The Foothill Script Newspaper (Spring Ed, 1st Issue)

Meet the new President

A former educator, administrator, and advocate for education, Dr. Kristina Whalen, Foothill Colleges’ new President, presents a strong portfolio coming into her new position.

President Whalen’s term begins on March 31st as the eighth president of Foothill College. She will strive to preserve Foothill’s reputation of being at the forefront of virtual education as well as its title as the best community college in California (Niche) while ensuring that all students receive the highest quality education.

Dr. Whalen brings more than 25 years of experience in administration and teaching, previously holding administrative positions such as Vice President of Academic Services at Las Positas College, Dean for the School of Fine Applied and Communication Arts, and Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Instructional Support for City College of San Francisco.

Dr. Whalen began her educational career as a speech and debate coach during graduate school, later continuing to teach as a communications professor at Chico State and City College of San Francisco before kicking off her career in administrative roles.

Dr.Whalen is originally from Washington, DC. However, due to her father’s position as a secret service agent, Dr. Whalen moved around quite a lot with her family, living in Virginia during her early education and later finishing Middle School and High School in Springfield, Missouri. She continued her higher education, first at the University of Tulsa, then at Missouri State University, completing her bachelor’s degree in socio-political communication.

President Whalen then went on to attend Florida State University in Tallahassee, earning her master’s and doctorate of philosophy in Speech Communication and Rhetoric.

For Dr. Whalen, following this educational journey was not always in her plans. Initially, Whalen’s goal was to become a broadcast journalist; she began competing in Speech and Debate at the age of 14 and hoped to translate her speech-building skills into a career. How-

California student housing crisis: Foothill students demanding affordable housing

By Anna Lindahl

Foothill students looking for affordable housing options gathered Monday, January 23, from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Foothill College Stem Center for a focus group about the affordable housing crisis. Students and faculty from all over campus sat down to take part in the discussion. Discussion facilitator and Foothill instructor, Eric Reed, opened the meeting with the important message that neither Foothill nor DeAnza offer on or off campus housing, which is becoming a problem for many students due to the high rental costs in the Bay Area. Institutions struggle to provide enough high-quality campus housing for their students as a result of high enrollment. Public institutions like Foothill and De Anza College are already severely limited compared to larger private institutions that are dealing with the same crisis, leaving their students with less resources and outlets for support.

In these focus groups, students can contribute to the discussion with their personal experiences as both international and residential students having to fend for themselves. Students have described how they either paid a bizarre amount of money for just a small bedroom or how they paid a few hundred dollars but had to share the room with a couple of people. In addition, many students present shared that they were aware of other students facing housing insecurity. The conversation then led into how this impacts the students’ ability to perform in school, as dealing with housing insecurity can be stressful, time-consuming, and unsettling.

If affordable housing is such a big problem, then why don’t students get a job outside of school? This was a question that

Letter from the Editor

sparked a heated debate, with no simple solution. Many students were already employed, and some faced the issue of being international students. International students are not allowed to work outside of the school, and there are limits on which jobs they can take and how many. International students also face a higher tuition fee than residents, which adds to the stress of affording school and accommodation.

Students and faculty agree that there is a problem for sutdents who are affected by the housing crisis in trying to prioritize between school and work. This problem will not go away by itself; there is a need for students to get involved. Affordable housing is something both Foothill and De Anza have fought for because they see it in their best interest as the leading community colleges with the best transfer rate to help their students further regarding the question of affordable housing.

Furthermore, Foothills’ battle for affordable housing has paid off, according to Reed. He mentions that Foothill and De Anza colleges have been approved and received a grant for building faculty and student housing. Reed can’t say when it will happen; there are still some problems regarding where to build and how to do it, but there is hope. A hope to increase community involvement, school spirit, and student living where they don’t have to sleep in their cars or under bridges, according to Reed, The housing crisis affects a lot of students, and by going to the focus groups, you can share your story, get help, and help build the Foothill community stronger.

ever, in college, she began to explore topics in Political Science through her participation in Speech and Debate, which led her to the Sociopolitical Communication major. Once President Whalen began her journey in higher education, she made the decision to go to graduate school and complete both her master’s and Ph.D.

As President, Dr. Kristina Whalen will aim to maintain Foothill Colleges’ mission [to] “ obtain equity in the achievement of student outcomes for all California student populations, and are guided by our core values of honesty, integrity, trust, openness, transparency, forgiveness, and sustainability.”

President Whalen would be implementing this mission through “the feedback and conversations that I am going to have with students about the way this college is serving their goals,” adding, “it’s important to sit with those words [the mission] and not just see them as positive words [after positive words] but reflect on what it means to go to a college that is devoted to sustainability, to be a college that embraces forgiveness.”

More insights into President Kristina Whalen can be found in her video interview on The Script Website.

