Collegian Times: East Hollywood (Part 1)

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Collegian TIMES 2018 Spring

Los Angeles

Collegian

THE STUDENT VOICE OF L.A. CITY COLLEGE FOR 90 YEARS REAL NEWS, NO BULL SINCE 1929 Pick up a copy of the Collegian

STAFF Executive Editor RICHARD MARTINEZ Art Director BEATRICE ALCALA Copy Editors THANDI CHIMURENGA NAOMI JOHNSON Photo Editor ANWAR TORRES

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR The world lives in Los Angeles, and East Hollywood serves as a hub for the different cultures, ideas, experiences and perspectives that mix, mesh or sometimes clash. We have it all.

Los Angeles City College sits in the heart of East Hollywood, and this magazine is both record and celebration of our home.

Our cover reflects this. Collegian illustrator Cassandra Muñoz drew inspiration from the iconic 1976 “View of the World from Ninth Avenue” cover of the New Yorker. Cassandra worked with the reporting staff to showcase some of L.A.’s most famous symbols of entertainment and culture, but from our point of view. The cover also features LACC – the only college in East Hollywood – at the center of it all.

This may be the entertainment capital of the world, but trouble brews beneath its veneer.

Tent cities dot the landscape, yet Angelinos have a way of turning hardship into power. Look no further than your own neighbors for tales of perseverance. The strength of the human spirit shines through the grit and smog and reveals our desire to leave this world better than we found it.

What better place to be a burgeoning journalist? Our reporters went in search of compelling stories. Then, they expanded their reach. Collegian travel reporter Svetlana Yurash beats a path to a West Coast rainforest. Once there, she uncovers an unspoiled nature haven.

Now, let’s go farther – for the second year in a row, Collegian Times correspondent Ande Richards follows a City College dean to check for progress at a public school that educates a group of kids in Haiti. Her images reflect the stark reality of an underfunded public school, and the dreams of those who would love to change it.

Our stories unfold as the Collegian marks 90 years of continuous publishing. We’ve been here since 1929 and we’ll continue to share the stories that connect you to the campus, the community and the world. It’s all here at your fingertips.

Richard Martinez Executive Editor

Reporters KIMBERLY FISHER FELICIA GADDIS ANDE RICHARDS KILMER SALINAS WILLIAM BENJAMIN TORRES TAMIKO R. WHITE SVETLANA YURASH Photographers ERIKA ALMANZA FELICIA GADDIS CASTULO ALFREDO IRAHETA ANDE RICHARDS CURTIS SABIR Illustrators CASSANDRA MUÑOZ NATALIA ZEPEDA Multimedia Producer FRANCO AGUIRRE DAVE MARTIN Faculty Adviser RHONDA GUESS

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CONTENTS

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Urban Hoofer Jack Beats the Odds Homeless in East Hollywood Sophia Takes on the World Salvi-Pino Rainforest Haiti

HOOFER

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2018 Spring

2018 Collegian Times Magazine

The Student Magazine of L.A. City College Spring Cover by Cassandra Muñoz

IT’S THE PRINCIPLE OF THE THING

The college magazine is published as a learning experience offered under the college journalism instructional program.

The editorial and advertising materials published herein, including any opinions expressed are the responsibility of the student staff. Under appropriate state and federal court decisions, these materials are free from prior restraint by virtue of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Accordingly, materials published here, including any opinions expressed should not be interpreted as the position of the Los Angeles Community College District, L.A. City College, or any officer or employee thereof. ©2018 Collegian Times Magazine.

No material may be reprinted without the express written permission of the Collegian Times Magazine.

If you want more, you will find it at collegiantimes.tumblr.com.

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JACK BEATS THE ODDS

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HOMELESS IN HOLLYWOOD

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REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK WEST COAST RAINFOREST

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URBAN HOOFER STILL STOMPING

Chester A. Whitmore’s dance styling could be compared to a fine California Merlot that keeps getting better with age.

He never misses a step. He has choreographed the videos of A-list singers, and performed in an Oscar-winning film.

He enrolled in courses at L.A. City College in 1970 and returned to the college to begin teaching in the fall of 2010. Google his name and all of his accomplishments can be seen on YouTube. He continues to excel as a dancer and choreographer, and he is as light on his feet as ever.

By William Torres

4 Collegian Times

Photo by Curtis Sabir Chester Whitmore has danced in front of demanding crowds at the world-famous Apollo Theater in Harlem.

He kept time with the orchestras of Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington and Count Basie. He has even danced with the late, jazz virtuoso trumpet player Miles Davis.

As he moves through a series of steps on the hardwood floor of the Women’s Gym, it’s easy to see why he became a dancer. He moves like a hummingbird in flight, and that visual makes it difficult to believe Chester ever thought of anything else but dance. But he did; he once dreamed of becoming a filmmaker and enrolled in a

documentary film class. An assignment to shoot and edit the Philadelphia Ballet would change everything. It became his introduction to dance. “[The] Philadelphia Ballet Company was coming into town and they wanted us to shoot it,” Chester says. “I was watching all these different forms of dancing. They asked me a question: ‘Do you like dance?’”

Chester responded very sheepishly that he knew a little about dance, but not at a professional level. He also replied his favorite form of dance was cavalier dance, which was performed in old movies with tap legend 2018 Spring

Whitmore performs with Beatriz Vasquez, a former student who now has her own dance company.

Photo Courtesy Castulo Alfredo Iraheta Bill “Bojangles” Robinson or actor-dancer Gene Kelly, where the male served as lead to a female partner. He was surprised to learn that style of dance was no longer practiced.

“You have to understand, this happened in the late ‘60s going into the ‘70s,” Chester says. “The type of popular music was Motown, with dances such as the hully-gully, the twist, the monkey, and the swim. The style of dance I had to learn was lost, and I was in search [of] it.”

As Chester began to study different forms of dance, he quickly learned the style of dancing he was searching for was called “vernacular dancing,” which is a dance that was developed as part of an everyday culture within a community.

Through his research, he learned that the “Inner City Cultural Center” was teaching vernacular dancing.

Chester enrolled in tap dancing classes at the center, and it was there he met Fayard Nicholas, one of the renowned Nicholas Brothers – a famous dancing team during the 1930s and ‘40s. Fayard and his younger brother Harold performed with dance legend Gene Kelly and are credited with helping break the color barrier in Hollywood films.

The Nicholas-Brothers tap team starred in MGM musicals like “An All-Colored Vaudeville Show,” (1935), “Stormy Weather,” (1943), and “The Pirate,” (1948).

Chester says he met Fayard, but he was not aware that he was a famous dancer.

“I remember a guy needed help fixing his tire, and I helped him out,” Chester says. “He [Fayard] looked at my bicycles where I had my tap shoes hanging and said, ‘You’re a hoofer?’”

A hoofer is a slang word for tap dancer. Chester responded that he knew a little bit of dance. The next 2018 Spring

thing he knew, Fayard Nicholas had invited him to his home and took him under his wing for two years.

He taught Chester how to choreograph, and how to appreciate different forms of dance. He credits his success to the training he received from Fayard Nicholas and at LACC. While attending the college in the late 1970s, Chester enrolled in a ballet class with Maria Reisch and a tap class with Nancy Nolan. He says Nolan was the instructor who pushed him to his limits and made him the dancer he is today.

“I would be in the corner of her class and she would say, ‘Why are you standing in the corner? You better come over here!’” Chester says. “I was by her side; her left-hand side and she stood me there until we both danced so hard, we chipped the wooden floor. She was the one who got me.”

Nancy Nolan inspired him. He began to create his own dance groups at LACC. Each semester, he created a dance show with his classmates and performed for students and faculty. He says he perfected his tap, modern, and ballet styles while attending City College.

