SPORTS
PERSPECTIVES
Athletics Joins the Social Justice Conversation
Ways to Keep the Fire Lit Amid Student Burnout
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California State University, Dominguez Hills
November 18, 2020 • VOL. 26, NO. 6
csudhbulletin.com
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Virtual Graduation Looking Real
By Daniel Tom | Staff Reporter The dream of walking across the stage at Dignity Health Sports Park to the sounds of your cheering family members next spring is most likely going to stay that way.
California State University, Dominguez Hills President Thomas A. Parham said Thursday that if “all things stay the same,” the graduating class of 2021 will be the second at
Pow Wow to Bring Sacred Touch Online
CSUDH to celebrate graduation virtually. Parham was part of a Connecting with Students virtual event Thursday that included other campus administrators, faculty and
students panelists designed to check in with students about how they were handling this topsy-turvy semester. In the two-hour meeting, Parham, joined by ASI
President Rihab Shuaib, along with administration, faculty and student panelists, shared their thoughts about what the university [See GRADUATION, page 4]
By Iracema Navarro | Politics Editor, Yeymy Garcia | Production Editor Even though the pandemic has wiped out any chance of live celebrations for Native American Heritage Month, two California State University, Dominguez Hills’ organizations are committed to honoring those who hold this land sacred by staging a Virtual Pow Wow on Friday, Nov. 20 at noon. “There’s not a lot of universities that are doing virtual pow wows and we are very happy that in such a short period of time we’re able to develop something that still honors our Native Americans and specially in the heritage month,” Miami Gelvezon-Gatpandam said. Gelvezon-Gatpandam is the coordinator for CSUDH’s
Servicing, Learning, Internships & Civic Engagement (SLICE) and American Indian Institute (AII), the offices that have staged a pow wow every spring since 2011. But the planned 10th annual event in April was as postponed due to the pandemic. But SLICE and AII were determined to celebrate, reflect, and honor the importance of Native Americans by creating a website for the Pow Wow in order to avoid technical glitches for everyone to enjoy on their own time. It was also an easy way to reach out to the Native American community for submissions of videos, photos, and infor[See REFLECTION, page 11]
Photo by Rohema Muhamed
Campus Spiritual Leader Jimi Castillo, a Tongva/Acjachemen pipe carrier, last year at CSUDH’s 9th Annual Pow Wow, hosted by CSUDH centers SLICE and the American Indian Insititute.
Long History Behind New AAPI Major
By Destiny Jackson | Perspectives Editor The South Bay has been shaped by many cultures. Native peoples first settled it, Spanish and Mexican roots plunge deep, Anglo Americans stole it in 1848, and the souls of Black folks are woven into the DNA of the university at its center, from the 1965 Watts Insurrection that prompted its move to Carson, to CSUDH having the highest
percentage of Black students of any California State University school. But the influence of Asian American and Pacific Islanders on the region rivals them all.. Just east of this campus, more people of Cambodian descent live in Long Beach than anywhere in the world outside Cambodia. To the west, the city of Gardena was
long known as “Little Tokyo of the South Bay.” Carson, the city this university is in, had the highest percentage of Filipino and Pacific Islanders of any LA County city , according to the 2000 U.S. Census. And a 15-minute walk from CSUDH is Victoria Park, where Los Angeles Samoan flag day is held every August. On this campus, Toyota, which has its North American
headquarters in neighboring Torrance, is title sponsor of the Toyota Center for Innovation in STEM Education, an anchor of the unversity’s $82 million Science and Innovation Building. CSUDH has more than 20,000 photographs, documents and other artifacts documenting the 20th Century Japanese American experience, and Greg Williams, director of the
university’s Archives and Special Collections, is also project director for the CSU Japanese American Digitization Project. But even with that intimate past and present, it wasn’t until this semester, some 52 years after the first Asian American studies program was launched at San Francisco State, that a major will be [See AMERICANS, page 11]
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PERSPECTIVES
WEDNESDAY, November 18, 2020
CSUDH BULLETIN
Dear Distance Learning: I’m Burned Out By Raven Brown | Staff Writer
Niklas Hamann on Unsplash
Student burnout is an unfortunate fact of life for many at this point in a semester. But in the midst of a pandemic, it can feel like it will never end. Every semester, I start off with the same anticipation, excitement and willingness to get back to learning and continuing my education. After all, the degree I’ve worked so hard for is almost in my reach - I can see the finish line. The beginning of this semester, however, felt intensely different. Instead of the excitement I usually felt to go back to school, I was overwhelmed with anxiety and by the state of the world. I know I’m not the only one. Usually, about midway through the semester, I feel tired and burned out. It’s not like feeling burned out and tired is unusual for me. It usually happens midway through every semester. But I’ve always been able to push through and rekindle my sense of motivation But that feels impossible this semester. I feel overwhelmed every morning when I wake up and I struggle to get through the day. I’ve never felt so drained. Being on a computer all day might be the “new
norm,” for college students, but our brains aren’t meant for this much screen time. The typical college experience, you know, shuffling from building to building, pen to paper, in-person lecturing; everything once so familiar, is now a distant memory. I’m becoming more like a robot, methodically typing away on my laptop and attending one zoom meeting after the other, like it’s my programming, instead of choice. This is not what I signed up for, nor is it how I envisioned my last year of college. You’d think that the lockdown would equate to more free time. I wish I could say that I’ve slowed down, but that would be a lie. Like most students, I have a life outside of school. I have personal issues to deal with and bills to pay that require a lot of my time and attention outside of the endless stream of assignments. The long list of to-dos is overwhelming, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve broken down this semester feeling like a complete
failure. I’ve always struggled with anxiety, but not like this. The burnout I feel now is unlike anything I’ve ever felt. With so much doubt and uncertainty in the world, it’s become harder to tune it all out. The coronavirus, the elections, the social unrest, and the never-ending lockdown are constantly weighing on me. I just want to throw my laptop and phone away and never look back. My brain can’t take this much negativity. This feeling of burnout is quite different and my nervous system seriously needs a break from the chaos. This feeling is not uniquely mine and I know I am not alone in feeling overwhelmed, as in I’m constantly in fight or flight mode. Short bursts of stress are tolerable, but what about feeling this way almost 24 hours a day? It’s enough to drive anyone insane. The physical effects of stress are becoming more apparent. I clench my jaw when I’m nervous, and with that comes debilitating head-
aches. My eyes ache from starting at a screen all day, and when all of your assignments are online, it’s impossible to escape the eye strain. Blue light blocking glasses are a must if you have any respect left for your retinas. But if you have any respect for yourself, you’ve got to figure out a way to defuse. Checking out of school and the virtual world for periods at a time can be helpful. I have made it a point to stay off social media as much as possible so that I can recalibrate in the real world. When I work out in the mornings or go for a walk, I’m able to breathe again. Maybe not as deeply as I would like, but it definitely helps. I’m able to focus on something else for a while and it gives me the motivation to jump back into my to-do list. Another thing I’m still learning to do is say no. It’s typical for students to want to take every opportunity they can in their last year of college because of the impending transition from graduation to a career.
Whether it’s extra hours at work, or more responsibilities in classes, I always say yes because I want to be dependable. But sometimes I need to say no in order to maintain my sanity. It’s important to check in with yourself during the times when you feel overwhelmed. Practicing deep breathing and meditation has helped me tremendously when I’m in over my head. You can’t fix all your problems and worries in an instant, so why try? Taking 10 minutes a day to rewire your brain with meditation could be the key to preventing total burnout. With three weeks left, we’re almost there. The world may be heavy right now, but it’s so important to not lose that focus when something out of your control happens. Focus on you, our education, and that end goal. Student burnout can make the best of us burst into flames. But instead of letting it consume us, let’s use it to light a fire under our asses, propelling us to graduation day--and beyond.
