The Union Vol .80, No. 8

The Union

“I

World Cup shifts graduation ceremony

ECC parking lots F, H and L to used for FIFA World Cup match between U.S., Paraguay at SoFi Friday, June 12

By Isaac Ramirez

During the week of graduation ceremonies, El Camino College is renting out parking lots for a 2026 FIFA World Cup game scheduled to be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood Friday, June, 12.

ECC’s graduation ceremonies are set to take place on Wednesday, June 10, and Thursday, June 11, at 3 p.m.

While the graduation ceremony across two days has helped accommodate a larger guest attendance, members of the ECC community have raised concerns about not hosting the ceremony on Friday.

A faculty member, who wished to remain anonymous, citing academic safety, expressed concern about the change of dates.

“You have this graduation that is taking place on one of the days in the afternoon without consultation with either faculty, staff or students,” the faculty

member said.

Parking prices for the FIFA World Cup begin at around $101.89 for reserved spots in lots F, H and L, according to SpotHero, a digital parking marketplace service.

ECC is also renting out the Marsee Auditorium Friday, June 11 for $6,189 to Lennox Academy’s graduation ceremony, which is set to run from 2:00 to 5:30 p.m according to their public, meeting agenda for Thursday, April 30.

Lennox Academy is a public charter high school located 12 minutes away from ECC.

“We’re having a lot of things simultaneously happen, so I had to kind of balance all of those things,” Director of Student Development Ricardo Gonzalez said.

During the 2025 graduation ceremony, ECC’s Murdock Stadium, which can seat 8,000 people, reached capacity. The college was forced to turn families away from the event.

Accommodating the expected attendees of graduation was a leading factor that led ECC to split the graduation ceremony into two days.

“We reached capacity at the stadium last year. We had to

turn away many families,” Vice President of Student Services

Jeffrey Stephenson said during an Academic Senate meeting.

“Ensuring that students and their families could attend this ceremony was one of the primary drivers behind this decision.”

Erin Cartro, a 41-year-old parent of an ECC student, voiced satisfaction when it came to the two day ceremonies

Both of her daughters’ graduation ceremonies aretaking place on the same day and Cartro is able to take off work to attend both ceremonies.

“Ensuring that students and their families could attend this ceremony was one of the primary drivers behind this decision,”- Vice President Student Services Jeffrey Stephenson

The present estimated number of attendees, 1,865, has pointed to an increase in individuals who are attending. Gonzales explained that last year’s numbers reached 1,216 graduates with over 9,000 guests.

“I think it’s giving a lot of students access, it’s also making sure that every ceremony has an adequate number of spaces available so that we don’t break any… polices or procedures or safety precautions,” Gonzalez said.

She expressed the convenience that having a double graduation brings to her family, explaining that it helped with scheduling conflicts.

“For our family dynamic, it was a blessing,” Catro said.

Torrance tutor arrested after shots fired at federal event

By Erica Lee

A Torrance man is facing criminal charges, including attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump, after exchanging gunfire with federal agents at the White House Correspondents’ dinner Saturday, April 25, according to prosecutors.

Authorities in Washington, D.C., have identified the alleged shooter as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, a tutor at C2 Education of Torrance, a tutoring and test prep center.

This comes after shots were heard at the Washington Hilton, where the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was being held.

According to social media accounts, Allen was recognized as “Teacher of the Month” in December 2024 with C2 Education.

A LinkdIn profile that matches his name and profile picture displays his six year job with C2 Education and career as an game developer.

Details of an alleged written manifesto from Allen discusses the weak security of Secret Service at the event.

Allen reportably described himself as the “Friendly Federal Assassin.”

The Union talked to over 40 students on campus Monday, April 27, but most either didn’t know what had happened or didn’t want to comment.

“I don’t think that this person is representative of our community,” Nico Piertrantonio, 31, a human resources technician with the city of Torrance, said. “Torrance is safe, it’s a great community.”

For more on this story, visit eccunion.com

Next time, bring graduation back to Friday When soccer and success collide

By Union Editorial Board

Adecision made by El Camino College to move its commencement ceremonies to the middle of the week is creating unnecessary stress for the Class of 2026.

The problem isn’t that the college decided to split the commencement ceremony and spread it across two days, it’s that they were shifted to the middle of the week in order to accommodate the campus space being used for parking during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

We understand where the decision came from to split the ceremonies into two because last year’s graduation saw an unprecedented number of guests at Murdock Stadium, where the ceremony was being held.

