Campus News Spring 2019 Issue 18

NIPSEY HUSSLE INSPIRES PAGE 6

Volume 76, Issue 18 | www.elaccampusnews.com | Wednesday, April 10, 2019 | Single copy free - additional copies 50 cents

Women’s wrestling club to compete ELANs to participate in fall season with other community colleges “In fact, we were one of the first programs in 1995 to actually have Staff Writer girls wrestle, and I had two in those days,” Valle said.

Valle said that he has had four East Los Angeles College will rebuild the Women’s Wrestling women wrestlers in the last 30 years Club for the fall season with the he has coached at ELAC. Two in the cooperation of other California ’90s and two in the recent five years.

“Now we are making a concerted community colleges.

“All 21 colleges that have wrestling effort because we have something in the California community to offer them,” Valle said. “Now we’re actually saying to them ‘we colleges have made have something for a commitment to you. We have other having a (women’s) schools that have club team,” head girls teams.’” coach Ralph Valle The club will said. have an unofficial “Our goal is to state tournament have at least 10 girls in the fall to get on our team this year. it started, as well So far we have four as as participation committed to come in “The Brawl” here. That’s pretty — the wrestling good, actually, for LISSET RIVERA tournament hosted this time of year.”

Senior at Bell Gardens at ELAC. Assistant coach High school The wrestling Miguel Soto said that matches will remain there is currently no collegiate style. women’s wrestling at “I believe women’s high school junior colleges.

“We’re going to compete this wrestling has been the fastest year. We’re going to have [our] growing sport in the last three years. clubs compete with clubs from other So there’s definitely tons of high school females who are looking to junior colleges,” Soto said.

ELAC has had the Women’s wrestle in college,” Soto said.

“We want to provide them that Wrestling Club since the ’70s, Valle said, but they have had girls off and opportunity here at East LA.” Lisset Rivera, a senior at Bell on the team.

BY KEVIN CAMARGO

“It’s amazing that they’re giving us a chance to continue our sport...”

CN/STEVEN ADAMO

Gardens High School, plans to attend ELAC and be part of the wrestling club.

“It’s amazing that they’re giving us a chance to continue our sport because many girls do continue, but it’s very hard for them because they have to compete against boys.

Now we’re going to have a chance to compete against girls.”

Rivera has been wrestling for three years and was captain at her school. “I would love to see more people wrestle, especially girls, because it’s an amazing sport.”

Soto said the team must be a club first before they can become a sport.

“Hopefully [we get] more girls into the room so that the years after there will be an actual team,” said

Bell Gardens High School senior Miya Galvan.

Galvan has been wrestling for six years and wants to succeed in the club.

She was also a captain at her school and plans to attend ELAC. “I appreciate what they’re doing, and I’m happy they started thinking about girls in this sport. It’s a small

sport, but there’s so many people out there with big hearts that want to continue,” Galvan said.

The club is scheduled to face Santa Rosa Junior College in a dual meet on Sept. 14.

“You’ll see a [rise] in the number of women participation in community college wrestling this year,” said Valle.

Volunteers offers to do taxes for free

BY SAMANTHA INIGUEZ Staff Writer Professor Satoshi Kojima and 23 East Los Angeles College student-volunteers are helping students and the community by filing their taxes free of cost.

Every applicant saves about $50-$200 in filing cost.

All student-preparers are part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

The program offers free tax help to people who generally make $55,000 or less.

“Filing through this program means more money in the hands

CN/DIEGO LINARES

BIG WIN—ELAC Campus News staff hold their awards in celebration on March 30 at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges’ State Convention in Sacramento.

ELAC Campus News brings home 15 awards

BY KEVIN CAMARGO Staff Writer

East Los Angeles College Campus News won 15 awards at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges’ State Convention on March 28-30 at the Doubletree by Hilton Sacramento.

Steven Adamo won first place in News Judgment/Layout, third and fourth place for Illustration from the spring semester, a continuing scholarship, and an achievement award for student leadership.

Noe Ortega won Honorable Mention for Sports Game Story, as well as a continuing student scholarship.

“It’s an honor to (win) Honorable Mention,” Ortega said. “It feels good to win something (and) have your stories and hard work recognized.”

News Briefs

Andrew Ayala won Honorable Mention for Critical Review, a continuing scholarship and an achievement award for student leadership.

“At the moment, it feels good to win,” Ayala said.

“It feels good to not only see myself win, but the rest of the team as well.”

Melody Ortiz won Honorable Mention for Editorial Cartooning and a continuing student scholarship.

“I expected to get Honorable Mention, and I got Honorable Mention,” Ortiz said.

A total of 309 delegates from 29 colleges attended the convention.

Students were not only able to compete, but also network with professionals and attend different workshops. Luis Castilla and Ivan Cazares won Honorable Mention

Financial Aid Awareness Day

for Team Feature.

“It was an interesting competition because we didn’t know what we would be covering, and we know we made a couple mistakes, so I think we are happy to be honored with Honorable Mention,” Cazares said.

Stephanie Guevara won Third Place for Feature Photo.

“When I saw all the Honorable Mentions, and I did not see my name, the first thing that came to my mind was ‘I am not going to win anymore,” Guevara said.

“When I saw my name in third place, I honestly was shocked.”

Guevara said she went up to get her award and does not remember how she got back to her seat.

Julie Santiago won Honorable Mention for News Photo.

“I am glad our team was able to bring something back home and make us proud,” Santiago said.

Students will have the opportunity to learn how Financial Aid works and ask questions to Financial Aid staff. The event will take place today from noon-2 p.m. in front of the E3 building. Pizza, games and prizes will be included.

of our community. For example, a mother of two came to get her taxes filed and although she only made a little bit of money, we were able to get her a $4,000 refund,” Kojima said.

Before becoming preparers student-volunteers go through three weeks of thorough training, which requires them to complete three courses: Ethics, Intake/ Interview training, and Tax Preparation.

They study one subject each week and at the end of each week they must take and pass all exams before they are certified and allowed to file any taxes.

To further strengthen the quality of service provided by the VITA program, three certified public accountants overview the volunteers’ work.

The VITA program is sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service meaning whenever someone files for taxes through the program they are filing under the IRS’s hospices.

Kojima said he is proud of the volunteers because they are all there on their own time looking to help their community and doing an outstanding job at it.

TAXES Continued on page 3

South Gate Campus holds construction ceremony

BY JUAN CALVILLO Staff Writer A groundbreaking ceremony on March 22 marked the beginning of work on East Los Angeles College’s new South Gate facility.

The South Gate Educational Center is a satellite campus that offers some of the same classes offered at ELAC. Now with a brand new facility, the South Gate campus will be able to take more students in and offer a wider range of classes.

