Vol. 74 Issue 11 May 9, 2019

Page 1

Established 1946

May 9, 2019

THE UNION eccunion.com

Follow us @ECCUnion

See Arts, page 5

TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA

Send us an email at eccunion@gmail.com

facebook.com/ElCaminoUnion

Health officials prepare in case of measles outbreak 2 Los Angeles college campuses among affected Fernando Haro

News Editor @ECCUnionHaro

Jose Tobar / The Union Romeial Hilaire walks along the Los Angeles River on Sunday, March 17. Hilaire left his home in Marrero, Louisiana nine months ago and has experienced homelessness ever since.

Coping through comedy in Los Angeles

Homeless student moves to the ‘City of Angels’ to pursue dreams Jose Tobar

Staff Writer @ECCUnionTobar

H

e spent his first night in town crouched on the floor up against the wall of a homeless mission shelter

somewhere in downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row. For two days he sat there with headphones on, clutching his suitcase and a plastic bag filled with snacks, chips, juices and the few sandwiches his mother prepared for him to bring along the journey.

33-year-old El Camino College student Romeial “RISO” Hilaire left his home in the Uptown projects of New Orleans on June 4, 2018, to fulfill a lifelong dream of moving to LA to make a fresh start and reignite his passion for comedy. “Comedy is a gift,” Hilaire

said. “ And when you do comedy because you love it, the money is going to chase you because you’ll get up every day for a purpose that you love. So I can’t give up. It’s not in me.” RISO continued on page 6. . .

After a measles outbreak affected hundreds of college students quarantined at the UCLA and Cal State Los Angeles campuses, health officials at El Camino College are prepared in the event of an outbreak on campus. Susan Nilles, director of the El Camino College Health Center, said she has been in communication with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to ensure proper protocol is in place at EC in case of an outbreak. “Worst case scenario is someone walks in with a bunch of people that aren’t immune,” Nilles said. “Every student needs to know their immunity status to stay healthy.” Measles was considered eradicated in the United States in 2000 but Nilles said the antivaccination movement has contributed to the return of the disease as well as people visiting countries where the disease is active. “It has been documented that non-vaccinated individuals are the ones getting sick,” Nilles said.

Award-winning journalist visits campus

Measles and vaccinations

Health officials have been working to identify hundreds of cases regarding people in the greater LA area who may have come in contact with the disease as it spreads through coughing and sneezing, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The mains symptom of measles is often a heavy rash but the viral infection can also be diagnosed through a cough, runny nose or high fever. Nilles said students should phone the Health Center if they suspect they have measles and stay in place so that the affected area may be quarantined until health officials can confirm the disease is gone. In some cases, measles can cause pneumonia, the swelling of the brain and death, according to the Los Angeles Department of Public Health. Although the disease is preventable with two doses of a vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella, Nilles said there have been fewer people getting the MMR vaccine, according to the Los Angeles Department of Public Health. Measles continued on page 4 . . .

Sonia Nazario shares her experience on top of Mexico’s ‘La Bestia’ Fernando Haro

News Editor @ECCUnionHaro

Elena Perez / The Union Sonia Nazario speaks to Puente Project Program members about her experience traveling with undocumented migrants on Thursday, May 2. Nazario’s non-fiction novel “Enrique’s Journey,” follows the trek of a young migrant.

See page 3

ElCo Fest headlines weeklong festivities Kevin Caparoso

Arts Editor @ECCUnionKC

The LGBTQIA+ community will be celebrated at El Camino College for the first time during a weeklong Pride event from Monday, May 13, to Thursday, May 16. The celebration will include a discussion about the anthropology of gender, an LGBTQIA+ panel and the screening of the movie “Love, Simon” coordinated by The Safe Zone Project and the Gender Sexuality Alliance Club, First Year Experience Program

Student art show

Witchcraft and magic

Warriors softball

A non-curated show featuring student artwork will be displayed at El Camino College’s Art Gallery starting May 13.

You’ll find more than Hogwarts and broomsticks in this El Camino College anthropology course.

The Warriors women’s softball team entered Game 2 of their openinground playoff series against San Diego Mesa with a chance to sweep.

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See page 5

Features

It is not too late to campiagn for an ASO position.

‘La Bestia’ continued on page 4. . .

See page 8

Sports

ASO elections

News

Opinions

Pride celebrated for first time at EC this month

the migrant struggle for a better life. “Enrique’s Journey” is the story of a Honduran teen’s dangerous trek on the infamous train “La Bestia” or “The Beast,” as he

Comic books Courses on comic books should be offered at EC as they are considered literature and could be helpful for students.

Rosemary Montalvo / The Union Health Center officials at El Camino College have been in contact with the Los Angeles Department of Public Health regarding the measles outbreak protocol since early May.

and counselors but now anyone can join, Castro said. Carolina Calderon, a sociology major and Puente Project Program member, said reading “Enrique’s Journey” gave her perspective on

Arts

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sonia Nazario remembers growing up in Kansas resenting the thought of studying and reading. She preferred to ride her horse, Blanca, and come home reeking of manure to annoy her sister. Meanwhile, Nazario’s sister garnered the attention of their father as she skipped grades and became a class valedictorian. “She was the goodie-two-shoes and apparently I was the opposite of all those things,” Nazario said. “My dad would just straight up say to my face, frequently, ‘Sonia, you are the dumb jock in our family.’” However, on Thursday, May 2, Nazario presented her 2006 award-winning non-fiction novel “Enrique’s Journey” at El Camino College in a Puente Project Program event. Her book captures the adversities undocumented migrants from southern Latin American countries face to escape poverty and violence. The Puente Project is a oneyear commitment cohort transfer program created 35 years ago in Northern California, Puente Project Program counselor and coordinator Griselda Castro said. It was originally designed to help the students of migrant workers stay in school by providing extra help including embedded tutoring

travels from Central America to the United States in search of his mother. “People tell me that my book is either a window or a mirror,” Nazario said. “It’s a window into a world they don’t know or it’s a mirror that validates that their experiences are like other people’s experiences.” Nazario left Kansas and moved to war-torn Argentina in the 1970s after her father’s sudden death at the age of 13. Nazario’s time in Argentina was overshadowed by the “Dirty War,” a military coup in which 30,000 people were killed, Nazario said. Nazario said she remembers the day she was walking down the street of Buenos Aires when she saw a pool of blood on a sidewalk a block from where she lived and asked her mother what had happened. Her mother explained that two journalists were killed for trying to report the truth about the war in Argentina and at that moment, Nazario decided she wanted to become a journalist. “I saw the power of words that day, the power of telling stories, “ Nazario said. “Most of you would’ve probably made a different career choice staring at a pool of blood.” She went to Williams College in Massachusetts and was one of five Latinos on campus.

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Counselor Salvador Navarro said. The main event, ElCo Pride Fest, will be from noon to 2 p.m., Tuesday, May 14, on the Library Lawn. It will feature free food, music, live performances, a photo booth and a resource fair featuring the Southbay LGBTQ center and other organizations. This event celebrates LGBTQIA+ students but it’s for everyone—even those who don’t understand but have an open mind, Navarro said. “Come and join us,” he said. “You’re welcomed.” For more information visit eccunion.com.


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