Volume 78, Issue 2 | www.elaccampusnews.com | Wednesday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 | Single copy free - additional copies 50 cents
Former professor appointed police commissioner BY SONNY TAPIA Staff Writer
Former East Los Angeles College Political Science Professor Maria Calanche was appointed to the Los Angeles Police Commission to replace Commissioner Sandra Figueroa-Villa. Calanche was confirmed unanimously by the LA City Council, after her nomination by Mayor Eric Garcetti, on September 2. When Garcetti announced his nomination for the appointment of Calanche on August 25. He said in his public announcement that she would be a vital voice for the city’s leadership in 21st century policing. Calanche has been an advocate for the youth of LA through her work with her non-profit, Legacy LA. She is executive director and founder of the organization, which she started in 2007. ELAC Political Science Professor Consuelo Castro spoke about Calanche’s qualities and capabilities to perform in the newly assigned position. “Calanche is an excellent fit for this position. She is an articulate community based activist who is well versed on police and community relations,” Castro said. Castro said that when Calanche left the Social Science Department, the other faculty were sad to lose her, but ultimately they understood that she was doing great work in the community. Castro hired Calanche as a parttime professor and saw her work ethic and organization skills as a huge plus to what she was working toward. “She can be counted on to be a strong and fair voice on behalf of the community in addressing police
practices,” Castro said. “She understands the problems the community, especially young people, have faced in its relations with the police. She is a problem solver and can be counted on to include important stakeholders in representing the community.” When she started Legacy LA, there was a 60 percent dropout rate according to the Los Angeles Unified School District. Calanche felt it was because her community lacked the proper resources to advocate for the youth in Ramona Gardens. This organization focuses on engaging with youth in her home community of Ramona Gardens and its neighboring cities. Legacy LA offers case management and counseling services for youth in the community from sixth grade through college completion. The Through Our Eyes program, offers youth and Los Angeles Police Department officers a chance to communicate through workshops and courses. The goal of this program is to break the communication barrier between what young people of color and the police. “The program is youth led and youth developed. The point of the program is to teach police officers and help them understand how the youth feel,” Calanche said. Calanche said that it can be difficult for young adults and teenagers to really communicate with the officers when they are being questioned. Legacy LA focuses on promoting leadership programs through after school tutoring and workshops, as a dropout prevention tactic. Calanche remembers how difficult it was for young people to
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A LOOK INTO THE PAST—Maria Lou Calanche in 1999 helping students.
communicate with police in general and she wanted to stop that from happening. She feels that the new appointment will allow her to connect more with the community now that it has a direct connection with a police commissioner. “I think it is a great opportunity for me. It is also an opportunity for the community to have someone on the police commission that has a connection with youth,” Calanche said. “The youth will have access to a person in a higher position to contact and connect with,” she said. Calanche talked about implementing a youth advocate to the police commission that could speak on behalf of the youth that are being stopped by police. The advocate would act as a neutral mediator for the youth being questioned. She feels that this would add a sense of equality for those that
do not understand what they are being questioned for. The City Council and Police Commission have been discussing a way to react to non-violent 911 calls by sending social service workers instead of police to handle the situation. “The police would be a backup plan for those types of calls if they escalated. I fully believe in trying to make that happen,” Calanche said. Along with the discussion of sending social service workers, Calanche believes the police need to do a better job when handling calls in communities of color. She said that communities of color deserve high quality public safety along with making sure everything is safe on both ends. Calanche is looking across the nation at different models of policing to gain ideas to bring to the other members of the commission. In the past months, protests for
the Black Lives Matter movements The 2020-2021 total budget for have spread across the nation due the LAPD is $3.14 billion and $1.86 to the death of George Floyd and billion to policing after the $150 more recently the shooting of Jacob million in cuts made by the City Blake. Council and Mayor Garcetti. This has sparked a police response Calanche believes she can across the nation with tear gas and advocate for proper disbursement rubber bullets shot toward protesters of the funds that she has access to in the streets of their cities. on the commission. Calanche spoke about the protests “Police need more training in and whether or not the police are mental health and social justice responding the proper way to the classes to create more empathy protester’s actions. toward situations police face,” “Obviously, it is hard to be a Calanche said. police officer because you are She said that a lot of the training trying to allow people to protest for police is military-like instead while protecting private property. I of empathetic toward communities. feel the city of LA, the mayor and One job of the Police Commission the chief are very aware and also is that every week they review any sensitive to how people are feeling,” use of force by officers in arrests. Calanche said. Any time an officer discharges “We are trying very hard to ensure a weapon, it is investigated by that the way we police is sensitive to the commission and the officer’s the way things are happening. You Inspector General. just don’t want police to get hurt, but The Police Commission decides the department whether or not is doing what it the officers were can.” within policy or “The youth will have She continued not, based on by adding that access to a person in body cam footage the department other forms of a higher position to and is focusing evidence. on safety and contact and connect I f t h e the needs of commission finds with.” protestors that that an officer was have the right to outside of policy, be upset and the it does not have right to be there. the power to fire MARIA LOU CALANCHE Los Angeles Police Commissioner Calanche officers from their believes that the position. That is rubber bullets the responsibility and tear gas are not something that of the Board of Rights, which is warranted by police during the consists of the officer’s peers and protest and should be a last resort. fellow LAPD members. Teaching and believing in protest “Yes, Michael Moore should be is something that she advocates ultimately held accountable for the for, but did not have a response officers’ actions that reside under his about whether or not the police are jurisdiction,” Calanche said. trained to detain without killing or brutalizing protestors.
Shower of Hope partners with ELAC for housing BY JEREMY ARIAS Staff Writer
KEEPING IT SIMPLE—ELAC Campus News first place for College best website.
