The Union Vol. 79, No. 8

The Union

Textbook sales are going online

By Jaylen Morgan

Textbooks are leaving El Camino College’s Bookstore due to an approved policy partnership with an online bookstore service.

By fall 2025, the Bookstore will no longer carry books. All book purchases will be online or downloaded digitally.

A three-year partnership with MBS Direct, an affiliate of Barnes & Noble, was approved by the El Camino Community

College District’s Board of Trustees at its meeting on Monday, April 28.

Starting next semester, the store will contain supplies, clothes and snacks only.

“Students can order the textbooks online and have it shipped to their home or to the Bookstore on campus,” Crystle Martin, dean of Library & Learning Resources, said.

Students can buy and rent textbooks and make returns for a refund.

“It’s called the Bookstore for a

reason. Students can just get their books on campus and it’s more convenient for us,” Jean Paul, 19, welding major, said.

The Bookstore’s Director Julie Bourlier, administrative assistant Sonia Gallardo and buyer Patrick Papetti are retiring after this spring semester, as they are taking part in ECC’s Supplemental Retirement Plan.

The Union attempted to interview them, but they declined to comment.

Loïc Audusseau, interim vice

president of Administrative Services, said the Bookstore was built in 1974 and that any renovations would compromise the entire structure.

Student Development Office

Director Ricky Gonzalez said the Associated Students Organization has considered using the extra space after the textbook shelves leave.

“If the space becomes available, ASO would like to make a student activities center for the needs of students,” Gonzalez said.

International student’s F-1 visa revoked

By Erica Lee

An El Camino College student’s F-1 visa was revoked during spring break, ECC President Brenda Thames said in an announcement at the College Council meeting on Monday, April 21.

This is the only known revocation of an ECC international student’s visa.

As of Friday, April 25, federal officials announced that some visas would be reinstated, according to the Associated Press.

The current visa status of the student is not known.

“The college has not made that information public, and has no updates,” Kerri Webb, ECC director of public information and governmental relations, said.

Amy Herrschaft, counselor for the International Student Program at ECC, said during the April 21 meeting that information received from the federal government about the situation is vague.

“We just know that [the student’s] records with us, as an international student, are no longer valid,” she said. “But

Secret shopper finds lack of registration process support

By Seph Peters

Results from a “secret shopper” reveal students face difficulties getting assistance at El Camino College.

An anonymous researcher from GradComm, which specializes in marketing for two-year colleges, could not reach Admissions and Records or Financial Aid, and had received automated emails and calls, which did provide specific answers.

The findings of this study, conducted in March 2024, were revealed in a presentation to the El Camino Community College District’s Board of Trustees at its meeting on Monday, April 28.

As a result, ECC’s Contact Center now answers Financial Aid and Admissions and Records calls, and the Warrior Welcome Center now offers financial aid support.

“Students that are coming in with a question in person can also get that assistance right away without being bounced back and forth,” Kristina Martinez, acting dean of Enrollment Services said during the meeting.

GradComm received $6,500 to conduct the research, according to a December 2023 presentation to the trustees.

There are plans to hire another secret shopper researcher in fall 2025 to not only monitor any changes since the last report but to also review other aspects of the college.

given to the student as well.”

The number of ECC students holding F-1 visas in fall 2024 was 341, which comprised 1.5% of enrollment, according to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office Data Mart, an online database of statistics from the state’s two-year colleges.

The CCCCO is collecting data on international student

Club Rush returns for a second round

After weather disrupted the first event, student organizations got another chance to connect and recruit

By Camila Jimenez

Asupbeat music played and echoes of laughter filled the walkways, students gathered beneath the bright sun. With clearer skies this time around, clubs were able to showcase their mission goals

Police Beat

By Eleni Klostrakis

The Union publishes police beats online with each newspaper release.

Visit eccunion.com to read more.

Tuesday, April 8, 8:28 a.m.

Graffiti was discovered in the Music Building. The case is open.

Thursday, April 10, 3:20 p.m.

Graffiti was discovered in the Music Building. The case is open.

