The Union Vol. 78 No. 7

The Union

Golf class returns to El Camino

After seven-year hiatus, the course is available to students

By Ma. Gisela Ordenes

El Camino College students can now ace a class with a hole-inone since the college brought golf classes back.

The El Camino Athletics department opened a golf class in the 2024 spring semester, seven years since it was last offered to students.

The class is at the Alondra Park Golf Course, an 18-hole regulation golf course located beside campus.

“Golf is one of the most expensive sports if you want to play, you gotta buy clubs, you got to have shoes and green fees,” Dean of Health Sciences and Athletics Russell Serr said. “This class is really good for people who would never be able to afford golf because we have clubs that we loan the students and then the green fees, [the golf course] only charges them $4.”

The Athletics department loans out a set of golf clubs and a bag to students who don’t have them.

“Granted, they’re not something that a pro would use, but they’re great for a beginner,” Serr said.

The students can check the golf clubs

out and use them for the semester, including golf balls that are also expensive, Serr said.

“It’s a great opportunity for people who normally either couldn’t afford it, or someone who may be like, ‘Wow, I’m really interested in golf, but I can’t afford golf lessons’,” Serr said. “Can you imagine how much a lesson is? Probably very expensive.”

Under the agreement between the college and the Alondra Park Golf Course that the Board of Trustees ratified at its Feb. 21 meeting, students will pay a discounted weekly green user fee for the 3-par, nine-hole short golf course.

This is a $12.50 discount from the golf course’s published rate. A green fee is the amount paid to play on the Alondra Park Golf Course.

Student athletes from the El Camino Golf team will pay $5 for the use of the regulation course. Both the team and the class will get a 50% discount on the E-keys that dispense the golf balls.

The contract needed ratification because the golf course changed

ownership last year and “there was a delay in receiving the contract and certification of insurance from the golf course,” according to the Board of Trustees meeting agenda.

Board of Trustees Vice President Katherine Steinbroner Maschler did not vote during the approval of contracts for both golf and badminton.

Maschler said she excused herself from voting and left the room during deliberation because she is currently taking the golf class at El Camino.

“Because I was at that point taking a golf class, I felt it was not appropriate for me to be voting on the acceptance of the contract for Alondra Park Golf Course. So I excused myself for that,” Maschler said. She said she also didn’t vote on the contract for Manhattan Beach Badminton Club to host the college’s badminton team matches.

“I have family that are members there and have been very involved with that for 50 years. So I felt it was best for me to excuse myself since there was a family connection,” Maschler said.

Petitioners on campus spark concern

for ECC students

By Joshua Flores

Signature collectors have been walking around the El Camino College campus and asking students for their personal information and their stances on ballot propositions.

While their numbers have diminished since the California presidential primary on March 5, some collectors are still on campus soliciting information without being transparent with who they work for or where the information will be passed on.

One signature gatherer on campus, Paul Yosh, said he worked for a company called APC America as a “circulator.” Students had mixed reactions to the signature gatherers.

Report details practices for student success

By Ethan Cohen

Inclusivity, interactivity and adaptation are key teaching strategies faculty should integrate into their courses, according to a recent report presented to the Academic Senate on Tuesday, March 19.

The Institutional Learning Outcomes report revealed effective classroom practices for student success include learning students’ names, tailoring course content to their interests and incorporating hands-on activities.

“For the most part, all of us are here for the same reason,” English professor Chris Page said. “We care about education, we care about students and we want students to succeed.”

Playfully stretching with her club around her shoulders, El Camino College golf instructor Kirsten Green looks across the Alondra Park Golf Course fairway as she poses for an environmental portrait while teaching her 8 a.m. class on Tuesday, March 26. Green is also the assistant coach of the El Camino Women’s Cross-Country team. Photo by Delfino Camacho

Angel Flores | Special to The Union

ElBy Union Editorial Board

Camino College needs a better way for students to contact the administration when they have questions or concerns.

It needs to be centralized, easy to find and painless to use.

The easiest way to accomplish this is by having a suggestion and complaint box, physical and virtual, both in places that are easily accessible by everyone.

It is then the job of the college to reach out and refer the sender to the appropriate office.

Depending on the question, students have different ways of reaching out to the college.

But do they always know who they can ask?

Some resources are easier to find than others.

They can call the El Camino College Police Department if they are worried about campus safety, contact the Counseling Office for academic help and visit the Student Health Center for Mental Health Services.

What about general questions or complaints that can’t fit into one category? What if a student or staff member wanted to report a broken water fountain, a restroom that is always dirty or a lack of menstrual products? What if they wanted to give feedback on the recent updates to the MyECC Portal?

It’s challenging to contact the Board of Trustees because its webpage doesn’t provide a phone number or email address.

In comparison, the Board of Trustees pages for Pierce College, Long Beach City College and Cerritos College have published the phone numbers for their members. While Santa Monica College does not provide these numbers, it has a phone number anyone can use to call its district office.

