VOLUME 76, ISSUE 10 | ELACCAMPUSNEWS.COM | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018 SINGLE COPY FREE - ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
BY STEVEN ADAMO Staff Writer East Los A ngeles College President Marvin Martinez and Vi c e C h a n c e l l o r f o r H u m a n Resources of Los Angeles Community College District Albert Roman visited the ELAC Child Development Center yesterday to answer questions about Assembly Bill No. 2160. According to a letter sent out by the LACCD’s Human Resources department, the amendment of the Education Code includes part-time playground positions as part of the classified service. “Most of us thought that the focus of the bill was primarily K-12,” Martinez said, “but t h e b i l l a l s o i n c l u d e d s t a ff that worked on campus with children, in a setting like we have here in the Child Development Center.”
Currently, employees of the Child Development Center are classified as “part-time playground specialists.”
The bill, signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on September 18, is an act to amend
sections of the Education Code to change part-time playground positions into Classified Service—employees that are not faculty or administrators, who go through the personnel commission to get hired. The law also affects Child Development Centers within the eight other colleges in the LACCD, which is almost 500 staff according to Martinez. The first step the district is taking in order to be in compliance of the new law is to end “at-will” employment status by January 1. “‘At-will’ employment basically means I can have you today and let you go tomorrow… you have no rights to your position, you have no permanency,” Roman said. Currently, employees of the Child Development Center are classified as “part-time playground specialists.” Even though current employees’ duties go beyond monitoring playground activity, the bill considers it an “at-will” position. The first step that current employees are encouraged to take is to apply online for a provisional position—a temporary position that lasts roughly four months. The idea of the provisional position is so that current employees that are hired back can remain on the job temporarily until they are hired back as Classified Employees. T h e r e ’s n o t e s t f o r t h e provisional position, only the application, a high school diploma (or equivalent) and current transcripts are required.
BUTTERFLY BY @RVLTN - ILLUSTRATION BY STEVEN ADAMO
Q&A addresses concerns of laid-off employees
Career panel highlights DACA professionals BY JUAN CALVILLO Staff Writer The East Los Angeles Career and Job Services Department held a career panel at the South Gate Campus that highlighted undocumented and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals professionals on Thursday. The event was hosted by career counselor Carolyn Sevilla and adjunct career counselor Maria Rodriguez to help inform and give hope to students who may be either undocumented or recipients of DACA benefits. “In the Career and Job Services Department, we have been seeing a lot more students disclose their legal status during their appointments,” said Sevilla. She said that because of some of the students’ situations, they wondered what type of jobs they could actually get.
The event was created to remedy the misconceptions and answer question for students on this topic. Sevilla and Rodriguez decided to put together a panel of working professionals to help students understand what they could achieve despite their status in the United States. “We also wanted to show support to the student population given the current status of DACA. Our colleague Carmen Macias Limon, an adjunct counselor i n t h e A d e l a n t e F i r s t - Ye a r Experience, also helped us to identify the panelists who were ELAC alumni,” said Sevilla. During the panel the ELAC alumni shared their own personal stories when it came to how they made it through their respective college experiences. Despite differing in how they achieved success, the takeaway was simply that
perseverance is key. Ana Meza, one of the panelists, works as a high school teacher and talked about how finding out that she was undocumented caused her plans for college to come into question. Meza said that before becoming a DACA recipient she was afraid of trying to get a job as a tutor, something she loved and was good at doing. But coming to ELAC and joining the “Adelante Program” helped her find the courage and financial backing to continue on her quest to becoming a high school teacher. Ana Perez, an analyst at Accenture, said that when she first started she would clean houses with her family to fund her college education. She attributed much of the knowledge she gained on being undocumented and still being able to participate in a collegiate environment from
the Students for Equal Rights group on campus. Meza and Perez were members of the SER and talked about how joining the group was very important to their college years at ELAC. P e r e z s a i d , “ I t w a s n ’t t o o bad I guess because I was surrounded by people who supported DACA.” Another Panelist, Jose Perez, said that when he first started there was no DACA program. He said that he worked doing yard work, tutoring, and searched for scholarships to help him on his way to college. He said that before getting DACA it was problematic to look for work, singling out “e-verify” a s h i s m o s t h a t e d e n e m y. His work as a mental health professional is something he uses to help focus on those that are undocumented.
DACA Continued on page 3
Danza Azteca Xochipilli reignites past traditions BY STEVEN ADAMO Staff Writer The dance troupe Danza Azteca Xochipilli shared traditions of the Aztec people with East Los Angeles College students Thursday for the Native-American Heritage Month Pow Wow. T h e e v e n t w a s o rg a n i z e d by executive vice president of Associated Student Union Summer French and ASU secretary Marlene Enriquez. According to French, pow wows during the month of November have existed on campus for many years but stopped due to the increase of campus construction. “Last year I put on an open mic night, just to bring the culture back in,” said French. “It went pretty
well, so then this year I wanted to do something bigger so that more students are involved.” The Los Angeles-based group uses their performances to not only entertain, but to also educate the audience about Native-American culture. “They teach the dance to anyone willing to learn,” French said. French says that pow wows are like a big family gathering of a specific culture. All tribes have pow wows, but they differ based on the tribe. “All tribes have their own traditions, their way of celebrating life,” French said. The pow wow contains a blessing of the grounds and a prayer to the ancestors. During their performances, Danza Azteca not only explain why they do certain dances, but how to do it. They also explain their musical
instruments to the audience as well as where they come from and how they are made. An ELAC student and volunteer also performed during the event. Marlene Enriquez, secretary to ASU, helped organize the ELAC clubs that participated, including Gender Sexual Awareness, Puente Club, Study Abroad, AJ Club, ESL and Sociology club. November was declared National American Indian Heritage Month on August 3, 1990 by President George H.W. Bush, but is most commonly referred to as Native American Heritage Month. Danza Azteca Xochipilli performs regularly in Los Angeles and surrounding areas. They can be contacted through their Facebook page by searching for Danza Azteca Xochipilli.
CN/STEPHANIE GUEVARA
CN/STEPHANIE GUEVARA
POW WOW POWER—Danza Azteca Xochipilli performing a tribal dance to the beat of a drum and maracas on Thursday in front of the E3 building.
News Briefs
TLC panel discussion
ELAC’s Transforming Lives Campaign is hosting a panel discussion called Homelessness Crisis Among California Community College Students on Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. at F5-201. For more info call (323)-265-8901.
BOW DOWN—East Los Angeles College students bow with Danza Azteca Xochipilli during a traditional Aztec line dance in front of the E3 building on Thursday.
Study abroad program preview
There will be a preview for the summer study abroad in Paris program on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. in E3-170. For more information, e-mail vogelzlc@elac.edu or ebinrs@elac.edu.
Scholarship recipients ceremony
The Fall scholarship recipients ceremony will take place on Nov. 29 in F5-201 at 7 p.m. Complimentary food and beverages will be served. For more information, e-mail agilaic@elac.edu or call (323)-265-8901.