Today’s Weather
84/72 Breezy and warm; cloudy in the morning, then sun and clouds in the aftenoon.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015 • Vol. 41, No. 6 • HCCEgalitarian.com Bills seek to close abortion loopholes see Community, Page 4
Astros kick off 2015 season this week see Sports, Page 8
Old Texas dance halls decaying see A&E, page 10
Effort to repeal ‘Texas Dream Act’ takes stage Will Weissert Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas — The Republican-controlled Legislature began a push Monday to repeal Texas’ 14-year-old law that gives the children of some people living in the United States illegally instate tuition at public universities. Conservatives vowed to move quickly, while Democrats and Hispanic groups promised a long, bitter fight. More than 100 people, many college students who wore ceremonial graduation caps, waited hours to defend the socalled “Texas Dream Act” of 2001
before a Senate subcommittee on border security. Their voices are unlikely to help, as the repeal is expected to eventually advance to a full committee. Tea party-backed Sen. Donna Campbell is sponsoring one of the major bills seeking a repeal, arguing the law acts as a magnet for encouraging families from Mexico and Central America to cross into Texas illegally — even though state higher education officials say there’s no evidence that actually occurs. “It’s just bad policy that awards see
Dream Act Battle, Page 3
Rodolfo Gonzalez/Austin American-Stateman/AP PHOTO Erick Dominquez, of Houston, left, and Jesus Trevino sit in the front row of hearing committee room waiting to testify against a repeal of the so-called “Texas Dream Act” of 2001, in Austin, Texas, Monday. The Republican-controlled Legislature began a push Monday to repeal Texas’ 14-year-old law that gives the children of some people living in the United States illegally in-state tuition at public universities.
Panel discusses natural hair Alyssa Foley
The Egalitarian
Alyssa Foley/The Egalitarian Candace Hubert, a natural hair stylist and owner of the Natural Souls Hair Cottage in Houston, gives a natural hair care demonstration with a live model following the panel discussion on natural hair in honor of Women’s History Month held at HCC Central March 26.
Five panelists discussed how to return to your natural hair roots at a workshop held in honor of Women’s History Month in March. Panelist Karl Mayes, an instructor and adviser at HCC Central defined going natural: “It’s allowing our hair to do exactly what it does.” Although the focus of the event was on black hair, Mayes added, “Whatever your culture, whatever
your background, you should enjoy what you have...Whatever grows out of your body is your mane, it is your crown.” Host Erica Hubbard, an EDUC 1300 instructor and HCC Central librarian gave a history of black hair in America starting from slavery. “The house slaves would see that the straighter hair and lighter skin meant higher status,” Hubbard explained that the history of hair is entwined with race and class. Gesturing to the audience of mostly black women, Hubbard
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said, “[I see] women who have gone the full circle and have decided to go back to their natural hair.” During the discussion, an audience member shared her personal hair journey, “At first you’re insecure about it….I would stand in the mirror and ask, ‘Where do I come from?’ Everyone asks that, but we can’t trace our roots….My hair is the only thing I have that my grandparents had.” see
Natural Hair, Page 3
Campus Briefs hccegalitarian.com
Page 2 - Wednesday,April 8, 2015
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Interested in having your event in the campus briefs? Want the HCC Community to know that you have an upcoming meeting or an event? Let us help! E-mail your event info to hometeam@hccegalitarian.com!
April 9
p.m. at the Stafford Campus Learning Hub, Room 142.5.
April 18
Scholarship Application Process Seminar Most students seeking financial support for college think receiving an actual scholarship is sort of like seeing a unicorn: It’s a creature that sounds beautiful, but can’t possibly be real. Joel Philistin, HCC Central’s Financial Coach, dares to correct this myth. Philistin is the creator and sponsor of The Scholarship Workshop, a how-to event on the scholarship-application process, 1 to 3 p.m., Thursday, April 9th, in Room 112 of the San Jacinto Memorial Bldg at HCC Central. For more information about The Scholarship Workshop, please contact Joel Philistin, MPA, at 713.718.2006 or joel. philistin@hccs.edu
April 11
HCC Open House Houston Community College is opening its doors to the public from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 18 with open house events at the following locations: Central: 1300 Holman Coleman: 1900 Pressler Northeast: 555 Community College Drive Northwest: 2811 Hayes Road Southeast: 6815 Rustic Street Southwest: 5601 West Loop South Enjoy food, fun and prizes while getting information on jobs, registration, financial aid, scholarships, counseling and advising.
HCC Southwest Faculty Music Recital Members of the Music Faculty of HCC Southwest College will present a special recital in the Fine Arts Center Recital Hall, Thursday April 9th at 7:30 p.m. The Fine Arts Center is located at 9910 Cash Road in Stafford. This event is free of charge and open to the public. For more information, please contact Dr. Andrea Jaber in the Music Department, 713-7186372
April 10 Hope Stone Dance Community Class Fridays, through April 24 9:30 - 11:00AM Hope Stone Dance, an artist in residence at HCC Central is now offering open community classes in modern dance, taught by artistic director Jane Weiner. Class will meet Fridays from 9:30 to 11:00AM in Central’s Studio Q. For information: Megan. Lasher@hccs.edu. Free for HCC Students, $10 general public. College Activities Board Meeting The College Activities Board will meet Friday, April 10 at 1
HCC Alumni Association Career Fair The HCC Alumni Association will hold a career fair for new HCC graduates and alumni Saturday, April 11 at 8 a.m. at the West Loop Campus. Stafford Citywide Pride Spring Cleanup Participants will receive a free T-shirt for their participation. Teams of participants will be assigned a designated streets and right of ways in Stafford to clean. Gloves and safety vests will be provided for your protection. Lunch will be served. Awards will be presented. Participants are asked to meet at the Stafford Campus Learning Hub Room 142.5 at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 11.