“We actually had the record number of graduates participating at 1,216,” Director of Student Development Ricardo Gonzalez said. “We also had a large community influx… that became a fire hazard.”

Gonzalez said that over 9,000 people had arrived at the stadium, which has a seating capacity of 8,000.

Guests had to be turned away because the stadium couldn’t accommodate everybody.

Safety should always be prioritized in order to prevent turning a joyous occasion into a second Hillsborough disaster, a 1989 incident where 97 people were killed as a result of overcrowding and police mismanagement at an English soccer game. Ironically, our current predicament is also being caused by soccer. Specifically, the matches set to be played in Los Angeles as part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

El Camino College’s parking lots will be used for paid parking, which starts from $101.89 to $120 plus fees, for the USA vs. Paraguay match at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Friday, June 12.

In previous years, the college’s graduation was held on Friday.

But by prioritizing soccer fans to get to SoFi as easily as possible, it’s creating a headache for those who have signed up to walk at the 2026 commencement ceremonies.

Many students The Union interviewed at Grad Fest on Wednesday, April 22, said they had problems coordinating who would come to their designated ceremony.

“I think the fact that it’s on the weekday is not convenient for anyone,” Linda Lopez, a 35-yearold psychology and sociology major said, citing that more people have to take time off work and school in order to come.

Seven out of 13 local high schools are also scheduled to have their graduation ceremonies on either Wednesday, June 10 or Thursday, June 11. Most of these schools, such as North High School, Torrance High and Leuzinger High School, are scheduled to begin at 4 or 5 p.m.

For families with multiple members graduating, they’re stuck trying to decide which ceremonies they should attend.

It’s like trying to pick who is your favorite child. The demographics of the average ECC student are constantly changing.

They aren’t just 20-year-olds who will be transferring to a four-year college.

According to the California Community College Data Mart, the rate for returning students to ECC jumped from 4,556 students in Fall 2024 to 8,807 for Fall 2025 and from 5,523 students in Spring 2024 to 6,977 for Spring 2025.

If more people are graduating from ECC in the next few years, continuing to create two commencement ceremonies, please spare students the headache of coordinating multiple scheduling conflicts and host one of the ceremonies on Friday.

Union staff thoughts: Thumbs up, thumbs down

Thumbs down to the cost amount for grad cap, gowns and diploma frames.

Thumbs down to gas prices rising.

Thumbs up to those graduating this spring.

Thumbs up to Student Life and Development Club’s mid-semester check-in.

SINCE 1946

Vol. 80, No. 8 April 30, 2026

EDITORS

Erica Lee

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

FEATURES EDITOR

Madison Moody NEWS EDITOR PHOTO EDITOR OPINION EDITOR

Eleni Klostrakis Oriana de Quay

Chelsea Alvarez

STAFF

Staff Writers

Ana Gamez

Isaac Ramirez

Juan Carlos Cardoso

Michelle Claire Pentreath

Osvin Suazo

Photographers

Donovan Harris Ryan Hirabayashi

Interns

Brande Mathews

Diocelina Ordonez

Evelyn Wimberly

Frances Que

Gael Gallardo

Grant Blizzard

Jesse Jennewein

Kaitlyn Estrada

Lincoln Stock

Matthew Beck

Maya Ochoa

Mun Leong

Patrick Martinez

Riley Abrams

Tulsi Ananda

Illustrators

Christol Nguyen Zuri Godwin

Special to The Union

Ananya Iamcharoen

Heather Austin

Victor Copora Nikki Yunker

ADVISERS

STUDENT MEDIA ADVISER

Stefanie Frith sfrith@elcamino.edu

PHOTO ADVISER

Nguyet Thomas nthomas@elcamino.edu

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Jack Mulkey elcounionads000@yahoo.com

JOURNALISM PROFESSOR

Kate McLaughlin kmclaughlin@elcamino.edu

Gerard Burkhart

Joseph Difazio jdifazio@elcamino.edu gburkhart@elcamino.edu

INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS jemartinez@elcamino.edu

Jessica Martinez

CORRECTION POLICY:

EDITORIALS: Editorials

LETTERS

Beyond the Fireworks: Why understanding our history is important

By Juan Carlos Cardoso

As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on Saturday, July 4, 2026, the milestone is not only a moment to celebrate, but also a chance to reflect on whether the nation is living up to the ideals declared in 1776.

