Volume 78, Issue 3 | www.elaccampusnews.com | Wednesday, September 30, 2020 | Single copy free - additional copies 50 cents
Cal community college courses online until 2024 BY SONNY TAPIA Staff Writer
California Community College Chancellor Oakley believes that online courses will be normal until 2024. Oakley discussed enrollment and efforts being made by the community college system during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health and safety of students and faculty remains the focus of Oakley and his office during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that the students and faculty will not return to campus until it is safe to do so and in accordance with the regulations set by each county. “Colleges and districts should be prepared for an extended period of time educating like this,” Oakley said. California community colleges experienced a 5% to 7% enrollment drop since the start of the fall semester. Although, during the summer, colleges experienced more enrollments due to shortened class periods according to Oakley. Oakley said that the enrollment gap is closing, even though the chancellor’s office will not know the exact percentage until 2021. “A lot of students picked up credits and courses that they could not in spring. The fall enrollment is much softer, but I am sure the gap will close with time,” Oakley said. The chancellor’s office said that
expects a rise in enrollment when depending on what country the adult courses, late-start courses students come from. and intertwined courses with high If students are from one of 43 schoolers transitioning to college countries, including Nigeria, Iraq, begin. Ethiopia and the Philippeans, they Oakley stressed the importance would be given only two years on of voting during the primary their visas. election to help the country and the Trump is also limiting students international students in need of to two years from nations deemed help from the government. by Trump to be terrorist supporters: The which are Iran, c h a n c e l l o r ’s North Korea, office created Syria and Sudan. “We continue to a partnership The chancellor’s with the office has initiated encourage our Student Senate a “Stay Enrolled” of California campaign that students to email Community helps students and and mail letters to Colleges faculty receive the t o c r e a t e a their local officials, in help that they need program to to continue to stay help students order to push for more enrolled in their register to vote. courses. funding.” The SSCCC Oakley has has sent out been able to keep emails and text colleges within ELOY OAKLEY messages to the California California Community College students that are community held Chancellor in need of help harmless. Oakley and to inform said that harmless them about the means that the importance of voting. colleges and districts will receive The SSCCC has created another the same amount of resources and program with Secretary of State funding that they had before the Alex Padilla in order to reach enrollment decline. students more directly to make sure Full-time instructors are also they are registered to vote by Nov. 3. protected under the held harmless Oakley considers this to be a initiative, but part-time instructors big deal because President Donald are not. “Part-time instructors may Trump has been talking about a new see a reduction in load, due to the plan for international students. move to online teaching,” Oakley Trump’s new plan would cut said. students’ travel visas off at four Extended Opportunity Programs years and would be cut to two years a n d S e r v i c e s s t u d e n t s a n d
Diversabilities Support Program and Services (DSP&S) students have been a key part to the “Stay Enrolled” campaign according to Oakley. Through this campaign each district throughout California has received information, directly from students who use these services, for their districts to properly assess their needs through this pandemic and shift. The Los Angeles Community College District has made several opportunities available to students in EOPS and DSP&S. The staff involved with the two programs reaches out to students that are in the programs directly through email to find out what the specific needs of the students are. The emails contain surveys and questionnaires for the students to discuss any issues the students are having in classes or at home. “Our staff reaches out to our DSP&S and EOPS students by making phone calls to students and sending announcements via email. We also send out surveys to find out their needs and to find out if they are having any struggles.” “They receive emails from both programs on a regular basis,” Associate Dean of DSP&S and EOPS Graciela Hernandez said. The programs have made adjustments to the qualifications for acceptance by lowering the numbers of credits required. Before the number of units required were 12. However, students may now be accepted if they are enrolled in nine units.
GREETINGS-- California Community College Chancellor, Eloy Oakley welcomes participants to the online conference. Another adjustment to EOPS and DSP&S is that the appointments with workers and students are longer, to provide more service to the students with technology difficulties. Hernandez said that students in these programs had to work harder to keep their grades up because of the shift and online content. She said that the students will be receiving calls and help from hired interns to keep them engaged in the learning process. “They are resilient and I couldn’t be more proud of them for staying strong and continuing their education. “They struggle, but with the help from these programs, they have managed to adapt and they have persevered,” Hernandez said. EOPS students are given book vouchers as a part of the program, along with information and help to
sign them up with resources like the CARES Act. The funding that was provided and distributed to colleges and universities, through the CARES Act was based on how many students were enrolled full-time. Oakley said that we were short changed as a college system compared to other private universities, so the chancellor’s office created a presence in Washington D.C. It is pushing for the next government payment to be distributed accurately based on head count and not full-time enrollment. “We continue to encourage our students to email and mail letters to their local officials in order to push for more funding,” Oakley said. Along with funding, the system is also pushing the state government for more flexibility with grading and getting into courses students need.
