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NBA giant Shaquille O’Neal ends up in an ambulance after a bare-knuckle fan is slammed backward over a table on a wrestling return see page 6.
US POSTAGE PAID Desert Hot Springs, CA PERMIT NO 00005
Friday, March 5, 2021 Vol. 24 No. 19
“Precipitous Drop” In Latino Students in College By Desert Star Staff The number of Latino students on college campuses fell by 20% last year, mostly
because of COVID-19related job loss or illness, and so far, enrollment isn’t showing signs of bouncing
By Desert Star Staff SAN FRANCISCO The pandemic has had devastating impacts on the LGBTQ+ community, so the one million-member Equality California has launched a bilingual, statewide education and outreach campaign. Unveiled on Tuesday, the idea is to make sure people know when and where to get the vaccine and promote the science that shows the new coronavirus vaccines are safe and highly effective. Rick Chavez Zbur, executive director of Equality California, said COVID-19 had taken a toll on many in the LGBTQ+ community’s health and well-being. “And that’s particularly true for the most vulnerable members of our community,”
he said, “transgender and gender non-conforming people, LGBTQ+ people of color and immigrants and people living with HIV or other pre-existing conditions.” The latest study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found the LGBTQ+ population is more vulnerable to COVID, partly because it also has higher rates of underlying health conditions, including cancer and HIV. Last fall, researchers at UCLA surveyed more than 12,000 American adults on the impact of the pandemic. Study coauthor Kerith Conron, research director at the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, said the numbers show COVID-19 especially
back. The trend reverses gains made over the years in higher education among Latino students nationwide. Deborah Santiago, chief executive of the nonprofit advocacy group Excelencia
in Education, said many students have dropped out or delayed enrollment to help their families cope with reduced household income and coronavirus illness. “That precipitous drop not
only means that institutions are going to have to make a more concerted effort to outreach and engage us, at the time they were just starting Continues on Page 3
New COVID Education Campaign to Focus on LGBTQ+ Californians
Continues on Page 3
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia addresses people at one of the city’s vaccines clinics. Long Beach has a large LGBTQ+ community. (City of Long Beach)