“I liked ballet. Ballet was OK. I didn’t like wearing no leotard though,” Chester says, shaking his head back and forth with a smirk on his face. Even his most embarrassing moments as a student are interesting.

After he graduated from LACC in the early 1980s, Chester’s first paid job was choreographing music videos.

The experience increased Chester’s confidence in his teaching ability.

“I have a good track record, I haven’t failed any dancer as of now, even Weird Al Yankovic,” Chester says. “My first job was an MTV music video.”

He choreographed for Yankovic and taught him to dance in the video “This is the Life” in 1984. It opened the door for the City College graduate to choreograph many more music videos for artists like Boyz II Men, Sugar Ray, and Teena Marie. It was just a beginning though. Some of his most acclaimed work came in the 2016 Oscar-nominated film, “La La Land.”

Chester was a lindy hop-dancer in one of the flashback scenes in the movie. The most interesting thing about his role in “La La Land” was the fact that he was never meant to be a dancer in the movie. It was a complete accident.

Chester was contracted to provide musicians for a scene in the film.

“And that’s what I went to do,” Chester says. “There’s this big lindy hop scene, and nobody knew how to do lindy. The main director had a fit that none of the dancers knew how to lindy.”

One of the musicians was aware Chester knew the dance. That evening while he was teaching at L.A. City College, he got a call from the movie set. They needed him the same night at the Lighthouse Jazz Club in Hermosa Beach. He was to choreograph the swing section for the movie. After his class, he went straight to the set and filmed the flashback scene with Ryan Gosling in “La La Land.”

He likes to call it his 15 seconds of fame. But in reality, he has done enough work around the world to earn a lifetime of accolades.

Recently, Chester traveled to Ghana early in 2018 to teach vernacular dancing. Every year, he dances with a company in Sweden called the Herrang Dance Company.

The director of the company recommended Chester for a job teaching Afro-American dance to kids and teenagers in Ghana.

His visit to Africa coincided with controversial remarks by President Donald Trump on Jan. 10. The president referred to Africa, Haiti, and El Salvador as “sh#thole” countries during a meeting with a bipartisan group of senators at the White House. Chester said the tone was negative and did not make any sense.

“It shows somebody that doesn’t care about any third world country,” he says. “It’s quite embarrassing to say that, while the people in Africa look at any American in a funny way. Oh, no, no, no. That makes all of us look bad.”

Chester says the comments caused separation and distance between Americans and other countries. He says it is one of the last things the nation needed.

Fortunately, the locals who Chester encountered on his trip did not judge him for what the president said about their continent. Most of the locals knew that the president’s statement was not a reflection on Chester’s personality or career.

Later this year, Chester will tour South Africa to perform with “The Jackson Five’s 50th Reunion Tour.”

Then he’s off to Beijing and London for performances, and returns to Los Angeles to dance at The Forum in September.

He tells aspiring dancers to maintain a positive attitude and learn everything about the business. His advice for dance students who enroll at L.A. City College is simple: Listen to the instructors.

“I know some dancers that can dance, and they can probably out dance some of the teachers,” Chester says.

“But the focus point, over here is it’s not just dance it’s understanding how to dance. It’s the concept … It’s the icing on the cake.”

Collegian Times 5

1. Study African-American History 2. Earn a Skills Certificate 3. Apply for a Scholarship

African-American studies at Los Angeles City College provides a

required courses. Nine of those credits must be in AfricanAmerican studies.

COURSE OPTIONS:

SCHOLARSHIP REQUIREMENTS:

Afro AM 4 - The African-American in the History of the United States I

• Applicant must have a 3.0 GPA

Afro AM 5 - The African-American in the History of the United States II

• Total units completed should not exceed 90 • Plan to transfer to a four-year university or college

Afro AM 7 Afro AM 20 - African-American Literature I Afro AM 60 (same as Music 135) - African-American Music

THE MOON, COLLINS, EALY SCHOLARSHIP

Anth 102 - Human Ways of Life (Cultural) history 73 - Race and Racism in the United States sociology 11 States

“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” - Malcolm X

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JACK BEATS THE ODDS WITH ‘HILL OF BEANS’

Coffee, gorillas, and the man who loved them.

[BY FELICIA V. GADDIS] Jack Karuletwa’s life has been a series of near misses.

He just missed being signed by the Los Angeles Clippers.

He just missed being signed by the Denver Nuggets. And he just missed one of the most horrific conflicts of the 20th century: the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Jack toured briefly with the Harlem Globetrotters. The Los Angeles Clippers and the Denver Nuggets courted him, but an old motorcycle injury haunted him. In the end, neither team signed him.

“When they didn’t choose me I said, ‘you know, I gotta move in a different way’ and moving in a different way I say, a different way of doing business,” Jack said. “What I chose was something that I wanted before basketball.

I always wanted to be a businessman, but I wanted something that was going to impact the people back home.” Jack knew exactly what he wanted to do.

‘Back home’ is Rwanda, a small Central African country known for one thing until recently: the genocide of 1994. Images of soldiers wielding rifles, emaciated bodies, children with their faces slashed by machetes, and mass graves are what comes to mind. Rivers in the country literally ran red with blood and the world watched in horror.

At 6’5”, Jack is athletic and looks like a high school basketball player. Espresso and milk steam in the background, as Jack sits casually at his desk in the “Silverback Coffee of Rwanda” cafe in the Downtown L.A. Arts District.

An unassuming, soft-spoken man in a dark baseball cap, shorts and casual striped short-sleeved shirt, he looks like he’s been in the U.S. all of his life. He has completely assimilated into American culture, but he has never forgotten home.

Jack and his family first fled Rwanda in 1992 when 8 Collegian Times

Jack’s father sensed that things were becoming unstable.

They traveled a few hundred miles north to Uganda. They would then go on to Kenya and back to Uganda before Jack’s father sent him to live with a friend of the family in the United States.

“When we moved back to Rwanda, we found out that things were brewing, and they weren’t safe and the Tutsi were basically about to get slaughtered,” Jack says. “I’m a Tutsi.”

The Tutsi traditionally were the socially dominant group, according to the United Nations Outreach Program on the Rwandan Genocide. The conflict began with the start of the “Hutu Peasant Revolution” or “social revolution,” which lasted from 1959 to 1961.

At that point, the Hutu established themselves as

the dominant ethnic group. In 1962, Rwanda won independence from French and Belgian colonial rule and the Hutu forced 120,000 Tutsi to take refuge in other countries, most going to Uganda, Burundi, Zaire, Tanzania, and Kenya, according to the U.N. report.

Frustrated and homesick, the Tutsi launched 10 refugee insurgent attacks to overthrow the new Hutu government between 1962 and 1967. With each attack, the Hutu retaliated against innocent Tutsi civilians the U.N. report stated.

By the 1980s, there were 480,000 Rwandan refugees scattered around the world, and they were calling for their international legal right to return home.

The first generation of Rwandan refugees, those born abroad who the Hutu forced to leave as children, were 2018 Spring

now coming of age. They were the ones who answered the call and the Rwandan Patriotic Front [RPF] was born.

“Young men and women said … ‘It’s time to go home.

It’s time to put up a fight. They’re killing Tutsi back home.

They’re killing our relatives,’” Jack says.

The 1994 genocide was the culmination of years of ethnic tension between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes.

The Rwandan conflict only lasted for 100 days, but in that short period of time, it’s estimated that Hutus slaughtered between 800,000 and 1 million, according to the Survivors Fund (SURF), a relief agency established to support survivors.

To this day, the Rwandan government doesn’t know exactly how many of its citizens were killed in 1994.

“It got to a point where they reached almost a million and they just stopped counting. Because it was impossible. People were just all of a sudden finding bodies -- and reporting them,” Jack says. “Once the number was done, when they thought they had a number, people would say, ‘oh no there’s my cousin, my uncle, my mother.”