Students can talk to the division offices because their contact information is easily available. These are faculty and staff hired by the college.

Yet, at the same time, they can’t readily contact the Board of Trustees even though its members were elected by the community.

One has to have eagle eyes to find the email of Rose Mahowald on the Board of Trustees’ BoardDocs page. She is El Camino President Brenda Thames’ executive assistant.

The Academic Senate is also hard to reach because its contact information isn’t available online.

Unlike the Board of Trustees, which publishes the names of members, the area they represent and their term expiration date on the website, there is little to no information on who is serving on the Academic Senate, their position or even a general phone line or office location to drop in for a visit.

Students can only find information about upcoming Academic Senate meetings through a link on their webpage, which takes them to a BoardDocs page. The page isn’t updated with forthcoming meeting dates; the latest entry is for the last session on March 19.

One has to read the fine print on BoardDocs to find the email and phone number of Academic Senate President Charlene Brewer-Smith.

The Associated Students Organization serves as the bridge between students and the college.

ASO encourages students to meet and sit down with its representatives during office hours.

But can we shift the burden of listening to student voices to students themselves? The ASO can only do so much to address student concerns; it is ultimately the college’s responsibility.

El Camino needs to let students and the community know they are open to questions and suggestions.

Make it easy for students to contact the administration on a platform that is visible and accessible to all. This means, at the very least, adding reliable contact information on their respective web pages.

Otherwise, how can El Camino improve campus life when the community it is supposed to serve doesn’t know whom to reach out to?

EDITORS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

NEWS AND MANAGING EDITOR

SPORTS EDITOR

ARTS & FEATURES EDITOR

Eddy Cermeno eddyrcermeno@gmail.com

Johan Van Wier jvanwier22@gmail.com

Angela Osorio angoso1638@gmail.com

Nasai Rivas opinioneccunion@gmail.com

Erica Lee erjalee@gmail.com

PHOTO EDITOR

Raphael Richardson eccunionphoto@gmail.com

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Nick Geltz ngeltz4140@gmail.com

ASSISTANT EDITOR OPINION EDITOR COPY EDITOR

Kae Takazawa kaelealani@gmail.com

Senior Staff Writers

Staff Writers

Photographers Intern

STAFF ADVISERS

STUDENT MEDIA ADVISERS

Ethan Cohen

Joseph Ramirez

Joshua Flores

Jaylen Morgan

Olivia Sullivent

Osvin Suazo

Tommy Kallman

Caleb Smith

Clarence “Slihm” Davis

Elsa Rosales

Monroe Morrow

Rhiannon Ellis

Stefanie Frith sfrith@elcamino.edu

Kate McLaughlin kmclaughlin@elcamino.edu

PHOTO ADVISER Nguyet Thomas nthomas@elcamino.edu

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Jack Mulkey elcounionads000@yahoo.com

‘My body, my choice’

How women’s freedoms are being restricted today

By Olivia Sullivent

One’s body is one’s domain, immune to the control of others.

In a nation where freedom is cherished, thinking any man could dictate what happens to a woman’s body is unfathomable.

As a female college student, the erosion of women’s rights places unnecessary burdens on the future.

From a young age, I was taught the sky was the limit and my dreams were mine to fulfill, untouched by others.

As I get older, it is clear the control I once felt over my life is slipping away.

The Supreme Court has shown by overturning Roe v. Wade that in a country vowing to protect our rights, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, those who can get pregnant are not part of the picture.

Roe v. Wade established the right to safe and legal abortions across the U.S., protected under federal law and implied under the 14th Amendment.

For decades, we have not experienced a society where one is forced into being a parent, until now.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 24, 2022.

As of June 2023, over 1,000 Republican men and more than 50 Democratic male politicians, predominantly white, placed restrictions on abortions, as

referenced in The Guardian.

The Guardian also reports that 214 Republican and 11 Democratic women voted to pass abortion bans within the past year.

El Camino has many transfer students looking to continue their education at four-year institutions, myself included.

The shadow of abortion restrictions makes me anxious about the liberties I would have to give up if I moved, impacting my choice of transfering.

Banning abortions will not stop them from happening. It will only end safe terminations.

Marginalized groups dealing with systemic health disparities will have new challenges, including the financial burden

of traveling to another state for an abortion.

It’s something those with privilege don’t have to face.

El Camino has a very diverse community on campus. A 2022 student profile report from El Camino College’s website shows that 53% of students identify as Latino, 13% identify as African American and 13% identify as Asian.

Out of all students at El Camino, 54% are female.

With a predominantly female student body and a high minority rate, abortion laws in California would greatly affect our campus.

Nearly two dozen states have banned abortions. But abortion is protected in California and

safe at El Camino. California Abortion Access reports, “Under California law, anyone in California who is pregnant has a legal right to choose to have an abortion.”

California State Universities and University of California colleges offer medical abortions on their campuses.

