ELAC Campus News Spring 2023 Issue 18

South Gate student becomes semi nalist for Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship

BY ANNETTE QUIJADA Staff Writer

South Gate Center student Ruby

Pichardo is a Semi-Finalist for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. Pichardo is one of 459 students who are semifinalists.

The Cooke Scholarship awards community college students who have shown exceptional academics, leadership and determination to finish their bachelor’s degree at four-year universities.

The scholarship offers up to $55,000 per year to students.

Pichardo grew up in South Central, but currently lives in South Gate. She is a health care worker. She came back to community college during the pandemic and has now been at the South Gate Center for two years.

“When I graduated high school I got into Cal State LA, but unfortunately I got pregnant and I had to drop out. I became a single mom, so I couldn’t go to school, go to work and raise my daughter at the same time. I was only 19,”

Pichardo said.

She said that in 2020 when courses went online due to the COVID-19 pandemic saw an opportunity to get back into school by taking one to two classes.

She is majoring in Administration of Justice and will be graduating in June.

After she obtains her bachelors, she’s looking forward to going to law school.

Pichardo’s interest in criminal justice led her to being a part of the executive board of the Pathway to Law School Program. She recently had to step down because she became the president

Ruby Prichardo

of the Honors Club at the South Gate Center. “The Pathway to Law School Program is amazing. It’s more

Math student becomes semi nalist for Cooke Transfer Scholarship

BY ANNETTE QUIJADA Staff Writer

East Los Angeles College Honor student Daisy Corril Castano, becomes the second honor student to be a Semi-Finalist for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship.

Students looking to apply for the scholarship have to write a series of essays and also need two letters of reccomendation.

Castano is a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math major, she’s studying Mathematics, but is interested in computer science and programming.

“I would like to use the math skills I’ve learned here and apply them to data science,” Castano said.

She said her love for computer science and programming started in middle school when a teacher noticed she was trying to learn more about the subject. Her teacher at the time told her she was too young to be learning about programs like Python and that ended up discouraging her for a few years.

Castano said she thought she had no place in the STEM field because of the teacher who said it would be

too difficult for her.

“It wasn’t until my first year in college that I thought about going back to explore and understand STEM. I wanted to challenge myself. I thought I was going to struggle a lot, but the professors at ELAC were really helpful and supportive,” said Castano.

Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement Program (MESA) on campus. She first applied for the program in the summer of 2020 and said she has found a strong support system there.

“The MESA program is really good at giving students coursework support. I always go there during finals week and when I have exams.

The tutors there are amazing and they really just want to help out all the students.”

Castano is looking forward to transferring out this semester.

She has her eye on three universities. She is waiting to hear answers from University of California, Irvine, University of Southern California and University of California, Los Angeles.

than a club, it’s a family. If you’re interested in law school or any aspect of the legal profession, I encourage everyone to apply,” Pichardo said.

Pichardo said that a big part of returning to school and continuing her education has been her daughter.

“I was a single mom for about six to seven years. I thought about her a lot when I decided to go back to school because I am losing out on time with her.

“But I want to show her life gets in the way, but you can’t let that hold you back. If you want to accomplish something, you can do it.

“Whether it’s on the timeline you decided or not, it doesn’t matter as long as it gets done,” Pichardo said.

ELAC Honors Program Counselor Carmen Soto and Chicano Students professor Dr. Nadine Bermudez were the people who brought the

Cooke Scholarship to Pichardos’ attention.

Pichardo said that Professor Bermudez pushed all her students to apply for the scholarship and reminded them that the scholarship is a great opportunity. The application process includes a series of essay questions, students have to advertise themselves.

“My advice for students looking to apply for the schlarship is don’t second guess yourself. Just do it because you never know what can happen. Just go for it.”

“My advice for students looking to apply for the scholarship is don’t second guess yourself. Just do it because you never know what can happen. Just go for it. When you put yourself out there, it’s scary and there’s a chance for rejection.

