Campus News Spring 2020 Issue 16

Volume 77, Issue 16 |

www.elaccampusnews.com

| Wednesday, April 22, 2020 | Single copy free - additional copies 50 cents

ELAC west parking lot now COVID-19 testing site

BY ALEJANDRO AMBRIZ Staff Writer

Residents of Los Angeles county experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or know people vulnerable to the virus can get tested for free at the drive-up site at East Los Angeles College.

The testing center, located in the parking lot on the west end of the campus, is part of a countywide effort to increase testing availability in East Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley.

The center opened on April 8, becoming one of more than 30 locations residents can go to get safely tested for COVID-19.

Residents who are experiencing symptoms can schedule an appointment at coronavirus.lacity. org/-testing or call 211.

Testing is available 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week and tests are booked for the following day.

The site is operated through a partnership with LA County, the Los Angeles Community College District and the Edward Roybal Comprehensive Health Center in East Los Angeles.

“The drive up sites provide individuals in East Los Angeles, Monterey Park, and the surrounding communities with a quick and safe way to get tested in order to slow the spread of the virus,” said county supervisor Hilda Solis in a COVID-19 update April 8.

Currently, tests are prioritized for residents with COVID-19

symptoms who are at most risk.

The LA County website defines this as people with the virus’ symptoms who are 65 and older.

Also, anyone with symptoms and an underlying condition are included in this prioritization.

Symptoms of COVID-19 include, but are not limited to fever, shortness of breath and now loss of taste or smell.

“They had me cough in my car and then asked me to swab the inside of my cheeks for like 30 seconds.”

ROBERT GARCIA ELAC student

CN/MICHAEL DOMINGUEZ

Residents who arrive at the testing site will be instructed on how to self-administer the oral swab testing kit by healthcare staff, which include workers from the Royal Health Center, the fire department and the lifeguard.

Once people complete the test, they drop off the sample in blue bins.

At this time, residents may only show up to the appointment by

DRIVE-THRU TESTING—Medical professionals instruct drivers where to go to get the testing utensils for the COVID-19 test. The site is located on the west side parking lot and accessible via appointment only. car and only people who have the appointment will be tested.

The process is contactless in order to protect healthcare workers from possibly being exposed to COVID-19. It takes between five and ten minutes and waiting times vary.

Robert Garcia, an ELAC student and resident of Monterey Park, went to get tested recently and said the process was straightforward.

He found out about the testing site through an ELAC Facebook group.

“They had me cough in my car and then asked me to swab the

inside of my cheeks for like 30 seconds. (The process) ended up taking about half an hour in total,” Garcia said.

The county website instructs people to not eat food prior to showing for an appointment as it can interfere with the results.

Academic Senate discusses class availability Executive voting not Brown Act compliant

BY MELVIN BUI Staff Writer

East Los Angeles College’s Academic Senate executives discussed future course execution and items that have occured during online transition due to COVID-19 on April 8.

The executive meeting was held to discuss motions and to put together an agenda with a list of considerations and reminders for an upcoming meeting.

The reminders were created to show instructors what type of logic was irrational for teaching.

The senate spoke about not offering a class if they aren’t able to meet student learning outcomes, or whether offering the classes is the right thing to do during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If courses are not offered, it can

have a negative effect on a students program because of the inability to complete classes.

Completion of course objectives is key, so determining whether the class can be offered is questionable.

The Accrediting Commision for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) stated that if a college does not meet the Federal Title 4 Regulations, it will be required to reimburse financial aid money to the government.

The regulation is violated when a course isn’t being taught as a true online class. Federal Title 4 Regulations pertain to financial aid funds.

“The ACCJC is trying to be supportive during these times. It is attempting to build its processes within the state addendum process, so that it respects local processes in hopes that it will be reciprocated

“I don’t think it would account for the diversity of classes that are being offered in each of those categories.”

JULIENNE BERNARD ELAC Professor

toward accreditation standards,” vice president of liberal arts and sciences Ruben Arenas said.

Not all classes of the same discipline can be taught with the same approach because they have different requirements.

“There’s going to be different considerations, in different situations in each of those. So

putting them in categories, I can see how that would be expedient, but I don’t think it would account for the diversity of classes that are being offered in each of those categories,” ELAC Professor Julienne Bernard said.

Other Los Angeles community colleges have made the decision to have either synchronous or asynchronous teaching.

ELAC hasn’t made a decision on switching teaching approaches.