STAFF BOX EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jasmine Nguyen MANAGING EDITOR Taylor Helmes PRODUCTION MANAGER Yeymy Garcia NEWS EDITOR Brenda Fernanda Verano CAMPUS EDITOR Robert Rios
POLITICS EDITOR Iracema Navarro CULTURE EDITOR Darlene Maes PHOTO EDITOR Nova Blanco-Rico SPORTS EDITOR Jeremy Gonzalez OPINION EDITOR Destiny Jackson
RE P O RT E RS Matt Barrero Raven Brown Cindy Canas Andrea Espinoza Melanie Gerner Jonathan Ghattas Luis Guitierrez Darlene Maes
Carlos Martinez Chris Martinez Jeannette Montoya Ruby Munoz Carina Noyola Taylor Ogata Daniel Tom Anthony Vasquez
LAYOUT ADVISER Joseph Witrago LAYOUT ASSISTANTS Luis Guitierrez Chris Martinez EDITORIAL ADVISER Daniel Vasquez ADVISER Joel Beers
The print and digital version of the CSUDH Bulletin is published bi-weekly and is produced by students in Communications 355, News Production workshop. The views and expressions contained on both do not necessarily reflect that of the Communications Department, or the CSUDH administration.
The Bulletin operates within, and is protected by, the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Comments, criticism, and story ideas can be emailed to bulletin@csudh.edu. We reserve the right to edit any letters for length, grammar and punctuation, and libel.
CSUDH BULLETIN
PERSPECTIVES
WEDNESDAY, November 18, 2020
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Positive Minds, Positive Vibes, Positive Virtual Life By Carlos Martinez | Web Editor
Carlos Martinez Bullletin
Clearing the clutter from your mind like you would clean up your work area is one technique that might help you keep some of that mind intact.
2 020 is like a never-ending marathon, you keep thinking that you see the finish line, but there’s still 20 miles left to run. Like some sort of real-life “Fear Factor,” we kept tip-toeing around in a politically charged year with boastful President Trump declaring that a great red wave is coming. But instead, we ended up with a third COVID-19 wave that is pushing the U.S past 10 million cases. Despite all of the madness and the endless cycle of insomnia, depression and extreme weight changes, I managed to face the world with optimism. I’ve been pretty vocal about my stance on online learning, it’s something that I hate with a fiery passion. However, virtual learning doesn’t feel too bad after creating a process to keep the positivity going in the past eight months.
Talking to yourself
Not everyone would be willing to have a full conversation with themselves if it’ll make them look insane. I guarantee it helps blow off steam and the anxiety that’s brewing inside.
Whenever I start to freak out about the financial burdens of being on furlough for months and the strain of trying to keep up with classes in an environment where the internet drops every 30 minutes, I take a minute to reflect on myself. I typically talk to myself while pacing around the room, venting out the problem that is making my life 10 times harder and spitting out possible solutions that will make it somewhat bearable. Even if you’re in a crowded area with the need to relieve off some stress, you can still have a conversation with yourself without being vocal. Sending yourself a text message or writing a letter to yourself helps with purging out the negativity out of your system and helps you form a plan that will get you from point A to B.
Build a support group
Your support group doesn’t have to be just members of your family. Although everyone in my household is feeling the effects of a pandemic, not everyone is facing the challenges of being a student
with terrible internet and lack of privacy. The people that can relate to your struggles as a student are students themselves. This semester I noticed I’ve been more involved with classes and more social with my classmates. Regardless of our differences, we all relate with one another about handling school while being limited to the resources at home. We have casual Zoom sessions as a group to detox while giving each other advice and joke around with one another. We would also get together for an intense round of “Among Us” while accusing each other on Discord. It’ll be awkward at first trying to interact with students that you might not ever see in person again, but having a small group makes virtual college life easier.
Be realistic, but optimistic Being realistic is one of the hardest things that I had to learn during the pandemic. Pre-pandemic, I had a hectic schedule between school, work and help-
ing with social media for a friend’s start-up while having no social life and staying home. Despite having to change into my work clothes in the bathrooms on campus or doing projects during my breaks and lunches, I still had resources such as foolproof Wi-Fi and computer programs that helped me stay on track amidst the weekly chaos. Handling online learning with my sister while having fluctuating periods of personal space opened my eyes to how limited I am this semester. The internet comes and goes, depending on how many students are online in our community, and so did the power during the Irvine fire a few weeks ago. On occasion, my laptop tends to freeze for days while trying to update right before classes or when an assignment is due. There will be times where something terrible will happen and there’s not much you could really do. The only option is to be realistic with what you can do at the moment. Instead of stressing over what needs to be done, be happy for the things that you were able to accomplish during that week and
stay motivated to finish off what’s left another day. Being realistic about your situation but staying positive about it can go a long way. Things suck right now and it might get worse before it can get better, but if you keep these tips in mind you can feel at ease.
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WEDNESDAY, November 18, 2020
NEWS
CSUDH BULLETIN
I.T. Loaner Program here to stay By Brenda Verano | News Editor The Technology Loaner Program was one of the many resources California State University, Dominguez Hills assembled to ensure Toros success throughout distance learning, According to Bill Chang, Associate Vice President of Development and Digital Convergence, as the university faces a huge budget deficit, programs like these have also been affected. “The budget has affected I.T. by limiting the amount of devices and additional technologies we are able to purchase,” Chang said. Chang said this along with the lack of inventory from their vendors has delayed their purchasing timelines. The loaner program consists of laptops, Mi-Fi (internet devices), headsets with microphones, webcams, and software-in-the-cloud services that were available to students but also faculty and staff in order to ensure they,“were able to remotely teach, learn, and work”, as stated on the Technology Resource website. But even with the current budget cuts being made, the Technology Loaner Program has been able to reach and help more than 2,050 faculty, students and staff since their start in March. Nearly doubling their September numbers, “1,000 laptops, 270+ headset, 310+ webcams, 470+ Mi-Fis” have been distributed,” Chang said. Crystal Tijerina, a senior majoring in Public Relations, was one of the students who received a laptop. “I qualified for it soon after as I requested one online and I went to pick it up right away, it was a Lenovo [laptop],” she said. Lenovo is a multinational technology company from China, whose global headquarters are located in Beijing. Some of these Lenovo laptops from the loaner program have a manufacturing date (mfg) that goes back to of 2011.