“El Camino does not, presumably because of the limited resources available being a community college,” Chris Campbell, El Camino family nurse practitioner and CSU Long Beach assistant professor of nursing, said.

However, El Camino provides education on contraception and abortion aid in the Health Services Building.

The prospect of our world leaves me terrified.

Terrified that if I have an unexpected pregnancy in a society where women’s value is deemed less than that of an unborn child, I’ll be forced into a decision made for me.

Terrified that future generations of girls will grow up learning that their futures have limits and that regardless of how loud they speak, the voice of males is stronger.

It’s not a man’s place to dictate and control a woman’s, trans and non-binary people’s bodily autonomy.

To read more, visit the website at eccunion.com

Returning to El Camino: Following my mother’s footsteps

Restarting my life

in journalism

By Joseph Ramirez

The very first time I was a student at El Camino College, I never knew I would be returning years later and starting all over again.

I attended El Camino College from 2010 to 2014 studying film. I transferred to California State University Long Beach in 2014.

I was enthusiastic about the film industry and thought my life path was set.

At CSU Long Beach, I took more film classes, worked on films and graduated in December 2016.

Then I met the difficulty of finding a job in film.

In 2017, I began applying for jobs. No company hired me. I could not get my foot in the door and realized it was because I didn’t have connections in the industry.

From 2017 to 2022 I worked at jobs I did not want to do.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, I gave up on my dreams of working in film and stopped applying for jobs.

In 2021, my mother encouraged me to go back to school and study journalism. She thought I should leave my film dreams and try a new path in the world of journalism since I was making news videos on YouTube and blogging on WordPress.

My mother also returned to El Camino, studying briefly in the 1980s, she wanted to go into law enforcement.

She later returned to El Camino from 1999 to 2003 to study nursing and has been a

registered nurse ever since.

At 31 years old, I was not thrilled with the idea of going back to school.

I did not want to take online classes during the pandemic.

When El Camino reopened campus and in-person classes, I went back to school and registered for the spring 2023

semester to start taking journalism classes. I came to campus and was surprised at how much the campus changed since 2014. I felt awkward being in class with teenagers. It still feels weird. I had to get over the feeling that my past education was for nothing.

I am restarting in life, but I have to remind myself all my film education and skills are useful in journalism and reporting too.

I hope I have much more success in journalism than I did with film.

To read more, visit the website at eccunion.com

Kim McGill | Special to The Union

Jeremiah Dela Cruz | Special to The Union

El Camino students can register for golf courses

→ GOLF FROM PAGE 1

Maschler, who said she’s “over 65 but not much over” and lives three minutes away from the course, said she’s been looking for a class to take since she became a trustee in 2021. She said it made sense to her to take the golf class because it’s a low-impact type of exercise with a lot of walking.

“So I thought for me, at my age, that would be a good thing for me to do. And so I’ve never played golf...as learning a new skill, which is very good for the brain. So I thought it just was a plus-plus, win-win situation,” Maschler said.

Serr said only 20 students are accepted in the golf class and the college is planning on having a class every semester.

“We probably could have more sections if the golf course would allow us but when we’re playing, they’re not making the money that they usually would,” Serr said.

Kirsten Green who teaches the golf class said there was a waitlist for the class because “it’s the first time that it’s been taught in a while.”

“We have some ‘kids’ on the waiting list. I should say ‘students’ and not ‘kids’ because I’ve got an 18-year-old all the way to a 60-year-old in

Police Beat

By Rhiannon Ellis

The Union publishes police beats online with each newspaper release. Visit eccunion.com to read more.

Tuesday, March 12, 7:16 p.m.

An individual was accused of battery in the Arts Complex. The case is closed.

Thursday, March 14, 1:10 p.m.

An individual was caught trespassing in the Administration Building. They were issued a warning and was released.

Monday, March 18, 3:36 p.m.

An individual committed vandalism at the Construction Technology Building area. The case is open.

Tuesday, March 19, 1:28 p.m.

An individual stole a bicycle at the Humanities Building. The case is open.

Tuesday, March 19, 6:19 p.m.

A tool shed lock at the Construction Technology Building was vandalised. The case is open.

Wednesday, March 20, 4:40 p.m.

An individual committed grand theft of a camera at the Arts Complex. The case is open.

Friday, March 22, 7:33 a.m.

There was graffiti discovered at the maintenance yard. The case is closed.

Friday, March 22, 2:52 p.m.

An individual was accused of reckless driving at parking Lot L. The case is closed.

class. So that’s kind of a fun, fun range of people,” she said.

Green said the college put a limit on the number of students for the class.

“I believe they put a cap at 20 or maybe even 20-22 on this class,” Green said. “And then I was able to add if other students wanted to add, so yes, there was a waitlist.”

Green said she wanted to get a feel for how many students she could properly teach in the current setting and how many the golf course could accommodate.

“I definitely had a few students that are going to try to get [the course] next term... we can go easily to 25 or 27.”

