CAMINO COLLEGE
SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1946
Music master class See Page 6
AI software bought for enrollment fraud
Fraudulent student enrollment increases at El Camino
By Sydney Sakamoto
A$54,000 subscription to artificial intelligence software, designed to detect fraudulent student applications, was approved by the El Camino Community College District’s Board of Trustees on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
The software, beginning on March 3, will run for a year to detect rising levels of fraud.
“There has definitely been suspicious activity that’s been increasing, not just at El
Camino College but at colleges across the state,” Kristina Martinez, acting dean of Enrollment Services, said.
Fraudulent applicants are individuals attempting to exploit the college’s system for financial gain.
David Brown, assistant director of Financial Aid, said that fraudulent enrollment at ECC has worsened over the last two years.
“They’re stolen identities,” Brown said. By using stolen information
including social security numbers, fake students can enroll in classes and apply for financial aid, often with no intention of attending. When the college detects suspicious activity, they put a verification hold on the student account and students are asked to come in and show identification to verify their enrollment.
This semester, ECC placed over 4,000 verification holds on student accounts, with the majority being fraudulent,
Carlos Lopez, vice president of Academic Affairs, said.
Beyond internal measures, ECC is required to report fraudulent enrollment cases to law enforcement and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of the Inspector General.
“We’ve been hit with a lot of fraud this term. I mean a lot of fraud. It’s impacted us and the colleges around us,” Lopez said during the Feb. 18 Academic Senate meeting.
Faculty and students have
New chief to lead campus police department
By Nikki Yunker
A new police chief has been appointed to the El Camino College Police Department on campus.
Matthew Vander Horck began service on Jan. 13 and took the oath of office during the board of trustees meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
“It’s a new challenge, a new chapter in my life ... It kind of falls in line with what motivates me,” Vander Horck said. “Every decision I’ve made is because it’s put me in a position where I can be impactful.”
Now the 10th police chief of the department, Vander Horck succeeds Sergeant Ruben
Lopez, who served as an interim police chief after former police chief Michael Trevis retired in June 2024 after 16
years of service.
“It’s nice to have a different perspective, chief [Vander Horck] brings a lot of
By Camila Jimenez
Two indecent exposure incidents occurred at El Camino College’s Arts Complex, one on Feb. 26 and the other on Feb. 28, campus police said.
Both incidents were reported by a student victim.
The first incident was on Feb. 26 at 5:45 p.m. and was reported at 6:12 p.m.
Police chief Matthew Vander Horck said that the suspect for the first case is unknown and that the case is still ongoing.
The second incident occurred on Feb. 28 at 8:44 a.m. The individual involved in this incident is an ECC student who was later arrested.
“He [the individual] admitted to doing the one that he was arrested for but did not admit to the prior one,” Vander Horck said.
“Our detectives are in the process of seeing if there’s any other connection that we could connect him to.”
At the end of last week, the campus police learned that the suspect had appeared before a judge and was released pending court trial.
experience to the table,” Lopez said. “He’s worked in various commands, worked in various stations, so he has a lot of experience and that’s always great, it’s a big asset for our department.”
Previously working for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department for 33 years, Vander Horck served six years as a captain, starting in 2019 at the Malibu and Lost Hills station, which oversaw the Kobe Bryant crash case.
“He fully understands our vision, our mission, our values, and so under that umbrella and the scope of those guiding principles, we’re going to let him, also, develop his vision,” President Brenda Thames said.
On March 8, the police department sent a safety advisory email to some of the campus after the suspect’s release, and sought a protective order to be placed on the college, which was granted.
The suspect is ordered to stay away from campus.
No alert on the incident was sent through RAVE, the emergency notification system used by the college.
“What will activate a RAVE notification is if it’s considered a timely warning, like if there’s something happening right now,” Kerri Webb, director of public information at ECC, said.
Students gather outside the Student Services Building on Tuesday, March 4. Photo by Eddy Cermeno
Baseball wins See Page 8
Police Chief Matthew Vander Horck, who worked at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for 33 years, is seen at the Campus Police station hours before taking the oath of office Wednesday, Feb. 19. Photo by Nikki Yunker
Child Development Center to be demolished
College has no plans to replace the facility, which closed in 2014
By Camila Jimenez
The Child Development Center across from parking Lot L will be demolished between now and July.
The demolition is tentatively expected to cost El Camino College between $2.5 million and $3 million.
“If you calculate the cost to rebuild the new CDC or even to repurpose the current site, it’s twice the cost of just tearing down the building and resurfacing the site,” Loic Audusseau, interim vice president of administrative services, said.