Campus News wins first place BY ERICA CORTEZ Staff Writer
East Los Angeles Campus News won first place in the student news website contest competing with four-year and two-year colleges when the Los Angeles Press Club hosted their 62nd Southern California Journalism Awards on Aug. 29. Campus News came in first place. University of Southern California’s Annenberg Media came in second. Following in third, was Santa Monica College’s The Corsair. “We beat a well known four-year school,” Jean Stapleton, Campus News’ Adviser. Campus News was competing with Southern California four-year colleges. “Going up against four-year colleges is tough when you are a junior college. So, knowing that you can still get those results from any college, just speaks to the overall quality of our education,” said Anastasia Landeros, former Campus News staff member and
News Briefs
Editor in Cheif. The Campus News website has been going strong since 2011. Stapleton said that other schools might sign up for a commercial webiste creator Campus News was different. “We developed the website from scratch,” Stapleton said. The website has progressed and improved with much help throughout the school semesters. “It is a group effort,” said Steven Adamo, Campus News’ Art director. “It was a big surprise and a good one because for an artist, a lot of jobs shrilled away because of the Covid-19 and it was a good thing to lift me up.” Since the semester of Spring 2020, due to Covid-19, Campus News staff has had to step away from its usual newsroom it works from every week to create the paper from their homes. Although it is a different atmosphere releasing stories and articles to the college, Campus News website has made it possible to still cover news, even with a closed campus.
Live yoga sessions
Campus News is praised by the Judges from LAPC as a “clean, simple and responsive” website. The method to maintain that reputation was “To make it user friendly,” according to Landeros. “User ability is really important because you want to reach out to as many people as possible. “So even if people are not techsavvy, they are going to be able to go to your website and get the news without use of any training to navigate the site,” Landeros. Campus News is already brainstorming ideas on how they can surpass the standard to keep that top place for next year. “We’re constantly raising the bar and right now we’re trying to get it so we don’t just put our stories in on Wednesdays, but we get them in all during the week,” said Stapleton. Campus News is also looking into expanding its audience into the social media world. “With social media, it gives the importance of spreading the stories not only on our website, but to Twitter and the other social media platforms.” Adamo said.
The Health Center is having live yoga sessions on Instagram. Starting Tuesday to Nov. 3 on every Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m to 10 a.m. For those interested, join on Instagram at @elacstudenthealth
East Los Angeles College and The Shower of Hope partnered to create a pilot program to bring interim student housing to at-risk ELAC students. The Shower of Hope is an organization dedicated to help serve the people suffering homelessness in Los Angeles with services such as bringing mobile showers to several locations around the city. The partnership originally began with the Los Angeles Community College District, but was passed down to ELAC due to their proximity to the first property that The Shower of Hope was able to secure. Digital flyers were sent to student emails and shared online on the ELAC website detailing the requirements to apply. The applications are only open to male students between the ages of 18 to 26, since it is still only a pilot program, but The Shower of Hope anticipates having housing for students of other genders within the next six months. The Shower of Hope also plans to give priority to the non-male students who have already applied and are seeking housing. Other requirements include having applied for financial aid and being enrolled in at least nine units with a 2.0 grade point average during their participation in the program. “It is a four-bedroom house that has plenty of open space. Every room has two beds for students to share a room,” said Raymond Mora, a representative from The Shower of Hope who is on site
Free theater workshop
assisting with the program. “The house was completely furnished prior to the student arrivals. All the necessities are provided by the organization,” he said. Mora described that their current property can only house eight students due to COVID-19 and CDC safety guidelines. The house is currently at half capacity and The Shower of Hope is still looking for another four students to offer housing to.
“The house was completely furnished prior to the student arrivals. All the necessities are provided by the organization.”
RAYMOND MORA
Shower of Hope representative
The first month in the program is free. After the first month, a monthly rental fee of $250 is required in order to stay. However the fee can be waived by completing 15 hours of volunteer work per week. According to Mora, the organization gauges the students’ interests and assigns volunteer work based off of that, or can assign them to one of various community organizations partnered with The Shower of Hope. Though this program is fairly recent, student homelessness and
The Center Theater Group is having a free boot camp for ELAC’s Working in Theater fall series from Oct. 13 to Dec. 18 from noon-1:30 p.m. There will be 10 Tuesday sessions. Application deadline is Sept. 18. For more information www.centertheatregroup.org
housing insecurity is not a new issue for some ELAC students and staff. “Even before the pandemic, rates of college student homelessness were high and even higher for community college students,” said Cecilia Cruz from the ELAC Student Health Center. The California legislature analyzed college student homelessness and attempted implementing potential solutions like the Assembly Bill 302 (2019), that offered nightly parking lot access to homeless students living in their cars. Cruz said that ELAC doesn’t have a precise count of at risk students, but for reasons like job insecurity, l a y o ff s a n d u n e m p l o y m e n t skyrocketing after the pandemic, the rates of student homelessness have unfortunately increased. Students interested in interim student housing or have questions regarding non-male applications may contact Cecilia Cruz at cruzc3@elac.edu or Raymond Mora at Development@ TheShowerOfHope.org. If students do not qualify for Hope Housing, the organization will still ensure that they connect them to the proper resources.
CARES Act Deadline
The CARES Act, federal monies for COVID-19 relief, deadline is on Oct. 11. For more information email with name, Student ID number and email address to CARES_scholarship@ELAC.Edu.