This is to ensure students get the education that they signed up for and not something entirely different.

With classes going online Zoom is being heavily used, but there has been some issues that have come up.

Bullying has been prevalent in other Zoom meetings because of the private chat. The senate

discussed removing the feature as a possible solution.

However, there was a unanimous decision to leave it in place so instructors can socialize and share files.

For the senate to vote, there must be a roll call for it to be in accordance with the Brown Act. The roll call must be recorded, so the senate executives were trying to figure out an efficient way of voting for the upcoming meeting.

The voting for the past few meetings were not in accordance with the Brown Act because they were done by voice and raise of hands.

They also decided to reserve the chat for official business or raised hands, so that it can be monitored.

In order to ask a question one must raise their hand, instead of chiming in while others are speaking.

Zoom issues mount, LACCD not worried

BY RUSSELL NAVARRETTE Staff Writer

The Los Angeles Community College District’s Chief Information Security Officer Patrick Luce released a written statement April 9 regarding Zoom’s security and privacy issues.

“Its (Zoom’s) meteoric rise that has drawn intense scrutiny of its security and privacy controls by security experts, the media, its competitors, and most unfortunately, hackers and miscreants,” Luce said.

The trend that is raising concerns about Zoom’s security and privacy issues is zoombombing. Zoombombing is when an uninvited person joins and interrupts a Zoom meeting.

Examples of zoombombing can be found on Youtube and Instagram.

William H. Boyer, Director of Communications and External Relations, said, “There is nothing going on, our message was preventive in nature, based on the outside trend of zoombombing.

We (LACCD) have had no such incidents that I am aware of and we wish to keep it that way.”

Not only is Zoom being

CARTOON BY JULIE SANTIAGO/GRAPHIC BY LUIS CASTILLA

scrutinized Zoom are unjust for its security enrichment, issues but it is intrusion upon “There is nothing going on, our message was also being sued seclusion, for allegedly invasion of preventative in nature.” sharing user’s privacy, unfair personal data business practices with Facebook, and trespass WILLIAM H. BOYER reported on to owners’ Director of Communications and External Relations April 1 by computers and CBS News. mobile devices.

Zoom for “failing to protect user On April 14 Zoom’s website a report came out by ABA Journal data from Facebook and LinkedIn.” security settings can be adjusted The possible charges against to help optimize security concerns that a new lawsuit was filed against

like zoombombing.

Hosts can set passwords at the individual meeting level and at the user, group or account level for all meetings.

There are also meeting settings like removing participants. The host of the conference meeting can select a participant’s name and the remove option, along with several other options, will appear.

Zoom’s settings page also has a statement that recommends users submit a vulnerability report to security@zoom.us if experiencing any security issues.

Despite Zoom’s controversial security and privacy issues, according to Patrick Luce’s statement, the Office of Information Technology currently recommends that Zoom continue to be used by the LACCD. The district will work with California Community Colleges (CCC), the state and federal departments of education and educause to monitor the progression on improving Zoom’s security and privacy system.

Educause is a non-profit association of technology, academic, industry progressing higher education through the use of IT.

Solis said the site is capable of treating 250 residents a day, with results being ready in two or three days. If the result is positive, residents will be contacted by phone and emailed if negative.

Mandatory face masks

Page 3

News Briefs LGBTQ+ Discussion group

Thursday from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. hosted by the Student Health Center.

Register at https://tinyurl. com/elac-lgbtq.

ELAC Dream Resource Center meet-and-greet Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. meet staff attorney for the DRC Stephanie Barrera. RSVP at https:// bit.ly/DRCandCARECEN.

ASU Spring Scholarship extended Scholarship applications have been extended until May 1. Application available online. For questions contact ASU at studentact@elac.edu.

Opinion

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EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020

Staying in shape while in quarantine

BY SONNY TAPIA Staff Writer

Working out is difficult enough with squats, bench presses and deadlifts, but now the COVID-19 pandemic closed all gyms, making it harder.

Avid gym goers were left wondering what to do once it was announced that all gyms would be shutting down operations.

Although the gyms are closed, this does not mean people cannot stay in shape during quarantine.

There are multiple outlets to teach active people around the world about how to stay in shape from home.

Working out can be made easy by doing core body weight exercises such as push-ups, situps and squats.

Some people feel that they are not getting the same pump they normally get at the gym when

doing these exercises.

If these exercises get too easy, the exerciser can do more reps of each to feel a better burn.