Huskies promote anti-rascism Guided pathways Left to right: 1.Yuxuan Bai 2.Leticia Barajas 3.Eileen Ie 4.LaQuita Jones 5. Raeanna Gleason
From ELAC’s Equity Audit Dialogues on Zoom:
BY MELVIN BUI Staff Writer
News Briefs
CN/ STEVEN ADAMO
East Los Angeles College is a minority majority community college, but that doesn’t mean that it is free of racism. In efforts for equity ELAC hosted an equity audit dialogue to highlight what was learned from an anti-racism presentation last Friday. The anti-racism presentation, Fostering and Sustaining Inclusive Classrooms for People of Color was held on Sept. 10. The dialogue was led by the e-convening team and critical topics were explained by the equity ambassadors. E-convening is a term for people coming together for a meeting or assembling online. However, the e-covening team are the people in charge of hosting the meeting. ELAC’s e-convening team is made up of three professors: English Professor Raenna Glaeson and Sociology Professors LaQuinta Jones and Eileen Le. ELAC’s equity ambassadors are the group of individuals who attend the e-covenings hosted by the University of California. ELAC has four equity ambassadors that represent the college during e-convenings: The Associated Student Union President and three faculty members. So far, they have participated in one of 12 e-convenings, as a part of the Community College Equity Leadership Alliance with the USC Race and Equity Center. The CCELA is an invitation to an alliance, which aims to address and improve marginalized classroom environments so that it’s more inclusive for students of color. The dialogue aimed to highlight the actions students and faculty can do to help foster an environment of integrity and growth. The first call of action was to acknowledge racism and other forms of discrimination like colorism and classism. “People are conflating diverse
“People are conflating diverse student body with lack of racism.” APRI FESTEKJIAN
Psychology Professor
student body with lack of racism,” said Psychology Professor Apri Festekjian. She said because of that faulty assumption, there are major blind spots. Curricular erasure and the refusal to learn students’ names can signify potential racism in classroom settings. Many faculty members nodded in agreement that it was basic respect or common courtesy to learn a student’s name. “What does equity and inclusion mean in a minority-based institution,” said non-credit faculty member Leticia Barajas. She said that there needs to be a change in the way the word equity and inclusion is being used when dealing with students of color, because the meaning is too broad. The second call of action was for participants to talk about
Gender oppression dialogue
what steps can be taken to abolish racism on campus and their definition of anti-racism. The first step was to acknowledge the problem and then look for solutions. It is important to know what is being fixed before blindly fixing it. “My tenure should not obviate me of my accountability to students nor should my academic freedom excuse me from my responsibility and commitment to anti-racism,” Festekjian said. She said that it is proven in sociology that changing behavior can change attitude. “Instructors must take the time to address racism,” said English professor Nancy Ramirez. Political Science professor Kenneth Chaiprasert said that people can’t be forced to change. However, it can be recommended and shown the benefits. He said that racism is everyone’s problem and that it is important to take conscious action to stop racism. However, people must be willing to change in order for it to work. “As students, we go to school to learn and become a better version of ourselves. But if our reality up until this point has included our idea of racism to be ‘normal’ and
The Student Health Center is discussing the global impact of gender-based violence and its effects men and women on Oct. 12 at 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Register at https://www.elawc.org/dvam20
‘not wrong,’ anti-racism is necessary to help create a healthier and better reality,” said ELAC student, Geovanny Martinez. The overall goal of the dialogue was to create and foster an environment to continuously discuss critical topics. The dialogue was held because faculty members and staff felt that there was a need to discuss racism during these trying times. “We really need to ensure our teaching and service practices are grounded and relevant to the lived experiences of the students. Cultural responsiveness is crucial to that enterprise,” said Academic Senate President Jeffrey Hernandez. The dialogue was hosted on Zoom with 35 participants, made up of faculty members and students. The interactive presentation software Mentimeter was used throughout the dialogue for participants to answer questions anonymously. Students must register in order to participate in these dialogues. The link to register is https:// laccd.zoom.us/meeting/register/ tJlvdemvpzwtHddsBjResLNbOznAn9_eoxln
Mamba Mentality Workshop
directs students BY DANIELLA MOLINA Staff Writer
Guided Pathways helps East Los Angeles College students map out an educational path, specifically tailored to a student, based on interests and skills. The California Guided Pathways Project teamed up with the Community College Research Center for eight years of research, on American community college students. Its findings revealed a significant number of students not earning degrees, certificates or graduating on time in some cases, not graduating at all. East Los Angeles College professor and faculty facilitator for ELAC Guided Pathways Frank Aguirre said, “They showed up to campus, as if it was high school. They just showed up to the office, and be like, ‘Where do I report to?’ No, you have to do all these others things. They just don’t know.” The Community College Research Center published an article on their website in 2015 which exposed the deterioration in the foundation of student support and success. Some students were completely lost in the web of classes to pick and choose from. They signed up for community college without even having a major in mind. CGPP debuted in southern California by reaching out to community colleges and presented the ideas of an entire researched approach, to set students on a streamline journey toward their educational and personal life goals. Most importantly, exposing early in the game, all of the possible career choices of that path as well as presenting detailed
This tribute workshop aims to teach participants about Kobe Bryant’s work ethic and how they could apply it to math. Upcoming workshop dates are Oct. 13 at 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Oct. 28 at noon to 1 p.m. Zoom link: https://laccd.zoom.us/j/4908477741
course suggestions to take, by semester. “When students know exactly what they are supposed to take and how it leads to careers, their likelihood of success is statically a little higher,” he said. Laying out all courses to take in their first, second and third semester, highlighting the most important courses for the students overall goals and major choice. By clearing out any unnecessary units, which saves, not only the student’s time and money, but also colleges and taxpayers’ money. It is too soon to know if this is the new golden standard that helps the students who don’t have any clue what they want to do in college. And if it will make academic choices easier to understand, as well as understanding the reasoning behind the courses they are taking. By linking up courses and career opportunities in the beginning framework, students can get clarification of the requirements of their goals. Think of guided pathways as a “Process of clarification,” said Aguirre. The underlying goals are to prevent students from taking incorrect courses, or spending any unnecessary time on units not related to their educational choices. The Guided Pathways Project is being implemented in hundreds of Community Colleges across the United States including ELAC. Community colleges have been overlooked, by mostly being thought of as a stepping stone to somewhere else. But there is so much more a student can accomplish during their time at a community college. SEE MORE AT WWW.ELACCAMPUSNEWS.COM
Spoon River Anthology ELAC’s Theater Art Department presents their first virtual experience, “Spoon River Anthology” by Edgar Lee Masters on Oct. 23 at 8 p.m., Oct 24 at 2 p.m. or 9 p.m. and Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. For more information go to www.elactheater.org or call (323)-415-5333.