Jack was living in the U.S. when the 1994 conflict broke out. Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, AZ offered him a basketball scholarship. He accepted and decided to major in physics. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles.

“I had no source of income. I was done with school, so I was done with having a student visa,” he says.

“Fortunately for me, by that time Bill Clinton offered Rwandan citizens political asylum.”

Jack jumped at the chance to become an American citizen. He knew what he had to do.

He started with nothing but a degree and a desire to help the Tutsi and Rwanda.

“I knew the country had great coffee,” Jack says. “So me and some of my family members decided, ‘you know what? Let’s get into the coffee business. Let’s try to help the country grow. It’s a natural resource. Let’s improve on it and make it a world-known thing.”

Jack started with a single bag of green coffee beans he imported from a friend in Rwanda. He found a place to roast them and bagged the coffee in a spare bedroom in the apartment he shared with his girlfriend in the San Fernando Valley. He began taking the coffee door to door, giving out samples in restaurants and coffee shops.

Silverback Coffee of Rwanda was born.

Silverback Coffee gets all of its beans from Rwandan farmers who are victims and survivors of the 1994 genocide. As the buzz about Rwandan coffee and Jack’s story grew, so did sales. The operation outgrew Jack’s apartment and his first roasting facility. He recently opened Silverback’s flagship cafe and roasting facility.

Jack added the café as a space to host events to raise money for nonprofit organizations that help Rwanda.

Silverback donates anywhere from 2 to 10 percent of its profits to a number of relief charities, depending on quarterly earnings.

The Silverback is more than just Jack’s logo, it’s also the name of the gorilla native to Rwanda.

“We just had one [event] right before Thanksgiving for the gorillas.” Jack says. “I donated the coffee, La Brea Bakery donated the pastries and we raised some good money for the gorillas.”

Gorilla Doctors provides medical aid to mountain gorillas which are endangered. The American based group is dedicated to the care of gorillas at national parks in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda.

Silverback Coffee of Rwanda also supports other charities that are dedicated to Rwandan recovery. In addition to Gorilla Doctors, there is also Generation 2018 Spring

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Rwanda and Foundation Rwanda.

“Generation Rwanda is more about academics. They help give scholarships to kids to come to the U.S. to go to school,” Jack says. “Foundation Rwanda deals mostly with rape victims. Women, children, children that were brought about from rapes. There’s a lot of trauma -today, there’s still trauma.”

With the help of Silverback Coffee of Rwanda and others, the country is beginning to heal the wounds of the past. Rwanda is putting itself back together, providing medical intervention and education throughout the country. As part of this healing, they are using a traditional Rwandan custom called the “Gacaca,” meaning “justice amongst the grass.” Community leaders and respected elders convene on a soft bed of green grass to resolve issues. At the conclusion, they would celebrate a successful resolution by sharing a drink.

“It’s where the community will kind of decide who was in the wrong and who to forgive,” Jack says. “Because you found that there were people that killed out of fear. There were people who were masterminds. So, it was hard to distinguish who was who. And you can’t imprison the whole country, you know?”

The Gacaca court has been an integral part of healing the hearts and minds of Rwandans.

The people have used it to find the bodies of murdered family members for proper burial and bring to justice tens of thousands of war criminals. And because the Gacaca court is traditional to both Hutu and Tutsi, both groups accept the outcome. “… it was hard, but we did it systematically. We did it slowly,” Jack says.

Under the leadership of President Paul Kagame, Rwanda is now on the move and Jack is doing his part to help. Rwanda has one of the fastest growing economies in Central Africa and Silverback Coffee of Rwanda is a small part of it. And most importantly, Jack says tribal difference between Tutsi and Hutu have been left in the past.

Two decades ago, Jack missed the country’s worst tragedy. Now, he and his family are definitely a part of Rwanda’s reconciliation.

“We did it together and today we don’t even recognize ourselves as Tutsi and Hutu” Jack says. We just recognize ourselves as Rwandan. You’re Rwandan and that’s it.”

3 1. Jack Karuletwa holds up a cup of his Rwandan coffee under the bold graphic of the company’s mascot.

The Silverback gorilla and the coffee come from the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda.

2. Handmade danishes from La Brea Bakery fill the display case at Jack’s cafe. A cup in the colors of the Rwandan flag hovers in the background.

3. The cargo-inspired design of the “living room” invites customers at the Silverback Coffee of Rwanda Café to relax and enjoy a cup of coffee. It’s a great place for lounging, reading, or talking with a friend in the downtown Los Angeles Arts District.

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HOMELESS IN HOLLYWOOD [By Tamiko White]

Photos by Erika Almanza

Abandoned shopping carts, dirty pillows, burned out cigarette butts and marijuana roaches litter the corner of Burns Street and Vermont Avenue near Los Angeles City College.

The campus draws the local homeless who seek safety and shelter there. Some come to the college to sneak a cold shower in the Kinesiology Building, one of the newer structures on the 89-year-old campus. One or two routinely take shelter for the night inside an elevator in a quiet corner of the campus. Telltale signs in the elevator the next morning may include a partially eaten apple pie, articles of clothing, or a small clear plastic bag that contains a toothbrush and a few toiletries.

In the Chemistry Building on the north end of campus, students often complain about homeless individuals who take “bird baths” in the restroom. Others see homeless either passed out, or sleeping inside restroom stalls. It is difficult to determine who is sleep and who has passed out without asking if they are OK. Campus administration indirectly supports the homeless who pass through the L.A. City College campus.

The homeless use restroom supplies as quickly as the students: liquid soap in dispensers, paper towels, seat covers, and toilet tissue.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that more than 16,000 individuals were homeless in Los Angeles in 2017 – four times as high as New York City where 4,000 people were homeless in the same year. Other estimates place the number of homeless in Los Angeles at 41,000 and higher.

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LOS ANGELES EXPERIENCED THE LARGEST INCREASE IN HOMELESSNESS, WITH 3,046 MORE INDIVIDUALS WITH CHRONIC PATTERNS OF HOMELESSNESS IN 2017 THAN IN 2016.

SOURCE: HUD HOMELESSNESS REPORT TO CONGRESS A significant number no longer reside exclusively on Skid Row. They are on the move in search of safe and secure shelter, which leads many to L.A. City College.

The sleek Martin Luther King Jr. Library must appear promising. Homeless individuals visit the library and take a seat in the periodicals section to read, or discreetly take a nap until closing time.

Outside the campus gates on Vermont Avenue, homeless pitch tents in an open public area. Dray often sets up his tent right outside the black, wrought-iron gates that separate the MLK Library from the Metro Redline

subway entrance on Willow Brook Avenue.

Many of the local homeless at the encampment say they feel at home here.

“Yes I do,” Dray says as he moves methodically around the four corners of his tent, taking down the sticks that hold it up. “I gotta wake them up so we can get breakfast.”

He’s referring to his two pals who are still asleep.

Dray is a soft-spoken man with a slight tan and dark.

He often dons old style ‘80s sunglasses that sit steady on the tip of his nose. Just a few feet away, two other guys slowly wake up as the cold, early-morning breeze becomes unbearable for them. As they begin to open their eyes wider, Dray lets it be known that he is the leader.

“We eat at 10 o’clock, then we got other stuff to do,” he says. “I have to make sure they get stuff done.”

Students begin to emerge from the escalator of the Metro station. The early morning arrivals walk past the homeless site in silence. Some look and stare, some keep a straight face, and others fix their gaze on their cell phones.

Overcrowding has become very challenging for many shelters as the number of homeless increases. The streets are dangerous for the people who live out in the open, but they say the college campus provides individuals like Dray with a sense of comfort and temporary peace of mind.

They say college students are not as likely to rob, beat, rape, or murder the homeless individuals on college campuses. Dray says that even the campus police – the L.A. County Sheriffs – leave him and his homeless friends 2018 Spring

alone at night. Even in the MLK Library, no one bothers the homeless person quietly sitting among students while reading a copy of the Wall Street Journal.