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Opinion
EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2020
Opening schools remains devisive issue BY LEONARDO CERVANTES Staff Writer
The reopening of on-campus classes benefits everyone. The year 2020 has been unprecedented, to say the least, and has impacted mostly everyone’s normal routine. One of the oddest circumstances this year has been the closure of the majority of schools. East Los Angeles College has an enrollment of over 36,000 students and they have all had to adjust to remote learning. Most students attending ELAC are young adults, so they should be able to be responsible and look out for one another. Masks must be made mandatory on campus and students trusted to socially distance and respectfully follow the rules. If classrooms all have hand sanitizers and students wear masks at all times, it can definitely work well. It is human nature to be much more relaxed in your own home, so in turn, students might not be as focused as they would be on campus. Students in a classroom, tend to pay extra attention to the subject at hand. While taking online classes, students are likelier to doze off or miss Zoom classes. Students can also be on Zoom but pay no attention to the lecture, since it is much more difficult for the instructor to call you out via Zoom for not participating. In Zoom, for any class that has over 15 students, it is hard to keep track of the mini squares that students are in. Campus opening up again would benefit low-income students the most. They do not have the same resources as other students and may not have a stable internet connection. They also might not have a functioning computer or tablet. With the campus reopening, they would not have to worry about all of this and would instead be able to focus in class. Although technology continues to improve every year, some people are just not tech-savvy. Younger students have grown up in the rise of technology, but for whatever reason, some were never interested in it.
Older instructors have had a certain way of teaching for decades and now all of a sudden are forced to teach a class in front of a camera. It is a tough situation to be in for both students and instructors are not accustomed to using technology. Learning online vs learning in the classroom are two completly different experiences. The socializing aspect is the biggest difference between the two ways of learning. Often students are instructed to interact with their classmates, in a classroom. This gets a conversations going and will keep the classroom engaged. On Zoom classes, two people can’t converse at the same time. It’s more so the instructor calls on a student and they respond and then the instructor calls on another student. Students take turns speaking instead of being in a classroom and everybody being able to converse with each other. Opening the campus has its risks,but if the proper safety precautions are taken by students and those in charge, then it can definitely work. Both instructors and students work best inside classrooms due to fewer distractions or worry about technology. Studying inside classrooms also offers the experience of working with classmates. If students have questions, instead of immediately asking a professor for help, they can ask classmates for help. Taking online classes, the only way they can communicate with your classmates or professor, is via email or text. Students can use the library once the campus reopens. Trying to find books online can be difficult and oftentimes students are unsuccessful. The library has access to many books and odds are you will find the one you are looking for. Students can look through multiple books at a time to find the specific one that will help you out. It is also a quiet place that can help you finish your work with no distractions. Students may live with multiple family members and can make them lose focus while doing homework while the library offers a quiet place with no distractions.
BY MELISA VELENZULA Staff Writer
Opening schools in the United States during this global Covid-19 pandemic is stupid. School districts in some of the most highly infected areas have made the decision to let parents choose between online, traditional schooling or a hybrid of both. The government has not issued any national ordinances or guidelines regarding the reopening of schools, leaving the decisions to be made by each school district itself. An article from the New York Times said, districts have been split into three groups: those that will offer instruction 100% online, those that allow families to choose, and those that will try the hybrid approach. Or in person classes.
We have failed to contain the spread of COVID-19, which should indicate that we are simply not ready to go back to normal life.
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Based on data compiled by Education Week, midwestern and southern states like Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas and Florida have mandatory in-person instruction. Texas, for example, announced it will begin fall semester online but will start returning to the classroom five days a week starting this month, unless parents opt for online school only. In California, larger counties such as Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego have decided to keep their schools online for the rest of the fall semester, while schools in smaller counties where the virus positivity rates are low, have been allowed to reopen. Most states are following the same protocol as California, except for Vermont, Rhode Island, West Virginia, New Mexico, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. They either have state-ordered closures in effect or have delayed openings until after Sept. 8.
The latest Covid-19 research by John Hopkins University shows that the southern states are experiencing higher rates of confirmed Covid-19 cases. More schools in those states are reopening and the consequences are starting to show. After just one week, Southeast Elementary in Lauderdale County, Mississippi was forced to close after a Covid-19 outbreak occurred. In a letter to parents and guardians, the superintendent wrote, “School will move to a virtual setting immediately,” according to an article by Mississippi Today. Another more famous incident occurred at a high school in Georgia where a student posted a picture that showed a crowded school hallway in which few students were wearing masks. The photo has since gone viral and, although the school had no outbreaks, the image shows how seriously schools in the U.S. are taking the threat of the coronavirus and the health of their students. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have released guidelines and suggestions to supplement the new rules and regulations of the reopened schools. Positivity and transmission rates, number of students allowed in a classroom and strategies that prevent and stop the spread of the virus successfully are some of the things that should be considered when deciding whether or not to open schools. Strategies that prevent further spreading include wearing face masks, social distancing and constant cleaning and disinfecting. Other countries around the world such as Germany, Denmark and Norway have been able to keep schools open and people healthy through a combination of low community transmission, expedited free testing and rigorous contact tracing. The difference between those countries and the United States is that the U.S. likes to play by its own rules. We have failed to contain the spread of Covid-19, which should indicate that we are simply not ready to go back to normal life. Forcing schools to reopen is stupid, it’s irresponsible and could result in an even longer quarantine.