BRYSTOL BEATLEY

Writer Tamar Grosskopf and President Kristina Whalen

By Tamar Grosskopf

Staff Profiles

Ranjan is a second-year Business Major at Foothill College and plans on pursuing Management Consulting and Policymaking. His interest in journalism stems from his avid curiosity in traveling and exploring unprecedented horizons. An international student from India, he plans to use his position to spread awareness and voice concerns over the ongoing social justice battles in the world.

Melody is a first-year student at Foothill College, majoring in psychology and is planning to transfer to a four-year university. She is interested in human behavior. Journalism often focuses on reporting on events and people, which requires an understanding of how people think and behave. She also loves graphic design and taking photographs.

CJ Toledo is a first year at Foothill College, double majoring in psychology, and philosophy. Always passionate in speaking truth to power, joining the journalism club in school was the next logical step. He hopes to spread a bit of positivity, and awareness in a medium that has been lacking in attention: Newspapers. He also enjoys painting, parkour, and community building. Some other projects beside The Script that he’s involved in include the Stanford Painting Initiative, and Spider Parkour.

Miranda Rodriguez is a firstyear student majoring in English and transferring next year! Creative Writing is a passion of Miranda, so joining the journalism club only made sense. She is fun and a great comfort to The Script.

Justin is a second-year English Major who first joined the journalism club out of curiosity, but quickly fell in love with the fastpaced and high stakes nature of reporting on current issues. He liks to go on morning runs in preperation for the AI revolt and hikes in his freetime.

Griffin is currently working towards a degree in Political Science. He enjoys keeping up on current events and is a bit of a news junkie. His interests include politics, board games, video games, forensics, risk analysis, sports, and lounging with purring cats.

Brystol is a first-year student at Foothill College, planning to transfer to a four-year university to pursue a degree in English. She loves writing news stories on topics concerning education, law, and the American workforce. Her long-term goal is to excel as an investigative journalist and become a published author. Besides writing news articles, Brystol likes to write fiction and poetry for fun. Coming from a rural hometown, the diversity of people and their stories is often a pivotal subject of interest in her writing.

Tamar took the Journalism class during the Winter Quarter and joined The Script as a staff writer. Her first article was about Foothill’s study abroad programs, one that she is currently taking part in. As she ventures a new chapter in Italy, Tamar is currently our foreign correspondent. Her time with The Script is highlighted by her interview with Dr. Kristina Whalen, Foothill’s new president.

Angela Soria is a first year student at Foothill. She majors in Biochemistry. In her free time, she likes to take care of her siblings and play games with Miranda, our Social Media Editor. She joined The Script because of her previous experience with Journalism.

Our staff also includes

Michael Love (Staff Writer)

Jarred

Quilter (Staff Writer)

Aldo Gonzalez (Photographer)

Letter from the Editor

By Joaquin Arig

At the core of every community is a group of people dedicated to help it thrive. Every community needs a voice, and for Foothill College The Script wishes to fulfill that role.

I started attending Foothill College during the Fall Quarter of 2022, and I remember vividly the moment I met Vanessa Santillan-Nieto, our club advisor, during one of the events for new students. At the time, she was supervising the table for the Writing and Learning Center (WLC), so I asked where the Journalism Club table was. To my surprise, she told me that the club is currently inactive.

My journalism background stems from the fact that I came from the Philippines, a country that I strongly believe is marred with misinformation and disinformation. I served as the Associated Editor-in-Chief of my high school’s paper, and I was lucky enough to meet instructors and peers who were like-minded in terms of pursuing the “truth.” That trend continued when I spoke with Vanessa, who then introduced me to Brian Lewis and Stephanie Chan, the JRNL 22 A/B co-instructors at Foothill, who supported me and the small team we had then, to revive the school newspaper.

We’ve definitely come a long way, and as a writer, I couldn’t think of enough metaphors and flowery words to describe the fulfillment of making journalism relevant again. Since tabling during Club Day with only the three or four members that we once had, more people have come along and as of this writing, we have a group of student journalists who worked hard on this newspaper during their Spring Break and during their free time at the start of the Spring Quarter.

I value journalism and recognize how people on a broader scale currently perceive journalism and media with all its biases and flaws; however, I believe The Script at Foothill can achieve many things: We can promote diverse student voices through journalism.

We can bring back the vibrant exchanges we once had before the pandemic.

We can bring to light relevant campus information and events.

We can build a stronger community by grounding the information we have in the “truth”.

We can inspire others by telling the stories of the members of our community.

As our new Script mission states, “The Foohill Script strives to record Foothill College’s past, present, and future history, while remaining grounded in the truth and in the process of verifying even the truth, which is what makes journalism distinct. Trustworthy news, diverse opinions, authenticity, relevance, and independence are necessary for an informed society and The Foothill Script pledges to hold itself to these standards.”