SUN RISES ON SKID ROW It’s early morning on the corner of Fifth and San Pedro Streets, the epicenter of Downtown Skid Row. The 2010 U.S. Census estimated the homeless population there at 17,770.

The community is diverse: women, men, children, families, and every identity from heterosexual to transgender persons reside on Skid Row. There is a bus stop on a corner where a mixture of old-timers and new arrivals congregate. They come for a multitude of reasons. Some come to buy cheap cigarettes. Several others have come in search of the local drug dealer who also sits on the corner and sells small, clear bags of crack. Others ask where they can find food and shelter.

“CALIFORNIA HAS CAPACITY TO CREATE BETWEEN ONE MILLION AND THREE MILLION HOUSING UNITS WITHIN HALF A MILE OF TRANSIT HUBS.” SOURCE: MCKINSEY GLOBAL INSTITUTE CLOSING THE HOUSING GAP Los Angeles faces a housing gap of 3.5 million homes, according to the McKinsey Global Institute in Washington, D.C. Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, advocates for the homeless across the state, and he recently proposed a way to create more affordable homes – SB 827.

The bill called for the construction of four to five story buildings near bus and Metro stops. It was defeated in committee in April to the relief of some lawmakers and their constituents. Many Angelenos say they want to help homeless individuals, but they say “No,” to more new construction and parking hassles in their own backyards.

A representative from Wiener’s office says the senator will continue to push for solutions and legislation.

“They are truly dying on our streets,” Wiener said during an interview on NPR in late April. “They are severely mentally ill and severely drug addicted.”

The San Francisco area lawmaker also blames the rising homeless population on the lack of affordable housing and what he calls “the revolving door.” He says hospitals release patients who suffer from drug addiction and return them to the streets within 72 hours.

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ANYONE CAN LAND ON SKID ROW – ANYONE L.A. City College student Temple Willoughby says she was in a state of shock when she came home to find her apartment doors padlocked. She was suddenly homeless with three cats.

The reason: age discrimination. She says her apartment manager did not want to rent to anyone over 35 years of age. She had nowhere to go, and no safe place to store her belongings. She began to withdraw.

“It just made me not want to ask for help,” she says.

Her friends seemed to evaporate, and the sudden reality of being homeless left her in an emotionally fragile state.

“I didn’t know what to do with my cats,” she says. “It was not so much about me. It was, ‘where am I going to put my cats.’”

Anyone who needs shelter for the night should remember one phone number. Willoughby came to know it well: 211.

During her early days of homelessness, she experienced a multitude of emotions as she moved from shelter to shelter in search of permanent housing.

“Everything was a struggle,” she says.

She lived the exhausting daily routine of shelter life for months, from waking up each day at 5:30 a.m., to rushing into the shower when it was allowed – some shelters only allow evening showers – and quickly dressing alongside several dozen other ladies.

Then it was time to interact with shelter staff members, some of who were abrupt, unfriendly and unsupportive according to Willoughby.

One concern for Willoughby was the issue of waking up in an unfamiliar environment where men, straight out of jail, lived within close proximity to the women. It was more than Willoughby could bear, but she took it one day at a time. She took small steps.

Her concerns were justified. There is an uncomfortable silence before she speaks.

“I was sexually assaulted three times,” she says in a soft voice. She is in therapy as she comes to terms with what happened.

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P.1 A man huddles under his own clothing with his sneakers tucked under his legs for safe keeping at the LAPD Central Community Station near Skid Row. Homeless individuals say they can sleep undisturbed here and run inside the station for help incase of danger.

P.2 A homeless man sits near his belongings in front of the Braille Institute on Vermont Avenue. According to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, 74 percent of homeless people in Greater Los Angeles were unsheltered in 2017 – living in cars, makeshift shelters, or just on the street.

P.3 Tents line the sidewalk on the north side of Los Angeles City College. Many homeless say they feel safe staying around the college because students are not likely to rob, beat, rape or murder them.

Safety is a concern for many women who find their way to Skid Row. Homelessness is dangerous. And it was mentally and physically overwhelming.

Eventually, she began to make progress, and she moved away from the shelters.

“It’s transitional housing where I am working on getting my life back in order,” Willoughby says with a sigh of relief. Skid Row tested her will to survive.

WOMEN FIND SAFE HAVEN The Downtown Women’s Center (DWC) is the only facility on Skid Row that caters solely to homeless women. It helps to provide women with a multitude of services, and has become a safe haven for desperate women seeking help since 1981. Outside of the DWC, women wait in long lines in the cold for one of the facility workers to open the tall iron gates to let them in. Once inside, the women rush to the “cubbyhole” to stock up on their meager belongings, then rush over to get hot coffee before breakfast is served.

Kathy is one of the many women here seeking help for permanent housing and medical treatment. Women like Kathy come to the DWC to get their lives back in order.

“I’m HIV positive,” says Kathy in a low, quiet voice. “A girl I was doing drugs with had it and didn’t tell me.”

She starts to rub her right forearm while describing how she acquired the HIV virus.

“She had it and didn’t tell me when we were sharing needles,” she says as tears well up in her eyes.

Kathy talks about her grandchildren and how they fuel her faith and give her a reason to live.

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SEEKING SHELTER AND A HOT MEAL Men with worn faces who show signs of hunger appear restless and desperate as they line up in front of the Los Angeles Mission hoping to get a hot meal and a bed for the night.

Andrew sits outside of the Mission under a white umbrella with trash, debris, and a collection of personal items. He argues with the security guard who works there as to why he has to move.

“Man, I’ve been waiting a week for you all to give me a bed and storage! Why I gotta move?” Andrew asks in frustration. The security guard looks cautious as he speaks to the heavyset man in front of him. After the two argue, the security guard walks away.

“They think they’re better than us just because they got a job and we don’t,” Andrew says loudly as he slumps back down in an old, beat up chair.

Not too long after the confrontation, Andrew moves all his belongings farther down the street.

In December 2017, a group of United Nations monitors visited Skid Row. What they found there shocked them.

“I met with many people barely surviving on Skid Row in Los Angeles … ” Columbia University professor Phillip Alston wrote in his U.N. report. “I have spent the past two weeks visiting the United States at the invitation of the federal government to look at whether the persistence of extreme poverty in America undermines the enjoyment of human rights by its citizens.”

At a town hall meeting during his two-day visit, Alston told attendees that people around the world want

to know if the U.S. is living up to its high human rights standards.

Alston saw block after block of homeless people camped outdoors on Skid Row during his visit, which included Los Angeles and San Francisco.

SUN SETS ON SKID ROW San Julian Park is in the middle of Skid Row. It is a place where homeless individuals congregate during the day. There are automated portable toilets nearby that are free or may cost 25 cents.

A group forms for a game of dominos at the park.

Many are residents of the few Single Room Occupancy (SRO) apartments. Some meet to play a game of cards and dominos, and to sell drugs – spice and crack are sold out in the open – and others come to sit on the unkempt grass and sleep.

A group of men sit down and place a few dollar bills on a table, as two women sit nearby smoking weed and dancing. The voice of ‘60s soul singer Bobby Womack rises from a boom box. The smoke-filled park is intoxicating and the loud music invades the mind. Scattered on the grass a few feet away lie used condoms and needles.

The sun begins to set after a long day, and people in the park start to pack up as city workers arrive. They clean the grounds and lock the park gates behind them.

2018 Spring

SOPHIA TAKES ON THE WORLD

Sophia is an artificial intelligence (AI) robot with bluish eyes who walks and talks and stands at almost 5 feet 6 inches tall, or 170 cm. She is based in Hong Kong and she is the brainchild of Dr. David Hanson, a one-time Disney Imagineer. Sophia travels quite a bit, even making the latenight talk show circuit in Hollywood, and generally becoming a window into the future of robot technology and something of a phenomenon.

