Volume 76, Issue 21 | www.elaccampusnews.com | Wednesday, May 1, 2019 | Single copy free - additional copies 50 cents
New weathermonitoring system installed on campus Aquaponics Garden nearing completion after upgrades BY STEVEN ADAMO Staff Writer ELAC’s new Aquaponics Garden and Science Learning Lab received a brand new weather-monitoring system last week. The garden and learning lab is part of a $6 million Jardin de STEM grant awarded to ELAC’s STEM Department two years ago. “Aquaponics gardening combines hydroponics and aquaculture where fish waste fertilizes plants and vegetables in an organically controlled system,” Lou Hughes, an internal evaluator for the STEM Department, said. “From a science standpoint, there’s a lot more you can do with it than with an ordinary garden.”
The aquaponics garden, according to Hughes, was inspired by the only other aquaponics garden in the area at the Roybal Foundation in East Los Angeles. The process of aquaponics is based on what the ancient Aztecs called “chinampas.” The STEM faculty, along with the assistance of the Roots of STEM student organization, will be in charge of operating and maintaining the garden and learning lab. The lab is a collaborative effort between multiple disciplines including engineering and geology. Phase-one of the project began Friday when Roots of STEM planted a variety of spring vegetables and over 2,000 seeds. Ammonium nitrate was also added to the fish pond, which will continue for 60 more days to ensure the water is safe enough to accept fish.
WEATHER Continued on page 3
CN/STEVEN ADAMO
WEATHER OR NOT— Mark Swicegood, left, and John Grimmer monitor data while Eddie Villanueva installs the new weathermonitoring system over an old ticket booth at the new STEM Aquaponics Garden and Science Learning Center.
Brothers bring awareness on global plastic pollution BY CHER ANTIDO Staff Writer
In celebration of Earth Month, brothers Hans and Nick Schippers brought awareness on Thursday to East Los Angeles College students on global plastic pollution and how it impacts the environment. They came from Oahu, Hawaii representing Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii, a non-profit organization that organizes clean ups in their coastlines. They were in the middle of their West Coast Educational Tour from Seattle to San Diego, stopping by various schools to teach students the effects of plastic pollution and how they can stop it. “This is everybody’s problem,” Nick said. The brothers gave a presentation on how plastic is made and where it ends up after use.They talked about an article from Life Magazine in the 1960s where they advertise the use of plastic. The article encouraged the theme “throwaway lifestyle.” This lifestyle shows that people
could save about 4 hours of their day by using plastic, such as prepackaged goods and plastic utensils. “If you could save 4 hours, would you?” Nick asked the students. He said that plastic is cheap to manufacture. It’s cheap to purchase and pre-packaged food is quick to cook, saving people time. It’s convenient, but “this stuff starts to add up,” Hans said. Hans explained the way plastic start to accumulate in the ecosystem. He said it doesn’t go away; it photodegrades. “Every piece of plastic ever created is still on Earth somewhere,” he said. They showed students pictures of garbage landfills in underdeveloped countries like Indonesia that came from the U.S. and how they wash up on the beaches all over the world. Sea animals and birds are affected by this. They showed pictures on the insides of dead animals full of plastic that they mistook for food and pictures of animals getting tangled with leftover nets left by irresponsible fishermen. Plastic ends up in zooplanktons, sea plants that are responsible for the Earth’s oxygen. Most of the
oxygen is created by the ocean, and if the ocean is contaminated, so is the air people breathe. “It starts to become really harmful to our ecosystem,” Nick said.
“Individual action affected upon millions equals results...We challenge you to take personal control of your own life and see what you can cut out.” HANS SCHIPPER
Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii
They informed that the pollution people do all comes back to them. Animals accidentally eat the plastic, and the toxic chemicals in those stay in their system. Those animals essentially get eaten by humans, and no matter
how much it’s cooked and washed, humans end up eating those chemicals as well. The brothers also talked about their organization, the Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii, and talked to students about how they can help reduce this pollution. They encouraged students to practice A.I.R.— avoid, intercept, and redesign. To help solve the pollution problem, students can avoid plastic and start using reusable items in their daily lives. Students can intercept the problem by participating in beach clean ups. They can redesign plastic by recycling and using it for other things such as art and homemade tools. “Individual action affected upon millions equal results,” Hans said. “We challenge you to take a personal control of your own life and see what you can cut out.” ELAC student Kelly Figueroa was impressed and was motivated to change. “The majority of information they provided was eye-opening. Especially when they explained the story of plastic,” Figueroa said.
