Dear Reader, Today, if you listen to, watch or read the daily news, it is impossible to ignore the progress of Artificial Intelligence.
Tia Shipman takes a deep dive into AI and the clothes on our backs, as Artificial Intelligence announces itself on the runways and catwalks of the world.
We had our first experience with Siri on our iPhones. Other technologies have appeared on the horizon such as, Cortana and Alexa among others. These were the first steps toward a new technology, “ChatGpt.” Students across the country are using it for homework and even research papers. Many professors are impressed with the work that is being turned in, but others have no idea ChatGpt has taken a seat in the classroom. Henry Lopez explores what this technology can accomplish for the greater good in education. There are stories on immigration, the unhoused and disabled students calling for greater access in our college district.
Louis Primavera tells the story as Chance the Rapper pays homage to the Black Star Line in Ghana in remembrance of a discredited icon of the early 20th century, Marcus Garvey.
Finally, in “Tongva Rising,” a reporting team covers the often-ignored rights of the Tongva Tribe. Our college and many other campuses in California sit on sacred Native American grounds. Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove has introduced H.R. Bill 6859 to recognize the Tongva Tribe. hope you will enjoy this issue.
Beatrice Alcala
‘BLACK STAR LINE’
TWO VISIONARIES SIT BETWEEN HIPHOP, CULTURE AND INSPIRATION: CHANCE THE RAPPER AND VIC MENSA.
BY LOU PRIMAVERA
Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa’s “Black Star Line Festival” proved to be an unprecedented event for music and culture drawing 52,000 fans to Accra, the capital city of Ghana a year ago.
Festival attendees converged on the City’s historic Black Star Square.
Some of the biggest artists in the world
graced the stage. There were performances and appearances by four-time Grammy winner Erykah Badu, actor and stand-up comedian Dave Chappelle, platinum award-winning hiphop artist T-Pain, Sirius Radio’s Sway Calloway, Sarkodie, Asakaa Boys, M.anifest and of course the two visionaries: Chance and Mensa.
The Experience was surreal for both artists and concert goers. As far as the eye could see, people were rocking out and embracing the energy and music. It seemed that the people of Ghana had waited a long time and clearly were not taking the special moment in the Black Star Square for granted.
The festival is named for the iconic Marcus Garvey Black Star Line, a steamship launched for the purpose of shipping goods among the people of the African diaspora, as well as to
2
1. “Chance the Rapper headlines the weeklong Black Star Line Festival in Accra, Ghana at a free concert in front of 52,00 people in Black Star Square on Jan. 6, 2023. Photo courtesy of Julio Enriquez (CC) “Chance the Rapper 2018 February” by FOX Sports is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
2. The infamous Elmina Castle still stands on the coast of Ghana—built by Portuguese traders in 1482—it was first used to protect the gold trade, and later it became the first slave trading post in all subSaharan Africa, according to the PBS documentary “The Slave Kingdoms.” It serves as a reminder of the barbaric first stop for the captured slaves enroute to the Atlantic crossing known as the Middle Passage. Photo Courtesy of Bill Bliss. “Ghana Elmina slave castle” by Flickr user: BillBI https://www.flickr.com/ photos/billbliss/ is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
transport emigrants to Africa and around the world.
Garvey became the leader of the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), an organization he founded to inspire racial pride and economic independence. UNIA had 700 branches in 38 states at the height of its influence in the early 1920s with its Back- toAfrica message, according to the National Humanities Center.
Garvey was an ambitious visionary who believed that Blacks across the globe were being exploited. He was the leader of the Pan-African movement at 28, and his sole purpose was to establish economic and political independence for the Black community.
Garvey was not your average entrepreneur; he was on a mission to start a movement. In that same spirit, Mensa and Chance did not just throw a concert in Ghana. They are branding themselves and starting a movement based on their African roots. Few artists have been able to pull this off.
Vic Mensa’s performance was nothing short of extraordinary. He delivered an inspirational message before he surprised the audience by bringing his uncle to the stage: Chief Kofi Sammy of the Okukuseku International Band, a legendary highlife musician.
“Just [two years] ago, I was Incarcerated in America spending my days dreaming of being on the beach in Ghana,” Mensa told the crowd. In 2022, customs officials at Dulles International Airport arrested Mensa on suspicion of possession of LSD and psilocybin mushrooms after a trip to Ghana.
The festival in Ghana was no one-time event. It could be the catalyst for something bigger. Chance is now fully focused on his Black Star Line artistic vision. He and Mensa do not plan on slowing down anytime soon.
Chance presented artwork related to his long awaited album, “Star Line Gallery,” in Chicago’s West Loop. The exhibition showcased 16 covers of the album, and one represents a cover for each track. Also, Chance and Mensa already have plans to throw a second “Black Star Line Festival” in Kingston, Jamaica.
“It is in Ghana right now, but I look to create more opportunities for artists of the diaspora to perform on the continent, and I also look to create opportunities for Black people to just have mass gatherings in other Black countries and communities,” Chance said to Complex.com in 2022.
His business and artistic ethos are distinct: to empower African culture around the world. His etiquette is much like Marcus Garvey’s legacy, which is based on creating an ecosystem and empowering others.
Acclaimed music journalist and Sirius XM radio host, Sway Calloway was swept up in the vision and made the trek to Ghana. On “Sway’s Universe” on Sirius XM Shade 45, Sway spoke with enthusiasm and inspiration about the festival as “one of the best experiences of his career.”
“Chance’s family are like family to me, I wasn’t necessarily there on assignment, so I was able to just absorb and take everything in, it was one of the first times I was able to do that,” Sway told the Collegian Times. “They invited me as family. Chance said, ‘we need your presence.’”
Sway says the experience in Ghana was empowering, but it was not just the music that inspired him. The nation of Ghana had a powerful effect. It made him feel like he was home.
He has been a voice for decades and in a profound way. He is one you might
Journalist and radio personality Sway Calloway of SiriusXM’s “Sway in the Morning,” makes a personal journey to the Black Star Line Music Festival. He shares the spotlight with the Ghanaian who claims credit as an originator of Afrobeats, “Kwaku Tutu/Kwaku-T in Accra, in January of 2023.
Courtesy of Sway Calloway.
say represents the culture. His voice and inspirational outlook hold a lot of weight because he is a well-traveled icon who has been invited to the White House to interview former President Barack Obama.
“You can go all over the world, being in Ghana,” Sway said. “Everyone there looked like you, from the taxi driver to the judges. I never experienced that. It was the first time I feel people weren’t biased.”
Sway Faces the Door of No Return
The Elmina slave castle was a stop for some of the artists while they were in Ghana. It was emotional. However, it provided a chance to experience African heritage and culture, even if the trip was bittersweet.
The castle served as a hub during the slave trade before captured Africans were shipped off on the brutal trip for 80 days across the Atlantic.
The Middle Passage, as it is known, is an almost forgotten part of history to many Americans.
Growing up in American schools, it is common to hear about the slave conditions on plantations and the treacherous voyage across the Atlantic, but rarely is the terrifying first part of enslavement discussed. After Africans were captured and enslaved, they were left for months in unbearable conditions in Elmina, while they awaited their fate.
“It was a diabolical place; you hear the word castle, but it was more like dungeons where they stuffed people in horrible conditions for months,” Sway said. “It was shocking too, because there was a church right on the property.”
Visitors walk through castle doors--the same doors slaves walked through hundreds of years ago. They are now called “The Door of No Return.”
The Elmina castle towers above the town of Elmina and is only a piece of the Ghana experience but also a painful reminder of the past. Perhaps, it is a story that should be taught and told more often.
“It was a very spirited Journey, very emotional, the door of no return, it was like every cell was celebrating, we can trace that to ancestry that was from Africa,” Sway said. “When I walked back through the door it was powerful.”
“When I walked back through the door it was powerful. You can get inspiration from other places when you see powerful things, I always try to be powerful and lift and empower others.”
—Sway Calloway
Photo
From a first glance, the five-day festival proved to be a historical moment for hip-hop, art and African culture. But it was not just your average concert.
The theme, passion and mission of Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa and the rest of the artists and team who contributed proves The Black Star Line movement is the outset and has many special moments to come.
Black Star Square Evokes Emotion
The Black Star Square in Accra, Ghana is a significant place in African Culture, and one might say a character throughout African history, which many do not know.
In 1919, Marcus Garvey’s Black Star shipping company represented freedom for many Black people. More than 100 years later, Black Star Square made the perfect setting for art, music and celebration at Chance and Vic Mensa’s festival.
The Black Star Square can be considered the center of Accra, Ghana. The public square hosts national celebrations and festivities and holds a special type of significance.
It was built in 1961, just before the state visit of Queen Elizabeth ll. It is also the site of Ghana’s Independence Day every March 6, as well as many historic events and concerts over decades.
The Global Citizens Festival made its debut at Black Star Square to celebrate the country’s 65th anniversary of independence In September of 2022. Stars glittered in Accra.
Usher and Sza headlined the festival. Chance the Rapper made an appearance. Also far from home, over 40 people from the Los Angeles Community College District attended. Professor Nyree Berry organized and coordinated the African American outreach Initiative.
Luck favored Dr. Elliot Coney of Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) who met Chance the Rapper. It made an impression on the professor who says Chance is humble and a true down-to-earth guy.
“He is doing great things, and I just showed and communicated my admiration for his work and all he is doing outside of music and with his fest coming up,”
Coney said. “Being a conduit and light for the people is hard, so to take the time to connect many people to the opportunity of their culture that was stolen is crucial and much needed. Being in his presence was defining.” Festival attendees say this is not your average music festival, and that words simply do not give the event enough justice. The concert in Ghana was a lifechanging experience for many, and one can argue it is the catalyst of a movement based on music, unity, pride, love and the celebration of black culture. ∫
Photo 1. A brochure announces the incorporation of the Black Star Line in Delaware in 1919. The corporation advertises for “colored men” to fill jobs as ship operators, engineers and wireless operators.
Photo 2. Marcus Garvey’s Black Star Line Incorporated stock certificate is a remnant of Garvey’s dream of connecting the 400,000,000 people of color worldwide to the African continent. The Black Star Line was a key piece in Garvey’s Back-to-Africa movement and entrepreneurial endeavors with stock offered at $5 per share. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution: National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Photo 3. Marcus Garvey sits at his desk in 1924 for a portrait that would later be used on the cover of a book entitled “Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey,” edited by his wife, Amy Jacques-Garvey. Photo Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
Photo 4. The Black Star Line (BSL) was a source of inspiration for many of African descent because it employed a Black captain and crew, with the exception of a few white officers, according to the Steamship Historical Society of America. BSL also offered nondiscriminatory travel at a time when most steamship companies would not allow persons of African descent to buy first class tickets.
Usher and Sza
BOTTOM LINE:
CT TRACKS ECONOMIC UPS AND DOWNS OF HEMLINES
BY LARA BARNEY
Fashion week’s designers celebrated masculinity in the 2024 men’s fall/winter fashion show season with Gucci elevating from last year’s runway shock.
It was somber, dark and almost quiet.
The usually flamboyant brand sent out models who looked like they were straight out of a grunge revival. The Gucci menswear show shocked.
