NEWS
EL CAMINO COLLEGE
Q&A WITH DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL RESOURCE CENTER, P. 2
FEBRUARY 11, 2016
FEATURES
SPORTS
PULITZER PRIZE WINNING PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTS AT EC, P. 6
SOFTBALL SPLITS DOUBLE HEADER ON TUESDAY, P. 8
THE UNION eccunion.com
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA
Smoking ban goes unenforced Alba Mejia Staff Writer @ECCUnionAlba
John Fordiani/ Union Construction crews are expected to complete work on the new Murdock Stadium within the next two months, senior superintendent of the Sinanian Construction Company Elio Lastorta said.
Murdock Stadium close to completion Selvin Rodas
Staff Writer @ECCUnionSelvin
After nearly three years without Murdock Stadium, graduating students can expect to walk the stage on the new stadium this semester. The Director of Facilities, Tom Brown, is confident that the stadium will be done by May. “We hope to have it completed
(by) then, we are making plans to have graduation in it,” Brown said. However, Elio Lastorta, senior superintendent of the Sinanian Construction Company, said that the stadium is expected to be completed by the end of March. “The play field is completed, (and) the bleachers are completed,” Lastorta said. “At the end of this month we will have the track coat-
ing which are all the lines. It will be finished.” Some students think graduating on the new stadium would be an “incredible” experience. Roxzana Banks, 32, deaf studies major, said that she hopes to use the new stadium. “I think that will be really cool because I’m excited to graduate this year,” Banks said.
Brown said that there is a lot of work to be done, but “[he’s] sure there will be a grand opening.” Other students think of the new stadium being a reward for their studies. “I think (this) is a great idea,” Fatima Maldona, 25, psychology major said. “Students should be rewarded. It’s kind of a motivation for them to walk (the stage), and
the pictures will come out great.” On the other hand, Rafael Salazar, 22, administration of justice major, thinks that the school could plan differently. “Personally I’m not excited to graduate at the new stadium because that’s a waste of money,” Salazar said. “Instead of building a science center, they are building stuff for football players.”
Student allegedly made multiple death threats to professor The Union Staff @ECCUnion
NEWS LINE
A Torrance judge denied a request for a restraining order, on Jan. 20, against a student who allegedly threatened to kill a professor if she didn’t change his grade. El Camino’s request against 28-year-old student Dashiell Porter was denied by Judge Carol Boas Goodson in Torrance Municipal Court, according to a Daily Breeze article. “It was denied because the judge is the one that makes that decision,” EC lawyer Michael Travis said. The college was seeking the restraining order after Porter allegedly sent multiple death threats to his English teacher, Cynthia Somin, via Facebook Messenger. According to the restraining order, on Dec. 26, 2015 Somin found
14 direct Facebook messages from Porter which he had sent from Jan. 6 – Dec. 8, 2015. The temporary restraining order was issued on Dec. 30, 2015, according to the restraining order recieved from Travis. Somin declined to speak to “The Union” on Monday, Jan. 25 as she didn’t want to “dirty the water,” prior to Porter’s hearing scheduled for Jan. 26. “The Union” reached out to the parents of Porter to get a statement. The Porter’s did not return the call, so a “Union” reporter visited the Porter’s home in Manhattan Beach on Jan. 25 and they declined to give a statement regarding the matter. Attempts were also made to reach Porter through facebook but his account was deleted. “According to her written statement, the messages from Mr. Porter stated that he wanted to kill me
for giving him a failing grade in my course,” she added. Associate Dean of Humanities Elise Geraghty was surprised by the decision and expressed concern for professor Somin’s safety. “It was an upsetting decision,” Geraghty said. “I thought based on what I saw, that a restraining order was warranted.” Geraghty has not spoken to Somin about the issue, but said that she is still on her regular teaching schedule for the spring semester. The college has yet to take any disciplinary action against Porter, and that decision will come from the Student Development Office. Student Development Director Greg Toya referred all questions to Ann Garten, who then referred information to the Torrance Police Department. Torrance PD did not release a copy of the restraining order be-
cause it had been filed at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse downtown. After El Camino’s request for a restraining order was denied, students and staff weighed in on the situation. “I was very shocked and frightened for the professors and all of the students,” Allison Carr, English professor said. “She was one of my evaluators and she put in a lot of time here at El Co” La’Keysha Fairley, 19, creative writing major, expressed her concern about those around him in class. “This should be taken as a serious matter. Maybe he should be separated from class for counseling at that time.” While Brunei Terrell, 18, studio arts major, said that the matter needs to be known and looked into. “It is still a threat,” Terrell said. “People who don’t have autism or
any medical issues, (may not) take action. Whereas someone with autism may take action (with the threats).” “I haven’t heard about it but it’s shocking to me because that’s horrible,” Emily Horomitz, 21, child development major, said. “If you fail a class that’s on you it’s not the teacher’s fault. I feel less safe after hearing this.” Ana Rojas, 22, business major, said that she feels safe on campus, but that there needs to be information given to the students in a hastier manner. “It’s my first time hearing about it right now,” Rojas said. “I think he had the right to speak up for himself but not to threaten the teacher. I feel like students should be aware of what happened. There might be other students that don’t know about it. It’s better to publish what happened.”
No school Feb. 12 & 15
Marc Brown, ABC7 News co-anchor on campus
Central Avenue Dance
Rumors by Neil Simon
The campus will be closed tomorrow in honor of Lincholn’s Day and on Monday in honor of Washington’s Day.
As part of celebrating Black History month, the African-American student conference will have special guest, Marc Brown, on campus Feb. 18 in the East Dining Room from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
A performance by the Central Avenue Dance at 8 p.m. is set for Feb. 20
Rumors by Neil Simon will be showing in the Campus Theatre ’
Early last year, a smoking ban was approved during a Board of Trustees meeting, and is still causing controversy. The smoking ban prohibits “cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, snuff, snus, water pipes, hookahs, chew and any other non-combustible tobacco product,” according to Board Policy 3570. Smoking is not only banned on campus, but according to this policy it’s also banned in any parking lot located on district property. “I just hope students know that there is a policy, and I hope they abide by the rules,” President of the Board of Trustees, Ken Brown said. With the smoking ban policy in affect, some are following the rules, but if others are caught smoking on campus it may not have any consequences. “We are not citing people, we are allowed to cite them but that has not been necessary because people are complying,” Chief of Police, Michael Trevis said. “People who are found smoking are told to just go smoke on the sidewalk, which is not district property, and so far everyone has cooperated with us, so there has been no need to cite people,” Trevis said. On another note, according to Trevis, “although there are still a few ash trays around campus, we already got rid of most of them. Whenever we find an ash tray around campus we call facilities and they come with a forklift... and get rid of it.” There are many that are satisfied with the smoking ban, but there are others opposed to completely removing smoking from the campus. “I’ve seen the signs, I’ve read the paper,” Christian Placencia, 21, math major said. “I think a ban’s too much, there should be areas specifically for smoking away from crowds.” Just like Christian there are many more students that disagree with this situation.
El Camino hires new athletic director
El Camino has hired Colin Preston as the new Director of Athletics and Kinesiology, Vice President of Human Resources Linda Beam said. Preston took over as director of athletics on Jan. 21 and looks to bring his expertise to the El Camino program. “I started a Division II program from scratch and had continued success there, so I thought it was a great opportunity to come here to EC,” Preston said.
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