To Make Money, You Have To Spend Money

By: Josh Waller

Oak Staff

Investing in season tickets for sports. Casino gambling. Those are just some ways to make money without getting out of bed in the morning. I am very lucky and I have been very successful in all three of those and continue to do well. In this article I am going to teach you some ways to spend money to make money.

These ideas are ones that you can’t learn from the teachers from Menlo College because you know what they say, experience is the best teacher. Remember, if you are not a risk taker then this is definitely not for you. The hardest part of all of this is getting started because that’s when you need start up money especially, when you’re buying season tickets for professional sports. Nothing cheap about season tickets for a professional sports team, that is that unless your Investing in a bad team.

 Investing is one way to get checks in the mail every week or month without doing anything, but make sure you do research on what you’re Investing and never take someone’s word on anything, and always follow your gut feeling. If something sounds to good to be true, then it probably is.

Investing is very different and a lot of work compared to the other two options. Unless you know what you’re doing then I would stay away from Investing unless you have done your homework.

In my opinion, sports season tickets is the best way to get money in your bank account without even lifting a finger because everyone loves going to sporting events if the price is right. People today people buy tickets off websites and pay more then they should because of the website fees, but if you’re a season ticket holder you only pay face value of the ticket meaning you don’t pay anything else but they ticket itself.

I am a season ticket holder for the SF Giants, Oakland Raiders and Golden State Warriors. In addition to the job I already have this is my second job and I can do it all online. I will give you an example. Face value on my season ticket is $120 but on StubHub my exact seats are going for $600 a ticket and they are selling. So I sell my tickets online for $300 or $400 per ticket because who doesn’t want to save money? The more money you put into sporting events the more you get back into your pocket. Buying season tickets for a bad team you will only get a few dollars back. So pick a good team and good seats and you will see why it’s a good thing to become a season ticket holder.

           

Last, but not least. Casino Gambling. Unless you know what you are doing or have an idea about the game you’re playing I would stay away from this because this can get very dangerous. As a blackjack player, I know I can’t win every hand so that is why you need to spend money to make money on this one.

There are many things about blackjack people don’t know and with some of the tips and tricks I know, you can be successful at Casino Gambling like I am. Keep in mind gambling is 80% luck, 20% skill. Playing two hands uppers ups the chance of winning or getting your money back. Double down and slipping is a great way of making more money even tripling your investment all in one sitting. Take your time and don’t get mad and defiantly don’t listen to the other players at the table. Play how you want because it’s your money, not theirs

40 Days and Nights Without Facebook

 By:Stephanie Wertz

Oak Staff

I gave up Facebook for 40 days. I didn’t think it would be that hard until I began to feel left out of the loop from my family and friends. With this feeling of emptiness I switched to a new form of social media, Instagram. 

To begin with, I was never really actively involved with Facebook, I rarely posted statuses and pictures. I was only on there to past the time or catch up with an old friend from back home. However, before temporarily turning off Facebook, I was on the popular network everyday at least three times a day. 

I wasn’t obsessed with Facebook. I just became accustomed to going on it in between classes, when I was alone or checking up on group messages and upcoming events. Either way, I was on it quite often and not being able to go on the social media device at first was extremely hard.

I deactivated my account. I hid my Facebook App on my iPhone just so I wouldn’t see it and give into the temptation. The first couple of days were hard. Like I mentioned before I had this routine down, and without it I was more observant of what was around me. In a way it made me realize how much I had missed when I was looking down at my phone all the time. I was friendlier in person than I was in the virtual world, literally. 

People came up to me and or texted to me and asked why I didn’t have a Facebook, I explained and they really didn’t like the reason. I had ruined their “tags” and mentions on posts. People even questioned if my boyfriend and I were still together because my Facebook was gone; as we all know Facebook “officially” determines the status of one’s relationship.

There was another thing I realized. People knew about my business and life from Facebook because of my posts and pictures. During my deactivation, I didn’t seem to mind the privacy of my life. However, there was a downfall to this when it came to the life of my friends. I wasn’t aware of the parties and people’s birthdays. I did feel bad when I forgot my friends’ birthday, but again I should have remembered it regardless, I shouldn’t rely on Facebook so much.  