Graduation From Page 1
is doing in handling the health crisis, in addition to addressing student questions and concerns Topics covered ranged from the timeline of returning to campus for in-person instruction, budget issues the university faces due to the pandemic, and one of particular interest to returning students: the possibility of increased
Vlad Bagacian on Unsplash
One thousand laptops, 300 webcams and other hardware and software have benefited more than 2,000 Toro students and faculty this semester. “At first it seemed to be ok,” Tijerina said. Before the loaner, Tijerina purchased a Chromebook to get ready for online learning. This was the laptop a sales person recommended to her but according to Tijerina that laptop was not compatible with the school’s software. “I did not have another $300 or $400 dollars to re-invest, so my only option was to get [a laptop] from school,” Tijerina said. One thing they did tell her when she went to pick it up, is that she would not be able to save any files in the laptop and if she did want to save something, she would have to keep it on at all times. The Lenovo laptops are pre-installed with DeepFreeze, an application that restores a computer back to the saved configuration each time the computer is turned off. “I figured that was what I
was going to do, but within a couple of days I started getting notifications telling me I had to update [the computer],” Tijerina said. This is when Tijerina realized that in order to update her laptop it would need to restart, and she would lose everything. “I was ignoring these updates but finally, within a month of the semester my first computer froze,” She said. This resulted in her Tijerina getting behind in some assignments. She contacted the I.T. Loaner Department, and they told her she would have to drop off the damaged computer on a Monday and wait until on Wednesday to get a new one. “I told them I couldn’t wait till Wednesday, because I had things due,” Tijerina said. They gave her Tijerina another Lenovo laptop, which she had for less than a week,
because that one crashed too. After her second Lenovo computer that crashed, on Tijerina the I.T Loaner Program gave her a Dell laptop. “I haven’t had any troubles since I got [the Dell], it’s been good,” she said. “All of the stress was not easy, doing four classes online was something I’m not accustomed to, I’m an older student and I’m not tech savvy.” But the I.T Loaner Program promises to deploy additional technology improvements. “[We] will deploy additional technologies soon, such as, a Virtual Student Lab, Contact Center to some departments with chat and text capabilities,” Chang said. I.T’s Toro Computer Lab is a new service that will be virtually available to students, to complete their
coursework remotely using the lab. This computer lab will be implemented to serve those students who do not have a computer or internet at home and who need to access utilize specialized computer programs. Students like Tijerina who have a loaner laptop, head-set, Mi-fi, or webcam will be able to extend their contract and keep their current device if they are enrolled for spring 2021. “If students are not enrolled, they will need to return their device(s) per the contract specifications, within 2 weeks after the term ends,” Chang said. This means the I.T. Loaner program will be continuing throughout the winter and spring, and has plans to grow and expand. For more information visit the Technology Loaner Program website. Users may also call 310-243-2500.
tuition or fees. “We want to keep this as affordable as possible,” Parham said.’ In terms of returning to campus, Parham said the university is following the scientific evidence, along with guidelines from state and local health experts. “As a unit, we make sure we protect the health and safety of our campus community,” he said. “Los Angeles County remains in the most restrictive tier (purple) of the state’s reopening plan, as a result
we’re not meeting in person as of now.” University provost Dr. Michael Spagna went on to reiterate that in-person classes would be limited in spring 2021. “The university recently submitted numbers for the spring where 8% of classes would be in person (primarily lab classes and teaching programs) and are waiting for approval from the state to move forward,” Spagna said. The fate of May graduation was another topic of
keen interest. Last May, graduation was cancelled across the California State University system. Parham said that a poll was taken after the campus shutdown in March of graduating CSUDH seniors who were given the choice of participating in a virtual graduation or waiting for the threat of the virus to subside and have one in December. An overwhelming majority of students voted for the latter, Parham said, but with the virus cresting
once again, the class of 2020 will not receive a belated December graduation and will most likely share a virtual graduation with the class of 2021 in May. “We have taken a step back in curbing the spread and until it’s safe to do, commencement exercises for the Class of 2021 will more than likely be virtual,” Parham said. “But, if we do have the chance to do an in-person ceremony next semester, it would be combined with the class of 2020.”
CSUDH BULLETIN
NEWS
WEDNESDAY, November 18, 2020
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Professor, Professor Where Are You? By Jonathan Ghattas | Staff Reporter For many students picking out their class schedule can determine how their semester may progress. Weighing out the options between which classes must be taken, the time slots of classes that fit one’s schedule, and knowing who the professor will be all play a role in figuring out the ideal schedule. This ritual of searching for the right professor and using resources such as Rate My Professors (RMP) to gather information on these classes is one several college students go through each semester. With spring registration currently ongoing and set to close on Jan. 24, a day before the spring semester starts, many California State University, Dominguez Hills’ students have noticed that certain classes did not have a professor assigned to them. Instead the class was simply left with a “to be announced” note. This uncertainty has left students wondering who their professor will be heading into next semester and thrown a wrench into the process of picking out classes. Vice Provost of Academic Affairs, Ken O’Donnell addressed the concern, explaining that student demand for certain courses and pairing the proper professor for those specific courses factors into the scheduling delays of par-
ticular classes. “That can cause a chain reaction among the teaching assignments, both to satisfy our collective bargaining agreements with the faculty union, and to make sure we’re providing students with the best possible combination of instructors,” O’Donnell said. With a focused effort to reduce staff changes once courses are published, O’Donnell said it’s a balancing act when it comes to preparing the schedule. “Generally we like giving faculty the longest possible lead time to prepare their classes, and giving students the chance to see who’ll be teaching them,” O’Donnell said. While the delay in assigning professors to certain courses may be explainable, the lack of available courses is of concern for California State University, Dominguez Hills senior Daniel Rasmussen. Expecting to graduate in the spring with a bachelor’s degree in Film, TV, and Media, Rasmussen found himself on the waitlist for a course that is required for graduation. He also points out the lack of options among professors that are available for the courses being offered in his major. “I’ve used RMP before,
Illustration by Nova Rico-Blanco
CSUDH students worry as the “instructor“ column in their schedule remains empty but for my spring courses there was only one instructor teaching each course so it was pointless,” Rasmussen said. As more students find themselves in a similar situation, the question may be
raised whether or not more courses will be made available due to the growing demand for certain graduation requirements. With budget cuts and possible staff layoffs looming
over the university, the ability to expand the schedule and provide students with a wide range of courses needed to graduate may prove to be the toughest juggling act the school will have to balance.
