Volume 77, Issue 13 | www.elaccampusnews.com | Wednesday, February 26, 2020 | Single copy free - additional copies 50 cents
Elac students offered voting opportunities Voting centers offer Elans voice in crucial election BY RAYMOND NAVA Staff Writer The Los Angeles Community College District is offering voting centers at its schools including East Los Angeles College for students and the public to vote in the March primaries. The 2020 election will be the first under the Voter’s Choice Act in which voters in 15 counties, including Los Angeles county, will no longer vote at designated polling locations. Voters will instead be able to vote at any community vote center in the county. East Los Angeles College will host one of these centers for students and the public in building S2-121. Al Rios, dean of continuing education and workforce development, said that the voting centers will be open Saturday through Tuesday. From February 29 to March 2 the center will be open from 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. March 3 the center will open from 6 a.m. - 9 p.m. Students and faculty that have undergone training will be working alongside county representatives. Rios said the center will have about 30 voting machines. Rios, a member of the South Gate City Council, said that he was excited for the prospect of having a voting center on campus.
He said that in his political science class only two students had reviewed their sample ballots and knew the issues at hand. “Students a lot of times aren’t politicized,” Rios said. He said that with the importance of the issues and time being limited it is important for students to be involved. Rios said it wasn’t just the presidential election that was important, there are various positions in local government that are a part of the election. This year voters will make their selections for candidates using a touch screen machine that will generate a paper ballot marked with the voter’s choices. Voters are also able to download the interactive Sample Ballot. The official voting website, www. lavote.net says, “The Interactive Sample Ballot is a convenient option for voters who want to access and mark their selections prior to arriving at the vote center.” This downloaded sample can be marked before arriving at the voter center, then uploaded to mark the electronic ballot. The transition to the new system has not occurred without hiccups. The city of Beverly Hills sued over the way candidate names were displayed. The interface has been adjusted to fix the issue. For races with five or more candidates, voters must press the button marked “MORE,” not
“next,” to view the next screen of candidates otherwise it will move onto the next race. Secretary of State Alex Padilla has mandated voting centers to also have traditional paper ballots. You are not required to show identification when you vote in person in most cases. First-time voters who have registered to vote by mail may be asked to show some
form of identification when you show up to vote for the first time. The California Secretary of State has provided some examples of acceptable identification. These include a copy of a recent utility bill or the sample ballot booklet that you received from your county elections office. A p a s s p o r t , o ff i c i a l s t a t e identification card, driver’s license
or student ID with your name and photograph are also acceptable forms of identification. Voters who need time off from work in order to vote, can give employers two days’ notice. Voters can take up to two hours off without losing pay and can take the time off at the beginning or end of your shift on election day. Voters will still be able to vote
after the polls close as long as they stay in line when they close. Rios said that signs will go up soon, giving more information on the voting center. He said that it was important for students to vote because, “Young people are so critical. It’s their future, really.”
Health Center prepares students in case of coronavirus BY JUAN CALVILLO Staff Writer The Student Health Center advises students to wash their hands and obtain a flu shot as preventative measures for the flu and Coronavirus. The informational meeting was conducted by Cecilia Cruz and Michelle Quon. Cruz, coordinator of the student health center, said that if students feel ill they are welcome to come to the health center for a check up. However, she said the health center does not have the capabilities to confirm if a patient has the virus. Cruz said no one at ELAC has been diagnosed with the virus. Cruz said that if students have concerns or questions they can stop by the center or call 323-265-8651 to get more information. Quon, family practitioner nurse from Via Care for the health center,
said the World Health Organization has officially named the disease COVID-19 as of February 11. She said there is a series of questions that can help quickly differentiate between the coronavirus and what might be a more common virus. Quon said the questions include if the patient has traveled to the epicenter of the virus outbreak, Wuhan, China. Then a check would be done for the various symptoms that are part of the disease. These symptoms include a fever, cough, difficulty breathing and severe illness according to the Department of Public Health for the county of Los Angeles. Quon said that if the answer to the first question is yes then protocol would take over, and that includes sending the patient to an emergency room. Quon said that to protect against the virus, and viruses like the flu, normal sanitary measures are key.
