The Union
SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1946
Dec. 5, 2024
ASO approves funding for student event
By Nick Miller
The Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education and California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids programs will host an event to support students during the holiday season on Dec. 6.
Approved during an Associated Students Organization meeting on Nov. 21, $750 will be funded for
CARE and CalWORKs to make the event possible for what could be up to a “few hundred” members that have been assisted by the program.
These members, assisted by the program, consist of students with children, single-parent students and low-income students. The celebration will bring families of students,
administrators and faculty members together to give back to students.
“CARE/CalWORKS are one of the programs that have been championed by the state of California to help parentstudents,” Director of Student Services Andres Osorio said.
Funding will cover 35 pizzas, along with cookies, chips,
fruits, snacks, candy and drinks.
Osorio said that ASO’s purpose is to be a reliable source when it comes to funds for student’s benefit.
“We just want to use our money in the best way possible, because we want to give our money back to the students because it’s never our money,” Osorio said.
Program discontinuance reviewed during meeting
Determing factors include enrollment, job markets and success rates
By Katie Volk
For programs to be considered for discontinuance, variables including enrollment, retention and success rates and labors market are considered.
However, discontinuing a program is a rare occasion at El Camino, Carlos Lopez, the vice president of Academic Affairs said. A program will be supported and aided to be kept
at the college before being considered for discontinuance.
“It’s really as much about program revitalization as about potentially discontinuing a program, even though that’s one of the outcomes, ” Lopez said.
The program discontinuance policy states several conditions must be considered before furthering the process of discontinuing a program
including enrollment, retention and success rates and the job market.
The policy gives the college superintendent or the president a process to follow to determine whether or not an educational program should be discontinued.
A determining factor is enrollment, which funds the programs.
“If a program isn’t enrolling
well to its capacity, then that’s really telling us that program isn’t necessarily viable and additional resources from other areas of the college have to support it,” Lopez said.
Enrollment numbers must be considered before reviewing a program to be discontinued.
Solar tables repaired after wiring thefts
By Renzo Arnazzi
Four solar panel charging stations in between parking Lot C and the Bookstore were repaired on Nov. 20 after malfunctions occurred two years ago.
The ShadeChargers were installed in 2022, and shortly after began malfunctioning.
Anthony Gruppetta, a groundskeeper at the college attributed wiring theft to the malfunctions.
“Since they are outside and exposed, someone stole all of the insides of the chargers,” Gruppetta said.
On the ShadeCharger website, a table costs $6,425. The company offers optional security bolts to deter theft.
Sarai Medina, a student at the college, said it was difficult to find a place to charge her phone on campus.
“Every time I come here, I try to charge my phone, and it just never works,” she said.
Medina said she brings a portable charger or laptop to charge her phone.
Assistant Director of Facilities and Planning Robert Brobst said the built-in solar panel charging stations have been moved four times in two years.
“They’ve been in a few locations, first they were by the student health center, then moved to the library, then moved them to Cafe Camino and finally got moved to the patio next to El Cappuccino,” Brobst said.
Warrior Pantry worker Bryan Lankin, right, helps place items into a student’s bag on Tuesday, Nov. 12. All visitors to the pantry are assigned a staff member to help with the free shopping experience, Jocelyn Rivera, student services specialist, said. Photo by Argentina Talley. SEE ENTERPRISE PAGE 6 →
Solar panel charging stations remain idle near Lot C on Nov 7.
Photo by Renzo Arnazzi
The Financial Aid Office needs more funding
Low staff is suspected cause for long response times
By Union Editorial Board
El Camino College students have to wait two hours and 30 minutes to speak with someone at the Financial Aid Office.
While El Camino isn’t the only school with long wait times, its wait time is longer than other community colleges in the state.
According to a Union survey at Riverside City College, the wait time is one hour and 30 minutes. At Palomar College and Cerritos College, the wait time is one hour. Each of the colleges mentioned have 20,000 or more students.
There shouldn’t be a reason why students at ECC have to wait much longer compared to other schools in the state.
Many students don’t have the luxury of waiting that long to speak to a real person and very few people can wait that long.
Students not receiving help with financial aid in adequate time could result in the student potentially dropping out of college.
The wait times are so long that the Financial Aid Office recommends students not to call them due to the limited number of staff. The office advises students to visit in person at the Student Services Building or by Zoom.
The Financial Aid Office lists in-person hours of operation from Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and online hours of operation last from Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Fraud has been one of the reasons why phone wait times have gotten so long. The process of authenticating people’s identities takes away time from the Financial Aid Office to help real students.
The Financial Aid Office currently has six full-time employees, two part-time employees, and three student workers. In the near future, the Financial Aid Office will hire three more students.
On an average day, the Financial Aid Office sees about 200 to 250 students each day. At the beginning of an academic year, the number rises to 500 students a day.
The editorial board applauds the people who work at the office, which serves more than 20,000 students at El Camino. However, this is a low number of employees meant to provide financial aid services to over 20,000 students.
It would be wise for the college to provide additional support to the Financial Aid Office by hiring more people to fill up the vacant positions as financial aid helps bring in a lot of money to the college.
According to the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, in the 2023 to 2024 academic school year, 15,372 ECC students received $61,048,750 from California College Promise Grants, Pell Grants, scholarships and other financial aid services.
The money brought in through financial aid has a trickle down effect on the college as students spend the money at the college.
Even though the college is currently in a budget crisis, El Camino needs to be willing to spend money in order to make money.
The Union
SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1946
Vol. 79, No. 5 Dec. 5, 2024
EDITORS
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND SPORTS EDITOR
NEWS EDITOR
ARTS & FEATURES EDITOR
OPINION EDITOR
Greg Fontanilla
Angel Pasillas
Katie Volk
Isabelle Ibarra
SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR AND ASSISSTANT SPORTS EDITOR Kinzie Malony
STAFF
Staff Writers
Camila Jimenez Renzo Arnazzi
Nick Miller Elliott Bullock II
Elsa Rosales
Illustrators
Anisa Arnazzi
Eric Delgado Lynn Kim Mia Gutierrez
Ivan E. Mendez De Leon Joseph Figueroa
Interns
Julissa Celis
Eddy Cermeno
Miliana Cienfuegos
Justin Coleman
Kayla Mitchell
Angela Osorio
Seph Peters
Susana Reyes Hong Dang
Teresa Galvez
Katie Gronenthal
Erica Lee
Taheem Lewis
Philip Mawamba
Bailey Meacham
Cameron Sample
Argentina Talley
Mario Trejos
Rosemarie Turay
Jamila Zaki
ADVISERS
STUDENT MEDIA ADVISERS Stefanie Frith sfrith@elcamino.edu
Kate McLaughlin kmclaughlin@elcamino.edu
PHOTO ADVISER Nguyet Thomas nthomas@elcamino.edu
ADVERTISING MANAGER Jack Mulkey elcounionads000@yahoo.com
Gerard Burkhart
INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS jdifazio@elcamino.edu
Joseph Difazio
Jessica Martinez
Photographers jemartinez@elcamino.edu
Doug Morino
gburkhart@elcamino.edu dmorino@elcamino.edu
CORRECTION POLICY: The Union takes corrections and clarifications very seriously. If a correction is needed, email The Union at eccunion@gmail.com for all corrections and inquiries pertaining to a story.