Opinion Zoom application critical to students 2
EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
BY SONNY TAPIA Staff Writer
The video conference application Zoom, is a critical infrastructure to society because it creates a more personal approach to the outside world. Zoom has been a crucial part to schools across the nation and other parts of the world since the COVID19 pandemic started. The company was founded by Eric Yuan in 2011 and launched in 2013 after Yuan cut his ties with the video conferencing company WebEx. Yuan helped build WebEx when it was a start-up in 2007. WebEx was acquired by Cisco that year and grew to be a bigger company in the technology world. The popularity of Zoom grew within two years of production from around one million users in the first year and over 40 million by the end of the second year. In a blog post made by Yuan in March, he said that there were over 200 million calls being made every day and later 300 million by the end of the following month. The video conferencing service acts as a medium for teachers and professors, from preschool to graduate school. It offers a sense of face-to-face contact without actually being in the same room. Journalism Professor Jean Stapleton talked about her experience in recent semesters using Zoom. “Zoom is totally critical to class. If there’s no Zoom, then there is no class. I can’t lecture to an empty room because a lot of what I do has to do with engaging with students,” Stapleton said. Stapleton records her Zoom meetings with the students for their classmates that are not present. This gives the absent students a way to see what they missed. It also means they did not get time to actually speak with the professor. Zoom made a contract with Oracle Cloud in April of this year.
Oracle immediately managed thousands of Zoom calls through its servers for Zoom. This allowed Zoom to fully engage in its encryption process of using Transport Layer Security on all calls made through the application. Using this encryption process means that the call is blocked from hackers spying on the wifi network the user is on, while allowing Zoom to access the servers to view activity on the calls. Zoom is looking to have an update to the application that will change its encryption method to end-to-end encryption. This will make the application will be much safer for the user because Zoom will not be able to see the call for itself. This will protect professors and
Zoom has been a critical part to schools across the nation since the COVID-19 pandemic started. teachers from Zoom bombings, which was an issue in the beginning of the pandemic. Zoom bombings dealt with random entrances from unauthorized viewers to meetings and virtual classrooms. Not every teacher or professor has dealt with this issue due to an update from the company that added passwords to Zoom conferences. “No, I have not had any issues with that. The students are wonderful and doing their best,” Stapleton said. Public Relations Professor Angela Burrell said that she has not run into any problems since the pandemic started. She feels that the features of waiting rooms help security on Zoom calls. Although Zoom sent out the update fairly quickly, it is not perfect. Stapleton said that one of the flaws in the system was the
EDITOR IN CHIEF Juan Cavillo MANAGING EDITOR Luis Castilla FRONT EDITORS Melvin Bui Jonathan Bermudez OPINION EDITOR Daniella Molina NEWS EDITOR Jeremy Arias
CN/ZASHA HAYES
ability to unmute everyone at once to answer a question. She related this to the ability of professors to mute everyone at once, but could not unmute them without sending a permission notice to the students to unmute.“There are things that are not perfect, but I figure it out in different ways. Usually, I’m on YouTube looking at videos that will help,” Stapleton said. Burrell also mentioned how this can relate to somewhat of faceto-face contact. “This is the closest thing that we have to continuing with a set time frame with instructors,” Burrell said. Zoom offers a dynamic experience during a time of struggle, when it comes to face-to-face experiences. Zoom allows students of all ages to see their teachers and professors in a more personal way. Younger students need to see their teachers in order to be engaged with the curriculum, even though they may struggle at home with privacy.
