Volume 72, Issue 16
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Wednesday, March 25, 2015
www.elaccampusnews.com
COURTESY OF MARIO VILLEGAS
Elans welcome women’s basketball legend president for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and president of the Staff Writer NBA’s Phoenix Suns. For her, success didn’t come Former University of California, Los Angeles women’s basketball easy. She explains that through standout Ann Meyers Drysdale her book “You Let Some Girl Beat shared her impact and success in You?” Her book is about hope and women’s basketball for Women’s facing adversity struggles. “People are going to tell you History Month. you can’t do anything, but if you Drysdale was the first woman have a dream, you can accomplish player drafted by the Women’s Professional Basketball League anything,” Drysdale said. “Don’t (WPBL) in 1978 to the New Jersey let what you can’t do interfere with Gems. Playing for the Gems, what you can.” Growing up in the 50s and 60s, Drysdale was the WPBL Co-MVP parents didn’t always support their for the 1979–1980 season. She also became the first and only daughters in sports, Drysdale’s woman to be considered for the parents supported their kids. Her parents National Basketball were very Association (NBA). supportive of In 1980, Drysdale their daughters made NBA history “People are going playing sports when she received a call to try out to tell you you can’t just as their sons with NBA’s Indiana do anything, but if did. D r y s d a l e ’s Pacers. you have a dream, father enjoyed She participated in three-day tryouts you can accomplish p l a y i n g basketball, which for the team, as the anything.” encouraged first woman for the Drysdale and NBA. ANN MEYERS DRYSDALE her siblings to Although she Keynote Speaker play. Her father did not make the played basketball final squad, she professionally in had the opportunity to be a sports commentator for the team where Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Although her family was into few women were in sportscasting. Drysdale opened the way for sports, her parents never favored women in the basketball industry sports over education. Her family believed in staying where women were not easily busy. Whether it was with sports, accepted. She was also the first female chores or studies. Her parents believed in hard player to be part of the U.S. national work and dedication. team while still in high school and “For me, sports was a great outlet continued to be a standout player for my family,” Drysdales said. at the professional level. Most of her life, she played on “There was a lot of competition.” Coming from a family of six teams with all boys where people brothers and five sisters, Drysdale criticized her for her short hair and appreciates the competitiveness in athletic skills. “I was teased, but it actually the household because it helped made me a stronger person,” her to become a strong and eager person. Drysdale said. “With my family’s support and Coming from a large family, her parents could barely afford her criticism, they got me where I am today,” Drysdale said. education. In 1986, she married former Los According to Drysdale, she was Angeles Dodger Baseball Hall of lucky to come across a scholarship opportunity that made history and Fame pitcher Don Drysdale, where they became the first married paid for her dreams. Drysdale was the first woman to couple who were members of their ever earn a full athletic scholarship respective sports’ Halls of Fame. to a division one school, UCLA where she won a championship. DRYSDALE Continued on page 4 Drysdale currently serves as the
BY AMBER PARAMO
Campus cadets distracted on the job BY JESUS FIGUEROA Staff Writer East Los Angeles College’s campus cadets are supposed to help sheriffs, but fall short of doing their jobs because of their distractions. As student workers, should cadets be paid for doing their homework or having conversations with friends? As students pass info booths they can see cadets doing their homework, talking with fellow cadets, goofing off with students or having conversations with friends who sit down by the booth to talk sports or other topics. Communication Officer Alejandro Guzman said that cadets aren’t supposed to be held to the same standards as sheriff’s deputies are because they do not have the same experience. Cadets are student workers who are training to be in law enforcement. Cadets are in charge of simple tasks such as answering phones, dispatching cadets and deputies, opening locked classrooms and attending the information booths around campus. Sheriff deputy Alberto Romero said there are 24 cadets, at the moment, on campus with 13 more to be added by the end of the semester, although he also said there is more need for cadets at the beginning of the semester. “Their main roles are to help out students,” Romero said. “By transporting disabled students, opening doors, providing information for students and being our (the sheriff’s department) eyes and ears, like any other faculty or staff.”
