Collegian LOS ANGELES
PANTAGES WELCOMES VOTERS Page5
The Voice of Los Angeles City College Since 1929
Wednesday, November 11, 2020 Volume 185 Number 4
REPORTERS NOTEBOOK
PANDEMICRESISTANCE
2020 ELECTIONS
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Vote Centers Bring New Culture to L.A. County
Voters Whittle Field to Decide District Board of Trustees
BY LOUIS WHITE
Nichelle M. Henderson defeats the competition including the incumbent, Scott Svonkin.
By now, we have all seen some sort of public service announcement that enticed us to vote. The emphasis was on the significance of every citizen’s singular vote. As Americans, we have perhaps taken the process for granted at times. By the time you read this, we will have all had an abject lesson on the importance of an accurate ballot count. It all starts with where and how you vote. In Los Angeles County, the voting center replaced the old polling places for the General Election. The L.A. County centers allow voters to cast their ballots early—before Election Day. Voters are no longer chained to their nearby musty neighborhood church storage rooms or the equipment room at the recreation center or elementary school auditorium. Los Angeles City College hosted one of the new state-of-the-art voting centers operated by a team of energetic volunteers. The center was located inside LACC’s Student Union, which is a glass and concrete asymmetric minimalist building on the south side of campus. This modernist space was the perfect facility that provided adequate space to social distance the volunteers, as well as the voters. The large pane glass walls, and high ceilings brought in plenty of light and easily handled a steady stream of the civic minded. From the outside, the bright yellow hood that shrouded the touch screens of what Los Angeles County calls its “Ballot Marking Device” could be seen through the large glass. Before entering the space, volunteers greeted voters at a large mobile banquet table covered with boxes of latex gloves, bottles of hand sanitizer, alcohol wipes and masks. The volunteers made sure everyone who entered the space understood the facility’s COVID-19 protocol, which of course required all who entered to wear a mask. Inside the voting center across from the rows of the yellow Ballot Marking Devices there were tables where volunteers sat masked, wearing face shields illuminated by the soft blue glow of the touchscreen tablet. They used the tablets to help with collection voting information, although the tables were still laden with the usual large ledgers that were always in sight at the old polling places of the past. The entire operation was much smoother and streamlined than the 20th century polling places. The team of volunteers functioned like a well-oiled machine. It was hard to believe this diverse group of people were volunteers and not some well-managed staff from a Fortune 500 company.
BY CASHIA KIRKSEY
PHOTO BY JUAN MENDOZA Thousands of people pour into the streets of Downtown Los Angeles on Election Day in and around Pershing Square on Nov. 3, 2020. They form a sea of masks, signs and flags, as they celebrate the victory of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-president elect Kamala Harris.
Residents Cast Ballots onCampus for Peaceof Mind East Hollywood residents found few lines at L.A. City College on Nov. 3at the vote center. BY JUAN MENDOZA Officials unlocked the doors exactly at 7 a.m. on Tuesday where a couple of people were waiting outside for a few minutes before the doors opened at the L.A. City College Vote Center. There was a chill in the morning air, and the early voters appeared excited because finally, the day had come. They were looking forward to the opportunity to exercise their right to vote. The current toxic political environment caused these early morning voters to doubt the mail-in ballot choice. “This is my first time to vote, and I just got my citizenship this year,” said John Cardona a new immigrant from the Philippines. “I’m really excited to practice my right as an American citizen. I care about
job security, and to end poverty. And after the election I would like to see more unity between people.” Voters would come and go all day at the Vote Center which was located in the Student Union Building. There was no waiting, no lines, no protestors nor anyone to harass voters. Everything moved in the right direction throughout the day. It was a different scene just a few months earlier at the election primaries in March. Voters waited in line for a least 20 to 30 minutes to cast their ballot. Not that long ago, voters were tied to a specific polling place according to their address. Because of The California Voter’s Choice Act that passed in 2016 voters can cast their ballot anywhere in L.A. County. “We have no lines and people are not waiting because the majority of voters sent
their ballot by mail or voted early,” said a poll worker who did not want to be identified. More than 100 million votes had already been cast by Nov. 3, according to the Washington Post. Election Day generated fear among some City College students like Daryl Jim Diaz who is working on a certificate in Elementary/Intermediate Japanese. He believes L.A. County wanted to protect the integrity of the election and didn’t want votes to be tampered with. “I’m nervous about election day,” Diaz said. “I am nervous that our current president will find a way to cheat the system. We know politics can be corrupt. He doesn’t want to give out a second stimulus check to the American people unless he is president again ... That says a lot.”
