Volume 71, Issue 15
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Wednesday, March 12, 2014
www.elaccampusnews.com
Black History Continuum celebrates cultural heritage CYNTHIA LAGUNA Staff Writer
CN/Jesus Figueroa
CULTURAL DANCE—Viver Brazil dancer Nagodé Simpson, center, and other dancers perform joyfully to “Samba no Pé” at “The Black History Continuuum” last Thursday in the S2 Recital Hall.
The Black History Continuum at East Los Angeles College spread the message of unity and love through a mixture of various arts in the S2 Recital Hall last Thursday. The event, which was named “A Mirror at the Crossroads of the Americas,” involved spoken word, music, dance, visual arts and poetry to convey impactful messages that Africans have made across the Americas. Viver Brasil sang the song “Samba no Pé” accompanied by dancers and live music. They mixed together dances of samba driven by African drums, guitar, trumpet, and other instruments. The audience was captivated by the dancers vibes, making it hard to not dance along. “Samba no Pé” was definitely the performance of the night as it indulged the audience to dance and clap along. The message that the music carried moved people so much that some began tearing up and others stood and clapped. John Zamora, 11, was among a group of students from Fourth Street Elementary School invited to the performance. Zamora compared the event to cooking. “It’s like mixing everything together: the stories, the music, and the dancing are all mixed into a big performance,” Zamora said. The JazzAntiqua Dance and Music Ensemble provided a dance and musical performance, which brought diversity to the night’s performances. JazzAntiqua blended jazz and blues to emphasize the importance of both genres in the AfricanAmerican cultural history. The audience was moved and driven by the music as they clapped along. “It is a gift for us to have this
program in the community,” of who they really are culturally audience member Rocio Fernandez and this performance reminds said. and pushes the audience to help She also said that it’s wonderful our cultural traditions to continue to be able to bring different cultures being passed from generations together with the use of their own to generations. cultural performances and arts. Brandon beautifully sang Dancer Laila Abdullah danced with such emotion that made the a piece called audience feel “Vessel’s Journey” and understand along with a the meaning of drumming beat by the lyrics. Both John Beatty with songs have been We are all connected dialogue by ELAC sung throughout by a common Dance instructor different times in language, the Wanda-Lee Evans, history to comfort language of love. the director of the people in times of event. John Beatty, great difficulty and The noise of struggle. Drummer the drums gave The variety out powerful, of cultural yet emotional performances vibrations that were expressed and arts, show how people are through the smooth and swift and continue to be influenced by movements of the dancer. Africans. “We are all connected by a Evans and J. Edward Stevenson common language, the language of were masters of ceremony for the love,” Beaty said. event. They explained how the “ T h r o u g h t h e D i a s p o r a , ” program included a collection of performed by Abdullah and Beatty visual arts. on the drums, is a dance dealing with Evans said that “we are all the struggle of a group or groups mirrors” that reflect each other and of people forced to leave their all cultures melting together. homeland. Abdullah performed a In the lobby, as the audience traditional African dance with a waited to be let into the Recital background story of adaptation for Hall, they were able to look at people who had to leave a place photos of people such as Dr. Martin they call home and migrate for a Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, better future. Harriet Tubman and Muhammad Ali Vocalist Phillip Brandon sang the along with many others who have well known protest song “We Shall influenced African-Americans in a Overcome.” The song became the positive way. anthem of the African-American Volunteer Keny Long was a Civil Rights Movement in 1960 dance instructor for 40 years and when Guy Carawan stepped up to has been a part of these event for sing this song at Highlander Folk Black History Month for several School, which focused on non- years now. He taught a mixture of violent civil rights activism. different dances and emphasizes B r a n d o n f o l l o w s u p t h a t that the “purpose and goal is to show performance by singing, “Make how the African influence is very T h e m H e a r Yo u ” f r o m t h e strong,” Long said. musical “Ragtime.” Many young people lose sense SEE PHOTO ESSAY on page 6
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Students urged to submit graduation petition early DIEGO OLIVARES Staff Writer The deadline for submitting graduation petitions for East Los Angeles College students to have their names on the commencement ceremony program is quickly approaching. “I feel the petition lets the student know what courses they need to take to graduate,” ELAC counselor Kirk-Ken Mihara said. It is recommended for students to see a counselor to keep track of their progress at ELAC. “I do hope students come in to see a counselor at least once a semester to make sure that they are on target for their academic goal,” Mihara said. Although graduation petitions can be submitted from Feb. 17 to June 6, the deadline for having a graduating student’s name added to the commencement ceremony program is March 28. Students have two ways of getting the graduation petition – schedule a meeting with a counselor or download a copy from the ELAC website. The student fills out the petition with a counselor ’s aid. The counselor ensures the student is not missing any requirements.