COVID-19 fees burned college students BY ANNETTE QUIJADA Staff Writer
Slip up for Xbox price release BY JONATHAN BERMUDEZ Staff Writer Xbox tweeted out the official prices for the new Xbox Series X along with release date. To my surprise, it’s about $55 cheaper than last generation Xbox to come out. It came out on September 22 and is supposed to be better than any console they ever made. An article on the price release written by Logan Moore for the website Dualshockers reports that it wasn’t supposed to be announced the way it was. Phil Spencer, executive vice president of gaming at Microsoft, said “Great to see the reactions, really proud of how the team handled the unscripted announce (was supposed to be next week but oh well…).” Even though the announcement came sooner than they expected, I can see why they wanted to wait. With the prices released for the Xbox Series X, Playstation released theirs and what a convenient surprise that it’s the same price. It feels like Sony waited for Microsoft to release their prices just so they could come up with the same prices. Originally the PS5 was supposed to be more expensive, but that changed when Microsoft came out with a cheaper console. It seems pretty petty of Sony to wait for Microsoft to make a move when the Playstation 5 has been announced since way before the Series X. The real reason Xbox announced the prices was because they got www.ELACCampusNews.com
leaked, but they still appreciate their community and made them official, which got everyone stoked. Playstation didn’t announce their prices for months while their community begged for it. Instead of listening to their community, they waited for Xbox, choosing marketing tactics over their fan base, which Xbox did not. With the release of the new consoles, Xbox and Playstation are coming out with cheaper versions of their new console, but only Xbox did it right. The Series S, which is the cheaper option, is smaller than any console Xbox has produced, and unlike other Xboxes, there is no CD drive. When the Series X and the Series S are out together, there is a big difference in what you are paying for. It seems like Sony got lazy in design but had to do something for the cheaper price, so they just removed the CD drive from the original design. There is no distinction on what you are buying with the PS5. The only big difference is it’s cheaper. Why pay $500 for something that you can get for $200 cheaper, where the only difference is you can’t play games with a physical disc. It’s like Sony is assuming that both Playstations are going to sell the same, when in reality most are going to buy the cheaper option. With Xbox, you’re paying for something that is different. There is no telling how these consoles are going to do when they come out, but I’m going to pick Xbox over the Playstation any day.
Colleges and universities are throwing more weight on their students by charging them extra fees during the pandemic. COVID-19 has caused colleges all over the country to embrace virtual learning. Some students may be stressing with this new way of learning, but they’re also stressing about tuition and fees. College students are used to being charged fees during the semester, such as orientation fees, lab fees, athletic fees, and Associated Student Union fees. Even though students will not be on campus for classes or be obtaining the full college experience, they still have to pay the regular in-person fees. Not only are students being charged their regular fees, but some colleges are also adding a fee related to the pandemic. Colleges like Merrimack College in Massachusetts, have managed to have a few in person classes which has resulted in their students needing to participate in the college’s COVID-19 testing program. The Merrimack College website said,“...each student will be required to pay a [COVID-19] mitigation fee each semester.” The fee is $475 per semester for all the students who take in-person classes. Making the wallets of their students hurt is unwise. These institutions need to take steps into making testing free. While universities like Merrimack College take advantage of their students, there are community colleges like ELAC who are putting in a much better effort to help students. For starters when the college first closed during the spring, ELAC sent $300 to students who met the criteria, as part of the CARES Act fund. It was the college’s way of giving its students a stimulus check. And on April 8 ELAC partnered up with the city of Los Angeles and opened up a free COVID-19 testing
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site which was not only accessible to students, but also to the community. Although colleges like ELAC says how much they care about their students, fees send mixed messages causing a drain to students during a pandemic. Students at Merrimack are being charged for their in-class participation; there are also other colleges that are raising fees on all students, whether they are participating remotely or in-person. Students attending the University of Michigan will be seeing a 1.9% rise in their university health fee, equalling $202.39 per student. This is in addition to a $50 temporary COVID-19 fee. The frustration of students is justified. Former East Los Angeles College student, now at a four-year school, Janay Covarrubias, said, “College fees during a pandemic are a scam. “They’re unfair for the lower class. I understand that teachers and professors need to get paid and all, but there are some unnecessary fees that should have been taken away. “Like I heard some people at Universities of California had to pay around $90 for their virtual orientation. “It’s unfair because virtual teaching takes away from the in school experience and you can see some professors aren’t putting
much effort into lectures. So we are basically paying thousands just to teach ourselves.” Community college students, just like Covarrubias, are upset. Although ELAC has done its best to provide for its students, not all of them will have a positive outcome. International students and older students must also be accounted for. These students don’t get fee waivers, so they may have higher tuition payments. The pandemic hits these groups of students harder because they pay out of state tuition. And there’s a high chance they’ve lost their main sources of income like millions in the country. There’s a good portion of students who now fall under the unemployment status and are trying to manage the bare minimum with the money received from the government, to pay for rent and groceries. Students shouldn’t have to choose between essentials and a semester of school. Education should be an essential. Why should students be stressed to pay hundreds and thousands to be learning virtually when it can be twice as hard as in person learning? The answer is they shouldn’t.
