Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Serving the Rio Hondo Community
Volume 53 Issue 4
A place where we belong: The Los Angeles LBGT Center
Members of the Spectrum club stand united to support the LGBT+ community. ANGELO TORRES Co-editor-in-chief
National LGBT Awareness Day, held October 19, celebrates the contributions of and spreads awareness of LGBT Centers throughout the world, that provide LGBT people of all ages with information, psychological services, and sex education. Founded in 1969, the Los Angeles LGBT Center has served as a haven for LGBT people. The center provides many services necessary for youth in the LGBT area. Youth Center on Highland, an extension of the Center in LA, provides homeless students with shelter for up to 30 days, and provide temporary residents
with clothing and three meals a day. “A staggering 40% of [homeless youth] in Hollywood identify as LGBT,” explains Gil Diaz, Communications Manager of the LGBT Center. “Another program we provide to LGBT youth is the Transitional Living Program (TLP) where they can stay for up to 18 months and receive medical care and counseling.” Bullying and harassment are major problems faced by LGBT youth. The website, Mental Health America, reports that LGBT youth are statistically twice as likely to commit selfharm or experiment with drugs or alcohol. They are also four times more likely to commit sui-
PHOTO BY JENNIFER ESPAÑA AND MATTHEW SALAS / EL PAISANO ILLUSTRATION BY DIEGO CRESPO
cide than non-LGBT identifying youth. Mental health is a major concern for the LGBT Center. “[The] Center offers individual, couples, family, and group therapy, as well as psychiatric care. We operate one of the few programs to assist LGBT people involved in domestic and intimate partner abuse/violence and our programs to combat substance,” reads the Health Services tab of the Center’s website. The Center also provides education services. To combat bullying and harassment, the Center has a charter school, created in collaboration with the organization Opportunities for Learning, for students between grades 7-12. Adults can also find oppor-
tunities for education and job preparation. The Youth Center in Highland provides “GED and [a] college prep program, employment preparation, training and placement program; and whatever support youth[s] need to get off the streets,” Diaz explains. The non-profit organization relies heavily on the kindness of private donors. The Center needs to raise over $15 million this fiscal year, and an additional $81 million made up in government grants and program fees are also necessary to support the Center’s many programs and services. “Private gifts are essential to the Center’s ability to respond to the people who turn to us for life-changing and life-saving services. Although the govern-
ment is the largest single source of funding, it never pays for the entire cost of a program, and some important programs have no government funding at all,” says Diaz. Students interested “can make a donation in someone's honor, in memory of a loved one, or to celebrate a wedding or other significant life event.” Non-LGBT identifying youth can also enjoy services provided by the LGBT Center. The 24th Annual Models of Pride Conference offers over 100 educational workshops to LGBT and allies, aged 24 and under. The event is hosted on the USC campus. Admission to the event is free.
A Secret Garden: Green Wonderland in Front of our Eyes ERIC MUNOZ Reporter
Environmental science students at Rio Hondo are planting California-native and drought resistant plants in a garden which will introduce the campus to hillside planting. The plan has been in motion since 2006 when it was detailed in the Rio Hondo College Landscape Master Plan that a “native plant garden” was to be established on the southeast slope of the science building. Even though the plan has begun, the project had to be postponed until the construction
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of the student services building finished. Upon completion, student interns and faculty worked to lay the foundation of the native plant and drought resistant garden. Now the garden has evolved into a sprawling ecosystem with many plants, critters, and insects, while the environmental interns and the professors still maintain and facilitate the garden’s growth. Up until now, the garden has been a secret among those who are unfamiliar with the project. Closer examination of the area reveals there is no indication of the garden’s location.
There are no signs nor a visible way to get into the garden’s path. Because of the lack of a “No Littering” sign, trash is strewn about the garden. When asked if they knew what was supposed to be there, students by the garden had no idea of the its existence despite standing in front of it. Biology professor, Robert Bethel, mentioned that no one knows about the project because it’s not finished. The hillside planting and maintenance is still a work in progress and the lack of resources in the environmental technology department is not helping the expedience of the
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project. According to Bethel, instead of putting an unfinished project on display, it would be “best to wait until the plan came to its fruition for a full unveiling”. The gardening is done mostly by faculty of the science department and student interns.
Unfortunately, progress is waning because of the lack of interns available to help care for the garden. The garden sees its worst conditions in the summer, when due to the heat, few students sign up for the native garden internship.
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