley (who was also there to support the football team), 2nd to Scott Earl and 3rd to Moses Estrada. Kelly won a t-shirt and a gift certificate to Buffalo Wild Wings and Earl and Estrada also won gift certificates.

When all appetites had been sated and all dancers at rest, the Chaffey Panther showed up to lead a parade of fans into Grigsby Field to cheer the football team!

Although the Panther football team was behind at half-time, the vocal crowd cheered as the winners of the salsa contest proved to be a “family affair”: hottest salsa was won by Roger Layne (Trevor Layne’s Dad), most original went to Eva Ramirez (executive assistant) and best overall (and fan favorite) went to Kathy Plante (Aaron Plante’s Mom).

Also announced at halftime were the two most spirited fans: #2, Monique Reyes (Danny Reyes’ Mom) and #1, Dietra Eddies (Jahmal Rover’s Mom).

A good time was certainly had by all.