— Kirsten Green, golf instructor

“I definitely had a few students that are going to try to get [the course] next term because I wasn’t sure on numbers and I think I think we could go easily to 25 or 27,” Green said.

Golf student and business administration major Paige Hamilton, 20, said she easily

got in the class because she has priority registration.

“I’m part of the Honors Transfer Program, so I personally didn’t have to get off the waitlist. I just got a spot in the class,” Hamilton said.

Tyler Kawasaki, assistant general manager of Alondra Park Golf Course, said the cost of hosting El Camino’s golf class is very minimal.

“I mean, it’s not like they’re paying the junior rate, just $4, so it doesn’t hurt,” Kawasaki said.

Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates Japanese culture

By Joshua Flores

The 24th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival, hosted by the Social Justice Center at the Student Services Plaza, will celebrate the contributions made by former employees of El Camino College on Tuesday, April 2 from noon to 1 p.m.

The annual festival celebrates the life and contributions of Nadine Ishitani Hata, former vice president of academic affairs at El Camino.

The festival will include a taiko or drum performance by Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko LA, haiku reading by students and complimentary Japanese snacks will be provided.

“As the [Social Justice Center] was being established, the students who were involved in proposing the center really wanted to create a space where different voices and identities

were highlighted on campus and celebrated,” Coordinator for Student Equity and Achievement Village Monica Delgado said.

This led to the Social Justice Center becoming the host of the festival last year. Delgado said that the center is not the sole proprietor of the cultural heritage celebrations on campus, but they are the ones who are trying to get everyone to work together on the events.

This year’s festival will also be celebrating another former faculty member of El Camino, Gloria Miranda, who was the former dean of the behavioral and social sciences department.

The college will be hosting a memorial service for Miranda in the East Dining Room above the Bookstore on May 8 from 1 to 3 p.m.

Delgado said a scholarship fund, the “Dr. Gloria E.

Kawasaki said they’re not making any money from hosting the class, but will continue to host the class beyond this semester, as its value lies in getting new golfers to play the game.

“If they can come back on their own and they bring their families...they get into golf and all that stuff,” he said. “As long as you get new golfers, it’s like a lifetime sport.”

Miranda Student Scholarship,” was established to honor her.

Miranda was also a former student of Nadine Hata’s husband, Donald Hata, at California State University Dominguez Hills. Donald Hata donated $10,000 to the scholarship in her honor.

“The Cherry Blossom Festival…is a way to bring honor in everyone and their legacies together, so it’s nice that we’re continuing this event,” Delgado said. “It’s a chance not just to highlight Japanese culture,...but also have this way to highlight some of the past leaders and the work toward diversity, equity and inclusion that they brought to this campus.”

Man said derogatory and racial

By Nick Geltz

A man used derogatory terms toward a student and attempted to spit at them around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 26,

according to an El Camino College campus safety advisory email.

Two students were walking to the Communications Building when they heard the man riding a silver bicycle behind them say

language toward student

derogatory and racially charged language toward one of them, the email said.

The advisory email described the man as white, 5 feet, 6 inches tall, 140 pounds and wearing sunglasses, a black shirt and black pants.

The El Camino College Police Department has not disclosed any other information at the time of publication.

Economics major Haozhe Sun, 21, perches his golf bag on his shoulder as he advances to a different hole during his Tuesday golf classes at the Alondra Park Golf Course on March 26. While El Camino College offers clubs and bags to golf students, Sun brings his own clubs to the class. The golf class is being offered to El Camino students after a seven-year hiatus. Photo by Delfino Camacho

View of the cherry blossom trees at the Student Services Plaza in front of the Social Justice Center on Tuesday, March 26. The 24th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival will take place at the Student Services Plaza from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2. Photo by Joshua Flores

Tyler Kawasaki, Alondra Park Golf Course assistant manager, said there is value in getting new golfers. Photo by Delfino Camacho

Petitioners continue gathering information on campus

→ PETITION FROM PAGE 1

Adam Rangel, a 20-year-old undecided major, said Yosh approached him.

Rangel said Yosh asked him questions about issues that would appear on the ballot. He said he did not know why he signed the petitions and just wanted to be nice.

Another student, 18-year-old biology major Jasmine Antonio, said she doesn’t mind signing if the petitions are for causes she supports.

“But at the same time, I didn’t appreciate that I was just asked… that [Yosh] just came out of nowhere and I was on the phone minding my own business,” Antonio said.

Antonio said Yosh came up to her asking about signing the petitions, but she wanted to read them first.

The measures included issues such as punishments and longer sentences for those who commit violent crimes, others were about Medi-Cal coverage.

“It was like a little bit of

pressure, but I was like I do support [the measures]; but if I was in a rush, I would have been like, ‘Bye!’,” Antonio said.

Antonio and Rangel said they do not know where their information will be going, only that it has to do with ballot measures.

Yosh said a student’s information is needed to confirm if it is legitimate so it can be used by his employer to be passed on to the state.

