Volume 78, Issue 21 | www.elaccampusnews.com | Wednesday, May 4, 2022 | Single copy free - additional copies 50 cents
Mental health services are top priority BY JESUS HERNANDEZ Staff Writer Supporting and taking care of students with mental health issues is one of East Los Angeles College’s top goals. O n M o n d a y, t h e E L A C Student Health Center held a Zoom meeting regarding behavior health and mental health awareness. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and there are services the college offers to students. Behavioral Health Coordinator Maricela Madrigal presented and talked about some important factors that lead to the mental health issues college students may have. What can be done and the resources ELAC has to offer. ELAC has many resources available for free with the paid student health fee. Some of those services are first-aid care, treatment of minor illnesses, physical exams, emergency birth control, tampons and pads, pregnancy tests, women’s health, LGBTQ+ services, condoms, flu shots, COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, blood pressure screening and more. Additional services not
included with the paid student health fee include dental care, podiatry, pharmacy and prescriptions, case management, pediatrics, hepatitis-C testing and treatment. Common ELAC medical services are sport physicals, family planning services, TB shots for work or study, common colds and immunizations in general. Call the student health center or you can walk in. The front desk will contact and confirm with the fiscal office of the paid student health fee. An intake assessment is the initial session with the student for the therapist to gather information and obtain clear focus on the stress or students’ need for support. ELAC also offers short term treatment help which is a brief intervention of six individual therapy sessions that are 30-35 minutes long. When those sessions are completed, students can enroll in a group session where they will be placed in a group of other students that are experiencing some of the same symptoms and similar situations. These six sessions are per semester. “When it comes to our college
students, we are looking at eight out of 10 that deal with stress on a frequent basis,” said Madrigal. For 80% of students, some of that stress comes from financial issues, debt, lack of sleep, time pressures, lack of family support, work-related stress and medical conditions. Madrigal said the American College Health Association conducted an assessment in 2019 on 68,000 students, and they identified different factors that affected their academic performance. The factors included anxiety, sleep difficulties, depression and stress. Out of those 68,000 students, 27% reported anxiety, 34% said it was stress, 20% said it was depression and 22% said it was sleep difficulties. Madrigal said it’s important at ELAC help out because of the surrounding communities. She said they are aware of some of the challenges surrounding the college. The Student Health Center is there for every student at ELAC and offers many great services. For more information students can call them at 323-265-8651 or you can email them at shc@ elac.edu
CN/TERESA ACOSTA
FREE SPEECH, BUT IT’LL COST YOU—Professor Ken Chairprasert and professor Rog-
elio Garcia tell students that their speech may be protected from criminal prosecution, but it doesn’t shield them from cancel culture.
Education can save free speech
Knowledge is power when it comes to protecting the future of freedom of speech people the right to express their opinions. Staff Writer Defamation or libel, obscenity Faculty from the Social Science and threats that cause imminent Department on Thursday said lawless action are types of speech education and critical thinking is the that are not protected by the First key to protecting misinformation Amendment. The Supreme Court is tasked from spreading through freedom with applying the language of the of speech. They explained the origin, First Amendment to the challenges definition and current threats to brought forth by the public. Professor of Political Science Ken freedom of speech. Moderator Carlos Ramirez, Chairprasert recalled a case, Iancu professor of history, asked the panel v. Brunetti (2019) in which a T-shirt what freedom of speech means logo with the word “FUCT” was today, and what are the various protected by the First Amendment. Garcia said some of the biggest forms of speech that are protected. Do people resist speaking threats to freedom of speech today are American freely from fear oligarchs buying of retaliation? Is “The government p l a t f o r m s o f ‘cancel culture’ a speech, surveillance threat? is always going and permissive Professor of to try to do access to personal political science Rogelio Garcia something ... the information. When a private said it is the ability danger becomes e n t i t y o w n s a n of an individual influential speech to communicate if people don’t platform freedom of political thoughts push back on speech is susceptible without fear of to their singular persecution or them.” beliefs. prosecution by the Misinformation government. is having a divisive It has evolved from effect on what people the classic verbal ROGELIO GARCIA form of speech and Political Science Professor think freedom of speech is. now also includes The danger is not many different forms the speech itself, but the belief that of expression. The original intent of the First what is being said is true. Professor of political science, Amendment was to protect political freedom of speech from being Kelly Velasquez said critical criminalized. It is there to give thinking and research by individuals
BY TERESA ACOSTA
News Briefs
Showtime
can help spread perspective to others who may not be exposed to factual information. Having conversations and keeping an open dialogue may also help to reduce misinformation. “The more knowledge we have the more equipped we are to be able to tease out all of the misinformation that’s put out there,” said Velasquez. “Knowledge is power and sharing that knowledge within your household is a great place to start challenging the ways that people think,”said Velasquez. Every generation is tasked with defining and protecting freedom of speech, because it is an everevolving idea. There is a responsibility to stay informed and educated because knowledge is a powerful tool against the dangers of silencing and oppression. Cancel culture is not new, but it has become democratized, making it much easier for anyone to do it. Garcia said the government is trying to use cancel culture to silence marginalized groups. One example is the newly signed bill by Gov. Ron DeSantis, banning public school teachers in Florida from holding classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity. “The government is always going to try to do something … the danger becomes if people don’t push back on them,” said Garcia. The oppressors do not want to hear about their oppression, it decreases their power, he said.
