Volume 77, Issue 14 | www.elaccampusnews.com | Wednesday, March 4, 2020 | Single copy free - additional copies 50 cents
Warren rallies Latino voters to ‘dream big’ BY JUAN CALVILLO AND RAYMOND NAVA Staff Writer Elizabeth Warren compared the Latino janitor protests of the early ‘90s, to the persistence and hard work needed to win the 2020 election during Monday night’s rally at East Los Angeles College. Warren said that her purpose at the rally was to shine a light on a specific group. “Tonight I am here to honor Latinas, who are the unsung heroes,” Warren said. At the time of printing Warren did not win the California primary and had zero delegates to her name in the state. Nor did she win her home state. Some of the speakers at the rally included First Partner of California Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Warren herself. Among some of the points mentioned were touting some of Warren’s accomplishments like her creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and rejecting the notion that the race for president was down to two people. “I know a lot of male talking heads on television have counted Elizabeth out. One of them was forced to resign tonight,” Newsom said in a reference to MSNBC anchor Chris Mathews, who resigned on air hours before the rally. Though the rally was briefly interrupted by protesters after Warren took the stage, they were quickly escorted off and Warren started her speech. After congratulating Joe Biden on his win in South Carolina, Warren told the story of the Justice for Janitors movement in the 1980s and undocumented immigrants. “Instead of demonizing
undocumented workers, the janitors embraced them because workers are workers regardless of status,” she said. Describing the election, Warren said that it “is about power. About who has too much of it, about who needs more of it and about the fight to get that done.” Warren said that members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) came to talk to the workers about the simple idea of power. Over time these women janitors began sharing their experiences and stories. This caused them to ask for more rights for all workers. “They proved the lesson, that (when) women start telling their stories, change is on the way,” Warren said. These seeds eventually became the rallying force for the Justice for Janitor protests of the 1990s. Warren said that despite the protestors being arrested and some hospitalized, the group continued on pushing day after day for the chance to be heard and have a place at the bargaining table. This culminated with a sit down between the companies that employed the janitors and the janitors as equals. The sit down brought benefits and wage increases. Warren said that this showed the persistence and strength needed to get change to occur. She said that the upcoming election was going to be similar. “It is an unshakeable truth that I learned a long time ago. Nobody makes it on their own,” Warren said. She said that to win and create meaningful change needs partners and a coalition. WARREN Continued on page 2
CN/JULIE SANTIAGO
‘FIGHT HARD’—Elizabeth Warren reminds voters, at a rally at East Los Angeles College, that persistance was the key to getting things done and that having great ideas have to include great plans.
Marijuana convictions for 66,000 resentenced, dismissed
Prop 64 provides second chance to minorities BY VANESSA A. RAMOS Staff Writer As a result of Proposition 64, nearly 66,000 marijuana convictions in the Los Angeles County area are eligible for dismissal. This was announced in a news conference on Feb. 13. District Attorney Jackie Lacey and Code of America are working together with Code of America’s Clear My Record software to assist district attorneys in the state of California for resentencing or dismissing for sealed convictions. Lacey stressed relief for minorities with these convictions. Convictions being eligible for relief can be dated back to 1961. This single court motion is for resentencing or dismissal as well as sealing of prior eligible marijuanarelated convictions. AB1793, a law that requires all county district attorneys to review convictions eligible under Prop 64 for expunction or deduction, reviews have a deadline of July 1. Prop 64 was passed by California voters Nov. 9, 2016. California adopted the proposition to “legalize specified personal use and cultivation of marijuana for adults 21 years of age or older; reduces criminal penalties for specified marijuana-related offenses for
GRAPHIC BY STEVEN ADAMO
adults and juveniles; and authorizes resentencing or dismissal and sealing of prior, eligible marijuanarelated convictions. The proposition includes provisions on regulation, licensing, and taxation of legalized use.” In addition to Prop 64, Lacey expanded the criteria to dismissing convictions; if convictions are of individuals 50 years or older, if in the past 10 years individual has not been convicted of any additional convictions, if individual has successfully completed probation