ELAC President Marvin Martinez said that the South Gate campus was first established in the city of South Gate in 1997.

It had previously been located in Huntington Park from about 1993 until the current South Gate campus was opened.

In 2008 bond Measure J was passed giving 3.5 billion dollars to the community college system.

A portion of this money was used

by ELAC to purchase the land in South Gate across from the current South Gate campus.

The property was originally a

The Taming of the Shrew

tire factory owned and operated by the Firestone company.

Martinez said that groundbreaking was specifically done to signal the beginning of the demolition efforts, and that by the end of construction the facility will double the size of the current South Gate campus.

The press release says that the new facility will measure about 18.5 acres and is a 65 million dollar investment for the future of the local community.

“It will have I believe 28 classrooms, labs, chemistry labs, physics labs. It will have a quad, it will be a state of the art campus with smart classrooms,” Martinez said.

To fill the classrooms new teachers and staff will have to be hired.

Martinez said that the building was built with enough space to accommodate future students.

More students would mean more curriculum, which would mean hiring more teachers.

Martinez said that the new campus is being built to give local students the chance to finish

The first showing of the play is Friday night at 8 p.m. in ELAC’s P2 Proscenium Theater. Tickets are $12 at the door, $10 for general admission and $8 for ASU members.

ASU Scholarship

up certain classes that previously were only available on the main campus.

He said that adding science labs will give Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics students the chance to finish their studies at this facility.

He also said that local students will have a reprieve from having to drive in traffic to the main campus on a daily schedule.

One of the deans at the South Gate campus, Dean Evelyn Escatiola said that the beginning of demolition is a very good sign for teachers and staff.

Many have waited years to see this, and its arrival has given the staff a level of excitement.

“We are excited about having modern classrooms, lecture halls, health center, gym and science labs, all of these additions will allow students to take all of their classes at the South Gate site if they want to. The new campus can only add to the community by providing credit and noncredit courses,” Escatiola said.

CEREMONY Continued on page 3

Applications are available at asu.elac.edu or in F5-212.

South Gate campus will have applications at the front desk. Only ASU member can apply. The deadline is April 12 at 4 p.m.

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OPINION

EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2019

Sanders position sturdy, others falter

BY MIGUEL BARRAGAN Staff Writer Bernie Sanders is the best democratic candidate because he has the strongest policies and has consistently fought for them.

Sanders’ track record is what makes people trust him and it’s the reason why he is so popular.

Sanders says that he believes politicians should not be working for corporate interests so he does not take any corporate Political Action Committee money, nor does he take money directly from Wall Street or gas and oil executives like other candidates do.

One of Sanders’ strongest stances is on environmental reform.

He has consistently fought for lowering greenhouse gas emissions supporting legislation like the “gold standard” climate bill.

He has opposed environmentally disastrous decisions like the building of the Keystone XL pipeline even when not many politicians did.

Sanders is also one of the strongest supporters of the Green New Deal.

The resolution aims for completely clean, renewable and zero-emission energy and upgrading infrastructure in an environmentally friendly way.

Beto O’Rourke on the other hand, has talked about the dangers of fracking and the need for environmental reform.However, he has supported Republican legislation that is harmful to the environment.

For example, he voted twice to lift a forty-year-old ban on oil export.

A committee report from the Democrats said, “The bill could have potentially vast consequences for consumers, the environment and climate change.”

O’Rourke has also voted against legislation that would prevent drilling in the Gulf of Mexico which could also have devastating consequences, like oil spills. This makes O’Rourke a weak candidate on the issue of environmental reform.

O’Rourke once made a pledge to

not take money from the fossil fuel industry and he broke it. During his senate campaign, he took $430 million from the oil industry.

Seventy-five percent of donations came in the form of large donations, over $200 with a cap of $2,700, and over two dozen donors were gas and oil executives.

His voting pattern is not surprising, and indicative of O’Rourke’s friendship with the oil industry.

No one has been as strong as Sanders on Medicare for all. He introduced The American Health Security Act of 2013, a bill that aimed to provide universal health care, and is releasing an updated Medicare for all bill.

He does not support a system where private insurers control the market.

Around $30 million people are uninsured. Many people get into massive debts from expensive medical bills and some even die from lack of healthcare.

Other candidates, like Elizabeth Warren and O’Rourke, have also supported Medicare for all.

However, both of them have changed their language on the issue suggesting they would not fight for it.

For example, Warren has said that she also likes the idea of expanding Medicaid.

That is not Medicare for all.

It’s important to note that despite Warren’s long time fight against big money in politics, she has stated she will take corporate PAC money if she won the nomination and ran in the general election.

This is a red flag considering those who take corporate PAC money are known to work for their donors rather than their constituents when voting on legislation.

O’Rourke has recently said on CBS News that Medicare for all is one of the possible paths for expanding coverage.

This is different from his earlier position that Medicare for all was the best path.

O’Rourke also has a bad record of voting with Republicans to

EDITOR IN CHIEF Andrew Ayala MANAGING EDITOR Steven Adamo ONLINE EDITORS Kevin Camargo Adam Robles Alex Handy

undermine healthcare.

For example, he voted twice with Republicans to impede an independent payment advisory board from helping reduce Affordable Care Act spending without rationing, raising premiums, reducing benefits or restricting eligibility.

Another democratic candidate weak on the issue of healthcare is Cory Booker, who voted against Sanders’ amendment on a bill that would allow for the federal government to purchase drugs from Canada where they are much cheaper.

Sanders’ stance on Wall Street is also key. He, along with Warren, supports reinstating GlassSteagall, a regulation that would separate commercial banking from investment banking, protecting average Americans from risky investments. He wants to break up the big banks that are said to be “too big to fail.”

These big banks often make shady investments that cost the American people trillions of dollars in bailouts, like in the 2008 financial crisis when the criminal banks needed the money to be saved.

Sanders also supports a tax on Wall Street speculation and would use the money to pay for things like free college, Medicare for all and other policies.

Super Bloom hampered by large crowds

BY MARIANA MONTOYA Staff Writer The world-wide phenomenon known as the Super Bloom of poppy flowers covered some of California’s mountains in cities such as Lake Elsinore, and Antelope Valley.

The colorful flowers announced the beginning of spring in a major way.

After all the rain, the bloom came in at a perfect time for these cities to get some exposure to the world. Unfortunately, concerns began to slowly come out.

This Super Bloom was giving drivers headaches, as traffic in these areas increased, and the places themselves were not continuously being taken care of

by the visitors.

“I went to Lake Elsinore to visit some family and I stopped by the flowers, but that traffic was a total nightmare,” said Elena Soto, a freshman student at East Los Angeles College.