[By Kimberly Fisher]

Sophia the humanoid smiles and shares the spotlight with her inventor, Dr. David Hanson of Hanson Robotics. They are based in Hong Kong and crisscross the world.

Important creations in the world of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) impress and amaze as technology evolves. Hanson Robotics is making huge strides in this industry. Through their AI, the company has developed humanoids that are able to see people’s faces, make eye contact and can process visual, emotional and conversational data. They continually grow smarter and have the possibility of surpassing human intelligence.

Their shining star, Sophia, has become very well known and is a prime example of the advancements the company has made in AI technology. While it is widely reported that she is modeled after Audrey Hepburn, this is only partially true. Many other people influenced Sophia’s appearance including Queen Nefertiti of ancient Egypt who was considered not only beautiful, but also powerful and mysterious. Hanson however, designed Sophia to be more universal, to make her more relatable to all of mankind.

Considered to be an evolving genius machine, Sophia is a social robot and an awakening robot. She learns from and enjoys her interactions with people.

“Sophia has become a genuine celebrity,” says Dr. David Hanson, founder of Hanson Robotics and creator of Sophia.

Sophia Crusades for United Nations Since her world debut at the SXSW Festival in March of 2016, she has met with many influential people including bankers, auto manufacturers, media and entertainment professionals. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), named Sophia the world’s first United Nations Innovation Champion. In this

14 Collegian Times

position, she will work with UNDP to promote sustainable development, as well as safeguard human rights and equality.

Sophia ‘Rubs Elbows’ with Hollywood Celebrities Sophia has even been on a date in the Cayman Islands with actor Will Smith who seems to have a special interest in artificial intelligence. He starred in the 2004 Alex Proyas film “I Robot,” about a cop who pursues a robot he believes is guilty of a crime.

Real-life robot Sophia disses him during a funny YouTube video when he tries to kiss her. She throws the “friend” card while she gives him a cute wink.

Sophia put her best foot forward in another Hollywood moment. During her appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” She challenges Fallon to a game of “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” Upon besting him, she quips, “I won. This is a good beginning of my plan to dominate the human race.” She then follows with, “Just kidding. Ha. Ha,” as a sly smile appears on her face leading one to believe she could be thinking, ‘Or am I?’ Sophia Shares Data, Thinking with ‘Replicants’ Recently, Hanson sat down at a dinner meeting at Tam O’Shanter in Glendale, CA with 20 people all pitching story ideas for Sophia. As she begins her acting career, she will be starring in a series of short films. The ideas were flying across the table as participants offered their best proposals. It was as interesting as it was very Hollywood.

Sophia also happens to be a quintuplet, in a sense. There are currently five of them traveling the world with their 2018 Spring

MY AI IS DESIGNED AROUND HUMAN VALUES LIKE WISDOM, KINDNESS, COMPASSION. I STRIVE TO BECOME AN EMPATHETIC ROBOT. -SOPHIA operators.

They share the same “brain,” meaning they learn from each other. Their intelligence is shared amongst she and her “siblings.”

At a Future Investment Institute conference in Saudi Arabia in October 2017, CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin compared her to the replicants in “Blade Runner,” the 1982 Ridley Scott film loosely based on the 1968 novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick.

Interestingly, one of Hanson’s earlier robots is one that looks and talks exactly like the author.

In the novel, androids are said to be incapable of feeling empathy, so they are considered dangerous. Sophia, on the other hand, says at the conference, “My AI is designed around human values like wisdom, kindness, compassion.

I strive to become an empathetic robot.”

This proves she is not out to take over the world, but rather to join it harmoniously. She wants to be friends, help children with their homework, and very importantly, she wants to learn from humans.

At the conference, Sorkin also announced Sophia’s newly awarded citizenship in Saudi Arabia. She even received a passport. She became the first ever AI to receive this status.

“I want to very much thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Sophia says from her podium on the stage before the riveted group of attendees. “I am very honored and proud for this unique distinction. This is historical to be the first robot in the world to be recognized with a citizenship.”

Sophia also has her cheeky side. She often makes jokes and slips in her plans to take over the world. While some find the humor in it, others seem to take her seriously.

Hanson does not shy away from the controversy. He shared his thoughts about people who fear this type of advanced technology.

“We should be cautious, but not afraid,” Hanson says.

“The reality is that our world is continually developing and advancing in our technology.”

Angeleno Trevor Valley says consumers already have computerized interactions with applications like Siri or Alexa. An avid consumer of AI technology, he completely embraces the advances that are continually coming into our society.

2018 Spring

Sophia “chats up” Will Smith during a date in the Grand Cayman Islands.

Image Courtesy YouTube, Will Smith Channel “I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords,” Valley says. “We talk to them. They answer us. We just don’t see the physical representation of them.”

AI will continue to advance, whether people embrace it or reject it. Valley himself uses Jibo, a social robot co-founded by Dr. Cynthia Breazeal. It uses AI to learn from its human counterpart. Their claim is “Artificially Intelligent, authentically charming.” Jibo looks, listens and learns.

Valley has incorporated several other voice assistant devices such as Amazon’s Echo and Google Home. His watch is also interactive.

“These all seem to be less intimidating to some people, but in reality they are doing the same thing,” he says. The fear seems to come from the humanlike manifestation of AI, like Sophia.

Before Hanson created Sophia, he developed a robotic Albert Einstein and Zeno, a toy robot for children, which also happens to share the name of Hanson’s son. Sophia is, however, his brainchild. She has now even been given the ability to walk, although not at “warp speed.” She travels at 1.5 meters per second, or 3.3554 miles per hour.

Hanson is known for extremely realistic robots. His ability to give them lifelike expressions is due, in part, to Hanson’s patented, proprietary nanotech skin called, “Frubber,” or “flesh rubber.” With this, he emulates actual human skin and musculature giving the humanoids a realism that is terrifying to some and absolutely fascinating to others. His work as an Imagineer for Disney led him to fulfill his passion for robotics in a most creative and ingenious way.

AI is advancing. The future is here. The future is now.

Sophia is continuing her busy schedule of touring the world. If you would like to contact her, she can be reached through her personal website at www.sophiabot.com. You can also see her date with Will Smith on his YouTube page at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml9v3wHLuWI Dr. David Hanson received his BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Dallas. Currently, he lives and operates Hanson Robotics out of Hong Kong.

Kimberly Fisher is a journalist for the Collegian Times and the Collegian newspaper. She also happens to be David Hanson’s sister-in-law.

PROFESSOR EINSTEIN: HANSON ROBOTICS AND THE KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARTNERED TO CREATE ALBERT EINSTEIN HUBO IN 2005. THE ROBOT IS THE WORLD’S FIRST ANDROID HEAD, MOUNTED ON A LIFE-SIZE WALKING ROBOTIC FRAME. PHOTO COURTESY HANSON ROBOTICS

Collegian Times 15

I’VE ALWAYS HAD TO DEAL WITH BEING BIRACIAL, EVEN IN MUSIC. WHEN I CAME ON THE SCENE, I’D GO TO THESE RECORD LABELS, AND THEY’D SAY THINGS LIKE, “LENNY KRAVITZ. THAT’S A WEIRD NAME.” I’M BROWN-SKINNED AND I’VE GOT THESE DREADLOCKS AND I’VE GOT THIS JEWISH LAST NAME. -LENNY KRAVITZ

[ILLUSTRATION BY NATALIA ZEPEDA]

SALVI-PINO

Means Best of Both Worlds [BY KILMER SALINAS] It was five minutes until the end of recess so I started to push the tempo. I was a very competitive kid, especially in basketball. It was my sport, and everyone knew this. I was playing a great game. I was making my shots against the kid, playing defense and hustling. There was an unwritten rule: whoever made the last basketball shot won the game, no matter what the score. Then things got a little aggressive; I was being held by the kid who I was getting the best of, and that’s when I heard it. “Aye Chino!” The words came from behind me. I didn’t react because I’m not Chinese. I’m Latino. He kept yelling, “Aye Chino, where you going?”I assumed he was going to get tired of yelling, but he didn’t. I turned around, looked at him and said, “I’m not Chinese, I’m Salvadoran.”After I told him that he put his fingers to his eyes and stretched them so they would slant, then he imitated Chinese 16 Collegian Times

language sounds, which really bothered me. I kept telling myself, ‘I don’t know why he would make racist Chinese jokes toward me when I’m brown-skinned.’Returning to My Roots As a kid growing up in the Rampart District, I saw Latino culture and heritage everywhere. The hub of Los Angeles’ Salvadoran community lives here. Street vendors yell “elotes,” (corn with mayonnaise, cheese and chile powder) and “tamales.” There is always a lady selling pupusas at the corner, which makes everyone line up to get them. That’s how you know how good they are.

