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OPINION & EDITORIAL
Los Angeles Collegian - Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Collegian
Coronavirus: RESISTANCE ISSUE
Los Angeles City College Visual & Media Arts Department 855 N. Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90029 323.953.4000 ext. 2832 losangeles.collegian@gmail.com
EDITORIAL
Coronavirus Spurs Shift to Education Online By Starla Weidinger To My Fellow Students: The shutdown of schools in America because of the pandemic coronavirus crisis is an adversity that we have never experienced before. However, it’s not the first event in American history to disrupt longterm school attendance. The Great Depression, back in 1929, an economic crisis, forced schools to close for years. It affected 20,000 schools and 10 million students. Our college, LACC originally opened its doors to students just weeks before the Great Depression. This depression and the problems created for schools and education far exceeded the expected length and scope of the current school shutdown. Furthermore, the current shutdown affects classroom instruction only, not the entire education process. During the great depression, school closings nearly shut down the entire educational process. In 2020, we have alternative resources through computers, internet and video—technology of course that did not exist in the 1930s. Despite this obstacle, many students persevered. Lyndon Johnson, a college student during the Great Depression had to pause his education to work, so he could finish college and graduate. He went on to become the 37th president of the United States.
We are facing one of the worst moments in our history. Our generation never, not even in our darkest dreams, could have imagined a situation like this. We are fighting with a pandemic in a social media era. We can see what is going on around the world and how each country is trying to win this “war.” But students, we have our own war to fight. It is our moment to show the world our strength, our courage and our love for the world. We have all the “equipment” to win this battle. Our voice and knowledge are our best tools to keep this world
Copy Editors CINDY AGUILERA ANGELA JOHNSON JAMES DUFFY V Opinions & Editorial Editor ANGELA JOHNSON
There have been other times and places in history when access to schools and higher learning have been prevented, including racial and sexual discrimination, income inequality and political unrest on campuses during the 1970s. If college attendance is shut down for one semester or even more, it’s nothing new. Fortunately, we are already in the digital age. We don’t really need to converge in classrooms like we used to. Of course, face time in an interactive, dynamic atmosphere with a learned professor, creates critical thinking and is still available. This transition from structured classrooms was already moving toward courses online. We were slowly adopting online schooling. The coronavirus is just hastening the process, and the future learning environment of our new careers. Perhaps eliminating the time and stress from commuting to school creates more qualitative time to focus. Adapting to different and emergency situations is and has always been part of the discipline of higher learning. So, while the coronavirus interruption is inconvenient, it should be treated as part of the transition of educational and business institutions of the future. We as students should appreciate it. So, consider this a sort of practice under fire. Another lesson learned.
Students, Do Not Give Up By Illiana Salguero
Co-Editors-in-Chief BEATRICE ALCALA CINDY AGUILERA
working. This is the moment to stay home and pass the message using our beloved social media accounts. This is the moment to make them our best friends and share the importance of listening to the experts. Follow their recommendations. Students, that is just part of our role in the challenging weeks that lie ahead of us. We should focus on our role as students. Don’t give up. This will pass, and we will be stronger, more resilient and more mature. The coming weeks are going to be the most difficult in our lives, but we cannot drop school, we cannot forget our goals, we cannot drop our classes, because our school, our district and our city is giving us the best resources possible to keep us fighting for our dreams. This is the moment to be a “rebel” and go against the world and keep working hard in your classes. Sur-
Sports Editor JAMES DUFFY V Photographers BEATRICE ALCALA PAUL KEITH CHRISTOPHER AHN REBBECA GRAZIER Illustrators JOHNATHAN VALDOVINOS Graphic Designers BEATRICE ALCALA RICHARD MARTINEZ
Reporters XENNIA R. HAMILTON, PAUL KEITH, CINDY AGUILERA, ANDE RICHARDS, CHRISTOPHER AHN, ANASTASIA OBIS, ANGELIA COYNE, DIEGO CHAVEZ-CADENA NELSON CRUZ, REBECCA GRAZIER, PAUL DEL REAL Collegian Life Online Editor-in-Chief DIEGO CHAVEZ-CADENA collegian.lacc.life
Adviser RHONDA GUESS
Illustration by JONATHAN VALDOVINOS
vive. Be more creative than ever by learning to be autodidactic, by being organized and responsible. We are in this together. Yes, we have a right to be sad, to worry and to stress, but we have the power in our hands to keep working on our career because that is the way we can help our country at this moment. We need to stand up for those who are going to struggle more than us, and we need to stay strong for them and our future. It is our responsibility to make this work. Just imagine the day after this nightmare ends, that day when you and your parents will have that diploma in your hands. All of this sacrifice will pay off on that day, and nothing will compare to the happiness and pride. Students, don’t give up. We are strong. We are powerful. We are going to win this with a cap and gown and our diploma in our hands. Picture that day and never give up.