Thursday, April 17, 4:22 p.m.

Fraud, a solicitation of funds, occurred on ECC Online on Tuesday, April 11, at 11:32 a.m.

The case is open.

Tuesday, April 22, 8:01 a.m.

Petty theft of miscellaneous items in a bag was reported at the ECC Bookstore on Monday, April 21, between 12:45-4:30 p.m. The case is open.

and recruit new members.

The Inter-Club Council organized another round of Club Rush for the spring 2025 semester from April 28 to April 29 at the Schauerman Library Lawn.

Kade Horasz, 19, ICC director of finance, said another Club Rush was organized as a way to support clubs and boost student engagement.

About 30 to 35 student organizations were given another chance to engage with the campus community, as the first round of Club Rush was moved indoors due to rain.

Members of the Salsa Club danced in front of their table, inviting students to join.

This brought more students to join clubs, like the Body Building Club, which reported 50 new sign-ups on the first day.

The Society of Music Club noted that the second round of Club Rush was beneficial, helping clubs recruit more members.

Several clubs featured spinthe-wheel challenges, but the Muslim Student Association were one of the few that included a push-up test in order to connect with students.

Early budget shows college out of $19.1 million deficit While short-term savings are in place, college leaders emphasize economic unpredictability is a risk in long-term future projections

By Sydney Sakamoto

Early projections show that El Camino College will have $20.2 million in identified savings by the end of the 20242025 fiscal year.

The projections were presented and reviewed at the Planning and Budget Committee meeting Thursday, April 24.

About $1.17 million in surplus funds will push the college district’s budget into the positive, a dramatic change from the $19.1 million deficit projected in December 2024.

Many of the solutions used to close the budget gap this year are one-time-only measures, including savings from unfilled ECC employee positions and an abatement of $4 million in IRS penalties.

“We may appear balanced, but we’re not structurally stable yet,” Loïc Audusseau, interim vice president of Administrative Services, said during the meeting.

Projections for next year show the 2025-26 budget will land at a surplus of just $3,121.

does not mean we are out of the woods,” Audusseau said.

Although a balanced budget may be anticipated, the economic climate casts uncertainty on the projected budget’s numbers.

Audusseau said the Trump Administration’s proposed 10% tariff, announced in early April, are driving volatility and investor concerns.

Market declines especially impact California, depending on revenues from capital gains

tax—made on the sale of stocks, bonds and real estate— to fund a significant portion of the state’s General Fund, including education funding under Proposition 98.

Drops in those revenues can cause reductions or delays in funding for community colleges, including ECC.

Audusseau emphasized the importance of liquidity in uncertain economic

times, especially with state deferrals and delays being looming possibilities in the May Revision, in which the governor of California will release updates to the proposed state budget.

The current budget was adopted by the district’s board of trustees in September 2025, it included a projected $18.5 million deficit, according to the district’s 2024-25 final budget.

The year prior, the board of trustees approved a $4.66 million projected deficit, according to the 2023-24 final budget.

“One of the main reasons [for the deficit] is over the pandemic we had a sudden influx of one-time funding,” Audusseau said.

Audusseau emphasized that temporary fixes are not enough, and there is a need for cautious and flexible budgeting as ECC awaits more information from the May Revision

ASO members meet with assemblymembers in Sacramento

By Oriana de Quay

Members of El Camino College’s student government shared their experiences lobbying the California State Assembly in the Schauerman Library Collaboration Room on Wednesday, April 23.

Seven students from the Associated Students Organization — Julissa Celis, Charlie Mitchell, Jake Smith, Nabeeha Muhammad, Jocelyn Coenmans, Andres Osorio and Miguel Oliveros — participated in the trip to Sacramento from March 4-6.

The students, who are all either ASO senators, commissioners or directors, and all members of ASO’s External Affairs Committee, personally met with 20 out of 80 members of California’s Assembly, the state’s lower legislative house.

For most of the ASO members attending, it was their first time lobbying.