Due to the center not generating enough revenue to cover operational costs, the board of trustees voted to close the center on October 21, 2013, and it was officially shut down by June 30, 2014.
The CDC building has been inoperable for the past ten years due to lack of use, deterioration, water leaks and mold.
When the center was open,
Police Beat
By Seph Peters
Monday, Feb. 24, 7:19 p.m.
A hit-and-run involving a vehicle was reported to have occured in Lot C at 7:19 p.m. The case is closed.
Tuesday, Feb. 25, 3:09 p.m.
Attempted burglary and vandalism of container locks in Lot L at an unknown time. The case is open.
Tuesday, Feb. 25, 9:45 p.m.
A burglary was reported to have occurred between Feb. 21 and Feb. 25 in Lot L. The case is open.
Wednesday, Feb. 26, 6:12 p.m.
An indecent exposure occurred in the Arts Complex at 5:45 p.m. The case is open.
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2:58 p.m.
A forgery was reported to have taken place in the Schauerman Library at 9:42 a.m. The case is closed.
Friday, Feb. 28, 8:44 a.m.
An indecent exposure occurred at the Arts Complex patio. The case is closed.
Friday, Feb. 28, 1:04 p.m.
A Campus Security Authority report was filed for a stalking that took place on campus during Fall 2024.
it offered daycare services for ECC students, faculty, and staff and for the broader community.
Another cause for the closure was a lack of data on the number of parents among the campus community.
There are currently no plans to construct anything on the site of the CDC building after its demolition.
The Child Development Club and childhood education faculty have been advocating to stop the demolition and have voiced their concerns about the loss of the facility, which they feel is crucial for community support and student training.
“We just want our students to get the maximum experience ..., and we want them to go out into the community and be the best version of themselves as professionals,” Cynthia Cervantes, a child development professor and adviser of the Child Development Club, said.
Since the center closed, the childhood education department and the club have
developed partnerships to offer alternatives for parents on campus and beyond.
“The amount of work that the childhood education department does for this campus is astounding,” Cervantes said.
Torrance Unified, Lennox,
New free online therapy offers more accessibility
By Savannah Anderson
Students now have access to a new online mental healthcare provider.
The college now offers BetterMynd instead of TimelyCare, in a decision made effective Thursday, Feb. 20.
BetterMynd believes that “online therapy should never be one-size-fits-all” and should instead be a flexible tool to meet a variety of individualized needs, according to its website. The costs of partnering
with TimelyCare caused the switch to BetterMynd.
The college was paying $260,000 annually for TimelyCare, compared to the $146,000 which they will now pay each year for BetterMynd.
BetterMynd has an unlimited number of sessions and live well-being workshops that make room for open dialogue and support, which differs from TimelyCare’s offerings and pre-made workshops.
Lawndale and four private programs are among the school districts involved in these partnerships, with other school districts still in the planning stages.
There have been difficulties in developing partnership agreements, with insurance and transportation being issues. “There have been changes and new requirements for insurance that these programs just will not and cannot agree to because it requires them to pay extra insurance,” said Janice Jefferis, a child development professor at ECC.
The BetterMynd workshops explore a range of topics, including social anxiety, depression and academic stress.
“I appreciate that this generation has equally seen mental health and physical as not the same but as important,” Lina Berrio, a
registered nurse at Student Health Services, said.
“Because there are so many resources ... on this campus, I think it really supports students to be successful.”
Fraudulent enrollment reduces available class spaces
encountered fake students during class registration.
Social science professor Akello Stone said he has to manually remove dozens of fraudulent students each semester.
This semester, he removed 45 students across three classes.
“You get rid of a fraudulent student and another one would email you and well, they must be a student if they’re emailing me,” Stone said. “And it turned into not knowing who’s a real student
or not until the second week of class.”
Many students have struggled to enroll in online classes this semester as waitlists filled up quickly, leaving them scrambling for alternatives.
Fire science major Enoch Joo, 18, couldn’t enroll in classes he needed, delaying his graduation by a semester.
“[The fraud] just sucks,” Joo said. “A lot of people are here just to transfer and just get quickly in and out.”
Some students depend on online classes for their
flexibility in balancing work and other responsibilities.
Tanjanee Bufbe, 26, a child development major, could not register for an online class she needed.
“I was able to email the professor and get into a hybrid one, but with my schedule I needed it online and it affected me because I have to take the day off and I can’t afford to take the day off,” Bufbe said.
Despite concerns about the fraudulent activities, there is no indication that it poses a cybersecurity threat
or compromises student data.
Martinez said that ECC adopted LightleapAI due to its proven success at other institutions, with a reported accuracy rate of about 95% in detecting fraud.