RUBY PRICHARDO South Gate Campus Student

“But also remember there’s a chance for success,” Pichardo said.

The finalists for the scholarship will be announced late April.

Castano said there have been two ELAC professors who have stood out to her during her journey, Professor Gia Nguyen and Tiffany Ho.

Castano said it’s important to her to have a good foundation and these professors provided that for her.

Castano is also part of the

“My advice for others is to apply to the scholarship whether you think what you have under your belt is enough. I felt like I wasn’t good enough, but it’s better to put yourself out there despite what the results will be. It also gives you exposure to what the process is like. It’s not just about getting the scholarship it’s also about learning from the process,” Castano said.

Chicana artist breaks boundaries throughout her career

BY STEVEN ADAMO Staff Writer

With stories of breaking boundaries, Chicana artist Patssi Valdez shared her history during a virtual event last month organized by the Women/Gender Department.

The event was hosted by Claudia Rodriguez of the Chicano Studies Department and Nathalie Sánchez of the Vincent Price Art Museum.

Valdez shared memories of her childhood, growing up on Record Street in East Los Angeles. She recalled being interested in art as far back as she can remember. She learned about art while a student at Garfield High School.

In the early 1970s, Valdez became interested in photography - using a photo booth from the East Los Angeles store called J.J. Newberry’s. While having a friend guard the booth, Valdez would perform numerous costume changes inside in order to photograph herself.

The styles she was arranging went well with the L.A. punk scene that was beginning at the time. She said she walked home after school during the Whittier Boulevard moratorium protest, which inspired an early work titled “Self-Portrait with Barbed Wire.”

The photograph was copied using a Xerox machine, framed with barbed wire from stencils using spray paint.

The events happening at the time continued to influence her work both an individual artist and as part of the Chicano artist collective Asco, in East Los Angeles.

In 1974, along with other Asco members Herb Sandoval, Willie Herron and Gronk, Harry Gamboa photographed “First Supper After a Major Riot,” which had the group enjoying a lunch in the middle of Whittier Blvd.

Valdez said nobody knew ahead of time what the other person was going to wear.

Valdez said the Asco group used art to address issues important to them at the time, including police brutality, racism and the negative stereotyping of the community.

“Instant Mural,” from 1974, is another photo by Gamboa that features artist Gronk taping Valdez to a wall. Valdez said it was in response to all the new murals being made at the time.

At East Los Angeles College, Valdez continued to learn art through teachers like Donald Chipperfield, who was a regular supporter of the annual art student scholarship on campus. Valdez shared a copy of

her ELAC transcript from 1979, showing a failing grade for Photo 010.

Valdez said she hung out with the other Asco members at the Art Department.

“I would say it was a time of experimentation and exploration. Thank God for East LA College,” Valdez said.

As an homage to the friends Valdez lost during the AIDS epidemic, Valdez created a mixed media spray paint installation at Otis Gallery in 1986. She said it was the first time the gallery allowed spray paint to be used inside.

“I just had a lot of friends; lovely, talented, brilliant friends, who I lost during that epidemic.”

With the painting “The Little Girl in the Yellow Dress” in 1995, Valdez said she started to feel confident as a painter.

With her paintings displayed all over the world, Valdez continues to paint, creating such works as “Pan Mexicano (A Merging of Two Cultures),” “The Aztec Queen,” and “The Passage.”

In 2005, she was named “Latina of Excellence in the Cultural Arts” by the U.S. Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

LET ME SHARE YOU SOME STORIES—Patssi Valdez talks about her childhood and growing up in East Los Angeles and recalls being interested in art.

CN/STEVEN ADAMO

Daisy Corril Castano

“The tutors there are amazing and they really just want to help out all the students.”

DAISY CORRIL CASTANO East Los Angeles College Honor Studnet

New bill will reduce sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancies in teens

BY LEONARDO CERVANTES

Staff Writer

Senate Bill 541 should pass; it would educate teenagers who are enrolled in any of California state schools, of sexually transmitted diseases and prevent and reduce unintended pregnancies .