One topic discussed in an interview held by ESPN with former Baltimore Ravens linebacker, Ray Lewis, was working out at home.

Lewis said that when he worked out as a young child preparing for football seasons, he would complete what he called “the deck work-out.”

All anyone would need for this workout is a deck of cards and a floor.

In order to start this workout, one would select three different exercises to perform and then flip the top card.

The card number represents the amount of times to perform the chosen exercises for one set.

They would continue this process until the completion of the entire deck.

If they cannot complete the

full deck, they can start with half of the deck instead of all 52 cards.

This workout will keep a person in shape and active through quarantine.

Exercising without weights is not an issue.

Watching YouTube videos of trainers or amateur athletes can help tremendously whether people have zero experience or 10 years of experience.

Some fitness websites have been offering deals during quarantine. Openfit is one option to help keep muscle tone, continue growth and just stay in shape.

Using the link https://shop. openfit.com/pages/education, students and faculty can create a free account to start a 60-day trial using the promotion code EDUCATOR2020.

All users from East Los Angeles College must use their school student e-mail (.edu) in

order to acquire the free trial.

Openfit offers a range of services like over 170 workouts of all types such as cardio, strength, yoga, barre, martial arts, abs/core and more.

The website offers over 350 live interactive classes with trainers giving real-time feedback.

If students or faculty are worried about eating habits, the website has personalized meal plans to target whatever muscle group they are interested in.

Going online and doing research on other websites that offer at home work-out ideas is a great help for athletes and people looking to stay in shape.

The American Heart Association recommends that people participate in two and a half hours of moderate aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise per week.

Keeping people’s minds in

shape is just as important as the physical muscle.

Working out has been proven to release endorphins that help people with depression or anxiety especially during the COVID-19 quarantine.

Suicide rates have spiked due to the impact of the virus whether it is financial stress, family trouble or online schooling.

“We’ve taken over 1,500 calls already in March just specifically related to the coronavirus and I do believe that will continue to increase,” Lyn Morris, Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations for Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services said in an article written by Royce Dunmore from News One. Working out at home gives a person time to themselves and a break from all of the negatives in the media today.

This is an outlet for anyone looking to be healthier and happier one way or another.

Staff Writer

Despite Governor Gavin Newsom's good intentions in wanting to reopen the economy, his current plan would not be good in the long run.

Governor Newsom released his plan to reopen the California economy on Tuesday and said his framework for the dates for reopening the economy would be based on six different things.

These are expanding testing and isolating patients, maintaining vigilance to protect seniors and other high risk individuals,.

Being able to meet future surgens in hospitals with vast amounts of protective gear help to continue to collaborate with academia on treatments and therapies Redrawing current regulations to ensure continued physical social distancing at private schools and businesses will help develop new enforcement mechanisms to allow the state to pull back and reinstate stayat-home orders.

Part of Newsom's plan involves reopening schools, parks and some businesses.

The main issue with Governor Newsom's plan is that it involves opening these places up despite the fact that we not only don't have a vaccine but we don't even have treatments for the symptoms of COVID-19, and that is a serious problem.

Newsom suggested that school officials should develop new protocols for how to deal with physical education and recess at school.

It would be a bad idea to send children back to school since there are still chances school children can catch the virus.

The virus doesn’t affect every individual the same way making consequences drastic since the virus currently cannot be at least treated.

If treatments did exist then opening schools back up would be fine.

If in the event someone contracted the virus, it could at least be treated, therefore the

severity of the risks would be very low.

Some small businesses can reopen.

For example, businesses that don't attract big numbers of people such as instrument stores.

These businesses can open up with the extra precautions such as adopting social distancing and keeping with the advised face covering options.

The difference between businesses like these and schools or other big businesses is that they don't attract or hold big groups of people such as schools or malls.

Extra sanitary precautions would be easy to manage and the small size reduces the chances of someone getting infected.

We have heard outlandish takes from people such as Indiana Representative Trey Hollingsworth who said "It is policymakers' decision to put on our big boy and big girl pants and say it is the lesser of these two evils."

This is referring to the government stating lives are priority over the economy.

"It is not zero evil, but it is the lesser of these two evils and we intend to move forward that direction," Hollingsworth said.

Hollingsworth says it's better that we save the economy at the expense of people dying.

This suggestion is abhorrent.

It's very understandable that Governor Newsom wants to get the California economy back on track as many people's incomes come from these businesses that are closed.