While some faculty are using in-class methods to detect fakes, further efforts against fraud are welcomed.
“I am very much in support of [LightleapAI] because I think the sooner we determine something is fraudulent activity, the better,” Stone said.
The playground outside of the Child Development Center at El Camino College is seen on Monday, March 3. The center has not been operating since it was shut down by June 30, 2014. Photo by Erica Lee
A person walks into the Student Health Services Building on Friday, March 7. SHS provides access to many health resources from free medication to free mental health therapy. Photo by Mario Trejos
The Union publishes police beats online with each newspaper release.
Stormy Skies, Clubs Rise
The first day of El Camino College's Club Rush for the Spring 2025 semester was full of excitement. The Student Services Plaza buzzed with high energy as clubs set up their tables, eager to introduce their missions to students. The Astronomy and Astrophysics Club fascinated students with the wonders of space, while the Google Development Club intrigued those who were interested in learning about Google developer capabilities. By March 5, the weather shifted. The rain poured down steadily, continuing through March 6, forcing the event indoors into the Collaboration Room at the Schauerman Library. Adding to the excitement, the Inter-Club Council members handed out free plates of Raising Cane's to students who completed their Club Rush Bingo card. — Camila Jimenez
Robotics Club members (L-R) Ramiro Rodriguez, 25, computer science; Jonathan Aquino, 19, aerospace engineering, and Yit-ming Chin, 20, computer science, showcase the club's creations on March 5. The Robotics Club encourages creativity and fun, bringing their creations to the event each year.
Photo by Katie Gronenthal
Austin McCarty, 25, supervises the Veterans Club table during Club Rush in the Schauerman Library on Wednesday, March 5. The club offered free samples of Sol de Janeiro body wash. which McCarty said was donated by the YMCA. Anyone can participate and learn about the veterans community. Photo by Erica Lee
Slade Davis, 22, and Idanely Ramirez, 19, (L-R) members of the Horror Club, explained that their club gathers to discuss horror movies, shows, books, and enjoy horror related games and stories. Photo by Daimel Garcia
Adam Collins, 19, an engineering major, plays chess during Club Rush in the Schauerman Library on March 5. Collins shared that his favorite chess piece is the queen. Chess Club matches are open to both players and observers. Photo by Katie Gronenthal
Censorship in student clubs has no place at El Camino
By Union Editorial Board
El Camino College has been violating its students’ First Amendment rights for more than a year since revising its social media policy in September 2024.
The policy also violates California Constitution Article I, Section 2, and Education Code 48907, which protects students’ rights to free expression.
The policy requires student organizations to register their social media accounts with the college and receive student adviser approval on all posts before they are uploaded.
According to the student organization handbook, the social media policy states that “before any content is posted, the adviser must review and provide written consent” and that “advisers and student administrators will share responsibility for overseeing and managing the content posted on these accounts.”
It’s reasonable for faculty advisers to have account login information in case a student leaves the college. But content control? That is not, and should never be, part of the adviser’s role.
This isn’t just a hassle—it’s a clear violation of free speech.
Students should be able to express themselves online without requesting permission. We are not children.
A timeline sheet that journalism professor Kate McLaughlin provided to The Union indicated that concerns over the policy were raised several times in the past year.
McLaughlin met with Jeff Stephenson, vice president of student services and Carlos Lopez, vice president of academic affairs, who said Parker & Covert LLP had reviewed the policy.
The Union attempted to contact Parker & Covert but did not receive a response before the print deadline.
McLaughlin showed them two legal opinions on the policy, and vice presidents Stephenson and Lopez stated they would get back to her after reviewing it with their lawyers again. Since then, they have not followed up with her.
McLauglin refused to sign off on what she describes as an illegal policy, therefore the Journalism Club was unable to form.
The Union contacted legal expert Mike Hiestand, senior legal counsel for the Student Press Law Center, who said that faculty advisers at public colleges are government officials, and the First Amendment exists to prevent government interference with free speech.
“If the policy says that part of your management responsibility is screening and approving things before they’re actually posted, clearly illegal,” Hiestand said.
Let’s go over it: The First Amendment protects the right to freedom of speech, so requiring faculty advisers who are government employees to approve content before posting on their student organization’s social media shows El Camino is controlling what students can and can’t say.
This is prior restraint.
The Union also contacted Dominic Coletti, a program officer for the Student Press Freedom Initiative at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), and explained that the college’s requirement for faculty advisers to control student organizations’ social media content is prior restraint.