Yosh said his company, APC America, does not sell signatories’ personal information.

Yosh refused to disclose his supervisor’s name or how to contact the company he works for, but said it is privately owned and campaigns on behalf of the state regarding propositions.

“APC America” yielded no results when looked up on the internet. Instead, the acronym “APC” was found to be associated with a Californiabased consultant firm, Arno Petition Consultants.

Arno Petition Consultants’ website says it is “the largest and most successful petition management firm in the country.”

It provides petition-gathering services, including ballot initiatives and state petition drives for political candidates and parties.

Students want more interaction with faculty

→ MEETING FROM PAGE 1

Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) are the knowledge and skills students should exhibit after their educational journey. El Camino College evaluates one of the four pillars of the ILOs each academic year to assess if it is being met by students.

A main factor highlighted in the report found faculty interaction with students helped students feel supported in the learning process.

Biology major Andrew Yousef, 19, agrees having a greater connection with other students in his classes helped foster a better environment for him to learn in.

“You kind of have that set community with people where you’re less afraid to ask questions because you’ve known these people for a long time,” Yousef said.

Yousef believes the majority of his professors care about his success, but he did mention some factors that he said made it difficult for him in some of his courses.

“I think it is dependent on the age and teaching style of the professor,” Yousef said. “Some of my younger professors are willing to change and try new things… but some of my older professors teach in a very oldfashioned way where you show up to class, take notes, no talking, just ask questions and you leave.”

Page, who helped put together the report, said the ILOs serve as a process for the entire college to gauge which students are accomplishing their intended educational goals and allocating resources towards areas that need improvement.

“[One] big thing was just how all these teachers who were successful, really focused on student groups and interactivity during class,” Page said. “Learning names, students working in groups and being interactive during class… those are the things that came up over and over and over.”

Co-coordinator of Guided Pathways Polly Parks said the latest ILO report contained large amounts of student and faculty feedback, marking the first time a report included such extensive data.

“This is the first time we’ve ever done ILOs this way,” Parks said. “This is the first

time we’ve ever done ILOs this way,” Parks said. “This is the first time it’s ever been super in-depth and meaningful.”

Another factor measured by the report was a set of questions sent to students by an anonymous survey. There were 51 total responses from the three courses surveyed: 56.9% from English 1A, 37.3% from Psychology 101 and 5.9% from Anatomy 32.

The most notable answer was that 100% of the respondents said their professors cared about their success.

Parks said previous reports were not as detailed as the current ones because colleges rushed to check boxes to meet state requirements.

“I think that to an instructor, the idea is, you know, a little bit of accountability,” Parks said. “In general, you could say the report is accountability for the college.”

APC is owned and founded by Michael Arno, who owns and co-founded Virginiabased consulting firm Capital Advisors which provides the same services.

Both companies advertise themselves as being able to help

political candidates and parties earn a place on state ballots.

To read more, visit the website at eccunion.com

More pass, no pass courses could be offered in future

By Ethan Cohen

Students looking to take a pass or no pass grading approach, rather than traditional letter grades, will soon be able to opt-in to an expanded number of courses offering the alternative evaluation method, according to an Academic Senate official.

In addition to the proposed increase in courses, the timeline for students to request a pass or no pass grade has been extended until the week before finals this semester.

The policy change and subsequent discussion will occur during future Academic Senate meetings. However, the practice is already in effect at El Camino College.

Darcie McClelland, the vice president of educational policies within the Academic Senate, said the change is due to the updates in Title 5 of the California Education Code regarding grading and academic symbol records.

Since the updates are a matter of state law changes, educational institutions must follow guidelines the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office set.

The Academic Senate will recommend which courses should and should not be eligible for the alternate grading approach, McClelland said.

“I think there are valid arguments on both sides,”

McClelland said. “I think that if we go to a system where we’re allowing more courses to be taken pass-no pass… we’re going to have to be very intentional about counseling students as to, ‘Do you know how this is going to affect you?’”

She highlighted that implementing a new procedure could enhance efforts toward student equity, a goal strongly endorsed by many faculty members who advocate for expanding the availability of courses with the pass or no pass grading option.

McClelland points out the necessity for faculty senators to discuss courses that should not be eligible for a pass or no pass grading option.

“Personally, at least in the STEM fields, I think that students should only be allowed to take courses pass-no pass as [long as] it’s not a major requirement,” McClelland said. “Students need to think about not just how ‘Does this affect me three months from now?’ but ‘How does this affect me four or five years from now when I’m thinking about my plans for after I get my degree?’”

Newsletter

The Union releases the newsletter every Thursday of the semester.

English Professor Chris Page breaks down the Institutional Learning Outcomes report at the Tuesday, March 19, Academic Senate meeting. Photo by Ethan Cohen

A petitioner, named Jay Kane, collects signatures from El Camino students during the Warrior Wellness Health Fair on Wednesday, March 27. Photo by Erica Lee

Distinguished

College honors diversity, equity and inclusion

By Angela Osorio, Elliott Bullock II, Kinzie Malony, Monroe Morrow and Rhiannon Ellis

Every year, the El Camino College Women’s History Month Committee selects community candidates to receive the Distinguished Women Award. This year’s theme is “women who advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion.” The votes are in, and six women will receive the award.