Senate Bill 541 would mandate that all pupils in grades 7 to 12, to receive comprehensive sexual health education and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education.

If this bill were to pass, it would help reduce the amount of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancies. This bill is set for a hearing today.

This bill would help prevent and reduce unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, beginning in the 2024-25 school year. Each public school, including schools operated by a school district or county office of education and charter schools, would have to make condoms available to all pupils free of charge.

The bill would require each public school to allow the distribution of condoms during the course of, or in connection to, educational or public health programs and initiatives, as provided.

For many households, sex conversations can quickly get awkward between parents and their kids. For students unable to discuss obtaining condoms with parents, the provision of free condoms from their schools is a safe alternative.

According to Wisevoter’s HIV and STD indexes, California is ranked 10th in the nation for HIV

and ranked 27th in the nation for STDs.

According to Wisevoter’s statistics, California has seen an increase of STDs since 2012, with high prevalence among young people of the ages 15-24.

Wisevoter’s data also shows that Los Angeles county has 1,464 cases of STDs per 100,000 people.

Much of the impacted demographic are grade level students, which makes passing SB 541 essential for encouraging students to practice safe sex.

The upside of condoms being given to students for free is that they learn how to practice safe sex to reduce the transmission of STDs and HIV.

Another benefit of providing condoms at no cost to students is that they would have more money to spend on themselves. Oftentimes, students are on a low budget and have to decide wisely when to use it. Now instead of buying condoms, they can spend it on snacks or a fast food meal.

Students who may have the dilemma of choosing between condoms or other expenses would no longer have to worry if this bill is passed.

While most student past a certain age have at least a vague understanding of sex education, many say they were hardly taught about it in school.

Oftentimes, students receive basic information on this topic during middle school to prepare them for high school.

According to Planned Parenthood, sex education programming varies widely across the United States.

Currently, 39 states and the District of Columbia mandate some kind of sex education or HIV education.

State legislation, originally known as AB 329, required students in seventh through 12th grades to be taught comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention.

According to the California Department of Education, school districts that are under the leadership of their locally elected boards and superintendents are tasked to select which curriculum and instructional resources (including textbooks and worksheets) schools will use to teach students about sex education.

If SB 541 passes, it would bring more free will to teachers choosing how they want to teach the subject to students.

With condoms being free and widely available at school it helps with reducing the numbers of unintended pregnancies, STDs and sexually transmitted infections. It would be foolish for lawmakers not to pass SB 541.

Congress asks TikTok CEO asinine questions

BY LEONARDO CERVANTES Staff Writer

TikTok Chief Executive Shou

Zi Chew’s March congressional hearing with the United States Congress was a disaster based on lack of knowledge and personal vendetta against the app.

Chew was personally attacked and was asked foolish questions repeatedly.

TikTok has been one of the fastest growing apps in the last few years among teenagers and millennials.

Its interface is so well received that other popular social media platforms such as Youtube and Instagram have mimicked the interface.

TikTok is filled with viral dancing and funny videos along with conspiracy theories.

The amount of idiotic questions asked toward Chew really highlights a problem with Congress. How is it possible that these congressmen speak for and represent this country when they are asking such asinine questions?

One of the questions Congress asked Chew was if TikTok supports genocide. Congress also asked Chew if TikTok has access to users’ home WiFi networks.

It goes to show how biased and personal the hearing was. Americans should be embarrassed they are represented by this Congress.

In 2011, Facebook said that it would not share user data without explicit consent.

While the thought of China having so much access to a resident’s information is a scary thought, it seems hypocritical to want to eliminate one app and not others.

Facebook has a long track record of questionable data privacy and user security.

In March 2018, the New York Times obtained documents that proved the social network had special arrangements with more than 150 companies to share its members’ personal data. Facebook has gotten exposed for selling users’ personal data.

The NYT report also exposed that Sony, Microsoft and Amazon could access members’ email addresses via their friends.