April 14 National Poetry Month Event with Sarah Cortez The HCC-Central Puente Club is pleased to host Houston poet Sarah Cortez, author of How to Undress a Cop, Walking Home: Growing Up Hispanic in Houston, and editor of Goodbye Mexico: Poems of Remembrance. Refreshments will be served and door prizes will be given to a few lucky students! The event begins at 11:30 a.m. in Room 101 of the Central Campus Learning Hub.
April 15 Free hugs Psi Kappa will be hosting a free hugs event at the Stafford campus Learning Hub first floor from 12:30- 2:30 p.m. A small hug can lowers your blood pressure, increases nerve activity, reduce your heart rate, boost your immune system, releases endorphins that alleviate tension and it doesn’t cost a thing.
April 25 Pathways to Health Wellness and Career Pathways Symposium The Pathways to Health Management & Careers Symposium is from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 25 at the Hampton Inn & Suites Missouri City, Conference Room 909. The event is free and open to the public. Houston Community College District VII Trustee Neeta Sane is inviting students, faculty and the public to learn more about these career choices during a free symposium. Those who attend will learn which health care careers are most in demand and how Houston Community College can help.
April 27 The Art of Problem Solving E+Math Club will host “The Art of Problem Solving” competition Monday, April 27 at 2 p.m, where students can compete for the first place prize of a tablet, the second place prize of a bookstore gift card and the third place prize of a USB by solving math problems in 15 minutes. The competition will be held at the Eastside Campus, Learning Hub second floor seminar room.
Follow The Egalitarian on Twitter @HCC_Egalitarian Like The Egalitarian on Facebook facebook.com/HCCEgalitarian If you’re a currently-enrolled HCC student and interested in joining, staff meetings are Fridays at 11:30 a.m. in Room 232 of the Fine Arts Center, Central Campus
The Egalitarian is written, edited and published by members of the student body at Houston Community College. All articles, photographs and graphics are property of The Egalitarian and its contents may not be reproduced or republished without the writeen permission of the editor-in-chief and adviser. The Egalitarian is published twice-monthly on Wednesdays with a run count of 8,000 copies per issue during the 2015 Spring semester. The paper is free to students, staff, faculty and general public on Wednesdays the paper is published.
The Egalitarian is the official student newspaper of the Houston Community College System. Articles, features, opinions, speak out and editorials do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the administration and its policies. Signed articles, feedback, commentaries and features do not necessarily reflect the views of the ditors, staff or student body. The Egalitarian is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) and College Media Association (CMA).
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News
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Wednesday, April 8, 2015 - Page 3
Dallas Zoo comes to rescue when snakes bite Claire Z. Cardona
The Dallas Morning News DALLAS — When an area man was bitten by an African bush viper, the Dallas Zoo was ready to strike. Along with one of the country’s most impressive collections of venomous snakes, the zoo also has one of the largest supplies of anti-venom. Most snakebites involve native species and bad judgment, jokes Bradley Lawrence, the zoo’s reptile and amphibian supervisor. “Most of the time it’s native venomous snakes that somebody has decided to mess around with, late at night, probably because they’ve had a few too many,” he told The Dallas Morning News. “Like, ‘Oh, look, there’s a snake. Let’s pick it up!’” Most native snakes’ antivenom is stocked in hospitals, but when someone in the Southwest, from Louisiana to California, needs an antidote for an exotic snakebite, the zoo is often called to help. Such a call may come only once a year, but Lawrence said they often come about 3 a.m., and he is usually the person who answers. The zoo will deliver at least half of its supply of the necessary anti-venom through police or CareFlite, which carries the vials by helicopter or plane. The hospitals that receive the antivenom pay to restock whatever isn’t returned. The zoo keeps thousands of vials — about $200,000 worth — in a small refrigerator.
Nathan Hunsinger/The Dallas Morning News/AP PHOTO This photo taken Feb. 4, 2015, shows an Amazon Tree Frog at the Dallas Zoo in Dallas, Texas. When an area man was bitten by an African bush viper, the Dallas Zoo was ready to strike. Along with one of the country’s most impressive collections of venomous snakes, the zoo also has one of the largest supplies of anti-venom. The most recent call for help came in January, when a man in the Dallas-Fort Worth area was bitten by his African bush viper, an exotic species without its own anti-venom. In such cases, the zoo sends an anti-venom that scientific papers have shown could work, Lawrence said. The African bush viper is illegal to own in Dallas and Fort Worth, but “laws are always broken,” said Mark Pyle, president of the Dallas-Fort Worth Herpetological Society. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department sells controlled exotic snake permits for
venomous snakes and five of the constrictor species for $20 for recreational owners and $60 for commercial permits. But cities often ban the possession of venomous snakes, wildlife permits specialist Megan Russell said. But she said the number of permits issued doesn’t reflect the number of people who own venomous snakes without following the rules. Privacy laws prevent the health care workers who treated the man who was bitten by the bush viper from discussing the case. But typically anyone bitten by such a snake in the Dallas area is treated
at Parkland Memorial Hospital — which senior toxicology fellow Dr. Nancy Onisko calls “the Snakebite Center of Excellence.” Parkland doesn’t treat many exotic snakebites. In 2014, it treated one or two — compared with about 50 bites involving native species such as copperheads and rattlesnakes. Copperhead bites are the most common, and they generally involve only pain and swelling. The hospital occasionally treats rattlesnakebites, which can cause tissue death, blisters and other symptoms such as a rapid heartbeat and problems with blood clotting.
affect how a woman feels about her hair; a father telling his daughter she is beautiful makes a world of difference. However, the panelists emphasized the need to keep everything in perspective. Panelist Carla Robinson, an English professor at HCC Central, asked, “Does your hair define you? It does not.” Welcome said, “When
considering changing your hair, ask, ‘Are you doing it for the reaction or for how you feel?’” Mayes said, “People who are truly happy with who they are do not care about pleasing other people,” adding that everyone should, “Love who you are and exemplify who you are...It speaks volumes to the universe if you embody who you really are.” The panelists admitted going
natural is not easy. Candace Hubert, a natural hair stylist and owner of the Natural Souls Hair Cottage in Houston, said, “If you have patience, natural is easy to you, but you have to have patience.” Mayes added, “The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary.” The panel discussion was followed by a natural hair care demonstration by Hubert.