The Department of Theater Arts presents “ELACtricity.” Evening shows are at 8 p.m. on Friday and May 13-14. Matinee shows will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday and May 14-15.
CN/JUAN CALVILLO
TO YOUR FUTURE—Maria Quintero, political science professor, giving opening remarks to a mixture of high school seniors and ELAC students. She is one of the creators of the 4th Annual Student Success Conference.
Conference focuses on transfers BY JUAN CALVILLO Staff Writer The Fourth Annual Student Success Conference focused on encouraging current and future East Los Angeles College students to prepare to transfer and to present for the details of their scholastic future. The conference had four distinct workshops, each dealing with various aspects of college student life including transferring, college preparation and higher education transition. Maria Quintero, political science professor, said the event gives students a chance to learn about how they can make their college experience a successful one. There was a lot of information and encouragement for student participation for each workshop provided. “The purpose of this event is for students to gain the information that they need to pursue their academic goals and to feel a sense that they are not alone in this journey,” Quintero said. The conference, held at ELAC’s South Gate Educational Center, had two workshops focused on transferring. Transferring has different systems in place that correlate with different four-year-schools. These schools are the California State and University of California college systems. Erica Burgos, a transfer mentor from the Transfer
Husky Bowl
Center, said the idea is to have 60 units in electives and major preparation. She said students have the opportunity to be a part of college summer programs which help prepare transferring students to become acquainted with the college they choose. Burgos said the Transfer Center is offering information for transfer students of their individual situations as well as information on college summer programs, like that of University of California, Irvine’s summer program and the University of California, Los Angeles program. Chely Gonzalez, the program director for the UCLA ELAC Program, said UCLA’s program prior to COVID-19 focused on hosting on campus. Currently, the summer program uses webinars to create a transfer process focused on creating a community. These webinars are broken up into groups for students that are first-generation, undocumented, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math students and many other types. Laura Jurado, transfer mentor at the Transfer Center, said there are a multitude of things to focus on when it comes to financial aid and going to a four-year-college. Sabrina Pan, transfer counselor at the Transfer Center, said there is a difference between the types of loans that students will be offered when they attend college, the difference is centered on interest. Subsidized loans accrue
Clubs will compete to win seed fund money of up to $1000 this Friday in the E3/E7 quad from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Power shift
interest after a student obtains a Bachelor’s degree. Unsubsidized loans start accruing interest from the time the when the student receives the loan. Jurado said grants are free money for students. She said students with questions on financial aid should make an appointment with the Transfer Center for help with going over how much and what type of monies students get from financial aid. Being an active part of this process is key. Jurado said students should check the type of system their school is using when it comes to financial aid disbursement. Some work on quarters, semester and whole- year funding. When students are deciding whether to accept certain allotments, Jurado said students should always accept their federal work study offers. She said even if students have jobs that pay well, the option to use this type of offer is something not to be dismissed. Due to COVID-19 many of the timelines have undergone changes for a variety of schools, Lisa Gomez, transfer mentor at the Transfer Center, said. She said accepting and rejecting school acceptances depends on when you receive the acceptance letters. Students should keep their eyes on their college’s student portals for important due dates.
CONFERENCE, Cont. on page 3
A panel discussion about how Latinos in California Transformed Politics in Amercia will be held this Thursday in the Multipurpose Room, F5-201 from noon to 1:30 p.m.