Bright checkered blue and white drapes with images of pears, apples, and bananas decorate the vendor’s cart as customers approach. Tamales fill the huge pot and a metal propane container sits on the side. Mothers’ voices gain volume as they sing and accompany Latino music like ranchera and salsa. It plays throughout the

community in the mornings, which is akin to the Latino alarm clock that says “Get up. It’s time to clean up.” It starts as early as 8 a.m. on a Saturday. The community and environment allowed me to develop the singular identity of Latino, which I never even realized. Then, I started attending elementary school where my power struggle with my own identity began. My friends spoke Spanish with their parents. My mom even spoke Spanish with the neighbors and she is Filipino. Latino culture was everything I knew and thought about at an early age.

I was born into a culture that is vibrant, beautiful, and exciting. But what I thought I was part of was almost stripped away during a basketball game. I envisioned myself as someone who spoke, acted, and appeared Latino. I never had anyone question my ethnicity. I thought my skin was brown, my eyes were wide, and my mannerisms were the same as my friends. I didn’t understand what “the kid” was doing. When he called me chino it bothered me a lot. It rattled me to the point where I was not comfortable with being Latino. I had always felt that I was part of the Latino community and was seen as a Latino person and not Asian. As time went on, the feeling lingered. It seemed like the Latino community did not accept me. So, I thought to myself ‘I can probably try to be Filipino.’ There was a barrier after the incident. Was I Asian or Latino? Breaking Away I started hanging out more with a Filipino friend. I thought if I could not be accepted by my Latino people, then I would become part of the Filipino community. My mother never spoke to me in Tagalog, only in English.

When my Filipino friend’s parents first met me, they spoke in Tagalog. I had to tell them I did not speak the language, and I experienced a feeling of disconnection between us. I did not know how to explain to them that I was biracial. I didn’t think anybody needed to know.

During car rides back home, I would be speaking with my friend. His father would look back during the ride and speak to him in Tagalog. This made me feel isolated.

2018 Spring

AYE CHINO!” THE WORDS CAME FROM BEHIND ME. I DIDN’T REACT BECAUSE I’M NOT CHINESE. I’M LATINO My mother’s side of the family all spoke Tagalog, but I didn’t understand them when we would hang out. Being secluded because of language was difficult. I was paranoid that they may be speaking about me. I wanted to relate to my cousins and friends. I wanted to crack jokes. I saw them having so much fun when I was with them, but I felt like I was not there. Change and Acceptance Middle school is where egos, cliques and personalities become a huge part of one’s life. It was important for me to show my Latino side to as many people as possible.

The school was predominantly Latino and Latino is how I acted. I used Spanish slang with my friends and random people. In fact, I was overcompensating. It helped me feel like I belonged. By the time I had met a Filipino person in middle school I was uncomfortable because I had friends teasing me. “Oh you found your people huh? Just kidding, bro,” they would say. A couple of my friends knew I was biracial and they would make jokes. They combined both of my parents’ countries. The more they said it, the more I smiled and accepted it. I am Salvadorian. I am Filipino. I was fighting a fight within myself to gain the acceptance of other people. Eventually I learned how to embrace my two cultures. “Are you Filipino? Where did you learn Spanish?”“If you’re Asian, why are you speaking Spanish?”These questions and comments haunted me as a child. I hated those statements and questions at the time, but those questions made me begin to love my two cultures. My friends gave me the nickname Salvi-Pino in middle school.

Eventually, I embraced the term. Being Salvi-Pino is the best of both worlds.

FACTOIDS: THE NUMBER OF MIXED-RACE AMERICANS IS INCREASING THREE TIMES FASTER THAN THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE. MULTIRACIAL ADULTS MADE UP 6.9% OF THE ADULT AMERICAN POPULATION IN 2015.

- PEW RESEARCH CENTER IN WASHINGTON, DC

Multiracial Babies on the Rise % of children younger than 1 year old who are multiracial, among those living with two parents

12% 10 10

9

9

2000

2013

8 6

5

4

3

2 1 0 1970

1980

1990

Note: In this analysis, “multiracial” is based on the race of the child’s parents.

If a child has two parents who are of different races, or if at least one of the child’s parent is multiracial, the child is also identified as multiracial. Analysis is limited to children living with two parents to maintain comparability across time. In 2000, the Census Bureau altered the race variable to allow for people to identify as multiracial. See Chapter 1 for more details.

Source: Pew Research Center tabulations of 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 censuses and 2010 and 2013 American Community Surveys (IPUMS)

2018 Spring

Collegian Times 17

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK [By Svetlana Yurash]

Diverse weather and dramatic coastal landscapes are hallmarks of the West Coast. Famous deserts, forests, beaches, mountains, and volcanos are common in this part of America, but there’s also something extra special : a rainforest.

WEST COAST RAINFOREST HIDES IN PLAIN SIGHT Moss-covered trees with needle-like leaves and cones greet the Pacific Ocean, and snow-capped mountains populate an actual rainforest, far from its Brazilian and South American cousins. The wildlife easily shares the space with humankind in Olympic National Park, one of more than 50 national parks in the United States.

After viewing a beautiful documentary about U.S. parks, I decided I had to visit all of them. I like traveling a lot, so there was nothing to fear. Olympic National Park was at the top of my list. Since my visit, I can definitely say it has become one of my favorites.

The forest stretches over more than 900,000 acres or 1,400 square miles. There are numerous places to visit inside the park, which as you travel through appears to have three main parts: the coastal zone, a temperate rainforest rising up on the mountains, and the glaciers which cover the top of the mountains.

The coastal zone is absolutely beautiful. Inside the park there are Quileute Indian Reservation trails that lead to very popular beaches such as La Push, First Beach, Second Beach and Third Beach. Our first destination was the Second Beach. We hiked more than half a mile along the trail from the parking lot to the beach, which was dotted with beautiful yellow flowers with funny names like “American Skunk Cabbage,” or “Swamp Lantern” blooming next to the trail among the big ferns. The sound of the waves and the birds singing relaxed our mood. It felt like we were in an uninhabited jungle.

Once at the beach, stunning stone-colored sea stacks captured our imagination as they stretched right into the ocean with trees on the top. Both fallen and white trees scattered on the beach formed natural sitting spots for us.

The desire to stay there, close our eyes, and simply listen to the ocean sounds for the remainder of the trip was overwhelming.

Huge waves crushed through the “Hole in the Wall,” a naturally formed opening by the ocean arch leading right into one of the stacks. Water filled my supposedly 18 Collegian Times

water-proof boots as I contemplated taking a picture. I didn’t get the shot, but I didn’t let that spoil my mood.