Natural Hair, From Page 1 Panelist Stacy Welcome, advising manager at HCC’s Central counseling department, spoke about how to reverse the effects of hair shame on girls, “It starts in the community, and it starts at home…If you don’t instill confidence in your children at home, when they go out into the community, what do you expect?” An audience member claimed that a man’s perspective does
Dream Act Battle, From Page 1 illegal immigration in perpetuity,” said Campbell, of New Braunfels, who added that offering in-state tuition and other grants has cost Texas $31 million. The original law was approved nearly unanimously, designed to make attending college easier for thousands of Texas high school students who were children when they slipped across the Texas-Mexico border with their families. It was signed by Republican then-Gov. Rick Perry, whose support remained so strong that he suggested while running for president in 2012 that conservatives who oppose such measures don’t have hearts. At least 15 other states later enacted similar laws. Many of Texas’ top Republicans have since embraced hard-line immigration policies. Perry’s successor, Gov. Greg Abbott, has called the Dream Act flawed and pledged to sign a repeal should it reach his desk. Supporters of the law counter that it fosters productive, taxpaying state residents who’ll help grow the state’s economy. “These kids are not a threat to us, they are our future,” El Paso Democratic Sen. Jose Rodriguez said. He said he was offended by Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick referring the bill to a border security panel, where it may face an easier road to passage than if had gone to committees on higher education or immigration policy. Patrick has called for securing the Texas-Mexico border at all costs. Campbell’s bill would take effect in the 2016-2017 school year. When supporters raised humanitarian objections, Campbell replied: “If we’re looking at just compassion, what about the children in other states of the United States that would love to come to Texas, ours being the best state in the United States, and go to college here, but are charged out-of-state tuition?” The law only applies to students who have attended Texas schools for three years and graduate from a state high school — which is about 1 percent of college students, according to Sen. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston.
Community hccegalitarian.com
Page 4 - Wednesday, April 8, 2015
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Snowden bust snuck into, removed from park
Bills seek to close abortion loopholes
The Associated Press
Eva Ruth Moravec Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas, like many other conservative states, has strived to make it difficult for women to have abortions. Recent state laws have forced dozens of clinics to close and left some regions without a place for women to go. But Texas has one option that makes abortions relatively accessible, and that between 300 and 500 pregnant teenagers use every year. Instead of seeking parental consent to terminate a pregnancy, girls younger than 18 can ask a court for approval under legal conditions less stringent than in many other states. About 20 percent of the abortions performed on minors in Texas in 2013 came through this court process, about double the proportion elsewhere. Soon, though, the so-called “judicial bypass” may become less accommodating. Conservatives are now targeting the teenage cases as part of their latest legislative assault on abortion. New bills introduced in the current session would make it harder for girls to prove they shouldn’t have to seek parental permission and more difficult
Khampha Bouaphanh/Star-Telegram/AP PHOTO State Rep. Matt Krause, right, answers questions in Fort Worth, Texas. Krause authored one of several bills this legislative session that would tighten restrictions on pregnant teens who seek to get an abortion without their parents’ permission. for courts to give approval. “We don’t want this to be a loophole for the abortion industry to shepherd girls through,” said Elizabeth Graham, director of the Texas Right to Life organization, which helped draft some of the 21 antiabortion measures now before the Legislature. Courts shouldn’t be used to “exploit pregnant teenagers,” she said. But increasing the obstacles will only torment girls who are already in crisis, said Democratic Rep. Donna Howard of Austin, who is arguing to keep the current system. “To further obstruct access to a minor facing a very traumatic situation seems, at best, cruel,” Howard said. “Some of my peers don’t want to stop until there is no access to abortion, period.” Most teenagers who become pregnant talk to their parents if they want an
abortion. In some cases, though, doing so may be difficult or dangerous, according to groups that work with pregnant teens. Examples include when a teen’s father is in prison and her mother dead, when a teen has been abused and fears her pregnancy would prompt more violence, or when the teenager is homeless or neglected by her parents. Under state law, a young woman can apply for legal approval at a courthouse. She has to prove to a judge that she is mature enough to make the decision, or that telling her parents would lead to physical, sexual or emotional abuse, or that consulting them would otherwise not be in her best interest. Girls whose parents refuse permission can also use the bypass process.
NEW YORK — Suddenly, in the middle of the New York night, Edward Snowden’s face appeared — deep in a public park. A 4-foot-high, 100-pound sculpted bust of the whistleblower now exiled in Russia was sneaked into Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Park on Monday before dawn. Animal New York, a city news website that first reported the incident, said the mysterious perpetrators were a small group of artists — admirers of the former contractor who had leaked classified information from the National Security Agency to the media. The activists hoisted the bust to the top of a Revolutionary War memorial, adding his name to a column, according to Animal New York. The website says the group allowed it to document installation of the statue on the condition that it not reveal the identities of the artists. Snowden’s artistic appearance was short-lived. At daybreak, police said city parks officials ordered the sculpted Snowden removed. And by evening, his bust was being held at Brooklyn’s 88th Precinct pending an investigation.