On July 4th, fireworks, parades and concerts will take place throughout the United States.

But anniversaries have a way of making one demand a difficult question: Does America still stand for what it proclaimed in 1776?

The Declaration of Independence promised something radical for its time: that all men are created equal, endowed with the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

These words became the bedrock of a national identity.

Nearly two and a half centuries later, our greatest challenge is to sustain the effort to make these original promises a reality for all.

Yet, they were accompanied by the men who drafted them and owned other human beings as property, a contradiction that history has never fully erased.

This gap between promise and reality has not disappeared; it has evolved over time.

Civil rights movements compelled the country to take its own words seriously.

In 1955, the Montgomery Bus Boycott began after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat and move to the back of the bus.

As a result, thousands of Black residents in Montgomery boycotted the city buses for over a year until the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on

public transportation was unconstitutional on Dec. 20, 1956.

The Civil Rights Movement forced another change, this time regarding who was considered equal.

The country has never fully resolved these tensions; it navigated through them, at times moving forward and sometimes backward.

There was real, hard-earned progress, however, the debate over what equality actually means in practice has never truly ended.

Today, that debate manifests largely in the form of mistrust.

Only about 17% of Americans say they trust the federal government to do the right thing most of the time, according to a Pew Research Center report published in December 2025.

In the 1960s, that number hovered around 77%.

This is not a gradual shift, it is a precipitous decline.

Among younger Americans, the numbers are even starker.

A 2024 survey conducted by the Harvard Kennedy School found that only 19% of people, aged 18 to 29, said they trust the federal government most of the time or always.

It is not a matter of statistics, these numbers represent a generation that grew up watching institutions struggle and as a result, has ceased to expect much from them.

This kind of disillusionment has always been part of American history.

The meaning of the Declaration of Independence has been a subject of contention since the very day it was signed.

The Civil War forced a reckoning regarding who was considered free.

I like my ICE crushed: Impacts of deportations in LA

By Ana Gamez

It’s 6:30 p.m. I’m pacing back and forth from my kitchen to the living room, looking out my window.

I called my mom, but there was no answer, and panic started to set in.

I gave her 30 more minutes before I started to worry. Maybe there was traffic. I take a seat on the couch, but the thoughts keep racing.

“She should’ve been here already. What if she was stopped by ICE? She doesn’t speak English.

What if she doesn’t have her documentation with her? Where would I even find her?” I thought to myself.

Suddenly, my mom’s car pulls into the driveway, and I feel a weight being lifted off my chest after knowing she’s home and safe.

This is the reality for most families living in America.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is terrorizing our communities.

When President Trump ran for reelection during the 2024 presidential campaign, he focused on increasing immigration reform and deporting illegal aliens because they pose a threat to national security and public safety.

“Given the unprecedented million of illegal aliens who are invading our country, it is only common sense that when I’m reelected, we will begin, and we have no choice, the largest deportation operation in American history,” Trump said.

Many undocumented immigrants and mixed-status households are living with

fear and uncertainty that they’ll be detained by ICE, separated from their families and deported.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that 3 million undocumented immigrants left the country.

About 675,000 immigrants have been deported and 2.2 million have selfdeported, according to the DHS website.

ICE has a budget of $85 billion and is now the highest-funded U.S. law enforcement agency, according to USAspending.gov, which is a data site that tracks federal award spending.

While Trump has increased ICE’s budget through the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill Act, several Americans oppose ICE.

Only 36% of Americans support ICE, while nearly 50% of Americans support abolishingICE.

Media coverage has decreased, but the detaining of civilians continues. People are disappearing.

Our neighbors are being forcibly taken off the streets. ICE is raiding worksites, local vendors and carwashes.

As a result, many undocumented immigrants only leave their homes for necessities, and many carry their documentation with them at all times.

Living in constant fear can have negative impacts on an individual’s physical and mental health.

Seeing the most vulnerable members in my community being targeted and labeled as criminals makes me angry

and sad.

Although it can also make you feel hopeless, it’s important to feel these emotions and let them fuel you to fight for change.

While I understand the need to secure American borders and deport criminals, these raids are aggressive and don’t just target criminals.

Tracereports showed that 73.6% of current detainees have no criminal convictions.

There are ways you can support your community by buying from local street vendors, participating in protests, and going to city council meetings.

If you or someone you know is targeted by ICE, it’s important to have a plan and know your rights.