But life has to always take priority over everything else.

The current social distancing and stay at home orders are working well enough right now in a time where we have no way of treating the virus symptoms.

Governor Newsom should hold off the ambitious parts of his plan, such as opening schools and parks, until treatments for the virus become available.

An economy can't work for a person if that person is dead.

Safety above all else.

Staff Writer

Grab-and-go meals are proof that there is just as much good in the world as there is evil.

Places like Kipp Sol Academy, that have 15 distribution sites open, are providing free food services for families on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9A.M. to 11A.M. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, businesses, unless considered essential, and schools have closed.

According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, "The number of unemployed persons rose by 1.4 million to 7.1 million in March."

Other local schools that www.ELACCampusNews.com

are providing grab-and-go meal services are Bella Vista Elementary, Bell Gardens Elementary, Garfield High School, and Lincoln High School.

Despite the coronavirus' constant rise in case numbers and the decline of social greetings such as handshaking, people hold humane values like understanding, compassion and courage.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is the Nation's second largest district.

80% of LAUSD's students are from low income families.

Dora Campos, a Pico Rivera resident and mother of three said she goes to North Ranchito Elementary for her grab-and-go meals.

FRONT EDITOR Juan Calvillo OPINION EDITOR Jonathan Bermudez NEWS EDITOR Melvin Bui FEATURE EDITOR Juliette Villegas

SPORTS EDITOR Erica Cortes COPY EDITOR Gustavo Buenrostro STAFF WRITERS Noe Ortega Miguel Dominguez Melisa Valenzuala Russell Navarrette Raymond Nava Sonny Tapia Alejandro Ambriz Samantha Iniguez Mayra Perayra Jeremy Arias Maria Marroquin Monroy Andrew Ayala Vanessa Ramos Johanna Calderon Hector Gomez ADVERTISING Stefanie Arocha CN/ZASHA HAYES

Mixed emotions on inmates’ early release

BY RAYMOND NAVA Staff Writer

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, California has plans to release around 3,500 inmates from prison early as the virus spreads throughout the prison system.

The move is an effort in order to reduce crowding.

The move will affect prisoners who are serving sentences for non-violent crimes and who were already due to be released in 60 days.

Non violent offenders should be released while violent ones shouldn't, even though it may produce moral questions.

T h e L A Ti m e s r e p o r t s documents provided to them show that cell blocks where inmates were shown having flulike symptoms, which are similar to symptoms of the COVID-19, were put on lockdown.

This worried family members of older age prisoners, who are more at risk to the symptoms of COVID-19.

Crimes that make inmates ineligible for early release, as listed in an article by The Sacramento Bee, are inmates

convicted of domestic violence, a crime that requires them to register as a sex offender or any other violent crime.

While it's understandable that violent offenders should not be released early, it can be viewed as defeating the main purpose of releasing any inmates early.

It definitely raises the moral question of whether it's right to only release a select group of inmates and not others if the main goal is the health and safety of prisoners and reducing the spread of the virus.

While non-violent criminals should remain behind bars even during the pandemic, there are some legitimate concerns about it.

Prisons would still be packed with inmates who were convicted of violent crimes as well as prison staff such as guards and cooks, all who would still be put at risk.

The Officer Down Memorial Page, a website that tracks deaths of law enforcement officers, confirmed one of the first line-of-duty deaths of a police officer as a direct result of COVID-19.

Sheriff's deputy Terrell Young of the Riverside County

Sheriff's Department died after he contracted the virus from an inmate at the Byrd Detention Center.

There is also the issue of wrongfully convicted individuals.

An argument that is used against the death penalty is executing a wrongfully convicted prisonero st.

Some of these wrongfully convicted prisoners might be in prison for violent crimes and are put at risk of the virus because they were ineligible for release due to their conviction.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a lot of people into what were once unimaginable scenarios and positions.

While violent prisoner deaths are heartbreaking, the risk to the public if these violent offenders are let out early is just too big.

Non violent inmates should continue to be released as planned, which will help with crowding in the prisons.

Guards and prison staff should work to take greater precautions than what are already put into place to protect themselves and remaining inmates.