Feel free to join us by sending an email to editorinchief@foothillscript.com. With our website (foothillscript.com) back on track and the release of this newspaper, I am genuinely excited for what’s to come.

Joaquin is a first-year Biology major at Foothill College and plans to pursue medicine. While this sounds relatively different from journalism, he has grown to love writing ever since his ninth grade English teacher introduced him to the field. This purpose is magnified upon realizing that his country, and our society in general, is marred by misinformation and disinformation that is prevalent and at an all time high.

He was the Associate Editor-in-Chief of his previous school’s student publication in the Philippines, and currently works at Stanford University’s SNF (nano@stanford) facilities as a junior intern. Other than writing articles, Joaquin loves to write poetry and do graphic design.

A message from outgoing AFSC President Skye Bridges

Hi everyone, I’ll keep this short and sweet.

We don’t have much free time. I know some of you are even working full-time jobs and attending classes. If you have a moment, read this.

Voting takes ten minutes, five if you read quickly. Our community here needs your voice, as cliche as that sounds. I have no idea what problems business or theatre arts majors run into, and I’d probably be wrong if I guessed. Small problems, big problems, all of them are significant. Vote for people you can talk to, for the students who will listen to you and change things for the better.

Continuing students, Foothill is lucky to have you for another quarter, or however long you spend here. Your experience should be as good as possible. If you need the library to be open longer, you can make that happen by talking to the students who represent you. The administrators here want to know what you need as a student, and we’re your direct connection to them.

If you want to know more, our weekly meetings are Thursdays from 2-4 PM in the Toyon Room. You can also come by the student council offices anytime, we’re in room 2011. Our Instagram is @foothillasfc.

The Script team

Club Corner

Enactus

Description: Using Business and Entrepreneurship to create a positive social impact. Contact us if you would like to join the club!

Discord: discord.gg/

Instagram: @enactus.foothill

Email: asfc.ranjana@gmail.com

Foothill Chess Club

Description: At the new Foothill chess club we believe chess is better together! We teach and play chess every Tuesday. No prior experience needed

Discord: discord.gg/F4BTjR3FCy

Instagram: @foothillchess

The Foothill Script

Description: The Foothill Script is Foothill College’s Student News Publication. We connect students to the society by producing relevant, authentic and trustworthy news.

Discord: discord.gg/z66RKfC6

Instagram: @fh_thescript

Website: foothillscript.com

Email: fhthescript@foothillscript.com

Women in Business

Description: A community focused for people who identify as female interested in business and entrepreneurship. Anyone can join!

Discord: discord.gg/ PvWpuCw5s8

Email: mendezpinzonalejandra@foothill.edu

Foothill MSA

Description: Foothill MSA is a Muslim Student Association on campus that provides a safe space for Muslim students and for anyone interested in learning more about Islam can come and hangout together, explore topics of Islamic context, and create social groups. We host game nights, picnics, socials, and more to stay connected!

Discord: discord.gg/5yKssD5bsF

Foothill Volunteer Club

Description: We provide reliable and verifiable volunteer opportunities for Foothill College students on our platform, including Instagram and discord. We engage in volunteer work to build our leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving skills.

Discord: discord.gg/uz4pYYUF

Instagram: @fh__volunteerclub

Foothill Basketball Club

Description: We meet weekly to meet new friends who have the same interests in basketball. We exercise together and have fun!! We sometimes get dinner after meetings. Join us!! Instagram: @fhbasketballclub

Email: fhbasketballclub@gmail.com

Astronomy Club

Description: Space. The final frontier. This is the purpose of The Astronomy Club. To inspire interest and promote education in the field of astronomy and other space sciences through the exploration of scientific news and resources as well as the analysis of science fiction media.

Discord: discord.gg/baavB3C2GA

Website: foothillclubs.my.canva.site/theastron omyclub

Foreign Relations Club

Description: The Owl Council on Foreign Relations seeks to educate students and encourage dialogue about international relations through a digital journal that publishes monthly issues on topics related to global events and foreign policy. Check out page 16 for an article by the Foreign Relations Club!

Data Science and A.I. Club

Description: Our goal is to assist students with diverse interests by offering valuable information and hands-on experiences in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence. We’ll work together to help our members begin and develop new skills in these interdisciplinary fields.

Discord: discord.gg/EwmCFRR25s

Email: foothillaiclub@gmail.com

Honors Connection Club

Description: We foster an environment where communication and critical thinking are promoted in order to build lasting connections with fellow students through weekly meetings. The club acts as a resource and strong community, providing members with opportunities to engage in social and academic activities that lead them towards their educational aspirations.