“When it comes to lobbying, you’re asking them to vote a certain way. It can be scary because they can say, ‘No,’” Mitchell, 21, political science major and senator of Mathematical Sciences said. “They might say, ‘You’re wrong. You need to go back and do better.’”

The committee lobbied to official legislative bodies regarding Assembly Bill 49, the California Safe Haven Schools and Child Care Act, and AB 90, overnight student parking at public postsecondary institutions.

AB 49 prohibits K-12 employees from allowing U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to enter a school site for any purpose without first providing valid identification and a written judicial statement of purpose, according to the official text found on LegiScan.

ASO went directly to AB 49’s author, California State Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, to ask that he make amendments to the bill.

Muratsuchi, part-time social science instructor at ECC, which covers much of the South Bay region and includes El Segundo and Torrance.

“Our ask was to support [AB 49], but also support amending it,” Smith, 20, commissioner

of External Affairs and InterClub Council vice president, said. “Our ask was to make it cover K-14, which is community colleges, too.”

AB 90 would require each community college district and California State University to establish a program, as specified, to allow overnight parking by eligible students, according to the official text found on LegiScan.

Smith, who is a political science major, said that student overnight parking is needed as ECC and other institutions in densely-populated urban areas don’t have the space to provide tiny houses for students.

The trip cost $9,500 from

Students and professors travel to Norton Simon Museum

By Nikki Yunker

Standing just a few steps away from 2,000 years’ worth of art, from ancient Asian sculptures to Vincent van Gogh and Picasso, six El Camino College students and three professors spent an afternoon immersing themselves in history.

The Anthropology Club and faculty traveled to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena to view art and discuss museums Friday, April 25.

Founded in 1975 by businessman and art collector Norton Simon, the museum showcases ancient Asian art, European art from the 14th to the 20th centuries and American modernist pieces.

Club President and anthropology major Tanner Hatchett, 23, organized the event and arranged for the group to travel to the museum

together in an ECC van.

“Since last semester, … I had wanted to do something kind of fun for the club, namely being a field trip,” Hatchett said. “I want the club to go out and do things.”

As the Norton Simon has free admission for students with a valid school ID, it was selected as an accessible option.

“I’m glad I got to come out today. Being able to interact with the art, like even conversationally, even in the van as we were coming back — that’s a highlight in and of itself,” anthropology major Jamie Chappell, 27, said.

Club adviser and anthropology professor Lawrence Ramirez, philosophy professor Roberto Garcia and art history professor Karen Whitney all attended the excursion, and shared insight about the experience and the artworks on display.

Whitney’s Art History 102B class — History of Western Art from the Proto-Renaissance to the 19th Century — includes an assignment where students research any selected artwork from the Norton Simon collection.

“It was great that everyone came [and] already had a genuine interest in seeing things that was independent of anything the instructors needed to say,” Whitney said.

Chappell, who joined the club this semester, had visited the museum before and generally visits museums solo or with one or two others.

“Going as a group and having either discussion or having one of the professors chime in – even fellow peers – it made the experience different,” Chappell said.

Ramirez, who teaches Anthropology 20, Introduction to Museum Studies, gave insights into how museums

Speech and Debate Team wins national top awards

By Nikki Yunker

Thirteen students from the El Camino College Speech and Debate Team went to Norfolk, Virginia, and won top awards in competition.

Phi Rho Pi, an association of two-year colleges for forensics, hosted the five-day tournament where the team competed against 51 other colleges and universities.

ECC ranks as the top community college debate team in the nation, placing fifth in the nation overall behind only four-year universities, according to sweepstakes results from the National Parliamentary Debate Association.

Fund 72, the ASO Conferences fund, which is supported by the $2 student representation fee, ASO Vice President and political science major Isaac Alpert, 19, said.

While ASO members have traveled before to Washington to lobby, Alpert said this trip to Sacramento provided ASO the opportunity to have more impact with their lobbying.

“It’s important for anyone and everyone to be doing stuff like this. ASO isn’t just for poli-sci majors,” Muhammad, who is a biology major, said.