US safety board: Oil train tank cars need urgent upgrades Matthew Brown Associated Press
BILLINGS, Mont. — Tank cars carrying oil or ethanol by rail urgently need to be retrofitted or replaced to make them more fireresistant after a spate of explosive accidents in recent months revealed the shortcomings of voluntary industry standards, U.S. safety officials said Monday. The National Transportation Safety Board issued a series of recommendations calling for tank cars to be fitted with protective systems better able to withstand fire than the bare steel construction now widely in use. It said a decade-
long retrofit timeline that’s been suggested by the tank car industry was too long to wait. “The longer we wait, the more we expose the public to the problems of these cars that aren’t especially robust,” NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart told The Associated Press. One alternative cited by the safety board would equip flammable liquids cars with ceramic “thermal blankets” that surround the tank and shield it from intense heat should a nearby car catch fire. Those blankets already are used for transporting liquefied petroleum gas. Also recommended were relief
valves that can prevent pressure from building inside tank cars as they heat up from nearby fires. The industry in 2011 voluntarily adopted rules requiring sturdier tank cars for hauling flammable liquids such as oil and ethanol. But cars built to the new standard split open in at least four accidents during the past year, including oil trains that derailed and burned in West Virginia in February and Illinois last month. The recommendations come as the Department of Transportation considers new rules to bolster tank car safety. Oil and ethanol train crashes have stirred widespread worry in the U.S. and Canada,
where 47 people were killed when a runaway oil train crashed in LacMegantic, Quebec two years ago. If the Transportation Department decides it would take too long to retrofit the existing fleet with new protective features, it should consider significant speed restrictions on trains as an interim measure, the NTSB said in its recommendations. The volume of flammable liquids transported by rail has risen dramatically over the past decade, driven largely by the oil shale boom in North Dakota and Montana. Since 2006, the U.S. and Canada have seen at least 23 oil-train accidents and 33 ethanol train accidents involving
a fire, derailment or significant amount of fuel spilled, according to federal accident records reviewed by the AP. The fleet of oil and ethanol tank cars is projected to top 115,000 cars by the end of 2015. Many are owned not by railroads but by the oil and ethanol producers that ship their product via rail. That’s created friction between the energy and rail industries as each looks to the other to foot the bill for safety improvements. The Association of American Railroads said in response to Monday’s NTSB announcement that it supports aggressive steps to retrofit or replace the tank car fleet.
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Attorney: bomber wanted to terrorize
U.S.-Cuba warming held up Michael Weissenstein & Bradley Klapper Associated Press
Denise Lavoie
AP Legal Affairs Writer BOSTON — As he planted a backpack containing a bomb just feet from a group of children, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev made a coldhearted decision aimed at spreading terror and punishing America for its wars in Muslim countries, a federal prosecutor told jurors Monday during closing arguments in Tsarnaev’s death penalty trial. “There was nothing about this day that was a twist of fate,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Aloke Chakravarty. “This was a cold, calculated terrorist act. This was intentional. It was bloodthirsty. It was to make a point. It was to tell America that we will not be terrorized by you anymore. We will terrorize you.” Defense attorney Judy Clarke countered by arguing, as she did at the trial’s outset, that Tsarnaev took part in the attack but that he did so under the malevolent influence of his now-dead older brother, Tamerlan. Clarke repeatedly referred to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as a “kid” and a “teenager.” “We don’t deny that Dzhokhar fully participated in the events, but if not for Tamerlan, it would not have happened,” Clarke said. The jury was expected to begin deliberating as early as Monday afternoon
Jane Flavell Collins/AP PHOTO In this courtroom sketch, Assistant U.S. Attorney Aloke Chakravarty, left, is depicted addressing the jury as defendant Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, second from right, sits between his defense attorneys during closing arguments in Tsarnaev’s federal death penalty trial Monday in Boston. Tsarnaev is charged with conspiring with his brother to place two bombs near the Boston Marathon finish line in April 2013, killing three and injuring 260 people. in the case against Tsarnaev, 21, almost two years after the twin bombings near the finish line of the Boston Marathon killed three people and wounded more than 260 in the nation’s deadliest terror attack since 9/11. If Tsarnaev is convicted — and that was considered a near certainty, given his lawyer’s admission — the jury will begin hearing evidence on whether he should get life in prison or a death sentence. Prosecutors used their closing argument to remind the jury of the horror of that day, showing photographs and video of the carnage and chaos after the twin pressure-
cooker bombs exploded. In a video that showed the aftermath of the first blast, jurors could hear the agonizing screams of Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager who bled to death on the sidewalk. Taking aim at the argument that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was led astray by his older brother, Chakravarty repeatedly referred to the Tsarnaevs as “a team” and “partners” in the attack. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died four days after the bombings after he was shot by police and run over by Dzhokhar during a getaway attempt. Dzhokhar was captured hiding in a dry-docked boat.