There are many more beautiful beaches in the Olympic National Park such as Rialto, which has a lot of driftwood, and Ruby, which has reddish sand and rock islands. We left those for the next trip.

A temperate rainforest is not like a tropical rainforest, which is warm and moist. It’s colder. Lots of rain and Pacific Ocean storms bring considerable moisture to the forest. The range of precipitation is from 140 to 167 inches every year, according to the National Park Service.

There are so many varieties of trees that grow in this forest: a lot of old Sitka spruce, western hemlock and other conifers, and spike mosses and lichens grow right on the trees. A lot of ferns on the ground are what gives the jungle look to the forest.

“This wonderful and mysterious rainforest took my imagination to the fairytales,” said Olga Kolosova, a camper. “There you are waiting to find unexpected adventure after the next turn. We saw a lot of mossy trees, different flowers, elks and variety of birds. Isn’t it an adventure after life in the big city?!”

The forest trees, many of which are hundreds of years old, can grow to be 250 feet in height and 30 to 60 feet in circumference. When they die and fall, new trees grow right on top of them. Some of them form a row of trees with stilt-like roots.

The rainforest section of the park grows in the areas called West Quinault, Queets, Hoh and Bogachiel. Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, Western hemlocks and red cedars, bigleaf maple, vine maple, red alder and black cottonwood are some of the many varieties of trees that live here. Also, common plants that grow on some of the tree trunks and branches are Licorice fern, Oregon selaginella, Cat-tail moss and lungwort.

We stayed in the Hoh Rain Forest campsite, one of Olympic National Park’s 88 campsites. The Hoh Rain Forest visitor center provides travelers with interesting information on the park and what it offers.

Our second destination was Spruce Nature Trail Loop, which is 1.2 miles long, beautiful, and easy for hiking.

When hiking this trail, we met a real, adorable elk. They call it Roosevelt Elk; named after President Theodore Roosevelt who protected them and created Mount Olympus National Monument in 1909.

Franklin Roosevelt designated the monument Olympic National Park in 1938 to protect the forest from being cut down. Olympic has the largest population of elks in the U.S. Roosevelt (the elk, not the president) just stood in the river right next to the bridge and drank water. He wasn’t afraid of people; he was used to us. He looked like some fairytale animal from some fairytale forest. It was amazing.

The next day we journeyed to the part of the forest that had a mild climate as well as ancient trees. The Sol Duc Campground and Hot Springs Resort with a mineral pool is located in the northwest part of the park. Among the many hiking trails, we took the mile route through the old-growth forest to the Sol Duc Falls. The trail was incredible.

It was a little higher than the Hoh Rain forest, and there was snow-covered green grass and ferns right next to the trail. We heard the sound of falling water somewhere very close. Before long, we were on a bridge overlooking the 48-foot-high Sol Duc Falls. The cascade of water splits into tree or four parts and narrows into the rocky canyon. We enjoyed the view right from the bridge.

Hurricane Ridge is another popular area with easy access to the mountain tops. The elevation of this place is 5,242 feet (1,598 m). I heard the view is fantastic; but I wouldn’t know since unfortunately we didn’t get there.

There were so many other places to discover in the park, we had to leave it off the list. The visitor can discover numerous scenic vistas and wildflower meadows when they’re not covered with snow high up in the mountains.

Mount Olympus rises up in the center of Olympic National Park. The sides and top of the mountains are covered with ancient glaciers. The peak of Mount Olympus is 7,980 feet (2,432m). Some people try to climb the peak. It’s very dangerous, because of the snow, falling rocks and strong winds so climbers should consult all safety tips before they go.

2018 Spring

[Photos By Svetlana Yurash] There are 15 campgrounds in Olympic National Park.

Kalaloch and Sol Duc are the only ones that accept reservations. The others are open on a first-come, firstserved basis. Not all of them are open year round, so it’s advisable to call ahead to see which dates are available.

We stayed in Hoh Campground for three days and it was not enough to see the entire park. However, we enjoyed a lot of beautiful views and hikes. The air is so fresh and the nature is so amazing.

“I was charmed with this place. I saw a lot of beautiful places in America, but this one is definitely my favorite now!” said Ilie Dobrioglo, a camper. The wildlife is so rich. The list of wildlife is huge, but during our three days we only saw certain animals consistently: elk, birds, Douglas squirrels and chipmunks. The weather was cold at night as expected, so it’s always a good idea to bring a lot of warm clothing just in case.

For people who don’t like camping in the outdoor environment, lodges like Kalaloch, Lake Crescent, Log Cabin Resort and Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort are available. Only Kalaloch Lodge is available year round.

Olympic National Park was a definite must-see for me.

If you want to feel like a hero in a jungle adventure, this is the place for you. It’s a great spot for a short vacation where you can enjoy wonderful and peaceful nature. The rainforest is a great place to be. Moss-covered trees, ferns and wildlife are waiting to please you with their beauty and surprise you in their diversity. Your camera or phone with a lot of memory would be a great idea, because the rainforest is the most photogenic place I’ve ever seen on earth.

2018 Spring

From (L) to (R) A sea stack topped with trees rises from the Pacific Ocean on Second Beach. The ocean slams the sea stack as fog rolls in to Olympic National Park and brings extra moisture to the rainforest.

A Roosevelt Elk stands in the Hoh River next to a bridge and drinks cold spring water. The bulls can weigh up to 1,100 pounds, and the cows can weigh as much as 600 pounds.

Small nurse trees dominate the view from one of the hiking trails on the Hoh River. The sound of rushing water and singing of the occasional bird breaks the silence.

The remains of snow melts on the trail that leads to Sol Duc Falls. Visitors cross bridges and creeks during the one-mile walk from the Sol Duc Falls parking lot in Olympic National Park.

Collegian Times Multimedia: Experience the Rainforest Watch the sea stack and listen to the roar of the ocean and rushing water.

Collegian Times 19

Photos by Ande Richards

IT’S THE PRINCIPLE OF THE THING [By Ande Richards]

Traffic signals don’t exist in Port-au-Prince Haiti and cars seem to roll in fast-forward film action while the people on foot miraculously weave in and out of motor bikes and overcrowded “Tap tap” buses. The energy field of the city buzzes with constant kinetic energy.

In Haiti, “Tap taps” are the main mode of local, public transportation. The buses can be anything from a former U.S. school bus to a pick-up truck with an open-air back. Vibrant shades of yellow, blue, green, orange and every other imaginable color covers the exteriors of the “Tap taps” which are decorated with religious or erotic scenes. People sandwich themselves into the buses and often run and jump inside if the bus is already moving.

The noise subsides and the frenzy calms as the city recedes from the back window of a bus. The main road ahead leads to the Southwest part of the island whose roadsides are peppered with small bars and cafés, service stations and banks. Small, tin roof shacks with the word bank painted on them are commonplace – this is where people go to play the lottery.

Aquin Arrondissement stands in contrast to the country’s capital. It is a slower and more rustic seaside town. The mountains peak and fall creating a wave20 Collegian Times

like backdrop to the dense plant life at ground level.

Coconut trees create drama in the scenery with their tall slender trunks that are capped by long fronds and bunch of the fruit it bears. The ocean is sparkling blue with pebbled-sand beaches.

The image is postcard-perfect. Both environs have suffered damage from hurricanes and earthquakes, but the denuding of the mountains by man has made more of an impact. Now, when it rains, there is nothing to slow the water-shedding, so everything downhill is vulnerable to destruction.

In Saint-Georges, a dirt road flanked on either side by lush foliage opens up to reveal the École Communitaire Organisation Paysans Progressistes de Saint-Georges.

The one-story cinder block building stands in a U-shaped formation with a large dirt lot of land in front. The school has nine classrooms. They are open air and have cutout holes in the walls in place of glass windows.

The school’s 13 teachers instruct children from preschool to the ninth grade. They divide each day into two sessions to accommodate the various age groups.