First-Generation Celebration: Challenge Accepted By Melanie Gerner | Staff Reporter Courage, hope, resilience and persistence were the main themes of last week’s virtual “Celebrate First-Generation College Students” event at CSUDH. Despite the online-only environment, the CSUDH Office of Educational Partnerships managed to deliver, primarily via Instagram, a week-long celebration of the more than 50% of Toros who qualify as first-generation. The tone of the five-day event, which started Nov. 2, was struck by Dr. Dang Chonwerawong, Associate Vice President for Student Success, with her own first-generation student success story. “From my parents, who only had a fourth grade education I learned to be persistent, hardworking, resilient and always hope for a better future and most importantly never give up,” Dang said. “Today I celebrate with you.” The celebration included about 185 registered students with more students
Illustration by Darlene Maes
Graduation cap & tassel with the words “1st Gen” on the Mortar Board and a scroll Labelled CSU Dominguez Hills interacting on Instagram, a live luncheon, 15 tips from alumni about succeeding as first-gen students, and CSUDH dance team mem-
bers offering testimonies about their experiences. The event reached over 10,406 accounts and received more than 30,000
impressions boasting over 1,000 likes.The kickoff video itself had upwards of 1,700 visits. Most event interactions came from par-
ticipants 25-34 years-old and were primarily women. Last year, Trio SSS hosted CSUDH’s inaugural one day First-Generation Celebration on the East Walkway. That event was inspired by the 2017 national first-generation movement celebration event launched by the Council for Opportunity in Education and the Naspa Center for First-Generation Student Success. This year, CSUDH has expanded the first-generation celebration as a week-long event with the University Advisement Center (UAC) hosting a virtual first-gen retreat on Saturday and Sunday. Ten campus departments and groups created and shared celebration content, including the Career Center, Toro Dreamer Success Center, UAC, Encounter To Excellence and Educational Opportunity Program. More than 25 videos from faculty and staff offered their personal experiences [See GENERATION, page 7]
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WEDNESDAY, November 18, 2020
CULTURE
CSUDH BULLETIN
Cruising Toros: The Bull on The Road By Taylor Ogata | Staff Reporter
The Chevy Trailblazer is a small SUV that is bold, spacious and gets an estimated 29 mpg in the city and 33 on the highway. A lot of students at California State University, Dominguez Hills have cars whether they live on or off campus especially since this is the traffic-riddled Los Angeles area. Before the pandemic hit, there was a lot of traffic which caused me to take some extra time to get to school, but thanks to the pandemic, there has not been a lot of traffic on the roads and freeways recently. Many cars have a lot of great features like technology and safety, but there are also some things that people do not want or need in a car. For someone like me who is considering getting a new car when I get married, I like to look at bigger cars like midsize sedans and crossover SUVs. I am also among those students who is looking for some kind of car to retain its value and is bigger for the rest of my family. I currently have a 2017 Chevrolet Cruze, which is a compact sedan, although it was also offered in a hatchback model. It was discontinued in March 2019 due to its declining sales, so now, I have a lot of other options to look at when I am ready to trade it in for a bigger car. The features I like to look at in a car are whether it has a sunroof, technology, convenience and safety. Here are five cars to consider:
Chevrolet Trailblazer Back and better than ever, the Chevy Trailblazer is a small SUV that is bold, spacious and is loaded with features and capability that can get you anywhere. Trailblazer seats up to five people and offers up to 54.4 cubic feet of cargo room and
all-wheel drive. Its 10 standard airbags make it safe for everyone in the event of a violent collision. There are five trim levels for the Trailblazer: L, LS, LT, RS and ACTIV. The entry level L trim is the cheapest, but it does not have a lot of the good stuff that the higher trims have. I would personally go with the RS trim. It offers a lot of great features like a panoramic dual-pane sunroof, a Bose premium sound system, wireless phone charging, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and more. In terms of fuel efficiency, the Trailblazer gets an EPA estimated 29 MPG in the city and 33 on the highway for an overall rating of 32 MPG. For a small SUV, that is not bad but given the fact that it is a higher profile vehicle than my Cruze, I would expect mileage to be not as great. As for engine sizes, you have the choice of either a 1.2 or 1.3 liter turbocharged engine. For pricing, the entry level L trim of the Trailblazer costs around $19,000. The RS trim that I would consider getting starts at $26,495, but if I added in all the optional features that I want like the sunroof, technology, etc. the price would increase significantly.
Chevrolet Equinox A step up from the Trailblazer, the Chevy Equinox is a crossover that has it all. Roomy, tech savvy, safe and fun-to-drive, all these features are offered in this vehicle. Like the Trailblazer, Equinox offers all-wheel drive and seats up to five people, but unlike the Trailblazer, offers up to 63.9 cubic feet of cargo room. Equinox is also capable of towing up to 3,500 pounds.
Trims offered are L and LS, like on the Trailblazer, but there are two options for LT as well as the high-end Premier trim. Both the LT and Premier trims give you the option of having the standard 1.5 liter or the bigger and more powerful 2.0 liter turbo engine. While the sunroof is available starting on the LT trims, not every feature I want is available on the Equinox. For example, there is no wireless phone charging or wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto on the LT trim. Equinox gets 26 MPG in the city and 31 on the highway for an overall score of 28 MPG. Since it is bigger than the Trailblazer, expect worse mileage. The starting MSRP of the Equinox is $23,800. The LT starts at $28,695 before you add in the options.
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid A more fuel efficient crossover that comes in either a gas or hybrid model, the Toyota RAV4 has become a very popular vehicle among families. My girlfriend has a 2017 RAV4, but it only runs on gas. The hybrid model is the one I will be highlighting here. Both RAV4 models seat up to five people and all-wheel drive comes standard. The maximum cargo space of the RAV4 is about the same as the Chevy Equinox. With the rear seats up, there is only 37.6 cubic feet available, but there is obviously a lot more with the rear seats folded down. RAV4 Hybrid comes in five trim levels: LE, XLE, XLE Premium, XSE and Limited. I would probably go with the XLE Premium trim because it has a standard sunroof on it. Apple CarPlay and Android
Auto capability is standard on all trims. In an option package on the XLE Premium and XSE, a JBL premium sound system is included as well, and I really like premium sound systems. Obviously, the RAV4 Hybrid gets better mileage than the gas-powered RAV4. The hybrid model gets 41 MPG in the city and 38 on the highway for an estimated combined score of 40 MPG. RAV4 Hybrid starts at $28,500. The basic XLE Premium model sells for $32,500. Adding options will raise the price.
Honda CR-V Hybrid Another fuel efficient crossover available in gas or hybrid, the Honda CR-V is also selling great. It seats up to five people and you have the choice of either front-wheel drive or allwheel drive. Cargo room starts at 33.2 cubic feet with the rear seats up and 68.7 cubic feet with them folded. These numbers are lower than the gas-powered CR-V because the hybrid model is smaller. The CR-V Hybrid has only three trim levels: EX, EX-L and Touring. The EX trim is what I would personally go with since it has all the basics that I want like a sunroof, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, dual zone climate control and a lot more. For gas mileage, CR-V Hybrid gets 40 MPG in the city and 35 on the highway for an overall score of 38 MPG. Those numbers are not quite as good as the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, but it is still acceptable. MSRP for the CR-V Hybrid starts at $30,560, which is for the entry level EX trim. It is a little more expensive than the gas model, but of course there
Photo by Taylor Ogata
are more trim options for the gas model.
Chevrolet Malibu One step up from the Cruze that I currently have, the Chevy Malibu is the mid-size sedan that is competing with the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Hyundai Sonata. It also has most of the same features that the Cruze has. Like many cars, Malibu seats five people and only comes with front-wheel drive. The maximum cargo volume is 15.7 cubic feet, and you have a 1.5 liter turbo engine that gives 160 horsepower at 5700 RPM. However, if you had the top of the line trim, the engine is a 2.0 liter turbo with 250 horsepower at 5300 RPM. The Malibu comes in five trim levels: L, LS, RS, LT and Premier. L of course is the entry level trim, but I would personally take the LT since it offers a dual-pane power sunroof and a lot of other cool features. The top of the line Premier trim meanwhile has everything, but at the same time, it has standard leather seats, which I am not really a fan of. The gas mileage scores for the Malibu are not quite as good as my Cruze. While my Cruze gets 30 MPG in the city and 40 on the highway for an overall score of 34, the Malibu gets 29 in the city and 36 on the highway for an overall score of 31. The cost of the Malibu starts at $22,095. The LT model I would prefer starts at $26,620 before you add in the options. It would probably be a little more expensive for me. All these cars are great options, but I still have a long way to go before it is time for me to decide which car I want for when my girlfriend and I get married.