Discord: discord.gg/DEUuFvu6CH

Business and Entrepreneurship Club

Description: Business and Entrepreneurship Club at Foothill College strives to help students spark interest, grow ideas, develop knowledge, and present their accomplishments in the world of business.

Discord: discord.gg/jkWcSHjR2H

Astonomy Club Green Comet Viewing

Photo taken by Aldo Gonzalez

Footsie the Owl during Winter Club Day

Photo taken by Aldo Gonzalez

2023 Career Hacks Job

Fair photos by Joaquin Arig

Hosted by Business & Entrepreneurship Club, Business & Sciences

Division, and Office of Workforce Development

The Script at Spring Club Day

Philosophy Club at Spring Club

Day

Photo taken by Brystol Beatley

Social Justice Club demands Climate Justice

F OOTHILL - The Social Justice Club on February 6, convened at the Cesar Chavez Podium to demand climate justice and accountability from our leaders. This comes after staging a successful event during the Fall quarter to promote knowledge and raise awareness about climate change among members of the Foothill College community.

The recent protest aimed to address the lack of change, action, care, and the lack of environmental-friendly policies and resources.

“We acknowledge the small steps that have been made since our last event, but there has been no significant progress made since COP27,” Jason Morley, a club member, explained. According to a report from the United Nations Environmental Program, there was “no credible pathway” to limiting global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius and that mitigation efforts since COP26 have been “woefully inadequate.”

The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) was held in Egypt from November 6-18, 2022, and was attended by 190 countries. Mitigation, adaption, finance, and collaboration were its four key themes. There have been promising developments at the global level, but

members of the club remained skeptical, especially in terms of the feasible changes that can be made to address the needs of smaller communities.

“While these seem or sound complicated, there are a lot of ways that people can contribute, especially in our campus,” Madi Gubser, the club’s Vice President said. “There are students who care and this shows that we actually can do something, and knowing these things stops the feeling of hopelessness.”

Currently, the club’s main initiative is campaigning for more sustainable practices by creating a compost bin because there is not one in the campus before their efforts. This is strategically placed in the BSS lounge where many students conduct their meetings and hang out. The composts are dumped through the horticulture department using an appropriate type of soil. According to Madi, composting is important because it reduces greenhouse gasses by not making food waste go to landfills.

Alisa Mack, one of the club’s co-presidents, is no stranger to how much food waste there is on campus. She says they are currently working on a Food Waste Project, wherein the goal is to use excess food that’s ordered for Foothill events to help people who have food insecurity and students who just need lunch.

Members of the club also alluded to sustainable and accessible modes of transportation as a priority that the college should consider. “We might say that this can be a matter of equity. We want better public transportation because students, especially those coming from afar, have no choice but to drive to school,” said Madi. “There should be more accessible bus routes, and electric shuttles if possible. What about students who just got here [in the US]? Or international students? Or those who don’t have driving permits yet?” Free bike rentals that can be used within the college is also an option that the club proposes.

Alisa raised the idea of electing a Vice President for Environment and Sustainability to keep the collective efforts and the momentum of such progress going. In line with this, she is campaigning for an adoption of an Associate Degree for Environmental Studies to encourage and empower students to do more even in their own little ways.

The Social Justice Club, having been around for a while, aims to bring the community together to bring justice to social issues. The club meets twice weekly, one in-person, and one online. If you are interested to join the club, you may join their discord server or contact Socialjusticeclub.foothill@gmail.com.

Do clubs at Foothill still find online meetings worth it?

By

D uring Foothill’s Winter Club Day on January 25th 2023, a member of the Business and Entrepreneurship Club was asked “What do you think is the biggest change from the last academic year”, he talked about how “we would get 17 to 20 people In a Zoom call”, his voice was full of excitement as he said “we [now] get more than 100 people in our [in-person] events.”

Could these sorts of observations discourage clubs from participating within the online space?

Well, it is not hard to see why clubs may focus more on the in-person experience.

With participation numbers so low, clubs have to start asking themselves if it’s worth it to spend the time and resources to facilitate a dwindling online student population.

Saintra

In a discussion about how the structure of clubs is changing with Saintra Thai – Anthropology Club’s ICC (Inter Club Council) representative – she mentions how “we are more than willing to host online meetings if there is someone willing to step up.” This apathy towards online meetings is shared among many of the clubs. However, others have found ways to utilize the online space to supplement the in-person experience.

Many of the newer clubs have chosen to adopt a hybrid structure where weekly online meetings are hosted in order to schedule in-person meetups and events or have smaller discussions that don’t necessitate an in-person meeting. For instance, the Rock Climbing Club uses Discord to organize meetups at various rock climbing locations. The Film Club uses Discord to decide on which viewings to attend at the-

aters and for the subsequent discussion of the deeper meanings behind the film, a transformative experience. Although there are some ways to participate online, the main events still take place in person for these clubs. However, there are some outliers. Our own Journalism Club (The Foothill Script) hosts meetings in person and online. They do this by sharing a video feed of the in person meeting to Discord, allowing online students to interact and fully participate within the club. This avoids the problem of having to host separate meetings and events; it should be of note that this only makes sense for clubs where physical space isn’t integral, and the students from both sides of the screen have something to gain from each other.