EDITORININCHIEF CHIEF EDITOR JuanCavillo Cavillo Juan MANAGINGEDITOR EDITOR MANAGING Luis Castilla Luis Castilla FRONTEDITORS EDITORS FRONT Melvin MelvinBui Buiand Jonathan Bermudez Jonathan Bermudez OPINIONEDITOR EDITOR OPINION Daniella Molina Daniella Molina NEWSEDITOR EDITOR NEWS JeremyArias Arias Jeremy FEATUREEDITOR EDITOR FEATURE Erica Cortez Erica Cortez ARTSEDITOR EDITOR ARTS CassidyReyna Reyna Cassidy SPORTSEDITOR EDITOR SPORTS Melvin Bui Melvin Buiand Jonathan Bermudez Jonathan Bermudez COPYEDITORS EDITORS COPY Melody MelodyOrtiz Ortizand Ivan Cazares Ivan Cazares STAFFWRITERS WRITERS STAFF SonnyTapia Tapia Sonny Raymond Nava Raymond Nava MelisaValenzuela Valenzuela Melisa Leonardo Cervantes Leonardo Cervantes AnnetteQuijada Quijada Annette Stephanie Sical Stephanie Sical PHOTOGRAPHER PHOTOGRAPHER DiegoLinares Linares Diego ARTDIRECTOR DIRECTOR ART StevenAdamo Adamo Steven ADVERTISING ADVERTISING Stefanie Arocha Stefanie Arocha ADVISERS ADVISER JeanStapleton Stapleton Jean
Campus News encourages letters to the editor relating to campus issues. Letters must be typed and double spaced. Submitted material becomes the property of Campus News and cannot be returned. Letters should be limited to 300 words or less. Campus News reserves the right to edit letters for grammatical errors or libelous content. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers must sign submissions and print their names and a phone number where they can be reached. Letters should be addressed to the editor of Campus News. Submissions can be made at the mailroom in building E1 or the Journalism department office in the Technology Center in E7-303. East Los Angeles College Campus News 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez E7-303 Monterey Park, CA 91754 (323) 265-8819, Ads (323) 265-8821 Fax (323) 415-4910 The East Los Angeles College Campus News is published as a learning experience, offered under the East Los Angeles College Journalism program. The editorial and advertising materials are free from prior restraint by virtue of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The opinions expressed are exclusively those of the writer. Accordingly, materials published herein, including any opinions expressed, should not be interpreted as the position of the Los Angeles Community College District, East Los Angeles College, or any officer or employee thereof.
Arts 3 New ‘Call of Duty’ multiplayer gameplay thrives EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2020
BY JUAN CALVILLO Staff Writer
“Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Wars Alpha” is a fun, albeit-runof-the-mill experience, but the series’ new mode shows hope for the franchise. “Black Ops Cold Wars Alpha” shows off a taste of two of the yet to be released games multiplayer modes. The modes included are six versus six and a new mode called combined arms, which mixes 12 versus 12 player battles, alongside large-scale vehicles. The alpha gives players a large enough canvas to check out some of the new additions that are implemented in the new title. Both multiplayer modes had domination, a capture-and-hold style of battle. Six versus six has an additional two modes, kill confirmed, where dog tags must be collected to score points, and good old-fashioned team deathmatch. The most interesting aspect of what is to come when the game actually releases is the new combined arms mode. This mode seems to have simplified and, in some ways fine tuned the 12 versus 12 battles that fans have come to love. Battle royales seem to be the current kings of the first-person shooter scene, yet the new mode Black Ops Cold War has in store looks fun enough that it might
ACTIVISION’S CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS— Cold War’s multiplayer alpha uses the traditional starting screen from previous
titles. After the alpha was over, an announcment for the upcoming beta was posted. The date given was October 8 for Playstaton 4. draw some players away. The mode plays well with the 12 versus 12 players on each team, and allows for the mixing of vehicle warfare. Activision hits the sweet spot for large-scale battles by thinking a bit smaller than most have in the past. Game modes each have expansive and detailed maps. Six versus six game mode has
three maps, Miami, Moscow and Satellite. Combined arms game mode has two, armada and crossroads. These maps are detailed and fun to play on. Each has areas players can scout out and use for sniping, as well as clearings that are good for opening fire against enemy teams. The most interesting map shown is a combined arms map
called armada. The location is a sea-battle which adds attack boats and jet skis for players to use to win the match. The water map provided is fun and has high mobility. This makes the setting fun to play, since the fighting goes through three different levels. In the air, zip lines allow fo r a b i t o f a e r ia l b a t t l e while crossing from cruiser
to cruiser. This section of the map seems influenced by Respawn Entertainment’s “Apex Legends.” Once on the battle cruiser, the areas are open and perfect for shootouts. Each of these areas has cover and rooms to run in and out of during fire fights. Finally the ability to go under water, while shooting the opposing team, makes the
gunfights frantic and incredibly thoughtful for tacticians. Each player loadout is leveled up enough to show off a lot of the more interesting arsenals that players can mix and match for their characters. Most weapons are of the era with slight tweaks to make them more video-game friendly. The game includes fun extra pieces of equipment that range from landmines to microphone sound detectors. These additional tools take time to build up the opportunity to use, but they don’t have a limit to uses. This addition is an interesting wrinkle to the game play this time around. If there is one thing that is constantly a distraction as much as it is a wonder to hear, it has to be the audio content. The Call of Duty themes and exciting score is there in between matches, like the soundtrack to an action-packed ‘80s flick. Unfortunately the weapon sounds effects are odd and animated a bit. Luckily, the explosions and the sound design for the battles is intense and fun to experience. With the closed beta coming in early October, Activision and its studios are preparing fans for a fun ride. The inclusion of some more focused large-map modes in the form of combined arms is a postive idea for the future of one of the biggest gaming franchises.
‘Cuties’ inspires jeer not cheer BY STEPHANIE SICAL Staff Writer
COURTSEY OF/HOME BOX OFFICE MAX
ON THE RUN— Veronica Clarke (left) and Bailey Butler (right), bonding while at a carnival
Women’s rights movies focus BY CASSIDY REYNA Staff Writer
HBO Max’s original film “Unpregnant” is a boisterous teen film that sends an important message that is relevant in current times. The film follows two teenage girls, Veronica Clarke and Bailey Butler. The girls were at one time best friends but grew apart during their teen years. Clarke finds out she is pregnant while taking a pregnancy test in the school bathroom. Butler happens to walk in as Clarke drops the test which skids across the floor to Butler’s feet. Clarke soon finds out that in the state of Missouri, as well as other states surrounding her, parental consent is required to have the abortion done. Clarke realizes she will need to go across state lines to Albuquerque, New Mexico to get the procedure done. With Butler being the only person who knows about her pregnancy, she asks her for help and they embark on the road trip together. The girls take this weekend to rekindle their childhood friendship as if nothing ever happened. From the beginning of their journey with Butler stealing her mother’s boyfriend’s car, to attempting to jump on trains and hitch rides to get to Albuquerque the pair grows closer. During the movie, the girls even go to a carnival. While there, they have the time of
their lives’ bonding over their personal struggles. Clarke is an Ivy League-bound scholar and popular girl at their high school. Since Clarke is one of the popular students, she has her own clique. Veronica Clarke wants to keep her pregnancy a secret, which ultimately leads to her decision to get an abortion. Bailey Butler is a boisterous, and edgy character, who is the outsider at their high school. Many students are embarrassed to associate themselves with her,so Butler tends to be alone at school.