EDITORIALS: Editorials represent the views of the The Union’s editorial board. Columns represent the views of the writer. Neither are representations of what the newspaper staff, other students, our advisers, faculty or the administration think.
LETTERS AND GUEST COLUMN POLICY: No more than two guest columns from the same person will be considered for publication or online use in the same semester, and 60 days must elapse before a second column is published. Guest columns should generally run 300-450 words. Letters to the editor should generally run no longer than 200 words. All columns and letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and style. They must be free of libel and in good taste. Publication or rejection of any column is at the sole discretion of the editorial board.
Illustration by Joseph Figueroa
Avery Thomas
Jarell Williams
Nikki Yunker
Savannah Anderson
Rhiannon Ellis
Personal growth can lead to success in students
Students stuggling with their mental health can seek resources
By Savannah Anderson
My summers have always been a colossal waste of time.
It seemed as though the older I got, the more my summer days would blend into each other.
Every day was the same. I was bored, surrounded by heat–sweat slick against my face and had accomplished absolutely nothing.
During the school years leading up to these drab three months were filled with endless stress. I wanted to be involved in campus life. I wanted to be at the top of my classes, but I always found myself just getting by, only ever doing the bare minimum.
My goals only ever stayed stored in the back of my mind collecting dust.
It wasn’t until the summer of 2024, when I had visited my mom and sisters in North Carolina, that I decided to stop being the passenger in my own life.
North Carolina was nothing
like Los Angeles. Nothing fun was within walking distance. Everything was green and lush and the air was thick with humidity. I had a lot of time to think.
I knew the cause of my sullen attitude toward life. It all started inside, like most things. You know how when your gut health is off balance it starts to show on your skin? It’s the same for your mind. When your mental health is off-balance, it starts to show in the way you treat yourself.
Everything declines. It’s like witnessing the landslide of your life and not being strong enough to save yourself from it, so you just let it engulf you.
I was tired of my complacency. If I wasn’t going
to change my life now, then when would it ever happen?
That’s when I found Dr. Magdalena.
I began my therapy sessions with her the week I landed in North Carolina. She spoke to me with a sweet, understanding voice during our over-thephone sessions, a tone I wasn’t used to hearing.
It felt like I had been talking to a guardian angel. Magdalena knew all of my problems, and rather than judge me for them, she guided me toward a better path.
Throughout my time in North Carolina, my anger toward myself formed into inspiration to make better decisions, treat myself well and seek after every opportunity that I desired.
While my issues didn’t escape me overnight, the insight Magdalena provided me with became the catalyst for my brain-rewiring journey. When I returned to California in early June, I was fired up for the rest of the summer and the new school year.
Kenneth Spears, staff psychologist at El Camino College’s Mental Health Services Center, made a career out of understanding the brain. Spears understands the inner work necessary to overcome and reform negative beliefs and the rules we have attached to them.
“Rigid rules don’t serve us.” Spears said.
Spears believes that when we start to identify negative thoughts as they arise, we can see the pattern of how automatic these thoughts can be. From there, we can stop it and rewire it into something positive.
Once the new school year rolled around I had already changed my major from Plant Science to Journalism and Sociology, two subjects that I burn with passion for.
Through the Journalism Department at ECC, I was able to become a writer for Warrior Life, the school magazine and an intern for The Union, the school newspaper.
I joined volunteer organizations outside of school dedicated to homeless care and unsheltered animal rehabilitation. I felt moved to put myself in leadership positions and trusted myself enough to do good work to the best of my ability, regardless of where my mind was.
I still am constantly finding ways to adapt to the fast-paced change spiraling into my life. I know that this journey is anything but linear, but my fear of wasting my potential has always been greater than my fear of working through the tough things in my life.
I chose to take action now because if not now, then when?
I would think things like “I’m not a good student,” and then make rules for myself like, “I need to stay up all night doing work,” to prove that I’m a hard worker.
Counselors, please be attentive to the needs of students
Major
selection counseling needs to be revised for student success
By Union Editorial Board
The mission of a college is to foster and further student success.
Their success, especially at two-year colleges like El Camino College, often hinges on the quality of academic counseling services. The college boasts 47 full-time and 62 part-time counselors throughout different academic programs. While the college experience is inherently complex and at times, confusing and intimidating, community college students have to navigate a path they are unfamiliar with. This includes choosing majors, career paths and class enrollment. The hand guiding them
through this journey are the college’s counselors, who help students choose their classes, identify their academic interests and encourage them to pursue their dreams. Since many students at ECC are the first in their families to attend college, these services are especially
essential.
ECC is in dire need of improved academic counseling services.
Students expressed their dissatisfaction to The Union, complaining about counselors assigning classes they don’t need and long wait times to get
scheduled for an appointment.
For example, students said they were urged to take on a heavy course load. While counselors are pushing for students to finish their general education and core requirements for their major, some students may not be able to handle completing a heavy academic workload in two years.
Classes are being pushed because counselors give students an opportunity to change their major or explore different interests.
While this might be a good idea to discover classes a student would enjoy, it comes at the expense of spending extra money and wasting time. One student said counselors get confused because most of the
classes they help choose from were not in alignment with the student’s major.
California residents pay $46 per credit, while out-of-state and international students pay more. While $46 is cheap, every dollar counts.
In order to transfer to a UC or CSU school, 60 units are required. Sixty units are also necessary to graduate from El Camino. In the latest report from the college’s Office of Institutional Research and Planning, data shows that students are averaging approximately 71 units for an A.A. or A.S. degree, 11 more than the required amount during the 2023 to 2024 academic year.