This show was a full 180 from their shows last year that sizzled on Hollywood Boulevard with pink satin suits, sequins and feathers. This year’s shows felt darker and more pared down. Men wore oversized suits with slashes at the knee, and some men rocked knit beanies and tank tops. The show was not without flash, though. It closed with a bedazzled pair of jeans. Glitzy, yes, but not the usual three-piece suits in funky patterns that people expect from the brand.
“It’s really casual, more minimalist,” says Lisa Campos, an editorial makeup artist who has worked in New York City and Los Angeles. “The cuts and the pallets are more gender neutral.” Designers dressed models in traditional
1. Balenciaga turns away from the outlandish designs of seasons past in their Fall 2023, Readyto-Wear Collection. A smart suit is versatile in uncertain financial times.
2. Darker colors and sober attitudes match a depressed financial market at the Gucci Menswear Show, last fall.
3. In season’s past, Balenciaga relied heavily on more styled and shock value garnered from their other-worldly settings. The model stomps through mud in a red ball gown in the Spring 2023, Ready-to-Wear Collection.
4. Moschino’s Fall 2022, Ready-to-Wear Collection featured many trompe l’oeil dresses that give the designer its trademark whimsical feel.
work wear. Think trench coats, crisp white button downs and tailored overcoats. It seems that Gucci, the brand known for its explosive, fantastical brand collabs and celebrity affiliations like with Harry Styles, has come back down to earth.
Gucci had company in its embrace of a more traditional style of dressing. Other fashion houses followed suit. This sober note may be a sign of the financial and economic times. Brands known for their over-the-top displays like Moschino even took a step back from excess. Usually, the kitschy brand leans on trompe l’oeil and campy candy colors, but this past showing was supremely gothic and more grounded with wearable gowns that would not garner attention in most settings. Black was the dominant color with occasional quick flashes of dark pink and purple. Covered up, monochrome and wearable clothing made a strong contrast, compared to their past seasons.
“One season goes from bright and happy to dark and gothic the next,” says Campos, noticing the stark shift in colors.
The now infamous fashion house, Balenciaga,
also had a more traditional feel this season. Last season for Spring 2023, they showed models trampling through mud in militarized outfits. Some even clutched purses that looked like crumpled up Lay’s potato chip bags. This season, models walked in baggy blazers and modest trench coats. Futuristic track suits made of affordable jersey material were also in the mix. Balenciaga has become known in recent years for its over-the-top sets, like models in a blizzard wind tunnel or models walking at the real New York Stock Exchange. However, the models walked on a simple carpet with minimal fluorescent lighting this year. The gowns shown at the end of the show were based in reality and wearable, a sharp turn from the spandex superhero-like evening wear shown in past collections.
History Meets Hemlines
The lack of color and excitement on the runways can also be felt in real life as inflation rises and pandemic relief wanes. Most economists polled by the National Association of Business Economics say a recession is imminent--72 percent to be exact, according to CNN. Could the new trends be a sign of the looming recession? History says, yes.
The hemline index is a greatly debated study of women’s skirt hemlines throughout the 1900s. Economist George Taylor first started looking at women’s fashion trends in relation to the U.S. post-war economy in his 1929 thesis. Now, the hemline theory persists with skirt hemlines falling with hard economic times and shortening when economic times are good.
The opulent flappers of the 1920s traded in their short dresses for longer skirts and overalls during the great depression in the 1930s. The mini skirt, made popular in the 1960s, fell by the wayside in the 1970s as bell bottoms and bohemian maxi skirts became popular, only to return in the 1980s with the new wave and punk scenes and a stronger economy.
This ebb and flow of hemlines can be traced along with the booms and busts of the economy. Though there have been no formal peer reviewed studies of the hemline index, it is not difficult to see the correlation between fashion trends and the economy.
In the mid 1980s after the recession, consumers saw the rise of a new category called “weekend wear” made especially popular by designers like Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. As consumers prospered, they wanted more than just formal looks from their favorite designers. They wanted leisure clothing, too.
The long run of good economic times from the mid ‘80s through 2008 encouraged designers to expand to more casual categories as people were spending more money.
Calvin Klein has been credited as the creator of the casual designer craze by putting his logo on “normal” clothes like jeans. When the jeans became a hit, he expanded his empire by including undergarments in the 1980s, so people could wear designer all the way down to their drawers. Calvin Klein still has its grip on designer jeans and underwear to this day.
The good economic times came to a head in the early 2000s with the “McBling” era, characterized by bling, short skirts and platinum blonde
“One season goes from bright and happy to dark and gothic the next.”
— Lisa Campos, editorial makeup artist
hairstyles. Celebrities were running around with rhinestone cell phones and loud Ed Hardy T-shirts. The hemline index was referenced again with uber-short, denim miniskirts and in the form of waistlines, with low-rise jeans becoming the hottest trend. Economic excess made scandalizing clothes more appealing.
The fun times did not last long however, as the housing crisis and bank failures brought on The Great Recession in 2008.
Fast-fashion stores like Forever 21 sold trendy pieces at affordable prices and became more popular as consumers cut back on spending. In 2010, Forever 21 had over 500 stores nationwide, and sales peaked at $4.4 billion by 2015. Fast fashion won out as reasonable prices eased consumers back into their normal buying habits.
What This Means Today
According to the World Bank, the growth rate of consumer spending increased from 2009 to 2019 at a steady rate that fluctuated between 1 and 3.5 percent until 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic brought the whole world to a halt, and that included spending on fashion. As lockdowns lifted, and stimulus checks rolled in, shoppers were emboldened to go back to spending.
Often, online stores presented a place people could go to feel some semblance of normal life. With vacations, dining and nightlife out of the question, clothing and accessories were the next most accessible commodity.
According to McKinsey’s State of Fashion 2023, fashion revenues rose 21 percent from 2020 to 2021. Remote workers suddenly had excess capital because they were not spending money to go out. On top of that, stimulus checks further bolstered people’s bank accounts.
Maximalism in the form of dressing moved to the forefront, as people didn’t have to worry about their work wardrobe as much. Logomania, the phenomenon of designers plastering their repeating logo on clothes became a trend. Consumers were comfortable wearing flashy designer pieces. Social media helped encourage the rise of designer visibility, especially when the internet and iPhones were one of the few forms of escape.
But as the world opened back up to supply chain issues and higher interest rates, reality and practicality hit consumers in a real way that
can be seen in spending habits and on runways this year. McKinsey’s yearly fashion report shows that sales continued to decline from mid 2022, into 2023. They cite hyperinflation and depressed customer sentiments as the reasons.
Financing decreases for designers during a recession. Investors want to be sure they will recoup their money. So, simpler pieces might be pushed harder than extravagant, hard-to-sell garments.
“The classic silhouettes make it more accessible and wearable,” says Campos on why she thinks the trends are shifting. “I’d rather spend my money on a classic cut that I can wear for the rest of my life.”
Designers Feel the Shift, Too Designers are noticing a difference in market as well. Fashion designer Kovid Kapoor, of Bravo’s Project Runway fame says that retailers having more sales is a sign of economic downturn. Brands try to push product any way they can.
“You’ll also see in the market now that they are heavily trying to push sales. If you go to a retail store, you’ll always find a sale there, whereas that wasn’t always the case,” Kapoor says.
Kapoor cites retailer Zara’s move from a once yearly sale to always having a sale rack in the store as a major indicator of tougher times. He has never seen retailers offer so many sales. He’s also noticed that instead of customers buying dresses, they are more likely to splurge on sweatsuits because of their multiple uses.
“Every kid is buying the most expensive hoodie and the most expensive pajamas,” says Kapoor, “Why? Because they know that after wearing it, say 10 times outside, they can just wear it as a pajama or hoodie in their home and still feel fancy because it’s expensive.”
This echoes the sentiment of the workwear seen on the runways in favor of gowns. A blazer that can take you from work to brunch is more valuable to consumers than a piece they can only wear once on Instagram. Chasing logos is out this year.
Even though the longer hemlines and traditional pieces seen on the runways this year seems to signal troubling economic times, the good news is that people can rely on their wardrobe staples and still be fashionable.
READ FASHIONABLY FOR THE SUMMER
BY LARA BARNEY
“The Chiffon Trenches: Andre Leon Talley” By Andre Leon Talley- Fashion journalist and editor-at-large of Vogue magazine offers insights into the fashion industry in this memoir. Talley was famous for his over-the-top way of dressing and commitment to making his point of view known on red carpets and TV shows like “America’s Next Top Model.” The memoir spans his life from growing up in the Jim Crow South to falling into the good graces of Andy Warhol at Studio 54.
1. “Making Faces” By Kevyn Aucoin- Make your face anything you want with this book of makeup looks form the ‘90s. Kevin Aucoin shows readers behind the scenes tricks of the trade in this vintage fashion book. Madonna, Whitney Houston and Cher are just a few of his celebrity clients.
2. “Paradise Now: The Extraordinary Life of Karl Lagerfeld” By William Middleton-
3. Want to know more about this year’s Met Gala honoree? This biography spans nearly 40 years of the life of the man behind modern day Chanel. His world view was sometimes controversial, but his strong opinions and impeccable taste were what kept him at the forefront of fashion for his whole career.
4. “The House of Gucci” By Sara Gay Forden- The incredible true story of the rise and fall of the house of Gucci tell tales of glamour, greed and murder within the Gucci family. This book was turned into a movie of the same name starring Lady Gaga and Jared Leto. Money, true crime and a peek behind the inner workings of a renowned fashion house keep the pages turning in this account of the Gucci family.
5. “The Little Dictionary of Fashion” By Christian DiorLearn all the tips and tricks of the trade to exist elegantly in this comprehensive, alphabetized report written by the head of the Dior fashion house. This is a must have for a fashion lover or anyone who is looking to become a fashionista. Tips range from how to wear a scarf to walking with grace so fashionistas can be sure they never make a faux pas.
6. “Champagne Supernovas: Kate Moss, Alexander McQueen and the 90s Renegades who Made Fashion” By Maureen Callahan- Veteran pop culture journalist Maureen Callahan looks at the culture heads of the 90s who made fashion exciting. Club Kids, Supermodels and Scenesters tell stories about debauchery and drugs at a time when the norm was being tested by the fashion industry. In this thoroughly researched account, even fashion newbs can keep up with the thrilling stories told by the people who were there when it all went down.
7. “The Devil Wears Prada” By Lauren Weisberger- This famous book-turned-blockbuster is “not” about “Vogue” overlord Anna Wintour, but it is about a cutthroat editor-inchief of the uber-popular fictional magazine named “Runway.” While the book is a love story at its heart, it offers a compelling look inside the lives of fashion journalists trying to make it in New York City. Read the book, and then turn on the movie starring Anne Hathaway and watch in excitement and horror as the main character loses herself in the fashion machine. ∂
EDUCATORS: ADVOCATE FOR DISABLED STUDENTS OR LEAVE
BY SORINA SZAKACS
Students at East Los Angeles College can better navigate college life with the support of programs like Extended Opportunity Programs & Service (EOPS)and with the assistance of a group of counselors and Graciela Hernandez, the dean of EOPS, CARE, NextUp/CAFYES, Foster Youth—noble programs with good intentions.