In an effort to get the perfect Instagram picture people were sitting or laying down on the flowers, utterly ruining them.

Melanie Lopez a student at ELAC mentioned that the fields were bombarded with people who were trying to get good pictures of the flowers. Sadly they ended up ruining the flowers in the process.

The Super Bloom began in the month of March, and it took everyone in the country by surprise. This was the first time in a while since such an event

happened in these cities.

Tourists covered the trails.

People from different countries, such as France, China and India were bringing their families to these picture worthy areas.

The lines people were making to be able to hike the mountains began to get really long. The wait times reached two hours.

This caused the city of Lake Elsinore to close down this area.

They did this in order to be able to have control of the traffic and the people that were coming in to see the flowers.

The Super Bloom is a beautiful gift from mother nature. However, because the season of poppy flowers is sadly coming to an end, this is the last week the flowers will be in bloom.

The Tax Policy Center says that this form of tax could help earn $50 billion per year. Sanders’ Inclusive Prosperity Act of 2015 aimed to impose that tax.

Meanwhile, O’Rourke voted in 2014 and 2018 to weaken the Volcker Rule, which prevents financial firms from using depositors’ savings for speculative trading.

He has also voted several other times to deregulate Wall Street, including a package of Republican bills last year that would deregulate stock exchanges and high-frequency trading.

This might be the reason why a

Wall Street-funded group like Third Way has praised O’Rourke.

Kamala Harris is possibly the worst offender for protecting Wall Street.

As attorney general, she failed to prosecute OneWest Bank, then chaired by Trump’s Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, despite Harris’s investigators finding widespread misconduct in state foreclosure cases from the national mortgage crisis.

While some of Sanders’ competitors may be good on some issues, they have major problems when it comes to key issues.

Human interactions replaced with social media

BY ADAM ROBLES Staff Writer Technology advances more and more by the day, leading people to care less about real world and more about their cognitive worlds.

As society continues to dive deeper into the landfill of materialistic items, they seem to have also become oblivious to the problems surrounding them.

It is now easier than ever to get anything and everything delivered directly to a customer’s house.

This is in stark contrast to having to go out and go through the tedious processes that people were going through just a decade ago.

Now it seems like everyone is getting lazier and becoming social hermits.

This makes people less likely to go out and experience new things.

It’s ironic how people have connected with each other through social media and the everyday devices they use, yet they have become disconnected from reality in the process.

People are starting to rely on social media to fulfill most of their social interactions.

Everyone is expected to have their own social media account so that their friends and family can check in on them whenever they feel the need to do so. It has come to this point because people are becoming less concerned with scheduling some time to hang out or

even communicating with someone to check in and ask them how they are doing.

They’d rather skip that and tap the screen of their phones to see pixels of what they’re allowed to see.

The problem with this way of interaction is that social media can often become a sad or depressing place.

It’s filled with advertisements of nice things.

This takes people down the path of sadness because they begin to take what they already have for granted and only focus on what they’re missing.

This is because a lot of people are confined to the “shiny objects” idea where they only want new things until they become dull and boring.

Then they want to move on to the next best thing.

Social media is filled with people who are constantly showing off the things they buy, the people they hang out with, and sometimes even ranting about their random emotions.

It seems like there is always someone waiting to attack others for having conflicting opinions.

The best alternative to this would be to screw all of that social media nonsense.

Get out for once and experience the beauty of nature. Talk to people in person.

Come out of your shell and experience life for what it is and not for what is shown through mere pixels.

Disney/Fox merger shifts film industry

BY MELODY ORTIZ Staff Writer On Wednesday, March 20, 2019, Disney’s 71.3 billion dollar purchase of the film and TV assets held by 21st Century Fox was officially complete.

Notable assets acquired are Fox film and TV studio, FX, National Geographic channels, Star India, and 30 percent of Hulu.

There are two ways to look at the situation. The first is the much anticipated access Disneyowned Marvel studios will gain to the X-Men and Fantastic Four characters. Considering how well Marvel makes movies, and how questionable some of the Fantastic Four and X-Men films have been, this merger likely sounds great.

With April’s ‘Endgame,’ Marvel will need new movies to sustain itself.

The other side of the coin is a disappointing, but expected, effect of the merger.Analysts believe this move will force smaller studios to www.ELACCampusNews.com

merge as they scramble to compete with the massive studio which now also owns the “Simpsons” franchise. Lay-offs are expected of course. Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke about a $2 billion in annual cost savings by 2021, and much of that is presumed to come by way of layoffs. Disney never clarified how many people would lose their jobs. Analysts say that 4,000 of the current jobs would be lost due to the merger. What happens to the movie industry after this massive and record-breaking deal?

E s s e n t i a l l y, w h a t ’s b e e n happening for a few years already: an oligopoly, a state of limited competition in which the market is shared by a small number of sellers.

Warner Bros, Universal, Sony, and Paramount are among the other few dominating the movie industry. Disney will face issues spacing out its abundance of films in a manner that will provide each a shot of financial success. In addition to this, there is content from Fox that doesn’t necessarily

fit Disney’s brand. This content is not in line with Disney’s more kid centric content. Disney is in control of films and shows that are adored

by many people. Yet a healthy fan following does not always translate into profits. And Disney has shown that it generally wants to use brands

to continue making money.

Rarely straining for much else, the studio aims for money makers like movies from Marvel, Star Wars, or animated films.

Disney can choose to let Fox make movies aimed at a wide variety of audiences, understanding that it will be taking some losses on those films. Conversely Disney can also push Fox into the same box as its subsidiaries. That position being for Fox to be responsible for a number of films each year ensuring each one makes the money that is expected from it. Media consolidation has become more of a problem in recent years and this merger doesn’t do much to help it.

Cinematically, it presents and opportunity for a reunion of Marvel characters and revamped films. But there is a danger of saturation of content as the release dates for films from both Disney and Fox begin to collide.

Disney will have to decide which direction it will want Fox to go after this monumental merger.

FRONT EDITORS Miguel Barragan Melody Ortiz OPINION EDITORS Juan Calvillo Giselle Arroyo NEWS EDITORS Melisa Valenzuela Maria Marroquin Monroy FEATURE EDITOR Luis Castilla ARTS EDITORS Cher Antido Julie Santiago SPORTS EDITORS Sonny Tapia Mariana Montoya CARTOONIST Ivana Amaral COPY EDITORS Gustavo Buenrostro Stephanie Guevara Diego Linares Ivan Cazares STAFF WRITERS Noe Ortega, Steven Cardona, Vincent Austin, Erick Villarreal, Vicky Nguyen, Kelly Vasquez, Johanna Calderon, Samantha Iniguez ADVERTISING Stefanie Arocha DISTRIBUTION Steven Adamo Gustavo Buenrostro ADVISERS Jean Stapleton Sylvia Rico-Sanchez Campus News encourages letters to the editor relating to campus issues. Letters must be typed and double spaced.