Police testing spent shell casings faster to solve crime Sadie Gurman Associated Press
DENVER — Detectives in Denver were on the hunt for an increasingly brazen shooter. A burglar fired through a woman’s dining room window when she threatened to call police. Ten minutes later and a mile away, someone broke into another home and shot a Bernese Mountain Dog. Officers scooped up the spent shell casings and wondered where he would strike next. Their break came when a witness said he was fired upon in a street fight two days later. Police gathered six more casings that were quickly entered into a national ballistics database and matched all three crimes. The evidence helped put Anthony Dennis in jail and keep him there.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015 - Page 5
In many U.S. police departments, that evidence might have been shelved in an overworked crime lab, where analysts would only run it through the database to prepare a case for trial. But authorities in Denver are leading a national trend to put ballistics evidence into the hands of investigators much more quickly — before leads dry up and suspects disappear. “Police are beginning to understand that if you don’t quickly respond and address gun violence it can spread over space, and it can escalate much like a measles outbreak,” said Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, which is studying whether these efforts create sustained reductions in gun violence. Matched shell casings have helped lead to
at least 35 arrests in more than 50 shootings in the two years since Denver began operating its Crime Gun Intelligence Center. At least 13 other suspects were charged with federal gun crimes, and five more had their parole revoked, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The goal is to stop “active shooters,” people who “have already proven they have no qualms about pulling the trigger multiple times,” said Jeff Russell, supervisory special agent in the Denver ATF office. “The urgency is there to stop that person before they commit the next shooting.” In Denver, Chicago, Milwaukee, New Orleans and other cities, shell casings are now loaded into the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network within days of a crime.
HAVANA — American hopes of opening an embassy in Havana before presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro meet at a regional summit this week have been snarled in disputes about Cuba’s presence on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terror and U.S. diplomats’ freedom to travel and talk to ordinary Cubans without restriction, officials say. The Summit of the Americas will be the scene of the presidents’ first face-toface meeting since they announced Dec. 17 that they will re-establish diplomatic relations after a half-century of hostility. The Obama administration wanted the embassies reopened before the summit starts in Panama on Friday, boosting a new American policy motivated partly by a sense that isolating Cuba was causing friction with other countries in the region. Arriving at the summit with a deal to reopen embassies in Washington and Havana would create goodwill for the U.S., particularly after it issued new sanctions on selected Venezuelan officials last month that prompted protests from left-leaning countries around the hemisphere. Negotiators on both sides said they are confident they will be able to strike a deal to reopen embassies in the coming weeks but not necessarily before the summit. “It’s not a lot of time, let’s put it that way,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told a briefing on Friday when asked whether an agreement on embassies was likely before the gathering in Panama City. The U.S. and Cuba have held three rounds of talks about restoring diplomatic relations. Cuba’s main demand is to be removed from the terror list, a Cold War-era designation that isolates it from much of the world financial system because banks fear repercussions from doing business with designated countries. Even Cuba’s Interests Section in Washington has lost its bank in the U.S., forcing it to deal in cash.
r.
Around Town hccegalitarian.com
PAge 6 - wednesdAy, APril 8, 2015
The sTudenT Voice of housTon communiTy college since 1974
Image by John Canamar
Image by Gilbert Bernal
Image by Ana Zdravic
Above Left: Santos Laguna’s defensive back Luis Lozoya fighting for the ball preventing Chivas de Guadalajara’s midfielder Patricio Araujo from driving into the peanalty area. Above Right: Members of Campagnie Käfig Dance Company instructing HCC students in Studio Q. Below: Chivas de Gudalajara’s forward Chanton Enriquez scoring his second goal in th 4-0 routing over Santos Laguna. Image by John Canamar
Image by John Canamar
Around Town hccegalitarian.com
The sTudenT Voice of housTon communiTy college since 1974
wednesdAy, APril 8, 2015 - PAge 7
Image by Thomas Hopkins
Above: Receipients of The Diversity Champions Award Antonio Maldonado, Kenneth Hernandez, and Senta Eastern. Right: Glass blowing and shaping demenstration. Below Left: Sam Groth of Australia serving up a 148 MPH ace in the first round at The Houston Clay Court Championship. Below Center: An official measuring the height of the tennis net before matches begin. Below Right: Dominican, Victor Estrella Burgos, returning a shot to give him the game in the first set against Sam Groth. Images by John Canamar
Images by John Canamar
Images by Sandi Mercado Images by John Canamar
Sports hccegalitarian.com
Page 8 - Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Astros open ‘15 season
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Okie State back on top of Big 12 Eric Olson
AP Sports Writer
John Cañamar The Egalitarian
Major League Baseball is beginning the 2015 campaign this week. Every year at this time there are 30 fan bases that are full of hope that this is the year for their team to raise a pennant and go on to win the Fall Classic. In Houston, it is no different than the rest of the country, with die-hard fans dreaming of a deep playoff run. It has been 10 years since the Astros won their first pennant. However, they have not fared as well in the winning column ever since. This year, the Astros have a new manager, A. J. Hinch, who is very optimistic in continuing the progress that the team made last year in winning 19 more games than they did 2013. Hinch will have a good squad to manage this year with all the players that are coming back to the team, as well as the new faces that have joined the club. Hinch is optimistic about the lineup stating, “With Altuve leading off, causing havoc on the base paths will allow Springer an opportunity to see some fat pitches in which he would be able to drive in runs. Followed by Gattis, Carter and Castro in the middle of the order we have the makings of a dangerous lineup.” Hinch’s best player on the roster, and fan favorite, Jose Altuve will be hard pressed to reproduce the incredible season he had last year. Last year, Altuve had a batting average of .341, an on base percentage of .377, 225 hits along with 56 stolen bases.