Biden-Harris Win Brings People to the Streets Spontaneous celebrations broke out in Downtown L.A. when it became clear the Biden-Harris ticket had prevailed. BY JUAN MENDOZA Thousands carried posters, placards and flags as they poured into Pershing Square in Downtown L.A. to celebrate the victory of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris last Saturday morning. Biden supporters appeared emotional. They sang and danced to the sound of drums that filled the air. They welcomed new leadership and the hope of a new administration.
More than 30 candidates competed for a spot on the seven-member Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) Board of Trustees. After serving three consecutive terms as the LACCD’s Board of Trustees president and representing Seat 5 since 2011, Scott Svonkin fell short of votes that would return him to the board. He piled up endorsements from a diverse field that included U.S. Congressman Ted Lieu, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn among others, according to Votersedge.org. LACCD Board of Trustees President Andra Hoffman maintains her position at Seat 1. David Vela and Mike Fong remain in their former seats. Vela holds Seat 3 and Fong, Seat 7. Nichelle M. Henderson joins the board of trustees, replacing Svonkin at Seat 5, which makes her the only Black member on the board. LACCD’s Board is made up of seven seats, each seat is assigned to an elected trustee member. Elections are held every two years. Four trustees are elected during one election, and three are elected the following election. Board members serve terms of four years. Presidents and vice presidents are elected to the board annually. Hoffman maintained her position as Seat 1 board member. She took the lead with 864,022 votes (53.95 percent). Hoffman is a native of Los Angeles, CA. She briefly attended Los Angeles Valley College. As a former LACCD student, Hoffman is no stranger to the needs of students in the Los Angeles area. Hoffman attended Antioch University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies. She also attended California State University, Northridge, where she earned a master’s degree in public administration. Hoffman was first elected as a member of LACCD’s Board of Trustees in 2015. She was elected
PHOTO BY JUAN MENDOZA
SEE “REPORTERS NOTEBOOK” PAGE 5
INDEX Opinion & Editorial
2-3
Masks do not hide the joy of supporters of President-elect Joe Biden as they celebrate in front of L.A. City Hall on Nov. 3, 2020. The scene downtown mirrors similar turnouts in cities across the nation.
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BY GERARDO DE LOS SANTOS
Features
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President-elect Joe Biden laid out a plan that included Americans wearing masks to combat the coronavirus earlier this week. It includes a 13-member board that will take the place of the current White House coronavirus task force. The plan will go into effect once Biden
Resources 7 Artists’ Canvas
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SEE “TRUSTEES” PAGE 6
President-elect Provides Blueprint Plan to Eradicate Coronavirus
Arts & Entertainment
News 6
SEE “BIDEN-HARRIS” PAGE 6
is sworn in as president on Jan. 20, 2021. Biden says there are more than 10 million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. now. “Infections are going up, hospitalizations going up, deaths are going up,” Biden said. President-elect Biden called this a “dark winter” that needs a ray of sunshine to break the winter storm. In his first speech since being named pres-
ident-elect, Biden said there is a need for bold action. His COVID-19 advisory board will have a formal plan in place when he takes office. This plan will consist of detailed steps and recommendations based on bedrock science, compassion, understanding, and widely available testing. Benefits of the plan will be free and avail-
able to the public, including efforts to distribute to higher need communities. Areas like the Latino community, the black community, the pacific islander community, “I will spare no effort to turn this pandemic around,” Biden said. President-elect Biden also says he wants to provide health care workers the necessary supplies they need.