To read more of this story go to eccunion.com
Illustration by Joseph Figueroa
Illustration by Joseph Figueroa
Students experience difficulties signing up for classes
Registering has been easier over the years but remains complicated
By Jarell Williams
Thefall semester is coming to an end and students are beginning to register for classes for the winter and spring semesters.
Priority registration for the spring semester at El Camino College began on Monday, Dec. 2.
A new student to ECC, namely those fresh out of high school, may not realize how difficult or easy it may be to register for classes.
This could be a stressful time for returning students.
Students need certain classes to meet certain requirements. Being able to get into a class could make the difference in whether they graduate or are able to transfer to a university.
Christian Pickens, an 18-year-old First Year Experience student who graduated from Washington High School last year, remembers registering for his fall classes.
The FYE program prepares students for academic success and career paths.
“I have never done this before, I had a counselor that helped me throughout my registration for the fall semester,” Pickens said. I just hope that they could help me again.”
Pickens said the FYE program helped him with
registering for classes and was able to find them all as soon as the fall semester started.
Kyle Traves, 21, has been an El Camino student for two years. He said it is easy to register for classes because all of the registrations are online.
“I never had a problem registering because there were counselors that were helping me, and I knew what I need to do,” Traves said. “Everything was right in front of me,”
Traves said the difference between registering for spring, summer, fall and winter semesters, is that spring and fall are harder due to more students attending those semesters.
“During the summer, people take breaks which makes it easier to register for classes in the summer,“ he said.
Traves said the hardest classes to get in are math, English and science, as general education classes fill up quickly.
Compared to the past, registering for a community college is much easier to do compared to 10 or 20 years ago.
Kai Golston, 27, is a teacher’s assistant at Da Vinci High School. She attended El Camino from 2008 to 2010.
She remembered having problems when registering for classes.
“It was so hard to find
someone to help me,” Golston said. “My counselor did not do a good job, one semester also missed the registration date.”
Golston said she did not do a good job of checking information online.
Reginald Williams, 50, began taking classes at El Camino in 1998.
“I remember I had to stand in line just to get classes that I wanted,” Williams said.
He said times have changed and knows online registration makes things so much easier.
Nowadays, every student has
an email and counselors send out information on that platform. El Camino has a service college MyECC.
MyECC is a portal for students and employees to access digital campus services at El Camino. All students can register for classes using MyECC.
According to the El Camino College registration procedure, students may register on or after their semester. All students must register by the deadline.
There are several registration priority levels. The priority
levels range from one to 10.
Level one is students in veteran foster youth, homeless youth, Disabled Students Programs and Services, and Special Resource Center. Priority level 10 students are reinstated and dismissed.
Golston said she wished she had MyECC when she was attending El Camino.
“That sure would have helped me a lot,” Golston said.
College to assist students in cancelled programs
Darcie McClelland, the vice president of Educational Policies said variables that include not meeting education standards or not serving a need in the community are highly accounted for.
Additionally, a program will be brought under review for discontinuation if its curriculum no longer aligns with university transfer, industry standards, or labor market needs.
“In some cases, the job market for that course has completely disappeared,” Lopez added. “There were colleges in California that used to teach upholstery and that job market has just gone away and
Police Beat
By Seph Peters
almost nobody teaches it anymore.”
Discontinuing a program will most likely have very little effect on college-wide enrollment due to the nature of the courses.
“Programs that are discontinued are usually lowenrolled to begin with, so a lot of times it might be a situation where the enrollment will not be drastically impacted campus-wide,” McClelland said.
In the event a program is cancelled at El Camino while students are enrolled, the college have plans to assist those students in obtaining their educational requirements for their specific area of study.
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 1:55 a.m.
“Every student that is in that program will be able to either finish their degree here somehow or at a nearby college like they would set up for that student a plan to finish their requirements at a nearby college,” McClelland added.
Pre-nursing major Cyrene Ronquillo, 18, said she is not concerned with her program being cancelled.
She said career-specific programs, including STEM, should be kept from being discontinued.
“It depends on the programs, but STEM courses, like chemistry, shouldn’t be discontinued,” Ronquillo said.
Friday, Nov. 22, 1:23 a.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 3:19 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2:57 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 23, 4:53 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 25, 3:59 p.m.
case of domestic violence was reported at 4:53 p.m. on Nov. 23 near Marsee Auditorium. The case is closed.
Verbal disturbances were reported near Marsee Auditorium on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 2:57 p.m. The case is closed.
bicycle was reported stolen near the Humanities Building on Nov. 25. The petty theft took place in the morning. The case is still open.
El Camino College Students walk by the Admissions Office in the Student Services Building on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023. Photo by Raphael Richarsson
Charlene Brewer-Smith, the president of Academic Senate, hosts a discussion about the criteria of the program discontinuance policy of El Camino College during a meeting on Nov. 19. Photo by Katie Volk
EOPS gas service cards approved
$100,000 allocated
By Isabelle Ibarra
The Board of Trustees approved a $100,000 purchase of Shell Gift Cards for EOPS during Monday’s Board meeting.
The transportation service cards are to help eligible program participants meet their commuting needs.
“EOPS is here for lowincome students,” Interim Program Coordinator Ruben Ruiz said. “We want to make sure they [students] get the most out of their expenses.”
The Board’s approval of transportation service cards will allow EOPS to purchase 1,000 gas cards worth $100 to assist students who struggle with transportation. A process is in place to assist students in need of transportation and track the distribution of service cards.
EOPS acknowledged a challenge for the student population at ECC is finding reliable and affordable means of transport.
In addition, EOPS is working to get the Board of Trustees to approve $99,000 for Walmart care meal service cards to give to eligible program participants.
to support low income students
Money for the service cards is received through Fund 12, which is the college’s restricted general fund.
“Sometimes we have $50 gas [cards], $50 Walmart cards, or sometimes we have $100 gas [cards] or $100 Walmart [cards],” Angelica Hooper, a Student Services advisor for the Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education program said.
This semester, the deadline for program participants to meet the contact requirement deadline has become much more strict, as distribution of the cards is now being reported to financial aid.
Transportation and care meal service cards are provided to students in the program who have met the EOPS contract requirements during the fall and spring semesters, which include meeting with an advisor and twice with a counselor.
During a Board of Trustees meeting on Nov. 18, the decision to rename the the Board’s meeting room in honor of the late BOT member, Kenneth Brown, was approved. Photo by
a.m. - 3 p.m.