But there is a problem. A group of parents, students, and former and current employees complain that the dean of EOPS perpetuates a hostile work environment. Parents say she abuses her powers and discriminates against students based on race and ability. They also say she does not care about any of the disabled students who turn to her office for help.
Some parents moved their children from ELAC to other colleges in the hopes of better services.
At the same time, the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) experiences lower enrollment.
Some of the employees who are meant to help, guide, comfort, and encourage students to fulfill their education are dismissive, ignorant, racist, and self-centered. So, it should not come as a surprise when those students seek help elsewhere.
ELAC’s Equity and Inclusion statement starts with the words: “Equity, inclusion, diversity, community - these are not just current buzz words.” Apparently, for the dean of EOPS, they are just that: “buzz words.” There is one official complaint registered against her with the district. It is signed by Jovany Munoz, who has been in a wheelchair for three decades and a counselor with ELAC for 17 years. Hernandez is his boss. He says Hernandez harasses him, that she
discriminates against students, and does not care about disabled people and their needs. She is not the only one, unfortunately. The elevators in two of the parking structures at ELAC have been out of service for months, and Professor Obed Silva, also in a wheelchair, has difficulties getting to his classes. His complaints have gone unanswered.
The ELAC Equity and Inclusion statement signed by the college’s academic senate reads: “The Academic Senate of East Los Angeles College is committed to fostering an environment that offers equal employment opportunity for all. Toward that end, the Academic Senate will include a notice on ADA accommodations consistent with district policy (...).”
What does “ADA accommodations consistent with district policy” even mean? Maria Hopkins, a disabled student from Los Angeles Trade Technical College (Trade Tech) who is in a wheelchair, failed three classes last semester because of out-of-service elevators. She’s failing this semester as well. One of her classes moved to an accessible floor at the end of April 2023—too little and too late.
I ask again what “consistent with district policy” means. Are we referring to the same district that blind students Roy Payan and Portia Mason filed a lawsuit against in 2017? Are we referring to the same district that planned on taking the case to the Supreme Court in an attempt to damage or maybe overturn the ADA just because they are incapable of admitting mistakes?
By March 2022, the same district had spent over $2 million in public money to fight the accessibility requests from disabled students.
This district continues to use “buzz words” to promote accessibility and inclusion but offers only disillusionment.
LACCD should drop the lawsuit and tend to all nine remedies articulated by Payan and Mason. LACCD should, if they did not receive enough federal and state aid for disabled students, ask for more money. LACCD must repair the elevators for the campuses to be ADA-compliant. It is not a whim: It is the law! LACCD should learn how to handle disabled students and stop treating them as second-class citizens. LACCD should train their employees (using dictionaries if necessary) about what inclusion, equity, and accessibility mean.
Chancellor Francisco Rodriguez should stop using “buzz words.” He promises accessibility and a commitment to the education of all students, including the disabled. He should lead and practice what he preaches, or the Board of Trustees should find a new chancellor. Because when you fight blind students for more than six years you cannot claim that you support or advocate for the disabled.
Payan and Mason continue to fight and hold the thought that positive change will come. They headed back to court in late May, after more than a year of failed negotiations and a last-ditch attempt at mitigation on April 5, when Payan said, “the district offered nothing.”
If the Trustees do not understand the seriousness of the problem, they do not understand that we are all one accident away from being disabled. This is not only an LACCD problem or a California problem. It is anyone’s problem who believes that public education must provide a level playing field and equal opportunity. We must all work together to support disabled students in their pursuit of an education. ∂
ILLUSTRATION BY BEATRICE ALCALA
RIHANNA’S
‘SOUND’ BREAKS
BARRIERS
BY ANTHONY FOLSOM
Justina Taylor Miles is a deaf American sign language (ASL) interpreter. She became the first Black female deaf interpreter to perform not only at the Super Bowl but at any sporting event. The jobs are primarily taken by white non deaf interpreters who sometimes sign meanings incorrectly.
Miles is a college student—a nursing major at Bowie State University, a HBCU located in Maryland.
In an interview on CBS Morning News after the Super Bowl in 2023, Miles said that her performance involved dancing because she wanted to show the music and not just the lyrics. Miles’ performance during Rihanna’s set list was out of this world. It sent shockwaves throughout social media with Twitter users voicing their opinions.
“This is the best thing I have seen all day, I love this lady,” said one Twitter user. “I just learned a few new ASL phrases ‘like I forgot’ is going to be my new go to LOL,” tweeted another user. “The sign language interpreter had more energy and was more interesting to watch than Rihanna,” said another user.
“Yes, I did see her halftime performance, including all three deaf performers.”
— Professor Michael Anthony Walsh
What was it about Miles’ performance that set the entire Twitter and TikTok world on fire overnight?
“Her ability to not only accurately sign but be representative of the deaf community being deaf herself was a momentous occasion for the NFL,” said a popular deaf YouTuber whose channel is called @StoriesInStride. “Her ASL was skilled, she had me grooving, and it was so delicious. Oh my God.”
Approximately 15% of American adults (37.5 million) aged 18 and over have reported difficulty hearing, thus placing them within the deaf community. Justina Miles’ videos continue to explode all over the internet today with millions of deaf community members reacting and chiming in on what was such a special and electrifying performance.
“Yes, I did see her halftime performance, including all three deaf performers,” said Professor Michael Anthony Walsh who teaches ASL at L.A. City College. “First off, I tip my hat her. I know how much time and energy it takes to translate one song to ASL, then practice and perform it. I translated a few songs myself back in college. I know how time-consuming it is and to make sure the signs match with the beat and not too far behind or ahead of the actual lyrics is a real challenge.”
One of Miles’ videos has over 11 million concurrent views on TikTok. It makes her the number one viral deaf sensation in the world. Her performance was made even more special because she was able to show the deaf audience the sound of the music as well as sign the lyrics to the songs.
Students and professors in the deaf and ASLfluent community at LACC know it is a difficult process. When Miles performed, she showed the music interpretatively, and she signed the words of Rihanna’s songs.
“She did a tremendous job translating the rhythm of the song with her body language and signs,” Professor Walsh said. “This is what the deaf community needs ... deaf individuals, such as Miles, are spreading awareness that
deaf people are capable of doing anything, including enjoying music by interpreting and performing.”
Critics say that too often interpreters for the deaf merely translate the lyrics at music events and concerts. They do not convey the meaning or the message properly much of the time. In other video clips of performances, Miles has worked with hip-hop artist Glorilla. She was again praised for being able to deliver the sound, the translation, and the tonality to the audience through ASL.
Students in the deaf community at LACC also voiced their support for Miles’ performance. They acknowledge the importance for the deaf community to gain increased awareness for the hearing impaired. The exposure helps them feel seen and heard.
“Justina is the first deaf interpreter at the Superbowl who went viral [and] that affected and shocked me, and she worked so hard on that to show the signing correctly,” said Victor Fregoso, a deaf student at LACC. “It is not a stable area, it’s very often up and down and it is always difficult for deaf people to be able to get the interpreter to match the individual style of signing.”
Fregoso says hearing people should be exposed to training in deaf culture.
“I also want to see hearing people learn American sign language as fluently so that they can be able to communicate with the deaf community,” Fregoso said.
Professor Walsh says social media, the internet, and technology provide opportunities and challenges to expand diversity and inclusion.
“A hot topic right now is whether hearing people should teach ASL,” Professor Walsh said. “This is an ongoing battle, and we need to find a common ground between the deaf community and the hearing world.”.
To see Justina Miles’s full Superbowl halftime performance, please visit her video on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=L4996X5hUZ8. ∂
“Justina is the first deaf interpreter at the Superbowl who went viral, [and] that affected and shocked me, and she worked so hard on that to show the signing correctly.”
“It is not a stable area, it’s very often up and down, and it is always difficult for deaf people to be able to get the interpreter to match the individual style of signing.”
— Victor Fregoso, deaf student at LACC
ILLUSTRATION BY CASSANDRA MUÑOZ
HACK MY LIFE A.I.
BY HENRY LOPEZ
The thought of completely allowing a machine to run your life is outrageous. Letting a machine or software make important life-altering decisions is not a wise choice, which is why that is exactly what I will do.
ChatGpt is one of the world’s most advanced AI software programs available.
It offers real-time learning and conversational abilities that are far beyond what I understand as a layman. The simple explanation is that ChatGpt get its information by scanning books, articles and lots of other data found on the internet in fractions of a second.
AI has all the information in the world readily available for anyone. I figured I might as well use this tool to improve my life because I cannot seem to do it on my own. ChatGPT, please help me get my life in order.
Question 1. How can I lose weight?
ChatGpt: There are many ways to lose weight, but the most effective approach is usually a combination of a healthy diet and regular exercise. Here are some tips that can help you achieve your weight loss goals: Reduce your calorie intake: To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit, which means burning more calories than you consume. You can achieve this by reducing your portion sizes, cutting back on high-calorie foods, and choosing low-calorie alternatives.
Eat a healthy, balanced diet: Focus on eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein. Avoid processed foods, sugary drinks, and high-fat foods.
Exercise regularly: Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. You can achieve this through activities such as brisk walking, cycling, swimming, or dancing. Get enough sleep: Lack of sleep can disrupt your hormones and lead to weight gain. Aim for at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
Stay hydrated: Drinking plenty of water can help you feel full and reduce your calorie intake. Remember, losing weight is a journey, and it takes time and commitment. Be patient with yourself and celebrate your progress along the way.
Thank you for the motivation ChatGpt. I’ll get right on this.
Question 2: How do I make friends?
ChatGpt: “Making friends can be challenging, but it’s an important part of our social and emotional wellbeing. Here are some tips that can help you make new friends: Be yourself. Authentivity can be key to making friends. Don’t try to be someone you’re not or pretend to like things you don’t. Instead, focus on being true to yourself and sharing your interests and values with others.
Get involved in activities: Joining clubs,
groups, or organizations that align with your interests can be a great way to meet like-minded people. Whether it’s a sports team, a book club, or a volunteer group, participating in activities you enjoy can help you connect with others who share your passions.
Attend social events: Whether it’s a party, a networking event, or a community gathering, attending social events can be a great way to meet new people. Strike up a conversation with someone new, and be open to getting to know them better.
Use social media: Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can be a great way to connect with people who share your interests. Join online groups or communities related to your hobbies or passions, and engage with others in the group.
Be kind and approachable: Smile, make eye contact, and show genuine interest in others.
A friendly and positive attitude can make you more approachable and increase the likelihood of making new friends.
Remember, making friends takes time and effort. Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t happen overnight. Keep putting yourself out there and be open to new experiences and opportunities to meet people.
Wow. I never thought of it that way ChatGpt, you make so much sense. Thank you.
Question 3: How can I pass all my classes?
ChatGpt: “Passing all your classes requires dedication, organization, and effective study habits. Here are some tips that can help you succeed:
Attend classes regularly: Attending all your classes is essential to understanding the material and keeping up with assignments and exams.
Take good notes: Taking thorough and organized notes can help you retain information and review it later.
Stay organized: Keep track of assignments, exams, and deadlines using a planner or digital calendar. This will help you stay on top of your work and avoid procrastination.
Manage your time effectively: Allocate enough time for studying, completing assignments, and preparing for exams. Avoid distractions such as social media, television, or video games.