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News

EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2019

New VPAM landscape to be completed this month and on the side of P2.

The architect of the project is Staff Writer Frank Villalobos, the President of The main goal of the project is Barrio Planners in East L.A., whose to create a more sustainable and business that started in the early 70s inviting landscape since a lot of and has done work throughout East people walk through the dirt and L.A. and Boyle Heights.

Rodriguez also mentioned that stand by the trees for shade as they Villalobos was once an ELAC wait for the next bus.

The name of the project is East student.

Rodriguez said the project started Los Angeles College Replace Water at the beginning of January and Intensive Landscaping Project.

“We were able to get the project was supposed to be done by the going with $800,000 of state funds third week of March, but the rain at the beginning and the intention of the year caused of the project i s t o c r e a t e a Rodriguez envisions a setback for the landscape that is shaded areas in front of c o n s t r u c t i o n workers. more accessible to the public,” Abel the museum for people Rodriguez also Rodriguez, director to stand by the trees said Magnolia trees that used to be in of college facilities for shade, as well as front of the VPAM said.

He said there benches for people to have been moved around the campus is a lot of foot partly because their traffic in that area intake of water is because of the public transportation that stops on much greater than other surrounding that corner, and before the project trees in that area, meaning they need started it was just a boring looking regular watering while the others don’t need as much attention. area with dirt and some trees.

They compete for hydration Rodriguez said that once it is done it will be a more welcoming space, causing some of the other trees to and he thinks it will invite more become weak and die.

One area that some Magnolia people to visit the museum.

The project also covers small trees were moved to is behind areas on the side of the museum by building K7 where it was previously the street as well as in front of P1 just a bunch of dirt.

A couple of VPAM employees said that since the construction started, less people have been coming in because they think the museum is closed.

“It’s kind of a good time since there’s only two exhibitions right now and more will be shown after spring break, but it has been slow and harder for people to come in since they have to walk around the fence by the sidewalk,” Kimberly Ruiz, one of the employees, said.

Rodriguez said people can expect pathways to walk through in front of the VPAM, which are being created based on the dirt pathways people have made with their footprints.

Once the project is completed Rodriguez still wants to continue to work on this area in front of the museum.

Rodriguez envisions shaded areas in front of the museum for people to stand under so that they don’t have to stand by the trees for shade, as well as benches for people to sit.

He also wants to have artificial turf on the side of P2 where students can sit or lie down and relax and read a book. Rodriguez said that although this probably won’t happen any time soon, these are his plans for the future.

The landscape in front of the Vincent Price Art Museum is undergoing change and the project is set to finish at the end of April.

CN/ STEVEN ADAMO

NEW AND IMPROVED— The front of the Vincent Princent Art Museum, located in the corner of Collegian Avenue and Avenida Cesar Chavez, during construction for landscaping project.

PHOTO BY AMEE GOMEZ

BY STEVE CARDONA

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NEW BEGINNINGS—Instructors and administrators from the South Gate campus dig to signify the beginning of construction for the new campus which will be ready by 2022.

CEREMONY Continued from page 1

CN/JULIE SANTIAGO

MAN WITH A PLAN—Gregory Uba who has been working with children and families for more than 35 years speaks to a

group of young students at a conference geared toward men in child development.

Conference aims to break stereotypes for educators

BY MELODY ORTIZ Staff Writer The Men in Early Childhood Professions mini conference brought attention to the stereotypes and issues men face in early childhood education.

The Child, Family and Education Studies Club hosted the conference along with the Child Development Center on Saturday at East Los Angeles College.

The club felt it is important to inform parents on the way male teachers are unfairly treated.

“We are not trying to victimize ourselves,” Billy Truong, the faculty advisor for CFES said.

He said they are trying to create awareness to the biases and bring equality in ECE. He praised the club for bringing awareness to the topic.

“This is the most selfless group of students i’ve seen in a long time,” Truong said.

The conference included four workshops: Creating Male-Friendly Environments in ECE, The Road to Understanding (The Journey of Over 20 Years), Bridging the

Gap for Men in ECE (Male/Father Engagement), and Learning through STEAM. Donald Williams, founder of the DAD Project, presented the Bridging the Gap for Men in ECE workshop.

He talked about the importance of a dad’s role in his child’s education.

He encouraged men to become more involved in their child’s classroom and/or the Child Development Centers.

During his workshop, he showed a clip from an episode of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” The clip was of Will Smith’s reaction to his dad walking out on him for a second time and was unscripted.

Williams said there were many young men who go through the same feelings as Smith and that luckily, Smith’s character still had a father figure in his uncle Phil.

Williams said it is important for boys to learn how to treat girls and for girls to learn how they should be treated.

He believes male teachers should be given the opportunities to teach these lessons along with other basic lessons female teachers teach.

He also believes fathers should help teach their kids on appropriate behavior and that being involved with their school can help break their traditional views on male teachers.

Gregory Uba, who is an advocate for men in the lives of young children, lead the Creating MaleFriendly Environments in ECE. During his presentation, he brought up the fact that young kids do not have a male teacher until the fourth grade or later.

He pointed out that the young girls get to experience the a connection with their female teachers throughout their childhoods.

They have an educational role model to look up to, whereas young boys don’t get that experience until much later in their childhood.

By the time they do get a male teacher, some boys have already found other role models that aren’t trained in education and children.

Uba said it is hard for males in ECE, and even fathers, because they have been taught how to handle, care for and teach children but that they aren’t allowed to touch them in any way.

April Guerrero, the CFES club

president, said a lot of the problem is what is heard on the news about some male teachers being inappropriate with students.

Guerrero said it is not a bad thing to have a male teacher. “It’s not just male teachers, it’s also female teachers you hear about...but not all teachers are like that.”

Guerrero, along with CFES, encouraged parents to volunteer more in their children’s classrooms and to not let the bias and stereotypes against male teachers ruin the child’s experience and education.

Those who attended the conference were encouraged to bring resumes for networking and employment purposes.

Other presenters were Robert Boyman, executive director for Pacific Oaks Children’s school and Edwin Cuz, a teacher at ELAC’s Child Development Center.

The conference included free breakfast, informational booths and raffle prizes.

Information on the club’s future events can be found on their Facebook page “CFES Club at ELAC.” More on the DAD Project can be found at www.dadproject.org.