California gas prices guzzle more money

Students express concern with rising gas prices

By Ana Gamez

Every morning, radiology major Martin Campbell, 28, drops off his wife Tiffany at work, and then drives to school. After class, he picks her up and heads home.

They share a car, and over the last few days, he has driven over 100 miles, averaging around 40 to 60 miles per day commuting to school, work, home and stores.

They’re expecting their first baby later this year. With this new responsibility, they’ve been budgeting their expenses and reducing their gas usage. They’ve limited their outings to grocery runs instead of gatherings with friends.

Campbell, like many others, has felt the impact of the increase in gas prices.

“Gas increases have made it harder to go out unless it’s essential, like groceries…Just making one trip to the grocery store to stock up and not going again during the week helps cut down on miles driven,” Campbell said.

As of April 22, the national average price of gas is $4.02 The average in California is $5.83. The Los Angeles area

Police Beat

By Diocelina Ordonez and Alexandra

with each newspaper release.

Monday, April 13, 1:07 p.m.

Petty theft, a drug law violation, outstanding warrants and trespass with a warning given were reported at the Athletics Complex. The case resulted in an arrest.

Tuesday, April 21, 8:49 p.m.

Lewd conduct (recording of a private space) was reported at the Math, Business, and Allied Health building. The case resulted in an arrest.

Tuesday, April 21, 3:45 p.m.

Domestic violence was reported on Crenshaw Boulevard/Cherry Avenue. The case resulted in an outside agency report.

Wednesday, April 22, 11:33 a.m.

A disturbance of loud noises and a trespass warning were reported at the Administration Building. The case is closed.

Wednesday, April 22, 12:38 p.m.

A hit and run of a car was reported at Lot C. The case is closed.

has seen prices as high as $6.04, according to AAA. “I’m rethinking my priorities, considering...My first summer of driving gas was $0.99 a gallon. I’ve seen the devolution of how far a dollar goes,” Toby Cho, a counseling advisor at El Camino College, said.

The U.S.-Israel War with Iran has been a major contributor to the spike in gas prices. Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, which has affected oil prices worldwide.

The Strait of Hormuz is a route several shipments pass through. The blockade of the Strait

New

New cameras help El Camino College Police Department with more effective parking enforcement

By Eleni Klostrakis

Scanning license plates at El Camino College just got easier.

Through a purchase of $14,250 from Park Loyalty, the El Camino College Police Department will increase the effectiveness of parking citations with automated license plate readers.

“So it’s a lot faster… they can cover a lot more parking lots with the car,” Police Chief Matthew Vander Horck said.

These readers are high-speed cameras that get mounted on top of vehicles scanning license plates as the vehicle drives by parked cars.

Two cameras to be mounted on a vehicle come with one purchased unit at Park Loyalty.

While the camera can be stacked on almost any vehicle, including a golf cart, ECCPD is placing the unit on an old Crown Victoria police vehicle donated from the Hawthorne Police Department.

But, in the future, they’re hoping to get Toyota Priuses

causes shipments to detour, costing more money.

Threats of oil tankers being bombed and seized also increase the risk and cost of oil. Higher prices for oil affect goods and services because cargo ships deliver those products and require oil to operate. This increase in price will fall on the consumer.

“Customers are still spending the same amount even if it’s high,” Itzel Ibarra, 30, a cashier at a local Chevron gas station, said.

Californians are paying the highest taxes at the pump due to

stricter environmental regulations and special fuel requirements. Approximately $0.90 per gallon is collected between local, state, and federal taxes, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The Union spoke with students and faculty at El Camino and while some individuals aren’t “It’s pretty expensive. I’ve been trying to work another job because of gas prices,” Campbell said.

Source: The U.S Energy Information Administration and the AAA fuel prices website

instead or purchase additional camera units, as it would help move the process along faster.

“We’re hoping to find funding maybe for the next fiscal year, or the one after that,” Vander Horck said.

Cerritos College already utilizes automated license plate readers in their parking enforcement duties, according to Chief Vander Horck.

The new parking tool is supposed to roll out late April or early May; ECCPD first has to register the new ownership of the car with the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Once the registration is confirmed, they can use the vehicle to mount the camera.

“Our main issue is students parking in staff [spaces],” parking supervisor Mitchell Kekauoha said, describing common parking violations students make.

According to Kekauoha, on average, around 275 individuals are cited for parking violations monthly.

Parking enforcement duties fall on cadets, who check parking in multiple lots all day.