Facebook, and the technology around us makes so much more reliant on them. Ever since I got my iPhone I feel like I have become an even worse speller than before. As I am typing right now I am automatically assuming my MacBook Pro will autocorrect for me. It doesn’t. I have to actually go back and edit it. But, that’s another story to talk about.

As the days wore on, my challenge felt easier and easier, but that’s because I was hooked on another form of social media, Instagram. Sure, it may seem that I was cheating but I really wasn’t! I was on Instagram and I was able to still be connected with my friends and family which made things a little bit better. Actually, It was a lot better because I became obsessed with Instagram. I started digging deep with the app and I was following all sorts of artists and celebrities, friends of friends just so I could have a variety of people to follow and entertain me. 

Instagram was and still is my go to app ever since I substituted it for Facebook. Now that I was off Facebook for so long, I hardly care to go on it now. I actually started deleting people that I really never talked to. Even today, I started unfollwing pointless people on Instagram. The world of social media has become overboard and people abuse the networks. That’s why I avoid Twitter, there are too many pointless comments and hash tags. 

Marketing My Heritage to the Menlo College

By: Nadia Lei
Oak Staff

Hours of rehearsals and sleep deprived nights, all leading up to one performance. The Menlo College Luau is an annual event hosted by the school’s Hawaii Club. Amazing food is prepared and club members rehearse numerous dances from the different islands of Polynesia.

This year I had the privilege and challenge of marketing the Luau several months leading up to the night of the event. Working with Mary Robins as my instructor, my goal was to create awareness to Menlo students and the outside the community. Although the overall job appeared stressful at first, considering the size of Menlo’s Luau, I was more than excited to be a part of the planning committee. And through this journey, I found that marketing is a process that is constantly evolving with the new trends and forms of communication.

The process began in January, with an outline and timeline of the overall plan. The outline consisted of three major tactics. One, was creating a postcard to send out to local companies, two was to created social media buzz, and three was to create awareness on campus through fliers, word of mouth, and bulletin boards.
Although all three approaches were effective in their own ways, I quickly found that social media buzz was the most efficient.

Marketing is only at its best wherever there is the most traffic. In order to use the Internet to its fullest potential, the marketing team and I created a Facebook event page and an Instagram account for the Hawaii Club. Both helped to build up the hype for the event. On the Facebook even page we consistently posted updates and two weeks leading up to the night of, we featured a senior dancer every day. On the Instagram we posted pictures of rehearsals, club events, meetings, and even the gym during the process of set up and decorating.

These two pages brought in several hundred viewers. We found that what was most important was to be consistent and responsive. By constantly posting pictures and information and responding to any questions or comments, we showed genuine care towards our viewers. I’ve learned that social media is form a friendship, and no body really likes that friend who’s only around some times and then asks to hang out. We had to be that friend that was around enough to be liked, but not too much to the point where we were annoying.
Leading up to the night of the event, we found that because there had been so much advertising that we had to cut back on some of our original plans. We passed out fewer fliers and banners around the campus. By cutting back we made sure that we didn’t over-kill the event and create so much hype that people got bored of the idea of the Luau before it even happened.

All the planning and hard work in the end paid off. By the week of Luau, tickets were sold out and students were still asking if there were any possibility of simply standing up in the back. Beyond that, our marketing team was constantly complimented for the various boards around campus and the pictures and creative posts that were put online.

However, although all the marketing proved to be a success, there were a lot of lessons that I took away from the process. For one, I learned that proof reading is vital and should not be taken lightly. Whatever you are marketing, the advertisements used to help you market, directly reflects the product’s or company’s image. If there is a mistake in spelling or if it is of poor quality, consumers will assume that your product will be of the same nature. If you can’t take the short amount of time needed to be sure words are spelled correctly, then why should a consumer trust the product you are selling.

That being said, one of the biggest errors I made while marketing the Luau was a spelling error on the postcards I designed. In the headline of the postcard I wrote the “Menlo College Lua’u.” In Hawaiian Language the ‘okina or apostrophe belongs between the first ‘u’ and the ‘a’. By putting the ‘okina in the wrong spot, it completely changes the meaning of the word. Although it may not be a big deal to those who do not know Hawaiian language, it does reflect Menlo’s attempt to be authentic with the Hawaiian culture.
Through it all, I learned a lot about advertising and marketing and felt that the night was a huge success. I am so sad to see it all come to an end, especially because it is my Senior year. But I am honored and glad to have seen a different side of the process.