“If you’re passionate about wanting to advocate for students and wanting to bring change, it starts with you.”

Students lobby for immigration and homelessness bills Anthropology Club goes on excursion

Nearly every ECC student medaled and three won gold.

Danielle Kabboul, vice president of the debate team, won gold in International Public Debate and Andres Osorio, co-president of the team, placed first in LincolnDouglas debate.

Abigail Morey, who joined the team in fall 2024, earned the top award for impromptu speaking. Her final speech was about legacies.

“This is my first time doing debate in college, and I feel so blessed that I was able to go to nationals. It felt like all the hard work I’ve done, it was all worth it,” Morey, 20, communications major said.

are designed and managed, including how galleries are curated narratively for visitors.

Chappell noted that viewing art in person is a different experience from hearing about it in a lecture or reading about it in a textbook.

“You don’t get a grasp of the

scale until you’re before a lot of them,” Chappell said. “So that part of the experience of the art, you can only get by going to a museum.”

The Anthropology Club meets Tuesdays from 1-2 p.m. in the Anthropology Museum, Arts Complex Room 100.

Students should be more engaged on campus

By Union Editorial Board

Students at El Camino College should understand the importance of engaging with their peers, professors and faculty.

Is it that students are afraid to approach each other? Is it a problem of social anxiety or a habit of independence?

Faculty have noticed that COVID-19 influenced the lack of engagement students have on campus.

According to Scientific Research, about 40% of students on a college campus consider themselves to be introverted.

Xavier Miranda, a part-time business professor who has been teaching for twenty years, has seen a difference in the age demographic of students attending class at different parts of the day.

Miranda noticed students who take day classes tend to be younger, and falling into the 18-20 age range, while those taking evening or night classes tend to be between 22-40 years old.

The difference in age demographics, where older students take night classes, may mean they miss out on daytime events hosted by the college or student clubs because they aren’t on campus.

Miranda also detailed how the use of social media allows students to be more comfortable talking to others behind a screen rather than in person.

Social media apps such as Instagram, X and Snapchat are used every day, and they can be a benefit for students who may feel more comfortable communicating virtually.

Rather than being uninvolved, students should reach out to others and use their professors and peers as resources. Building these connections can lead to many opportunities down the road, such as networking themselves into an internship or job.

Gregory Fry, full-time mathematics professor, said students can bond with professors by finding an interest within the professor as friendships can open gateways.

“Friendships and connections last longer; you never know who you could meet,” Fry said.

The lack of student spaces on campus plays a role as well. As a commuter campus, these spaces can especially help foster student connection — and the campus used to have one.

Student Development Office Director Ricky Gonzalez hopes that students can have a student activities center once again, like before, on the campus.

Other community colleges in the area, including Los Angeles Harbor College, Santa Monica College and Pasadena City College all have student commons.

ECC is the largest campus in the area to not have one dedicated space for student socialization.

The faculty are here to help and support the students. As students branch out and engage with campus more, more connections will be built and the campus will become a more social place.

79, No. 8

OPINION EDITOR

Nikki Yunker

Savannah Anderson

SPORTS EDITOR Jaylen Morgan

ASSISTANT EDITOR

EDITORS STAFF

Elsa Rosales

Senior Staff Writers

Nick Miller

Staff Writers

Drex Carratala

Sydney Sakamoto

Kaitlyn Goches Tina Talley

Seph Peters Jamila Zaki

Isaac Ramirez

Photographers

Katie Gronenthal

Daimel Garcia

Mario Trejos

Eddie Inclan

Eddy Cermeno

Ada Axenti

Elsa Rosales

Nikki Yunker

Erica Lee

Erica Kusaba

Melissa Palmer

Bret Fast

Illustrators

Kim McGill Drex Carratala

Catherine “Koi” Yugay

Moon Khalfani

Yufu Suen

Daimel Garcia

Erica Kusaba

Eleni Klostrakis

Abigail Morey

Interns

Vincent Lombardo

Bret Fast

Oriana de Quay

Nicolas Tomsio

Keandra Lee Bridget Colbert

Alyson Kilduff

Taheem Lewis

Special to The Union

Rosemarie Turay

Bailey Meacham

Greg Fontanilla

Elise Fauni

Angel Pasillas

ADVISERS

STUDENT MEDIA ADVISER Stefanie Frith sfrith@elcamino.edu

PHOTO ADVISER Nguyet Thomas nthomas@elcamino.edu

ADVERTISING MANAGER Jack Mulkey elcounionads000@yahoo.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF gburkhart@elcamino.edu