This is due to the disease spreading from droplets that come from the coughs of those infected, which can be breathed in. Droplets can also land on surfaces and then others can interact with them. Keeping areas clean is advised, as well as keeping people sanitized and clean. Simple things like washing hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water and using hand sanitizer are key when trying to stay healthy. Quon said that if tissues are used that they should be immediately thrown away. She said that if students use face masks, then proper usage should be followed. This would include not touching the front of the mask and keeping your hands away from your eyes. Quon said that keeping a social distance of three feet from people who may be sick is also good. Quon said that getting the flu vaccine is
important right now. “I would suggest getting [the] influenza vaccine, “flu shot,” because there is a higher risk of transmission of influenza than COVID-19. The flu shot can be given at the student health center at no additional cost as long as the health fee is paid.” Quon said that the major battle is against influenza. She said that when it comes to the flu, about 10.1 percent die due to pneumonia influenza in LA county. This makes prevention and addressing of the flu the major issue. The WHO website advises many of the same things Quon said are key to staying healthy in this season. “When coughing and sneezing, cover [your] mouth and nose with flexed elbow or tissue. Discard the tissue immediately into a closed bin and clean your hands with alcoholbased hand rub or soap and water. Covering your mouth and nose
when coughing and sneezing prevent the spread of germs and viruses. If you sneeze or cough into your hands, you may contaminate objects or people that you touch,” said the WHO website. The Center for Disease Control in the United States has said that the risk of getting COVID-19 is still low. But in a press call yesterday the CDC said people should prepare for what it called “community spread” of the disease in the near future. Quon said that the virus is a part of the family of viruses that cause multiple respiratory diseases. She said the virus has a 14 day incubation period. Quon said that while COVID-19 is active, that it’s spread should be put into context. For more information visit www.elaccampusnews.com
Elac student steps up to fight campus hunger BY JUAN CALVILLO Staff Writer Though East Los Angeles College’s administration takes steps to tackle food insecurity on campus, Monika Rueda, a current ELAC student, is compelled to do her part. She distributes food to students in need across from the Helen Miller Library every other Tuesday. She spoke with Cecilia Cruz, coordinator for the student health center, and asked what was the most immediate course of action she could take. “She [Rueda] approached me saying she felt bad about all the problems with food insecurity on campus, and she wanted to do something,” Cruz said. Rueda said she first learned of the homeless and hunger situation on campus during one of her classes. She said the professor asked students not to eat in front of other students because not every student has the chance to have food on a daily basis. Rueda said she didn’t really understand what the teacher meant by her comment. She approached the professor and asked for clarification and was told about the food insecurity and homeless situation on campus. Rueda said she was moved by the situation and said that in Latin
culture, feeding people and having food in the home was important. She said her family always had enough growing up, and seeing what was happening on campus made her want to help. After the meeting with Cruz, Rueda decided that to help she would buy food that is both filling and simple to make for students. She chose oatmeal and fresh fruit to start off, as well as coffee. Rueda spent her own money to help ELAC’s students for the first outing, “I’ll fund it,” Rueda said. Wanting to do more, she asked for help to continue her service to her ELAC students from fellow marines. Rueda is part of the East Los Angeles Marine Corp League detachment 1347 where she is a chaplain. She met the group sometime after her discharge from the marines. Rueda went to the league and brought up the idea of helping students. “We have to feed into our future,” Rueda said. Guadalupe Anaya, who’s husband was a marine corporal, is a member of Rueda’s detachment and helps her distribute food to students. She said finding out that so many young people are going without some type of food was surprising. Anaya said students on campus are happy and thankful for the
Crafts with UCLA
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News Briefs Pepperdine trip
Pepperdine Graziado is hosting a trip on Friday from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. For more information contact the Transfer Center.
CN/JUAN CALVILLO
CHOW TIME—Monika Rueda serves as a chaplain for her marine corp league. On the ELAC
campus she serves fellow students oatmeal and coffee. food that Rueda’s group has been offering. “It feels good to hear them say that. Because you know you’re doing something rewarding,” Anaya said. She said that Rueda’s enthusiasm was infectious and makes the group at the league excited to help those in need at ELAC. Other groups across ELAC have also started helping students with food issues. The Associated Student Union has a food pantry, and other clubs on campus regularly have food at their events. “Recently, student services have been offering lunches,dinners
scantrons and snacks. So whatever department can do it, it’s helpful to our students...Anything we can do to support them is good,” Cruz said. Rueda said the league is actually starting their own fundraiser to help feed students.The fundraiser will take place on February 29 from 8 a.m. - 11 a.m. at the HomeTown Buffet on 875 N. Wilcox Avenue, in the city of Montebello. For more information check out the leagues instagram @detachment1347mcl. “All the funds. One hundred percent of this is coming to that table. We’re not keeping any of it. It’s all going to the breakfast [table],
everything,” said Rueda. Rueda said that she would like for this type of service to expand to other colleges someday. The league meets at the American Legion building at 4615 East Cesar E. Chavez Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90022. The breakfast food is given out from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. across from the library in the main campus. Rueda and her crew will be giving food out on the following dates: March 10, March 24, April 14, April 28, May 12 and May 26. She also plans on being on campus during finals week.
California dream act workshop Today in F3-101 from noon - 1:45 p.m. For more information contact Financial Aid Center.
Open house museums studies certification program Today from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. in S1 lecture hall.