“It’s efforts by a government official or a governmental body to stop speech before it happens,” Coletti said. “If students and student groups are not allowed to post speech without showing it to faculty members, and faculty members are able to say, ‘You cannot post this.’ The moment they say, ‘You cannot post this,’ and bar that from going out, that’s a prior restraint.”
Student organizations should not be required to seek permission from government employees before posting on student-run social media platforms.
If the administration truly wanted to protect the college, why would it expose itself to legal liability?
Union
SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1946
Vol. 79, No. 5 Dec. 5, 2024
EDITORS
ASSISTANT EDITOR
ARTS & FEATURES EDITOR
OPINION EDITOR
Nikki Yunker
Elsa Rosales
Rosemarie Turay
Savannah Anderson
SPORTS EDITOR Jaylen Morgan
STAFF
Senior Staff Writers
Camila Jimenez
Nick Miller
Katie Gronenthal
Daimel Garcia
Mario Trejos
Eddy Cermeno
Bret Fast
Elsa Rosales
Nikki Yunker
Erica Lee
Erica Kusaba
Illustrators
Drex Carratala
Kim McGill
Staff Writers
Drex Carratala
Kaitlyn Goches
Sydney Sakamoto
Tina Talley
Seph Peters Jamila Zaki
Isaac Ramirez
Interns
Vincent Lombardo Daimel Garcia
Erica Kusaba Bret Fast
ADVISERS
STUDENT MEDIA ADVISERS Stefanie Frith sfrith@elcamino.edu
PHOTO ADVISER Nguyet Thomas nthomas@elcamino.edu
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF gburkhart@elcamino.edu
Kate McLaughlin kmclaughlin@elcamino.edu
ADVERTISING MANAGER Jack Mulkey elcounionads000@yahoo.com
Gerard Burkhart
INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS jdifazio@elcamino.edu
Joseph Difazio
Jessica Martinez
Photographers jemartinez@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 Kim McGill
SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Camila Jimenez
Bots stealing spots: Fake students take spaces
By: Nick Miller
Many students enter community college with the intent to transfer to a university. To complete an associate’s degree, students must dedicate countless hours to classes, homework, and counseling sessions.
People say “C’s get degrees,” but higher-level universities require higher GPAs. With the help of a drop-in counselor, we created an education plan that I needed to move on to a four-year university.
Through this counselor, I also learned which grades I needed to get to progress to the next level. With this knowledge, I started to have specific universities in mind, hoping and trusting that someday my hard work would get me to where I want to go.
With the amount of work I have put into my time at El Camino College, I thought the only thing that could stop me from reaching my goals was bad grades.
I never imagined that one of the biggest obstacles to achieving my goals would be fraudulent students stealing spots in the courses that I needed.
When class registration opened, I was surprised to see the seats filling up so quickly.
I was barely able to squeeze into a required course this winter session. Come spring, my last semester before I graduate, I struggled to build my class schedule.
The class filled up early and quickly, and it was difficult to organize a schedule that aligned with my work and social life.
Somehow, I managed to get into most of my classes, except for one.
Anthropology 4. It was the last class I needed to get into UCLA, my dream school, and I couldn’t even
be waitlisted for it.
My counselor told me it was not available at El Camino College, but I could apply to a few other Los Angeles Community College schools where this class was still available.
She also suggested I wait to see if people dropped the class after the last day to pay, but I knew it wasn’t guaranteed I’d get in.
Instead, I took her first piece of advice and enrolled in Los Angeles Harbor College, hoping that I would be accepted in enough time to get into the
anthropology class I needed.
I was accepted within one day and was able to get into the anthropology class that I desperately needed.
Back at El Camino College, I was informed by the anthropology professor, Mariane Waters, that seats were suddenly available just days before the class started. This was puzzling, as there wasn’t even a waitlist opportunity a month before.
I wondered if this had to do with the ongoing fraudulent enrollment problem at ECC, and she confirmed that that was the case for her class.
This breaks my heart for students like myself with big dreams dependent on education and for the professors who are passionate about educating. This is the reality of being a student during these times, and extreme measures need to be put in place to fix this issue.
Education is powerful. It can lead to potentially great job opportunities that can change someone’s life. It would be a shame for this potential to be taken away by fraudulent students.
Guest column: AI won’t replace college writing faculty
By: Jeff McMahon
Lately, I’ve been bombarded with dire predictions that ChatGPT will render college writing instructors obsolete. These doomsayers clearly wouldn’t know the first thing about teaching if it hit them with a red-inked rubric. Sure, ChatGPT is a memo-writing marvel—perfect for churning out soul-dead reports about quarterly earnings. Let it have that dreary throne.