Pat Sullivan/AP PHOTO Houston Astros right fielder George Springer is airborne after throwing to home as Kansas City Royals’ Mike Moustakas scores on a Lorenzo Cain single in the fifth inning of an exhibition baseball game Friday in Houston. Even if his numbers drop this year, he is still going to be only one off from the most productive second basemen and over all threats in baseball. New to the team is Evan Gattis who adds power to the batting order as well as flexibility on the defensive side being able to play multiple positions. The ability to play catcher, designated hitter, first base and in the outfield will allow Hinch to drop a dedicated back up catcher and bring another utility player or arm that could best suit the team. Coming back to the lineup after having injuries last season is George Springer who missed 64 games. Springer has the power and speed to have a 30 homerun-30 stolen base season, giving the Astros a muchneeded boost to the run totals from last
year where they ranked 21st with only 629 runs scored. Dallas Keuchel will be the staff’s ace to start the season after having a good year in 2014. He only had 12 wins, but held the league with a 2.93 earned run average while serving up 146 strikeouts and allowing 48 walks. Keuchel was awarded the Gold Glove for his exceptional defensive play. This year, however, carries a little extra excitement for Astros fans. The beloved Craig Biggio will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, being the first player in team history to do so. The only thing that can surpass the excitement that the fans have for Biggio being inducted would be winning a second pennant and raising their first Commissioner’s Trophy.
Study: Brain scans may identify concussion-related disease Malcolm Ritter AP Science Writer
NEW YORK — A brain-scanning technique might one day help identify people with a disease linked to concussions in football and other sports, an illness now diagnosed only after death, a small study suggests. Scans of 14 retired football players at risk for the condition, called CTE, revealed deposits of abnormal protein in a pattern resembling that found at autopsy in the disease. CTE stands for chronic traumatic encephalopathy. It causes progressive brain degeneration in athletes and others
who’ve had repeated concussions and other blows to the head. Symptoms include memory loss, confusion, aggression, depression and progressive dementia. No cure is known. But the brain-scanning approach raises the possibility of detecting the disease early on, when the chances would be greatest for success of experimental treatments, study authors said. It might also shed light on the disease and help athletes with decisions on retirement, said a study author, Dr. Julian Bailes, codirector of the NorthShore Neurological Institute in Evanston, Illinois. He and others present the results in a
paper released Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Joseph Maroon of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, who was not involved in the study, called the results “a major step forward in detecting CTE prior to death.” Like the authors, he said the results set the stage for bigger studies to investigate the technique’s usefulness. The study of 14 retired professional football players included one with dementia, one without obvious symptoms and 12 with a mental functioning deficit called mild cognitive impairment.
Oklahoma State’s first sweep of Texas in seven years and school-record 10th straight series win in conference have moved the Cowboys back to the top of the Big 12. The Longhorns, meanwhile, are in a swoon the likes of which the program hasn’t seen in almost 60 years. The Cowboys (22-9, 7-2), ranked as high as No. 9 this week, won the Big 12 regular-season title last year but were picked behind TCU and Texas in the preseason polls. They won two of three at TCU two weeks ago and two of three at home against Kansas State before Corey Hassel’s walk-off homer in the 18th inning Friday produced a 6-3 victory that started the sweep of the Longhorns in Stillwater. Oklahoma State has one of the country’s hottest pitchers in senior lefthander Michael Freeman (6-0, 1.46 ERA). He went eight innings Sunday, striking out seven and allowing two runs on four hits in an 8-3 win. Freeman went into the game off back-to-back complete games, having come within two outs of a no-hitter against K-State on March 29. OSU has lost two straight games only once, and that was in the season-opening series against nationally ranked Arizona State. Swept at home by UC Irvine in the super regionals last year, the Cowboys are going for a third straight NCAA tournament bid. Texas (17-15, 5-4), which fell one win short of the College World Series finals last year, will need a turnaround to make it back to the national tournament. With seven everyday starters and nine pitchers back, the Longhorns were ranked in the preseason top 10 and opened with a series win at Rice. They split four games at Stanford and won their conferenceopening series against West Virginia and swept Kansas State. But they scored just three runs in three losses at Nebraska and lost a 10-inning midweek game against Texas A&MCorpus Christi. The losses at Oklahoma State knocked Texas out of the top 25 and extended the Longhorns’ losing streak to seven games, the longest since Bibb Falk’s 1956 squad went on an eight-game skid that started with a loss to a team called Brooke Medical Center.
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Holmes wins Houston Open
Leonard makes case for defensive POTY honor Joe Krawczynski
AP Basketball Writer
Holmes earns Masters invitation after besting Spieth in playoff John Cañamar The Egalitarian
HUMBLE — In the final round of the Shell Houston Open, J.B. Holmes came storming back with five consecutive birdies, and nine overall, to start the round on Sunday and claim the title after two one-hole playoff rounds. Holmes began the day at eightunder-par and in the 17th overall spot after having shot the 42nd best round played of 71 players on Saturday with not that great of a chance of winning barring a spectacular round of golf. After completing his eight-underpar 64 round - giving him a score of 16-under-par - Holmes waited over two hours before having to come back and compete in a one hole three-way tie breaker playoff for a chance to win the Shell Houston Open and an invitation to The Masters in Augusta, Georgia next week. The leader in the clubhouse after Saturday’s round was Jordan Spieth who had to sink a 12-foot putt on the 18th hole just to be able to play in the one-hole play-off. Johnson Wagner found himself in the three-way playoff after shooting the overall best six-under-par round on Saturday and a three-under-par round on Sunday sinking a birdie put on the 18th hole forcing the extra play to determine a champion. With their first shot of the 19th hole, Holmes and Wagner drove the ball long and straight landing comfortably in the fairway setting up an easy approach to the green. Spieth, however, did not fair as well and landed on the rough next to
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George Bridges/AP PHOTO J.B. Holmes posses with the trophy after winning the Houston Open golf tournament in a playoff Sunday in Humble, Texas. the lake. Spieth’s second shot landed to the right of the green in the kidney shape sand bunker, which left him at a disadvantage to Holmes, who reached the green on his shot putting him 40 feet from the cup. Wagner also landed in the bunker with Spieth. Spieth was distracted on his backswing and caught a lot of sand on his third shot causing a long put for par which he did not make causing him to finish with a bogie. “I heard something, or maybe it was just me,” Spieth said. “It’s not really an excuse, but I had a really good lie and I just got down into the sand a lot quicker than I normally do there and caught it fat.” Wagner was able to hit a great shot out of the bunker allowing him to down the following put giving him par for the hole. Holmes followed suit and made par,
forcing a second one-hole play-off. The second play-off hole started off the same as the first with both Holmes and Wagner’s drives landing in the fairway followed up by shots that landed on the green. Holmes twoputted giving him par for the hole. Wagner, however, was not able to sink his second put that rimmed out, leaving him with a one foot put for bogie and a tie for second overall with Spieth for the tournament. “It was just a great day for me and it ended good too,” Holmes said. “I didn’t tee off expecting to win today. It’s a nice surprise. I started out with five birdies. After that I thought I had a chance.” Spieth and Wagner earned a whopping $580,800 for second place. As for Holmes, he earned the title of Shell Houston Open Champion, an invitation to Augusta, and $1,188,000 for his performance this past week in Houston.