Confusion turns violent
BY JUAN CALVILLO Staff Writer
www.ELACCampusNews.com
CN/ZASHA HAYES
facility. People speculate that they just want to cause violence, since their views are inconsistent. Civilians that are against the peaceful protests have decided to take matters into their own hands. They support the police and are acting like police officers themselves and are fighting to ward
They idolize the police so much that they themselves began acting like the police. off protestors. These gun-wielding civilians behave as if they hold the authority to shut down and harm protesters. Following the Protest for Jacobs Blake’s shooting in Wisconsin, Kyle Rittenhouse 17, killed two people and injured a third person. A kid that is still in high school decided that he had the authority
allowed us to grow as social and emotional beings by adapting to the situation. The company has great customer service, and that’s why they can adapt and send updates as frequently as they do.” Online conferencing has allowed families and friends to stay in contact during the pandemic. Family reunions are something that happens on a screen during the current times and Zoom has allowed that to happen. Burrell said that the program has allowed her to change her ways of communicating with friends on the east coast. She has not had a full family reunion yet on the Zoom platform, but has joined with friends and family to catch up on what is happening. Burrell said that it is different, but good to see friends and family members in a different light given the circumstances.
Software elicits privacy issues
BY LEONARDO CERVANTES Staff Writer Black Lives Matter, Antifa, and the Boogaloo Bois seem similar, but are not and that confusion is causing everyday citizens to take up arms with scary results. The BLM movement originated in 2013 due to the increasing number of police brutality against black people. They believe in peaceful protest and demand change on systematic racism. In May of 2020, when George Floyd was killed by an officer of the Minneapolis Police Department. BLM was brought back into the national spotlight as it began protesting worldwide. The nationwide protests lasted weeks and the media covered it extensively every day. Antifa also participated in BLM protests around the country. They believe in resorting to violence if necessary, which sets them apart from BLM. Following the death of George Floyd, some of the protests got out of hand and riots ensued. Antifa was blamed for the looting and property damage that occurred. People who believe in the idea of Antifa, are those that are opposed to the facisim. President Trump went as far as saying they caused the violence and labeled them as a domestic terrorist organization. FBI Director Chris Wray has said that Antifa is an ideaology and not a terror group or organization. The Boogaloo Bois were mostly an unknown group until they made a name for themselves during the George Floyd protests. They are rumored to be a dangerous group. They are an odd group as their intentions are contradictory. Some of them supported the BLM and George Floyd protests, while others were against the cause. They have shown to be a violent group. They killed a security officer at a federal courthouse and plotted to firebomb a U.S. Forest Service
College students experience similar difficulties because of the different learning styles.Some students are visual learners rather than just verbal learners. Zoom allows the visual learners to be more engaged through powerpoints and visuals like pictures and graphs, rather than just reading and taking quizzes through Canvas. Professors use Zoom for their synchronous courses to reflect an in-classroom setting. This has given students a better opportunity to succeed in this new environment. Zoom is not just crucial to schools and classrooms, but also to businesses for conference meetings between colleagues. The application is being used to hold board meetings and client meetings in different types of businesses including public relations. “Zoom is essential in helping the business world operate during the pandemic,” Burrell said. “Zoom has
to pass judgment on protesters just because he does not share their views. On many occasions over the last few months, these gunwielding civilians have gotten very comfortable with intimidating protestrs. Many videos have gone viral where peaceful protest take place while self proclaimed, helpful citizens have their guns high and proud staring at protesters. Most, if not all these individuals are obsessed or fully support Blue Lives Matter. They idolize the police so much that they themselves began pretending to be like police officers. BLM is the more recognizable organization as they’ve been in headline news for the past seven years. During the last few years, different ethnic groups have decided to follow and support the BLM movement. They have demonstrated peaceful protest time and time again.
Proctoring software installed on a student’s computer is entirely invasive and doesn’t help build an important part of student-teacher relationships, trust. The Los Angeles Community College District provides professors with a proctoring software called “Proctorio” that can be used for testing during the COVID-19 pandemic. During a convening of the Academic Senate, Jeff Hernandez, Academic Senate president, brought the use of “Proctorio” after a small number of students had been concerned with possible privacy issues that came along with the use of the software. “We ended up settling on referring it to our committee on academic freedom and ethics. They spent quite a bit of time coming up with the recommendation that was voted on in the senate,” Hernandez said. Hernandez said that the recommendation was not to use “Proctorio.” This concern with privacy is just the tip of the iceberg that comes along with the use of monitoring software like “Proctorio.” If students’ concerns are loud enough for the Academic Senate to have a voted recommendation be made then it is a concern worth taking into consideration. Cameras are already in almost all electronic devices. Cell phones, laptops, tablets and even watches have cameras. All it would take is time and effort for someone to use these cameras against their owners. NordVPN, a company that creates virtual private networks that improve online security for users, said on its website that “All webcam hackers need to do to hijack your webcam is to slip remote-control malware into your laptop (this also gives them access to your personal files, messages, and browsing history).” Now it can be argued that proctoring software asks for permission to use the camera, but once access is given, what stops anyone from using the camera for their own purposes? This concern can be seen as far-fetched, but as recently as
September 28, Washington State University announced that its proctoring software, ProctorU, had a recent data breach. Proctoring types of software use facial recognition and body language as a means to determine if cheating is occuring. Having stored this type of information anywhere is dangerous, but being hacked and having this information stolen can become a nightmare. ELAC has professors who use “Proctorio” in their classes for tests or quizzes. Frank Aguirre, professor in the Business Department, said that he tells his students that proctoring software will be used in his classes and has it written in his syllabus. It’s an upfront issue he addresses with his class. “My goal is to preserve the integrity of the earned grade. I want to discourage cheating. Proctorio as a proctoring service seemed to have the best support for students, twenty four-seven, and tools, proctoring features, for the instructor,” Aguirre said. I have known Aguirre for close to two years, and I have come to respect his perspective and more importantly know that he is a fair professor. Yet when he informed a class that I was taking this spring, that he planned on using “Proctorio,” I was taken aback. There was a gut feeling of guilt before even taking the test. Despite that feeling, I quickly inferred why the software was being used. Aguirre explained in more detail why the software was being used and that gave the class a sense of why. Yet students in similar situations with other instructors, those just starting to get to know any professor, might not have had the same reaction. Being accused of something a student has yet to do can break the little trust being built with a professor. That may sound a bit old fashioned, but a relationship between a professor and student is hard to maintain. Proctoring software is not going to disappear while there is a pandemic going on, but its use can be shocking to some students. It’s the best option, but it is a necessary tool that’s used for now.