The film emphasizes the fact that sexual health clinics are necessary and should not be limited.
The film takes the serious topic of abortion into a lighthearted, enjoyable and understanding film. Considering the country's current political climate, the movie cause controversy due to the topic of abortion on the film’s trailer. This is shown through the likes and dislikes of the trailer on
Youtube. However, it has rated pretty well on Rotten Tomatoes. This movie is not for everyone as it shines a light on the prochoice perspective. “Unpregnant” is meant to show the reality of what it’s like for women who are unable to get an abortion in a restrictive state. Although it is comedic, it is still reality. Clarke does not want to derail the plans for her future at Brown University, and many young women today can relate to that. Even though this film is about pro-choice, those with different perspectives can possibly see abortions or birth control in a different light. The film emphasizes the fact that sexual health clinics are necessary and should not be limited. Sexual health clinics like Planned Parenthood not only help those who need abortion, but they provide sexual education and more for those who need it. Shining a light on this topic is prevalent as today many actions of the government are unprecedented and easily take the right to what a woman can do with her body. Overall, HBO Max’ “Unpregnant” is enjoyable and informative, especially to those who are unaware of the importance of facilities like Planned Parenthood. Some audiences may not like it due to its pro-choice nature, but it is a very light-hearted movie that sends a message about the realities of restrictions of abortions.
¨Cuties¨ is a dramatic film that misses the mark to inspire young girls by overtly sexualizing them. The movie is written and directed by Maïmouna Doucouré and is her debut as director. The movie is disturbing for many adult viewers and fairly inappropriate for children. The international film’s idea is to be inspirational for little girls who grow up suppressed in a strict family and religion. The movie however fails to deliver on that, and the sexual way the 11-year-old cast stars are displayed distracts viewers from grasping the moral of the story. The film stars Fathia Youssouf, Médina El Aidi-Azouni, Esther Gohourou, Ilanah CamiGoursolas and Maïmouna Gueye play a group of dancers named "The Cuties" at school. Amy, an 11 year old girl, joins and quickly becomes aware of her femininity. Joining the group upsets her mother, who is a strict Muslim woman, and also compromises Amy’s values in the process. Amy, an immigrant girl from Senegal, lives with her mother Mariam and two younger brothers in an apartment in one
of Paris's poorest neighborhoods. Amy is tired of the prayers and religious values in general that her aunt seeks to impose on her. Things turn swiftly as Amy is fascinated by her disobedient neighbor Angelica's twerking dancing group "Cuties,” an adult-style dance troupe. This is in contrast to her religious customs, values and traditions. The pre-teens practice for a competition and adopt revealing outfits. It is the hunger for fame and
“The dance scenes are hard to watch considering that the actresses are only 11 and the close-up shots can make anyone who’s watching quite uncomfortable.” approval on social media that influences Amy to incorporate sexually suggestive dance moves into the choreography. Amy is already humiliated at school, then decides to send a compromising photo of her vulva on social networks, which causes her to be rejected by her
classmates. She does this thinking that the more sexual she was the more successful and popular she would become The dance scenes are hard to watch, considering that the actresses are only 11 and the close-up shots can make anyone who’s watching quite uncomfortable. They have revealing outfits, arched backs, and are twerking while putting their fingers in their mouths in a sexual way. “Cuties” has captured the attention of many viewers around the world, but in the US it has been ranked #7 over the past week on Netflix. People were expressing their discontent and disappointment over the fact that Netflix has not taken action in the matter and allowed such controversial movies to be visible for the public. #CancelNetflix and #BoycottNetflix was trending on social media a day after the film debuted. The social media platform Tik Tok has made an effort to draw enough attention to the films inappropriateness in order for Netflix to take the film down. Some ¨Tik Tok¨ users have even taken an extra step and have uploaded videos of them unsubscribing from their longterm Netflix accounts.
COURTESY OF/IMDB
NOT SAFE FOR KIDS—The French film ‘Cuties’ is now available to stream on Netflix. They are ‘deeply sorry’ for ‘inappropriate artwork’ used for film about kids’ dance group.