Seek help when needed: Don’t be afraid to ask your teacher or classmates for help when you don’t understand a concept. You can also seek out tutoring or academic support services offered by your school or college.
Stay motivated: Set achievable goals, reward yourself for accomplishments, and remind yourself of the importance of doing well in school.
Take care of yourself: Eating well, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly can help you maintain your focus and energy levels. Remember, passing all your classes requires
consistent effort and commitment. Don’t wait until the last minute to start studying, and take advantage of the resources and support available to you. By staying organized, managing your time effectively, and seeking help when needed, you can achieve academic success.”
It’s so easy I cannot believe I haven’t done this before.
Yes, ChatGpt offers very simple and obvious solutions. I was expecting to see something I had not considered or a revolutionary method for tackling everyday problems. But at the end of the day, ChatGpt is not here to hack my life or yours. It is here to give us a glimpse into what most of the world already knows or practices. ChatGpt is not going to revolutionize the way we think. It may not even affect the way we think. However, it does offer a good reminder that bettering our lives and ourselves is up to us alone. ChatGpt, thank you for making me realize there are no short cuts in life. ∂
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH
FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS, ONE
Beach resorts and rainforests form a contrast to a skyline of high-rises in the financial district in a city known for highend fashion.
Glamour and natural beauty are a hallmark of the African city of one million people in Abidjan, in the Ivory Coast.
Retail spending and European and American luxury brands helped establish a stable economy and brought a nickname to Abidjan: “the Paris of West Africa.”
A lagoon encircles Abidjan, and it sparkled like a jewel as an African city of the future until the late 1990s.
The Ivory Coast won its independence from France in 1960, and it remained stable until a non-violent coup in 1999. There have always been religious tensions between the Muslim north and the Christian south.
War Changes Everything
Civil war erupted after a disputed presidential election in 2008 and again in 2011. Weapons flowed into the Ivory Coast from neighboring Liberia. The election aftermath gave rise to violence that claimed the lives of 3,000 people and included the rapes of hundreds of women and girls. The violence that followed undercut the 20 nation’s past stability and economic prosperity. It upended the lives of Ivoriens from one side of the country to the other, like 25-yearold Zenta Fogue. She fled to America.
She says her first year in the U.S. was the most difficult because of the language barrier, the culture and most importantly, her race.
“I feel a bit lost or disconnected,” Zenta told the Collegian Times. “I miss my home, my
friends, my family. I have gotten to a new place which was welcoming to me. But I left everything that made me who I am behind, and it is hard.”
In one of its recent travel advisories for the Ivory Coast, the U.S. State Department encouraged American travelers to “reconsider” any visit there because of civil unrest and terrorism.
“Crime continues to be a major public security concern in Côte d’Ivoire ... Violent crime, such as carjacking, robbery, and home invasion, is common,” the advisory stated. “Due to ongoing political tensions, demonstrations and protests are likely to occur and could become violent.”
Zenta has applied for asylum in the U.S., but there are obstacles. Despite the fact she obtained her authorization employment card that allows her to work, she does not qualify for important public services such as housing, or federal financial aid to help pay for college tuition.
A Text Worth Saving
Zenta says she became the victim of housing discrimination. She found a place to live in downtown Los Angeles for $600-$650 per month. It was described as a shared rental apartment. Occupants shared the living room and the kitchen, but there were two bedrooms, one for each tenant.
The building management offered her a private room with the adjoining bathroom inside. She says it was peaceful and perfect for study. They rented the room to her for $750, one hundred more than what was listed online, but they assured her there would only be two people in the apartment. She was skeptical at first but signed the contract. She spent two years in the
property without a problem until the day she received a text message from the management team. “Hey Zenta, I hope you are having a good day,” the text stated. “We are going to make some improvements in the unit, so we are relocating you and your roommate temporarily to another place. Please prepare your belongings for moving out, we will provide you with transportation.’’
Zenta says the text was vague. It came from the building manager who was newly hired by the management company.
Zenta asked why she did not receive proper notice, and they told her the company did not need to explain its business practices. She was mortified when the management team showed up the next morning to force her out of the apartment.
There were no specifics. They did not provide any information as to how long she would be out of her apartment or where she was going.
Quick Course in American Justice
She refused to move out without formal notice. They went upstairs to the unit where they demanded Zenta pack her belongings. She refused, and they pushed her to the side and threw her MacBook, camera, iPhone, school supplies and other belongings to the floor. They even removed her mattress, but they did not touch anything that belonged to her roommate.
“Leave my stuff alone, leave my stuff alone, you don’t have a right to touch anything here,” Zenta said. “I’m going to report you.’’
She cried because she was unable to stop them from destroying her property. Furious, she went downstairs and called the police. They arrived four hours later and listened to her story.
“It’s a civil matter, and we can’t do anything about it,” one of the policemen said. “So, get a lawyer.’’
Zenta found a lawyer online who asked for her evidence. After she shared everything, he asked where she was from, and how she planned to pay for the case. He said her immigration status would be a problem, and he immediately dropped the case. Zenta tried again with a non-profit law office, but as soon as the lawyers realized she was an immigrant asylumseeker, rather than an American Citizen, they rejected her case. She says she cried all night.
“I was in the room with my belongings on the floor, no bed, no mattress,” she said. “It was cold, so cold, that I doubled many dresses to finally sleep on the floor for three days.’’
Zenta’s roommate was concerned as she watched Zenta sleep on the floor. She offered to take a picture to add to the evidence.
The management team returned on the fourth day and entered without so much as a knock on the door. Zenta’s roommate was at work. They set up a bunkbed in the two women’s room.
“[There were] two white guys, six feet tall,
with one white girl helping them carry stuff,” she said. “I was mortified.”
Again, Zenta says they pushed her aside and said, “We don’t explain our business to you.’’ They left, and the room now had three beds. The rent was still $750 per month for Zenta but $600 for her roommate and the third person.
The lower payment for two roommates was a “secret,” that came out when the management company raised the rent for one of the others by $50 per month, according to Zenta. It came out when one of the roommates complained.
Zenta took a photo of the payment receipt for evidence. She did not give up and continued to look for a lawyer.
“The lawyer, Michael who saw all the evidence, photos [and] videos, said it was illegal what they did and advised me to file a small claim against them,’’ she said.
The lawyer also said it was illegal to evict a tenant during that period of COVID-19, according to California law. Zenta filed a small claims case for discrimination, emotional distress and abuse of tenant’s rights. She won the case and a judgment in the amount of $7,115. The defendant appealed.
At the second trial in Los Angeles Superior Court, there was a jury. The defendants arrived with their lawyers and offered to settle the case for less than half. They intimidated Zenta by saying the case would go public with a jury and would not be good for her immigration status or her record. Zenta did not have a lawyer for the second trial. She looked directly at the lawyers.
“We are all immigrants. You guys are from Ukraine, Turkey, and Russia,” Zenta said. “So, if this has to go public, we will all lose, not only me.”
She won for the second time, but collecting the judgment would prove to be a challenge. Four months later, she had only collected $3,000 of the court ordered settlement.
“It was a nightmare for me,’’ Zenta said. It was also an education that left her “confused and sad.” She says it bothers her that the management team is still out there working and “using their white privilege to hurt people.”
She says there are other immigrants who are victims of the same kind of injustice she suffered. Zenta says it is not an immigrant problem, but a human problem. ∫
BY POUPY GAELLE NGUETSOP
MORE TIME
PHOTO COURTESY CREATIVE COMONS 2.0
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH
A sky view of downtown Abidjan, in the Ivory Coast: It is a retail spending destination for European and American tourists.
2. Gigi Rutsky, “High School Students Fight for Representation In Newberg,” Flux, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR;
3. Sydney Sullivan, “Art and Soul,” Flux, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR;
CM. Beatrice Alcala, “Ruby or not Ruby,” Collegian Times, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, CA;
CM. Lauren Maingot, “Super Pan,” Distraction, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL; CM. Isa Marquez, Brought to LIfe, Distraction, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL. 89:$8);/$<&1)$=)/>1-
1. Beatrice Alcala, “Students Launch New Effort Marcus Garvey Name,” Collegian Times, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, CA;
2. Alex Hindenlang, Memories of Manhattan, “The Ball State Daily News,” Ball State University, Muncie, IN.
1. Beatrice Alcala, “City Rests on Hallowed Ground,” Collegian, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, CA.
1. Arianna Flores and Téa McGilvray, “Path to the Present,” The Daily Toreador, Texas Tech, Lubbock, TX;
1. Beatrice Alcala, Collegian Times, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, CA; 2. Staff, Distraction, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL;
3. Gigi Rutsky, Flux, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR;
CM. Dylan Sokolovich, Legacy, Reading Area Community College, Reading, PA; CM. Staff, Distraction, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL; CM. Staff, Distraction, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL.
1. Jillian Regan, “On The Basis of Success,” Flux, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR;
CM. Ava Dunwoody and Rachel Royster, “Students' Resilience Pays Off as Normalcy Returns to Baylor,” The Baylor Lariat, Baylor University, Waco, TX; CM. Ava Dunwoody, “Homecoming History,” The Baylor Lariat, Baylor University, Waco, TX; CM. Malik Clement and Abbey London, “Making a Difference One Batch at a Time,” The Ithacan, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY.
1. Joan Mao, “Ruby or not Ruby,” Collegian Times, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, CA;
2. Emma Ingenohl and Dylan Wilson, “FW 21 Photoshoot,” Polished Magazine, Lasell College, Newton, MA.
1. Alyshia Korba, “IC Trustee Continues to Hold Power Despite Credible Abuse Allegations,” The Ithacan, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY;
2. Maya Wilkins, “The First Domino,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;
3. Sorina Szakacs, “Final Say on Disabled Lawsuit Could Rest with Supreme Court,” Collegian, L.A. City College, Los Angeles, CA;
2. Beatrice Alcala, “The Day of the Dead,” Collegian Times, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, CA;
3. Abbey Douglass and Chyna Vargas, “COVID-19 Remains,” The Daily Toreador, Texas Tech, Lubbock, TX; CM. Maggie Getzin, “Invaluable Experiences,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN.
1. Alex Hindenlang, “Deconstructing Deforestation,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;
2. Beatrice Alcala and Louis White, “Armenian Genocide,” Collegian Times, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, CA; 3. Mallorey Daunhauer and Carson TerBush, “How the Trojan Horse is Surviving the Great Resignation,” Indiana Daily Student, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN;
“Building History,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;
CM. Kaitlyn Radde, “In Prison, Knowledge is Power',” Indiana Daily Student, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN; CM. Sorina Szakacs, “La Brea Avenue: Part of an Icy World,” Collegian Times, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, CA; CM. Samantha Salz, “Pitt Professors Provide Aid to Struggling Ukranians,” The Pitt News, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.
1. Christian Chavez, “My Grandfather Goes Activist,” Collegian Times, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, CA; 2. Elissa Maudlin, “Braiding Through the Boundaries,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN; 3. Sarah-Mae McCullough, “Between Two Worlds,” Flux, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR;
1. Michael Sitar, “My Eggs My Choice,” Collegian, L.A. City College, Los Angeles, CA;
2. Morgan Dowler, “Black History Month,” The Baylor Lariat, Baylor University, Waco, TX.
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2. Morgan Dowler, “Homecoming King,” The Baylor Lariat, Baylor University, Waco, TX;
3. Staff, “Sowing a New Normal,” The Oklahoma Daily, Crimson Quarterly magazine, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK; CM. Téa McGilvray, “Joe Biden,” The Daily Toreador, Texas Tech, Lubbock, TX.