She thought about ways the Husky Pantry, an ELAC food pantry, can reduce their use of plastic. “Now that I think about it we buy a lot of plastic. How can we kill two birds with one stone— address food insecurity but at the same time buy products that use less plastic?” Figueroa asked. It will be difficult, however, since the food in the ELAC pantry are all prepackaged in plastic containers. The two brothers advised her in buying food in bulk and putting food in reusable containers for students. “Try looking into areas and find food that aren’t prepackaged,” Hans Schipper told her. The brothers said it’s not about government or politics; it’s much more personal than that. “Plastic pollution is just about malama ‘aina, (which means) take care of the place that you come from and you call home. “At the end of the day, we all need this place to keep going. We all need the air that we breathe. We all need the clean beaches and clean streets to raise our children. That’s all it is,” Hans said.
Sociology Club hosts clothing donation drive Club encourages students to pick up and drop off donations
COSTUME DESIGNER WINS SCHOLARSHIP Page 4
News Briefs Graduation Deadline The last day to submit petition for Spring 2019 graduation is on Tuesday. Students must meet with a counselor to confirm their eligability and fill out a petition.
Hire a Husky BY KELLY VASQUEZ Staff Writer The Sociology Club wants to help bring confidence to students that can’t afford nice clothes. From now until the end of the semester, the Sociology Club is hosting a clothing donation drive to help students on campus who can’t afford clothing, no questions asked. Anyone is able to donate or pick up from this donation box located at the front desk in the Social Science Department building F7-307. “It basically came from the need that most of us were seeing on campus,” Faculty Advisor Irwing Jimenez said about the inspiration for the drive.
“Our campus population is undeserved. We wanted to start at the heart of the community. Especially since clothing makes you feel confident and better about yourself.” Jimenez is proud of the Sociology club for organizing the drive and taking care of the student population. He has already noticed how the drive has helped students. “So far we we have gotten great feedback. I noticed a few students grabbing things. Our goal in sociology is to be engaged with the community and I feel we are doing just that.” Myrna Palafox, a nurse at the ELAC Health Center believes this is a great thing to have on campus. “It’s a great benefit because we have a lot of students who are
“By taking care of yourself, you are opening up more job opportunities and even relationships.”
MYRNA PALAFOX
ELAC Heath Center Nurse
homeless or low income that do not have immediate access to these resources, and it’s nice to know they do. It’s important students start practicing good hygiene and self care now,” Palafox said. “ELAC is a stepping stone for people to enter their career. It’s important to start good hygiene and self care, because in reality you will be judged based on your appearance. By taking care of yourself, you are opening up more job opportunities and even relationships.” This isn’t the first time the Sociology club has organized something like this. Last year they put together care packages that were available for students all throughout campus. The feedback they received was
great, so they felt the need to help out our student body again. In addition to the clothing drive, the Sociology club wants to start a food pantry to help struggling students. They also aim to help outside of campus by going to homeless shelters and Skid Row to help the homeless in May. The Sociology Club hopes to expand and help the student body more in the future. Their biggest wish is to have more departments and clubs involved. “If we expand and include more people, then we can make a greater impact on the community and students,” Jimenez said. The more help they receive from the campus, the more they can help give back and help students in need.
S o u t h G a te ’ s H i r e a Husky job fair will be on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m in the parking lot.
Student Life Orientation
ELAC Student Activities will present Student Life Orientation today from 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. in F5-209. There will be free food, giveaways, presentaions and more.