News Briefs
With 24 cadets on staff, it is surprising to have seen the main information booth at the administration building left unattended for more than 15 minutes midday, during what is one of the heaviest student traffic times. “It might have been while shifts are being switched,” Romero said. Shift changes during heavy student traffic can potentially lead to longer response times to incidents. “The response times should be only a few minutes, two-to-three minutes,” Romero said. Some wait times for rooms to be opened can be as long as 30 minutes. Journalism professor Jean Stapleton waited for cadets to open the door to her office for more than an hour, but what was most alarming was that when the sheriff station was called, the cadet put her on hold before finding out what the problem was. “They didn’t even ask what the problem was before putting me on hold,” Stapleton said. Romero said that cadets are trained to answer the phones and dispatch personnel to handle any situation. If a cadet puts anyone on hold, it is because they are busy with an urgent situation. On one of the hottest days, Campus News ad manager Stefanie Arocha spent 45 minutes stuck in the stairwell of the E-7 Technology Building. “What upset me the most was that the cadet who took my call was taking the situation very lightly and kind of making fun of it,” Arocha said.
Milestone deadline
The deadline for Milestone magazine submissions is April 15. Student work can be submitted at milestone.submittable.com.
While she waited for the cadets to open the door, she went up and down the stairwell banging on the doors, trying to get anyone’s attention. She was finally let out by a student that heard her pounding on the door. “My concern is, what if it was an elderly person? Luckily, I have the sheriffs number, because I call them to open the door often, but elderly people could have had a serious problem,” Arocha said. Two semesters ago, a rough situation at the writing center occurred where attendants were unable to report due to phones being in plain view of the hostile person. It was made worse by the response time being more than 15 minutes. Due to the situation, a panic button was installed for any future problems. “It all has to do with budget. We would love to have panic buttons and cameras, but it all has to be worked into the budget,” Romero said. There are three main prerequisites that Romero said need to be met before applying to be a cadet — be 18 years old or older, have a driver’s license and be a full-time student. After the application process and background check, cadets go through a one week training. “Once hired we have an academy. It’s a one-week academy here on campus where we go over scenarios and we inform cadets of their roles,” Romero said. “I think we are one of the only campuses that are doing that. I think that our cadets are trained very well. We have very good cadets.”
Health Fair
A Health and Information Fair will be held April 15 between the S2 and P2 buildings at noon. For more information, call (323) 265-8896.
Next issue of Campus News
Due to upcoming holidays, the next issue of Campus News will be available on April 15. For updates, go to elaccampusnews.com.
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Opinion
EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015
EDITOR IN CHIEF Jade Inglada MANAGING EDITOR Jesus Figueroa ONLINE EDITORS Darlene Galvan, Andrew Ruiz, Danny Vasquez ART DIRECTOR Lindsey Maeda FRONT EDITOR Julianne Obregon OPINION EDITOR Rogelio Alvarez Cortez Cruz Serrato NEWS EDITOR Marcus Camacho FEATURE EDITOR Megan G. Razzetti
ARTS EDITOR Stephanie Garibay SPORTS EDITORS George Maldonado Bryce T. Ronquillo PHOTO EDITOR Alexa Santana
Students ill-informed about campus events BY JOSHUA INGLADA Staff Writer Rows of fliers about the Kyoto and Paris transfer programs are stuck to the outdoor classrooms of the C1 area. Many of them are days old. Several events take place on campus to entertain and spread information for students. However, it would seem that not all of the information is reaching their ears. This is a disappointing issue that should be fixed. Most students gain their information for upcoming events either from reading fliers posted around or from their teachers. A recent update to ELAC’s
website lists ongoing and upcoming events on the left sidebar. The list is easy to read, but students aren’t taking the time to check it. Procrastination is hurting their chances in attending events. ELAC student Michael Rojas said that flyers are usually posted for specific departments only where that department is located. Only students with classes in that specific area would know what was happening, limiting the information spread. Creating a mass calendar to be displayed on campus would be one way to inform students about what is going on that month. They would get to know about social and athletic events along with the times