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and praise to students, while recognizing all the sacrifices necessary to earn a degree, during the event that was geared to support and celebrate first-generation students. Alfredo Benitez, outreach recruiter for the Office of Outreach and School Relations, is a first-generation college student and CSUDH alumnus who offered tips and a video, assuring students that all the sacrifices will be worth it in the end. Benitez acknowledged that being first-generation is difficult and is a process worth celebrating. You belong here and you earned your spot here at CSUDH,” Benitez said. “I want you to know that those late nights, early mornings, stressful days will be worth it and you’ve got this. The celebration kicked off with a heartfelt welcome from the event chair, Elizabeth
Hernandez Hanna. In a trueto-COVID fashion, Hanna reached out to viewers in a relatable way from her family room where her children sat on the couch and watched movies in the background. Hanna is the director of the CSUDH Trio Student Support Services (SSS) program, a first generation CSUDH alumna and a proud Toro. Hanna encouraged all first-generation students to participate in the national celebration of first-generation college students. On Monday, Teddy the Toro, a first-generation college student, helped clear up any misconceptions by defining who is and who is not a first-generation college student in a brief yet informative video. According to the video, if a student’s parent(s) or guardian(s) did not earn a bachelor’s degree, that student is first-generation. Other dignitaries who spoke during the week included Mayra Sorianao, the director of Encounter to Excellence, Rodrigo Rodrigo, ac-
CULTURE ademic adviser to the CSUDH Veteran’s Resource Center, and Ana Miriam Barragan Sontoyo, the director of Toro Dreamer Success Center. “I think being a first generation student means you are often having to navigate processes and institutions on your own with very little knowledge of what to do, how to do it or what to say,” Soriano said. “I also think that being a first-generation student affords you resilience, and a quality to persevere.” A first generation virtual lunch and community conversation was hosted on Wednesday Nov. 4, by Rodrigo. He wanted to bring students together in a live, safe space where they could share their journeys, struggles and continued growth while ensuring everyone that they are not alone. “It was great hearing some of the accomplishments they have done, it was very impactful and everybody shared,” Rodrigo said. “Strangers who had never met each other were clapping for each other,
WEDNESDAY, November 18, 2020 they were cheering each other on, they were happy for one another’s success.” Associated Students Inc. (ASI) provided 145 Grub Hub $15 food vouchers to students registered for the event, as a way to enhance the virtual luncheon experience. More than 20 participants joined the virtual luncheon and shared their personal narratives of what it means to be a first-generation student. The theme of courage was apparent in the stories shared during the luncheon. Barragan Sontoyo, director of the Toro Dreamer Success Center, shared her experience as a first-generation college student, lobbying in Washington D.C. and Sacramento despite not being able to vote herself. According to Barragan Sontoyo, being first-generation means getting involved and trying new things. It [being first-generation] also means learning to advocate for yourself, for your family and for your community,” Barragan Santoyo said. “I encourage you as a first
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generation college student to do the same; use your voice, use your power to create a positive change in our community.” The event closed Friday with a video from Hanna and the event planning committee thanking the community and encouraging students to “be resilient, take breaks and reach out when you need to, embrace your mistakes, be kind to yourself and stay motivated.” Hanna said the First-Generation Celebration planning committee felt forced to go beyond Zoom and engage students on social media. Planning for next year’s celebration will begin in January 2021 and will likely include a social media component, she said. “The victory here is that we created a [virtual] program, we reinvented the wheel,” Hanna said. “We wanted to dedicate a week to first-generation students, staff and faculty. We are definitely making an impact.”
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WEDNESDAY, November 18, 2020
FEATURE
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Functioning During a Pandemic By Bryana Medina | Staff Reporter While teaching during COVID-19, living in a pandemic and all the personal concerns Professor Jim Keville may face on a day-to-day basis, imagine teaching an in-person ceramics class and having to live your everyday life with the chance of exposing yourself to the virus that has taken over the globe. Keville has been working at California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) since 2000. Today, he is the chair of the art and design department. Spring 2020 started off like any other semester, but when classes were forced to become virtual in March, teaching got more challenging for Keville. “It was challenging and disruptive because I did not have a plan in place,” Keville said. Today, he finds himself on a computer more than ever. Between Zoom meetings, classes, and recording, editing and posting demonstration videos, he feels like he’s constantly staring at a screen. “I miss seeing people on campus, running into people; students, staff, faculty, administrators, and having impromptu discussions,” Keville said. “I
miss the social aspect of being with people on campus.” Aside from the new challenges of being virtual, being on campus is very different for Keville now. He is challenged by the new environment and the new measures faculty members have to take to be as safe as possible. Along with placing informative signs throughout campus, CSUDH has tried to ensure the safety of its students by providing hand sanitizers, gloves and masks in case anyone forgets or loses theirs. This semester, Keville teaches ceramics, sculpture and 3-D design composition. He is on campus two to three times a week either teaching his classes, via Zoom and in-person, or working from his office. His ceramic course is currently in-person and via Zoom depending on the students’ preference. Only five students are allowed in the classroom at a time. Social distancing is enforced and masks must be worn the entire time. “Wearing a mask the whole time is uncomfortable but necessary and doable,” Keville said. A couple of students told
Keville they were uncomfortable going on campus for his class due to the fear of exposing their loved ones, but the students who do physically attend said they really miss being on campus and they love the environment. “I think we all would prefer to be face to face than remote,” Keville said. Keville is one of the few professors who are on campus and in contact with many students, so he is constantly taking mental notes on certain things he should be doing to prevent getting the virus and being cautious of where he goes outside of school, for his safety and everyone else’s. Knowing that this will carry over to spring 2021, Keville said he will be more prepared in the future. He plans to have three separate classrooms, and each room will have five workstations that a student would be assigned to for the entire semester. Along with a pottery wheel, each student will have a laptop where they can watch Keville teach via Zoom from one of the three rooms. Having a plan in place for the
Bryana Medina Bullletin
Professor and art & design chair Jim Keville is teaching sculpture, 3-D Design and a hybrid ceramics class this term. future is important to Keville esting shows and videos. He as he focuses on getting used also likes to play with Legos to to this new way of living his escape and keep his creative everyday life by remaining com- mind flowing. posed and keeping a positive Although Keville is not the outlook on everything going on. only educator going through At times, the stress can be too this right now, he wants other much and he can feel overprofessors to take things day by whelmed. day. “I have good days and bad “Don’t be too hard on days,” Keville said. “Some days, yourself, I often think I could I’m doing quite well and feeling be doing more but then I reflect productive, and other days I feel on what I have done and think, like I can’t keep it together and there is always more to do, but fall behind.” this is good enough for today,” To manage his stress, Keville Keville said.“Of all my responsidoes a number of things like bilities, the one to my students cooking and watching intercomes first.”