Although the worst of the pandemic seems to be behind us, questions remain. How long until hybrid clubs decide to drop support for online students if they decide to? Do online clubs have a future, or will it just be a matter of time before significant participation in any club requires in person attendance?

JOAQUIN ARIG

The Social Justice Club flashes their placards during a protest at the Cesar Chavez Podium on Monday, February 6

ALDO GONZALEZ

Thai and members of the Anthropology Club showcase their table during Winter Club Day

Justin Allahyari

By Joaquin Arig

BRYSTOL BEATLEY

Dog at Spring Club Day

BRYSTOL BEATLEY

Parakeet enjoying Spring Club Day

Derailing the Community College Stigma

By Jane Cotter

I had the privilege of only applying to fouryear universities when I was a senior in High School and would be accepted into some of these schools. I had the privilege of spending three years at a university I worked so hard to get into. But I was no longer working hard, I was suffering, and was struggling to hide it.

My generalized anxiety disorder had become increasingly worse after entering college and it made me fall further and further behind in school. Going to class, studying, writing papers, and asking for help seemed impossible. This led to an onset of depression and soon I wasn’t able to do much of anything. After far too long, I finally spoke up and got the support I needed.

It took dropping out of university and extensive work on myself and my mental health, but I was finally ready to try again at Foothill Community College. The thing that used to bring me the most anxiety was now filling my empty days, and I actually enjoyed it. Taking the online approach this time around immensely helped relieve the stress I felt, while also transforming school into something done on my own accord. I am very lucky to have been able to work up the courage to take a second try at school and I have Foothill to thank for that.

There are hundreds of different reasons

students come to Foothill, or any community college, but the most important is pursuing a higher education. If a community college is the best fit for a student, who are you to judge? Unfortunately, there is a hierarchy within the college system that has created a stigma around community colleges. This hierarchy is known as educational stratification in the U.S., the societal ranking of different categories of education.

The top of the educational stratification hierarchy could be considered Ivy Leagues such as Yale, Harvard, and Princeton. But why are they the best? They are coined as elite, but why does elite equal “best”? Dr. Patricia Gibbs, a Sociology Professor at Foothill College, poses the question, “Why is it that we have a common perception that you will get a better education at any of these places above others?” Asking these questions can help dismantle the hierarchy of higher education within the U.S. and potentially eliminate the unwarranted stigma surrounding community colleges.

The common term “junior college” portrays community colleges in an inferior light, as though the classes offered are less rigorous. The California Community College System is the largest post-secondary education system in the United States, with 2.1 million students from diverse backgrounds, ages, and education levels. Community college classes are at the same level of rigor as other university

classes. They have to be if one of their goals is to prepare students to take upper-division courses after transferring with class credits under their belt.

Unlike other traditional colleges where the professors can be more concerned with their own research, passing over their teaching responsibilities to a TA, community college professors are consistently there for the students. The professors at community colleges are equally qualified, if not more when it comes to teaching, than other professors. Dr. Gibbs spoke about our own sociology department on this note, “The most recent new full-time hires in Sociology have PhDs, have published, and they also must demonstrate that they not only can teach well but that they love teaching.” There should be a big emphasis on that last part; they love teaching.

Community colleges are accessible, affordable and accept 100% of students. While this may not warrant the categorization of “elite,” it does mean that the student body is extremely diverse. They are servicing the community as a whole, without any exclusion or marginalization. It can be an educational path for low-income and first generation college students, and a second chance at higher education for all age levels.

While community colleges can be seen as a ‘stepping stone’ on the path to a four-year university, the education and experience gained

is invaluable.

Julia Scott was a student at Foothill from 2019-2020 before transferring to UC Santa Barbara, and remembers her time at Foothill with the highest regard. “I gained new parts of myself, new friends, new perspectives on life and education and community,” she explains. “The class sizes were some of the best I experienced. They were small and engaged. The professors were passionate and really cared about the students and the topics they taught.”

Scott started at Foothill at a time when her college career seemed up in the air, much like myself, and it allowed her to work the hardest she ever had in order to build up her GPA and life experience in order to eventually transfer. It was easier for her to focus at Foothill, without some of the distractions that may come with a traditional college experience. And when comparing her classes at both colleges, Scott found that “education wise, not a major difference, if anything I gained more from community college classes.”

The path to higher education is not linear. The sooner we loosen our idea of what the college experience looks like, the sooner we can derail the stigma that surrounds community colleges. Our communities and the greater society can only benefit from affordable and accessible education for all people and the community college system can ensure that.