TAP card is best option for commuters BY MARCUS CAMACHO Staff Writer The Transit Access Pass (TAP) card is the better option for students who find riding multiple buses or trains expensive and are wondering if there’s a better way to save money. TAP is a card that people can deposit money into and use whenever they board buses or trains. Los Angeles transit buses and trains accept them. The cost of the card is $1. When first bought in addition to the value desired on the card. People can deposit $1.75, $5, $10, $20, $40, $80 or $100. There are many vending kiosks to add value, but they are found at stations and train stops. The downside of the TAP card is finding a TAP vending machine to load the money onto the card if you do not live next to a train station. The nearest TAP card vending kiosk is at the Atlantic Station on Atlantic and Pomona Blvd. Students can load the card by calling 1-866-TAPTOGO or visiting the website. When adding value to the TAP card online, it can take up to two to three weeks to get the money on the card. Card users are allowed to transfer an unlimited number of times from one Metro bus or rail-line to another within the two-hour time period. Card users tap their cards at each boarding. The system will recognize if the student is within the two-hour transfer window. The TAP card is helpful because
with the addition of the two-hour transfer, students are able to take multiple buses or trains to school and back home for one fare. The card contains state of the art smart chip technology designed to improve the transit experience. During a three-day event at Universal Studios, I had to take a total of eight trains and six buses. It took one bus and two trains to get there and a ride from friends coming back on two of the days. Without a TAP card someone can spend as much as $24.50 on the trip with a ride back, but with a TAP card that person spends only $10.50. The TAP card is a great way to pay for a bus fare because students can load as much money as they want and not have to worry about handling coins. Another great thing about having a TAP card is students don’t have to worry about having exact change. The TAP card and the two-hour transfer are great tools to help students save money. Every morning before school, I would have to go to 7-11 and would be forced to buy something to get change. TAP cards are like debit cards because students can deposit a certain amount of money and can’t be overdrawn. It can be a hassle to look for a TAP card vending machine, but the TAP card is worth the hassle. Students that feel they are wasting money on transportation to get to school should get a TAP card. For more information on the TAP card, go to taptogo.net and metro.net.
of club meetings. Students pass by the E7 building everyday. Having a flier there for an event would get attention, but both the front entrance and lobby have few if any. The message-boards around campus are ideal places to attach fliers. However, some of these message-boards are placed in spots where reading the information is difficult. The one near Parking Structure 3, in front of the swim stadium, is facing the sun for most of the day, making it difficult to read in the afternoon. Even with sunglasses on, the highest part of the board cannot be read without getting blinded. Students would have to rip fliers
down if they wanted to read them. The message-board near the C buildings have papers that showed nothing about next week’s upcoming events. The path leading to the Transit Center behind the G8 and H8 buildings barely have any advertisements. Student could read fliers along while they make their way to or from class. If a message-board was placed next to the shuttle area, students can have something to see while waiting. They will be more aware of what is happening the next day instead of playing with their phones or earbuds while waiting. Bad advertising placement plays
CAMPUS
VOICE
a part in students not having a clue about what their school is up to. Putting fliers or setting a stand up in an area where few people will see them means a small audience It’s clear that students need to make more of an effort to review what events are happening, but the ones in charge of the events need to do more to get the word out. Campus events need to get more promotion so that students will get more out of their education. Higher education shouldn’t feel like a part-time job that a student can’t wait to get home from. Part of having a college experience is getting to indulge in club activities and knowing more about what is being offered improves the college experience.
How do you stay updated on events here at ELAC?