1. Louis White, Collegian Times, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, CA;
2. Henry Cohen and John Ofstedal, OR Magazine, University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, Eugene, OR.
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1. Rachel Hubbard, Jonathan Kyncl and Beth Wallis, “Fight for Life on Oklahoma's Death Row,” The Oklahoma Daily, Crimson Quarterly magazine, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK;
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1. Angela Johnson, Juan Mendoza and Sorina Szakacs, “Cultural Feature: History Intersects,” Collegian, L.A. City College, Los Angeles, CA; 2. Ashima Agnihotri, “Redpath Trial Brings Art AR to Harbour Front,” Et Cetera, Humber College, Toronto, Ontario;
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CM. Stefan Townes, “Dave Chappelle is a Relic, It’s Time to Retire Him,” Indiana Daily Student, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN CM. Christian Chavez and Louis White, “Cultural Feature: Brit Week Drives Through Beverly Hills,” Collegian, L.A. City College, Los Angeles, CA CM. Madelyn Kemler,
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2. Emily Stellakis, “The Digital Fight for Unionization on Capitol Hill,” Marist Circle, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY;
3. Kaitlyn Radde and Carson TerBush, “In the Dark: Transparency Rule Fails to Shed Light on Costs for IU Health Bloomington Patients,” Indiana Daily Student, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN; CM. Brynn Shaffer, “Understanding the Reality of Food Insecurity on Campus,” Los Angeles Loyolan, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA; CM. Staff, “Then & Now: The Pruett Story,” The Signal, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, AR; CM. Mason Young, “How Much is One Sooner Worth? Explaining OU's Role in College Football's Head Coaching Salary Boom,” The Oklahoma Daily, Crimson Quarterly magazine, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.
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CM. Harper Mayfield and Foster Nicholas, “Don't Feed the Bears (Oct. 4, 2022 episode),” The Baylor Lariat, Baylor University, Waco, TX.
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2. Daniel John, “Autophagy: The Immense Benefits of Fasting,” Saltman Quarterly, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA;
3. April Lin, “Implications and Gray Matter of Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder”, Saltman Quarterly, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA; CM. Daniel John, “Hydrogels: The Structure of Us,” Saltman Quarterly, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA.
TONGVA RISING
BROKEN TREATIES, SLAVE LABOR,
INCARCERATION
AND CHECKS FOR PENNIES ON THE ACRE FOR NATIVE LANDS HAVE BECOME PART OF THE LEGACY OF THE GABRIELINO/TONGVA
TRIBE AND LED MANY TO SAY THE UNITED STATES HAS FAILED THEM.
BY JESSICA VASQUEZ,
BRIAN LEONLARA, MICHELLE MCCREE, CHELSEA RAMON, BEATRICE ALCALA
(Right)
practices the age-old tradition of smudge, which is used to anoint people and places to cleanse them of bad energy, worry or stress.
College students traipse back and forth as they beat a path to classes at Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount, East Los Angeles College and L.A. City College without giving much thought to the fact that they walk on sacred grounds the Tongva Indians once called home.
UCLA is also built on the ancestral lands of the Gabrielino/Tongva. It is one of the largest land grant institutions in California, and it benefitted from the relocation of the Tongva tribe in the late 19th Century.
Each campus in the UC system is located on lands granted by the state that were once the homelands of Native Americans, according to “Resources on Native Americans and Indigenous Affairs,” an online database at UCLA.
The university has granted free tuition to indigenous students from federally recognized tribes, but the Tongva are not among them.
A month of calls and emails to outgoing UCLA Chancellor Gene Block about tuition benefits were not answered. The slight irks Bernie Acuña, a former chief of the San Gabriel Gabrielino/ Tongva Tribe for 15 years.
“I don’t want to see them get robbed of all this stuff mainly like ... How can they not,” Acuña said. “How can they not let them go to UCLA [on a] scholarship? All the other natives can go except them and on our land.”
Acuña says his family did not own a lot of land, but he remembers the day the government bought it from his family for pennies per acre.
“I remember my mom getting a check, and she was happy,” Acuña said. “I couldn’t believe looking back on all of them. I’m like, how could we have accepted that check. It should never been cashed -- 7 cents an acre. That’s absurd for Southern California, and I don’t know who else got checks. But looking back as an adult, my mom had no idea what she was doing by cashing that check.”
A new Chancellor, Julio Frenk takes over at UCLA in January of 2025. At a recent news conference, Chancellor Frenk said he will begin his new position with a listening exercise. Perhaps, he will listen to Tongva voices.
Tribal Elder Extends a Hand
Kenneth L. Douglas is a member of the Chippewa Tribe of Saginaw, Michigan. He says 16 of 18 tribes have regained federal recognition in California, and the Tongva could as well. The road to federal recognition is a long one, but the benefits are powerful. Federally recognized tribes qualify for tax breaks and receive support for economic development.
Medical coverage plans, grants and the chance benefit if a casino were ever opened in L.A.
County could improve the financial stability of each tribal member.
“We have, I think 3,400 members in our tribe,” Douglas said. “And of course, we’ve been gaming. We have two casinos and our whole state only has like 5,000 residents to come to a casino, but Los Angeles County has 12 million residents.” Each member of the Michigan Chippewa Tribe collects over $60,000 per year from the proceeds of the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort and the Saganing Eagles Landing Casino & Hotel. Douglas has sharp instincts. He worked with Tribal Council members to unearth an important tax benefit for the members of his tribe and other tribes in Michigan. It began in 2014 as he searched the internet.
“The treasury officer was mentioning the removal of tribal taxes in a 2014 meeting they had with Tribal Members. I did my research and took the finding to Frank Cloutier (SCIT Public Relations Director at the time) and together we presented it to Tribal Council,” Douglas said in a December 2023 story in The Tribal Observer.
“The proposal meant saving our membership over 20 million dollars a year in personal tax savings. Obviously, we were pretty excited.”
Now, Douglas is working with Acuña to help the San Gabriel Gabrielino/Tongva, which has 3,000 members in the Los Angeles area. From there, things get complicated. Another obstacle to Tongva recognition arises because the tribe has five different groups. The Tongva split 20 years ago over political differences, according to an article in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. This makes interaction and progress toward federal status more of a challenge.
“Mission Impossible,” former chairman Acuña said to the Collegian Times about gaining federal recognition.
But new possibilities emerged when U.S. Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37) introduced H.R. 6859 in January, a pathway to recognition.
“I am glad to introduce this legislation to Federally recognize the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation,” the Congresswoman stated in a press release. “It is critical for Indigenous individuals to have access to the resources afforded to the Federally recognized Tribes from education and employment opportunities to health care and beyond. I will continue to work in Congress to support the Indigenous communities across California and the rest of our nation.” Sandonne Goad is the chairwoman of the Gabrielino/ Tongva San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians the Tongva faction represented in the legislation.
“Erasure takes many forms, and federal recognition is just one way to right the wrongs of history,” Chairwoman Goad said in a statement last January.
(Left) PHOTO BY JESSICA CHORTKOFF.
PHOTO BY SARA BRACCI. Former Chief of the Gabrieleno Tongva Tribe, Bernie Acuña
Tongva Imprint in Los Angeles Basin (Tovaangar)
Tongva history in the Los Angeles Basin dates back seven centuries.
They lived in present-day Los Angeles County, Orange County, and portions of surrounding areas in semi-permanent villages situated near water sources, such as rivers, springs and the coastline.
AnMarie Mendoza is a UCLA graduate student and co-director of the film: “The Aqueduct Between Us.” The oral history outlines the life and culture of the Tongva in San Diego and in Los Angeles.
“When the Spanish came ... we were not allowed to go down to the water any longer,” Mendoza says in her film. “The water in Tongva is ‘Paar’ (pah-arr) or PAYA.”
The Tongva culture was not recognized by the arriving Europeans. The language they spoke, known as Tongva or Gabrielino, belonged to the Uto-Aztecan family. It had several dialects spoken by different villages. Some experts consider it Los Angeles’ first language, according to a 2019 article in the Los Angeles Times.
The Tongva had rich artistic traditions, creating intricate baskets, pottery, and other crafts. They also engaged in storytelling, music, and dance, which were integral to their cultural and spiritual practices.
Life in pre-Los Angeles got harder for Native populations when the Spaniards enslaved the Tongva and gave them the name of Gabrieleño.
“The Spanish came to San Diego in 1542, and then the missions began in the Los Angeles area in about 1771, and from then on life as we knew it changed completely,” said Kelly Caballero a Tongva Activist and musician.
A Tongva tribal scholar recalls what transpired after the Spaniards arrived in “The Aqueduct Between Us.” It started with the rape of the wife of a chief. When the chief confronted the soldiers, he too was murdered.
“It was bad, it was very bad,” says L. Frank Manriquez. “Everything went to hell. That’s when Gods were thrown into the trash, women and men were killed and our language and our baskets were burned. Everything that human beings can do to each other was done.”
It was a brutal occupation as rape, kidnapping and slaughter followed the soldiers of Spain throughout the territory in the name of the pope, and the king and queen of Spain, according to a publication from the Native American Heritage Commission.
Chief Redblood Anthony Morales of the Tongva/San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians is an activist in Los Angeles who can trace his heritage back hundreds of years. He advocates for the preservation of sacred lands in the Los Angeles Basin.
“They just took our land,” Chief Morales said.
Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River is located on the East rim of the Grand Canyon and was first inhabited by Native American groups, which include the Ancestral Puebloan Hisatsinom the Paiute, Navajo and others who used the area as a hunting and campground.USA.Wikimedia
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The Tongva and Chumash Tribes still use this plank-built boat called tomol (Chumash) or te’aat (Tongva). Both tribes continue to use the seaworthy boats between Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and the Channel Islands as their ancestors did. These vessels are usually between 10–30 feet in length and 4-feet wide.
(Bottom) Collegian Archives.
A young Tongva boy is steeped in Native American culture and traditional dress, as he sits with his elders during a historical reenactment in Long Beach, Calif.
“It was unseeded; it was taken by force. Not only did they take our land but also our freedom and lives: They ‘genocided’ us.”
In 1824, the first Mexican republic begun its independence. The constitution guaranteed citizenship to everyone and allowed indigenous people to live free in their villages. That same year, the Colonization Act gave land grants to white Californians and privileged citizens of Mexico, according to the Native American Heritage Commission. In 10 years, the government of Mexico removed the missionaries but took the Tongva lands for themselves.
Fights Persist for Rights to Water Water represents the spiritual and the practical to many indigenous tribes, and nowhere did this become more apparent than during the pandemic in 2019.
Tribes in the Southwestern U.S. struggled amid COVID-19 with a shortage of drinking water.
The Navajo Nation endured an infection rate that was 21 percent higher than New York. However, the water shortage has been going on for 100 years, according to a representative of the Navajo Nation Bar.