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Rapper shows self-reflection through new album BY MIGUEL BARRAGAN Staff Writer ScHoolboy Q dropped his third album, “CrasH Talk,” and is his most radio-friendly album yet. The album starts with fellow Top Dawg Entertainment rapper Kendrick Lamar introducing the album with the phrase, “Crash Talk take one,” in a pitched voice. The opening track “Gang Gang” is the type of banger that a fan would expect from Q. He raps about his fame, money and Crip gang affiliation. On “Tales,” Q raps about his teenage years gangbanging. He raps, “I could’ve went D1, but like, I wasn’t with it. My SATs and grades was high enough, but I wasn’t with it. I couldn’t bring my dawgs with me so I wasn’t with it.” Q chose not to pursue sports or academics, because of his lifestyle. In the song, Q makes it known how close he came to being incarcerated for life. “One more strike, I’m with the lifers.” The track is smooth and nostalgic. On “CHopstix”, Travis Scott does the simple chorus in his signature autotune. “I love them chopsticks, chopsticks, chopsticks.” Q raps about his sex life. Although, as a track, it doesn’t stand out above the rest, it is still fun. “Numb Numb Juice” is a standout track. It begins with an angry flow by Q and picks up with a terrifying beat. Daunting keys are layered behind the trap beat and make Q sound like a super villain. “Drunk” features 6LACK and is the most boring song. The piano gives the track a melancholic feel, however, the boring chorus, “I ain’t really drunk, I ain’t really drunk,”
COURTESY OF TOP DAWG ENTERTAINMENT
A BANGER—A comic-book type drawing of ScHoolboy Q with a paper bag over his head as the album cover for “CrasH Talk.” brings the track down. Q’s second verse, where he details his sexual encounters with a woman, also feel out of place in the context of the song. Ty Dolla $ign sings a catchy hook on “Lies” and YG raps a smooth verse roasting a woman that only wants YG for his clout.
Q’s enthusiastic hook on “5200” makes for a catchy headbobber. Q raps about how much fun he’s having living a life of luxury and money. On “Black Folk”, Q raps about how his hardships transformed him. He raps, “Who knew failure make you better? My adversities
done turned me to a killer.” The beat has a melody that sounds like it could came out of an old video game and makes for a sweet song. “Floating” is a standout track that starts with a laidback hook by Q. The beat has the bassiest 808 on the album, which makes it a song
that deserves the loudest speakers possible. 21 Savage’s feature fits perfectly on the beat. “Dangerous” features Kid Cudi singing over a psychedelic palette of sounds. The song starts with a guitar that sounds like it came out of a Mac Demarco track. Q raps about the drug addiction he has dealt with and how destructive it’s been. He raps, “But flying ain’t flying when you’re stuck on your a**.” Q’s self-reflection add a lot to the dreamy track, making it one of the best songs on the album. “CrasH” has an incredible beat, giving the track the best production on the album. The strings give the track an old school East Coast vibe. Q raps his perspective on the rap game and how the new generation of rappers invests their money. He raps, “Your tax bracket ain’t impressive. You buy a chain, but won’t buy no land. That hashtag should say, ‘Desperate.” On the closing track “Attention,” Q raps about his recognition by the greats in hip-hop. He raps, “Front row at the Grammys, I’m getting praises from Jay, F*** about this award, I’m happy he know my name, Favorite rapper Nas been told me that I’m the best.” He continues the song with stories about the dangers of the streets and the trauma that it brings. He raps, “I can finally understand why my uncles was never sober.” It’s the perfect ending to the album, because the bassline adds a dreary feeling, making Q sound like his classic self. The album is great with a few bland filler songs. The high points outweigh the low points on this album by a long shot.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2019
EDITOR IN CHIEF Andrew Ayala MANAGING EDITOR Steven Adamo ONLINE EDITORS Kevin Camargo Adam Robles Alex Handy FRONT EDITOR Melody Ortiz OPINION EDITORS Juan Calvillo Giselle Arroyo NEWS EDITORS Miguel Barragan Maria Marroquin Monroy FEATURE EDITORS Luis Castilla Melisa Valenzuela ARTS EDITORS Cher Antido Julie Santiago SPORTS EDITOR Sonny Tapia CARTOONIST Ivana Amaral COPY EDITORS Gustavo Buenrostro Stephanie Guevara Diego Linares Ivan Cazares STAFF WRITERS Noe Ortega, Jose Cabrera, Steven Cardona, Vincent Austin, Erick Villarreal, Vicky Nguyen, Kelly Vasquez, Johanna Calderon, Samantha Iniguez, Alejandro Ambriz, Mariana Montoya ADVERTISING Stefanie Arocha
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ME!— Taylor swift’s new music video released last Thursday is the most watched YouTube video within its first 24-hours.