After the deadline is met, students have two weeks to collect their cards. Every student gets three per semester. Support programs, including EOPS and CARE, have provided assistance to El Camino students who struggle with finances and finding basic needs to support themselves and their education.
allowing them to put more energy into their academics.
The service cards ensure assistance for students in the EOPS and CARE programs, providing them with some relief from personal struggles,
“Many students have expressed that the cards have been helpful to them,” Kristen Johnson said.
9: 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Dec. 10: 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Dec. 11: 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Dec. 12: 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Dec. 13: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Phone - (310) 660-3593 (extension 3511)
Isabelle Ibarra
Basic Needs Centers see increase in demand
As the cost of living rises for students, community colleges stretch budgets to meet needs
By Nikki Yunker
When Jocelyn Rivera started her new job in the summer this year, being manager of the Warrior Pantry seemed pretty straight-forward.
Then came the fall semester.
Rivera, a student services specialist, said the line of visitors on one Tuesday was “just going, and going, and going,” throughout the five hours the pantry was open.
The recent rise in visitors is a record high for the Warrior Pantry, which provides free groceries and hygiene items to students as part of the Basic Needs Center on campus.
“We were not this busy last year at this time,” David Brown, assistant director of financial aid at El Camino College, said.
The increase in student use is not unique to the Warrior Pantry and the center at ECC.
Across California, visits to Basic Needs Centers, which also link students to resources for housing, health, childcare, transportation, technology and more, have increased by at least 31% according to a 2024 report on Basic Needs Centers from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.
“All the things that we all need to have to exist, all the prices for all of those things have gone up, and so I think that’s probably the primary driver [of] why we see an increase,” Colleen Ganley, basic needs specialist at the CCCCO, said.
Student Success Coordinator Sharonda Barksdale, who has managed the center at ECC since 2022, said students returning to campus after the pandemic is also a factor.
Colleges reviewed by The Union, including Cerritos College, Santa Monica College, Mt. San Antonio College, and Long Beach City College all saw enrollment increases during the 2023-24 year after
steep pandemic declines.
Jessica Petrass, director of education at John Burton Advocates for Youth, a nonprofit that co-sponsored the bill behind Basic Needs Centers, said “[Community college enrollment] ebbs and flows with the economy.”
Petrass added, “When the economy is doing worse, [college] enrollment sometimes increases.”
While enrollment at ECC is still 4.4% less than it was in 2018-19, the total number of students rose to 32,917 during the 2023-24 year, about 7.7% more than last year, according to the CCCCO Data Mart, an online database of statistics from California community colleges.
Yet some community colleges in Los Angeles County have seen their enrollment rates rebound completely.
Enrollment has surpassed pre-pandemic numbers from 2018-19 by 8.8% at LBCC, which has 17% more students than ECC.
More students are visiting the college’s two Viking Vault food pantries amid the enrollment spike, Kennedy Netto, basic needs assistant at LBCC, said.
With 6% more students now than prior to the pandemic, the community college with the most enrollment statewide is Mt. SAC in the city of Walnut, which had 74,655 students in the 2023-24 year,
Mt. SAC’s Mountie Fresh pantry sees about 1,200 monthly visits the six days it is open, Rigo Estrada, director of basic needs resources, said.
After “snack racks” appeared around campus, visits to the pantry itself have declined, while food deliveries have increased, Estrada said.
At ECC, seven snack cupboards across campus have expanded the options for students to access food.
Basic Needs Centers, pantry visits per month
Cerritos College: 726 total (Oct.)
El Camino College: 3,295 total (Sept.)
Long Beach City College: 11,840 total (Oct.)
Mt. San Antonio College: 1,200 total (Oct.)
Santa Monica College: 5,500 (Monthly)
Source: Interviews, Basic Needs Center staff at each college
Two new cupboards will be added, with the Industry Technology Education Center gaining a snack cupboard which students taking night classes can access at late hours, Barksdale said.
About half of all the services accessed at the centers by students is food security assistance, according to the 2024 report from the CCCCO.
“Whatever food I get that week [from the Warrior Pantry], I’ll just go home and make a meal for my family,” 20-yearold Angel Stormborn, a fashion design and women’s, gender and sexuality studies major said.
ECC students enrolled in at least one unit can receive resources from the center, regardless of their financial situations.
“We know that, with the economy, that it’s not only hurting the low-income families, it truly is impacting all income levels,” Chau Dao, director of financial aid at ECC, said.
The centers help students facing financial aid ineligibility, as due to three Satisfactory Academic Progress policies, which require students to have at least a 2.0 GPA, 67% unit completion rate, and to graduate within max unit timeframes. At least 2,679 students were ineligible for
federal or state financial aid last fall semester.
“We do have a robust SAP appeal committee, where we do reach out to our students to let them know what their options are,” Dao said.
Nearly half of all ECC students received some form of financial aid in 2023-24, which is 7.2% higher than the state average, but the number of ECC students with Pell grants was 22.2%, which is just 3.3% above the state average.
A total of $43 million in state funds has been dispersed among 115 community colleges to support their centers in the 2024-25 year, and while each college receives a $130,000 base grant, colleges with more students and Pell Grant recipients receive more state funding, according to a 2024-25 compendium of allocations report by the CCCCO.
ECC uses the funding to pay for staff salaries, equipment costs, basic needs items and emergency relief grants for students, Dao said.
After being awarded a threeyear, $990,000 federal discretionary grant for basic needs in 2022, ECC formed the Warrior Resource Program, which gives urgent relief funds to 125 students per year on a case-by-case basis.
“We don’t like to advertise it because there’s always that potential of folks just coming and asking for it without having a true emergency,” Dao said.
To supplement the funding received, centers rely on donations to stock the majority of food and items available.
ECC, along with Cerritos College and LBCC, are all partnered with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, which requires the colleges to also offer its donations to nonstudent community members.
At SMC, food grown by students and faculty at the college’s garden produces up to
30 pounds of food a week at peak times, with much of it being donated to the campus pantry, Ryan Brode, a 20-yearold environmental studies major and lead student garden manager at the college, said.
Basic needs insecurities directly impact academic success, according to AB-132, the bill which brought Basic Needs Centers into effect.
“The research is very clear,” Myra Bremen, assistant professor of Nutrition Science, said. “When students do not have adequate access to food, their GPA drops, their retention rates drop, and their success rates drop.”