She said that having the new facility will provide the college experience not only to the surrounding areas but to the South Gate community where it resides.

South Gate mayor Belen Bernal said that the local community reaction has been positive, but that her office has seen through social media that there are concerns about the possibility of parking becoming a problem.

Martinez said that the new campus will have roughly 1,700 parking spaces.

He said that the forecasted 10,000 students that the new facility can hold will likely not all be there at the same time, making the parking size adequate.

Despite this hiccup within the community Bernal said, “I believe that the groundbreaking of the (South Gate) campus will provide the opportunity (for) local residents to explore and think about an enhanced degree and/or area of study.

This will allow residents to increase their workforce

development experiences and relationships.”

Bernal said that by having the new campus in the city, those that choose to attend and enhance themselves will provide an increase in economic development for the city.

Martinez mentioned that having a larger number of students on campus will allow for an increase in businesses that would help with students needs.

Shops like these would have a positive effect on the local communities’ economy.

With the construction of a new facility an increase in student population at the South Gate campus is expected.

“The fact that there will be a college campus in the local community should raise expectations that going to college will be open to anyone who has the desire to take courses. The beauty of the community college is that everyone is welcome and that they will receive the assistance they need to succeed,” Escatiola said.

TAXES Continued from page 1

members more comfortable. They ask questions and understand the process.”

This is the second year that ELAC has tried the VITA program, the first time being in 2016. ELAC is the only college in the LACCD district to offer this program.

The VITA program has filed over 250 tax forms since it was first offered in February. They will continue to file taxes Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. through April 13.

To ensure everyone gets the assistance they require the program works solely by appointment. To make an appointment call (323) 265-8845.

Most of the volunteers are accounting students but not all.

Kojima said one of the program’s best preparers is a nursing student.

He believes her success in the program stems from her nature of wanting to help others in everything she does.

Preparers are also Bilingual in Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Thai and Japanese making the program more accessible to community members. Jonathan Gor, a preparer with the program, said “It really is important to have preparers that speak different dialects because I think it makes our community

California CHAFEE Grant extends age limit for applicants

BY LUIS CASTILLA Staff Writer Foster care is often overlooked as a financial factor, but the Chafee Grant’s age extension provides older foster students a new form of financial aid.

The California Chafee Grant for current and former foster students extended its eligibility age from 22 to 26 in September.

The grant offers students up to $5,000 in financial aid per academic year to help pay for college, child care and transportation.

The age extension allows anyone who has spent at least one day under foster care between the ages of 16 and 18 and hasn’t turned 26 by July 1 of the award year to apply for the grant.

To apply for the Chafee Grant, students must submit their FAFSA or, if they do not have a Social Security Number, submit their

California Dream Act Application.

Once this is done, students must submit the California Chafee Grant Application online at chafee.csac. ca.gov.

The Chafee Grant’s age extension, or Assembly Bill AB 3089, is an amendment to Section 69519 of the Education Code, which provides grant aid to former and current foster youth in California.

Previously, students could only apply for the grant up to their 23rd birthday.

The latest data on East Los A n g e l e s C o l l e g e ’s s t u d e n t demographics, from fall 2014, show that 0.9 percent of students were former or current foster youth.

This percentage was significantly higher than in previous years.

In fall 2012, 0.3 percent of students were former or current foster youth and in fall 2013, it was 0.6 percent.

The data for ELAC’s last five years is unavailable, but based on studies compiled by California

College Pathways, as of 2017, 85 percent of foster youth turn to community colleges as their first choice for higher education.

According to the National Foster Youth Institute, less than three percent of foster youth in the U.S. graduate from a four-year college.

The analysis of the bill says that across California, only 3,499 students were awarded the grant between 2016 and 2017.

Because the age limit of the grant was extended by four years, more

foster students have the opportunity to take advantage of it.

Sharon Sharon Quirk-Silva and Tony Thurmond, the authors of Assembly Bill AB 3089 said that, “Often times, foster youth do not learn of the program until they have exceeded the age limit or are only able to benefit from the program for a limited time despite not having completed their degree.”

For more information on the Chafee Grant, visit the financial aid office at E3-135. www.ELACCampusNews.com

4

Sports

EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2019

ELAC softball plays hard ball

BY NOE ORTEGA Staff Writer

East Los Angeles College softball fought back to defeat Rio Hondo College 5-2 at home on Thursday.

ELAC won its second consecutive conference match in the South Coast ConferenceNorth and improved its record to 7-8 and an overall record of 14-13.

The Huskies started the game off slow with three hits in the first three innings, but were able to turn the game around in the fourth inning.

In the bottom of the fourth

inning with two outs, sophomore shortstop Julie Granadeno hit a single and freshman first baseman Pua Johnson was walked.

Freshman catcher Melanie Torres smashed the ball deep

“We had a slow start on hits. Our defense was solid today, but it was our fourth game of the week, so I feel like we pulled through.”

MAJISTY SHOMO ELAC Pitcher

into left field to get two runs batted in off of a triple that gave ELAC the lead.

Freshman second baseman Alyssa Duran followed up with an RBI single that slipped through Rio Hondo sophomore shortstop Samantha David’s hands to bring home Torres and extend the Huskies’ lead.

ELAC pitcher Serena Lopez pitched for three innings and finished with four hits, two strikeouts and one earned run.

Lopez started the second inning with three Rio Hondo players getting hits off of her, including the first run of the game.

With players on third and second base, Lopez was able to finish the inning with two strikeouts and didn’t allow another run.

CN/ DIEGO LINARES

GET ON BASE—Serena Lopez swings at a pitch during ELAC’s 5-2 win over Rio Hondo on Thursday.

CN/ DIEGO LINARES

DELIVERY—Serena Lopez sends a pitch toward the plate during a 5-2 win over Rio Hondo

on the women’s softball field.

Sophomore pitcher Majisty Shomo came in during the bottom of the fourth inning and had to motivate her teammates as team captain to get back in the game.

“We like to mix it up. They’ve both (Lopez and Shomo) been in the starting roles, but Shomo came in as a sophomore and took the team. The energy did change with a little rally in the fourth inning. They scored one, but it wasn’t enough to put us away,” said ELAC softball head coach Erika Blanco.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Johnson was walked for the second time in the game and Torres followed up with a single.

ELAC Freshman right fielder

Catherine Aquino got two RBI’s and a double off of an error from Rio Hondo freshman third basemen Azucena Enriquez who threw the ball too low and went past freshman first baseman Arianna Amezcua.

The error allowed Johnson and Torres to score and extend the Huskies lead by four runs.

“We had a slow start on hits.

Our defense was solid today, but it was our fourth game of the week, so I feel like we pulled through,” said Shomo.