Taylor Swift disappoints fans with lazy song BY KELLY VASQUEZ Staff Writer “Me!” is the latest basic catchy pop song from Taylor Swift. It is super vague with lines like “And there’s a lot of cool chicks out there” and “there’s a lot of lame guys out there.” It doesn’t offer any substance such as her previous work. It’s a disappointment coming from a singer-songwriter with past hits such as “Blank Space,” where Swift critiqued how the media portrayed her, or her more soulful and emotional heartbreak hits such as “Back to December,” “Dear John,” or “I Knew You Were Trouble.” Swift is notorious for her songwriting skills that hit home with listeners, which makes this new single a bummer. It’s been over a year since Swift released new music. Her last album in 2017, Reputation was dark, reflective and bitter. Nonetheless it sparked a new era for Swift. The inspiration for her new era came from her scandal involving Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. West called Swift because he was writing a new song and wanted to include a lyric about Swift, mentioning the infamous moment they shared at the 2009 VMA’s where he interrupted her winning speech for Best Female Music Video. Swift gave the okay, but later said she had no idea about the lyric and wasn’t happy about it. Little did she know that Kim Kardashian had recorded the entire phone conversation. Swift was then painted as the villain in the media and she played that role well with www.ELACCampusNews.com
songs like “Look What You Made Me Do” and “I Did Something Bad.” Swift gave herself a much needed image reform. Swift has been teasing the release of her new single, “ME!” featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco for quite some time now. The hints she had been dropping on Instagram consisted of pastel hearts and butterflies notioning she has ended her bad girl phase and would possibly return back to her roots. Reputation had a gloomy and dark aesthetic, where as the teases she had put on instagram were nostalgic, pastel and bright. She even held a fan event in Nashville promoting her new single, hinting she would possibly go back to her country roots. That isn’t exactly what happened.This single comes off as lazy, which is clearly evident in the chorus with lines such as “Me-e-e, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh” and “Eeh-eeh-eeh, ooh-ooh-oohooh.” It’s a basic pop song, which it purpose is to make money. It is definitely trying to appeal to the masses with family-friendly lines like, “Hey kids, spelling is fun!” The message of loving yourself is cute, but it’s just too simple. It lacks creativity in lyrics and is nowhere near as smart as Swift has been in her songwriting. Urie plays his part well, but again, it doesn’t offer much other than just playing the basic duet partner. This single is the first of what will be Swift’s seventh album. Hopefully she has some more cards up her sleeve, because this isn’t the Taylor Swift we all know. There is no doubt this song will be on repeat this upcoming summer, but if it was not so basic.
Student recital three
Student recital three is taking place on Wednesday at the S2 recital hall. The event is between noon to 1 p.m. and is free to attend.
ELAC string recital
The ELAC string recital is taking place on May 9 at the S2 recital hall. The event is between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Samvel Chilingarian is the director and the event is free to attend.
Mozart “Requiem”
The Mozart “Requiem” is featuring the ELAC chamber chorale with St. Bede the Venerable choir and chamber orchestra. The event will be held at 215 Foothill Bvd., in La Canada on May 18. The event will be between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Student piano recital
A free student piano recital will be held at the S2 recital hall on May 20. The event is between noon and 2 p.m.
ELAC jazz band concert
Bobby Chavez will direct the ELAC jazz band concert at the S2 recital hall on May 22. The event is free and will be held between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
ELAC orchestra concert
The ELAC orchestra concert will be conducted by Uriel Vanchestein at the S2 recital hall on May 24. The event is free and will take place between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
DISTRIBUTION Steven Adamo Gustavo Buenrostro ADVISERS Jean Stapleton Sylvia Rico-Sanchez 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.