“It really is the time now to address this problem, to get water to all Americans,” said Heather Tanana, a professor with the University of Utah Law School in a report on National Public Radio.
The Navajo Nation suffered another setback last year, when the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to reject an 1868 treaty that extended water rights of the Colorado River to the tribe.
An L.A. City College student and member of the Navajo Nation says the Supreme Court should recognize and honor sovereignty, and that tribes have a right to control their resources.
“Water has a profound cultural and spiritual value, and their wellbeing and traditional customs depend on having access to clean, plentiful water,” said Sal Yazhi Lozano. “Navajo communities place a high value on water from a cultural and spiritual standpoint, and they depend on clean, plentiful water to maintain their way of life and traditions.”
Although the Supreme Court ruled against the Navajo Nation, the tribe could still gain access to Colorado River rights. A proposed settlement could grant extensive access to the Navajo, the Hopi and the Southern Paiute Tribes, according to the Associated Press. Tribes across the U.S. are watching and have a vested interest in the outcome. Former Chief Acuña is among them.
“If we keep fighting and stick together, maybe someday, we can get some of our rights back,” Acuña said. “I would just like to see the younger generation and new kids come up and get their federal recognition and know their history and all their rights and so it does not get lost, because that is what is happening right now.” ∫
PHOTO BY ROBERT SCHWEMMER /NOAA PUBLIC DOMAIN
PHOTO BY JESSICA CHORTKOFF
ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAEL SITAR
PHOTO BY CHARLES WANG CC BY-SA 4.0
VIOLENCE UNRAVELS AMERICAN LIVES
NOTHING ABOUT COMING TO THE U.S. PREPARED THE MARSTON FAMILY FOR THEIR CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN DREAM.
BY POUPY GAELLE NGUETSOP
“But I got adopted in Tennessee. Then we moved to Missouri and then to Georgia. Then, back to Tennessee.”
— Charles Daniel Marston
He used to be a bad guy, but he converted to a good one. That is how 29-year-old Charles Daniel Marston sums up his life and the triggers and events that influenced his bad behavior as a teen.
Two decades ago, he was a nine-yearold, and he was part of his parents’ dream of a new life in America.
They immigrated from Bucharest, the largestcity in Romania, to Nashville with Daniel and his younger sister Sarah. Three years later, everything would change as their dreams of a stable life in the United States ended.
Daniel was 12 and alone in America. His parents and his little sister died from gunshot wounds in a robbery. It happened as his sister awoke from a nap in her parent’s arms. Daniel says he ran and found a hiding place behind some drapes where no one could find him.
The violence and the loss traumatized him, and he began to act out. He says he suffered from deep depression, and for years, he failed to resolve the tragic events.
He returned to Romania for two years. When he returned to the U.S., he was 14 years old and spent a year in a group home.
Life on the Move
“So, when I was in group homes, I moved a lot,” Daniel wrote. “But I got adopted in Tennessee. Then, we moved to Missouri and then to Georgia. Then, back to Tennessee.”
By high school, Daniel became known in the neighborhood as a “bad boy.” He committed burglaries and crashed cars. He indulged in illegal drugs and eventually became an addict.
‘’I went to the street, I did a lot of bad things because my parents passed away,” he said. “I just didn’t know how to cope with the pain and the trauma of my family’s death. I thought I could master the pain with drugs, alcohol and women, but I was wrong. I didn’t really have a parent figure who can tell me ‘Hey Daniel this is good, or this is wrong.’ I didn’t have anybody.’’
Daniel needed good counsel. His misguided behavior led him to a turning point in 2014.
A local publication called Smokey Barn News published a headline: “Man arrested for impersonating police officer at Springfield Middle School.” Daniel was that man. County sheriffs brought him in for questioning after school officials called to report he was on school property after hours.
Deputies questioned Daniel, and he confessed to trespassing and impersonating a law enforcement officer. What happened next would prove to be a mixed blessing. Daniel was sentenced to jail for two years, but it was there that he finally received the type of support that was missing for most of his life in America. He enrolled in correctional classes in prison. He lost his freedom but finally received intervention and emotional support.
Gun Violence Plays Recurring Role It was clear from his past brush with the law that Daniel was attracted to law enforcement.
After his release from jail, he found legitimate work as a security guard at a bank. He became good friends with another security guard on the job. But the past came rushing back once more, and everything changed.
“It was during a bank robbery, Frank, my best friend got shot,” Daniel said. “One day, a group of guys came in to rob the bank. We called the police, and for some reason during a gunfire exchange between the police and thieves, my friend got shot, and it was the last time we [would] see and talk to each other.”
He says he never forgave himself for failing to protect his best friend that day. It compounded the childhood pain of losing his parents and sister.
A few years later, he decided to leave Tennessee. He went to Atlanta, and it was a good move. He had a girlfriend, and he was living what seemed like a normal American life. It ended abruptly at a neighborhood Walmart that became the scene of a gang shootout. As before, everything seemed to happen at once.
“I was trying to follow the store instructions with my girl,” Daniel said. “It went so fast I can’t really tell from which side the gunfire was coming from. Then, while running, my girlfriend got shot, and she passed away in the ambulance car on the way to the hospital.”
It was deja vu for the now 25-year-old immigrant. Once more, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the consequences were devastating.
“The gang was arrested but my girl wasn’t there anymore,” he said referring to the shootingdeath of his girlfriend.
Today, Daniel lives in Los Angeles and keeps pursuing his dreams. That includes a family life.
“I feel alone, and today more than ever, I want to marry, have kids and build a small family,’’ he said.
He registered for online classes at L.A. City
College and enrolled in criminal justice courses.
He found a new job and works at 7-Eleven corporate. Once a week, Daniel volunteers at a non-profit organization that helps vulnerable people--especially people on the street. He says he volunteers every Thursday, from 10 a.m. to midnight.
To de-stress, Daniel works out at a gym, four times a week. He is fit, and says he wants to stay in shape. There is a normalcy to his life, which includes church service on Sundays. He does not drink. He does not smoke. He
exercises self-discipline and maintains a sober lifestyle. It is a contrast to his teenage years. Daniel seems quiet, but he offers words of encouragement for others. His life in America speaks volumes about the way a family’s dream unraveled in a new land.
“It’s important not to judge yourself for being a bit unsure of what to feel in these moments,” Daniel wrote in a text. “Tell yourself affirmations in the mirror. Stay consistent in your immigration and legal work. Don’t try to run. Uplift yourself.” ∫
PHOTO BY POUPY GAELLE NGUETSOP
SAY HELLO TO MY FRIEND
BY HENRY LOPEZ
BY MICHAEL SITAR
It is early afternoon on a Tuesday in March when I receive a phone call with some excellent news.
The screams of joy on the other end almost burst my eardrum.
“I passed, I passed,” the voice kept screaming. The phone call I received was from Sophia Ramirez, a 36-year-old mother of three. She decided to return to school last year after being out of college for 18 years.
“I can’t believe it ... I didn’t think this was possible,” she said.
Sophia is one of 36,994 English Learner students (EL), at California community colleges, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. The excitement came from Sophia learning that she passed an entrance exam into Chamberlain University. However, it wasn’t the material that was keeping her up at night, it was the thought of having to write an essay explaining why she wanted to attend the nursing program at the University.
Like many children of immigrant parents, Sophia’s first language was not English. She learned Spanish before she ever learned English because it was the only language spoken at home. Her only exposure to English was through television and at pre-school. The only time she got to practice English was at school.
“I couldn’t talk to my mom or dad in English because they wouldn’t understand. They’d be like, que?” Sophia says laughing.
And like many EL students, she learned to mix both languages into what is commonly known as “Spanglish,” but “Spanglish” does not help you write the best essays. Especially not for entrance exams.
It was not until Sophia began to use ChatGPT for editing her writing, that she started to gain confidence. She says she felt capable of conveying her ideas into cohesive and clear thoughts. She would write out her paper and then cut and paste it into ChatGPT and ask the software to spell check and grammar check her paper. Sometimes she would ask it for synonyms or for a better word, and she would learn various ways to construct sentences.
ChatGPT is a super advanced chatbot that has advanced conversational and real-time learning capabilities. In other words, it is a computer program you can talk to, and it can talk back to you. It does not literally talk, yet, but you can type in questions or commands and ChatGPT will answer you back almost instantaneously.
Progress Puts Educators on Edge
OpenAI, a research and Artificial Intelligence development company, launched the program on Nov. 30, 2022. ChatGPT is not the first chatbot, but it is by far the most advanced. The program is
so advanced that it can make lists, recommend movies, engage in philosophical debates and edit or write essays. Professor Marc C. Santos teaches English at the University of Northern Colorado. He says educators will need to reflect on the kinds of writing assignments they craft.
He suggests that teachers and schools look within themselves to meet the challenge of emerging technologies in classrooms. Professor Santos mentions colleagues who already use Turnitin, a plagiarism detecting program for grading papers. Teachers do not have the time to read and grade 30 to 40 essays that are eight pages long. Students will argue that is the same as using AI for writing an essay because it is a software program that is deciding their grade and not the professor whose job it is to make that decision.
OpenAI is also working on software than can detect if a student has used ChatGPT to write an entire assignment to prevent the abuse of the writing capabilities of the software.
Overall, Professor Santos is not too worried about chatbots affecting his students or his university.
“We should be moving away from grades, and with them, a stronger focus on student labor and growth ... things like that are a little more difficult to measure, and if you are operating that mindset, I think something like ChatGPT becomes less problematic,” he says.
As a society, we are living in a technological boom. ChatGPT is just the flavor of the month. lists for you, recommend books, movies, engage in philosophical debates, edit essays or even write the essays for you. The last part of that statement is what is making waves in higher education.
All this is possible just by opening a free account on the OpenAI website. For the amazing cost of nothing, users can have a super advanced program write an essay for them in less than five minutes. It is understandable why colleges, and all schools are on high alert when it comes to ChatGPT.
Two weeks after the launch of ChatGPT, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest school district in the nation, restricted access to the software on its district network to “protect academic honesty,” according to a district spokesperson in a report in the Washington Post. There is still no consensus on how learning institutions should police the use of AI software in an academic setting. However, most school districts and higher learning institutions have declared the use of ChatGPT an act of plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own.” All schools have a policy on plagiarism. It is usually mentioned in the “Academic Misconduct” section of a school’s rules section, and it is included in the
syllabus of every college class. The consequences range from failing the class to expulsion.
“Someone else’s work or ideas ...” that is the part of the definition that muddles things for higher education. In an interview with Wired, Emily Hipchen, a board member of Brown University’s Academic Code Committee indicates that the use of generative AI by students leads to a critical point of contention.
Chatbots emerge as villains in some educators’ eyes.
“If [plagiarism] is stealing from a person,” she says, “then I don’t know that we have a person who is being stolen from.” After all, ChatGPT is a software. Code. A non-living, non-person technological tool.
There have been more negative things written about chatbots than anyone can count, but there are real positive outcomes, if educators and students learn to incorporate them into higher learning. It helped Sophia get into a college and a program she can master by helping her, instead of doing the work for her. It might even lead to educational reform.
“There’s the possibility that this will encourage us to just develop better pedagogy,” Professor Santos says. “It’s [going to] require universities to really think about class size and teacher workload to help us realize those changes.”