and lastly, for individuals who are 21 years and younger convictions are subject for review to dismissal. An overall review of this motion is to acknowledge Prop 64 to fulfill its promise to re-evaluate convictions of eligibility. Under California State law, marijuana was legalized since the Prop 64 adoption. For individuals with a history of convictions, it has created barriers for long periods of time. The relief of this request is to rehabilitate those who have been
affected. Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office website says? the 53,000 individuals are quite diverse with, 32 percent black or African American, 45 percent Latino, 20 percent white and the 3 percent are others or unknown. In this motion dismissal, individuals who suffer from marijuana-related convictions will now be eligible for employment, housing and other resources. “This can assist in efficiency in the county of Los Angeles for district attorneys and prosecutors. For
people who were once not eligible for certain resources, now have the opportunity to apply for employment and county resources. In the State of California marijuana is now legal, so diminishing conviction of the past should be taken into consideration,” Administration of Justice Department professor Sharon Johnson said. Johnson said that standardized field sobriety tests would have to be addressed to reflect the changes that the proposition brings with it. “California should take into consideration test levels moving forward when determining driving impairments under the influence of marijuana. If laws are taken into consideration on cultivation, possession and resentencing, laws should work together to create a procedure for law enforcement to determine how much is too high,” she said. The Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office has set up a hotline for public questions at (323) 760-6763. The public can also visit http://pubdef.lacounty.gov. Marijuana is still illegal under federal law and a Schedule 1 drug. Prop 64 does not tailor to the Compassionate Use Act (Prop 215) or the Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA).
Coronavirus ends study abroad plans BY RUSSELL NAVARRETTE Staff Writer Coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, has put a halt to the East Los Angeles College’s study abroad program and future plans to visit China and Japan. Co-directors and professors Norm Vega and Lynn Vogel-Zuiderweg for the Center for Global Education and Engagement from East Los A n g e l e s C o l l e g e ’s M o d e r n Language Department worked with the Engineering Department to plan a possible study abroad program in China for 2021. The Japan program is exclusively for ELAC students, Professor Vogel said that it was designed for students that had at least one semester of
Japanese. Other trips waiting for approval include: Florence, Italy, which will focus on architecture, Paris, France, for language and culture and Costa Rica for life sciences and ecology. “In the past, when you think (about studying) abroad, you think, ‘Oh, you go to study the language.’But we want to expand it so the idea ultimately being global education and becoming global citizens,” Vogel said. However, since the pandemic of COVID-19, plans have stopped until further notice. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the virus was first detected in Wuhan, China and has now been detected in 70 locations internationally. The Coronavirus is part of the
large coronavirus family. The CDC said that coronaviruses are common in people and different species of animals like bats, cattle, cats and camels. These viruses rarely transmit from animals to people and then spread to other people like this current coronavirus. Nurse practitioner at ELAC, Michelle Quon said that there has been no cases reported here on campus and that it is unnecessary to wear medical masks. “It’s not necessary because they (CDC, LA Health Deptartment) are not recommending people wear them if they are feeling well. If you are sick that’s a different situation,” Quon said. For more information visit: www.elaccampusnews.com
Photo Journalist Art Page 3
News Briefs Womens/Gender Studies speaking event
Winona LaDuke will have a speaking engagement Tuesday at 12:15 p.m. The event is free and will be in building G3 in the Ingalls Auditorium.
VPAM Converstation The Vincent Price Art Museum will host a talk with artists Yolanda Gonzalez and Lauren Stacia Gonzalez today from noon - 1:30 p.m.
Correction CN/IVAN CAZARES
WHAT LINE?—Voters submitting ballots at East Los
Angeles College wait up to two hours to cast their votes, during Super Tuesday. It was the first California primary using the “Voting Solutions for All People” system.
On page 2, in last weeks issue, in the article “Petitioners are a Nuisance” Jesse Aguiar was misspelled.