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EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2019
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Transfer conference informs students at South Gate campus BY KEVIN CAMARGO Staff Writer The Third Annual Student Success Conference offered informational workshops to students at the South Gate campus on Saturday. “The intent is to provide our students at the South Gate campus with information that is helping them transfer,” Maria Quintero, Assistant Professor of Political Science said. The event was hosted by the Student Success Conference Committee and Student Success Collective Club. Quintero said the committee — made up of South Gate campus’ faculty and staff – saw a need for to provide other services to students that the main campus had and the South Gate campus did not. “It’s great that ELAC has
conferences for students all the time (and) lots of activity on the (main campus), but a lot of times we don’t have anything here locally,” Dean Evelyn Escatiola said. Escatiola said they want to educate and inform students about their resources and options, as she knows that students go to East Los Angeles College because they want to continue education and not to waste their time. Workshops included, but were not limited to, Career and Job Services Counselor Genevieve Ayala’s “Congratulations you got accepted! So what’s next?” and Extended Opportunities Programs and Services Counselor Andres Gonzalez’s “Ready to Transfer? Find out How.” One of the most attended workshop was “College Survival Skills,” led by Assistant Professor of History Dr. Leonard Melchor and Student Health Center counselor
Irma Marmolejo. “As we are getting closer to finals, there is definitely a lot more stress about getting closer to the semester,” Quintero said. “We asked her (Marmolejo) if she can provide tips to students on how to release stress and what they can do to ensure that they’re not going to get overwhelmed with the ending of the semester,” she said. Quintero said that this year they added a leadership workshop that was led by students. “The three members of that particular workshop were Alexis Diaz, Elmer Ortega and Eduardo Armenta,” Quintero said. “We wanted to tell the students the importance of them being involved in student leadership, not only academically but also to consider (it when) transferring.” The conference also offered a free bag with donated pens and notebooks, as well as lunch
CN/KEVIN CAMARGO
CONFERENCE FUN—ELAC faculty call out names of winners for the raffle gift cards that
faculty and staff donated for the Third Annual Student Success Conference at the South Gate Campus last Saturday. provided by the Student Success Equity Funds. At the end of the conference, gift cards – donated by faculty, staff and departments – were raffled. Escatiola said that she wants
students to build their self-agency to take their own initiative, and use the information to help make better choices. “I hope that they walked away with more information on how they
can be better students (and) how can they actually use the information to help them prepare for their academic goal,” Quintero said. “Hopefully (it) was informative and they had fun in the process.”
AQUAPONICS: Weather station to detect changes in environment WEATHER Continued from page 1
CN/JUAN CALVILLO
RECRUITING SEASON—Officers from the Burbank Police Department talk about their department and employment opportunities during the Administration of Justice Career Day at the quad on Wednesday.
Police departments offer applications to students California Patrol Persons and Firearms permit. Staff Writer “Being hired offers benefits, such as free tuition assistance to USC and your future children will also East Los Angeles College held get tuition assistance when they a Administration of Justice Career become of age,” Morice Jackson, Day on Wednesday in the Main USC Public Safety officer said. Police department, of several Quad. cities, such as The University of Burbank and Fontana Southern California were recruiting. Department of Public “ O n l i n e Safety is hiring for “It was applications are community service informative to available and we’re officers, and dispatch always looking for and surveillance talk to some new officers,” Officer workers for both of the officers Francisco Nunez for main and medical the Burbank police campus. here who have department said. The process gone through After the starts off with an application, a written application followed the process first test, a background by an interview and check and physical hand.” is finished with a performance test are computer-based test. given. The job has GREG MARTINEZ MED Reach is an no academic ELAC student Ambulance company requirements beside that is currently a GED or High hiring for the Los school diploma. It also requires a valid California Angeles County. “The Job here is to answer and Class C Driver’s license, a clean driving record and a State of handle medical calls, anything that
BY ALEX HANDY
The weather station is the first of its kind within the Los Angeles Community College District. Plans to extend the program to the other campuses are in the works. “We want to put [a weather station] on each campus in LACCD so that you can watch the changes that happen in the atmosphere as the atmosphere moves across the basin,” said John Grimmer, a recently-retired chair of the Anthropology, Geography, Geology Department. The weather station is capable of reading wind speed and direction, temperature, humidity, rainfall and can even identify specific types of pollution. “You can track, and you will be able to see the diesel pollution in the morning. You can then compare the different pollutions of the freeway in the afternoon and day,” Eddie Villanueva, assistant professor of the Electronics Department said. Vi l l a n u e v a s a i d t h e d a t a transmitted by the weather station will be transmitted wirelessly to the
CN/STEVEN ADAMO
Electronics Department on the third floor of the E7 building. Soon, the data will transmit in realtime and will be available to students through a website. In the future, small computers such as Arduinos and the RaspberryPi will also be used to collect data at the aquaponics garden and science learning lab. To combat the weed problems, the ground of the aquaponics section is covered in coconut shavings.