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EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS
RBG leaves world with inspired ELAC professors BY CASSIDY REYNA Staff Writer
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a forced to be reckoned with. Ginsburg lived a life of perseverance, being the second woman on the United States Supreme Court and going through obstacles to get herself there. RBG set the example for many people today. Ginsburg was born in B r o o k l y n , N e w Yo r k , t o immigrant parents. She attended Cornell University and graduated at the top of her class. Soon after, Ginsburg took a break from school to focus on her family. Not too long after, Ginsburg enrolled at Harvard Law then transferred to Columbia Law and graduated at the top of her class. Despite the discrimination for being a woman in a maledominated field, she persevered. Ginsburg made waves in her career being a Supreme Court Justice. In United States v. Virginia, Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion that allowed equal access to education for women. Not only that, but in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Ginsburg called out how pay discrimination occurs in the work place due to gender. RBG was an inspiration to all when it came to fighting for equality. Ginsburg’s life spoke volumes to many people and ELAC professors are no stranger
to that either. Many ELAC professors within Law, Political Science and the women and gender studies departments agree that RBG inspired them to pursue the career they are currently in. Professor Courtney Powers from the ELAC Business Department is extremely grateful for all that Ginsburg accomplished and the example that Ginsburg set when it came to women in law. Powers mentioned how even if there is a disagreement in Ginsburgs’ views, it is agreeable that the life she lived and how she became a trailblazer was all about perseverance. “I was an aspiring law student when Justice Ginsburg was appointed to the Court, bringing the total number of women on the Court to 2 (of 9). “Her appointment helped me to believe that as a woman, my contributions would be valued in the legal profession, and that I could aspire to the highest level of service in the law. “I also feel that her commitment to her work through multiple battles with cancer over the past 20 years is testament to her perseverance and a remarkable example of what it is possible to achieve in life.” said Powers. Professor Powers also mentioned that students can learn more about Ginsburg in her Law 3 civil rights and law class that will be taught in the spring. Professor Lauren Figueroa of the English Department was profoundly heartbroken at the passing of Ginsburg, but hopes
News
that her legacy can empower many students in their goals. Figueroa said Ginsburg is someone people can aspire to be. Regardless of a person's career path or what a student is studying, Ginsburg’s story can show how goals can be reached despite any obstacles. Figueroa said Ginsburgs’ nickname “Notorious RBG” was ironic. Ginsburg was only notorious for being a threat to those who were against the equality she fought for. “She held her position of power with grace and humility. Justice Ginsburg didn’t just talk the talk, she walked the walk, and was one of those early ‘woke’ persons,” said Figueroa. Figueroa also talked about how she honored Ginsburg’s life through teaching her students about her. Figueroa hopes that learning about Ginsburg can inspire, like it did for her. Political Science Professor Rogelio Garcia talked about how Ginsburg’s life speaks to him. Due to Ginsburg coming from immigrant parents and being a first-generation college graduate, he himself relates to the obstacles she faced. “As I became further educated and into my discipline, my admiration for her only grew, as I began to hear her questioning during oral arguments. She was so brilliant in her questioning. It just made me want to read more about these cases that are really stories. More importantly,
it showed me that there is power in talking to people about these complex issues. She was a big inspiration in deciding to pursue a career as a professor,” said Garcia. Garcia now covers a couple of Ginsburg’s cases in his Political Science 001, intro to political science class. Ginsburg set the example that professor Garcia tries to live by. Political Science Professor Kenneth Chaiprasert who also is the coordinator of ELAC Pathway to Law School Transfer Program, expressed how Ginsburg’s way of speaking for her cases and her pivotal opinions truly showed the way she was. “Her life story and legacy inspire my own work as the coordinator of the ELAC Pathway to Law School Transfer Program, a program which activates ELAC Huskies to become champions of social justice. It is my hope that my program will continue to create graduates from our East LA community who will be the future lawyers, judges, and justices--the future Ruth Bader Ginsburgs--that continue to advance social justice into the future,” said Chaiprasert. Chaiprasert said Ginsburg was a warrior and passionate for what she fought for. Ginsburg m ad e s u c h a n i m p a c t o n ELAC professors that many requested that her documentary “RBG,” be available for free to ELAC students, faculty and staff through ELAC’s Kanopy platform.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2020
Art director earns second place in professional cartooning BY LUIS CASTILLA Staff Writer
Despite finding himself in quarantine like much of the country, Steven Adamo, one of East Los Angeles College Campus News’ most decorated staff members, has won yet another award in journalism. Adamo, ELAC Campus News art director, won second place in editorial cartooning at the Los Angeles Press Club’s 62nd Southern California Journalism Awards. Adamo’s work was submited in a professional category. He was runner up to Lalo Alcarez, a Los Angeles Time cartoonist. The Southern California Journalism Awards accepted entries from many news organizations including the Los Angeles Times, KCET and NBC LA. Adamo’s cartoon,”Facebook advertises fake news,” depicts a hand crossing its fingers and becoming the Facebook logo. Adamo also wrote its coinciding article, “Social media advertises fake news.” It was Facebook’s privacy misuse that gave Adamo the idea for the cartoon. “I think Facebook is a very sneaky company. So to say one thing to your face, and do another seems like something that’s common practice to them,” Adamo said. Being a skilled artist and writer, Adamo is placed in a unique position to create the graphics for the stories he writes. Adamo said he comes up with the idea for the image first and then the story. “I come up with the image first because it can be less complicated than written language, but ultimately I’d like if they can both compliment one another,” Adamo said. As one of Campus News’ most
skilled illustrators, Adamo lends his talents to those in need, pulling many out of their respective pickles. Gustavo Buenrostro, former Campus News editor in chief, said he found Adamo to be extremely reliable. “Whether I was EIC or just an editor, if I had an idea for a graphic, he would be there to help me or if I needed a cartoon for an opinion story, Steven would be up for it,” said Buenrostro. “Sometimes I would feel bad because we relied on Steven for a lot, but he always had a good attitude about it.” “When Steven does an illustration, you know it’s his because he has his own unique flare,” said Buenrostro. “Sometimes, his graphics can be considered a little odd, but it’s hard to deny the talent he has when you see them.” Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Campus News has been forced to operate entirely online. Adamo said he misses the collaborative environment of being in a physical newsroom. “Even though our newsroom has proven to be able to work virtually, it doesn’t compare to the actual newsroom, its resources and the ability to problem-solve in real time as a group,” Adamo said. Though life has moved online for the most part, Adamo is still wary of Facebook’s practices in this new digital age. “I’m increasingly alarmed from the reports of software developers misusing our data, in exchange for free services,” Adamo said. “It’s what inspired me to draw the original image. The difference now after attending ELAC journalism, I can write a better article to accompany it,” Adamo said. While he could not celebrate his second place win at a traditional awards ceremony, Adamo said he misses the chicken dinners and the comradery of winning with a team.