Early numbers from spring 2023 reports show that students receiving resources had a course success rate of 68%, which was 2% higher than the average rate for all students, according to the CCCCO’s 2024 report.
Barksdale said the center is more than just the Warrior Pantry, as students can also access the Warrior Wardrobe, CalFresh outreach, and the Warrior Resource Program.
“I’m really, with all my heart, grateful for the Basic Needs Center, because they’ve helped me with my entire life,” Stormborn said.
To read more, visit the website at eccunion.com.
Cupboard Locations
Communications: Black Student Success Center, Social Justice Center
Student Services: Warrior Welcome Center
Veterans Resource Center Pool Classroom: Athletic Division Office, Room 212
Schauerman Library: Tutoring Center Student Health Center
Fresh fruits and canned goods sit at the Warrior Pantry in the Basic Needs Center on Tuesday, Nov. 12. Out of the three weekdays the pantry is open, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the busiest, when visitors may begin lining up 45 minutes prior to the pantry’s opening. Photo by Argentina Talley
Jocelyn Rivera, student services specialist, has managed the Warrior Pantry at the Basic Needs Center since July 2024. “I have a wonderful team here at the basic needs, we all have the same mission in mind, we’re all very passionate about that work and connecting our students to different resources on campus, because we want them to be successful,” Rivera said. Photo by Justin Coleman
Special Resource Center has highest enrollment post-pandemic
El Camino College’s disability program has boost in enrollment after six-year decline
By Rhiannon Ellis
WhenClay Grant woke up, he had the feeling that something was off.
Grant woke up with a feeling of brain fog, and decided to go outside to get fresh air, thinking he was just feeling cramped in his room, as he was feeling fine the night before.
However, he realized something was wrong after he went outside, though he couldn’t understand why.
Grant’s sister called an ambulance. After being told by paramedics that his vitals were normal and that he was fine, Grant insisted that something was wrong.
He was taken to the hospital to better understand his condition, and he was told that he had a stroke, and had to have emergency treatment.
After the stroke, Grant suffered from aphasia, a language disorder that affects the ability to communicate.
“My ability to try to communicate was diminished. The only thing I could say was yes and no,” Grant said.
When Grant returned to El Camino College for the fall 2021 semester, he discovered the Special Resource Center.
“I feel like it’s a second home, I feel accepted when I go there, because every time I go there, every single person tried their best to get me to my finish point, and that is to graduate, so every single person in their own special field, they push me to do my best, and that’s the only thing that anybody could tell somebody to do their best,” Grant said.
Grant is one of several students who enrolled in the Special Resource Center after
“My ability to try to communicate was diminished. The only thing I could say was yes and no.”
— Clay Grant, 41-yearold business major
Did you know?
• Steve R. Fasteau was the SRC’s first director for 20 years and founded the California Association for Postsecondary Education and Disability.
the COVID-19 pandemic.
El Camino College’s Special Resource Center had the largest enrollment increase since the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2023 to 2024 academic year, increasing 11.52% from the 2022 to 2023 academic year, according to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Data Mart.
This increase comes after a six-year decline, having enrollment under 1,700 students since 2018.
The increase is also the highest among disability support programs across four community colleges in Southern California that The Union reviewed, compared
• The first student with disabilities to go to college was Ed Roberts, going to UC Berkeley in 1962.
with a -26.13% decrease at Fullerton College, -1.58% decrease at Orange Coast College and 4.47% increase at Santa Monica College.
However, student enrollment in the SRC has not reached prepandemic levels.
Nathalie Laille, the Coordinator of Center for Students with Disabilities for Santa Monica College, suggests that the reason for the higher enrollment is because of an increase of students dealing with mental health issues, and was aggravated by the pandemic.
Edward Roth, the director of Disability Support Services at Fullerton College, agrees with
• Note taking assistants and audio recorders are among the oldest accommodations provided by the SRC.
Laille, saying it’s a major factor.
“Mental health, it is certainly a big big factor, because we find that so many of our students have maybe a primary disability, and then almost always it’s accompanied by a mental health secondary disability as well,” Roth said.
The Union made numerous attempts to reach the Director of Student Disability Services, Gary Greco, but could not be reached for comment.
The SRC is a support program at ECC that provides equitable accommodations to students with disabilities to help them succeed, from extra time to work on tests to audio recording programs to help with note taking.
The program was created by Steve R. Fasteau, who was an advocate for students with disabilities. Fasteau developed the SRC in 1972, which was initially a program that was a part of Educational Services, according to the Warwhoop newspaper’s first issue in Volume 27.
The SRC also allows opportunities for students to work in the program.
Lynda Andrade, a 24-year-old technology and machine engineering major, started working at the High Tech Center earlier this semester.
“I am a person that really likes to help people, and I really like the philosophy that all these departments have,” Andrade said.
The SRC is one of several different names for disability programs in community colleges, as the name varies by schools.
These disability programs weren’t the only ones having an increase of enrollment postpandemic.
The Department of Rehabilitation, a government program that works with employers to help people with disabilities find employment, had similar increases postpandemic.
“Before COVID, our numbers were closer to 100,000, so we have been, in the last few years, seen that number kind of move from 100,000 people served a year to closer to 150,000,” Kim Rutledge, the deputy director of Office of Legislation and Communications for the DOR said.
Rutledge says the reason for this increase is because of the increased opportunities for people with disabilities to work.
“I think that telework became more common, having certain flexibilities, became more common, and I think in some ways, it actually increased opportunities for people with disabilities.”
• The Americans with Disabilities Act, a law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination in public life, was passed in 1990.
• The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was the first antidiscrimination law for people with disabilities, covering federally funded programs and services.
Clay Grant, a student attending El Camino College has found the Special Resources Center very helpful as he had a stroke that impacted his speech and mental abilities. There has been increase of students enrolled in the SRC since 2023. Photo by Susana Reyes
Clay Grant, a student attending ECC has found the Special Resources Center very helpful as he had a stroke that impacted his speech and mental abilities. There has been increase of students enrolled in the SRC since 2023.
Photo by Susana Reyes
ECC financial aid discourages students from calling
Phone
By Kinzie Malony
El Camino College’s Financial Aid Office puts student callers on hold immediately and for long periods of time without addressing the student or their reason for contact.
Students wait an average of two hours and 30 minutes until a real person is connected to the caller, according to a series of test calls The Union made over a four-week period.
ECC isn’t the only college with large wait times but it is the college with the longest wait time that The Union reviewed in Southern California the highest time out of the four other community colleges selected.