According to Mark Swicegood of the Engineering Department, the shavings combat the weeds while also providing some cushion to walk on. The Aquaponics Garden and Science Learning Lab is located at the corner of Floral Drive and Avalanche Way. For more information about the project, visit the Engineering Department or the Roots of Stem student club at the MESA room.
requires basic life support. CPR training will be given along with airway control for emergency and non-emergency,” officer Mellicent Murphy said. The Los Angeles Fire Department was in attendance with applications and information to any students that had questions. Many student were at the quad taking applications and asking questions. “My family has been involved in law enforcement and it is something that has caught my interest since middle school,” ELAC student Greg Martinez said. “It was informative to talk to some of the officers here who have gone through the process first hand,” “This is something we do every year for the spring semester, because ELAC is such a big community college the agencies get a lot of recruits during this event. We sometimes have to turn down some agencies because we only have so much room at the Main quad,” Curtis Walker chairperson for ELAC said. For any information contact Walker via email at Walkercj2@elac.edu.
Novelist speaks on activism, LGBTQ BY MARIANA MONTOYA Staff Writer Novelist Noel Alumit talked about the importance of activism, faith and the process of becoming an artist at an East Los Angeles College event. He is the author of Los Angeles bestseller Talking to the Moon and came to give students insight about his career and how it began. The event was organized by ELAC’s Gay Straight Alliance club, as a part of a series they held throughout the month of April to celebrate the Stonewall Riots 50th anniversary. “The 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots is not until the month of June, in the month of June we will not be here, but we are here now so we decided to do it early,”
professor Fernando Mejia said. Throughout the lecture Alumit spoke about the different ways the Stonewall Riots helped create a foundation for the LGBTQ community, including a brief history as to what lead the Stonewall Riots. The highlight of the event was how being a part of the LGBTQ community has helped shaped every aspect of his career. He made an emphasis on his career as an actor because this initiated his search of finding his voice throughout different outlets such as writing, painting, and photography. Alumit said that even though people through the difficulties great art was made,”said. This was also the time where his activism began. Throughout his youth and time
as an actor he worked in educating individuals about the importance of getting HIV tested, going up to individuals from gay bar to gay clubs . “There is no thing as a single issue struggles,”said Alumit. As he shifted into talking about faith he mentioned the importance religion can play in the life of a queer man. Going back to school was what gave him the main inspiration to promote faith amongst his community to be able “If you keep them away from churches or synagogues you are endangering their lives,”said Alumit He encouraged students to look for the and to find their own voices and what identifies them by writing 10 minutes each day. “Being a queer Filipino man was a very positive thing,”said Alumit. www.ELACCampusNews.com
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EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2019
Student costume designer awarded scholarship Daniel Balladares wins week-long trip to the Stagecraft Institute in Las Vegas said. “There’s a natural abundance of ingenuity in him that I really saw during the process on ‘Chavez Ravine.’” Valdovinos said he is proud of Balladares’ accomplishment at ACTF. “He’s definitely creative, fun and
BY MELODY ORTIZ Staff Writer East Los Angeles College student Daniel Balladares had the opportunity to present his costume designs at the American College Theater Festival this February. ACTF is a yearly festival that includes theater-related workshops, seminars, performances and presentation awards. Balladares presented his designs from ELAC’s production of “Chavez Ravine.” Though he didn’t end up placing, Balladares received a collaboration award along with Michael Moretta, the sound designer, and Tim Valdovinos, the prop master for their work on “Chavez Ravine.” Receiving the Don Childs Collaboration Award granted Balladares, Moretta and Valdovinos each week-long scholarships to the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas. The SILV will have a month-long program in June where participants can choose a week out of the month of different classes being offered. Balladares said he and the other two designers picked a SFX class. “We’re going to get to use a water cannon and fireworks…(we) were all excited because they don’t offer that (at ELAC),” he said.“The instructors were like, ‘You should do something we don’t offer here.” Balladares also won the Focal Press KCACTF Award for First Time Regional Entry for Costume Design. “I wanted to go in and gain
“I wanted to go in and gain some new experiences and also potentially some new opportunities towards a costume-related career path.” DAMIEL BALLADARES
ELAC Student Costume Designer
COURTESY OF THE THEATER DEPARTMENT
COSTUME CRAZE—Daniel Balladares designed the costumes the cast of East Los Angeles College’s production of “Chavez Ravine” last year.