Cadet Teresa Hurtado said that they try to ticket at least 30 cars a day.

“It’s just going to improve how our parking enforcement becomes…students will learn that they should not park in staff [parking

said.

ECCPD also has handheldlicense plate recognition devices that they purchased from Park Loyalty.

Parking fines are a minimum of $40, according to the ECC parking services website.

“Traditionally money from parking permits and from parking citations a portion or all went to fund the police department…then in COVID, we stopped issuing permits and we stopped sighting people,”

Money from paid citations and permits can go towards funding the ECC police department and parking infrastructure.

NEWS LINE

College and premieres on Friday, May 1, at 8 p.m. in the Campus

The Addams Family snap, snaps to reality

By Michelle Claire Pentreath

Fine arts professor Kelly Herman directs the El Camino College production of The Adams Family, a comical play about an eccentric family, which premieres on Friday, May 1, at the Campus Theatre. According to the ECC Center for the Arts, the performance follows the character Wednesday, the daughter of Morticia and

Gomez Addams. The Addams family is a goth and frightening bunch. In a rite of passage, Wednesday falls in love with a boy from a "normal" and respectable family.

Wednesday confides in her dad not to tell her mother of her new romance, yet the secret is not well kept. The families meet over a dinner. “I’ve seen one number

performed before, so I’d be interested in seeing it,” accounting major Darius Cooper said. General admission tickets are $28 and student tickets are $15, with a valid student ID. Tickets are available for purchase at the ticketing office beside the Marsee Auditorium or online.

Showtimes and dates:

• Friday, May 1, at 8 p.m.

• Saturday, May 2, at 8 p.m.

• Saturday, May 3, at 3

• Friday, May 8, at 8 p.m.

• Saturday, May 9, at 8 p.m.

• Sunday, May 10, at

Upcoming events for the remainder of the semester

By Union Staff

School is more than half-way through the spring semester. Campus communities, department centers and clubs are coming out with a variety of free activities for students to take advantage of:

Festival of the Arts

The ECC Art Gallery is putting together the event, which will take place on Thursday, May 14, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. For the 10 hours, the festival will feature: open mic, maker's fair, quilt workshop, jazz ensemble, poetry and more. Students can also look at art classes to enroll in for the summer or fall semester.

Society of Music Club

The Society of Music club will host an orchestral concert called “May the Fourth be With You” in the Art Gallery from 6 to 8 p.m., Monday, May 4. Free cake will be provided, as will free entry for students and $5 for non-students.

Gender, Sex and Alliance

Club

The club is set to host Pride Week from Sunday, May 17, to Friday, May 22. Throughout the week, the Pride Center will be hosting five consecutuve days

of events.

Transfer and Career Center

Student Services and Social Justice Center are hosting the “Agents of Social Change” Career and University Fair Thursday, May 7, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m, on the Library Lawn. The fair will connect students with universities, employers, campus resources and free pizza that will be provided.

Men Of Color and FIRST Program

A collaborative fishing event, called “Catching a Break,” hosted by The FIRST and MOCAN programs, will take place at the Redondo Beach Pier on Friday, May 29, from 7 a.m. to noon. The outing will include gear, snacks and limited transportation as students must RSVP by Friday, May 22.

MICASA Center

Tacos, banda and dancing will be provided at the end-ofyear celebration: “Raices y Logros” on Tuesday, May 12, at 5 p.m. for students graduating this semester. Hosted by the Mexican, Indigenous, Chicano, Caribbean, Central American, and South American Alliance.

The event will take place in the East Dining Room and Slots are limited.

Student Health Services Dog Therapy is going to have its last two sessions for the semester on Tuesday, May 12, and Tuesday, June 9, both starting at 11 a.m. The monthly event has brought dogs to the Center for Wellbeing on campus to relieve stress.

Running To Danger

New training officers protect and serve the campus community

By Ana Gamez

It was a hot day in East Los Angeles when Officer Pablo Garcia, 44, was on patrol for the Montebello Unified School District Police Department. Two women called out for his help. A four-year-old infant was locked inside the scorching Chevrolet.

The crying mom told Garcia to do what he had to do, so he broke the car window with his baton, and rescued the child.

“Giving the baby out to the mom and she’s hugging him [baby], I [took] a step back and [thought] I did something good,” Garcia said, “This job is very selfless, you have to give yourself to the community.”

To Garcia, serving his community is not only his responsibility, but a necessary sacrifice.