Menlo College Needs Better Student ID

By Amy Takano
Oak Staff  

Every student no matter what school you go to has a student ID. A good Student ID should include your name, expiration date, and student identification number.

Student IDs can be used for a lot of things. There are many student discount deals for restaurants, movie theaters, hair salons etc. But the Menlo College student ID often doesn’t meet the standards to get these discounts. The school ID lacks in design, quality and information of each students.

Kevin Tso, a junior at Menlo College says, “When I went to get a haircut in Menlo Park, they did not accept my student ID because it did not prove that I was a current student.”  Some college alumni use their old student ID to get a discount. The Menlo ID needs to show the expiration date of the card.

Menlo College offers “21+” events every now and then with free alcohol beverages. These events are exclusively for Menlo students who are legal to drink. Therefore, Menlo ID should show students’ birthday on the card.

The Menlo ID card is made of plain white cheap plastic that can be easily broken. It has a, low quality ink that fades over time. The school logo is too small. And the library code is taped on the back of the card. 

Menlo College was recently rated as Best in the West by The Princeton Review, a nationally recognized education service company. Menlo has been making its notable progress and becoming respected business school in the United States. With such a great school, should come with good Student ID. Other universities and college student IDs have beautiful pictures of campus, or school mascot, or at least much better design than Menlo IDs.

Menlo Students deserve better ID card to show the pride of being part of Menlo College.

Hubbard Announced as the New Menlo Volleyball Head Coach

By Stephanie Wertz and Mika Mendoza

Oak Staff Writers

 

New Head Coach, Atlee Hubbard.
Photo Credit: Menlo Athletics



As two winning seasons have come to an end for the Menlo College Lady Oaks Volleyball team, eyes have turned to a new year, and a new coach.

At the end of 2012, the Lady Oaks took back the title as Cal Pac Champions and Conference Tournament Champions. The team entered the first Round of Nationals against the College of Idaho, but left the tournament with a loss to the Lady Coyotes.

The volleyball team’s season also ended with the departure of Coach Daniel Rasay.  After two years at Menlo and three years as a volunteer coach at Stanford University with the Men’s Volleyball team, Rasay accepted a position with Stanford as a full-time, assistant coach.

Suddenly, Menlo Athletic Director, Keith Spataro, was on the hunt for a new women’s volleyball coach.

After many applications and phone interviews, the panel was narrowed down to six candidates. All six coaches were interviewed by the athletic department and the volleyball team. Out of those six, Atlee Hubbard, a Menlo Park native, won the job and became the new head coach for the Menlo College Women’s Volleyball team.

“Atlee was very clear about her vision for Menlo College Volleyball.  She came prepared and ready to accept the challenge.  Her experience as a player and coach will provide great leadership to our team now and in the future,” said Spataro.

Hubbard said she had no doubt that she and the Menlo coaching job were meant for each other.

 “When I learned about the opening at Menlo College, I felt compelled to apply for the position.  Being from Menlo Park, I wanted the opportunity to fulfill my goal and live locally.  The volleyball program at Menlo College has a great history of success and I want to continue that,” said Hubbard.

Hubbard attended Menlo-Atherton High School and played volleyball all four years as well as club volleyball for Vision and City Beach Volleyball Clubs.  She attended the University of Rhode Island her freshman year and played outside hitter for the Rams, earning a spot on the A-10 Conference All Freshman Team.

 After her first season, she realized that URI was not the right school and transferred to Sacramento State to play volleyball for the Hornets her remaining three years of college. 

She started as an outside hitter and was named to the Big Sky First Team All-Conference her junior and senior years, while helping the team win the conference championship all three years. 

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Photography, she played professionally in Indonesia and Spain from 2008-2010.

“Traveling around the world playing volleyball is one of the biggest highlights of my life and I learned a lot about myself as a player and a person.  But I eventually knew I wanted to come back to the Bay Area and get my coaching career off to a strong start,” said Hubbard.

As the head coach for the Menlo Oaks Volleyball team, Hubbard’s goals for the upcoming season are to dominate the Cal Pac Conference and make it farther into the NAIA Championships.  The Lady Oaks currently have six strong returning players and Hubbard wants to also bring in players who can add to the team's strengths and eliminate weaknesses.