The government has never tried to ban Facebook or these other companies or issued warnings to users. This is why trying to ban

TikTok feels personal and not like Congress is looking out for its citizens.

How is it possible that these congressmen speak for and represent this country when they are asking such asinine questions?

If TikTok gets banned, what’s to stop the government from banning the next prominent social media platform that the masses love?

Ever since the rise of TikTok, many competitor social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have

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begun incorporating TikTok-style videos and reels in their platforms.

Perhaps the government wanted TikTok-clone apps such as Instagram to incorporate their video style in order for people to use a clown copy of TikTok instead.

Nearly every app that users download comes with a requirement of having access to their contacts, texts and web history. Most of the apps that require these requirements won’t function unless the user accepts these terms.

If the government is worried about users’ personal information being sold or put to bad use, maybe it should require these social media platforms to protect users’ personal information.

The government itself doesn’t issue a warning to users to read an app’s agreements before downloading them.

Most users don’t read the agreements because all they want to do is have the app they’ll agree to anything that will grant them access.

U.S. citizens should maintain the same skepticism for downloading TikTok when downloading other apps as well.

U.S. citizens should have some skepticism when downloading TikTok as long as they share the same skepticism when downloading other apps.

The government’s attempt to ban Tiktok feels more anti-China than it does pro-protecting American citizens’ information.

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LAUSD reaches deal after protests

BY LUIS DIAZ

Staff Writer

Union workers of the Los Angeles Unified School District reached a historic deal after a three-day strike that shut down all Los Angeles public schools.

On March 21, Union workers of Service Employees International Union Local 99 initiated a strike with the help of teachers to demand a raise.

SEIU Local 99 represents 30,000 teachers’ aides, bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and other support staff.

Union workers asked for a 30 percent wage increase and better working conditions.

This strike put around 400,000 students out of classes for three days, many parents and locals around communities supporing the cause.

At Miramonte Elementary School in South Central, staff and teachers gathered at the school. From Bob Marley’s ‘Fight the Power’ playing in the background, chants were being heard along the streets.

“What do we want? Fair contracts. And when do we want them? Right now.”

Faculty members at Miramonte

Elementary School expressed their frustration about how workers have been treated recently.

“The higher power doesn’t care about our work conditions, and they don’t care about us and put pressure on us.”

The school administration has been getting frustrated with them for not being able to get all the tasks done on time.

Employees are already understaffed and have vacant positions because of the pay for the amount of hard labor needed to be done.

Locals around the area showed their support by honking their horns and walking along the faculty members and teachers.

The average salary for LAUSD classified employees is $25,000.

“Parents being able to send our children to class affects us, but we understand that the strike is necessary because they are essential to the schools like teachers as well,” said Sarah Mendoza.

“LAUSD superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho roughly makes around $440,000 a year, more than the President of the United States and he can’t give a raise to the most essential people that help build the future of this nation,” William

Mejia said.

Many local schools around the Florence-Firestone area united together on the corner of Florence and Hooper to protest and bring awareness to the community.

Russell Elementary School teachers expressed their concerns about not being able to prepare the new generation for higher education.

2017 teacher of the year Misit Kemmer expressed her concerns about the issues in the districts.

“Students are over-tested. We fought for more nurses and support staff. From a teacher’s point of view, we are still waiting for that change.

“To find out that staff are only getting paid $25,000 a year is ridiculous. You can’t even live on a salary like that,” said Kemmer.

With a salary like that many of the staff can’t even live in Los Angeles, especially with inflation getting worse.

“We can’t even function without them. That’s why we are out here,” said Kemmer.

The situation got worse after COVID-19, with many vacant spots unfilled due to the labor wanted, versus the pay offered.

“We have so many positions

Students encouraged to join student-led journal

BY JONATHAN BERMUDEZ Staff Writer

The student-led journal, History Circle Journal, was created by History professor Rafael Mazon in Fall 2020 to give students a voice.