Grab-and-go helps parents feed their kids

BY RUSSELL NAVARRETTE

MANAGING EDITOR Melody Ortiz

ARTS EDITORS Johanna Perez Gabriela Gutierrez

Reopening is doltish

BY RAYMOND NAVA

EDITOR IN CHIEF Luis Castilla

"They only ask you how many According to the United family members and they give States Department of Labor, you goods 6.6 million new and snacks, unemployment e n o u g h insurance claims for several “They only ask you how were reported. d a y s , " The grabC a m p o s many family members a n d - g o m e a l s said. relieve some of and they give you A l l this stress because locations depending on goods and snacks, require application enough for several people to information or wear masks, not following days. ” gloves and up on other to continue requirements, the six-foot applicants can DORA CAMPOS distance. wait from two A Pico Rivera resident There is weeks to several an uncertain months or longer. future in Donald Trump's this current pandemic, and that 2 trillion dollar stimulus bill uncertainty is income. was set to begin last week;

individuals will receive $1200, married couples will receive $2400 and $500 for each child.

Some might need the majority of that money for rent and bills That's right, rent, utilities and other payments still have to be made, despite millions losing their jobs.

The cost to feed a family is not cheap either. Free meals for children is helpful for any parent Affording Motherhood's website, states that a family of five's grocery budget can range from $626 to $822, depending on the children's age.

The grab-and-go meals are free. In a time of economic and financial uncertainty, free is a good thing.

DISTRIBUTION Ivan Cazares Gustavo Buenrostro Andrew Ayala ADVISERS Jean Stapleton Sylvia Rico-Sanchez

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EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020

3

Music scene evolves under quarantine

BY LUIS CASTILLA Staff Writer

Los Angeles has a rich culture of art and music, but with the city under quarantine, artists are left without an audience and income.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the closure of many businesses including music venues.

Jim Smith, owner of The Smell, a not-for-profit volunteer-run music venue and art space in downtown Los Angeles, said the quarantine has been especially difficult for him.

“Without any shows, we have no money coming in, which means we will not be able to pay rent for the next couple of months,” Smith said.

“Also, a lot of the writers who perform there are also losing income that they rely on.”

Without a place to perform, many artists are left without a way to make a living.

Roach Sanchez of the Santa Ana band OC Hurricanes said the pandemic caused his and many other bands to cancel all of their concerts for the foreseeable future.

“Many of us depend on this as working musicians and artists using our craft for a

living,” Sanchez said.

OC Hurricanes were set to tour Europe, but that has also been cancelled.

Without performances, artists are forced to find more creative ways of maintaining relationships with their fanbase.

Sanchez also said he and his band are using this time to polish their craft to remain productive.

Rafa Heredia of Orange County band 3LH is also making the most of the quarantine. “We’re taking this time to really evaluate and grow with our songwriting and explore different sounds with no pressure really of having to practice hard for an upcoming gig,” Haredia said.

Heredia said it feels strange not having a show to play every weekend.

“It really sucks,” Heredia said. “We thrive off the energy of the crowd, but also we’re finding ways around this like streaming a live session or focusing on content like videos or recording.”

3LH and other local bands have live-streamed entire concerts from basements and backyards.

Many other musicians have started live-streaming guitar lessons on Instagram.

Others like the all-woman band

Pinky Pinky are hosting weekly Q&A sessions just to hang out.

This quarantine is bringing artists and their fans together in a completely new and unique way during this unprecedented time.

Smith said there is still a way for people to support these artists.

“People who are able to should buy music and merchandise from the artists who are struggling to get by in this crisis,” Smith said.

Bandcamp, a website that allows artists to sell their music and merchandise has been receptive to the unique situation their users are in by waiving all fees, allowing fans to buy from artists at a reduced price.

Music venues like The Smell, however, are still in danger.

“We just hope that when things get back to normal, people will return to supporting live music spaces,” Smith said. “We are a volunteer-run space with no employees so thankfully, no one has lost any personal income.”

“We have always enjoyed a great deal of support from the community and that has kept us going through many difficult times. Hopefully this is no exception,” Smith said.

Face masks become mandatory

BY JUAN CALVILLO Staff Writer

Campus employees across the Los Angeles Community College District will wear face coverings on district properties to adhere to city orders to protect against COVID-19.

The LACCD implemented a health advisory April 10 which went along with the Los Angeles City public order. The order is for non-essential workers to use face coverings while out.

William Boyer, director of communications and external relations, said that the district ordered 22,000 disposable face coverings for the district. He said that about 2,200 would be going to each college.

Myeshia Armstrong, Vice President Administrative Services, said that East Los Angeles College received 2,000 masks April 13. She said that these masks are not a long term solution and that the college has already ordered 250 washable masks.

