Volume 77, Issue 4 | www.elaccampusnews.com | Wednesday, October 2, 2019 | Single copy free - additional copies 50 cents
ASU works to clear confusion
Student tutoring still on campus
BY JONATHAN BERMUDEZ Staff Writer Vice president of liberal arts and science Ruben Arenas and ASU members met to clear up confusion surrounding tutoring on campus. President of ASU, Brian Han, and Vice President of Finance at ASU, Amber Arias, spoke to Arenas about concerns of students no longer having access to tutoring. Han asked why there was a sudden change and how will students get access to tutoring. Arenas said that the loss of tutoring was incorrect. Arenas said the reason for why there would be no more one-onone tutoring in the learning center is because of more funding and an increase in the number of tutors. He said the timing wasn’t perfect but he is trying to fix it by asking faculty to share more information about services. Arenas invited Han and Arias to visit the math center and the writing center. When they visited the math center, they asked instructor assistant Eddie Hidalgo questions about the math center and its services. Hidalgo said they had one-onone appointments and book rental programs for statistics books and math 125 books, but the center
Immigration policies to be brought to light Dream Resource Center to explore DACA BY JUAN CALVILLO Staff Writer Students at East Los Angeles College can learn about the future of immigration policies at an informational event on the Tuesday. The “Public Charge Rules, DACA and the Future of Immigration Policy” event will have legal experts in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA, and public charge in attendance. The Dream Resource Center is helping with outreach for the event. DACA specialist María Ignacia Rodriguez Kmec and public charge expert Inna Parizher will be at the event to go over all the updates happening in each area. Kmec is an immigration policy advocate at the National Immigration Law Center. Parizher is an attorney for immigration projects at the Neighbourhood Legal Services of Los Angeles. Rigoberto Reyes from the LA County Office of Immigration Affairs will also be on hand at the event talking about local government resources. Public charges have become a talked about issue when it comes to immigration. Under the current presidential administration the idea of public charge has been linked to immigration status and the hopes of changing said status. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service defines public charges, “For purposes of determining inadmissibility, “public charge” means an individual who is likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, as demonstrated by either the receipt of public cash assistance
for income maintenance or institutionalization for long-term care at government expense.” ELAC law professor Courtney Powers said that public charge was a very complicated issue to talk about. She said the current administration was broadening what it means to be a public charge and that it would challenge immigrants in getting their status changed. With the status of DACA in question and with public charge undergoing so many changes, it is important now more than ever for students and the community to know what can affect immigration status. Powers said, “On DACA there is a lot of confusion out there right now, because President Obama created the program. President Trump has tried to rescind it.” Powers said DACA students that have already registered are still able to get help but that no new students could apply. She said that with a court case pending in the Supreme Court, the fate of DACA was in question, and the experts in these fields might have greater insight into what might actually happen. ELAC Law professor Filemón Samson said the Law department is the main source of legal education on campus and that helping students with legal information on important issues made sense. “We feel it’s important to support our students with legal issues that are going to be impacting their daily lives,” Samson said. He reached out to Brian Henderson, student services specialist at the DRC, in the hopes of helping students. He said he had known that the DRC had legal help for students but that it was somewhat limited and that an event like this one might be able to reach a wider audience. “If we pool our resources we can
do more,” Samson said. Samson said the event was not just for students though, and that he hopes that the community at large will attend as well. He said some people might feel apprehensive about coming to an event like this, but Bianca Martinez from the DRC said that the event was for the entire community. “The event is open to all community members. We hope that students and their families will attend,” Martinez said. We also welcome local community members seeking advice and support with concerns related to immigration policy.” Martinez said getting students, their families and the community at large the right information when it comes to immigration status was key for this event. Martinez also said that despite the fear among people. It was important for them to know what was currently happening. Powers said that although the federal government is going in one direction, the state government has expanded help for people with immigration issues. Samson said he has high hopes for a program currently waiting approval that would help students in legal aspects. He said the program would provide legal aid for free to students when it comes to family and immigration law, but that nothing was set in stone as of now. “Public Charge rules, DACA and the future of immigration policy” event will be Tuesday from noon to 1:30 p.m. in F5201. For more information on the event contact SamsonFK@elac. edu or stop in at the DRC in E1142.
had a shortage of pre-calculus and calculus textbooks. Hidalgo plans to change appointment times in order to support all the new students coming from the learning center. He said the math center had not been doing a good job letting the public know about their services but, they plan to do better.