News Briefs
The petition must be completed during the student’s intended final semester. Financial holds must be cleared before submission of a petition. Students must have met requirements for an associates degree. Requirements include satisfactory completion of reading, writing and math courses as well as classes for their majors. “You have to go though the general education and major requirements,” Counselor Keith Hayashi said. When the graduation petition is completed, it must turned into the admission office before the deadline. An evaluation technician will look over the graduation petition once submitted. The evaluation process takes six to eight weeks. The results are one of two outcomes. The first is that the student is eligible for graduation. As a result, the student will not receive additional notices from the evaluation technician. The second is that the student is deemed ineligible to graduate. This is usually due to lack of courses and/or units needed to graduate. The student will not be allowed to graduate until the courses and/or units are completed.
Writing Center
CN/Desiree Lopez
MEMORIES—A group of women and instructors speak on the topic of segregation and a landmark case on March 4 in the S2
Recital Hall.
Women share stories of segregation MAEGAN ORTIZ Staff Writer Recipient of the 2011 Medal of Freedom Sylvia Mendez and other women involved in a landmark segregation case spoke about the importance of community action on March 4. The event gave the history and personal accounts of the struggle against segregation of Mexican Americans in the Orange County public school system. Speaking at ELAC was a homecoming to Mendez, having taken classes at ELAC in 1975. She was only a child when the case was decided, but she remembers her mother from her deathbed telling her
East Los Angeles College students have more than just the library available for their printing needs. The Writing Center opens at 7 a.m. and has computers available for typing and printing as long as students show their school ID.
that no one knows about this case. Mendez’s father was one of the plaintiffs in the 1946 Mendez, et al v. Westminster case. Mendez noted that her younger sister only learned about the case in a Chicano/a Studies class. She recalled as a child wanting to attend the white school because they had a better playground complete with monkey bars. When she was finally able to play, she remembers being confronted by a white student who told her, “You’re a Mexican. You don’t even belong here. You shouldn’t even be in this school.” Mendez did not want to return to school but did at the urging of her mother.
Kick Butts Day
“My mother said, ‘don’t you know what is happening? We have been fighting for you and for all the children, so that you can all have a good education,’” Mendez remembered. Mendez continues that legacy. “I am here to encourage you to stay in school, to persevere and to keep on working for your goals, “ Mendez said. “If our parents could make change, then so can you,” Mendez said. The case is important because it pre-dates the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision which overturned the legal segregation of children by race in the United States.
East Los Angeles College’s Respiratory Therapy Department collaborates with the Tobacco-Free Kids organization to organize “Kick Butts Day.” The event takes place from 10 a.m. to noon and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the free speech area by the P3 parking structure.
Nadine Bermudez, assistant professor of Chicano/a Studies, opened the event by giving a brief overview of the 1946 case. Mexican and Mexican-American parents sued the school district over their children attending segregated schools. The focus of the presentation was less on the court case itself and more about the community of women who banded together. The Mendez 1946 case names five families – Estrada, Guzman, Mendez, Palomino and Ramirez – but it was a class action lawsuit which represented 5,000 families. “They did not have Twitter or Facebook so they pulled from their
WOMEN Continued on page 3
UC Davis workshop
A representative from the University of California, Davis will be on campus today in room E1-189 from noon to 1:30 p.m. to discuss with ELAC students about transferring to UC Davis.