“The assistant works at the financial aid lab so a lot of what they do is just try and figure out what the problem is and troubleshoot as they go as well,” David Brown, the assistant director of the Financial Aid Office said.
Different ways to reach the ECC’s financial aid department
Emaileccfaid@elcamino.edu
Phone - (310 ) 660-3493
Location - on El Camino Collge campus, second floor of the Student Services Building
“Most of the time, we will be on the phone actually working with students and phone calls will keep coming in and we can’t switch over since we only have one line so we can only answer so many calls at a time.” Brown said.
The second-highest financial aid call wait time recorded was Riverside City College with an average hold time of one hour and 30 minutes.
Financial aid phone lines are supposed to be used for students and staff to ask questions or
raise concerns which is now limited by raise concerns ECC has a population of 21,000 students this semester and 78% of those students are relying on financial aid from the college, a total of 17,160.
Currently, ECC is training some students to assist with the needs of the department which would include answering phones and working with students in-person.
RCC has 15,317 of its students using financial aid resources, 80% of RCC’s population, which sits at 19,147 students all together.
With only a 1,843 student difference, the average hold time for RCC dropped a whole hour. With Cerritos College and Palomar College not too far behind RCC in terms of financial aid students, the college’s times dropped by another hour.
Palomar has a population of 31,519 students, yet only 48% use financial aid resulting in 15,129 students.
The college has 188 fewer students on financial aid than RCC, yet the hold time for its students is down by 60 minutes.
Cerritos on the other hand, has 2,115 students less than Palomar even though its wait time is the same. The population of Cerritos is 21,335 students which means 61% of its students use its financial aid department.
Jamie Quiroz, Cerritos College’s financial aid assistant director, said eight employees answer the phone.
“It can vary if we have everyone in or if people are out on vacation, but I normally have eight financial aid technicians full-time staff,” Quiroz said.
“It felt slow, like extremely slow, like they would respond late, like days after I contacted them and their response was extremely unhelpful half the time.”
— Arden Coloma, 19, computer hardware major
There are at least four staff members working the phones each shift to ensure students receive help, Quiroz said.
ECC doesn’t have selected staff members who are paid and responsible for only answering the phones.
Financial aid assistants at El Camino help answer the phones when possible, but don’t usually have their full attention on the phone line or the person on the other end of the phone, Brown said.
Average Financial Aid Phone Line Wait Time Comparisons
El Camino College average - 2 hours 30 minutes
Palomar College average - 30 minutes
Cerritos College - 30 minutes
Riverside City College - 1 hour 30 minutes
Pierce College - No Wait Time
“We are also hiring student workers at the moment and waiting for those to get processed and approved,” Brown said. “This has been ongoing for the past six weeks or so, we are supposed to get about six new student workers into the office to also assist with students checking in at the front counter and answering phone calls,”
Multiple students have expressed they are discouraged from reaching out to the financial aid department altogether as a whole.
“I call and they hang up,”
Jay Briggs, 26, film major said.
“Sometimes when I show up, it’s like ‘Oh we’re busy’ they don’t have any appointments so it’s been really hard.”
Briggs is not the only student who has had a negative
experience with receiving assistance.
Allison Bernal, 18, a radiology major said the time the financial aid lab radiology major said the time the financial aid lab is usually full at around 2 p.m. but they just need more workers to help.
Some students have even gone as far as to say the assistance they received was unhelpful or a waste of time and effort.
“Phone, and then email, and then eventually, after they didn’t respond to my email for days, I just decided to go to the main office,” Arden Coloma, 19, a computer hardware major said.
To read more visit eccunion.com
Assistant Director of Financial Aid, David Brown, poses in front of the Financial Aid Office on Nov. 22. Photo by Kayla Mitchell
‘Pride and Prejudice’ takes center stage
The fall play debuts with a nuanced take after a thorough rehearsal processes
By Elliott Bullock II
From large scenic set designs of Regency Era London to 19th century style-music, the play “Pride & Prejudice” made its opening night debut at the Campus Theatre on Nov. 22.
This version of “Pride & Prejudice,” written and directed by Kate Hamill, is an updated version of the classic Jane Austen novel that’s more of a romantic comedy while keeping its themes of marriage, love and feminine values.
The story features Elizabeth Bennet, an outspoken individual determined to never marry regardless of being pressured by society, until she meets a man named Mr. Darcy.
The play had been in development in El Camino College’s Theater Department from the first day of auditions and rehearsals on Oct. 7 to its opening night on Nov. 22.
Being a fan of period dramas, Kelly Herman, who teaches at California State University Dominguez Hills and is a part-time fine arts professor at ECC, was
looking forward to directing “Pride & Prejudice.”
“I was offered to direct and I said ‘yes,’” Herman said. “I like working on time-period pieces and they all have their own challenges.”
Herman adds what makes the play a little different from other adaptations of “Pride & Prejudice” is that it has a modern feminist note while maintaining its roots as a period piece.
“A woman’s value should not be seen through men’s, but their own, which is important because Jane Austen was one of our first true feminist writers about a woman’s place in society,” she said.
“What’s important is that we do the work on stage,”
— Travis Duncan
During auditions, Herman’s goals were to select her cast and make sure there was chemistry among the actors.
Julia Doty, 21, is a theater major who was cast to play the protagonist Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Bennet. A fan of the source material, she was honored to get the role.
“Going into this, I’ve already read the book and love the movie and [I] was not going to do any more shows, but
me come back,” Doty said.
During the whole month of rehearsal, Doty expressed the challenges of performing with a British accent.
“It might be harder if we just did the play like how it’s straight up written, because it’s such a mix of the way the British talked, 1800s talk and a bit of modern,” she added.
Travis Duncan, 25, a theater major who plays Mr. Darcy, found his experiences with the cast during
rehearsals an interesting journey.
“What’s important is that we do the work on stage,” Duncan said. “I’m really close to some of them and we have fun while we’re being adamant about acting.”
Dress rehearsals began on Nov. 19.
Doty felt the pressure of getting into her character much more when she was in costume for the first time.
“It was stressful because of how many times I had to change with so little time, but so much fun,” she said.
ECC student Andres Diaz, attended the play in support of his friends and really enjoyed the opening show.
“I would definitely recommend this to anyone,” he said. “Hopefully everyone will have a good time whether they’re familiar with ‘Pride or Prejudice’ or not.”
Upcoming dates ⏰ Dec. 6 and 7 @ 8 p.m. Dec. 8 @ 3 p.m.