“The (masks) have been distributed to the essential workers: plant facilities, sheriffs, mail room, receiving and other units that have rotating staff on campus,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong said that employees in the fiscal department and student services are also wearing masks when they come on campus.

She said that those present are there to handle business affairs that need continuous operational

attention. Armstrong said that most offices only have about two to four employees working and that social distancing was being observed.

“The only department that has full staff (essential) reporting daily is plant facilities and personnel/payroll. Measures have been taken to ensure the safety of those employees when reporting to work. It is ultimately a goal for the district to move all employees to working remotely,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong said that when employees are walking about campus they should be wearing their masks. Once inside offices employees may take masks off when it is safe. She said that there are some employees that use masks while doing their jobs.

“There are certain employees who are participating in activities such as cleaning that warrant a mask while performing such tasks. The supervisors over those employees continue to monitor protocols to ensure the safety of all employees,” Armstrong said.

The LACCD health advisory says that vendors that go on campus needed to comply with the new requirements and that colleges were to tell them about the changes.

Armstrong said that protocols have been established for vendors that come to ELAC. Vendors must check in with the sheriff’s station and that when work is to be done on campus, they must wear face

coverings.

Armstrong said that on the Monterey Park campus there are vendors working alongside campus plant facilities employees.

These projects include roofing on building C1, flooring on building E7 and exterior painting of building D5.

The Bond program has projects at the South Gate Educational Center, the replacing of a retention tank and the removal of ceiling tiles in E9.

Boyer said that the disposable masks would be,“Distributed across all colleges and available at the Sheriff’s Department stations where everybody must check in and check out when entering any college.”

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said using cloth face coverings that fit snugly against the face, with multiple layers, and that can be secured around the ears can help during the COVD-19 pandemic.

On the CDC website,“(The) CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others.”

For more information on COVID-19 visit the CDC website https://www.cdc.gov/ coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index. html. And for more information on the Los Angeles mayoral response to COVID-19 visit h t t p s : / / w w w. l a m a y o r. o r g / COVID19Orders.

Online classes to continue into summer

BY MARIANA MONTOYA Staff Writer

The Academic Senate unanimously passed the summer Kinesiology courses that were still undetermined, and would go automatically through the DE Addendum blanket request.

Ruben Arenas announced earlier this month that due to the uncertainty caused by COVID-19, summer scheduled courses were to transition fully online.

According to the email sent out by Arenas, classes that do not include labs, or classes that do not involve language learning moved directly to online scheduling.

The ones that were not included in the list still had the opportunity to be able to get on the schedule as online courses, as long as they turned in a request, and included an explanation as to how they would move forward with an online curriculum.

One of the most notable kinds

of courses discussed during the meeting was the transition of Kinesiology athletic courses.

S p e c i f i c a l l y, t h e y f u r t h e r discussed the reasons Kinesiology athletic courses were flagged and how there was a lot of scheduling misunderstanding that needed clarification in order for them to be changed online.

The possibility of Kinesiology courses possibly not being transitioned online came from a lack of understanding of how professors would be able to track students progress through Zoom.

The discussion quickly came to an end when representatives from the Kinesiology Department explained that professors were capable of keeping students accountable through fitness applications, along with other methods such as weekly videos to keep them active.

Since the Academic Senate approved the methodologies for the Kinesiology courses, they would go under the DE Addendum blanket request (emergency temporary

distance education), which would require another meeting, along with other submission requests.

“The main task of the memo was that the Kinesiology classes would have to submit some sort of demonstration on how the class could be put online and should be addressed,”David Hale, first Vice president of the Academic Senate said. In order to make the decision he needed “a rationale that can get answers to the question.”

During the meeting Senators made an emphasis that the situation for the Fall courses was still fluid.

“Once the emergency is over then we would expect those courses to go back to the process in order to still have DE regular Addendum,” Jeffrey Hernandez, president of the Academic Senate said. The latest Public Academic Senate meeting answers questions that are critical for students as they look to proceed during the Summer and Fall term, clearly there are multiple decisions that are bound to change as the COVID-19 situation shifts. www.ELACCampusNews.com

Arts ‘Tiger King’ explores into Exotic’s exotic life 4

E AS T L OS A NGELES C OLLEG E C AMPU S N EW S WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020

BY MELVIN BUI Staff Writer

The story of one man’s battle saving the custody of his exotic cat park from animal rights activists and financial hardships through unsettling times is liberating to see.

“Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” is a Netflix original that was released on March 20.

Prominent themes that are seen through out the show are true-crime, murder mystery and satire.

The cast is made up of people that own big exotic cat sanctuaries and their workers. The show took five years for producers to film.

The show is suspenseful and jawdropping.

As new information is revealed, mixed emotions can be felt toward some cast members. It makes the viewers question their ethics and fidelity.

It is hard to believe that there are more cage bred tigers in the U.S than anywhere else around the world.

A great aspect of the show was that it had interviewed several big cat sanctuaries, allowing viewers to make their own judgement about proper care.

The way producers primed the viewers into believing that it was alright for exotic cats to be bred for entertainment was unhealthy and irrational.

Exotic cats need miles of space to roam around in order to be healthy, so breeding a cat to be cage raised is malicious.

The dark reality of drug abuse and raising exotic cats for benefit is

revealed throughout the episodes.

Big exotic cats are bred for exploitation, dark market sell and trade.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are seen throughout the show crucifying animal parks that mistreat and abuse animals.

The show revolves around Joe Exotic, a zookeeper that is currently serving federal time at Grady County Jail.

Exotic was sentenced 22 years in federal prison January 2020, after being charged with murder-for-fire, falsifying wild-life records and violating the endangered species act.

Exotic was accused of hiring someone to murder the owner of a rival big cat sanctuary, Carole Baskin of Big Cat Rescue.

They both house exotic cats, however, Baskin takes to the internet about the animal cruelty that takes place at Greater Wynewood Animal Park and causes a slew of financial hardships for Exotic.

Exotic makes for good press because he was bold and not afraid to speak his mind, loved explosives, had two husbands at the same time and owned hundreds of big exotic cats.

He had a mullet with a profound amount of piercings and was a natural entertainer with dreams of becoming famous.

He had a daily show where he spoke about conspiracies that was broadcasted on the internet, however he did not own the show.

People exercising their freedom of speech and finding loopholes through laws to benefit themselves

COURTESY OF NETFLIX

CATCHY KICKER—Names of person, or people, in the photo and details of the picture should be here. Remember the five Ws: Who is in the picture, what are they doing, why are they doing it, when did they do it and where did they do it at. is seen throughout the episodes.

Baskin uses social media to team up with animal rights activists to crucify Exotic for his animal abuse and exploitation.

However, Exotic uses his internet show to fire back at Baskin for her prejudice and hypocritical behavior.

The feud between the two was prevalent decades before social media.

The show has one season and is

made up of seven episodes that are about an hour long each.

It is for mature audeinces that are interested in conspiracies and murder mysteries. It was interesting to see producers add a bonus episode after they received immense support from a successful debut.

However, the show represented a few cast members inappropriately so they took to the press after it was released.

‘My Hero Academia’ delivers darkest season yet

COURTESY OF BONES ANIMATION STUDIOS

CATCHY KICKER—Heroes Lemillion and Deku race to find and save Eri from the Shrie hassaikai. some serious moments, but the

BY GUSTAVO BUENROSTRO first half of this season began with Staff Writer

Season 4 of “My Hero Academia” has some of the best animation and character moments the anime has ever had.

“My Hero Academia” has always been a light-hearted anime with www.ELACCampusNews.com

a clash between two villain groups that set a tone for the rest of the season.

The introduction of Overhaul, the leader of the yakuza group Shie Hassaikai, as a rival to the league of villains was done very well and it made audiences take him seriously

as a threat. As the season went on, Overhaul is revealed to be much more sadistic than originally shown.

The whole plan for the heroes, like Izuka Midoriya and Mirio Togata, is not necessary to stop Overhaul, but to save a little girl named Eri from him.

Most of this arc takes place in the Shie Hassaikai’s headquarters as the

heroes rush in to save Eri. Side characters like Red Riot and Suneater get some well-deserved character development with each having fantastic moments that can make anyone cheer.

However, the best moments of this arc come from Togata, also known as Lemillion, and Midoriya, also known as Deku.

Each has moments that define their characters in emotional scenes where they are protecting Eri. Some of the best animation of the season came from the episode “Infinite 100%” where the animation studio, Bones, outdid itself in the climactic fight of the arc.

Once the Shi Hassaikai arc ends, a new one begins following the aftermath, but unlike the first half, this arc is much more light-hearted.