Mazon had a pleasant experience working as an editor for the Cal State LA student-journal and wanted to bring that experience to students at ELAC.

“I thought it was a cool way to showcase our students’ work,” said Mazon.

He wants to showcase all types of works from students whether it’s poetry, essays, research on history or science as long as it’s original and independently researched.

He also wants to keep the work as organic as possible. He doesn’t want to make too many changes to the students’ work and only does minor editing.

Students who are publishing their work are required to peer review other students’ work. Mazon found peer reviewing effective when he was part of the Cal State LA student journal.

open, positions that can’t be filled but at the same time if you can’t fill those positions, make sure you pay them accordingly.”

Alfredo Farias, a teacher assistant at Russell Elementary School, explained the struggles he faced being understaffed.

“What we face here is how short staffed we are. I put in extra hours and extra work and never fully compensated.

“I see other T.A.’s running around chasing kids, getting hurt and the pay ultimately isn’t worth it. You can go to Burger King and make more flipping burgers,” said Farias.

The protest ended at the Los Angeles State Historic Park.

SEIU Local 99 reached a deal with the help of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

The agreement addresses the historical pay inequities, creates a massive expansion of healthcare benefits for part-time employees, and invests considerable resources for the workforce.

The minimum wage will increase to $22.52 an hour. All the current employees who were in the district 2020-21 year school year will receive a $1,000 bonus and many more benefits.

All copies of the student journal are published physically. Since the pandemic, Mazon personally delivered copies of the journal to students whose works were published for that specific edition.

The rest of the copies that are made are sold and the profits are used to pay for the next editions.

He said that there was never a point where it was difficult or an obstacle he couldn’t overcome. Even with COVID-19 restrictions, he said it wasn’t hard to adapt. He was able to use Canvas and Zoom to communicate with students which made things easier.

However, he admits, “Our biggest challenge is students aren’t aware of it [History Circle Journal].”

He wants more students to join because he believes it is a fun experience. He also thinks it’s great for the students to have tangible work and something they can share and keep forever. He looks forward to creating more editions and hoping to get more students. With more students, he will be able to create longer editions.

The latest edition to come out is centered around topics of LGBTQIA. The edition wasn’t planned to be themed but he received enough submissions that delved into the topic for it to become what it is.

“We are really proud of this edition. Hopefully it makes a difference and I’m really proud of our students,” Mazon said. All editions are able to be read on the campus library website. Mazon encourages all students to join.

The best place to reach him is his email, mazonr@elac.edu.

Struggles of women in academia discussed during panel

BY KIMBERLY CHINCHILLA Staff Writer

Women speakers share their stories and experiences, on fighting a systemic change for a more inclusive workplace in the world of academia.

The Sociology Club hosted a speaker series for Women’s History Month for the “Celebrating Women Who Tell Their Stories” theme, which included East Los Angeles College professors: Dr. Lisa Vartanian, Elizabeth Ortega, Kelly Velasquez, Amanda RyanRomo, and Cal State Dominguez Hills professor Rosario MartinezPogar.

Each woman on the panel was driven into academia by the connections they built throughout their journeys. They all connected by sharing their stories on what it’s like being a woman in the educational field, which they agree, is a work in progress.

Women in any field have long been marginalized by men causing them to think their capabilities are limited. Society expects women to behave and portray a role created by men, making it difficult for women to accept their virtues.

These challenges and limitations that women still face are causing them to suffer from imposter syndrome.

Ortega said that imposter syndrome is when you are a qualified person, but you still don’t believe that you are good enough for a job.

“That followed me all the way from my first years as a community college student at Rio Hondo College all the way until now,” Ortega said.

Women are often looked down on because they have long faced discrimination due to their sex and gender. This has created an identity threat, where women often doubt

themselves despite knowing they can achieve the same things men are capable of.

Though changes have occurred throughout the years and people have become more accepting, we can’t move past the fact that there still needs to be a systemic change implemented towards women’s liberation and gender equality.