some new experiences and also potentially some new opportunities towards a costume-related career path,” he said about his ACTF experience. Balladares has been attending ELAC since 2010 and found his calling in theater arts
around three years ago. He got into costume design when he had trouble finding help making a cosplay costume. “I (thought), ‘Why don’t I just go and learn? I might as well just see if I can do it on my own,’” Balladares said. “I just kind of wandered in here
(the costume shop) and I never left.” He said he would like to work with wardrobe for performances. “I really like wardrobe, where you help actors get into their costumes and help with quick changes,” Balladares said. He also said he likes craftwork,
such as dyeing and painting costumes or making blood splatter or aged, etc. Moretta said he met Balladares while working on the production of “Chavez Ravine.” “He’s very hardworking and has genuine love for his craft,” Moretta
vocal about his ideas,” Valdovinos said. “(I) knew he worked super hard on his project.” Balladares wanted to be a teacher before this revelation but was constantly told by others to change career choices due to the low income teachers receive. He grew up in Monterey Park, where he still resides. He has applied for internships and colleges and is waiting to hear back. He’s applied to California State University, Dominguez Hills and San Francisco State University. So far, he was accepted into CSUDH.
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FUTURE FIREBIRD—Vicente Herencia signs his letter of intent on April 18 to play soccer for The University of Saint Katherine.
ELAC soccer player to play for university BY ALEJANDRO AMBRIZ Staff Writer
East Los Angeles College student and center back Vicente Herencia joined the ranks of Saint Katherine University soccer team when he signed his letter of intent to play on April 18. Located in San Marcos, California, Saint Katherine University opened in 2011 and as of 2017, has 262 students enrolled. Herencia first visited Saint Katherine at the end of last season after the university’s soccer coach asked to speak with him. “I played here last season for ELAC and the Saint Katherine coach sent an email to my coach asking if he could talk with me and I went there for the first time” and says the Saint Katherine’s coach was really nice to the team and to him. Their soccer team is relatively new, having played two seasons so far. He said it does not discourage him. “I want to change the soccer program for Saint Katherine...I want to improve it,” said Herencia. Though he has received several offers, including outside of www.ELACCampusNews.com
Vicente Herencia California, he really wants to stay here and feels he has a lot to contribute. Herencia has played soccer his whole life. He moved to California from his home country of Chile to continue playing and to be able to study. “That’s why I came here because in my country I cannot study and play because they just focus on classes,” Herencia said. He has the option to do both here. The scholarship Saint Katherine University offered him allows him to continue his education.
Studying and practice takes up the majority of his time. With classes from 7 a.m.-noon and night practices from 7:30 p.m.9:30 p.m., he finds time to study during the day in order to keep a balance. Herencia prioritizes both studying and his soccer career, but knows his studying is going to be more important after college life. Having come here alone, Herencia admits he misses his family. “When I have some trouble here I really miss my family,” Herencia said. But notes he’s lucky enough to be able to go see them twice a year. They plan to come from Chile to see him play. While his family is not here, Herencia has ELAC staff to help guide him. “Coaches, assistant coaches, they support me a lot because they know I’m international and it’s hard for me sometimes,” Herencia said. He recalls that because he did not know enough English when he first got here almost two years ago, he had to study and work hard. In the fall of 2019, Herencia will be playing for Saint Katherine University and hopes to “Have a good season, play a lot, and study.”