Abilities Outweigh Disabilities Special Education Thriving Amid Pandemic By Matt Barrero | Assistant Sports Editor
Courtesy of Ismael Soria
Ismael Soria, who is pursuing a master’s degree at CSUDH, teaching an 11th grade special education class at a charter school in Watts. It’s no mystery that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected educational systems across the globe. When the new school year began, the reality of teaching virtually seemed dismaying. Since then, educators have continued to find new ways to be more creative, in an effort to hold their students’ attention. One question many educators are asking is whether or not these students are fully absorbing the information being fed to them through the screen of a computer. In special education programs, the forced new methods and learning environment have created more challenges for teachers and students than traditional schooling. “I have yet to meet a teacher who isn’t giving 110%,” Dr. Kate
Esposito, Special Education Department chair at California State University Dominguez Hills, said. “Teachers had to really quickly pivot to online instruction, and they had to come up to speed on the best strategies to use to engage students. In special education, the majority of us would agree that delivering in-person instruction is more effective than online.” With more than 20 years of teaching experience, Esposito now focuses her attention on providing guidance to students who are earning their master’s degrees in special education. Ismael Soria, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, is currently completing his master’s degree in the Special Education program at CSUDH. Additionally, Soria works as an
11th grade special education teacher for Green Dot Public Schools, a charter school overseen by the Los Angeles Unified School District, in Watts. “In the five periods out of a six-period day, I am co-teaching or pushing in,” Soria said. “That involves me checking in on students and progress monitoring. I can also pull students out and re-deliver a part of the lesson that they may not have understood. Most of the time, I am just recovering things they have been taught in their general education classes.” As a teacher candidate, Soria is evaluated based on his performance within a functioning classroom setting. Esposito emphasized how hard these students are working with so many outside elements factoring into
their preparation. “Our [future] teachers are incredibly stressed,” Esposito said. “They are juggling instructing their classrooms online, working towards their master’s and on top of all of that, they are trying to navigate through life much like the rest of us are trying to do.” While Soria was not prepared for all-virtual instruction prior to the pandemic hitting, he feels the students suffered greatly above anyone else. “From a technological standpoint, a lot of them were not ready when we started the online learning and some of them are still having trouble,” Soria said. “For us [teachers] we were trained prior to starting the semester, but students never received a tutorial on how to
work solely online. I do what I can to instruct them on how to navigate their online resources.” Working in education runs through Soria’s blood, quite literally. Of his 10 aunts and uncles, six of them are involved in education. Plus, both of Soria’s parents have been special education assistants for more than 25 years. “Growing up, my parents worked where I went to school,” Soria said. “When I saw my parents, I would always see them working with the special education students and as I continued to go further in my education, they got me to work as a special education assistant, as well. That’s really what instilled that passion. I enjoyed [See ABILITIES, page 11]
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WEDNESDAY, November 18, 2020
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LA Galaxy’s Season-Long Struggles Run Deep
By Jeremy Gonzalez | Sports Editor Last offseason, the Los Angeles Galaxy made a big splash in the transfer market when they signed former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward Javier Chicharito Hernández to replace the departing superstar Zlatan Ibrahimović, who took his confident persona back to Europe to play in Italy’s first division. Hernández, the Mexican national team’s all-time leading goalscorer, was expected to fill the goalscoring void left by Ibrahimović. He was expected to be an excellent fit with the current Galaxy squad, being welcomed by Mexico teammate and Galaxy midfielder Jonathan dos Santos along with Galaxy winger Cristian Pavón. The chemistry with Pavón was supposed to develop into a lethal duo up top for the Galaxy that would rival any attacking options in the MLS. But this season proved to be quite the reality check for California State University, Dominguez Hills’ next door neighbors. The five-time MLS Cup winners are coming off a season where Hernández, the club’s marquee signing, was a complete bust with only two goals scored this season. The team trailed only the San Jose Earthquakes in goals allowed this season despite having the third highest paid defense in the league. And the team fired head coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto with three games remaining in the regular season. So what’s next for the socalled flagship of the MLS? Los Angeles heads into the offseason in search of their fourth head coach since Bruce Arena left for the U.S. men’s national team in 2016. And while the team is not enjoying the success it had a decade ago, LA Galaxy President Chris Klein and General Manager Dennis te Kloese insisted in a press conference last week they’ll look at everything they can to revive the onceproud franchise. “A crucial offseason,” Klein said. “We’re spending a lot of time evaluating everything. And that starts with me and certainly I hold my hand up and take responsibility, not only for the results that are not up to our standards for this year but for the last couple of years.” Galaxy fans can recall the 2017 season where the team finished with an embarrassing 8-18-8 record. This season, Los Angeles finished with
a 6-12-4 record and found themselves at the bottom of the Western Conference for a stretch of the regular season. When Schelotto and his staff were dismissed, interim head coach Dominic Kinnear led the team to a 1-1-1 record in the final three games. Te Kloese said the team will not go down the obvious road in regaining their success. “The easiest thing is to just keep changing,” he said. “You can bring in a new coach, you can bring in a ton of new players, you can bring in a new general manager. You can do whatever you want. You can overhaul the entire academy again. I don’t think that’s the solution.” The biggest question mark for the team remains the head coaching vacancy. Some names have been linked to the Galaxy position, but te Kloese said the team was going to assess all options before it makes a final decision. Another big question for the team in the offseason is the decision on Pavón. His loan from Argentinian side Boca Juniors expires at the end of the season and the fans don’t know if Pavón will remain in a Galaxy uniform or if he will go back to Argentina to rejoin his former team. Te Kloese did provide an update on the move possibly becoming permanent. “I must say [Pavon’s] intentions are very solid on staying here,” te Kloese said. “I think it speaks for itself that the club is happy with his performance. Hopefully we’ll come up with a solution in the upcoming weeks.” In what will be one of the most important offseasons in the team’s history, the Galaxy will no doubt be making roster and front office changes in an attempt to bring the team back to relevance, competing for the MLS cup.
All Graphics by Christopher Martinez
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WEDNESDAY, November 18, 2020
SPORTS
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40 Years of Toros Shining on the Diamond By Carina Noyola | Staff Writer Nearing the end of the university’s commemoration of 40 years that CSUDH has been part of the California Collegiate Athletic Association, the Bulletin turns its focus on the combined 78 years that Toro baseball and softball have called the CCAA home. Unlike the men’s and women’s soccer programs, which we profiled two weeks ago, which have both claimed national championships, the Toro roundballers haven’t achieved that illustrious honor. But with 34 All-Americans and six conference titles between them, they still command a moderate level of success in the NCAA’s second division in Southern California. Since its initial year in the CCAA in 1982, the softball team has appeared in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Regionals nine times, and has had a top three CCAA finish in 15 of their seasons. The Toros made a quick impression in their first two years in the CCAA. The Rob Quarry-coached team finished second and first in the conference, and appeared in the NCAA regionals the second year. The Toros made another
Top careers, single seasons for Toros roundballers NCAA Regional appearance in 1989 but it wasn’t until the arrival of Jim Maier that CSUDH became a perennial postseason team. Maier, whose first year was 2001, led the Toros to the regionals five times in six years beginning in 2003, and claimed the team’s second conference championship in 2005. He capped off his first stint as coach with another conference championship in 2012 and led the team to super regional appearances in that year and 2013. Maier was named coach of the year in the 2005 and 2012 seasons. All-Americans he coached included pitcher Stephanie Guerra (formerly Jimenez, 2013) and first baseman Adriana Sanchez (2013), Eight Toro softballers have been named All-Americans. After Maier’s departure in 2013, the Toros struggled through five losing seasons, but they rebounded upon his return in 2019, finishing 27-19. Through 24 games in 2020, the team was 16-8 before the season’s cancellation due to the coronavirus. “We are still in the process and will always be in the process of building a stronger
softball program with a commitment of developing people, as well as a strong winning tradition,” Maier said in his open letter on the Toros Athletics website. The Toro baseball team’s first competitive season was 1973. They played in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and were champions three of their first four years. They began play in the CCAA in 1983, and earned two NCAA appearances in their first four seasons, including making the NCAA Division II College World Series in 1987 under coach Andy Lopez. The main throughline of the baseball program has been George Wing, who coached the team from 1989-2006, and returned for one year in 2015, leading the team to one of its seven postseason berths. The Toros have produced 26 All-Americans, 53 have been drafted by Major League Baseball teams, and seven have scaled the loftiest peak, making it to the majors, including pitcher Eric Plunk, who played 14 years and pitched in three World Series, Craig Grebeck, who played 13 years, and Kevin Pillar (see box to the right).