Campus Theatre
G.A: $15
With valid student I.D: $10
this story made
(Left to right) Edward Villanueva as Mr. Collins, Sadie Wells as Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Solomon Alozie as Ensemble and Sophia Manning as Miss Anne de Bourgh during a dress rehearsal on Nov. 20 in the Campus Theatre. In this garden scene of the play, Lady Catherine de Bourgh boasts about her accomplishments and lavish living in front of Mr. Collins and Anne De Bourgh. Photo by Elliott Bullock II
Barkada club embraces Filipino customs, creates community
New club on campus educates members on everything Filipino
By Isabelle Ibarra
Barkada, translated to “group of friends” in Tagalog, is what best describes the purpose of a new club at El Camino College.
The Barkada Club, which started this fall, aspires to educate its members and others in the ECC community on what it means to be Filipino, build a community for Filipino students on campus, as well as raise awareness for the current condition of the Philippines including political issues, inequality and natural disasters.
“It [the club] started off as a tiny plan,” the club’s president Kristina Tiongco said.
Cabinet members of the Barkada club said motivation to form the club started from UCLA’s Samahang Pilipino Advancing Community Empowerment club, which visits ECC to help students transfer to universities and also offers counseling as well.
“We noticed that there were a lot of Filipinos on campus, but they were all spread out - there was no sense of community,” Barkada’s Director of Public Relations Cian Lorenzo Bercasio said. “We just wanted to start a community, not just for Filipinos, but for the Filipino heritage.”
Members said the club created a space for them to get in touch with their roots.
There are currently 30 active members in the club, nine of them being the original founding members. The club welcomes everyone and members encourage students to join, even if they are not Filipino.
During meetings, which take place every other Friday from 3 to 5 p.m., members partake in different activities. These activities include exposing members to Filipino culture through movie nights where they
watch Filipino films, enjoy potlucks featuring traditional Filipino dishes and participate in karaoke nights and playing traditional Filipino street games called “laro ng lahi.”
The Barkada club also collaborates with other clubs on campus to expand diversity and make a more engaging environment.
Events and activities gave them the opportunity to reconnect with the culture they felt like they had disbanded from by building relationships with others that share their heritage, despite possibly not coming from similar upbringings.
“I was born in the Philippines, and was bullied in elementary school for having an accent and bringing ethnic foods for
lunch,” Inter-Club Council representative for the Bakarda club, April Joy Malabayabas, said. “As a way to defend myself, my mom made me do a lot of worksheets and practice pronunciation every summer.”
Malabayabas said her language loss made her feel
disconnected from the Filipino culture. Having this club with people who accept her despite being distant
from the culture helped her feel less lonely.
Building these kinds of connections is what makes her happy to have this club on campus.
Experiences of disconnection from the culture are something many members of the club share, and say that the sense of building reconnection is what the Barkada club is all about.
In the past, there was a different club, the ‘Maharlika’ club. Students are unsure of what happened to the organization, but are happy to have founded a new one.
“We want to keep this club active and not stray from what we made it for,” Bercasio said. “I really hope this club lasts for a while.”
“We just wanted to start a community, not just for Filipinos, but for the Filipino heritage.”
— Cian Lorenzo Bercasio
Filipino fun facts
• There are over 170 dialects in the Philippines.
• There are 7,641 islands in the Philippines.
• Boxing and basketball are two of the most popular sports in the Philippines.
• The Philippines is known as the largest supplier of nurses to the world.
Source: globaladmissions.com
Members of the Barkada Club and International Club meet up to party and take pictures in the Social Justice Center Photo by Taheem Lewis
Barkada member, Kai Hajir, a kinesiology major, displays his Filipino calligraphy skills. Photo by Taheem Lewis
From Olympian to coach: April Ross era to begin
After an illustrious playing career, the longtime beach player will take the reins from a longtime coach
By Greg Fontanilla
On the sand courts at the Tokyo Olympics, the sound of Australia’s Mariafe Artacho del Solar’s hand slapping the ball during a serve echoes through the empty stadium.
With the American team needing just one point to win the women’s beach volleyball gold medal match, Artacho del Solar launches the ball into the net, giving victory to the Americans Roars of celebration erupt from the six-foot, one-inch tall Ross as she and her beach partner Alix Klineman defeat Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy. The rays of victory gleam down on Ross and her signature braided dirty blonde ponytail.
Accomplishing what many other Olympic athletes have done before them since 1896, the U.S. duo of Ross and Klineman cemented themselves in Olympic history as gold medalists.
Adding to her medal set of silver and bronze, Ross, the recently-hired El Camino College women’s beach volleyball coach, secures a full medal Olympic set.
“It was pure elation and it was a dream come true,” Ross said. “I knew it was going to mean a lot for my career to cap it off with a gold medal.”
Marking the end of an illustrious 18-year-playing career, Ross, 42, who retired in early November, took over for longtime coach LeValley Pattison, who retired at the end of the spring 2024 season.
Bringing experience as a world class beach volleyball player to El Camino’s beach program is rare, according to athletic director Jeffrey Miera.
“It’s not often that you get an individual with the experience, knowledge, the expertise that April [Ross] possesses,” the athletic director said.
Ross said taking the time to know her players on a personal level is an element she would like to incorporate into her coaching style.
“Having an open-door policy and trying to convey that they [players] can talk to me about whatever is going on, any issues they’re having, and I’ll
Soccer:
try to help problem-solve with them,” Ross said.
Klineman highlighted Ross’ strengths, including the ability to adapt, crucial in her role as a coach.
“For her to be able to pair up with three different people and go to the Olympics, get medals with all three of them, just shows that she can really adapt to her environment and deal with different types of personalities,” Klineman said.
In addition to winning an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo with Klineman, Ross secured a silver medal with Jen Kessy in London against compatriots Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings in 2012.
Four years later, Ross paired up with Walsh-Jennings to take home a bronze medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.
• The men’s team ended their playoff run after dropping the 3C2A SoCal Regionals to Mira Costa, finishing 14-3-4.
• Women’s soccer finished 9-8-5 after falling to L.A. Pierce 2-1 in SoCal Regionals. Women’s volleyball:
• Finished 9-13.
Long before being tapped to coach at El Camino, she established herself as one of the most decorated beach volleyball players in Olympic history, adding to her resume, which includes 46 victories in the AVP league, medals at the World Championships, as well as medals in FIVB competitions.