“One of the struggles I face is being true to myself. At one point, I was rejected because they didn’t like what I was wearing. I had just had a baby and my clothes were really tight and they thought it was inappropriate,” Vartanian said.

“As women we are expected to do a lot of things. I am very soft and kind yet sometimes I am expected to be tough and they don’t see that I can be,” Vartanian said.

Martinez-Pogar who identifies as both queer and a trans-woman, also shared that she wants people to recognize her as a woman. She says she is constantly negotiating how well she represents herself so

that people read her as a woman.

“I’ve heard this from many women, comments on professor women’s clothing. I joined some of them because for me they are gender blending and I selfconsciously try to. I want people to read me and recognize me as a woman, so I gain through that,” Martinez-Pogar said.

Professor Velasquez said, “Women tend to be caretakers and sometimes [when] you are in a professional setting people will turn to you and have this expectation to take on this motherly role. Because you are a woman, sometimes what ends up happening is that you do it once and [it becomes] an expectation.”

It seems that regardless of the years that women have fought for equity in a workplace, it becomes a loop, a continuous fight for gender equity in the work setting.

Ryan-Romo had a similar experience.

“I first started here about 18

years ago and I had a baby 16 years ago. The mentor that was assigned pulled me aside and told me “don’t ever talk about your kid, don’t talk about your family if you want to be respected. That stuff has to stay behind the scenes. You can’t ever let a kid being sick disrupt your ability to teach or go to meetings.

“That can’t ever be the excuse that you use or you’ll never make it. You’ll never go far,” RyanRomo said.

Mothers suffer with this battle of guilt when balancing work and life. There is a guilt that when a mother shifts her focus solely on her children and family, she is judged for being irresponsible. In reality, women are the caretakers but society should take that into account.

Women have more necessities, and it is not to discredit men but it is a reality. A mother should have the right to work and take time off to care for her family without any repercussions or judgment.

Shifting this mindset would be a liberation to many women and can help create a more inclusive worklife.

“I think shifting some of the mentality like how do we welcome women in the academy and make sure women feel supported if they chose to have children or chosen not to have children? Either way they are also a caregiver to someone, making it more realistic to anyone. Fathers experience this too, balance work and family life,” Ryan-Romo said. All sexes should be able to embrace the entirety of themselves and that is by addressing systemic bias.

“Something that needs to happen is something more internal. Our male colleagues need to reconize they are all biased and try to perpetuate sexism. We are on a college campus and for the most part people are more accepting,” Velasquez said.

Women deal with the constant battle of microaggression and gender insensitive remarks. “Then you think, am I crazy, did this really happen? Those tiny things build up and it makes women feel a specific way. I think a way the campus could address gender inequality is by creating something like that,” Velasquez said.

“I agree that a lot of it is microaggression and there is simply no awareness of it,” RyanRomo said.

Microaggressions are subtle, hostile and offensive remarks made against someone intentionally or unintentionally in a marginalized group. The important thing is learning how to recognize it when it does occur and how to veer those interactions in a more introspective way.

One way to imply changes to address a systemic bias is by creating a culture where everyone, regardless of sex, creates

boundaries that apply to everyone along with a more inclusive gender campus.

“We need to have more support at saying “no” and “no, that’s too much,” Ryan-Romo said.

“It is important to be able to set those boundaries and knowing that it is OK to set those boundaries is the other critical discussion. My dean does not need to reach me at 8 o’clock at night,” said Ryan-Romo.

Professor Velasquez also agreed that we need to not make it just about women. We need to fight for parental leave, not just maternity leave. That’s how we can start to change the culture. Right now there is a big emphasis on how women don’t have this and women don’t have that but [that] creates two different sides. I think that when we do that we are by accident creating more exclusivity.”

Professor Velasquez said that we live in a hustle culture and for women, it can be more challenging because they are being pulled in so many different directions. I think [if] men recognize that and also set boundaries, [it will help], but if all the women are doing it and the men are still [responding to the dean] who does that make look bad?