Journalism Is Dying and It’s On Us to Save It

Opinion

By Griffin O’Shea

F oothill Community College has had a journalism problem for the past sixteen years. The Sentinel, which was the original school paper that ran from 1958 - 2007, met the chopping block after a controversial piece misrepresenting a professor’s stance on the Israel-Palestine Conflict. The Script, the successor to the Sentinel, was produced from April 14, 2017 until December 3, 2019, when the Covid-19 pandemic caused the whole campus to shut down, killing audience engagement. It has now been revived again, with the first post in three years being released on November 19, 2022 by the new Editor-In-Chief Joaquin Arig. But why should the students of Foothill care about a college paper that has been relatively erratic?

Arig hopes the Journalism Club can prevent the paper from being dissolved again while gradually progressing towards bigger goals and actually sustaining them. “Just [being] visible to the Foothill community because when they see that the paper is active, the whole Foothill Community also becomes more active, right? Ever since we started during the Fall quarter, we’ve made significant progress. I honestly feel more stressed this Winter Quarter [in a good way] because more and more people are reaching out to us.”

It may be a small sample size, but he is optimistic given the fact that students outside the club and the class have been submitting stories in their submission form. The Script is looking to have a greater presence on campus, highlighting clubs, covering school events, and reporting on local and global news pertinent to Foothill Students.

The Script has been in a rough patch for the past few years. Furthermore the latest newspaper was published in 2018. It couldn’t survive during the most impactful four-year stretch in recent human history, and we’ve missed quite a lot in that time, including multiple wars, simultaneous global health crises, inflation, and a literal coup attempt. We don’t want a campus wide journalistic blackout to happen again. So that’s where the community comes in, we need your help. There are hundreds of stories worth telling every single day that never get told. Now’s your chance to tell your stories, highlight injustices, promote your events, and have public discussions.

For those looking to do their part in combating misinformation online or pursuing

Journalism Is Dead by William Roberton’s: The Script Introduction Piece in 2017

a career in journalism, you can join the Journalism Club. We’re actively developing The Script, and we’re looking for dedicated people with a wide range of skill sets: writers, copy editors, freelance journalists, artists, photographers, translators, and web developers. Our goal is to create an atmosphere that is welcoming and encourages camaraderie. If the idea of joining the Script community sounds daunting to you, please know that you are free to contribute as much or as little as you feel you have time for. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate. So if you’re looking to go into journalism, hoping to add some publications to your resume, or just have a story to tell, please join us.

Arig, when he joined The Script himself during Fall Club Day, had no idea what to expect. “I remember meeting Vannesa, the club adviser, and asking where the Journalism Club is. She told me it was inactive at the time. So I asked if we could somehow revive it, and she was happily on board. Looking back, we’ve certainly come a long way.”

The Script team is looking forward to working with and serving the Foothill Community. It’s been a long

time coming, and there have been many ups and downs, but The Script is finally coming together. Many wonderful people have devoted their time and energy to revitalizing the project after all these years. I want to especially take note of the current The Script crew since they are awesome and put a ton of work and effort into the publication. So, from the Script team to the entire Foothill Community, we can’t wait to serve the campus and provide accurate up-to-date information on all things Foothill, and we hope you’ll join us.

Remember, the only way the Script will die is if

We as a community let it!

THE SCRIPT

Into The Woods brought to Foothill Campus

By Michael

Led by experienced director Milissa Carey, Into the Woods is the newest production coming out of Foothill’s Theatre Arts Department – one that Stephen Sondheim would be proud of. With an immersive and detailed set design, vibrantly colorful costumes, a flawless musical backdrop, and tear-jerking performances from the ever-so-talented cast, this production delivered on all fronts with its own unique flare.

Some of the most talented actors and actresses from around the bay area (including Foothill attendees and alumni) participated in bringing this musical to life. With too many skilled performers to name, we’ll start with Foothill’s very own Sam Mills as “Cinderella.” Not only did she hold her own amongst her more experienced castmates, but she truly stood out.

Hitting soaring vocals and keeping up with the oftentimes lighting quick musical tempo, she still managed to convey the emotional roller coaster of a young woman finding her independence. We would be remiss if we did not mention the puppeteering performance of fellow Foothill student Mateo Urquidez as Milky White The Cow. Using a one-of-a-kind handmade puppet, Urquidez brought an adorable charm to the character, getting audible “awws” from the audience when he conveyed the sadness of milky white when he was separated from “Jack” [Jack and the Bean Stock].

Another one of the standout performances throughout the show had to have been Foothill alum Nick Mandracchia’s portrayal of the “Wolf.” Easily the darkest figure among James Lapine’s portrayal of the Brothers Grimm characters, he flawlessly shot chills up the audience’s spine.