Arenas said that the tutor funding had increased from $1,074,265 last year to $1,494,756 this year.
He also said that during tight periods, they have up to seven tutors but plan to hire more. Maria Acosta, a learning skills center instructor said that the Writing Center has 30 to 45 minute sessions, online booking, one-anda-half-hour workshops for MLA format, grammar, thesis statement, in-class tutoring, group tutoring and unlimited computer use.
She said that there are long wait times for walk-ins, but that the center plans to fix that. Han asked Acosta about how they will support DSP&S (Disable Student Program and Services) students and she said that they had very qualified tutors that help students with special needs. She also showed that the writing center had more than enough tutors to help students. Arenas said that with the new budget, the math and Writing Center will be able to provide more services to students. Arenas said that the tutor funding had increased from $1,074,265 last year to $1,494,756 this year. “This is the most the college has ever spent and we are excited to do this,” Arenas said. With the new budget, Arenas plans to fund tutoring for other subjects such as anatomy and physiology. He said that tutoring was not going away, since it is a state law to help community college students to get help with subjects in entering their first year of school. This law is called AB 705 and all community colleges in California must follow it. Arenas is aware of the confusion when it comes to tutoring and wants to ensure students will be helped.
Club discusses fears, phobias to the feared objects or situations. This will progressively help Staff Writer decrease the level of fear and anxiety towards the object or Phobias have the ability to put situation. “Even a picture can cause the a hold on life and the Psychology Club at East Los Angeles College, subject to start sweating and Psi Beta showed how therapy can get nervous,” Campos said. “So exposing them to a picture first help. Club members presented the and allowing their anxiety levels ways phobias are formed and what to decrease, will cause them to lose treatments are used to treat them at their fear.” CBT is a goal-oriented treatment their meeting on Thursday. that helps the subject overcome the Phobias can be established in childhood through early adulthood fear of the object or situation by and can occur after a traumatic focusing on reconstructing their experience or a stressful event. negative thoughts and behaviors. A short “BBC Primal Fears” They can also be inherited or video was shown of a woman in learned from generations before. There is a strong distinction therapy for her phobia of birds and between a fear and a phobia. feathers. She had a debilitating fear Fears are manageable and do not of birds and the sight of a feather made her extremely deter people from uncomfortable. accomplishing The therapist tasks, but phobias exposed her to a can have a large single feather and impact on daily “Even a picture let her dictate how life. can cause the comfortable she was An example with the object near shown by Daniella subject to start her. At the end of Valdez, vice sweating and get her CBT session, president of the Psi the woman was able Beta club, said how nervous.” to hold the feather the fear of needles, without feeling trypanophobia, can overwhelmed. become dangerous As the presentation when a person came to an end JOCELYN CAMPOS who suffers from a and phobias were Club Historian chronic condition discussed by students, such as diabetes, Bryant Horowitz, avoids getting adviser of the Psi medical treatment that involves the Beta Club said, “A lot of times use of needles or injections. “Studies show that a remarkable they (phobias) are self diagnosed, 20% of the population has some so you say that you are afraid of degree of fear of needles or something but maybe it does not injections and 10% within that elicit that fight-or-flight response.” The fight-or-flight response suffer from trypanophobia,” Valdez happens when coming across a said. feared object or situation your Psi Beta Club said treating phobias is a good option to live a brain decided if you will fight the fear or flee from it. This response normal life. Treatment for phobias can occur to fearful things often times makes it difficult to live a normal life with a professional or by oneself. The most common treatments avoiding the object or situation at presented to treat phobias are all costs. “When it becomes disruptive to exposure therapy and Cognitive your life, when you can’t leave the Behavioral Therapy also known as house, that would be the reason CBT. “Exposure therapy is often times why you would want to try to very successful,” Jocelyn Campos, expose yourself to what you are afraid of. We want someone to the club historian said. The goal with exposure therapy live a normal life and to be able to is to gradually expose the subjects function,” said Valdez.
SOUND AND FURY
BY JOHANNA RODRIGUEZ
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News Briefs Registered Nurse Info Session
Learn about the Registered Nursing program requirements on Oct. 10 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in F5-209.
Grand Opening
The ELAC Specialized America’s Job Center of California will have its grand opening on Thursday at 11 a.m. in the K7 building
Financial Aid Awareness Day ELAC will host a financial aid event on Oct. 10 from noon to 2 p.m. in front of the E3 building.