FEATURE EDITOR Erica Cortez ARTS EDITOR Cassidy Reyna SPORTS EDITOR Melvin Bui Jonathan Bermudez COPY EDITORS Melody Ortiz Ivan Cazares STAFF WRITERS Sonny Tapia Raymond Nava Melisa Valenzuela Leonardo Cervantes Annette Quijada Stephanie Sical PHOTOGRAPHER Diego Linares ART DIRECTOR Steven Adamo ADVERTISING Stefanie Arocha ADVISER Jean Stapleton 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.
PRINTING BY NEWS PUBLISHERS PRESS
Arts
EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
3
Coaches reveal their techniques for success BY LEONARDO CERVANTES Staff Writer
Netflix’s “The Playbook: A Coach’s Rules for Life” delves into the mind of some of the most brilliant head coaches across the world. What these coaches all have in common is how they preach repetition and focus. They approach life the same way they do coaching, studying and analyzing the game as well as life. Doc Rivers is the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers and strongly believes in routines. That is how he approaches life and coaching. Since he was young, he never said he was practicing. Instead, he always said he is playing basketball. He instills this same mentality on his team. When Rivers was young, a teacher asked him what he wanted to be in life and he said a basketball player. The teacher repeatedly told him to be more realistic, but he kept insisting it was his dream. His father also told him to be realistic but told him,”Whatever goal you have, and right now it’s too early, but when you settle on one, just finish the race.” During the 2014 playoff, Rivers had to navigate through a scandal that the team owner Donald Sterling caused. Sterling was caught on tape saying racist comments and his predominantly African American team was outraged. They had intentions of boycotting playoff games, but Rivers was able to galvanize them and they ended up playing. Jill Ellis was the U.S. Women’s national soccer team head coach for five years before stepping down in
COURTESY OF NETFLIX
TEAM PLAYER—”Don’t coach the team, coach the player,” said successful soccer coach José Mourinho. 2019 when they won their second consecutive World Cup. However, success did not come easy and Ellis went through many growing pains. The team was struggling and rumors began to surface that Ellis would be fired but did not let this distract her. Ellis made rash lineup changes causing some players to feel uncomfortable due to lack of chemistry with one another. At times, Ellis even doubted herself but kept moving forward. In 2018 her team was down 1-0 to Brazil and the feeling of dread came
up once again. They were able to adjust and ended up winning the Tournament of Nations. “To be a leader, you must make tough decisions,” that mentality benefitted Ellis and her team. In 2019 the team held the title as champions, and their platform kept growing they were able to spread their message of equal pay. José Mourinho has won 20 titles in 10 years across four countries, and is extremely successful with every team he has coached. He is often brash and overconfident with the media because he doesn’t
like interviews, but that attitude is why he succeeds as a coach. Mourinho has an unorthodox way of recruiting new players. Instead of spending millions on superstar players, he likes to scour lowerranking leagues for diamonds in the rough. This way he knows his players will always give their all on the field. In 2003, his brilliance showed when he took his team, FC Porto, to the Champions League. Manchester United was ranked as the best team that year and as the draw ceremony approached, Mourinho had his team mentally prepared. The selections
are totally random, but Mourinho told his team repeatedly that he wanted to face the best team and that was Manchester United. As the selection was announced, Manchester United was set to face FC Porto and Mourinho’s team was overjoyed. With Mourinho’s methods and the team’s motivation, they defeated Manchester United. Patrick Mouratoglou has been Serena Williams’ tennis coach since 2012, and they have won 10 Grand Slam tournaments together. Mouratoglou was never confident in interacting with people. As a kid, he had problems interacting with his
classmates but he was always looking and studying their interactions. This later helped him in life as he was now able to read people, which allowed him to deconstruct the opposing players’ body language in game. Dawn Staley has one of the most accomplished basketball resumes ever. Staley had been the back-toback player of the year, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and Allstar six consecutive years. She was always regarded as a coach on the floor when she played. When Staley became a coach, she was the first woman to win the first SEC championship for South Carolina. As a coach, she’s a two-time Atlantic 10 coach of the year and holds four Atlantic 10 Tournament titles. Since many girls weren’t playing basketball, she always had to play against the guys. Every move that they made, Staley studied and emulated it. While attending the University of Virginia, the dean told her “Growth takes place outside of your comfort zone.” This instilled a new mentality into Staley and she used it on her players, preaching discipline and focus. She knows that her players feel uncomfortable at times but it’s normal to feel uncomfortable. All head coaches have a tough task navigating through front office desires, media backlash, and trying to lead players to a championship. They must be able to manage their players and handle positive and negative emotions in the locker room. However, these coaches have been able to work through it all and come out successful.