“I like to recruit athletic, aggressive players who have a strong and confident court presence.  I feel like these types of players can also make a big contribution to the student body at Menlo College and will be engaged in campus activities,” Hubbard said.

Hubbard and the Menlo squad are already on their way to prepare for next year’s season.

“My expectations never change.  We want her to be successful both on and off the court.  Our student-athletes and coaches alike know that winning is directly related to preparation and Atlee will challenge them to be prepared at the highest level.  In which case I expect us to continue the long standing tradition of winning,” said Athletic Director, Spataro.

Lady Oaks Basketball Team head to Iowa for the National Tournament

By Stephanie Wertz

Oak Staff

The 2013 Menlo College Women's Basketball Team
Photo Credit: Menlo Athletics

The Lady Oaks Basketball team is motivated to move to the second round of the NAIA Division II National Championship Tournament.

They had an incredible regular season, with an overall record of 26-3 and a perfect 10-0 undefeated Cal Pac play. 

In their most recent game, the Oaks capped off their sweep of the 2013 Cal Pac Conference Tournament at the Haynes-Prim Pavilion, beating William Jessup 66-58 for the title.

They now travel to Sioux City, Iowa for the NAIA National Championship tournament. The tournament is a 32-team, single elimination tournament and will take place from March 6-12 inside the Tyson Event Center.

The Lady Oaks received a No. 5 seed in the third quadrant and will be playing No. 4 seed Jamestown College (N.D.) Thursday, March 7 at 11:45 a.m. (Pacific). Jamestown College enters with 26-5 record.

This NAIA national tournament appearance will be the Lady Oaks’ second consecutive year and fourth year in the past eight to the Division II big show.

In last year’s tournament the Lady Oaks’ lost in the first round, but that won’t be the case this year, the team says. There is even more motivating them this year.

Senior Jenna Marinaro must sit out of the first round of the national tournament due to a Feb. 23 on-court altercation. That game was the last regular season game in Marinaro’s college basketball career.

Menlo College Athletic Director Keith Spataro confirmed Marinaro’s situation.

"Jenna will be suspended just for the first game of the Nationals Tournament. After that, she will be able to play."

“Our team is motivated to make it past the first round, we’ve been here before and we need to come out on top and play our game, and if we win I’ll be able to play in the next game,” Marinaro said.

Jamestown, known as the “Jimmies” comes into the NAIA Division II tournament riding on a five-game winning streak. According to tournament preview written by Menlo Athletics, Jamestown has three scorers averaging 10 or more points a game. The Jamestown bench is also full of scorers. The team averages 77 points per game while holding opponents to just 58.9 per game.

Menlo’s Lady Oaks Basketball team may be peaking at the right moment. The team is on a 14-game win streak, according to the Menlo Athletic preview. The Lady Oaks are outscoring opponents 78-60 this season on 45% shooting from the field. Three of Menlo’s scorers currently average double digits. The team also features the Cal Pac Player of the Year, Jolise Limcaco, and the Cal Pac Defender of the Year Laurel Donnenwirth.

The championship final, which will be televised live on CBS Sports Network, will start at 6 p.m. on March 12.

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Oak Staff writer Nadia Le’i, contributed to this story.

Menlo College’s March Madness Begins Here with Downloadable Brackets

For the second consecutive year, Menlo College’s Women Basketball team is headed to the NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship.

On March 7, Lady Oaks (26-3 overall, 10-0 conference) will face North Dakota’s Jamestown College (26-5, overall, 7-3 conference).   Menlo is ranked No. 5 in the 32-team, single elimination tournament, Jamestown No. 4.

The tournament will be held in Sioux City, Iowa, at the Tyson Event Center. The championship final will be televised live on CBS Sports Network, on March 12.

Download the tournament bracket here and follow the action

Menlo College football coach Speckman resigns

By Nadia Le’i, Oak Staff

Photo courtesy of MercuryNews.com

Where one door closes, another is opened. For head coach, Mark Speckman, the Menlo College Football Program door closed after he accepted a contract with Canadian Professional Football Team, the Montreal Alouettes.   

    

Born without hands, Speckman upended the standards of football and inspired many as he made his way to the top as a linebacker, playing for Menlo from 1973-74. He continued his college football career at Azusa Pacific University where he earned honorable mention for All-American NAIA.