ILLUSTRATION
There are countless versions of AI software available to the public and professionals
Midjourney is an AI based art creating software that can produce stunning pieces of visual media, all from a prompt on a keyboard. If you have ever wanted a drawing of your pet, waiting in line for a driver’s license, Midjourney can do that for you.
If you are bored and really want to test if you are indeed smarter than a computer, you can use “Quick, Draw” a drawing game developed by Google that tasks you with drawing something for the software to identify.
AI is even being used in the medical field to help develop medication and for early detection diagnosis. Pfizer is using AI for gene sequencing and to predict medication efficacy and side effects. John Hopkins University has developed AI software that can predict if a patient is susceptible to sepsis and has cut down sepsis deaths by 20% in their hospital.
“It is the first instance where AI is
and have taught their students how to use the A recent survey asked teachers how they use ChatGPT, and 42% percent said they use it for saving time with grading and to provide student feedback.
On the other side of the coin, Bestcolleges. com conducted a survey of 1,000 current undergraduate and graduate students about their use of ChatGPT. Forty-three percent admit to using ChatGpt but of that percentage, the majority, 51%, said that using ChatGPT constitutes cheating and plagiarism if it is being used to complete assignments. This verifies that the majority want to complete their assignments without the use of AI.
“This to me feels like a new beginning,” says 25-year-old Kayla Marquez, someone who is thinking about returning to school. “A way to move away from struggling to learn and to give others a chance to have a seat at the table.”
Marquez says she was aware of ChatGPT but did not know exactly what the software was or what it could be used for. Her initial thought was, “Isn’t that cheating?” but she pauses for a moment to really think about what this tool could mean for her as she contemplates returning to school.
“Education is fluid, and as we evolve with technology, so should curriculum and standards because time after time, we are shown that not one student grasps or articulates or gathers information the same,” Marquez says.”
The consensus is that writing is an art form. It is full of nuance and deep personal flourishes that define a writing style or a writer, that has yet to be perfected. History is filled with influential writers that have left an impermeable indent on society. An AI program is incapable of writing an essay that would capture the essence of a person appropriately, and that matters.
implemented at the bedside, used by thousands of providers, and where we’re seeing lives saved,” said Suchi Saria, founding research director of the Malone Center for Engineering in Healthcare at Johns Hopkins and lead author of the studies in an interview with Hub, John Hopkins University online magazine.
The possibilities lead to interesting questions. Should doctors who use AI have their medical licenses revoked? Should artists give up on creating pieces of art? Of course not. These are extreme solutions for technology that helps humankind evolve as caretakers and creatives. The same attitude should be used with ChatGPT and students. It should be seen as a tool to help students evolve and develop their full potential. Five months after the launch of ChatGpt, opinion is starting to shift. Intelligent.com conducted a survey of 1,000 high school, undergraduate, and graduate instructors and professors and found that 98% of them use ChatGPT and 84% of them approve of its use
“I know I can write, it’s just hard for me to find the right words or for me to sound smart,” Sophia says assuring me that the essay she turned in was written by her. “You can tell when someone writes something themselves.”
Time will tell if educators adjust to the realities of advanced AI in society. Some people welcome it with open arms because it makes life easier while others bemoan the loss of humanity by having everything automated. Maybe this all goes away with OpenAI removing their free option for using its program. Nothing can kill momentum like a price point.
Perhaps this all subsides when schools and educators realize that good can come from adopting AI to assist students and by realizing that most students just want help and not a shortcut. Institutions could brag about higher graduation rates, more diverse campuses, or their educational reform plan that benefits both professors and students. Or maybe it will be the simple realization from Professor Santos.
“ChatGPT will be seductive to people who want thought,” he said, “but can’t think.” ∂
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH
EVICTIONS
DOMINATE CITY OF SUNSHINE, STARS
LANDLORDS AND RENTAL MANAGEMENT COMPANIES VICTIMIZE FAMILIES AND GO AFTER THEIR APARTMENTS.
BY JUAN MENDOZA
Imagine a family with two young girls being evicted from their apartment.
They have no place to go, no place to shower, and they must attend school. The only option for the family is to shelter in the car.
The number of family members who face homelessness every day on the streets of Los Angeles, according to the most recent report by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority is close to 17, 592. The numbers are staggering.
“So many parents are afraid to say they are homeless because they are scared their kids will be taken away,” said Alicia Baltazar, a community activist and a member of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE).
In the first three months of this year, about 4,000 evictions were filed in L.A. County Superior Court, according to Guadalupe Gonzalez, a senior housing organizer with ACCE.
“It’s impossible to have enough lawyers available to represent each one of the cases,” she said.
“Educating the tenants about their rights is an important tool more than ever to avoid evictions.”
The organizers from ACCE shared some of the experiences of three families with the Collegian Times who recently were evicted. They know how painful and cruel the experience can be for the families when the sheriff shows up at the door, banging, yelling and demanding an immediate exit from the apartment.
Eda’s Story
The city code enforcement housing inspector in Norwalk evicted a family of six.
For five years, Eda’s family did not know that the apartment they were living in was not certified for occupancy by the city of Norwalk.
Everything started when the family received a notice from the Housing Department that their apartment needed to be inspected. The family welcomed the notice and granted access to the inspector without understanding the consequences the inspection would bring.
During the assessment of the unit, the inspector found that the apartment did not comply with the proper building permits and declared it unsafe, uninhabitable and a potential hazard for the family.
Then, the city code enforcement inspector placed a red tag on the residence and notified the family that the property was not safe for occupancy in its present state.
The inspector directed the family to vacate the apartment within three days, according to Villanueva.
with the request for the proper use of the garage.
Then, the owner initiated the eviction process for violation of the terms of the rental agreement.
cried with them too.
Nancy Villanueva, Elizabeth Hernandez, and Hassan Zuñiga are community organizers for the Los Angeles chapter of ACCE. They spend considerable time in the field as they assist homeless families after eviction. They are aware that the number of families evicted increased recently.
Demand for housing ratchets up prices
Landlords and home rental management companies used illegal tricks to evict families because of high demand for housing in Los Angeles. They increased the rent by more than the law allows. Many times, they doubled or tripled the rent families paid depending on the demand and the area.
Another common strategy that landlords used to drive tenants from their apartments was to pass on making repairs and maintenance of rental property. Tenants who found themselves living with uninhabitable conditions just leave the unit, according to Villanueva.
“One of the problems is that people are evicted [because] either they do not know their rights, or they do not have the money to pay the rent after the pandemic,” Gonzalez said.
When a house becomes red tagged by a city code enforcement inspector, a large red sign is posted in front of the house. The notice is visible from the street and prohibits entry to the property without written authorization. Gonzalez says if people are caught on the property, they can be arrested for trespassing.
The family of Eda was in trouble. They were caught by surprise, and they had to move out in three days. That is a short period of time to find an apartment in Los Angeles. Villanueva says it is impossible.
Eda’s sister helped the family to move into her apartment. The two families shared an aging and overcrowded home.
“This is not the best apartment to live in, but it is not alright to put a family on the street with a three-day notice.” Villanueva said. “The street is worse than the apartment.”
The Story of Griselda In 2021, Griselda’s family received a three-day notice from the landlord to “fix the problem or move out.” The landlord has the power to issue this type of notice if the tenant isn’t following the rental agreement, and the problem can be fixed.
Griselda’s husband, worked as a carpenter and he was using the parking space as his personal shop and storage for materials and equipment.
He never thought that the notice issued by the landlord was a serious one. He failed to comply
The court requires the plaintiff to notify the defendant in a lawsuit. In this case, the owner did not notify the family that they were sued until the sheriffs showed up at the apartment with a five-day eviction notice. Griselda’s family had to vacate the unit in five days.
Failure to serve the tenant is illegal, because the tenant does not have the opportunity to respond to the court.
With a five-day eviction notice, Griselda’s family could not find a place immediately. They had to wait in the apartment, and they tried to negotiate a short-term agreement with the landlord.
On day five, the day of the eviction, organizers from ACCE were on the alert and gathered at Griselda’s apartment in support. They tried to find a solution for the family, so they would have extra time to find a new apartment. They waited for the sheriffs and the landlord.
At about 9 a.m., the sheriffs showed up at Griselda’s apartment, banging on the door and demanding entry to the residence. They shouted at the family, telling them they had 20 minutes to take all their belongings and leave.
Everyone at the site was caught off guard with the surprise tactic used by the sheriffs. Villanueva and Hernandez grabbed the two girls and ran to the bathroom to shield them from what was happening. The sheriffs intimidated the residents with their behavior.
The two girls got scared and started crying. Villanueva and Hernandez hugged the girls and
Villanueva watched the “unjustified eviction” of a working family that always pays their rent and are good parents.
“How could that have happened,” Villanueva said. “This is a traumatic experience for the family and for the girls.”
Lupita Gonzalez is an experienced advocate for the community who got involved as an intermediary. She tried to negotiate an agreement between the landlord and the sheriffs on behalf of the family to stop the eviction.
She was unsuccessful, the landlord did not want to negotiate. He had another plan, to evict the family by any means, do some upgrades to the unit and rent the apartment for more money. The clock was ticking for the family to gather and take as much of their belongings as possible. People were helping the family.
The two girls, 10 and 12, came out from the apartment with tears in their eyes. With only a couple clothing items pressed to their chests, the girls looked distressed.
Gonzalez says when the landlord saw the girls, he appeared ashamed. With some regret and embarrassment for his actions, the landlord offered monetary compensation to the family. He handed $2,000 in cash to help the family with moving expenses.
“It was hard to find a lawyer to make a motion and stop the eviction,” Gonzalez said. The eviction was a traumatic event for the family. They did not have a place to go. For a few months, they slept in the car and spent the days close to where Griselda’s husband works.
“They were living on the street,” she said.
PHOTO BY JUAN MENDOZA
The Story of Melissa
In 2021, Melissa was living in an apartment in East Hollywood with her mom. She was in the first stages of schizophrenia and coping with grief over the loss of her grandmother who had raised her since she was eight years old.
Melissa was the head of household for the family. She worked as a waitress in a restaurant in Hollywood, and she was responsible for the family’s expenses.
After the death of Melissa’s grandmother, the owner of the apartment pressured her to sign a new lease. He said a contract amendment was needed that included her mother after the death of her grandmother. But Melissa’s mother was listed in the current contract already.
“It was a cheap excuse for the owner to raise the rent of the apartment where Melissa and her mom were living,” Hassan said.
Melissa refused to sign the new rental agreement and looked for legal assistance. When she refused to sign the new contract, the landlord and the manager of the apartments began to harass her. They refused to do required repairs. They entered the apartment without her consent.
One afternoon, the landlord and a group of workers took matters into their own hands.
They removed everything from the apartment including furniture, clothes and personal valuables when Melissa was at work. They shut the door with a bunch of four-by-four hardwood lumber, so Melissa and her mom could not enter the apartment, according to Hassan.
Some neighbors watched what the workers and the landlord were doing at Melissa’s apartment and started recording the incident with their cell phones. When the landlord realized that they were been recorded, he threatened the tenants by saying that if they did not stop recording, the same would happen to them, too.
When Melissa came home from work late in the afternoon, she found that she and her mom did not have access to the apartment. She got in touch with Hassan to inform him about the actions of the landlord.