Therefore standing in solidarity is what is important,” says Velasquez. Speakers ended the discussion by sharing how they empower their students to advocate for themselves and other students with words of encouragement.

Professor Renato Jimenez, sociology club director, summarized it all too well.

“Navigational Capital is underlooked and we take it for granted. We’ve been through these places and we feel that [students] should be able to figure out themselves by helping guide students to address some of these issues they’ve faced, and again to empower them to advocate for themselves.”

CN/LUIS DIAZ

CN/SOLEIL CARDENAS

DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING?—Miramonte Elementary School teachers and faculty take the streets of South Central to protest for better pay and resources.

Monica Thurston’s leadership garners Black Faculty and Staff Association award

BY JUAN CALVILLO Staff Writer

Monica Thurston, Allied Health department chair, said bonds she made with faculty and teachby-example mentality are major components to good leadership at the college.

The Los Angeles Community College District Black Faculty and Staff Association highlighted the leadership of Thurston and two other members of East Los Angeles College’s faculty and staff on Feb. 23 during the Black History Month Celebration Mixer and Awards Ceremony.

When it comes to leadership among her colleagues, Thurston said the department thrives on input from everyone that is a part of it.

She said the different backgrounds and disciplines within Allied Health allow for a sense of creativity and

freedom. The department is full of true health care professionals and Thruston said it is the bonds the group have created that help her lead and work together with her team so well.

Thurston said her focus with students is to see them get to the end of their scholastic goals.

To that end, she tells her students how she came up in her profession and how they can accomplish their goals.

“She is truly a gift to East Los Angeles College and the Los Angeles Community College District at Large”

Thurston said that she got to where she is today through the help of two mentors, one of which is Dorothy M. Hendrix, Allied Health Curriculum Specialist Health Information Technology.

DIONNE WASHINGTON

Second Vice President of BFSA

She said leading her students is about setting a good example of what it means to work in Allied Health and its various disciplines.

Thruston said one of the biggest parts of Allied Health professions is listening. She said to help students focus on this and be informed about post graduation responsibilities, she would gather groups of students and take them to the California Health Information Association Convention. She said this would help students learn more acutely what is going

to be expected of them in the real world.

She said her goal is to make sure all her students understand what they need to be prepared to do once they graduate from school. This includes continuing to earn continued education units that the HIT students need to earn every two years.

She said showing students what they need to know and do is important to her and to her students. It is all about leading by example.

“I inform the student that, ‘The things I am asking you to do, all it would do is make you a better person [in] the end,” Thurston said. The BFSA awards ceremony is co-sponsored by the African American Initiative.

Dr. Dionne Washington, second vice president of the BFSA, said the association was honored to award Thurston with the dedicated

Umoja coordinator, Department chair receives Dedicated Leadership award

BY STEVEN ADAMO Staff Writer

Umoja coordinator Nicole

Flores was awarded the Dedicated Leadership Award along with ELAC Allied Health Department Chair Monica Thurston by the Los Angeles Community College District and Black Faculty and Staff Association at the Black History Month Celebration Mixer in late February.

At the ceremony, ELAC

Men’s Basketball Coach and Kinesiology Professor John Mosley also won the Community GrassRoots Leadership Award.

Flores is no stranger to ELAC, having been a student, secretary for the Child, Family and Education Studies Department and since July of last year, coordinator of the Umoja office.

In 2018, Flores was involved with Laquita M. Jones, assistant professor of Sociology at ELAC, in restarting the Black Student Union on campus prior to the pandemic. However, now that students are back on campus, Flores hopes that this restarts interest and allows further expansion.

Flores said that the Umoja program at ELAC is aiming to offer one or two cohort classes next Fall semester for students, with possibly classes available during the Summer.

When it comes to her work with the Umoja office, Flores is proud of the fact that it services not only the Black students on campus, but

is multiracial. “That’s something that I am proud of, that I made it a safe space for everyone, not just for one group.”