Gerard Burkhart Joseph Difazio

INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS jdifazio@elcamino.edu

JOURNALISM PROFESSOR

Jessica Martinez

jemartinez@elcamino.edu

Kate McLaughlin kmclaug`hlin@elcamino.edu

CORRECTION POLICY: The Union takes corrections and clarifications very seriously. If a correction is needed, email The Union at eccunion@gmail.com for all corrections and inquiries pertaining to a story.

EDITORIALS: Editorials represent the views of the The Union’s editorial board. Columns represent the views of the writer. Neither are representations of what the newspaper staff, other students, our advisers, faculty or the administration think.

LETTERS AND GUEST COLUMN POLICY: No more than two guest columns from the same person will be considered for publication or online use in the same semester, and 60 days must elapse before a second column is published. Guest columns should generally run 300-450 words. Letters to the editor should generally run no longer than 200 words. All columns and letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and style. They must be free of libel and in good taste. Publication or rejection of any column is at the sole discretion of the editorial board.

Cutting my locs

How a hair transformation changed my view on black hair culture

By: Taheem Lewis

Whenan individual is properly grounded in life, they shouldn’t have to look for external approval.

It’s a realization that had not occurred to me when deciding to cut off my 12-year-old dreadlocks on New Year’s Day.

Cutting my hair was a noticeable, hard reset on what I would consider being my culture, identity and the defining aspect of my personality.

I would categorize this entire experience as “The Great Cultural Shift of 2025.”

My hair transition was made easier thanks to the support of

the Crenshaw Mall Swap Meet.

My barber, who also had locs as long as mine, was visibly reluctant. He gave me every opportunity to back out.

Cutting off shoulder-length locs is not for the faint-hearted.

Weeks after my cut, I felt anxious as I brushed back hair that was no longer there.

Every journey to a mirror was intense, but I felt I was far more appealing to the eyes of fellow college students who were not accustomed to my alt-lifestyle hairdo.

Still, l couldn’t ignore the underlying facts: Students who wear historically black hairstyles, such as dreadlocks, are stigmatized in many

institutions all over the world.

I read an article by Patricia A. Banks, sociology professor and co-editor-in-chief of Poetics at Mount Holyoke College, titled “No Dreadlocks Allowed: Race, Hairstyles and Cultural Exclusion in Schools.”

Banks details how dress policies limit opportunities for students who express themselves through these hairstyles.

“Dress code policies at the district and/or school level which dictate that students who wear these styles are subject to negative treatment, such as inschool suspension and banishment from extracurricular activities, are a

How black students view black hair

form of structural discrimination,” Banks wrote in the article.

I was around the age of 12 or 13 in 2006.

My mother was driving me and my siblings to school, and she was playing India Arie Simpson, a powerful and feminine R&B and soul artist.

Her song “I Am Not My Hair” is an enchanting anthem about self-acceptance and reclaiming identity.

Simpson’s Anthem challenged the societal pressure to define a person neither by their skin color nor their hair, particularly for women of color.

She also sings about how true worth comes from within, not

How students stay social on campus and in

Carissa Curriston, 30, sociology major

“Mostly at the Social Justice Center,” Curriston said. “I have found like a little bit of community in other places, but it’s not really like a strong or lasting sense of community, it’s more temporary.”

by Savannah Anderson

“Black hair is an expression of ourselves,” Fulcher said. “I tell my hair lady ‘Do what you feel,’ and I rock it because it’s an expression of myself and how I feel.”