Kawhi Leonard just might swoop in and steal the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award. The soft-spoken San Antonio forward has played in only 59 games this season because of injuries, but he is healthy at the right time to help the Spurs surge up the Western Conference ladder as the playoffs approach. The Spurs have won seven straight and Leonard is leading the way with some truly dominant defense. He had seven steals in a victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night and has at least four swipes in seven of the last 15 games. “He is really playing confidently, but he hasn’t forgotten to predicate his game on the defense and on the boards,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “It kind of fuels him offensively. Our guys know how to give him his room. We are learning it better and better.” Leonard missed 17 of 19 games from Dec. 10 to Jan. 14, and the defending champions struggled to find the groove that made them so devastating in last year’s run to their fifth title. Leonard has given them their mojo back, giving them another staunch perimeter defender alongside Danny Green and pushed himself into the postseason award conversation. Golden State’s Draymond Green had been considered the front-runner for the award for much of the season, with the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan and the Grizzlies’ Marc Gasol among the others getting consideration. But the man known as “The Claw” for his huge hands — the one who won MVP honors in the NBA Finals last year — is staking a pretty strong claim as the season draws to a close. “I was just trying to come out here and make it carry over to the playoffs,” said Leonard, who will be a restricted free agent this summer. “I’m trying to compete every game and help my team win.”
Arts &Entertainment E Dance halls in decay hccegalitarian.com
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Page 10 - Wednesday, April 8, 2015
The Student Voice of Houston Community College Since 1974
Shopper leads to guitar theft arrest The Associated Press
David Warren Associated Press
KENDALIA, Texas — Some 40 miles north of San Antonio, along a lonely two-lane road, stands a bedraggled, tin-sided building that hints at Texas’ past. Kendalia Halle’s multitiered wooden truss was decked out in white lights as Bruce and Louetta Schwab joined about 200 others for a monthly dance. The Schwabs live east of Dallas and during their recent visit to central Texas Hill Country decided to visit the old hall, where patrons paid about $20 to hear Bobby Jordan and the Ridgecreek Band. “It’s a combination of her love to dance and my interest in German history,” said Bruce Schwab. Kendalia Halle was built more than 100 years ago by German immigrants, who through the latter half of the 19th century comprised more than 5 percent of the state’s population, according to the Texas State Historical Commission. It’s one of an estimated 1,000 dance halls that sprung up around Texas in the 1800s, knitting together German, Czech, Polish and other immigrant communities. About 400 such halls still stand — many unused and decaying — but only two traditional Texas dance halls continue to operate on nearly a daily basis: Luckenbach hall in Fredericksburg and Gruene Hall in New Braunfels. “The culture has shifted away from rural areas where
Eric Gay/AP Photo Al Dressen’s Super Swing Review plays at Twin Sisters Dance Hall in Blanco, Texas. A preservation group says old Texas dance halls that for years served as important social centers in rural areas of the state are decaying and closing, with comparatively few still operating. most of the halls are, but what we see is that these cultures are foundational to what Texans are and what Texas is,” said Patrick Sparks, board president of Texas Dance Hall Preservation. Sparks’ group and others are working to preserve the state’s remaining dance halls, in part by creating an inventory so that the most distinctive ones become candidates for the National Register of Historic Places. Such designation would enable the halls to apply for grant assistance and protections against encroaching development. More practically, it would raise their profile among tourists and other travelers. “You can still go out on a Saturday night and experience an authentic dance hall like you could 100 years ago and that’s something that really defines our culture here in Texas,” Sparks said. Some dance halls also are architecturally unique, according to Sparks. The Cat Spring Agricultural Society Pavilion west of Houston is a 12-sided hall built in 1902 by German immigrants that features an elaborate wooden truss rising up to a cupola. At
one time there were about 40 such “round halls” in the state, Sparks said, but now just half that number exist. Carolyn Vogel is president of a nonprofit association that operates the Twin Sisters Dance Hall. It’s believed Twin Sisters, not far from Kendalia Halle, has hosted at least a monthly dance since the 1880s. It costs about $16,000 a year for volunteers to maintain the building. “On a good year we break even,” Vogel said. The association is seeking an IRS designation as a charitable organization that would allow it to apply for state grants and other money, which would prove valuable in addressing expensive repairs like the nearly $20,000 needed to replace the roof, she said. Twin Sisters, founded by German immigrants, for years served as a vital community center, Vogel said, and it’s important “to reacquaint and refamiliarize people with this heritage.” “We’re really working to bring people back,” she said. “I think it’s a unique type of entertainment, also.” From about 1870 into the 1920s, European immigrants in Texas built hundreds of
these halls. They largely served as meeting places for agricultural groups, rifle clubs and mutual benefit societies. Over time, Sparks said, they also became important social centers that on many evenings hosted popular dances. The popularity of the halls waned as Texas’ population shifted to the cities. In 1900, 83 percent of the Texas population lived in rural areas; 50 years later that percentage had fallen to 37 percent, and continues to decline. Nowadays, a couple hundred remaining halls may host an event or two each year, but only a few dozen are used at least on a monthly basis, Sparks said. When Lee Temple bought Kendalia Halle with his wife Judi in 1995, business didn’t look so promising. One weekend he laid out $700 for a band only to have one couple show. While still not a moneymaker, Kendalia’s monthly dances, along with wedding receptions and birthday parties, help the Temples break even. “Texas dance halls are becoming a very good investment because there are fewer and fewer of them,” Lee Temple said.