But if you became a college instructor to teach students how to write memos, you’ve got bigger problems than artificial
intellligence. Teaching writing isn’t about bullet points and business reports— it’s about persona, ideas, and the eternal fight against chaos.
First up: persona. Good writing isn’t just about clarity; it’s about identity. How do you craft a voice that commands attention? When students read Oscar Wilde, Frederick Douglass, or Octavia Butler, they’re not just reading—they’re witnessing mastery. Wilde nailed it: “The first task in life is to assume a pose.” A well-crafted persona—sharp, witty, and confident—has real power. Once students catch a glimpse of that, they want it. They crave the
ability to shape how the world sees them. And let’s be clear—ChatGPT isn’t in the persona business. That’s
“ChatGPT doesn’t sell ideas; it regurgitates language like a well-trained parrot.”
your turf.
Next: ideas. You became a teacher because you believe in the power of big, messy, mind-expanding ideas. Great ideas don’t just fill word counts; they ignite debates, reshape worldviews, and stick with students for life.
Take Bread and Circus—the notion that the masses are pacified by cheap food and empty entertainment. Students eat that up (pun intended). Or nihilism—the grim philosophy that nothing matters. They’ll argue over that for hours. And Rousseau’s “noble savage” versus the myth of human hubris? It’s the Super Bowl of philosophy.
ChatGPT doesn’t sell ideas; it regurgitates language like a well-trained parrot. But you? You’re in the idea business. If you’re not selling students on the thrill of big ideas, you’re failing at your job.
Finally: chaos. Most people live in a swirling
mess of distraction and stress. You teach students how to push back with discipline, focus, and what Cal Newport calls “deep work.” Writers like Newport, Oliver Burkeman, and Angela Duckworth offer blueprints for resisting chaos. ChatGPT won’t teach students perseverance. That’s on you.
So keep honing your pitch. You’re not just teaching writing; you’re shaping thinkers, debaters, and problem-solvers. ChatGPT can crunch words all it wants, but when it comes to shaping human beings, it’s just another tool. You? You’re the architect.
Illustration by Drex Carratala
Saxophone quartet brings the swing
Touring group from Germany visits EC
By Erica Lee
Music students learned from the professionals by performing in a saxophone master class at El Camino College on Thursday, March 6.
Students attending the master class performed for Arcis, a German saxophone quartet currently on tour. The quartet participated in the class as part of the Featured Artist series from the Center for the Arts.
“We’re going to jump right into playing,” David Moyer, assistant professor of music, said after introducing Arcis.
For the next 45 minutes, the quartet performed several songs for an intimate audience of about 15, most of whom were student musicians.
While Arcis is a classically trained saxophone group, they performed a variety of songs, from a rearrangement of Johann Sebastian Bach to blues and collaborations they had done with composers and musicians from around the world.
“We didn’t expect that 16 years later, we would still play together,” Claus Hierluksch, Arcis soprano saxophone, said.
Arcis first formed while Hierluksch and his bandmates, Ricarda Fuss, alto saxophone; Anna-Marie Schäfer, tenor saxophone; and Jure Knez, baritone saxophone; were attending the University of Music and Performing Arts.
The name of their group comes from the historic Arcis Street in Munich, where the university is located.
After talking about their experiences, starting from a student band to growing as a professional music group, Arcis fielded questions from the audience before going into the student performances.
“It has been a while since I had performed in a setting like this,” Victoria Blanco, 20, a music major who played tenor saxophone, said. She was one of two solo student performers at the master class.
The other solo performer was Drew Perea, who also played
tenor saxophone.
A student jazz sextet was the last performance.
They had one practice session together before they were set to play for the critique from professional musicians.
While the sextet had played on and off together for over a year, this would be only the second time they performed Clifford Brown’s bebop jazz piece “Sandu.”
And one of the members just got the memo that the dress code was concert wear.
Art Gallery opens call for student art
Murals for each department will showcase student designs
By Rosemarie Turay
A new project at the El Camino College Art Gallery is giving students the opportunity to propose and create mural designs for campus buildings.
Students can submit design proposals for illustrations, paintings, photography, written works, videos and collages.
There are no theme restrictions for submissions, and there is no set deadline.
“I’m always looking for ways to put art on campus. Rather than having professional muralists come in, let’s give our students the opportunity to experiment with art,” Michael Miller, director of gallery and museum programming, said.
Students can visit the Art Gallery, which has turned into a mural studio, to receive guidance on submitting mural designs for the project.
The Art Gallery is mapping
murals for areas including the Arts Complex, Campus Theatre, the Behavioral and Social Sciences Building, and the Math Business Allied Health Building.