The students at UA are all planning a school festival, but a villain by the name of Gentle Criminal wants to infiltrate the school during the festival.

Gentle and his helper La Brava brin levity to the villain roles as they are not the run-of-the-mill villains that want to destroy or gain like Overhaul.

They have a more subtle and tragic reason for being villains.

While there aren’t as many fights in this second half of the season, the questions it poses for what it means to be someone who lives in hero society are very interesting.

The voice acting this season has been phenomenal.

It was taken to another level with Tarasuke Shingaki and Ricco Fajardo, who both voice Togata in japanese and english respectively as stand-outs.

The music in “My Hero Academia” has always been great and this season is no exception.

Each triumphant moment or moment where the heroes have to endure and push further is enhanced with the fantastic score by Yuki Hayashi This season is one of the best that the show has done and one of the best in anime.

It would be a good time to get into the show as the fifth season of “My Hero Academia” was announced at the end of the last episode.

No released date has been set, but if Bones can keep up the same amount of quality that they have been putting out, then it could be another great season.

American journalist Rick Kirkham, filmed and produced a reality TV show about the life of Joe Exotic with full rights in exchange for helping him with his internet show.

Although the internet show was aired, the reality TV show didn’t due to the loss of footage. When Exotic realizes he doesn’t ow his name or show, things turn sour and relations start to dwindle

between the two.

There has been talk about a Tiger King adaptation. Exotic wants Brad Pitt or David Spade to play him as a character. The reason Exotic wants Spade to play him is because he strongly resembles Joe Dirt. Kate McCinnon of Saturday Night Live is going to play Carole Baskin. The cast and release date has yet to be determined.

The Strokes reclaim place in modern music

BY GUSTAVO BUENROSTRO sound to a more somber,

somewhat tired feel with more electronic instruments being used throughout the rest of the A laid-back tone with catchy album. choruses, The Strokes come Julian Casablancas shows back after seven years with “The some range in his voice in songs New Abnormal.” like “Selfless” and “Eternal The two singles that were Summer” where he goes into a released prior to the album’s falsetto voice. release, “At the Door” and “Bad It’s not unusual for him to go Decisions,” made it difficult to there, but since his voice type is tell what tone the new album more of a baritone, would have, with it’s nice hearing “At the Door” some of his range. having a more One of the One of the somber tone and reasons that “The resons that “The “Bad Decisions” New Abnormal” being more upbeat. New Abnormal” has a laid back feel Although with has a laid back to it is because some the third single’s of the songs have feel to it is release,“Brooklyn background noise or Bridge to Chorus,” because some of interjections from sounding similar to Casablancas at the “Bad Decisions,” it the songs have beginning of the made it a bit more background songs. conclusive as to At the end of noise or where the album “The Adults are was in terms of interjections...

Talking,” the chatter tone. in the recording The album does booth is heard as the band is have some tonal difference preparing to start the next song, with the more lively songs which in fact helps the flow of being at the beginning and the the album. moodier songs being at the end, Another example of this it actually meshes well and flows is in “Ode to the Mets” where into it. There aren’t any jarring Casablancas is already singing tonal shifts and it feels like a and he tells Fabrizio Moretti to natural progression. start playing the drums and then The best way to describe it continues to sing. is old friends meeting up for According to Albert a party and hanging around, Hammond Jr., the guitarist laughing about old times and as for the band, they had started the party winds down, the mood sharing ideas with each other becomes mellow and somewhat and the producer Rick Rubin existential, but yet still nostalgic. before they actually started to There are a couple of songs record. It feels like they just in the album that sound a lot came in together and were just like The Strokes like in“Not the making music with no real Same Anymore” and “Brooklyn direction. And that can be seen Bridge to Chorus” that have as one of the album’s detriments. strong guitar over the chorus The album isn’t trying to of the songs as well as similar break in the fact that the Strokes chord progressions to their are back in full form. It feels previous song “Someday” from more like it’s a transition from the band’s first album “Is This not being a band to just coming It.” together and creating some Many of the songs on the music and seeing if it still works. album have an electronic sound And because of it, it doesn’t somewhere in the background have the “in your face” vibe like “Why Are Sundays So some people may have been Depressing” or even in the expecting. forefront like “At the Door.”

This is a good album that has What is interesting is when it some great songs but it may not gets to “At the Door,” the album be what people wanted from shifts from that upbeat start it The Strokes after the seven year had with little to no electronic hiatus.

Staff Writer