The same desire followed his fellow officer Ryan Brown, 29, who said he always wanted to join law enforcement.

Garcia and Brown are the newest El Camino College police officers sworn in Thursday, April 2.

“I’ve always been interested and always took criminal justice courses whenever I could. I think police work is a good outlet for working that,” Brown said.

Brown is a Lawndale native who attended El Camino College Police Cadet Program in 2018 and was promoted to Community Service Officer after a couple of years. He later transferred to California State University of Dominguez Hills, where he got a bachelor’s in administration of justice.

When the position opened for police officer, he applied and got the job.

Just on Brown’s first day with the ECCPD, he made two arrests which .

Meanwhile, Garcia grew up in Manhattan Beach.

After working as a real estate agent for 11 years, Garcia found an interest in law enforcement in 2012.

services, and staffing the administration building lobby desk. It’s roughly 20 hours a week, paying minimum wage.

The process to become a police officer requires a series of tests. They must pass a writt“The responsibility and trust that every police officer is given by this district, the community, and the state of California, you cannot have anybody who is less than utmost integrity,” Chief of Police Matthew Vander Horck said.

At 30 years old, he started as a security guard at CedarsSinai Hospital for two years.

“I was thinking I was a little older to join the academy. I was afraid physically, I would get injured. It was really tough at the academy, but nothing is impossible,” Garcia said.

He became a non-sworn safety officer for the Los Angeles Unified School District Police Department, serving the MUSD.

Officer Ryan Brown grew up in Lawndale and attended Hawthorne High School. He attended El Camino College in 2018 to join the Police Cadet Program. He later became a Community Service Officer and applied to become an officer at ECC.

The cadet program is a work study position for eligible students. The responsibilities consist of parking enforcement, afterhour security shuttle

Garcia and Brown are currently familiarizing themselves with the day-today protocol alongside senior officers. training to learn campus locations, how to respond to calls, take reports, handle calls, show up on scene, and traffic stops alongside senior officers.

“We’re rushing out to help people. When everybody is running away from fear, we’re going towards it. I like putting order in a place of chaos,” Garcia said.

Black-owned business caters campus

By Madison Moody

When Social Justice Center student success coordinator Wiley Wilson reached out to A Family Affair Southern Cuisine to cater an upcoming event, restaurant co-owner Brittany Bryant thought it would be too much to handle.

“Typically, during Black History Month, schedules fill up, but we try to make [the] effort,” Bryant said.

Despite initial hesitation, Bryant said she enjoys serving ECC and appreciates the school for acknowledging their restaurant.

The Social Justice Center and Black Student Success

Center are dedicated to collaborating with various Black-owned businesses..

In February 2023, Family Affair’s first location in Westchester burned down due to an electrical fire. The establishment had to be rebuilt.

“We’ve had to wipe away the tears,” Bryant said. Starting from scratch with the help of the community and “GoFundMe” donations, the team managed to operate a ghost kitchen for a year in order to keep the business alive.

Relying on a loyal client base, the restaurant has been serving the community from their new location inside of Buddah

Market on Slauson Avenue, as of 2024.

Family Affairs entered the second year of catering for ECC for the Taste of Soul event where students and staff shared a colorful soul food spread.

Bryant said she hopes to expand by potentially selling their homemade seasonings in stores and in the restaurant so that customers can enjoy their signature flavors from their own kitchen.

“We try our best to not go towards corporate-based, and to give back to the community and give awareness to students about those different food places,” Wilson said.

The journey of becoming a single parent Dance the blues away:

Dance instructor parents alone following husband’s death

By Oriana de Quay

It took the funeral home eight agonizing hours to retrieve the body.

Elizabeth Adamis sat in her living room with a police officer at the door and a blanket sprawled over the man who, just an hour prior, laughed on a Zoom call with his brother.

“How do I tell my daughter that her father just died and she’s never going to see him again?” Adamis said.

All this was during the COVID-19 pandemic, in January 2021.

It was supposed to be a normal day inside their Manhattan Beach apartment where Adamis’ daughter, Niamh, upstairs in her virtual cello class; her husband, Yorgos, in the living room teaching music; and Adamis downstairs teaching dance in the garage.

At the time, Yorgos was teaching his fourth-graders how to play the recorder. He was a composer, the kind that could play any instrument he picked up. Toward the end of the class, he called for Adamis.

He wasn’t feeling well. He felt nauseated and sweaty, he told her. By the end of his sentence his eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground. Adamis called 9-1-1.