The Huskies were able to win the game, but struggled to get hits in the first three innings with only two.

In the third inning, Rio freshman pitcher Madeline

Peralta was at bat and hit a bunt that was called as a foul ball.

Blanco came onto the field to tell the umpire that the ball hit Peralta’s thigh and that she was out.

“The rule is that when you bunt the ball, if the ball hits you when you’re in play, then you’re out.

I saw the batter bunt the ball and it hit her on the thigh outside the box, but he (the umpire) said that she was in the box,” said Blanco.

The Huskies next game will be a home game that was postponed on March 20 due to rain today against conference rivals El Camino College at 3 p.m.

Baseball loses composure

BY SONNY TAPIA

ASIAN AMERICAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ENTERPRISES, INC.

Staff Writer

East Los Angeles College baseball lost to Pasadena City College at home on Thursday, 9-7.

The Huskies went back-and-forth with PCC and allowed over four lead changes.

During the game, both benches nearly cleared when Pasadena freshman third baseman Marco Martinez came sliding into home and began arguing with ELAC players.

This heightened moment was quickly dispersed by the home plate umpire.

Throughout the game the home plate umpire caused some issues for both sides when he made some questionable calls with strikes and balls.

ELAC head coach James Hines argued an at bat when PCC sophomore catcher Cole Pilar leaned into a pitch.

“He can’t tuck it like that,” Hines said. He then walked back to his bench without a warning from the umpire.

Pasadena recorded the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly ball by freshman first baseman Vic Zepeda that scored sophomore left fielder Edward Manzo who walked in his at bat.

ELAC took the lead in the bottom of the second inning.

Husky freshman first baseman Aj Gama started the scoring run with a base hit.

He advanced to second base off of a sacrifice bunt laid down by freshman designated hitter Robert Banuelos.

Sophomore right fielder Ruben Hernandez got a run batted in with a single to shallow outfield.

His hit was immediately followed by sophomore third baseman Andy Rodriguez, who recorded two more runs before the end of the inning.

The lead was quickly erased when ELAC sophomore starting pitcher Luis Ramos made some mistakes with a walk and two batters www.ELACCampusNews.com

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PICK ME UP—Ruben Hernandez picks up his bat at the end

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hit-by-pitch.

He allowed three hits in the top half of the third inning that allowed PCC to tie the game up.

The Huskies had bases loaded in its next at bat due to discipline at the plate by sophomore catcher Gabriel Jimenez and Gama.

They both walked in their at bats.

Banuelos bunted for the second time and was called safe at first to fill the bases.

Freshman shortstop Brandon Hernandez singled to left field and the runner from third scored to give the Huskies a one run lead.

Gama recorded two more RBIs later in the game that caused PCC head coach Pat McGee to lose his temper.

“What are we doing? We are not playing as a team. We need to make plays on defense,” McGee said.

During his outburst he then got in the face of his first baseman Vic Zepeda.

The team separated the two and continued with the game.

A pitching change came in the top of the fifth inning when Hines replaced Ramos with freshman

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pitcher Francisco Avena.

PCC was able to get within one run during the top of the fifth inning without recording a hit.

They had three straight walks and a sacrifice fly ball to the outfield.

The Huskies pitching allowed Pasadena to record four runs in eight at bats.

Freshman center fielder Gabriel Arellano started it off with a base hit to right field, followed by two consecutive hit batters.

Marco Martinez hit an RBI single down the third-base-line followed by another single from Zepeda.

ELAC made another pitching change replacing Avena with freshman pitcher Michael Mendoza.

He ended the sixth inning with a groundout. PCC took a two-run lead over the Huskies and kept the lead secure.

ELAC failed to produce any offense in the rest of the game.

After the final lead change, they recorded zero hits to finish the game on a low note.

The Huskies next game will be away against Rio Hondo College at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow.

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Arts

EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2019

5

Latin American culture dances through downtown LA

BY MARIA MARROQUIN MONROY Staff Writer The 4th annual Boleros De Noche event was held on Friday night at the Plaza de Cultura y Artes in Downtown Los Angeles.

Despite the chilliness of the night, the venue was full of young people accompanying their parents to enjoy the music. Couples swayed to the music of Margarita Luna, the headliner of the event.

After performing a few songs Luna realized many people were walking in with blankets and said, “It’s cold tonight isn’t it? You know? Sometimes people fall asleep on my shows and I feel flattered. Because if we think about it, where does a child fall asleep? In the safety of their mother’s arms, right? So, if that’s the feeling I can give people, I am happy.”

Other performances include Martha Gonzalez, member of the band Quetzal, and her son, Sandino.

They performed a duo to celebrate his 14th birthday.

Founder of Boleros De Noche Roberto Carlos launched the concert series in 2015. He said his motivation came from the heart in an effort to uplift and celebrate Latin American bolero culture in Los Angeles.

“To me it’s my life. It’s culture.

It’s family and it’s my dad. Trio romantico music, you know? I wanted to preserve this genre, to celebrate it with Los Angeles,” Carlos said.

Carlos said he aims to make this an all-ages event because he wants every generation to celebrate, embrace and enjoy their culture.

For the past four years, Carlos has dedicated his time to grow this

CN/DIEGO LINARES

CELEBRATING CULTURE—Rocio Mendoza smiles through her performance as she feels the music of Tres Souls.

event and he said he hopes to make it to the Hollywood Bowl.

Carlos also said they didn’t have sponsors for the first three years, but this year they reached out to partners to help fund the event.

This year’s sponsors are Madre restaurant, Quetzal Boutique and Niños del Cielo Inc. Ivan Vasquez, owner of Madre restaurant, said this music and this event made him feel like he was back in Oaxaca city in Mexico because of the ambience and the memories it triggered.

“More than a business partner, I consider him my friend, and just like my dream came true to have my mezcaleria and restaurant, I would like to see his dream come true, which is happening,” Vasquez said.

“When he asked me to be a partner, I was happy and I will help him in any way I can.”

In addition to putting together several events throughout the years, Carlos, along with with Rocio Mendoza and Jesus Martinez, formed a trio called Tres Souls.

One of the performances that gathered the most people on the dancefloor was “Sabor a Mi” by Tres Souls.

The trio sing and perform classic bolero songs as well as add their own little touch of inspiration without compromising the integrity of the genre.

“I am a requintista (a person who plays the requinto) so I try to keep the integrity to what it is to be a requintista, but still added my own style and taking influences from different artist,” Martinez said.

Martinez is also a former East Los Angeles College student. He said he took choir and piano lessons at ELAC in 2015.

His inspiration for this genre came from his father who was also a musician.

