The Union
EL CAMINO COLLEGE
SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1946
@ECCUNION
Sept. 21, 2023
ECCUNION.COM
Faculty union and district return to negotiations on Sept. 22
Trial of murdered student continues into 2024
By Delfino Camacho
One of three defendants accused in the murder of El Camino engineering student Juan Carlos Hernandez and a witness were in court Sept. 13, for the trial’s jury selection scheduling, slated now for next year. Juan Hernandez, who would have turned 25 next month, first disappeared on Sept. 22, 2020, Students walk past a surveillance towerw located behind the Communications Building on Wednesday, Sept. 13. The camera was set up by the El Camino College Police Department. Photo by Raphael Richardson never returning home from his job as a budtender at VIP Collective LA, a marijuana dispensary. His remains were discovered on Nov. 15, 2020 in the Mojave Police investigate incidents targeting the faculty union office Desert by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. By Raphael Richardson Defendant Weijia Peng, 30, door was vandalized with said. “We are still actively chief negotiator is an arrogant, was present at Clara Shortridge graffiti and had glue in its investigating that matter.” whiney troll,” and “Ali is a rude Foltz Criminal Justice Center in lock on separate days in a series The door was found glued radical idiot.” downtown Los Angeles as of vandalisms targeting the El hours before the Federation Also posted was a printed Superior Court Judge Mark Camino College Federation of was set to protest at the Board image of a crying baby. Other Hanasono presided over the Teachers office and its members, of Trustees meeting. A campus groups in the building removed Wednesday pre-trial hearing. prompting police to investigate. locksmith had to replace the the posters before Iino arrived Peng, who was the owner of Police were called to the lock at a cost between $600 to at the office, she said. VIP Collective when office, located in Room 201 of $1,000, Trevis said. A report was taken on this Hernandez was killed, entered the Communications Building, Another incident discovered specific incident but police are court in a jail-issued white on July 1, after Federation by Federation President Kelsey not investigating it as a crime. t-shirt under blue cotton scrubs. members discovered graffiti on Iino, which police are not “There are no threats in those Peng remained quiet their door. i n v e s t i g a t i n g , i n v o l v e d posters,” Trevis said. “We do throughout the hearing, only “Somebody had wrote on the someone gluing anti-Federation know there are administrative answering when Hanasono Federation office door, ‘toxic posters on the glass displays of board policies on posting things asked about the scheduling of whiners’ with a marker,” El the office some time before the and we’re looking at that, but the trial. Camino Police Chief Michael locks were glued, Iino said. not in any criminal nature.” SEE TRIAL PAGE 4 → Trevis said. “It was cleaned off. “I did notice there was like a The incidents left Iino So far, we’re still trying, but film [of residue] on our display worried about a lack of we’ve been unable to identify case and I thought it was some surveillance in the area, as no the person who did that.” kind of dirt so I went out to cameras directly captured the The next incident was clean it,” Iino said. “But as it crimes when they happened. “ We w e r e u n d e r t h e discovered morning of Sept. 6, turns out that adhesive had when a faculty member trying posters glued to it.” impression the college is under to get into the office found that Photos provided to The campus surveillance for safety someone had glued the door’s Union by student workers at the purposes,” Iino said. “And we lock shut. Social Justice Center, also in were notified that there was no “Somebody went to the same the Communications Building, direct video footage of our office door and, just recently, showed papers glued to the hallway.” Yajaira Hernandez holds a photo put some kind of adhesive or display case with messages like of her son, El Camino student glue into the door lock,” Trevis “We are at an impasse b/c our Juan Hernandez, on April 26, 2022. Photo by Kim McGill SEE VANDALISM PAGE 4 →
Federation offices vandalized
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COVID Testing
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Woman Warrior
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NEWS
EDITORIAL
My ECC
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SCAN ME
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By Kim McGill
FEATURES
The El Camino College Federation of Teachers spoke during the Sept. 6 Board of Trustees meeting in an effort to encourage college and district officials to reach an agreement in ongoing contract negotiations which have not been resolved in over a year. Negotiations began on June 29, 2022, before the Federation’s contract with the district expired on Dec. 31, 2022, leaving the faculty to work without a contract. Federation President Kelsey Iino and other faculty shared their frustrations to college administrators and the Board of Trustees during the meeting’s public comments. “We’re very tired of the issue of having investment in faculty being kicked down the road like a can,” Journalism instructor Kate McLaughlin said to the board. “We’ve put up with it for a long time.” The public comments were an extension of a march and protest organized by the Federation to coincide with the meeting. As public comments ended,the college administration went into closed session, where they discussed negotiations as marked on the meeting agenda. Closed session discussions are not open to the public, but if a decision is made the board must report out. Later, as the meeting began, the board said there was nothing to report. Despite the demonstrations the board meeting still had business to conduct, including adopting the official 2023-2024 fiscal budget.