Paramedics tried for about half an hour to resuscitate him. In the commotion, her neighbor took the 10-year-old Niamh next door to protect her from the situation.

“I knew even when [the paramedics] got there that he was already dead,” Adamis said.

Despite her loss, Adamis kept going. The now single mother,

and sole breadwinner, is a fulltime dance instructor at El Camino College teaching courses, including ballet and modern dance.

Adamis said she didn’t feel that the school did enough to support her.

Months after the incident took place she discovered that she could have used what is called catastrophic leave.

Despite a decade of teaching at ECC, the school gave her three days off of work.

“Human resources… became not about protecting faculty, but protecting the school. … When your husband dies and you are in a state of shock, you ask people that you think are in the know,” Adamis said.

She said it was a dark four months. At some points she was

barely functioning and suicidal, but her daughter kept her going.

Eventually Adamis got help.

She utilized the school’s Ease program which offers confidential consulting for employees, dealing with personal issues. And she and Niamh sought out a grief support group in West Los Angeles on Sepulveda Boulevard called the Our House Grief Support Center.

“We believe in the universality of grief…We don’t think there’s a right or a wrong way to grieve, “ Executive Director of Our House Julia Miele said.

For the first year, Adamis made sure Niamh was coping properly, putting her own needs second, sometimes third.

“She was very joyful as a child, and when Yorgos died, it took a while to get back to that joy,’ Adamis said. Even today she said that joy isn’t fully there.

In order to adjust with Adamis’ workload, she would bring Niamh to dance rehearsals after school.

“It is really hard balancing what your child needs versus what you have to do for your job,” Adamis said, “you end up feeling like you’re doing everything poorly.”

“The trash, the laundry, the cleaning doesn’t take care of itself. For the last five years, Adamis has done the cooking, cleaning, washing and shopping all by herself, which used to be the job of two.

“Usually people don’t lose their spouses in their 40s,” Adamis said.

Adamis is from Jamaica Queens, New York. Her husband was from Greece. She

“It is really hard balancing what your child needs versus what you have to do for your job... you end up feeling like you’re doing everything poorly.”

- Elizabeth Adamis, Dance Instructor

has no family in California to help her. Instead, Adamis’ support system are her colleagues in the dance department, Daniel Berney and Johnathan Bryant.

The dance community is very close. You have to be because it is what the artform calls for.

Bryant, Berney and Adamis go to each other’s houses for dinner. Bryant’s children, who are now nine and six, used to play with Yorgos’ instruments when they came over.

Even today, they show up for each other and cover for each other, especially when Adamis is trying to make it to her daughter’s cello performance or one of her soccer games.

“She’s a very unique, strong individual in many ways, but also fragile from an experience like that, who wouldn’t be,” Berney said. “She knows that at any moment she can rely on me and John.”

Adamis prepared a 30-minute solo performance for the Marsee Auditorium, over two years after Yorgos’ death, titled “Nobody Died.”

Dance had always been a way

for Adamis to cope.

The piece Nobody Died began with voices projected from the auditorium speakers which, through context, the audience discovers are voicemails left to her from friends and relatives who checked in on them following the incident, and even a voicemail from her late husband.

It was a full house, full of family, friends, and current and former colleagues.

“I was really hoping that it brought the catharsis that she needed,” Bryant said. “ I think [it] kind of helped for us to also have a way to contribute,” he said.

Adamis finished off the performance with her daughter Niamh who came out to sing.

Adamis prepared the sentimental solo piece to process the trauma her and her daughter experienced isolated in the quarantine and grieving a loved one.

“He’s still with me because she [Niamh] is him.”

B-Ball Dreams, A-List Talent

The top high school basketball players from across the nation met at El Camino College for two all-star basketball games as part of the 24th annual Jordan Brand Classic Friday, April 17. The event showcases emerging talent, many of whom have already commited to some of the best univerities in the country. Past alumni includes NBA stars LeBron James (JBC ‘03) and Dwight Howard (JBC ‘04). For more photos, visit ECCUnion.com. Photos by Ryan Hirabayashi

(L-R) University of Illinois commit Quentin Coleman defends the top high school player in the country Tyran Stokes at the 2026 Jordan Brand Classic in the El Camino College Gymnasium Friday, April 17. Stokes, a five-star basketball recruit, signed a multi-year contract with Nike in 2025 that allows them to use his name, image and likeness. He recently announced his