His performance was a grim reminder of the darkest aspects of the human psyche. Mandracchia followed up such an unnerving performance with the fantastical narcissistic Prince [Cinderella’s] gallivanting across the stage in flamboyant robes in search of his next bride; he is charming but by no means sincere. The dichotomy of the two performances is uncanny, highlighting Mandracchia’s range and creating a truly master-class performance.

Other strong standouts include Caitlin Gjerdrums fiery portrayal of the witch, absolutely bringing down the house with her performance of the “last midnight.” In addition, James Schott’s heartfelt take on the Baker (where he sheds an abundance of tears on command as he sang “no more”) was gut-wrenching. Also impressive was Michael Paul Hirsch’s handling of both the narrator and the mysterious man, who embodied both roles so well that the audience let out a collective gasp as they realized both were played by the same man.

Sound Designer Andy Heller and Conductor Michael Horsely executed the wild and dynamic soundscape of “Into the Woods” perfectly, providing a sturdy backbone to the whole production. The performers and orchestra were completely in sync on every number. Especially impressive, the orchestra played music underneath spoken dialogue at the same pace the performers were talking, in a process known as “underscore dialogue.” The sound effects were on point as well; for example, the room-shaking stomps of the Giant or the ever so slight dings that would occur when a magic bean was tossed on the ground.

One aspect that definitely stood out compared to other renditions of this show was the wardrobe. Traditionally the show goes with a more muted medieval style, but costume designer exciting vision in mind.

The costumes were bold, glimmering, and colorful. The attire of the princes, princesses, and cinderella’s family were especially glamorous, coming close to a Mardi Gras-esque style. Characters like the baker and his wife who were part of the peasantry had costumes that were a bit more down to earth. This choice added further still to the duality between fantasy and reality that the musical plays on. The wardrobe choices brought a very refreshing dynamic to a classic show.

The set design team led by Yuske Soi did a phenomenal job creating a magical world for this story to take place in. From the hand-painted woods and foliage in the background to the towering castle, a great deal of care and attention to detail was put into creating the scenery. The most impressive technical feat was the handling of Little Red Riding Hood’s Grandmother’s house. Constructed out of wood framing, the walls were made of see-through scrim fabric. The lighting crew then shined a spotlight into the house showing the harrowing scenes that occur with the Wolf inside the house. This creative technique made for a truly stunning visual experience.

This epic production of Into the Woods is running every Thursday at 7:30 PM, Friday/Saturday AT 8 PM, and Sunday at 2 PM – until March 19th. Tickets can be found on the Foothill College website with discounted prices for seniors and students. The show takes place in the Lohman Theatre and parking can be found in lot 8. Truly a can’t miss performance, make sure you get out and see it while you still can!

my mind is a burning dome peaking at the coldest stars, like I’m light-headed drunk and hopeful as anyone, betting and spending every penny of my worth, scratching tickets and scraping for any form of hope that may come—

I like treading the mountain peaks because of the gravity that comes with my name, but I can only give one small effort to water every flower I see, because if they do not bloom, my hope wanes like the light of dusk, but at least it’s a paradise kind of pain

Michael Love and Griffin O’Shea are staff writers of The Script, who are also taking the JRNL 22 A/B class. CJ Toledo is the founder of the Stanford Painting Initiative

POETRY by Joaquin Arig

DAVID ALLEN / FOOTHILL MUSIC THEATRE

Love, CJ Toledo, Griffin O’Shea

Beauty in the Ordinary Bill Owen’s

Work Explained

By Brystol Beatley

The 70s have never felt closer on Foohill campus than in 2023. On January 19th, fans and students gathered at the Krause Center for Innovation for a special photography exhibit, featuring highlights from the photographic series Suburbia at Fifty with the artist himself, Bill Owens, present.

The gallery opened at 4:00 pm sharp,

with a short presentation and reception at 5 o’clock. These particular pieces, dating back to 1973, presented a concise theme of the suburban culture in America that not only existed in the 70s but as the pictures show still exists today. The event was hosted by Kate and Geir Jordahl, who worked in collaboration with Bill Owens to remaster his most famous pictures in order to make the book Bill Owens: The Legacy of Suburbia.

Both the gallery and lecture room were packed with fans and students alike, with roughly about fifty people or more attending. The majority of people present had been watching Bill Owen’s whole career, while others were just now learning about this proficient artist.