“It will be up to the deans of the divisions to decide which submissions will be chosen. We aren’t making the final call,” Art Gallery associate Carrie Lockwood said.
The Associated Students Organization has provided $11,000 to the Art Gallery for various programs, including the mural project.
For the project, the Art Gallery is partnering with the Experimentally Structured Museum of Art, a nonprofit focused on experimental exhibitions, community engagement, and arts education, located in Lawndale, California, according to ESMoA.
About 270 painters are needed to work on the murals, which will be temporary and
not painted directly onto walls. Some painters will be able to work on multiple murals, Lockwood said.
ESMoA has also partnered with Kunstakademie Münster, the University of Fine Arts Münster. This collaboration will bring 30 German students to Southern California to help bring these murals to life.
Students will get the chance to meet with students from Kunstakademie, who will visit ECC during the third week of March to work on a project and an exhibit in the main hall of the Arts Complex.
They will also create and paint a mural of their own for the Arts Complex.
“I’m hoping around this time next year, our students here will be able to visit the Fine Arts University in [Münster] Germany,” Miller said.
In addition, the Art Gallery is designing a mobile mural on wheels. A blank canvas will be
“I had gotten off a plane at 2 a.m. last night,” Aidan Jennings, 19, a music major who played alto saxophone, said. He ended up borrowing an outfit from bandmate Max Hughes, 19, who played the upright bass.
The members of the sextet, which included two other saxophone players, a drummer and a pianist, were one of the three student acts who performed during the class.
After each performance, the quartet members praised the student musicians and gave
constructive feedback.
The tips and suggestions ranged from posture and breath control to trying a neck strap that would better hold the saxophone in place.
“I’m trying to find a better neck strap,” Blanco said.
That was when Arcis member Schäfer invited her to try on her own neck strap after the session was over.
“I hope our student performers will take the constructive criticism home and build upon it,” Moyer said.
available along with art materials, which will allow students to contribute as it makes its way around campus.
The Art Gallery expects to have the murals completed for an exhibit in the fall of 2025.
“A lot of what we do is to give students a place to come and relax and destress,” Miller said.
Mural designs that are not selected will have the chance to be featured in a Chalk Mural event in late May, where students can create their mural using chalk.
(L-R) El Camino College student jazz sextet members Alejandro Gonzales, Max Hughes, Aidan Jennings, Jacob Iverson and Angel Alvarado on drums, perform “Sandu” by Clifford Brown at the Saxophone Master Class in the Haag Recital Hall on Thursday, March 6. Photo by Erica Lee
Mark Lucero, El Camino College Art Gallery associate, illustrates a mural inside the gallery on Thursday, March 6. ECC students will create murals, which will be displayed in each department. Photo by Eddie Cermeno
A rebel artist’s journey
How an artist went from being a student to a gallery worker
By Eddy Cermeno
Carrie Lockwood was sitting in her kindergarten class.
She was cutting a piece of paper with scissors.
Her teacher noticed something, knelt beside Lockwood and asked, “Carrie, why can you not cut on the lines?”
She was floored after hearing that question.
“Why do I have to cut on the lines? Why can’t I cut where I want to cut?”
Lockwood said to herself.
At that moment, a rebel artist was born.
Lockwood, 62, is now an associate at the El Camino College Art Gallery where she helps manage, plan and organize artwork that goes into the 2,000-square-foot gallery for exhibitions.
“Being exposed to all the creativity while being in the gallery learning about different cultures and art practices is phenomenal,” Lockwood said.
She has been at El Camino for years as a student and a worker in the Art Department helping create event promotion fyers, and manages the events calendar.
Lockwood is living the artistic career she always wanted to pursue but at one point was discouraged. She was told working in art couldn’t make a living.
The main voice discouraging her was coming from her father.
Lockwood’s father owned the family manufacturing company, which printed out junk mail to send.
She tried to work in the family business for a year and discovered it did not interest her.
“I was miserable,”
Lockwood said. “ Tere was no creativity involved in it.”
She spent her time in the ofce as a customer service representative. The interactions she would get would be visiting with clients to get payments from them or do estimates in quotes for their orders.
“It was not fun, I did the work to make my dad happy, not me,” she said.
In 2013, while talking with a friend on Facebook, Lockwood learned about El Camino’s art gallery management program.
A few days later she arrived on campus to speak with a counselor, where she was informed about a series of courses that could give her an art certifcate.
Michael Miller, director of gallery and museum programming, met Lockwood when he was a professor teaching the art gallery management and artist career issues course.
In this class, students learned how to handle and hang artwork in the gallery, fill out loan forms and condition reports and then go out to find places to exhibit their artwork.