Census 2020 collects, updates for fall BY JUAN CALVILLO Staff Writer
Despite litigation concerning the end date for the 2020 Census, data is still being collected and everyone needs to be counted. 2020Census.gov, the Census’ website, has details on response rates for the Census per state. Currently California is at 96.7 percent counted or enumerated. These figures are gathered through self response, either online, over the phone, or through forms and through enumerators counting of nonresponse people. Los Angeles Regional Census Center media specialist Patricia Ramos said that despite all that the country is going through, the Census Bureau has continued on counting. She said that currently enumerators are out continuing to count people who were nonresponsive and that in the coming
week, more people would be counted. “That 3.9 percent of the California population that has not been accounted for, they (enumerators) are still knocking on those doors. The homeless that will be counted next week, they are being counted as well. And we are also finishing up with other special operations such as the counting of college students, the counting of people in transitory locations, like people who are living in RVs,”
Ramos said. She said college students, even those in community colleges should fill out the census. Ramos said that these students may have been living closer to their campus before, but are now not because of the pandemic. She said anyany these students should remember to put on their census where they would have been living as of April 1 and not where they currently live. This is due to some students returning home during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Al Rios, dean of continuing education and workforce development, has been working on campus and with multiple community groups on informing students about the census since before the pandemic hit. He said that when the pandemic struck he was invited to a student government meeting where he informed them of the various connections they could use in the local area when it came to the census. Now months later he said that the most important thing to get across was that of being counted. “It means funding for the next 10 years. It’s the formula that the federal government uses to allocate resources, funding for health care, for education, for transportation,” Rios said. He said it is critical to be counted. Rios said that funding lost for those not accounted for was something in the realm of
$2000 yearly. He said that not being counted, or being undercounted could cause losses of congressional representation since population size affects that. Scott Svonkin, member of the board of trustees for the Los Angeles Community College District said that early on in the process the board passed a resolution supporting efforts for the census. He said students should know that filling out the census is completely safe no matter their situation. For things like voting a person would need to be registered, but when it comes to the census there is no registration. More importantly all information is confidential. Oftentimes talking points make it sound like the entire purpose of the census is about getting money for the state. However, Svonkin said that it
shouldn’t be seen as taking as much money as possible. “So it’s really about fair share. What the federal government does is, based on how many people are in a geography a lot of funding is allocated,” Svonkin said. He said that this allocation can be negatively affected if there is an undercount of people. Svonkin said that getting a correct count doesn’t mean that California is more important. It just means that it has more people than smaller states population. “There are three things that every student and every person in their families should do. “Number one is to fill out the census in the next few weeks. Number two is go vote or fill out their ballot that's mailed to their home. “And the last thing is, wear a mask. That shows you care about those around you,” Svonkin said.
Budget meeting focuses on supporting students BY JEREMY ARIAS Staff Writer
The East Los Angeles College Budget Committee met over Zoom to discuss details about the budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The committee displayed a table indicating that ELAC’s enrollment is only 93 percent of what it was last year. Professors and students present in the meeting reported having difficulty with enrolling for classes. Some professors noted that students were waitlisting for all sections of a class, while others couldn’t waitlist for classes that reached their maximum capacity. Child Development professor and American Federation of Teachers chapter chair www.ELACCampusNews.com
Michele Benjamin said to the committee that her students were experiencing a lot of confusion when adding their classes. The committee compared the 2020-2021 fiscal year budget to last year’s expenditures. Last year’s total expenditures resulted in about $128 million, which also included many one time expenses. This year’s fiscal budget is estimated to be about $123 million, five million dollars short of last year’s budget. While dealing with a smaller budget, the committee also said they had to abide by a mandate set by the district to reduce spending by 2.5 % which translates to about $3 million more in planned reductions. “This is not a good time to be hurting our students,” Academic Senate President Jefferey
Hernandez said in reference to budget cuts. “Never is a good time, but this is an especially bad time,” he said. The Budget Committee focused on figuring out how they will close the gap in reductions. The committee listed five rules they obtained from survey data to follow when making budget cuts. The number one voted for rule in the survey was to keep cuts from students and protect enrollment. This rule was later specified to include protecting the resources students use, such as the Learning Center and online tutoring, which aim to help retain students and support them in their classes. The second rule was for ELAC to ensure that all Financial Aid
“This is not a good time to be hurting our students. Never is a good time, but this is an especially bad time .”
JEFFEREY HERNANDEZ
Academic Senate President
operations were working at full capacity to ensure their services are available to students. Financial Aid is a crucial service for many students, and can even be critical to the protection of student enrollment and retention. The third and fourth rule asked that ELAC does not replace any full-time staff unless it is necessary, and to use shared governance to ensure equity and fairness in making the cuts. The last rule was to defer scheduled projects that don’t benefit students as much, considering most of the instruction is taking place remotely and students will not be on campus. Wi t h s t u d e n t s l e a r n i n g remotely, the committee looks forward to saving money on
things like the building utilities, printing costs and transportation between ELAC campuses. The committee acknowledged that despite having some areas to save money, unfortunately, cuts will have to be made. One of the suggestions made was to reduce the contract with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department by 10-15%. The committee said the existing contract is too expensive for what is needed on campus, and they considered renegotiating their deal. The committee also floated the idea of cutting back on student worker overtime, as well as some of the equipment costs, but warned to be lean with these cuts, since many of these services will be needed when students return to campus. www.ELACCampusNews.com