Time for Everyone to Use Critical Thought By Michaelis Sanchez The time I spent in the U.S. Navy helped mold me into the person I am today, which led me to logical thinking and constructive action. As the American people fall into dismay with a situation that seems to spiral out of control, I wonder, why? Sure, COVID-19 should not be taken lightly. Nothing on this scale should. However, after reflection, I realize that we may be part of the problem. Americans have never in the history of our country dealt with a
pandemic such as the coronavirus and because of that, we as a people do not know how to act. On one hand, you have the rebellious youth who apparently do not care whether or not they get sick because they will almost certainly recover. Many are part of a generation raised by social media who do not understand the value of life. On the other hand, you have the people who take this too seriously. In general, they are older. They buy up lifetime supplies of toilet paper like they plan on making forts out of it. I scratch my head and wonder, where is their common sense? The virus should be taken seriously, but the fear it has spread could prove to be more dangerous. Domestic violence survivors are trapped in their homes and xeno-
phobia is on the rise. Competition over commodities or supplies has sparked some incidents of violence, and families struggle to care for their children. The “Safer at Home” requirements can cause stress and fear. The public sees restrictions and signs that the situation is out of hand, and the government has limited their movement. If there is anything I learned from my work for the government, it is that there is a reason for the actions they may take—for limiting our movement. This is a call out to my fellow citizens: Stay indoors, wash your hands, and if you go outside stay away from others, for the betterment of our community, our country, and most importantly each other.
Capitalism Makes Pandemic Worse By Paul Keith The cold war ended almost 30 years ago, but the American taboo against left-wing critiques of capitalism has persisted. That taboo is literally killing us. The societal obligation to cheer-lead capitalism blinded our imaginations from the immediate logical consequences of a free market system in a disaster. Opportunists hoarded necessities and resold them with an exorbitant markup. Even after public schools closed their doors, for-profit tutoring centers kept theirs open in defiance of medical professionals’ pleas for social distancing. Mayors and governors ordered bars closed. Employees, uncertain of how they would pay for food, rent and healthcare, continued to show up for work despite the personal and public safety issues. People did not seek treatment due to healthcare costs. We face critical shortages of COVID-19 tests, respiratory masks and even bleach. These are the obvious consequences of free market capitalism. Profit motives are why busi-
nesses would not close their doors to protect the public. Fear of hunger and homelessness kept employees from taking a stand. Competition created a single-minded obsession with short term revenue and kept us from coming together. We now live the consequences. But some people never conceded to this world view. “Anarchist” is a widely misunderstood word with a lot of baggage. Those who self apply it do not mean what most people think. It is not about destroying society, but about building a society free from hierarchy and domination. It is about building a society based on networks of mutual aid. Contrary to the popular images of black clad hooligans throwing bricks through windows and making Molotov cocktails, real anarchists spend most of their time community organizing. They build networks that bring food to hungry people. They provide first aid and disaster training to their communities. They look out for those in need. Those same networks are exactly what has filled the void left by slow to act governments in the last week. We just lived through a week where a decade happened, and we are no longer the same. Capitalism is our Minotaur. Mutual Aid is a map out of the maze. Let the Anarchists be our guides.
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NEXT ISSUE: APRIL 15, 2020 EDITORIAL DEADLINE: APRIL 10, 2020