‘Ratched’ fails to live up to hype BY CASSIDY REYNA Staff Writer
COURTESY OF NETFLIX
JUSTICE FOR LATASHA—The late Latasha Harlins age 15 shown in Netflix’s documentary “A Love Song for Latasha.”
Film pays tribute to Harlins BY ANNETTE QUIJADA Staff Writer
For decades, African Americans have been protesting for young lives they’ve unjustly lost. Now in 2020, people around the world are reminded that things still have room to further change. Long before Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, and even before the Black Lives Matter organization existed, the death of a young girl shook the Los Angeles African American community. Director Sophia Nahli Allison reminds viewers of who that girl was with her short Netflix documentary on Latasha Harlins. Netflix’s “A Love Song for Latasha,” focuses on the short life of a 15-year-old black girl named Latasha Harlins from South Central Los Angeles. Harlins was murdered on March 16, 1991 by a convenience store owner named Soon Ja Du over a $1.79 bottle of orange juice. Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, which would have resulted in 16 years in prison. Instead Judge Joyce Karlin sentenced her to 400 hours of community service, a $500 fine, and five years of probation. Allison takes a different route when creating this documentary.
She is able to use different visuals of art in order to help the viewer experience the raw emotions of a young life gone too soon. While the film gives emotions of anger because of the wrongful killing due to prejudice and racism, it also shows the vibrance in Latasha and the life she was
“She is able to use different visuals of art in order to help the viewer experience the raw emotions of a young life gone too soon.” looking forward to. In the documentary, Latasha is described as a young girl with big dreams to change her community. Her childhood best friend, named Tybie O’Bard narrates in the film and explains the plans they had for the future, “Latasha would always talk about, when we got older, okay, here goes the plan, we could still be lawyers. “That could be our day job, and we could own businesses, because every time we go into
the store, they either following us, giving us dirty looks, disrespecting us...we need, like, programs. We need something where the kids that’s outside, they can have something to do or somewhere to go…” Latasha was wise for her age, noticing the wrongfulness she and her people were going through every day while doing simple tasks such as grocery shopping, but she also wanted to create change. Even though she was only 15, she had a plan. Latasha’s death came 13 days after the video of Rodney King had surfaced, the community was still dealing with the emotions of that incident. King was a victim of police brutality when four officers from the Los Angeles Police Department savagely beat him, while other officers watched. When it came to the Rodney King’s trial, the jury decided to acquit the four officers involved. This trial would be the last straw for many and the anger began in South Central Los Angeles. The wrongful death of Latasha Harlin and the beating of Rodney King would eventually become added reasons as to why the 1992 Los Angeles Riots took place. Their deaths are still relevant today as unarmed black men and women are still fighting for their lives in this America.
“Ratched” is Netflix’s new horror thriller, based on the 1962 villain Mildred Ratched, from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” by Ken Kesey. The show is produced by the creator of “American Horror Story” Ryan Murphy, and from the beginning it is clear that there will be many gory and possible sexual scenes. Ratched is one of those characters that is hard to tell if they’re good or bad, yet the audience can root for them anyway. Ratched is known for being a cold-hearted nurse. However, the show gives her character depth and explains why she is this way. The 8-episode season can be easily compared to the “American Horror Story” universe. However, it is not rated well on Rotten Tomatoes in comparison. “Ratched” looks like it would be an amazing show from its trailer. The trailer shows exciting content for viewers to see, but “Ratched” could be better. Due to the limit in length, it seems as though each episode is a little hard to understand at times. It is confusing to remember which characters are connected and how, as well as what Ratched is doing and why. However, as the show progresses and the characters develop, it becomes easier to understand. It ends up being like a neverending string because each character is tied together somehow. It is important to note that this
show is not for everyone as it is rated for mature audiences. Murphy’s shows tend to contain nudity, sexual scenes and gore. Those who are familiar with “American Horror Story” might also see “Ratched” as an extension to season two “Asylum” of the “American Horror Story” series. However both shows take place on different timelines, “Ratched” taking place during the mid to late ‘40s and “Asylum” during the early ‘60s. In the “American Horror Story” universe all seasons are somehow connected.
Ratched is one of those characters that is hard to tell if they’re good or bad, yet the audience can root for them anyway.
