OPINIONS Breaking the silence on domestic violence
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Volume 75, Issue 19
NEWS
SPORTS
Social Sciences Department hosts open house
Badminton team loses third time to Pasadena
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New courses, equipment to advance Engineering Department
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
BY STEVEN ADAMO Staff Writer The Engineering Department is currently developing an advanced manufacturing course that will provide students with the skills required to become highly competitive in the workforce. “Advanced manufacturing is using current technology to its fullest,” Kamyar Khashayar, assistant professor and director of the Engineering Department, said. “What has changed is we have new technology to manufacture things.” The East Los Angeles College lab is equipped with laser scanners that can scan anything from small objects to people, to large objects like the wing of an airplane. “Southern California is the motherland for aerospace. 67 percent of all fasteners, rivets, bolts and nuts used in the aerospace industry in the world is manufactured in Southern California,” Khashayar said. In 2014, the International Space Station (ISS) installed their first 3D printer in space, which allowed technicians to send files from Earth to be printed in space. The first object printed in space was a wrench. It took a week to design and to be approved by NASA. After being sent to the ISS, it took only four hours to make. According to Khashayar, the time it takes to 3D print depends on the number of components and the density of the required part. If thousands of parts need to be printed, an aluminum mold is required. If only a few are needed, then a silicon mold is used. Though the print time varies, both methods take less time compared to traditional methods.
TECH Continued on page 3
PHOTO BY IVAN CAZARES / GRAPHIC DESIGN BY STEVEN ADAMO
South Gate campus replacement on hold BY IVAN CAZARES Staff Writer East Los Angeles College’s plans to replace the South Gate Educational Center with a new facility is in limbo according to Evelyn Escatiola, the South Gate campus’ Dean of Academic Affairs. A ribbon cutting ceremony scheduled in February to mark the start of construction was postponed until April, and is now postponed indefinitely. Escatiola said the Los Angeles Community College District has not given a reason as to why the project was postponed once again. She also said ELAC’s
administration will be demanding answers in upcoming LACCD board of trustees meetings. The project started when ELAC purchased a former Firestone tire factory located across the street from the current South Gate campus in 2009. ELAC’s original plan was to convert the former Firestone facilities into a campus. However, the California Department of Toxic Substance Control determined that residual petroleum hydrocarbons made the building unsafe to occupy. To address the issue, ELAC decided to demolish the building and replace it instead of
retrofitting it. “It’s not uncommon to build on sites with some contamination. It’s hard to come by clean land in an industrial area like Los Angeles,” Efrem Nuewirth, DTSC toxicologist, said. Nuewirth and project manager Chand Sultana said it’s safe to build a campus on the site if appropriate measures are taken. In addition to soil removal, a vapor barrier would have to be placed under the floor to protect occupants from vapors found trapped in the Firestone facilities’ basement. The site spans 18.5 acres and the three contaminated areas
are estimated to be the size of residential swimming pools. To remove the contaminated soil, the contaminated areas will have to be excavated three-feet deep. The soil would then have to be disposed at a state-permitted facility. The DTSC will also have to conduct further testing after the excavation is complete. However, the demolition of the Firestone facilities, which were scheduled to be demolished in fall 2016, are still standing. Soil containing arsenic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons has already been removed from different areas on site.
In an interview from 2014, ELAC President Marvin Martinez said the project would be completed in 2019. However, it is unclear what the current timeline for the project is. Recently elected South Gate city council member and ELAC dean Alfonso Rios said the new campus has the potential to become the tenth college in LACCD. Rios worked at the South Gate campus for 16 years, and is an advocate for higher education in the southeast region. Rios said he will champion the development of the new South Gate campus as an elected official. “I’m loyal to ELAC. However, I
believe every community deserves its own community college.” Rios called the future South Gate facility a diamond in the rough that will help the city in its efforts to revitalize the surrounding area. The DTSC is not in charge of setting the timeline. However, Sultana will be taking comments and concerns about the cleanup efforts until May 1. She can be contacted at (818) 717-6552 or chand.sultana@dtsc. ca.gov. For questions, the public can contact Public Participation Specialist Zenzi Poindexter at (818) 717-6568 or zenzi.poindexter@ dtsc.ca.gov.
Transfer conference encourages student success BY SERGIO BARRUETA Staff Writer The South Gate Educational Center presented an inaugural Student Success Conference over the weekend to inform students on the know-how of transferring. Held by the Student Success Committee, the conference also focused on what it takes to become a successful student and how to accomplish educational goals. The conference featured a collection of questions and answers sessions, panels and workshops to inform students on the different services East Los Angeles College provides, including information on
News Briefs
transferring to the University of California and the California State University systems. SSC members and ELAC professors Leonard Melchor and Maria Quintero encouraged attendees to talk about their current majors and educational goals. “We encourage all students to get to know each other. You all see one another passing by in the hallway, but here, we want you to talk to your fellow student and share your experiences,” Melchor said. Deans Evelyn Escatiola and Ming-Huei Lam were in attendance overseeing the event. Escatiola explained the goal
of carrying the importance of After the presentation, three continuing higher education. students led a panel to discuss their “We are striving to have a strong journey at ELAC so far, as well as culture of transfers, certifications the next steps toward the future. and AA degrees. We are hoping to Led by student Francisco make this an annual Chavoya, the event,” Escatiola panel gave “I was not aware p e r s p e c t i v e s said. She also shared at the time of the on their time at the same sentiment ELAC, as well services given with Melchor and as their hopes to Quintero by giving because I did not transfer. some advice to the Student Javier know if they were Lopez spoke at the audience. available to me.” panel about being “The more people you know, the more undocumented JAVIER LOPEZ successful you are and the personal Student in school,” Escatoia obstacles he’s said. faced.
Student recital The Music Department is presenting a student recital at noon today in the S2 Recital Hall. Admission is free and free parking is available in Parking Structure 4. For more info, call: (323) 2658894.
He talked about his struggles making money and saving it so he could pay tuition. “I remember I went up to the admissions desk with $800 in hand, and the person looked at me saying ‘You know, there are fee waivers for this.’ “I was not aware at the time of the services given because I did not know if they were available to me,” Lopez said. He realized, he said, that the obstacles he encountered were also shared by others. Students Jasmine Perez and Bianca Lopez also spoke during the panel to share their stories. Perez talked about a club she joined that has helped her make
connections with others. “I came and I wanted to join a club and was surprised to find a bible club. I was like ‘What? That’s a thing?’ and joined immediately,” Perez said. “I’ve been with them for a long time now.” Perez’ mother told her to go back to school after her own story. Her mother went back to ELAC to work on her goal she set aside after having Perez at a young age. “I cannot wait until next year when I graduate because me and my mom will be walking down together,” Perez said. The panel ended with pieces of advice from each of the panel members as encouragement.
Free movie screening
Correction on Sports Briefs
The East Los Angeles Women’s Center and East Los Angeles College’s SAAVE Team are hosting a free screening of “The Hunting Ground” on Tuesday in F5-201 at 12:15 p.m. and 6 p.m. in S2 Recital Hall.
The Track and Field information reported in last week’s Huskies Sports Briefs was inaccurate. The information was from 2016.