He said he loves boleros because they’re romantic and intricate. He now plays the instrument that was

CN/DIEGO LINARES

MOTHER AND SON—Martha Gonzales embraces her son, Sandino, after performing together for his 14th birthday. originally used by his father.

Amaury Reducindo, better known as Ketzal, from Quetzal Boutique, has been a vendor at this event for years.

Carlos has always been supportive of him, so when he was asked to be a sponsor, he was thrilled to be able to give back and support Carlos.

“In my childhood I acquired a taste for boleros and when Roberto asked me to be a part of this I was really excited. I think as an art community, we can come together and support each other rather than struggling,” said Reducindo.

Edward Padilla, the host of the event, said events like these are important to the community because they are part of who we are as a culture.

He said that being born in Mexico

but growing up in the U.S. made him unaware that he knew the Bolero music “I didn’t know that these songs were part of my memory bank. I saw the albums laying around the house, but I never connected the dots.

“So when I was asked to direct a play several years ago at Casa 0101, I didn’t know the music, but then I started listening to it and I realized these songs played in the background all throughout my childhood,” Padilla said.

Padilla said he’s reminded of a time in his life when the music played in the background while his mother cleaned.

“You know this country divides us in a lot of ways. People say Mexico, Central America, Puerto Rico

right? But Boleros and the music of Los Panchos, who really made this music famous in a lot of ways.

They were diverse themselves. So the music transcends our individual geography,” Padilla said. “It is sort of a common language to all of us and that’s the beauty of it.”

Xitlalic Guijosa from Tarjetitas con Amor, a vendor at the event and also a former ELAC student, said these events are important for the community because it’s a way to expose other people to the Latino culture.

“It’s important to have inclusion, to be in touch with our roots and to diversify the field. I always say ‘If you feel there’s a need for it do it yourself’ and this is what this event and other events like these are about,” Guijosa said.

Joan of Arc tells her story in poetic form

BY CHER ANTIDO Staff Writer “Voices: The Finals Hours of Joan of Arc” by David Elliott shows the life of Joan of Arc before she became a hero and how she changed history through the eyes of those around her. It is a good book as an introduction to Joan, but it barely touches on the controversy of her life.

The book retells Joan’s life through various medieval poems told by Joan, individuals and objects central to her life.

“Voices” is a historical-fiction that takes bits of monologues from transcripts of the Trial of Condemnation and the Trial of Nullification.

The Trial of Condemnation shows the case of Joan in 1431 where she is charged with relapsed heresy. The Trial of Nullification is a retrial of her case 24 years after her death.

Elliott captures a different side of Joan’s life than most people know. Joan is often viewed as the hero who led the French army to victory against the English during the Hundred Years’ War. She is also known as the hero who was burned at the stake for the crimes charged against her.

“Voices” shows us her life before she became a soldier and how she wasn’t always a hero but just a girl who followed her passions.

The book starts off with a poem in the perspective of the candle.

This candle held the fire that was to be the death of Joan.

“As we walked to the church, I was burning; she was my darling, my future, my fuel,” it read.

This was the moment of Joan’s death and Elliott gives us a visual of the scene as if the fire was alive.

Starting off with the poem of the candle is a good approach to grab the reader’s attention. It makes them wonder what other objects are shown in the book.

From the narrative of Joan’s mother to Joan’s warhorse, the whole book is like a diary written by these characters.

Elliott gives voices to objects as if they had a mind of their own. The book stands out from other books regarding Joan of Arc. For those unfamiliar with her, this book is a good way to get a glimpse of her story. It gives readers the basics of what happened in that part of history.

Others saw Joan as a saint, others saw her as an aberration, but because the story itself is vague, it’s a little hard to get a full view of exactly what occurred.

The book focuses on the emotional aspects of the characters, so it doesn’t go into detail on how the war was played out.

It is evident that religion plays a big role in Joan’s life. The Catholic church is often mentioned in the

COURTESY OF HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT

A FRENCH SOLDIER—The book cover of “Voices“ where Joan of Arc looks fierce in her armor.

story as well as the controversy of gender identity that Joan goes through as she starts dressing like a man, but Elliott doesn’t delve into that. So if readers want to know more about that, this is not the book to read.

If readers don’t know anything about Joan at all, this book is a good introduction to her life. It touches upon her domestic life, how her parents felt about her decisions and the possible reasons for her death.

The symbolisms in the book are fun to read. The red dress, for example, symbolizes feminity and Elliott dedicates a poem of Joan denying it. We get Joan’s perspective as she takes off her dress in exchange for a tunic, what men wore.

We are also given a poem of the skirt itself and then the tunic.

Comparing the two clothings in their poems, readers can see what they truly mean to Joan’s character.

The whole poem was a symbol of her rejection of her past life. It was the transition from Joan the girl to Joan the warrior.

“So I stepped out of the red dress and left behind the masquerade, the costume, and the mask. And with it Joan the girl and daughter, and her domestic tasks,” Joan said.

It’s the type of story where the end is already made known. It is the journey of Joan that is important, so readers could know how she started and how she met her end.

It’s interesting how the author tied the end with the fire as well.

Readers learn throughout that the fire has always been a part of her, even long before her death day.

Elliott wrote in different forms of poems popular in Joan’s lifetime.

He included ballades, rondeaus, sestinas, rondelets, triolets, and villanelles.

For those who are not familiar with different types of poems, they might not seem apparent. Elliott, however, makes it easy for people who aren’t really interested in poems to enjoy it as well.

With less than 100 poems in 186 pages, “Voices” is a quick read. It’s not the book for a deep analysis of Joan’s story, but it’s enough to get a basic information on it.

COURTESY OF DI BONAVENTURA PICTURES

DANGER IN THE WOODS—Masked children march through the woods to bury a dead dog in their “Pet Sematary.“

‘Pet Sematary’ remake deserves praise

BY JULIE SANTIAGO Staff Writer The remake of the classic Stephen King horror story “Pet Sematary” is surprisingly good despite it being a remake.

This retelling of “Pet Sematary” has minimal changes from the original story that some may find startling, but nothing that changes the overall storyline.

The story is still about a family that moves from the big city to a small town house near a creepy pet cemetery, which they would later come to discover was an Indian burial ground.

This remake, however, gives the audience who have seen the original 1989 “Pet Sematary” a slight unexpected twist.

According to The New York Times, the producers of this remake gave the script to Stephen King with the new twist to look over. To their surprise King approved of the changes.

King said both versions result in the same chain of events. King also said he did not favor one version of the story over the other, but acknowledged that the remake version was probably easier to film.

While the movie is not perfect, it is good and deserves some credit.

It is not often that we get a decent remake.