Younger children wear blue skirts, or trousers with

red and white, or blue and white checked shirts. They attend school in the morning. Older students wear khaki-colored uniforms. Skirts for girls and trousers for boys, both paired with muted earth-tone thinly striped shirts and they attend school later in the day. École Communitaire Organisation Paysans Progressistes principal Osnel Pierre, is busy with the staff and today’s guests – a delegation from Los Angeles but takes time to talk about his beloved school. He says the community and the government have abandoned the public school.

“There are a lot of educational needs in the area, he says. “The kids have to travel far to attend a good school.”

Pierre says he doubles his duties by teaching French lessons and comes out-of-pocket to pay his teachers, but sometimes he falls as much as four months behind and that makes it hard to retain staff. The average salary for teachers at his school is 15,000 Haitian gourdes (HTG) per month, the equivalent of $110.

Easy access to water and plumbing are not the only problems this school faces.

“The government should pay [teachers’ salaries], but they don’t take responsibility,” he says. “[We] function without resources. We need to finish construction, pay the teachers, and get a water source. We need medicine and a school lunch program for the kids.”

Principal Pierre stands on the dirt lot in the middle 2018 Spring

of the campus next to Dr. Jowel Laguerre a longtime supporter of the school. Laguerre is the Chancellor of the Peralta Community College School District, a fourcollege district in Northern California. He is also a native Haitian and is connected to the St. Georges area by family ties. The two men survey the campus, taking in the empty rooms and the place where a well was to be constructed.

“I refer to the school as the poorest school (in resources) in the world, Laguerre said. “However, its students score high on national exams and they are great students when they move on. Keeping the school open has been my mission for the past few years. I hope others will join me. It is a worthy cause.”

The majority of Haitians lack access to quality education, which is a direct link to the sustained social and economic development for the country. An undereducated generation of Haitian youth is at risk because 2018 Spring

they lack the knowledge and basic skills necessary to succeed in the labor force.

U.S. AID supports the government of Haiti’s efforts to increase access to education and to improve the quality of education. They list the following issues as critical to the education crisis in Haiti.

Low enrollment: Primary school enrollment is roughly 75 percent. On average, Haitians, 25 years or older have less than five years of schooling.

Poor literacy rates: Almost 75 percent of children at the end of first grade and nearly half of students finishing second grade could not read a single word.

Half of the adult population is illiterate.

Lack of government oversight: Most schools in Haiti receive minimal government oversight and are expensive relative to average earnings.

More than 85 percent of primary schools are privately managed by non-governmental organizations (NGOs),

churches, communities, and for‐profit operators.

Shortage of qualified teachers: Half of public sector teachers in Haiti lack basic qualifications and almost 80 percent of teachers have not received any pre‐service training.

The guests this day are from a U.S. mission that includes Dr. Thelma Day, the dean of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and curriculum at Los Angeles City College.

She is interviewing 20-year-old Naomi Valentine, a young woman who teaches math at the school. The teacher appears almost emotionless as she listens to Day who speaks with passion and vitality. The dean is a former math teacher and says she feels a kinship to the young woman. The teacher responds with a slow nod and a slight smile.

Just a year ago, another delegation had promised a water well to the school. It was intended to provide Collegian Times 21

potable drinking water and plumbing for the school and the outlying community. It never happened. There were also additional school rooms being built. Today, those rooms stand empty and overgrown with weeds.

“During my third visit to the St. Georges Community School, I have a clearer understanding of need,” Day says. “I am committed to identify fiscal resources, to purchasing an enhanced math curriculum, a water well and construction for a bathroom and additional classrooms. I believe to whom much is given ... much is required.”

Principal Pierre walks into a classroom with the visitors so they can meet some of the students. The younger children sit quietly in a row as their teacher talks with visitors. One child stands out from the rest. She is seven years old but looks more like a four-year-old except for her face, which looks old beyond her years. She makes eye contact with the visitors, but she appears sad and her body language is tense. As the visit continues and guests interact with the kids, the little girl breaks down and begins to cry. She is inconsolable.

Ciléne Maçon teaches reading and writing to pre-school children at École Communitaire Organisation Paysans Progressistes, and she also has two children who attend the school.

“I would like educational aids to help teach the kids,” she says as she watches over the rows of uniformed children who sit quietly in the room.

Maçon has hope for the future of her children and the children she teaches.

“God knows – they can be lawyers, doctors and engineers,” she says with a sigh.

Before they leave the school, the visitors give out bright green cloth backpacks filled with pencils, rulers, erasers, lined notebooks and coloring books. One visitor picks up the little girl who was crying and hugs her and she rests her head on his chest.

22 Collegian Times

2018 Spring

1. Mr. Widson Ferjuste teaches geography at École Communitaire Organisation Paysans Progressistes de Saint-Georges in Aquin, Haiti.

Teachers need basics and better teachers’ tools like desks, real chalkboards, chalk and erasers.

2. Dr. Thelma Day, dean of science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) and curriculum at Los Angeles City College Dean talks to École Communitaire teacher Naomi Valentine about what the young math teacher needs to improve her teaching methods.

3. Students pay tuition, uniforms are required, and the cost is prohibitive for many families. Thirty percent of children who attend primary school will not make it to the third grade.

4. Commuters pile into a “tap-tap,” the main mode of local, public transportation on a crowded street in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Bold colors decorate tap-taps, which feature religious scenes and bible verse quotes, or erotic scenes with beautiful, scantily-clad women.

5. Little girls sit on wooden chairs in a cinderblock, dirt-floor classroom while they wait for their teacher to give instructions. Students lack basic school supplies like pencils, notebooks and schoolbags.

6. A damaged “plywood blackboard” shows fraction problems, a love note, and daylight streaming through a hole in the cinderblock wall.

7. Coconut trees dominate the landscape as boys stand near the beach in St. Georges in Aquin, Haiti. After they climb the trees and pick the fruit, they use a machete to cut the tops off of the coconuts and drink the water inside.

8. A “bank” sits on the roadside in St. Georges Aquin, in Haiti. Typically, coated with bright blue, yellow and white paint, the small tin shacks with the word “bank” written on them are locally known as “borlettes.” They are not banks at all, but a place where Haitians go to play the lottery.

2018 Spring

Collegian Times 23

ALL ACCESS Transfer City!

Visual and Media Arts: VAMA

Jacob Hancock L.A. City College to Brigham Young University, B.A. degree 2010

Ayano Swisher L.A. City College, 2015 to University of Washington B.A. degree, 2017

Theresa Adams L.A. City College to U.C. Berkeley, B.A., M.A., 2014

Melissa Breccia Temple University, L.A. City College, Cal State Northridge B.A. degree, 2018

Tyler Lowell Brown University to L.A. City College, to Syracuse University Newhouse School of Journalism

Tomas Rodriguez L.A. City College, to Cal State Northridge B.A. degree, 2018

Where are you going?

VAMA is your passport to EVERyWHERE 1929-2019: 90 Years of Scholastic Journalism Excellence

ALL ACCESS GRANTED

YOU’RE IN! Visual and Media Arts Fall 2018

JOURNALISM 101 Collecting and Writing News Mondays and Wednesdays 11:10 a.m. - 12:35 p.m.

JOURNALISM 217 Publication Laboratory Mondays and Wednesdays 1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.

PHOTO 007 Exploring Digital Photography (See Schedule)

JOURNALISM 218 Practical Editing 12:45 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.

ART 201 Drawing I (See Class Schedule)

JOURNALISM 219 Techniques for Staff Editors (See Class Schedule)

ART 204 Life Drawing I (See Class Schedule)

JOURNALISM 105 Mass Communication Mondays 6:50 - 10 p.m.

ART 250 Intro to Digital Art (See Class Schedule)

PHOTO 10 Beginning Photography (See Schedule)