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ELAC Campus News Fall 2022 Issue 11 Pup Edition

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VOLUME 78, ISSUE 11 | WWW.ELACCAMPUSNEWS.COM | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022 | SINGLE COPY FREE - ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS

CN/STEVEN ADAMO

Native erasure highlighted at town hall BY JANET GUERECA Staff Writer The last racial equity and social justice town hall for the semester focused on creating awareness of the unique challenges faced by Native communities. CBS2/KCAL9 reporter and anchor Lesley Marin moderated the discussion. Kyle Whyte, Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan and Member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, and ELAC student John Ray were a part of the panel. The panel focused on what can be done as a community to honor, respect and take action to help the

Native American communities. One of the significant issues that have negatively impacted Native American communities is the erasure of Native history. “Just because we don’t have the same exposure as other communities doesn’t mean that we’re not here. Because of the past, and due to the traumas being put on reservations and boarding schools and the loss of the culture, we’re not really seen as here anymore,” Ray said. The educational system is a part of the erasure of Native history. “The education that we’re exposed to sends us on pathways, and if we can change that even just a little bit, and indigenous history is a huge part of that change, we can go

really far as a society,” Whyte said. Whyte said, the United States education system doesn’t teach that there are other forms of government. He said there is no emotional connection to the land and how human actions damage the environment. The lack of connection affects adults because it blocks their creativity in finding solutions to climate change. Whyte’s research has focused on climate change and protecting Native American communities. They are among the most severely impacted by climate change. The instability in the climate is putting communities through harm that their ancestors were not accustomed to.

Whyte’s research showed that tribes are experiencing extreme weather events, new insects, and new environmental conditions. These events bring disease and affect food quality. Coastal communities are experiencing erosion and have had to move due to flooding. “The environmental racism Native people faced began when the government dispossessed them of land to make way for industry and profit. The government relocated Native American communities closer to polluted areas. “Education systems imposed by the US government stripped them of generations of knowledge they had of the environment. That knowledge included all the solutions on how

to live with the land,” Whyte said. Whyte said to serve Native communities, it is crucial to visit welcoming tribes and have people willing to learn from these tribes. He said investing in what Native people are doing, and boosting awareness of their people is important. “The thing that we can do most to honor indigenous people is to take responsibility. For many tribes, what we want to see people doing in our homelands is people taking responsibility, fighting for justice and over time creating more opportunities for Native people to lead. That’s a slow process because when people have been oppressed for generations, you’re not going to

change that very quickly. It’s going to take time,” Whyte said. Ray said colleges can look into creating clubs that focus on the Indigenous activities on campus. “The school can have history classes based exclusively on indigenous properties, indigenous people. I believe that we need to get our voice out there. We need to have people know that we’re still here, we’re alive, we are not extinct,” Ray said. ELAC President Alberto J. Román agreed that the college needs more clubs and opportunities for bonding and collaboration. Román said, this is something that ELAC can work toward and put an action plan around.

Husky Food Pantry aids students BY GRACE WONG Staff Writer The Husky Snack Shack is a free food pantry focused on fighting food insecurity for students currently enrolled at East Los Angeles College. The Husky Food Pantry awards student athletes by giving away a free reward from the food pantry. The teams involved are men basketball, baseball, water polo and other sports. The history of the Husky food pantry started in 2018. Athletes who earn good scores on practice sports receive free snacks. The type of snack depends entirely on a point system set up for the athletes. Student athletes may need to get six points in an aerobic exercise. This would earn a student two snacks per day or three days of snacks during the week. Unfortunately the pantry has limited food for students. The amount of basic food was

far behind the amount needed for students. Since the COVID-19 shutdown food insecurity has risen for students, ELAC and the Associated Student Union (ASU) food pantry worked together and decided to change the way to get the food students needed. Athletes can apply for a food gift card that was created to assist athletic students with food insecurity. The ASU office aids students in completing the application for a self-assessment on food insecurity. After the application is submitted, ASU will contact the student for a meeting to identify their needs, and help the student find resources. Some sources were grocery gift cards from grocery stores like Food for Less. The value is $25 for each card. Carlos Guerrero, the student services assistant said when students returned to campus in 2021, student leaders took the survey and changed how students got food security from

the Husky Food Pantry. Students did not need to fill out the application form to get snacks. Guerrero said students can get food from the Husky Food Pantry. Each of them could have three items per day. This includes one big item, one small snack and one bottle of water. Some candies are also available. Students can pick up their items from the windowed area. Last year, the food pantry served multiple students with a budget of $5000 to $6000. This year, the Husky Food Pantry has served thousands of students. The money for the pantry comes from student enrollment and is paid for with the ASU fee of $7 to help students get their snacks for free. ASU plans on finding additional food vendors to sustain the program. The Husky athlete support center has additional ways of helping these student athletes that include financial aid, physical and mental health, academic and ongoing virtual support.

CN/TERESA ACOSTA

CN/JANET GUERECA

HUSKY PANTRY—ELAC student Gabriela Torreblanco helps students approaching the pantry

by providing them with their choice of snack.

News Briefs

The Country Wife opening weekend

The ELAC Theater Arts Deparment opening of “The Country Wife” is on Friday at 8 p.m. in the Proscenium Theater, P2. Tickets on sale at https://elactheaterarts. ticketleap.com/the-country-wife/dates.

FROM THEATER TO TV—NCIS Los Angeles Production Designer Chris Hansen discusses his career pathway from theater to film and television.

The Ramón Show at ELAC

The ELAC Game Club and ASU are hosting “The Ramón Show: Spiritual Cheerleading 101.” It’s an immersive comedy and dance party on December 1 at 6:30 p.m. in building F5209. Reserve your seat at http://bit.ly/ramonshow.

Pup Edition

This week’s issue of Campus News was written, prodcued, edited and photographed by the Journalism 101 class.


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