The awardees will have their portraits placed on the El Camino College Distinguished Women’s Wall of Fame in the Schauerman Library. The reception, scheduled to take place March 27, will honor the awardees at the East Dining Room at 1 p.m., during which certificates of recognition will be handed out. Jackie LaBouff, former preschool teacher for Torrance Unified School District, will recieve the award in memoriam, as she died last February.

LaBouff was a member on the City of Torrance’s League of Women Voters and the Human Services Committee. She was also the president and founder of the Widow Friendship Group and started a charity called Human Touch, which assists pregnant teens.

The Union asked each awardee questions to better understand their roles in the community and what led to their nominations.

Argelia Andrade WOMEN

Argelia Andrade is a Spanish and dance professor who has worked at El Camino for nine years. She is part of the Mi Casa committee, which is dedicated to creating a campus space for Hispanic students, faculty and staff. Mi Casa will open this semester.

Q: What is your role in the El Camino community and what are some of your responsibilities?

ANDRADE: I am a professor of Spanish, in the Humanities Division. In addition, I teach in the dance department. I am currently teaching a social Latin dance class. I hope to teach Mexican dance and/or Spanish dance there, too. My goal is to expose students to as many disciplines as I can so that they have a diverse experience at El Camino College .

Q: What is it like being a woman in your field, and how has that affected your experience as a professor?

ANDRADE: The field of education is more diverse than other fields. Professorship for women has become more attainable over time, thanks to all those early pioneers.

“I choose to focus on where I am today and am grateful for all the women who came before me.”

- Argelia Andrade

We still have work to do, of course. In my opinion, educators are some of the most open-hearted and open-minded people in the workforce. I have found many hiccups, like all

women do, in my career. However, I have also found many allies and supporters along the way. My experience has been uplifting and positive for the most part. I can talk about the hiccups, of course, but I choose to focus on where I am today and am grateful for all the women who came before me.

Col. Mia Walsh

Walsh, who does community outreach on behalf of the base, was invited to speak at the Onizuka Space Science Day at El Camino College last year.

Walsh joined the Air Force in 1998 and progressed throughout her military career from lieutenant to captain to major and eventually colonel.

Walsh will leave Space Base Delta 3 in May and return to the Pentagon as director of current operations for the space force.

Q: What is your role in the El Camino community and what are some of your responsibilities?

WALSH: I just try to be out there as much as possible and work in the community. I’m a big believer in community service, not just as a person, but also as a military member. I think the community does a lot of support for the base so I think it’s always important for the people who live on that base to not only be out in the community as far as bolstering the local economy, but it’s also about community service and giving back to the community that supports you.

Q: What is it like being a woman in your field, and how has that affected your experience as a commander?

WALSH: I think the military is

very inclusive of women. I think that the services as a whole have grown a lot. I know that, you know, my dad was in the Navy, and when he was in the Navy I don’t think that females were treated the same as they were coming up to leadership positions. The other commanders in the local area are all female and when we talk about it, it hasn’t hurt us any to be female. It hasn’t hurt me or helped me any. I think the military is very agnostic to whether you’re male or female, and it’s more about the mission, and I think that’s great.

“I’m a big believer in community service, not just as a person, but also as a military member.”

- Col. Mia Walsh

Col. Mia Walsh, Distinguished Women Award recipient, poses in front of Space Base Delta 3 at the Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo on Friday, March 22. Walsh joined the base in 2022 and will be leaving in May to work at the Pentagon. Photo by Osvin Suazo

Argelia Andrade, Spanish professor and Distinguished Women Award recipient, poses in the Humanities Building on Friday, March 22. Andrade is part of the Mi Casa committee, a group of people working on opening a space for Hispanic students, faculty and staff on campus. Photo by Caleb Smith

Col. Mia Walsh is the commander for Space Base Delta 3 at the Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo.

WOMEN of 2024

success coordinator?

Rachel Pittock is a part-time professor in the health science and athletic department, adviser of the Boxing Club and assistant coach for the El Camino Women’s Beach Volleyball team.

Q: What is your role in the El Camino community and what are some of your responsibilities?

PITTOCK: I am currently an adjunct professor so I teach four boxing classes at the college. I’m also the adviser of the ECC Boxing Club; we started the club last spring, so we will be finishing our first year as a club. I’m also a volunteer assistant coach for the El Camino Women’s Beach Volleyball team.

Q: What is it like being a

woman in your field, and how has that affected your experience as a boxing professsor, coach and adviser?