New Commitee Bridges Social Justice, Athletics By Taylor Ogata | Staff Writer contribution by Daniel Tom | Staff Writer In a time when divisiveness has come to a head, the California State University, Dominguez Hills Athletics Department is opting for togetherness. Last month, it announced the formation of a diversity and inclusion committee. Led by women’s basketball assistant coach Jaleesa Ross, the CSUDH Diversity and Inclusion Committee -plans to raise awareness of racial and gender inequality, inclusion and exclusion, and to foster more conversations about issues that are rarely talked about from an athletics perspective. Unlike purely academic departments such as sociology or Africana studies that may confront issues such as social justice head on, these topics aren’t spoken about in an athletic department setting. By forming this committee, this will invite student-athletes, coaches, and staff to join the conversation. “Today it is hard to stand up for yourself and others,” Ross said. “Given the fact people don’t want to talk for
so long, everyone has to do their part and bring people together.” According to the August press release announcing the conference-wide committee, it was a “response to nationwide movements to combat systemic racism [that will] examine ways that our conference can not only talk about the issues that cause division, but have a direct impact on the future of our institutions and our communities in direct and actionable ways.” The CSUDH committee’s latest step in fostering dialogue within the athletic department was held Monday (Nov. 16) , when a panel discussion including CSUDH University Police Chief Carlos Velez and members of the LAPD talked about “building better relationships with law enforcement,” according to an athletics department tweet. College athletes at schools like CSUDH not only were forced to deal with difficult issues such as systemic racism, they had to do so without the escape of athletic competition. That exacted a toll on them
Baseball
Paul Masuyama, 1972. Hurled 24 strikeouts against Cal Tech. Rick Davis, 1989. Established single-season records for most innings (145.2), complete games (11) and strikeouts (171). George Wing, 1989-2005, 2015. Coached the Toros to 477 wins, including 38 in 1994, when he led the Toros to the NCAA West Regional. Vince Aguilar, 1991. Needed just 80 pitches in a 9-0 Toro win over Chapman, notching CSUDH’s only perfect game. Joe Gevas. 2000-2003. Slugged .557, notched 252 hits and scored 169 runs, all Toro career records. He also had six hits in a game in 2002, another Toro record. Jose Montes, 2002. Only Toro to ever hit for the cycle, and did it quic, doubling in the first inning, tripling in the second, homering in the third and singling in the fourth.] Murphy Su’a. 2004, 2007-20014. Coached the Toros to two of their four NCAA West Regionals in 2009-2010, the latter season posting 41 wins, a CSUDH record. Jon Alia, 2009. Hit .467, posted a slugging percentage of .890, and registered 98 hits, 25 doubles, and 78 runs batted in, all Toro single-season records. Pierson Loska, 2019. Knocked in nine runs against Sonoma State, a Toro record. Kevin Pillar. Seven Toros have made it the Show, but Pillar, an All-American with CSUDH in 2008-2010, tops them all. He was one of the best centerfielders in the bigs with the Toronto Blue Jays and after being traded to the San Francisco Giants in 2019, he put up his biggest offesniven numbers with 21 home runs and 87 RBI’s, finishing 22nd in the Most Valuable Player Awards. Last season, he split time between the Red Sox and Rockies and is currently a free agent.
Softball Dianne Olson, 1983. Pitched every inning in the Toros’ longest game, 21, a 1-0 victory against Cal State Northridge. Tammy Quarry, 1983. The Toros first, and so far lone, firstteam All-American.
that Ross said needs to be addressed. “[Student] psychological services gave us some resources for how to,” help athletes think of themselves as more than just students who play sports. Ross said it is imperative that athletes are supported and given opportunities to express their thoughts and feelings in these times of uncertainty just as any other student. “Athletics are diverse in nature,” Ross said. “We are talking about diversity, equity and inclusion for everyone. It is huge for us to have this committee that can hear and relay the voices as well as help us continue to learn and grow as professionals. The key Ross said, is keeping athletes connected at a time when there are no athletics. “We really want to keep each other connected to everything, especially things that make us better,” Ross said. “I want to bring a consistent voice to this program.”
Anna Ibarra. 13 Toro pitchers have hurled no-hitters, but Ibarra is the only one to throwthree, one in 1991 and two in 1992. Cindy Perry-Brown, 2003-2006. Single-season record holder in runs scored (57), stolen bases (46) and consecutive stolen bases, 27. Also career leader in at-bats (221), runs scored (182), stolen bases (142) and consecutive hitting streak (25). Stephanie Jimenez, 2010-13. .Single-season record holder in strikeouts (232), saves (6) and shutouts (10); career record-holder in wins (84), saves (17). innings pitched (802.2) and shutouts (23). Lauren Harper, 2011. Fanned 16 against Stanislaus State, a single-game record. Adriana Sanchez, 2012-14. Career leader in batting average (.415), slugging (.804), on-base percentage (.498), and home runs (34); single-season record-holder in home runs (20) and hits (84). 2013 team. Scored 16 runs in one inning against Simon Fraser. Also the highest ranked team nationally of any Toro squad, fifth place for three weeks. Jazmin Guzman, 2019. Set the all-time single-season batting average record with 49 hits in 117 at bats (.419) and on-base percentage (.419)?. Jim Maier. 2001-2013; 2019-20. Coached the Toros to 11 winning seasons in his 13-year first stint, including 46 wins in 2005 and 2006, and seven NCAA regionals, including back-to-back super regional appearances in 2012-13. Returned in 201 and led the team to a 27-19 record, its first winning season since his departure five years earlier.
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Reflection From Page 1
videos, photos, and information of history. A guestbook will be provided as an opportunity to retrieve feedback from visitors and support future Pow Wow events. Multiple dances with educational information will be provided to learn while watching the recorded videos. The website will allow viewers to experience authentic videos recorded from homes of native members such as the Men Fancy Dance by Julian and Julius Phoenix, a father and son duo and world championship hoop dancers. The event will be given a blessing from the campus Spiritual Leader Jimi Castillo, a Tong-
va/Acjachemen Pipe Carrier and Sundancer in a welcome video along with the land acknowledgment. The Native American Heritage Month celebration initially began in 1990 when President George H. W. Bush signed the proclamation, National American Indian Heritage Month. Currently, there are 574 federally recognized tribal affiliations in the country with currently 110 in the state of California. Los Angeles County was home to the largest and wealthiest tribe in the Gabrielino-Tongva people. The largest of the many Gabrielino-Tongva settlements was the Suangna village which is where the city of Carson stands now. They were the first people to settle in the Los Angeles basin and numbering between 5,00010,000 before the arrival of
NEWS Europeans in the 16th century. In 1971, the Carson Indian Historical Advisory Committee and students of CSUDH joined to submit an application to the California Historical Landmarks Advisory Committee to have the first historical Native American interest site in the county established in the city of Carson. Students and organizations at CSUDH are continuing the partnership in bringing awareness and celebration to campus and the community of Carson. CSUDH’s SLICE and the AII’s goal is to have more Native American Tribe students enrolled and graduate from CSU. Native Americans joined three other racialized groups in August of this year to require CSU students graduating in the 2024-25 school year to complete a threeunit course in ethnic studies.