“Usually, I get my information from teachers. If the teachers don’t have an answer, then I’Il go to my counselor.” MARLENE JIMENEZ
“I’ll go to the website elac.edu and the emails that they send out are pretty helpful.” DIEGO MONTES
“Most of the time I go to the website or if I’m on the campus then I will go to the library or to my teachers.” ALEXANDRA RENTERIA
www.ELACCampusNews.com
COPY EDITORS Ivan Cazares, Jesus Figueroa, Kristen Garcia, Joshua Inglada CARTOONIST Anthony Bosque STAFF WRITERS Carlos Alvarez, Cardling Del Real, Maria Isidoro, Gil Milanes, Joseph Ovalle, Amber Paramo, Jose Rojas, Juan Ramirez STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Jesus Figueroa, Tadzio Garcia, Roderick Justin Quebral, Julianne Obregon, Danny Vasquez VIDEOGRAPHERS Bianca Garcia, Stephanie Guevara PODCASTERS Genesis Aguilar, Jesus Figueroa SOCIAL MEDIA Sreethe Ruma ADVERTISING Stefanie Arocha DISTRIBUTION Jesus Figueroa ADVISERS Jean Stapleton Sylvia Rico-Sanchez
Campus News encourages letters to the editor relating to campus issues. Letters must be typed and double spaced. Submitted material becomes the proper ty of Campus News and cannot be returned. Letters should be limited to 250 words or less. Campus News reserves the right to edit letters for grammatical errors or libelous content. A n o ny m o u s l e t te r s w i l l n o t be printed. Writer s must sign submissions and print their names and a phone number where they can be reached. Letters should be addressed to the editor of Campus News. Submissions can be made at the mailroom in building E1 or the Journalism department office in the Technology Center in E7-303. East Los Angeles College Campus News 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez E7-303 Monterey Park, CA 91754 (323) 265-8819, Ads (323) 265-8821 Fax (323) 415-4910 The East Los Angeles College Campus News is published as a learning experience, of fered under the East Los Angeles College Journalism program. The editorial and advertising materials are free from prior restraint by virtue of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The opinions expressed are exclusively those of the writer. Accordingly, materials published herein, including any opinions expressed, should not be interpreted as the position of the Los Angeles Community College District, East Los Angeles College, or any officer or employee thereof. PRINTING BY NEWS PUBLISHERS PRESS
Arts
EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015
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‘Much Ado About Nothing’ charms audience BY STEPHANIE GARIBAY Staff Writer
CN/JESUS FIGUEROA
The Theatre Arts Department recreates William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” with a new setting-Messina, Southern California 1943. The performers do a wonderful job bringing comedy, drama and some suspense to the stage. If audience members aren’t familiar with the play, it will be hard to catch on to some of the jokes, because of this, most of the audience’s laughter starts in the beginning of the second act. The play centers around four main characters-Captain Benedick, played by Mario Arciniega, Beatrice, played by Cassandra Gutierrez, Hero, played by Raquel Ariela Marquez and Captain Claudio, played by Eugene Aragon. The first scene starts off with a Western Union Telegram Messenger, played by Brandon Chang. Chang adds some charm and funniness to the play, by constantly grinning with each line. He brings news to Leonato, the governor of Messina, played by Martin Rascon, of Major Don Pedro’s return after a successful battle. Don Pedro, played by Robert C. Arriaga, is the prince of Aragon. Arriaga has a natrual comedic air about him. Even when it isn’t intentional, the audience members find themselves laughing. Arriaga, a heavy-set guy, constantly pats his belly after every joke as if to poke fun at his weight. This adds more to the hilarity of the jokes themselves. The announcement includes Captain Claudio, one of Don Pedro’s soldiers, which excites Hero, Leonato’s only daughter. She jumps up from her seat with a huge smile on her face at the sound of his name. Marquez perfectly portrays the typical 1940s naive girl who does anything to get married. Her mother Imogen, played by Estella Cazal, quickly sits her back down as if to calm her excitement down. Cazal does a decent job portraying Hero’s mother. She has a white stripe going across the middle of her hair to show her age. Although some of her lines do not sound believable, her facial expressions make up for it. Beatrice, Hero’s cousin, who opposes getting married, sarcastically asks the messenger about Captain Benedict, who also opposes getting married. The messenger tells Beatrice he is a good soldier, but Beatrice does not care. She bickers and complains about Benedick, even going as far to put on a suit of armor to mimic him. Although Beatrice and Benedick never met, the bickering in their relationship already begins to play out.