PITTOCK: It’s different, you don’t see a lot of women boxing. Here at El Camino, both the leading boxing instructors are women, which, I think, is awesome.When people email me it’s always, ‘Hi Mr. Pittock, can I join your class?’ every time. People walk into the classroom and ask ‘Is this boxing, are you the teacher?’ To me, I like it. I find it as an opportunity to show people that,‘Yeah I am the teacher.’ I can teach you how to box properly. My gender, my size, it doesn’t matter. So I think being a woman in that field, for me, I see it as an opportunity.

Mele Makalo is a student success coordinator for MANA, a campus program that helps Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students succeed in education while integrating their culture. Makalo has been working at the college since 2016 to help students and staff within the program.

Q: What is your role in the El Camino community and what are some of your responsibilities?

MAKALO: My responsibility is to ensure that our program is aligning with the goals of the student equity and achievement department, as well as the college as a whole. So for example, increasing the number of degrees completed at El Camino College, closing equity gaps and supporting students by ensuring their pathways. My objectives on a week-to-week basis is to make sure that everybody is clear on our priorities for the week and that we are meeting our deliverables as a team. Since I am the only full-timer on the team and everybody else only does parttime, a lot of times I’m navigating and working through everyone’s roles.

Q: What is it like being a woman in your field, and how has that affected your experience as a MANA student

MAKALO: I think that being a woman affects every aspect of my existence. I think particularly being a Tongan American woman, there are a lot of expectations placed upon Tongan women within our culture, not just within the household but within the workspace and even within the community to make sure that we are supporting all those around us. So I think that that standard that is set forth for me as a Tongan woman is something that has allowed me to be able to support folks as authentically as I can and meet people where they are.

“Being a woman affects every aspect of my existence.”

- Mele Makalo

Candy Paula

Candy Higgins-Di Meo is an artist, singer and musician who goes by Candy Paula. She performs folk classics and inspirational songs on her guitar in local venues around the South Bay.

Paula has performed at community holiday events, employee fundraisers and art receptions. She has

also contributed to volunteer work in art museums.

Q: What is your role in the El Camino community and what are some of your responsibilities?

PAULA: Continue to be active with worthy causes, get involved, and be supportive. As a member of the Torrance Artists Guild, I exhibited at James Armstrong Theatre, Katy Geissert [Civic Center] Library and at the Torrance City Clerk’s Office. As a charter volunteer with the Torrance Art Museum and the Torrance Art Museum Advocates, you get help to spread cultural awareness. Also as a member of Local 1117, I participate in rallies for the rights of city workers.

Q: What is it like being a woman in your field, and how has that affected your experience as a singer, musician and artist?

PAULA: Music is one of my interests and passions. I was raised to put in the foundational training for whatever might interest me. My family [members] were professional musicians. This encouraged me. This included numerous relatives who could read and write music as composers and music teachers. They are my original influencers.

Editor’s Note: This story was edited for readability.

Professor, coach and Distinguished Women Award recipient Rachel Pittock demonstrates a combination of punches to her boxing class on Thursday, March 21. Photo by Monroe Morrow

Mele Makalo, student success coordinator for MANA and Distinguished Women Award recipient, poses at her office on Thursday, March 21.

MANA is a program dedicated to helping Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students succeed. Photo by Caleb Smith

Rachel Pittock

Mele Makalo

First in the family, ahead of the pack

Women’s cross-country runner negates nerves and goes for gold

By Tommy Kallman

Halfway through the state championship, Ami Jacobson had one thing in mind: “Drive those arms and pump those knees.”

The night before, Jacobson was knocking on her crosscountry coach’s door and telling her that she was extremely nervous.

Coach Kirsten Green had two words for her: “Don’t be.”

Green said she knew Jacobson worked very hard to get there, and all she had to do was just go out there and race.

Shooting for a top-10 finish, the 19-year-old kinesiology major knew what it would take to get to the finish line.

“[Jacobson] is a coach’s dream,” Green said. “She does every little thing she’s asked to do, and you know that when you turn your back, she’s still going to put in the work.”

An extra push from teammate Sequoia Gonzales and cheers from her coaches helped Jacobson finish fourth in the 3C2A State Championships for cross-country on Nov. 18, 2023 at Woodword Park in Fresno, earning her a new personal record of 18:12.0.

Before Jacobson found herself running at an advanced level, she was a high school student looking for a new sport. Her focus was on swimming, but she needed a sport to play in the fall and landed on the crosscountry team.

“I didn’t make the volleyball team, so I told my mom I’ll join running because they didn’t have tryouts... I thought it would get me into shape, and that’s how I got into it,” Jacobson said.

Jacobson was adopted when she was very young by Brent and Chizuko Jacobson. She said that she is the first runner in the family, which allows her to make her own pathways.

Her mother noticed that she had an elite running ability when Ami Jacobson was just a sophomore in high school.