“Showing black woman with different styles of their natural hair is definitely a step forward,” Stevens said. “I think we’re so versatile and God crafted us.”

external appearances.

Her overall message is that we as a society should challenge the notion that hairstyles dictate personality or worth, particularly within the Black community, where hair has often been the subject of cultural and racial pressure.

Black women should no longer need a press and curl to feel confident. Their confidence would ultimately come from within.

I can respect this sentiment, for I no longer need my locs to feel like a man.

classrooms

Abigail Morey, 20, communications major

“I was looking for a place to have fellowship, and speech and debate one hundred percent fulfilled me in that way,” Morey said. “It helped me get into a community that I never would have otherwise found on campus.”

Smitten with Badminton

Sparked by a shared love for the game, new club fills gym with energy

By Erica Lee

Rubber sneaker soles

squeak against the polished wooden floor of the basketball court.

The air is filled with a series of whooshing sounds, punctuated by the loud thwacks of shuttles as they hit the racquets before hurtling over the high net.

The players quickly dart from side to side, intercepting the shuttle when it enters their side of the court.

They play in doubles to accommodate the 28 people who have shown up tonight.

More people are expected to join in the coming weeks.

The El Camino College Badminton Club is one of the newest student-run organizations on campus. They made their debut at the Spring 2025 Club Rush.

They meet twice weekly on Monday and Wednesday night, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., in the ECC Gym Complex.

It is the brainchild of Marisela Gomez, 30, a high school substitute teacher and club secretary, and her sister Maria.

She had been taking fitness classes at ECC since fall 2023, but there was something special about the badminton course they took.

“My sister and I really love the class,” Gomez said. “So we talked to Coach [David Levin], and he said we didn’t have the club. So I decided to start the process of making the club.”

By December 2024, the Inter-Club Council approved the ECC Badminton Club’s application.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a badminton club before this one,” Levin said. “Not that I know of. There’s team badminton at El Camino and there’s badminton in the curriculum.”

Badminton is a racquet sport whose origins can be traced back to India.

Like tennis and pickleball, the goal of badminton is to score points by landing the shuttle, a feathery projectile known as a “shuttlecock” or “birdie,” into the opponent’s side of the court.

Players must score 21

points to win a game.

Badminton is played as “best out of three,” meaning the winner is determined after winning two games.

British army officers, who had been introduced to the sport while stationed in India, brought it to England in the 1860s.

The name comes from the estate of the Duke of Beaufort, Badminton House, where he introduced the game to his friends at an 1873 lawn party.

Today, badminton is the second most popular sport worldwide. It is popular in Asian countries such as China, Thailand and Indonesia.

However, badminton is now gaining popularity in

the United States.

According to Google Trends, which analyzes search trends, badminton saw a sharp spike in popularity between July and August 2024.

This coincides with the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, where badminton is an Olympic sport.

For the Badminton Club, the interest was more faceto-face.

“A lot of people don’t know about the sport, so once they heard about it during the Club Rush, they were interested.” Montila Winyaworapon, 26, said. The kinesiology major pulls double duty as a member of the ECC badminton team and its club’s ICC representative.

Experience isn’t a requirement to sign up for the Badminton Club.

Racquets and shuttles are provided. All members need to bring are a pair of suitable shoes.

During the spring 2025 Club Rush, the Badminton Club saw over 76 people sign up over two days.

The ages of the members span from late teens to 50s.

“I like everything because there is no age limit,” Maja Mandic, 50, a language academy student from Serbia, said. “There are great people who play so well, but it’s important to have fun.”

For the March 26 meeting, the gymnasium was converted into six

temporary badminton courts.

The players pair off for doubles matches, while others wait on the sidelines for their turn. Others congregate at the center of the gymnasium to practice their swings and serves.

“My hope is that it continues, that it’s not just a one-semester event,” Levin said. “All it takes is one person to make it happen.”

The

Club meets twice weekly, Monday and Wednesday nights from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Black-soled shoes are not permitted in the gymnasium to avoid damaging the court.