After the class ended, students in Miller’s class decided to form a club called Studio to Street, and Lockwood became the club’s frst president.
“[Lockwood] was the best
president we had in that club, she was very active and really good at organizing all the students to create exhibits,” Miller said.
Max Del Bosque, 51, art professor at LA Pierce College, was the director at the LA Pierce Art Gallery from 2009 to 2020.
Del Bosque said some key factors to be an art gallery curator at a community college one must have a good understanding of non-proft museum management, people skills, writing and general art practice.
“You have to have the ability to sew a silk’s purse out of a sow’s ear, the ability to create something out of very little,” Del Bosque said.
When he was managing the Pierce College Art Gallery, the department would receive anywhere between $0 to $1,000 a year.
Del Bosque said the budgets given to art departments by academic institutions don’t refect the changing costs of the art world. This affects how college galleries bring in artwork and people to speak at exhibitions.
“The amount of budget given is constantly under threat so [art departments] can’t meet the demands,” Del Bosque said.
Lockwood and Miller developed workshops to
demonstrate to El Camino employees the possible impact their programs could have on students.
Del Bosque said college art galleries play a critical role in the professional development of emerging student and community artists to help create their footing in the field and get exposure for their work.
Upcoming Art Gallery events
Basket Making Workshops
April 7 - 8 @ 1 - 3 p.m.
Mother’s Day Card
Making Workshops
April 28 to May 9 @ 11 - 3 p.m. daily
Maker’s Day Fair
May 9
@ 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
“It is important for artists in a community to exchange ideas to help their professional development since they have a freedom to show work in an area not driven by sales,” he said.
Rod Almazan, El Camino ceramics lab technician, said Lockwood was very organized by researching and getting community
artists to display their work in the gallery for exhibits.
“She is really knowledgeable about art, expressing herself through art and knowing what she likes and what would work better [in an art gallery],” Almazan said.
Lockwood believes having a good idea is the frst thing needed when curating an exhibition at an art gallery.
“When you have an idea the pieces fall into place and you keep an eye out for the artists,” she said.
Lockwood hopes the El Camino Art Gallery will become an established gallery where people outside of campus visit to see the artwork and elevate the gallery’s reputation.
“It’s more than just a school art gallery, I would like it to have its name out there to the whole community and have people say ‘Yeah you see great exhibits there’,” Lockwood said.
She believes the El Camino Art Gallery is important in getting the students on campus and the community involved in what it ofers.
“It’s a beacon of what the imagination can do,” Lockwood said.
Carrie Lockwood, an Art Gallery associate, uses a hammer to remove nail hangers from a wall that held up artworks in the gallery on Oct. 9, 2024. After an exhibition is over Lockwood helps remove nails on the walls from hanged artworks and repairs any damages left over. Photo by Eddy Cermeno
Carrie Lockwood, an Art Gallery associate, points a marker next to the doodle art wall inside the gallery on Oct. 10, 2024. She believes the gallery is important in getting the students on campus and people in the community involved in what it offers. “It’s a beacon of what the imagination can do,” Lockwood said. Photo by Eddy Cermeno
Women’s tennis loses to top ranked San Diego
Warriors slump continues, extends ninegame losing
By Elsa Rosales
Pushing through until the end, the El Camino College Warriors women’s tennis team hosted the San Diego City College Knights was unable to win a set in nonconference play.
The Knights, the 2024 Pacific Coast Athletic Conference champions, defeated the Warriors 9-0 in the match on Friday, March 7, a game rescheduled from Feb. 7 due to rain.
“I think everybody’s pretty positive, and I think we have a little more depth than we did last year as a team, … so [we’re] hopeful that we can keep that going and do it again this year,” Knights coach Jami Yonekura-Jones said.
The past few weeks have been difficult for the teams, with the weather forcing match rescheduling.
“We’re just trying to … get rest and practice and kind of stay with what we’ve been doing since the beginning of the
season and just stay the course,” Yonekura-Jones said.
The Knights are currently on a win streak of 4-0 in conference play and 9-2 overall.
In doubles matches, played in the first half, the Knights No. 1 duo Angie Palmerin and Betty Gezahegne defeated the Warriors’ No. 1 duo Karen Canela and Jhanine Estigoy on Court 1.
“It was hard getting used to [the Knights’] power, but … we had a lot of rallies; a lot of points that we went to do. It was just a matter of, every now and then, messing up, but we did good,” Canela said.
On Court 2, Knights duo Anya Villanueva and Chiara Burgin defeated Robyn Wong and Maya Peck, the Warriors No. 2 duo.
In singles matches, played in the second half, the Warriors No. 1 singles player Wong, went up against the Knights No. 1 singles player Palmerin, but was defeated on Court 1.