Spring Sports Calendar

Baseball

March 28, 6 p.m., vs. Merced

@ Elks Baseball Field

March 29, 2:30 p.m., @ Allan

Hancock

April 2, 2 p.m., @ Rio Hondo

April 4, 2 p.m., vs. Rio Hondo

April 6, noon, @ Rio Hondo

April 9, 2 p.m., vs. LA Harbor

April 11, 2 p.m., @ LA Harbor

April 13, noon, vs. LA Harbor

April 18, 1 p.m., @ Sierra

April 19, 1 p.m., @ Sierra

April 23, 2 p.m., vs. Mt. SAC

April 25, 2 p.m., @ Mt. SAC

Ami Jacobson’s Awards -All-South Coast Conference First Team -32CA First Team AllAmerican -32CA Southern California Regionals - 10th place -SCC ChampionshipsFourth place -32CA State Championships

Fourth overall, personal best

“[We] are not athletic at all,” her mother Chizuko Jacobson said. “Her choosing crosscountry was a surprise to us, but she’s a hard worker and never misses a practice, which helps her succeed.”

Ami Jacobson ran crosscountry all four years at El Segundo High School, where she was named cross-country MVP as a junior and set the girls’ 5K school record in track during her senior year.

The pandemic cut her sophomore year in high school short. The isolation guided her down cross-country’s path, Ami Jacobson said.

April 26, 2 p.m., vs. Mt. SAC

Softball

March 28, 3 p.m., vs. Cerritos

March 29, 1 p.m., @ LA

Harbor

April 2, 3 p.m. @ Compton

April 4, 2:30 p.m. @ Pasadena

City

April 5, 1 p.m., vs. Long

Beach

April 6, noon, vs. Bakersfield

April 6, 2 p.m., vs. Bakersfield

April 9, 3 p.m., vs. East Los

Angeles

April 12, 1 p.m., Mt. SAC

April 18, 3 p.m., vs. Cerritos

“[COVID-19] gave me an opportunity to realize that I actually do love the sport for what it is,” Ami Jacobson said. “I noticed that running is accessible and the environment is very enjoyable.”

Ami Jacobson knew she would attend El Camino College right out of high school. ECC cross-country coach Dean Lofgren had already been watching her compete in high school and said that he was very pleased to hear when she decided to commit to running at El Camino.

“She was a qualifier out of high school, so she could have gone right to a four-year,” Lofgren said. “She felt it was best in her athletic development to come over with us for two seasons and then transfer.”

The decision paid off, as Ami Jacobson is now a highly decorated athlete within ECC’s running program.

Ami Jacobson trains when she’s away from the team. She sees the importance of stretching to keep herself fully

April 19, 1 p.m., vs. LA Harbor

April 20, 1 p.m., vs. Fullerton

April 22, 2:30 p.m., vs Citrus

Men’s Volleyball

March 29, 6 p.m., vs. Santa Barbara

April 3, 6 p.m., vs. Moorpark

April 5, 6 p.m., vs. Long

Beach

April 12, 6 p.m. vs. Santa

Monica

Beach Volleyball

March 29, 10 a.m., vs. Desert

April 5, 10 a.m., @ Cerritos

April 12, 10 a.m., @ Long

Beach

March 25.

healthy when it’s time to compete and runs an average of 50 to 55 miles a week to stay in running shape.

Even though she runs at the top of her class, Ami Jacobson values her academic work just as much as athletics.

“I’m an athlete, but I’m also a student at the same time,” Ami Jacobson said. “I’m going to school for academics because I know athletics always come second.”

The running star has plans to continue her running career at a university and has been recently

April 12, 10 a.m., vs. Mt. SAC, location TBA

Swimming and Diving

March 29, 10 a.m., vs. Pasadena, location TBA

March 29, 10 a.m., vs. East Los Angeles, location TBA

April 5, all day, Pasadena Invitational

April 6, all day, Pasadena Invitational Track and Field

March 30, TBA, Dave Shannon Invitational, @ El Camino

April 2, TBA, SoCal Multi-

involved in recruiting talks. She gets calls from the California State Universities and has been looking into some of their programs to continue running after El Camino.

Jacobson does not see herself running in a professional setting but aspires to compete in the near future.

“I know that I have more to give to this sport,” Ami Jacobson said. “I want to be able to come out of my experience of college and say that I ran my hardest and did everything that I could do.”

Event Championships, @ Mt. SAC

April 3, TBA, SoCal MultiEvent Championships, @ Mt. SAC

April 5, TBA, Triton Invitational, @ UC San Diego

April 6, TBA, Triton Invitational, @ UC San Diego

Badminton

April 5, 2 p.m., vs. San Diego City @ Manhattan Beach

Badminton Club

April 17, 2 p.m., vs. San Diego Mesa @ Manhattan Beach

Badminton Club

Ami Jacobson goes through her agility ladder drills during a track and field practice at Murdock Stadium on Monday, March 25. Jacobson is fifth all-time in ECC history with her time of 38.58.60 in the 10,000-meter race Photos by Monroe Morrow

Ami Jacobson smiles for an environmental portrait inside El Camino College’s Murdock Stadium during a track and field practice on Monday,