WEDNESDAY, November 18, 2020 A requirement currently being discussed in the CSU curriculum is a stepping stone for a more inclusive society with a start on campus first. With more than 300,000 native people living in California in the late 1700s, history has underrepresented them along with the United States Census Bureau. And with a higher population than listed in the census, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Indians and Alaska Natives people are 3.5 times more COVID-19 affected than non-Hispanic white people. “Indian people aren’t getting support from the government that they should be [getting],” Cheryl McKnight, director of SLICE and AII said. “If you look at the Navajo reservation, most of them don’t even have running
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water and we’re telling people to wash their hands. So they’re doing the best they can.” McKnight has witnessed and been a part of the effort and respect the campus has given Native Americans and their family. “When [we] asked our Southern Drum [Steve Bohay] if he would do a video for us and he said he was asked by nine different nations across the country to do a virtual Pow Wow and turned them all down,” McKnight said. “But he said, ‘I will be there for Dominguez Hills because Dominguez Hills has shown me and my family so much love and honor that I will be there for them anytime.’” Keep an eye out on your CSUDH email for the link to the Virtual Pow Wow website on November 20, 12 p.m.
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offered at CSUDH dedicated to the study of Asian American and Pacific Islander cultures, identity and experience. It’s taken a long time, but the timing also seems appropriate. Among the harsh lessons of 2020, from the growing awareness among all Americans of the reality of Black lives constantly in danger ,to the harrowing images of the children of immigrants being thrown in cages and disappearing from their parents, is the sharp uptick in anti-Asian racism. But amid the negativity are positive signs. America’s great racial reckoning is also a pivotal moment to learn about race relations and cross-cultural connections and challenging the pillars supporting the systemic racism in corporate and academic America. From the formation of a racial reconciliation task force at this university, to the creation of a requirement that every CSU freshman and transfer student entering the system in fall 2021 must take an ethnic studies class focusing on either Black, Chicano/a, Native American or Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) studies, higher education throughout the state is taking legitimate steps toward ensuring a more equal society through exposing students, faculty and staff to alternative narratives. The process for CSUDH’S AAPI major which was officially unveiled in a week-long series of events in October, began long before the turbulent summer of 2020 . The school first began offering an Asian Studies minor in 1992. Dr. Jung-Soon Park, CSUDH’s Asian Pacific Studies coordinator began working at CSUDH in 1999. She has long advocated for the creation of a baccalaureate degree. She told the CSUDH Campus News Center in July that she felt it was “ critical to establish a B.A. program here, given the eco-
instilled that passion. I enjoyed it and I thought I could do a good service seeing how well my parents did.” Soria will have to wait until May 2021 to complete his master’s program and be able to teach a class of his own. Sharing Soria’s passion for teaching, Karlie Buller has been a mild to moderate education specialist in special education (SPED) for the last four years and currently works for the Arcadia Unified School District as a first and second grade Special Day Class (SDC) teacher. Buller graduated from Azusa Pacific University with a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and a master’s degree in special education. Compared to Soria, who works with 11th graders, Buller works with a small group of 6 and 7-year-olds. Buller explains how difficult school days can be without the hands-on experience of having her students in the classroom. “Our six and seven-year-olds are having a really hard time sitting behind a computer screen for five hours, but we do four group calls throughout the day
which implements breaks for them,” Buller said. “I have done some one-on-one calls with some of the students based on their needs.” Buller emphasized that one of the challenges with her young students is knowing how much information is being absorbed, since each student must have a parent/guardian next to them during an entire class period. “It’s very hard to gauge what the student is actually doing, versus what the parent/guardian is doing,” Buller said. One aspect many people may forget is that school is more than just about learning a new subject and flexing the brain muscles. “School isn’t just academics. School is a safe place for our students,” Esposito said. “It is where they receive their nutrition. It is security and it is predictability. It’s their family away from family and students lost all of that when we went to online learning.” While many schools remain online only until the number of COVID-19 cases drops significantly, the stress levels can be at an all-time high for students right now. Educators like Buller, Soria and Esposito prove that despite the circumstances, they strive to continue teaching the children well, even while their teaching environment is virtual.
campus survey, and processed the data, she was convinced that a new major was possible. ““The growth amounted to almost 300% from spring 2016 to fall, 2016,” Park said. Soon after, APP became on par with and even sometimes exceeded that of some larger departments in the College of Arts and Humanities. So this took about three to four years, not including the preparations and proposal writing.” One thing in the Asian Pacific Studies program’s favor was its pairing of Asian American and Pacific Islander studies. One concentration will focus on the study of Asian-Pacific people, societies and countries within a historical, cultural and political perspective.
The Asian American and Pacific Islander concentration will focus on Asian American and Pacific Islander American history, community, social and political development. “We are one of a small number of programs that connects Asian-Pacific Studies and Asian American and Pacific Islander studies not only in Southern California, but also in the nation,” Park said. Seven new courses have been adopted for the new major and Park said more are planned. “We hope to create courses that focus on individual API groups’ experiences, histories and cultures,” Park said. “And to strengthen our courses on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.”
by CSUDH Campus News Center
The new major will offer concentrations in Asian-Pacific studies and Asian American and Pacific Islander studies nomic, political, and sociocultur- population, the largest of any state. LA County has the highest al significance of the region, as number, around 1.5 million well as the demographics of our According to CSU data, in student body and the neighbor2019 Asian Americans coming communities.” prised 8 percent of CSUDH The creation of the major, students (1,356) , and Pacific Iswhich began in earnest in 2017, landers less than 1 percent (52). Park said, coincided with the That trailed Black student by 3 release of a 2016 report from a percent and was 1 percent higher CSU task force on the advancethan white students. ment of ethnic studies. But since 2000, as Latinx That process eventually led to numbers have grown from 29 the passing of California Assempercent to 64 percent and Black bly Bill 1460, the CSU ethnic numbers have dropped from studies requirement, which was 27 percent to 11 percent and signed into law in August, one white numbers from 24 percent month after the CSU chancellor approved the Asian-Pacific Stud- to 7 percent, Asian American numbers have stayed relatively ies major at CSUDH. constant: 9 percent in 2000, 8 The new major coupled with percent in 2019. the heightened demand for And it wasn’t lack of interest ethnic studies classes due to the In an effort to gauge student CSU ‘s new requirement couldn’t interest in a new major, Park have worked out better for conducted a survey in spring, CSUDH’s Asian American pro2017. gram, said Dr. Mary T. Lacanlale, “About 58.68% and 56.48% a lecturer in the Asian Pacific of the respondents agreed that a Studies program. major in Asian-Pacific Stud“Now that [AB 1460] passed, ies and Asian/Pacific Islander it perfectly coincided with Asian-Pacific studies becoming a Studies, respectively, major,” Lacanlale said. “We hope [was] needed,” Park said. But even armed with this data, that with ethnic studies on evit was a long road to get AAPI eryone’s minds, it will help [put] recognized as a major. Asian-Pacific studies on equal Part of that was the time-intenFooting with the other ethnic sive process, which involved studies on our campus.” paperwork and approval from Considering that California the campus level to the Chancelis the state that birthed ethnic lor’s office. studies as an academic disciGenerally, in order to receive pline thanks in no small part to approval, new programs have the Asian-American Political to be tied to social, demographic Alliance and its involvement and other economic trends and with the Third World Liberation must be weighed against the Front, the coalition of ethnic interests of incoming students. student groups on California Along with student interest, campuses that led the crusade, surveys and studies must be the question of why it took so done examining the diversity long for CSUDH to offer a major and inclusivity of a new major, seems valid. as well as research on job opporIt certainly isn’t for lack of numbers. Asian Americans make tunities and degree usability. But once Park conducted her up 16.4 percent of California’s