“I try to go into the matches with energy, because in tennis you play eight games … in the singles,” Wong said. “You have to be able to carry the energy through, so it’s good to start with a lot of energy.”
The Warriors knew they were up against a strong opponent.
“They were realistic about going into the conference,”
Warriors coach Sergiu Boerica said. “It’s more difficult to have consistency; to keep up with those with more experience.”
Court 4 and the Knights’ No. 6
In other singles matches, the Knights No. 4 Villanueva defeated the Warriors’ No. 2 Canela on Court 2, the Knights No. 5 Burgin defeated the Warriors’ No. 3 Estigoy on
Thi Bich Ngoc Dang defeated the Warriors’ No. 4 Peck on Court 5. Court 3 was unplayable due to rain the day before.
“Throughout the season, it’s definitely been hard playing our net,” Estigoy said. “We can do
El Camino baseball cruises past Rio Hondo
Men’s team extends winstreak to four
By Nick Miller
When looking at the box score, the Warriors runs might stand out, but pitcher Luke Steward set the tone on the defensive end on Warrior Field on March 8.
Steward allowed three hits through six innings, and didn’t allow any runs while on the mound.
Steward felt comfortable on the mound when facing the Roadrunners throughout a lopsided 16-1 game.
“All my pitches were working, two pitches for strikes, defense picking me up in times that I needed it, and executed pitches,” Steward said.
Warriors coach Grant Palmer set up a successful game plan that led the team to a victory. Palmer credited his team for their offensive performance.
“We got hits today … I just thought it was good quality atbats, for really eight straight innings,” Palmer said.
Palmer said the Warriors allaround play is the key factor for them stringing wins together in the past few games.
“Pitchers have been really good in the zone Palmer said. Our defense has really kind of shored up a little bit, which has kind of helped us.” The Warriors offense as also proved successful.
“And then really the offense I thought, the last four games probably, just been a little bit more consistent with the atbats. I thought that’s been the separator,” Palmer said.
Outfielder Matt Hammond put the finishing touches on the game hitting a bomb to right field for a two-run homer.
Hammond commended the Warriors hitting as the main reason for them adding another game in the win column.
“Just keep hitting, getting people on, taking doses, that is how we win,” Hammond said.
As for the Roadrunners, coach Mike Salazar pointed out their hitting as the main reason for the disappointing results Saturday.
“If you don’t score runs, you can’t win. Last time I checked, if you didn’t score no runs, you lose the game,” Salazar said.
Salazar said that in order for his group to bounce back, they
need to have a short memory and not dwell on the past.
Dominic Elias was the starting pitcher for the Roadrunners, allowing seven hits and seven runs in the two innings he pitched.
Elias blamed his performance on his struggles, rather than on the Warriors hitting ability.
He felt his team needs more
consistency to improve.
“Consistency in everything, on both sides of the ball,” Elias said.
On the season with a record of (13-7) the Warriors’ next game will be at home against LA Harbor (5-13) on March 13.
it, even if it’s a tough opponent we’re facing, as long as we’re doing our best.”
The Warriors (0-9) next game will be against Rio Hondo College Roadrunners (1-4) on the ECC Tennis Courts on Thursday at 2 p.m.
Sports Calendar
Baseball
March 13, 2 p.m vs LA Habor @El Camino
March 15, 12 p.m. @LA Harbor
March 19-21 @Spring Classic Tournament
Men’s Volleyball
March 14, 6 p.m. @ Santa Monica
March 19, 6 p.m. vs Long Beach @El Camino
March 21, 6 p.m. @ Antelope Valley Softball
March 13, 3 p.m. @ Pasedena City
March 14, 1 p.m. @Mt. San Antonio
March 18, 2:30 p.m. @ Fullerton
March 20, 3:00 p.m. vs Cerritos @El Camino
March 21, 1 p.m. @ Long Beach
Men’s Tennis
March 20, 11 a.m. @ San Diego City
March 21, 2: p.m. @ Mt. San Jacinto
El Camino College Warriors player Maya Peck, along with Robyn Wong, play against San Diego City College Knights Anya Villanueva and Chiara Burginin doubles matches on the ECC tennis Courts Friday. Villanueva and Burgin defated Peck and Wong, the Warriors No. 2 duo. Photo by Elsa Rosales
El Camino College Warriors pitcher Cameron O’Neil throws against the Rio Hondo College Roadrunners in a confrence match on Warrior Field Tuesday, March 4. O’Neil faced 28 batters, and threw 104 pitches and 74 strikes. Photo by Elsa Rosales