Due to Murphy’s involvement on “Ratched” many viewers can assume that the two shows may be connected in the future. Although, that may not be the case as “Ratched” will follow the “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” film timeline. Actress Sarah Paulson does an outstanding job portraying Ratched. From her entrance on screen, her passion radiates through the television screen. Ratched’s
character development is amazing. Within the first few episodes, the audience assumes that Ratched will only get more psychotic and brooding but is given an amazing change. What makes this show lacking in comparison to producer Murphy’s other shows is that “Ratched” is predictable from the get go. If viewers are familiar with Murphy’s other work, it is easy to tell that there will be lots of twists and turns in the plot. Although that is consistent in this show, it feels as though the characters and their actions become predictable. What also made the show not live up to par is the ending. Without giving any spoilers, it didn’t satisfy the build up made throughout the plot, making the ending live up to the predictability of the show. The predictability of “Ratched” is made up for by how beautifully shot the show is. With vibrant colors and beautiful costume design, it definitely provides for what the show lacks. However, it would have been better if the plot was stronger. Overall the show is not terrible. However, it could have been better compared to Ryan Murphy’s other work. With shows like “American Horror Story” under Murphy’s belt, many audiences had higher expectations for this show. Not just that,but other viewers also took into account the movie based on the novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” as “Ratched” is a prequel to the movie. It is said that within the next few seasons that are scheduled, that the cross between the original movie and “Ratched” will occur.
BROODING BODY—Mildred Ratched prepares for her interview to become a nurse at
Lucia State hospital.
www.ELACCampusNews.com
4
Features
EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, September 30, 2020
Freshman adjusts to new football schedule BY ZASHA HAYES Staff Writer
CN/ VERONICA CALDERON
NEW FOOTBALL PLAYER—
Julius Calderon-Dominguez poses for his graduation from La Serna High School, after being accepted to East Los Angeles College.
Julius Calderon-Dominguez never thought a pandemic is what would keep him from playing football. Calderon-Dominguez,18, is an incoming freshman who will play for ELAC’s football team. He was a senior at La Serna Highschool in Whittier, and he played on their football team as a center offensive lineman. Calderon-Dominguez was raised by his grandfather who had a passion for football, who later coached and taught him when he was 6. He was the main reason Julius kept playing the sport. CalderonDominguez also did track and field, but decided that football was the sport he was most passionate about. He felt that football would take him far, with the admission into ELAC. However, due to COVID-19, the season has moved been postponed and will start in spring instead of fall. Because of this, CalderonDominguez doesn’t know how his football career will play out. He chose to play at ELAC because of the familiarity and history he has with the college team. “I picked East L.A. because they felt like more of a family at the
time. The coaches came to visit me at my school, and we went to the college for a tour. I felt at home. I felt like I belonged there more than at any other school, ” CalderonDominguez said. Nonetheless, because of the pandemic, he can’t play or practice with his team. COVID-19 precautions and safety protocols only allow 25 people on the field at a time. ELAC’s football team, however, averages 95 players. Calderon-Dominguez agrees with the protocols put in place to prevent the spread of the pandemic. He feels safe enough to practice now but he also knows that it was a smart move to shift all fall sports to spring at ELAC. “It’s something that we really can’t control. It did affect the football season, so I wasn’t able to show what I am able to do on the field. At the same time, this gave me a good time to develop my body, workout and do cardio. So when I come back in January I will be ready. I won’t be the same person that came in during the fall,” Calderon-Dominguez said. Calderon-Dominguez is currently working toward becoming a firefighter and is majoring in Fire Prevention. He plans on transferring once he gets his degree, but he would not hesitate to accept a
football scholarship to a good university if the opportunity arises. Because Calderon-Dominguez agrees with the precautions for COVID-19, he prefers taking online classes. Calderon-Dominguez’s academic highlights include receiving a reward for being the top of his Administration of Justice Class at La Serna. Calderon-Dominguez wants to practice with his teammates on campus. However, the pandemic has prevented him from meeting any other incoming freshmen. The upcoming season will be the first time he will see many of his teammates. Bobby Godinez, head coach and athletic director at ELAC, also has not met any of the incoming freshmen. Regardless, he believes that this year’s team will be just as good as last year. “We have a lot of leadership returning that can help the boys start at a more advanced level. The talent is just as good, and it’s probably the highest character team we’ve had. We have spectacular incoming freshmen, and what I think is that they are as good as it gets, ” said Godinez. Calderon-Dominguez’s athletic highlights include being a firstteam all-league player. This means if an all-star team would have been
made, he would have been one of the players specifically chosen to be on the team because he was good at playing his position in football. His dedication and passion for football show when his teammate Chase Davis speaks about his work ethic. Davis is who CalderonDominguez usually works out with to keep in shape. Chase said: “We started with some small dumbbells, doing
anything we could. We then progressed to a full workout bench and squat rack set up. Honestly, to start lifting with only a few light dumbbells shows that regardless of the equipment you have, Julius[Calderon-Dominguez] was trying to improve. With the extra time off, he has grown into a leader on and off the field. I look forward to seeing him come in and dominate, and I truly believe that he will.”