Guiding athletes to meet their goals is the goal

Warriors athletic specialist builds connections overseeing sports eligibility of 400 students

By Nick Miller

I n sports, the best ability is availability.

At El Camino College, CJ Arnold is one of the key factors behind making student-athletes available and successful.

Arnold grew up in Carson, where he and his two older brothers played just about every sport imaginable, but football was his main passion.

Arnold enjoys the physical nature of the sport.

“It’s legal to run around and hit people, they’d lock you up if you did that anywhere else but football,” Arnold said jokingly.

Arnold, 44, is the athletic specialist at ECC, where he has multiple roles.

“My two main jobs are eligibility, so in-season eligibility for 400 studentathletes, and then the budget,” Arnold said.

Arnold played football as a safety at Los Angeles Harbor College and San Jose State and graduated with his master’s in sports management.

He would later go on to coach football for 15 years mainly at the community college level.

Arnold has been the athletic specialist for ECC since Oct. 1, 2021, and came in when students were coming back to campus from the pandemic.

“It was just so different for a lot of people, you know, and then your trying to compete, and then some of the classes got moved online, so you have a online weight training class,”

Arnold said.

Arnold was unsure of how instructors would manage those classes, but said that they and the students used objects at home to make things work.

“I had students that were lifting their chairs,” he said.

One of the main reasons Arnold took the job was because he has coached at schools that did not have an

“Focus on the now, [and] control what you can control.”

- CJ Arnold, ECC athletics specialist

athletic specialist position, making him fill in some of those roles while coaching.

This gave him the experience needed to do the job effectively.

He liked the thought of being able to help student-athletes in all sports, not just football.

At one point Arnold played LA Harbor College football and his brother played ECC football, so Arnold was also intrigued by the familiarity of the ECC area and the athletic history.

“Just knowing El Camino, knowing the area, and knowing the support that’s here, and the athletic tradition and history was kind of big,” Arnold said.

Arnold’s favorite part of the job is building connections with

the athletes and seeing the success of the students as well.

“Just seeing them coming back and accomplishing their goals, you know, whether it’s moving on, getting a scholarship, having a good season. Whatever it may be, [a] good GPA,” Arnold said.

Rafael Guerrero, sports information director, said that Arnold’s positive energy makes him a joy to work with.

“His attitude is great, if he is in a bad mood, you can never tell. He’s always kind of got a smile on his face, so that’s pretty infectious, especially on long days when you’re here for a while,” Guerrero said.

Interim Athletic Director Abi Francisco said Arnold’s attention to details creates an efficient and productive work environment at ECC.

“He is very organized and he’s able to multi-task well and handle different facets of athletics at the same time in order to get things done,” Francisco said.

Arnold’s advice for collegiate athletes would be “focus on the now, [and] control what you can control,” as collegiate athletes face distractions including transferring and earning revenue from the use of their name, image and likeness.

Arnold said that being a college athlete is special, and that there are a lot of helpful experiences that come with it.

“Just live in that experience, and enjoy it while you’re at it, and learn a lot from it,” he said.

Athletes compete in many events to advance to the State championship

Runners show out in the SCC Championship

The Mt. San Antonio College Mounties and Cerritos College Falcons dominated almost every track and field event during the South Coast Conference Championships on Saturday, April 26, at Long Beach City College’s Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Dropping to her knees and crying tears of joy after her race, Leila Champion of the Mounties lived up to her surname by capturing the conference title in the women’s 100-meter dash, recording a personal best of 11.97 seconds in the event.

“My training has been consistent - it’s my mental [strength] that is the most important thing,” Champion said.

Her path to the SCC crowns in the event and in the 200-meter dash was not straight-forward.

Last year, she was faced with challenges that included getting her appendix removed surgically, which affected her core strength and her back, which also sustained a strain, sidelining her for about three months.

Champion attributed her comeback to her faith and making a physical recovery.

“As long as I believe in Him, everything will be

OK,” Champion said. “I would go to massage therapists, chiropractors, just any type of therapy that I could get.”