With Umoja, Flores manages the programming and assists students through some of the

hurdles that occur on campus. As the office moves into a new location with more space next month, Flores is working toward improving the space and promoting Umoja values on campus.

leadership award.

“She is truly a gift to East Los Angeles College, and the Los Angeles Community College District at large. She represents everything that the BFSA stands for. Indeed, she is the textbook definition of excellence,” Washington said.

She said the association sees leadership as the main guide for everything BFSA does. The association works with the LACCD to advocate for fair hiring, encouraging professional excellence through networking and mentoring, creating a sense of community and enhancing self-esteem.

This is just a little bit of what the BFSA and the LACCD do for African American faculty and staff.

Thurston has been in Allied Health at ELAC for 10 years and said she is glad that the department has received the type of recognition that comes from a BFSA award.

She is recognized as a leader not just in her department but on campus as a whole. Her time in the Allied Health Department started in 2013, back when it was still under Life Sciences. Thurston said the two separated in 2015 and that with support of faculty she was voted as the chair of the new department in 2016.

Alberto Roman, ELAC president, said when it comes to Allied Health it’s hard not to think of Thurston. He said the leadership she exemplifies is a credit to ELAC’s quality programs.

“Her ability to understand and respond to the needs of our students is commendable. More recently, we tasked Chair Thurston to lead ELAC’s efforts to create a Bachelor’s of Health Information Management.

“This will be an amazing accomplishment for ELAC’s and the first BA degree offered to our Allied Health students. We could not do this without the leadership of Chair Thurston,” Roman said.

During her time as chair of the Allied Health department, Thurston said the department has added new programs.

The Allied Health program consists of programs that exclude nurses and physicians. This would mean things like Health Information Technologies and Technicians, Lab Techs, Phlebotomists, Speech therapy, Physical therapy and various others.

Both the Monterey Park Campus and the South Gate Center have Allied Health programs for students. Thurston said converting the HIT program entirely online was key to getting students access to the program.

These students are typically those that can’t take classes during the day for a variety of reasons and thus take the courses online in the evenings.

Since arriving at ELAC ,Thurston has put immense work into making Allied Health what it is today. Thurston said some people might say she puts too much into her work or that what she does is extra.

She said what she does is required for her work and is a normal amount and that it’s the work of not only herself but her faculty and staff in Allied Health that does the trick. She said that all the work has been challenging but that she focuses on why she came to ELAC to get her through it.

“I’m here at ELAC to offer the student the opportunity to receive training and education in Allied Health professions,” Thurston said.

HUSKIES

Sports Briefs

Softball

The Softball teams loses their eighth game in row against El Camino College. Their record is now 5-21. They face Compton College next Thursday at home. Compton College have also lost their last 15 games.

Baseball

The Baseball team lost against Long Beach 6-1 yesterday. The team has only won one of their last five games, the record now stands at 13-19. The baseball team goes on the road to face Long Beach Thursday, Long Beach has won their last six out of nine games. The game starts at 2:30 p.m.

Badminton

The Badminton team lost their fifth straight game to San Diego City 21-0. The team is now 1-6, they will face Pasadena City College on Friday at home. The game will start at noon

Swimming and diving

Having more counselors available to students involved with the Umoja program is one of the goals for the future.

“From the president down to my dean, everyone has been pretty supportive,” Flores said.

The Swimming placed 12th place on April 7th at the Pasadena City College Invitational, the next competition is friday.

FOR THE COMMUNITY—Monica Thurston, chair of the Allied Health Department, waits patiently for a Zoom meeting. She uses Tuesdays on campus as her chance to meet face-to-face with students and faculty, unless there’s a campus-wide Zoom meeting.

CN/JUAN CALVILLO

CN/STEVEN ADAMO

RECOGNITION MATTERS—ELAC Men’s Basketball Coach John Mosley, ELAC Basketball player Jon Sanders, Umoja Coordinator Nicole Flores, ELAC Basketball player JT Langston receive awards during a “Porch Talk” event in February.