AUSTIN, Texas — A Craiglist shopper suspicious about the cheap online offering price for an electric guitar led police to the arrest of a suspect in the theft of about $11,000 worth of musical equipment from a Mississippi band performing at the annual South by Southwest festival. A 17-year-old Austin resident was jailed Saturday on a felony theft charge. Online Travis County jail records do not list an attorney for the suspect. Members of The Jag, a Mississippi-based band performing during SXSW, returned to where their vehicle was parked March 17 and found only broken glass, according to KXAN-TV. A security guard working nearby had reported to police that the van appeared to have been broken into and the vehicle was towed, according to a warrant. Band members regained their vehicle, realized the theft and reported about $11,000 worth of guitars, amplifiers and other equipment missing. “When you play an instrument almost your entire life, you really get to know it well. The only reason we miss these objects are the memories we built with them,” band member Joe Regan said. A Craigslist shopper Tuesday saw an ad for a pricey Fender Stratocaster guitar, then met the suspect in a parking lot but did not buy anything. The potential buyer, suspicious that expensive music items were so cheap, did an online search for stolen instruments and discovered details on The Jag’s theft. The suspected thief later allegedly texted the potential buyer about instead offering a Gibson Les Paul guitar. Austin police accompanied the shopper and arrested the suspect. The $4,000 Gibson Les Paul guitar, identified as being stolen from the band, was recovered.
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SPRING 2015 EGALITARIAN STAFF Editor-in-Chief.................................................Alyssa Foley Managing Editor..........................................................TBA News Editor................................................. Jimmieka Mills Community Editor................................... Sabrina Alvarado Sports Editor............................................... John Cañamar A&E Editor...................................................................TBA Commentary Editor......................................................TBA Photo Editor................................................. Gilbert Bernal Social Media Mgr............................................ Cierra Foley Staff Writer................................................Ariana Gonzalez Staff Writer....................................................Tamitra Harris Staff Writer.......................................... Christopher Joseph Staff Writer...................................Chutiya Metheesupapak Staff Writer.................................................Jada Newsome Staff Writer...................................................... Maria Smith ———
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Craig Ruttle/AP PHOTO Columbia Journalism School Academic Dean Sheila Coronel, left, and Columbia Journalism School Dean Steve Coll give a news conference to discuss findings of a report conducted at the school surrounding Rolling Stone magazine’s expose of what it called a culture of sex assaults at the University of Virginia, Monday in New York. Rolling Stone has officially retracted the story.
Furor over Rolling Stone rape article may leave mixed legacy David Crary
AP National Writer NEW YORK — The furor over a retracted Rolling Stone article may deter some rape victims from coming forward, but the national campaign to curb sexual assaults on college campuses will keep gaining strength, according to advocates who have been following the highprofile case. The November 2014 article, purporting to describe a vicious gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity house, was retracted by Rolling Stone on Sunday after the Columbia Journalism School issued a scathing critique of how the story was reported and edited. The critical report followed an announcement by police officials last month that investigators had found no evidence to back the claims of the alleged victim. Advocates for victims of sexual assault, in interviews Monday, had mixed views on the legacy of the Rolling Stone article. “I’m afraid this will perpetuate the myth that sexual assault on campus is this made-up phenomenon,” said Alison Kiss, executive director
of the Clery Center for Security On Campus. “It puts a lot more on the plate of those who are working to combat it.” Kiss described on-campus sexual assault as an epidemic that needs to be addressed aggressively. The rate of false reports, she said, is between 2 percent and 10 percent. At the University of CaliforniaLos Angeles, anti-violence activist Savannah Badalich also worried that the Rolling Stone retraction might dissuade some assault victims from coming forward. Badalich, a senior who is UCLA’s student wellness commissioner, has written about being sexually assaulted during her sophomore year and deciding not to report the incident. She subsequently founded a group called 7,000 in Solidarity that campaigns against sexual violence on campus. Rolling Stone, she said, did a disservice to the woman featured in its article by not fact-checking her account more rigorously. “Survivors often jumble their stories — they remember bits and pieces,” she said. “Now this becomes this evidence for people who are trying to oppose violence-
prevention efforts on campus. They say, ‘Hey, this is an example of someone lying about their case just to get reported.’” However, Badalich said there could be a positive legacy to the case if journalists improve the overall coverage of sexual assault. “If we take this as a teachable moment on how to report on incidents of violence like this, it could be positive,” she said. Scott Berkowitz, president of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network in Washington, D.C., said he was hopeful that the case would have only a limited deterrent effect on victims. “This was such an unusual case in every respect,” he said. “I think most victims would see that it’s easily distinguishable from their own cases.” Berkowitz noted that the University of Virginia and the local police department responded vigorously when the allegations surfaced last year. “There was a tremendous amount of attention and effort put into investigating them and taking them seriously,” he said. “Hopefully that would be comforting to victims.”
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