Prop. 22 would change employees’ statuses BY RAYMOND NAVA
CN/ STEVEN ADAMO
Staff Writer
Dream Resource Center ambassador advocates for undocumented students BY STEPHANIE SICAL Staff Writer
Katya Alvarado is the scholar ambassador of the DRC, and her function as an ambassador of the DRC is an avocate for undocumented students on campus. The Dream Resource Center provides assistance to AB-540 / SB 68 petitions, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals renewals, California Dream Act, Extended Opportunities Programs & Services, scholarships, referrals to counseling and other supportive services and resources available to students on and off campus. “We all mostly do the same work. I help undocumented students navigate through the process of higher education. For example, whether it be applying for the AB-540 form, which grants them access to paying in state tuition as opposed to out of state tuition. “This is usually often for residency change. I am also helping students seek financial assistance. For example I can help a student apply for scholarships or look for scholarships that they qualify for. Additionally, I help them apply to the Dream Act application as well as resolve any issues with their application or financial aid if they have any” Katya said. She also aids students with information
www.ELACCampusNews.com
on the College Promise grant fee waiver which is a waiver that covers classes/ tuition for the year. She also runs the social media account where she posts not only resources for undocumented students, but their families as well. This is where she promotes most of their events or events that are happening within the campus or alongside other DRC centers on other campuses. Additionally, she is currently in charge of the ConexED for the DRC another way for students to allocate their services. She’s encountered students everyday with different backgrounds and different stories about their status, their journey, goals and aspirations. She wraps it up by sharing a job anecdote: “It brings me so much joy that I’m able to help them through their journey because I have experienced navigating higher education as an undocumented student. Therefore, there are times I can relate to these students. “ She said it’s a rewarding feeling helping such an underrepresented community of students succeed, and that it’s also great knowing that she’s making change, while empowering others through her work. She shared a memorable story in which she helped inspire another student with similar background as her. “I had a student who I encountered on my first few weeks of working at the DRC and they’ve been seeking our
services since. We’ve kept in contact and they messaged me one day with a question they had and then they told me that it was very inspiring to see how much I’ve achieved and accomplished in the little time I’ve been at the DRC or since they’ve met me. “This resonated with me because I then realized that there are people who look up to me and who look up to the work I’m doing. They see me as an example of someone who can achieve anything they set themselves to regardless of one’s immigration status and I think that’s the best part about my job,” Katya said. The mission of ELAC’s Dream Resource Center is to empower undocumented and LGBTQ students to cultivate their personal, social and academic growth by building leadership skills, promoting social justice, and advocating for access and equity within higher education. The Dream Resource Center is in full function and serving students virtually. Despite COVID-19, they have been able keep their students informed and assist in any way shape or form via their Instagram page @ elacdreamresourcecenter. Or via phone: (213) 394-2897.
Proposition 22 would have very big effects on California residents. Prop 22 asks whether applicationbased-drivers should be considered as independent contractors rather than agents or employees. If voters vote yes, Prop 22 would overturn Assembly Bill 5 for app based drivers, which was passed in 2019. Assembly Bill 5 laid out a threepoint test that determined whether a worker would be classified as an independent contractor. The first point is whether the worker is free from their employer's control, as well as the direction of their work. The second point is whether the work is being done outside of the company's regular course of business. The third point is whether the worker is engaging in a business, established trade or occupation of the same nature as the work they are doing. These guidelines have drawn criticism from drivers oriented companies. On Aug 10, ride-share companies Uber and Lyft were ruled to have violated AB5 by the Superior Court of San Francisco, due to the misclassification of their workers. Both companies had threatened to suspend their operations in California should the ruling stay in effect. Ten days later, the ruling was stayed by the California First District Court of Appeal. The website Ballotpedia, a website that tracks American elections, lists some of the current backers and opposers to Prop 22. Five current corporation backers of Prop 22 are Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Postmates and Instacart. These are driver-based businesses that would be affected if Prop 22 didn't pass. National Public Radio reported that Uber and Lyft said that AB5 didn't apply to them because they consider their businesses as "tech platforms," not transportation businesses. KPFA Radio elections reporter Ariel Boone reported that the Yes on 22 campaign, which is being funded by all five companies, also gave a $2 million donation to the California Republican Party. Some of the organizations that have come out in support of Prop 22 are ones that are usually seen as backing the Republican party, such as the National Taxpayers Union. It should be noted Prop 22 would make small increases to the state income tax paid by ride-share and
delivery company drivers as well as investors. In an opinion piece for the New York Times, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that if Prop 22 was defeated, Uber wouldn't be widely available to customers and its drivers would lose the flexibility they have if they became employees. He argued that they would need to increase prices for rides, which would reduce the number of people taking them, which in turn would reduce the number of jobs for drivers. He also argued that even if they considered their drivers employees, only a small fraction would work full time and that they would operate in fewer cities. In a statement to The Sacramento Bee, State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, the author of AB5, argued that the corporations who are supporting Prop 22 wouldn't have to provide their workers with the benefits all other workers in California receive. These benefits include earning minimum wage for all the hours they work, social security and the right to organize, to just name a few. Prop 22 would make other chances such as requiring companies to adopt sexual harassment and antidiscrimination policies as well as making it a crime to impersonate a ride share driver. If Prop 22 doesn't pass, and Uber and Lyft do follow through on their threat to leave the state, it would be a tremendous toll on students. While classes at East Los Angeles College are being held online through the spring semester of 2021, when classes do return to in-person, many students who don't drive and take these rideshares would be hurt greatly as they would lose their main form of transportation. Voters will decide the outcome of Prop 22 in the coming weeks as mail in ballots are sent out.