The messenger tells Beatrice he can tell the gentleman is not in her books and Beatrice sarcastically responds with a no and, if he were, she would burn her study. Gutierrez steals the show with her sarcastic biterness and portrayal of Beatrice, who is not the typical 1940s girl. Her demeanor is perfect, she walks and acts almost like a boy to show her character doesn’t care for others opinions including finding a man.Which is completely opposite to most women in the 40s. She even wears a pants, while all the other girls wear cute pin-up style dresses. Soon after, Don Pedro and his soldiers arrive to Messina, where he meets Leonato and his family. Claudio spots Hero and quickly falls in love with her. Benedick and Beatrice finally meet for the first time and it’s exactly as everyone imagined it would be, non-stop bickering. Leonato invites Don Pedro and his soldiers to stay at his house for a month, to which they agree. Claudio professes his love for Hero to Benedick and announces his plans to marry her. Don Pedro interrupts their conversation and promises Claudio to help him in his goal to marry Hero. The rest of the play revolves around Don Pedro and his soldiers’ stay with Leonato and his family and the plans of Hero and Claudio’s wedding. Marquez and Aragon perfectly portray their role as Hero and Claudio, considering this is both their first plays. When Aragon stutters some lines and Marquez trips walking down the stairs, they both play it off perfectly as if it were part of their role. Although Hero and Claudio were the main characters, Beatrice and Benedick steal the show with their hilarious bickering. Most of the audience’s laughter come from Beatrice and Benedick and their hate for each other, although the ending is surprising. Kelley Hogan, director of the play, does a wonderful job adapting this play into Southern California World War II. The set, which revolves mostly around Leonato’s estate, including a Victorian-style building, which looked similar to an Italian home. The background is a fluorescent pink in the beginning and changes colors throughout the play according to the time of day. One musical performance is included in the play. The performance has nice choreography and really brings the 1940s pin-up style to life. Although the dance moves are perfect with the setting of the whole play, some of the dancers look like they did not enjoy the performance. With no smile on their faces, they look as if their mother forced them to do this performance. The play was close to three hours long with a 10-minute intermission. Performances run Friday-Sunday until March 29.
ELAC hosts interactive anime puzzle game
Americans eat 100 acres of pizza each day. That’s 2,400 pizzas a minute. 350 slices a second. Delicious. Learn even more earning a bachelor’s degree from National University. Online. On campus. Non-profit. Don’t think you have time to learn something new? You just did.
Staff Writer It was a fight for survival as hundreds of players attempted to solve their way out of Weingart Stadium on Saturday to “Escape from the Walled City.” The game revolved around a scenario based off the anime “Attack on Titan.” The stadium acted as a small barrier town between the next section of the Walled City and the incoming Titans, giant humanoid monsters who have put mankind on the brink of extinction. Players in the stadium only had an hour to use clues and puzzles to escape before the Titans attack. Anyone left behind when the time is up “dies,” and is eaten by Titans. “Escape from the Walled City” was based off the original version of the Real Escape Game, which follows a similar format. This format incorporates the theme of “Attack on Titan” to create anime-related puzzles and encourages players to dress up as their favorite characters from the series. The game was broken into three stages, and players could only pass on to the next phase by collecting clues to solve the puzzles given to them. Players had an hour to solve the puzzles to escape the stadium and survive the scenario. The game attracted East Los Angeles College students and
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people from around the Los Angeles area of all age groups. The game was held three times at 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The second game of the day sold out with about 600 people in attendance. This is the first time REG has held an event in LA. Despite the high number of participants, the number of winners was drastically low, with less than 10 percent managing to beat the game and escape. The first leg of the “Attack on Titan” game tour was in San Francisco, California on Feb. 1 where 5,000 people participated. Not all of the clues were easy to uncover, and the puzzles, while few, were time consuming and required plenty of thought. It
ELAC
Raise Awereness about Sexual Violance On April 29, 2015
DAY
And the SAAVE Reasourse Fair From 10am to 2pm by the Nursing Building
DENIM
Los Angeles Campus 5245 Pacific Concourse Drive (310) 662-2000
© 2015 National University NU15_2077
BY JADE INGLADA
www.ELACCampusNews.com
Between G-9 & H-9
Wear Denim!