In some ways the directors did a few things right that were an improvement from the 1989 movie, which was well liked at the time it came out, but not a masterpiece.

This new “Pet Sematary” introduced the story right from the start and established a good pace for the movie that didn’t feel too slow.

This helped set a creepy tone right from the beginning and by the third act it gets much more intense. In the 1989 “Pet Sematary” on the other hand, there were times where it felt like it dragged.

In the remake there is more information and creepy imagery introduced about the cemetery that hadn’t been shown in the previous 1989 movie. This helped build even more tension and creepiness.

This movie also explored topics such as grief, the choices people make when they’re hurting, destiny, irony of good intentions and how far a parent will go for their child.

While these were topics lightly discussed in the 1989 movie, the remake had a cast that was better able to perform these deeper scenes.

The previous movie had a few performances that felt cheesy at times.

Technology is much more advanced today than it was in the late ’80s, so it is no surprise that the cinematography and sound design were better done.

With that being said, there are a few things this remake could have improved upon. In particular, the lack of scenes with Rachel’s (the mother) late deformed sister haunting her.

This side plot should have either been shown more or been eliminated entirely.

The way it was done in this remake left the audience with a feeling that more scary events would happen, but it wasn’t completely delivered.

Since this is a side story happening while the main story plays out, it doesn’t completely ruin the whole movie. It just feels like a missed opportunity.

Another improvement would have been to leave the ending on a cliffhanger rather than show what really happened. It would have given the audience a little more to think about.

Despite those minimal issues, this remake is one of the better ones and should receive some praise just for that. www.ELACCampusNews.com

6

Features

EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2019

PHOTOS BY DIEGO LINARES & IVAN CAZARES. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY STEVEN ADAMO

Nipsey Hussle remembered as positive force

Rapper slain, suspect in custody while community mourns

BY IVAN CAZARES, MIGUEL BARRAGAN AND VINCENT AUSTIN Staff Writers Thousands of fans are mourning the death of rapper and philanthropist Nipsey Hussle.

Hussle was shot to death on March 31 at age 33 outside of his clothing store in Hyde Park from where he worked to revitalize the neighborhood. Prosecutors charged 29-year-old Eric Ronald Holder Jr. with murder, two counts of attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a felon. His attorney entered a not guilty plea on April 4, and bail was set at $5-million.

Hussle, born as Ermias Joseph Asghedom, was a member of the Rollin 60s Neighborhood Crips gang from a young age, but transitioned into a legitimate businessman and successful hip-hop artist who helped others looking for an identity outside of being a gang member.

Hussle was known for working with artists from other gangs like Jay Rock, a Bounty Hunter Blood and YG, a Westside Tree-Top Piru Blood. He also worked with police as a mediator to curb gang violence.

“We (@LAPDChiefMoore and I) were meeting at the request of @NipseyHussle with him and @ rocnation tomorrow at 4 p.m. to talk about ways he could help stop gang violence and help us help kids. I’m so very sad,” Steve Soboroff, President of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, wrote in a tweet.

Hussle inspired his former manager Eugene Henley, better known as Big U, to carry on the late rapper’s legacy and helped organize a meeting with members of almost every gang in Los Angeles.

Hundreds of gang members from rival gangs attended a vigil April 5 where leaders agreed to a peace treaty in the slain rapper’s honor.

This new peace treaty comes 27 years after the Watts truce, a peace agreement among rival gangs in response to beating of Rodney King by police.

“Here’s a man who was destructive www.ELACCampusNews.com

in his community who evolved, and now he’s building in his community,” Minister Tony Muhammad, western regional representative of the Nation of Islam said. “We lost a giant in one sense, but because he was loved by so many, his energy has now jumped into them.”

He bought underprivileged children shoes, repaved black tops at local grade schools like 59th Street Elementary, and hired felons struggling to reintegrate into society at his several businesses. The Marathon Clothing store where he was killed was at the center of his efforts, and his constant presence with little to no security earned him a reputation as a man of the people.

“Here’s a man who was destructive in his community who evolved and now he’s building in his community.”

MINISTER TONY MUHAMMAD

Western Regional Representative of the Nation of Islam

“We at Los Angeles Unified are deeply saddened by the untimely death of rapper and philanthropist Nipsey Hussle,” A Los Angeles Unified School District representative said via email. “He did a great deal to support our school communities and inspire our students, including spearheading a recent partnership with sportswear company Puma to refurbish the basketball court and present a $10,000 donation to 59th Street Elementary School. Our sincere condolences to the family members, friends and millions of adoring fans grieving the loss of the late artist.”

He started his music career selling mixtapes in the parking lot of the shopping center he would come to own with help from his older brother Samuel Bellamy, late member of his team Stephen “Fatts” Donelson, and mentor Herman Douglas. Before

gaining notoriety, he also sold t-shirts and socks to fund is artistic aspirations.

“I feel like I lost a son. No one believed in cuz except us and himself.

If you don’t believe in yourself then no one will,” said Douglas. “Believe in yourself. That’s the only way to make it.”

Hussle openly talked about his life as a gang member during interviews.

He talked on Vlad TV about how joining the 60s was largely a financial decision to fund his music, and how finding an identity outside of being a gang member, is the greatest obstacle gang members face.

James Diego Vigil said the main reason youth in minority neighborhoods join gangs is extreme poverty and an inability to integrate into school. Vigil is a professor emeritus who taught criminology at schools including the University of Southern California, University of California, Irvine and Harvard’s Graduate School of Education as a visiting professor. His research and scholarly work focused on gang culture and street youth.

Vigil said how truces and cease fires among gangs have been agreed upon before, but never last because of a lack of social economic change.

“They grow up on the streets.

In other words, they become street socialized, and growing up on the streets you learn from the experts on the streets,” Vigil said. “We could go back generations and look at a street population that goes back 20-30 years, and they’ve created their own culture. It’s a culture of their place, and it has a name, the name of the barrio, the gang.”

Vigil said rivalries going back decades became institutionalized in the sub-culture, something Hussle worked against.

“Nip didn’t just send money to the hood. He came,” Muhammad said.

“He was here every day showing the homies the way out, giving them jobs.

He brought wholistic food here so the homies could stop eating bad food.

I mean the man was thinking in the future. The best way to show respect to Nipsey is to become like Nipsey.”

CN/ IVAN CAZARES

A LASTING INFLUENCE—Fans of Nipsey Hussle leave candles and flowers in front of The Marathon Clothing store, where he was shot to death.

CN/ IVAN CAZARES AND DIEGO LINARES

MAN OF THE PEOPLE—Hundreds of fans pack a parking lot at the shopping center on the corner of Crenshaw and Slauson Avenue to pay respects to their fallen idol.