Hassan and a small group of members came to the apartment site immediately to help Melissa and her mom. They used force to remove the lumber that blocked the entrance of the door to the apartment, so Melissa could have access.
When Melissa and the organizers entered the apartment, the furniture and her personal belongings were not there.
“The apartment was empty,” Hassan said. “It was a heartbreaking scene.”
The next day Melissa filed a complaint at the Los Angeles Housing Department and called the office of former L.A. City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell to report the illegal eviction.
The city councilman never called Melissa. She and her mom did not recover their property
“It
—Hassan Zuñiga, community organizer
from the abusive landlord. She filed a small claims lawsuit against the landlord to get some monetary damages for her personal property.
“Sadly, Melissa lost the case,” Hassan said. With no place to stay, and no resources to lease a new apartment, Melissa moved to her boyfriend’s apartment near MacArthur Park, according to Hassan. Her mother went to live with a friend. After the incident, Hassan had minimal communication with Melissa.
The work of the organizers continues
“We never saw a greater amount of daily evictions cases and the need of legal and financial assistance for families facing eviction,” Villanueva said. “Non-profit organizations that provide legal services and help to relocate families are overwhelmed.”
Hassan recently has seen housing owners and rental management companies use dirty practices to evict tenants from their apartments. He organizes and promotes ordinances and campaigns for affordable housing and tenants’ rights.
“There are some irregularities and unjustified ordinances in cities across L.A. County that do not benefit the tenants,” Hassan said. According to Hassan, there is a shortage of lawyers in Los Angeles to take eviction cases, assist the families and follow up.
“There is a housing crisis in Los Angeles, and for so long we have not built enough housing as the population grows,” Lupita said. “They evict the tenants to charge more for the apartments. This is a great problem, and many tenants are not aware of their rights.” ∂
“We never
and the need
“While the images from the app are nice, you need to know how to sew and understand measurements.”
— LACC alumna and seamstress
Sharon W.
FASHION
DREAMS TO REALITY
Photo-Generative AI, Midjourney in fashion design stands to revolutionize history forever. Generative AI is the new fashion trend on everyone’s mind. It brings a creative collision between technology and style.
One day you are in. The next day you’re out. Fashion opens the doors for trendsetters to catwalk through. It dictates what people wear and how to wear it. Collections take months to create. Midjourney offers an efficient solution.
What is Midjourney?
Think ChatGPT but for images.
“Wait. What is ChatGPT,” a fashion seamstress asked with a curious expression, as she sewed a garment for an iconic pop singer.
Billionaire college dropout Sam Altman founded ChatGPT through OpenAI in November 2022. It allows anyone with a browser to input prompt-like commands into a tiny box that resembles a Google search box. The responses that emerge are conversational. Inputs can range from single words to fragments or entire sentences.
ChatGPT-4 is the latest version for paid subscribers. It has grown exponentially over the last five months. They have their version of Midjourney called DALL-E.
Chatbots Respond to Verbal Prompts
Skeptical? Microsoft invested $13 Billion into OpenAI earlier this year, according to CNBC.
“I love ChatGPT,” said LACC student Dilnaz Sirglova as her eyes lit up. “I use it to solve problems in my computer science class. It helps me.”
Midjourney, founded by Physicist David Holz in July of 2022, is free of nuanced sentences. Its abilities fascinate users with its imagination. Users can input images as prompts or sentence fragments with visual descriptors. The chatbot responds in imagery. Midjourney runs through Discord, an instant messaging social platform.
Two video gamers, Jason Citron and Stan Vishnevsky created Discord. They wanted to construct a digital platform for gamers and friends to communicate while they played. Discord allows users to collaborate in group chat settings for Midjourney. It creates an improvisational “Yes/And” effect. Paid subscribers can create private rooms with Midjourney’s chatbot. Put a word, picture, or list of commands into a prompt. Generative AI spits out four original image variations. Always authentic. Users can regenerate each image or the entire quad. Favor an image and maximize it. Then, save it on a laptop.
No more conceptualized long days cramped at a desk translating thoughts to visual sketches for production. Designers now have the availability to collaborate live over chat and build on their ideas in real-time.
Celebrity fashion designer Michael Costello formed an impression after he spent 15 minutes exploring the software.
“This is fascinating. I can use Midjourney for my clients who want to see or get an idea of how the dress will look on them,” says Costello as he multi-tasks during an interview and attends to a client in his L.A. showroom.
Who knows what ideas he will conjure up once he has spent more time on Discord. The designer appeared flabbergasted by the outcomes.
Two business partners from the eco-conscious swimsuit company, Tigra the Label see practical applications for Midjourney. Chantal Ka and Tarah Rodgers say inclusivity and diversity are integral to their brand.
“I see myself using it to draw out ideas I have in my head for swimwear designs to show my manufacturer and business partner,” Rodgers told the Collegian Times via Instagram.
Taking Notes: Supermodels Tarah Rodger and Chanel Ka appear relaxed during a photo shoot. But the duo soaked up more than sea and sand to launch Tigra, their own sustainable, eco-friendly swimwear line.
First impressions of Midjourney captivated each designer in a unique way. It is the definition of creativity, digitally. It is also of interest to the end-user in the design process, like LACC graduate Jacqueline Vasquez.
“I would buy clothes designed from the software. We have to evolve,” Vasquez said during the Deans’ Honor Tea reception on campus.
First AI Fashion Week Unfolds in New York Technology evolves faster than babies, and the fashion industry is no exception. For some designers, Generative AI has become the latest fashion muse.
“Wait. What is Revolve,” says no Millennial ever. Revolve revolves around technology and style.
“Revolve is all over IG. They invest in technology analytics and use some of the best influencers for their posts,” says the founder of Maison Sydney, designer Ruth Sydney.
“REVOLVE is the next-generation fashion retailer for Millennial and Generation Z consumers,” their website states.
New York’s AI Fashion Week premiered in April 2023 and featured 350 designers from across the globe. Fashion fans signed up for AIFW (https://app.fashionweek.ai/home) to vote for their favorite AI designer on mobile devices. Designers competed for the chance to produce their AI-inspired designs through Revolve.
More than 200 designers entered the first ever AI Fashion Week competition which happened solely online.
PHOTO BY TIA SHIPMAN
Sure, novices can now create the designs of their dreams. Thriving industries will take a minor hit: restaurant owners, Uber drivers, and anyone looking forward to the event, including models, makeup, hair and casting directors. The list goes on. Fortunately, it will be a decade before all designers transition into the new wave, and some never will.
“It can be used for good, but there are no regulations, and it could put people out of work,” said Dr. Jamila Sozahdah, a cast member of Hulu’s upcoming “Sisters and Sisterhood: The Sozahdah, Scrub designer.” “That can be scary.” However, Midjourney still requires some expertise. It merely opens the job market to new jobs and possibilities.
On set at the London Hotel Suite in West Hollywood, a curly-haired brunette artist named Lia Farrelly-Hodge lounges on a sofa, as she waits 38 for her turn to shoot.
“I feel confident and strong that the human being like what we have, and the heart of what we do will never be replaced,” Farrelly-Hodge said, “as an artist, writer, model, and singer, everything I do comes from the heart. A computer does not have a heart.”
Some of the business or social media success stories come from realness. Doja Cat, American Idol contestants, Project Runway winners, and
the box regarding their careers.
“My over styled post with a swim model rarely gets more attention than my repost of an everyday consumer post about my line and their reviews,” Sydney mentions with a chuckle.
New York Fashion Week rolled out the red carpet for Photo-Generative AI, and it is only a matter of time before the rest of the industry follows suit. Some fashion universities misplaced their tickets to the groundbreaking show. To stay relevant, they must adapt their curricula to include classes on implementing AI designs. Fashion prompt engineering courses for degrees or certificates could propel students at LACC.
Vogue Magazine Japan’s head of editorial content, Tiffany Godoy, was a pioneer on the panel of judges for the first ever AI Fashion Week.
“I like to jump on things early,” Godoy says in an interview with Vogue.
Midjourney Disrupts Fashion and More ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena chooses to embrace the revolution. They have upcoming AI Generative imaging courses available.
Photographer and Associate, Professor of Photography & Imaging Ann Cutting teaches the class.
Tabitha Brown all have one thing in common: personal stories for people to relate. Fashion sometimes works in the same medium, but instead of designers, influencers play a huge role in Gen Z and Millennial sales. Revolve and Fashion Nova are a testament.
Midjourney is not the only technology used in the fashion industry. Clo3D, founded by Simon Kim is a virtual fashion design software that allows tech designers to create models, poses, patterns and garments for collections.
“Anything is possible with Tech,” says the V.P. of Tech Design and the best sneaker collector in fashion, Briana Bigham, as she sits at the Lakers v. Warriors game with a brown Fendi fabric crossbody bag.
Clo3D seamlessly improved productivity among designers producing on a massive scale. According to the Business of Fashion, Macy’s, Adidas, Hugo Boss, and Levis are some of the big brands that use Clo3D.
“A prompt engineer can earn anywhere between $60,000-$300,000,” according to Workable. com. New job opportunities suggest AI-powered fashion is stable. Before tech designers, there were only designers.
“We need ChatGPT and Midjourney Classes,” Sirglova said.
Experts say it allows students to think outside
“It has built a community, a new generation of artists, a new platform, and started the conversation about usage, workflow, and job changes,” Cutting says. This emerging technology allows designers to explore new boundaries in creativity, combining the precision of algorithms with the beauty of human imagination.
From personalized clothing recommendations to creating entirely new styles and patterns, AI pushes the limits of what is possible in fashion. “I think Midjourney is the new wave of things,” Vasquez says. “LACC needs courses for Midjourney.”
As photo-generative AI continues to reshape the fashion landscape. Designers, educators and students must stay ahead of the curve. The fusion of art and technology has the potential to redefine fashion.
AI Fashion Week designers took center stage in New York City in April and displayed an array of stunning garments. What if someone from LACC had participated?
Most students nod when they hear ChatGPT, but Midjourney piques their interest.
“The Midjourney designs are beautiful and potentially sustainable,” Sirglova says in the Cub Bookstore.
So, buckle up, fashion enthusiasts Midjourney’s revolution morphs daily and waits for no one. There is no turning back. ∫
“I feel confident and strong that the human being like what we have, and the heart of what we do will never be replaced.”
— Farrelly-Hodge
Photos Courtesy of Tigrathelabel.com
Super-models turned designers of Tigra the Label, Tarah Rodger and Chanel Ka find symmetry in a pose for their newest campaign.
Teal cut-out flower petals give way to ruffled sleeveless turtleneck top and a ruffled organza skirt to match.
Ink Style Unleashed!
STATEMENT
The coffee mug guy is just a character in rubber hose style that resembles a barista with a skull face. A playful take on addiction to coffee and mental health. Something we encounter on a daily basis but tend to overlook.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY CASSANDRA MUÑOZ
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Metamorphosis. It’s the mix of a bug-like creature with human like characteristics. Not necessarily one or the other but something in between.
Larva in the foreground and butterfly wings with eyes in the background (its life cycle). While it remains displayed/trapped in the middle by luminous stings and bars (similar to taxidermy/ specimen sample).