That profession led her to El Camino, where she will succeed Pattison, who became the first coach for the college’s beach program in 2016, when the program was officially recognized by the California Community College Athletic Association.
For eight seasons under Pattison, the program saw topfive finishes in California, including a tie for a third place finish in 2018.
El Camino sports recap: Football:
Longevity and a desire for flexibility played a role in her decision to retire.
“I just felt like it’s time to give somebody else a shot,” Pattison said. “I’d like to be able to travel a bit and do some different things.”
Pattison plans on spending more time with her family in retirement, closing a long and storied coaching career.
Meanwhile, Ross and her husband Josh Riley, a firefighter with the Burbank Fire Department, welcomed their son Ross Riley in October 2023.
She would like to balance her time coaching and spending time with her family as well.
“I feel like being here at El Camino close to home, I can coach, pursue this career, mentor the girls here and then spend a lot of time with my
• The team ended their season 7-4 after dropping their SCFA semifinal game to Mt. San Antonio.
Water polo:
• Men’s water polo finished 23-13, reaching the first round of SoCal Regional playoffs.
• Women’s team finished in third place at the SCC championships.
Cross country:
family - those two things were really important,” Ross said.
As she prepares for her role coaching the women’s beach team, having a son has given the retired beach volleyball star a new purpose.
“Teaching someone how to do all the things you need to do in life, helping them develop as a human and molding them, trying to set them up for a good life,” Ross said. “That holds a very significant purpose.”
To read more, visit the website at eccunion.com
• The men’s team finished 10th overall at the 3C2A Championships. Aaron Cohen earned J.C. All-American and 3C2A First Team AllState honors.
• Women’s team finished 18th overall at 3C2A Championships.
Three-time Olympic medalist April Ross overseeing and giving tips to a student who were practicing spikes during their time at the volleyball clinic on Wednesday, Oct. 23. Ross owns an Olympic gold, silver and bronze medal. Photo by Mario Trejos
Far From Home
The journey of international and out-of-state athletes
F our different stories, all sharing one theme: student-athletes from different states and countries come to play at El Camino College seeking opportunities at major universities
Being an international or out-of-state student-athlete is a journey filled with many achievements and challenges.
Athletes are exposed to competitive football, using JUCO to define their skills and get noticed by four-year colleges. It’s an opportunity to pursue dreams of higherlevel play and personal growth through independence and cultural exchange.
Players join a diverse team and build friendship and resilience on and off the field.
However, there are challenges to the journey.
These student athletes suffer from homesickness, cultural differences and financial struggles while being on their own away from home.
Balancing academics, athletics and jobs can be overwhelming, especially for those in a new environment.
Defensive back Yudai Naka is a 19-year-old business major from Nishinomiya, Japan who came to study in the United States to pursue his football career at a collegiate level.
Naka chose ECC because he wanted to study abroad and move to California. He looked at JUCO schools in California and found colleges, including El Camino and Santa Monica college, but SMC’s international tuition cost was too expensive.
Naka said football training in the U.S. is more developed than in his home country.
“The U.S. level is much higher and more physical than Japan,” Naka said.
He was recruited to play on the team after he and his family sent an email to football Coach Gifford Lindheim and got his approval to become a Warrior.
According to ECC - Tuition & Fees, Net Price out-of-state and international students pay $7,144 for tuition and fees.
On average the cost of living in California is up to $53,082
per year. Naka’s father helped him with the legal process to move from Japan to California.
Defensive lineman Mathis Schaaf is a 19-year-old business and architecture major from Leipzig, Germany has taken his talents all the way to ECC in Torrance, Calfornia. Schaaf attributes his competitive drive to seeing his mother achieve success as a horse riding champion in the 80s. Growing up in Germany, Schaaf played golf, tennis, soccer and rugby. However, his
Sports Calendar:
Men’s soccer
rugby skills showed recruiters the potential that Schaaf can succeed in football.
“[At] St. John Bosco, I sent my tape all over the country and Bosco kind of answered and they were like, ‘we can make a good football player out of you if we wanted to,’” Schaaf said.
Schaaf experienced culture shock when he moved to the U.S since Germany does not have a large amount of diverse cultures. He enjoyed
Dec. 6 - away game, 3C2A State Championships @ American River College (Sacramento)
Dec. 8 - away game, 3C2A State Championships @ American River College (Sacramento)
the different cultures in the U.S, because it gave him the option to try different types of food.
He credited the trust he has in his coach Ken Talanoa for steering him towards playing for ECC.
Schaaf did not experience much trouble when finding a place in Southern California. Him and his brother found a comfortable apartment to live in.
“El Camino would’ve really
Women’s Basketball
Dec. 6 - away game, @ Cuesta
Men’s Basketball
helped me there because they have somebody with ‘Coach P’ who actively recruits people from different states and gives them living situations here. So I think I had multiple opportunities to find a comfortable living spot,” Schaaf said.
He added it is hard balancing the costs of living along with being a studentathlete, but that these difficulties will not stop him from achieving his dreams.
Elijah Holmes, a 21-yearold business and marketing major from Dallas, Texas, is looking to carry on his family’s success on the football field.
Holmes’s family has a clear influence on his decision and ability to play football at a high level.
“My dad went to college, he played at Vanderbilt with Jay Cutler. And then my grandfather played for the Denver Broncos and the Detroit Lions, and my uncle played for the Buffalo Bills.” Holmes said. “I mean just the history, I’m trying to carry it on.”
Holmes credited the culture and the winning atmosphere as the main reasons why he chose ECC. Holmes said that the college feels like family and a home away from home.
The price and cost of living is what shocked Holmes the most when moving to California. He also enjoys the food more in California compared to Dallas.
Holmes believes Texas has better football talent than California, but that both states have high quality players. He added how it is important to come up with an efficient plan before arriving at a college from a different state.
“I am sleeping from teammates to teammates’
To read more, visit eccunion.com
Dec. 6 - away game, TBA @ Modesto College
Dec. 7 - away game, TBA @ Modesto College
From left to right: international and out-of-state student-athletes defensive back Yudai Naka, wide receiver Elijah Holmes, running back Aaron Nelson and linebacker Mathis Schaaf stand together as a team on Murdock Stadium on Nov. 26. Photo by Renzo Arnazzi
By Nick Miller and Renzo Arnazzi
German International Linebacker Mathis Schaaf practices his tackles at his practice before the big SCFA Semifinal matchup against Mt. SAC Photo by Renzo Arnazzi