Champion’s teammate, Kaitlyn Reyes, ranked No. 10 in California, scored 20 team points after placing first in the women’s 1,500-meter run, recording a personal best at 4 minutes and 47 seconds.

“I wasn’t really trying to push myself too hard, because I don’t want to let the pressure really start to get to me,” Reyes said.

She was back on the track later in the late afternoon to run in the final of the women’s 5,000-meter run, moving to the outside to slingshot around her teammate Ava Cornell on the turn, with 100 meters to go.

Sweeping the podium in the 12.5 lap event, Cornell, ranked No. 8, was the conference winner in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and added eight points to the team score.

Cornell crossed the finish line second, with Tigist Bergman, the winner from Tuesday night’s final in the 10,000-meter run, trailing 25.09 seconds behind her for a third place finish.

Their coach, Daniel Ozan, said the team

culture at Mt. SAC includes mutual support for teammates and collaborative training.

“Everybody’s working together, helping each other out to be able to build for personal success,” Ozan said.

On the men’s side for distance, El Camino College sophomore Aaron Cohen will be heading back to the SoCal Regionals to race in the 10,000-meter run after qualifying on a 32-minute-and-58second mark at the SCC finals.

His goal was to maintain fitness levels while reducing physical and mental stress, which he attributed to a successful performance.

“I just lowered the intensity, but just kept running, kept the miles going and from there, I just think I felt better,” Cohen said.

In 20 events, the Mounties scored 392 points on the men’s side, while the women had 305.

Trailing just behind them were the Falcons, who scored 224 on the men’s side, while the women had 238.5.

The team’s No. 10 4x100-meter relay quartet featured Xavier Williams, Konnor Handy, Te’quan Chatman and Ethan Rosborough, sprinting to victory in 41.94 seconds.

Leila Champion from Mt. San Antonio College dashes past the finish line after winning first place in the women’s 100-meter race at the SCC Championships Saturday, April 26, at Long Beach City College. Champion completed the race in 11.97 seconds. Photo by Angel

“I knew that coming in [to the race], I had a lot of events—the 100 [meter dash], 200 [meter dash], 4x100 [relay]— and I had to be there for my team, so recovery was very important,” Chatman said.

Their teammate, sophomore hurdler Kailah Usi added 10 points by setting a personal best in the women’s 100-meter hurdles in 15.59 seconds.

She attributed her performance to taking care of her body by cutting junk food from her diet and working on her technique.

“I wasn’t snacking as much,” Usi said. “Driving into the hurdle harder, since I’m a shorter hurdler and not standing up and pulling

my momentum back.”

The Mounties and the Falcons advance to the California Community College Athletic Association Southern California Championships in the postseason.

For the Warriors, the team wraps up the regular season, while others, including Cohen, Gunner Perez in the men’s decathlon and Tilliana Wakefield-Carl, who took home the conference crown in the women’s pole vault, look to extend their season.

Cohen, Perez and Wakefield-Carl will compete this coming Saturday, May 3 at Saddleback College for the 3C2A SoCal Championships.

Warriors Playoff Schedule

Baseball

El Camino (28-12) vs Saddleback (24-16) (Home, May 2 @ 2 p.m.)

3C2A Regional Playoffs Round 1 (Game 1)

El Camino vs Saddleback (Home, May 3 @ 11 a.m.)

3C2A Regional Playoffs Round 1 (Game 2)

El Camino vs Saddleback (Home, May 3 @ 2 p.m.)

3C2A Regional Playoffs Round 1 (Game 3, if neccesarry)

Softball

El Camino (33-7) vs San Diego Mesa (24-15) (Home, May 2 @ 2 p.m.)

3C2A Regional Playoffs Round 1 (Game 1)

El Camino vs San Diego Mesa (Home, May 3 @11 a.m.

3C2A Regional Playoffs Round 1 (Game 2)

El Camino vs San Diego Mesa (Home, May 3 @ 2 p.m. )

3C2A Regional Playoffs Round 1 (Game 3, if necessary)