Although he has only led Menlo Football for one season, the Menlo community will not forget the exciting season he brought to the school. Speckman turned the program around, reminding Menlo what it feels like to believe in a team.

 “Coach Speckman started to really change our program. He got all the players to buy into something bigger than ourselves. He really started to get the team excited and got us working harder than ever,” said sophomore defensive tackle, Mata Tagaloa. “He received an offer that doesn’t come around often and he chose to seize that opportunity. He will be greatly missed.”

Menlo Athletic Department has yet to release a statement detailing what their next steps will be in finding a new head coach for the upcoming season. Until then, the team workouts and meetings will be headed by Coach Vic Brankovich.

Speckman will leave Menlo with a memorable season where he was able to inspire students past athletics and beyond the football field. He leaves behind him the start of stronger and more unified football program.

Click here to read the letter sent by President Jim Kelly to the Menlo Community about Coach Speckman’s departure.

Mika Mendoza, Stephanie Wertz and Amy Takano contributed to this story.

Valentine's Day at Menlo College: On Campus

By the Menlo Oak Staff

It was really romantic. It was the night before Valentine’s Day. The place, Russell Center on Menlo College. The event, an on-campus romantic dinner for Menlo students. Menlo students.

It was “Date Night,” a special event to start the Valentine celebration. Chef Rob Adan created a three-course meal—salad, an entrée choice of either Parmesan chicken or Fillet of Sole and dessert of chocolate-dipped strawberries.

"The food was amazing. I honestly think Sodexo should hire Rob Adan to cook in the cafe. Besides the food though, I had a really nice night with my girlfriend. It was romantic and best of all free,"  said Mata Tagaloa

The serving staff consisted of students and faculty members.

Later that evening, in the Fireside Lounge, Menlo students gathered for “Valentine’s Day Prep.” It was an all-out DIY session, with flower making, cupcake decorating and chocolate writing.

There were lots of Menlo men making bouquets for their girlfriends. There were also lots of singles making Valentine’s for them.

"Love makes me realize a lot of things I didn't know about myself. Sometimes love makes me realize that I'm really really bad at surprising my girlfriend on Valentines Day by going to the smallest campus in the world and making a flower bouquet that my cheap...couldn't afford," stated Kaimi Haina.

Menlo's men were the only ones creating floral arrangements. Lots of women were creating floral designs, too.
"These flower's are for me. I guess Jordan can have one too if he wants," Anu Gabrie said.

Yes, romance was in the air at Menlo College. Click here to see a photo slideshow of the people at the campus events.

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Menlo Oak Staff members Nadia Le'i, Mika Mendoza, Stephanie Wertz, Amy Tanako and Josh Waller-Weinberg contributed to this story.

Valentine's Day at Menlo College: Off Campus

Image Courtesy: Valeriea.com

Yes, there were a lot of Valentine's Day activities on campus, but sometimes couples just want to get away. There were lots of options, many close to campus.

A romantic dinner. A movie. Even pizza with friends. All, just a few minutes away.

Here is a photo slideshow by Amy Takano of some of the popular spots for Menlo students going off campus as they celebrated Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day Movie: 'Safe Haven'

She's a woman with a secret. He's a widower who wants to make a new start.
They meet on a small island off the coast of North Carolina.

When it looks as if these two lonely people will get together and make a life together, the woman's past catches up with her.

Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel and a strong cast star made "Safe Haven" the perfect Valentine's Date night movie for Menlo College students.

Watch the trailer.

New Month, New Stories from Around the World

By Stephanie Wertz
Oak Staff

February means Valentine’s Day, Super Bowl Sunday and commercials. Super Bowl XLVII was the main attraction this weekend when the San Francisco 49ers took on the Baltimore Ravens in New Orleans.

During the first half of the game the Niners were nowhere near the Ravens. It was frustrating for the Bay Area to watch. However, after Beyonce’s amazing halftime performance and after the lights went back on, the 49ers kicked into gear and turned the game around making a great comeback. There was a chance for the Bay Area team to come back and beat the other Harbaugh brother. Unfortunately, the San Francisco 49ers lost to the Baltimore

Ravens, 34-31.
Aside from the excitement of the most watched game on television, the commercials, both humorous and serious, were also a big hit.

Click Here To Read Steph's 7 Stories in 7 Days.