makes sense why working in teams is recommended to play. There were some drawbacks to the experience, and one happened right at the beginning of the game. Some instructions from the staff were not explained clearly enough, and caused confusion among the players. The instructions needed to be expressed well before the game started especially so the limited amount of time wouldnt be wasted Although not all of the winners received prizes, they left with the satisfaction of beating a complicated challenge and knowing they escaped. A raffle was held at the end of the game for a chance to win “Attack on Titan” merchandise. REG is an interactive puzzle game created by SCRAP Entertainment, and has been traveling around the world to various countries since 2007. The final stop of the “Escape the Walled City” U.S. tour will be at Richmond County Bank Ballpark in New York on April 11.
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FEATURE
Drysdale: Athlete inspires students through stories
EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015
Starting five reflect on season BY JESUS FIGUEROA Staff Writer The men's basketball championship starting five led the 13-seed team to the state championship game. The Huskies lost the California Community College Athletic Association championship game against Saddleback College 50-47. As a low seed going in, expectations for East Los Angeles College were low. "It was win or go home," sophomore guard Je'Ron Primus said. Each player had their ups and downs on the season and stepped-up their game through the playoffs. "All the guys (on the team) play with a chip on their shoulder. They came out with something to prove. It's my job to give them a template and they do it," head coach John Mosley said.
Continued from page 1
“It’s the courage that counts. Shake off the haters, shake off the negativity,” Drysdale said. One of the hardest obstacles Drysdale encouraged the Drysdale faced was the death of her audience to show support husband in 1993 after he suffered for each other. a heart attack. She became a “The support that we give single mother raising a 5-year-old, each other 3-year-old and helps... say hi to 3-month-old. strangers, give Drysdale she “The support that compliments. congratulated we give each other When you make E L A C ’s M e n helps... say hi to someone else a n d Wo m e n strangers, give feel good it basketball teams makes you feel compliments. When and coaches for their success this you make someone else good,” Drysdale said. past season. feel good it Opportunity D r y s d a l e ’s makes you feel is something success story good.” that Drysdale motivated cherishes and a u d i e n c e ANNE MEYERS DRYSDALE she has donated members, Keynote Speaker two of her books including to the Helen ELAC’s team Miller Bailey players, to do Library, so ELAC students have a better and not give up. opportunity to read her book. “Ann’s speech encouraged This allowed students me to do better for next season. to not only learn more Everything is a learning about her story, but also how she experience,” ELAC freshman got there and overcame her guard Vianey Chavez said. struggles. D r y s d a l e u s e d Ta y l o r ELAC’s Women’s Studies Swift’s song “Shake it Off” Committee organized the as an example to shake off motivational talk with Drysdale the negativity that while the Kinesiology Club may be holding you sponsored it. back from achieving goals.
Championship starting five:
Michael Cardenas Sophomore gaurd
Stats: GP 32
GS 20
Stats: GP 33
GS 33
PCT 52.7
PPG 17.5
PCT 52.9
PPG 17.5
1
Stats:
Marcus Romain Sophomore gaurd
3
Je’Ron Primus Sophomore gaurd
2
Stats:
Stats:
GP 33
GS 33
GP 33
GS 33
GP 33
GS 17
PCT 52.7
PPG 17.5
PCT 31.8
PPG 8.5
PCT 46.3
PPG 11.6
Primitivo Gomez Sophomore forward
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33
Marquis Salmon Sophomore gaurd
35