One such person is Kaira Lai, a junior at Menlo High School taking college classes at Foothill, along with her friends Amy Gillson and Simone Smith. The three of them had stumbled upon the exhibit while doing school work at the Krause Center for Innovation and, wondering what the fuss was all about, experienced Bill Owen’s work for themselves. Kaira is also interested in photography, namely in merging two pictures to make a third, new picture. When asked what she thought of Owen’s work she said, “It makes me think about the picture and also wonder why he took the picture.” Indeed, at first glance, the photos seem like ordinary, blackand-white depictions of middle-class life in America. Yet Foothill’s art history professor, Cynthia Brannval was immediately “struck by the nostalgia.” She had heard about Bill Owens from her own photographer who professionally takes pictures of her art and from them learned the extensive influence Bill Owens has on the photography community. Professor Brannvall also noted how the pictures from Suburbia managed to capture “the messiness of the 70s,” meaning that in subtle details, viewers are aware of the bigger issues that were happening in that time period,

going beyond the seemingly ordinary lives of the people portrayed.

During the artist talk, Bill Owens also discussed how he first started this project when he was a photographer for the local newspaper. During work, his fascination for the culture in suburban America grew, despite how many people, as he described, would hurriedly assume that “people in Suburbia are boring!”

Yet, he argued that Suburbia highlighted the true culture and human nature of the suburban, seen in the pictures paired with stark, often humorous captions that were subtracted directly from the people in the presented images. Owens discussed that he had first started his project by taking pictures of suburban symbols and items until he came upon the realization that it was the people who inhabited Suburbia that made the essence of his project “real.” He also claimed that he was only able to capture Suburbia in its rawest form because people saw him as “one of them,” allowing him to record details that “outsiders’ might never see.

The people in the pictures probably felt like many people today; their daily life is boring- suburban or not. Yet in reality, even in a monotonous routine, beauty is found in people. It is fitting that Owen displayed his art on a college campus. It served as a signal to students to slow down and appreciate the beauty in the ordinary. because in 50 to 60 years from now, it will no longer be ordinary.

Finding zen through simple drawings

Campus Art and Wellness group hopes to help students avoid burnout

By Michael Love

Students dealing with academic-related stress is a problem every campus faces. Our campus is no different. Foothills Art and Wellness group hopes to provide a space for students to take a breather and create. Through a simple drawing process known as the Zentagle, Instructors Alexis Donato and Jenny McGrath guide attendees through a meditative art lesson.

So what are Zentangles and how are they made?

Zentangles are small abstract drawings made up of repetitive patterns. The only materials needed to participate are a pen, a pencil, a square piece of paper, and a tool to blend. This group follows an 8-step creative process beginning with a moment of gratitude and appreciation. After placing a dot in all four corners of their paper in pencil, they connect the dots and draw a square border in pencil as well. When this is completed you divide the square into sections (again with pencil). Once you have your sections, you begin to “Tangle” – meaning drawing repetitive patterns in each section in pen (usually different patterns in each section). Having done this you now get to add shading with pencil and blend where necessary. As a finishing touch you initial and sign with the session returning to a state of appreciation, this time about your finished product.

“During the pandemic, we were looking for a way to help students struggling with their mental health and to give them a place to pause,” said Professor Donato. “Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the

feeling that there’s not enough time for mindfulness…but it is very beneficial for students’ mental health and academic achievement.”

Both instructors shared their experiences with how the Zentangle method helps them and the attendees. “It’s a great way to stay present,” shared Ms. McGraff. After showing that she chose to draw out of the boundary with her Zentangle, Ms. Donato added “It’s a good way to practice not being a perfectionist and let the patterns go where they go.”

The club meets every Wednesday at 11 am on zoom, the link can be found on the foothill events website. They are open to any student looking for a place to relieve stress and create.

Transferring From A Community College One Student’s Experience

By Tamar Grosskopf

For many students coming to Foothill College is a step towards the ultimate goal of transferring to a four-year university. As many students know, this process can be extremely daunting, not only because the process of applying can be confusing and unfamiliar but also because of the anxiety that comes with being introduced to a new social and academic climate.

During the first two years of college in a four-year university, students begin to build connections with peers and faculty, understanding how their university’s social systems work, as well as being able to navigate and form connections within their major. For a transfer student, coming into this sounds terrifying. Transfer students fear that although they may be thriving in a community college such as Foothill, they will not be able to ‘catch-up’ to students who have spent the duration of their higher education at an institution.

Through my time exploring this idea, I had the opportunity to talk to a former California community college student and current Sacramento State Senior, Emma Hall. Hall is a transfer student who began her higher education journey at Diablo Valley College and transferred to Sacramento State University two years ago as a Journalism major. Hall was kind enough to answer some of my inquiries about her experience at SAC State and her achievements after transferring.

Discovering one’s interests and joining clubs, attending events, and connecting through these shared interests, according to Hall, is a fantastic way to build a strong community and advance in a given field and acclimate after transferring.

Hall shared that going after her passion is where she truly found a community. For Emma, her community and where she has been able to progress in her major and career was at The State Hornet (The Hornet), SAC States newspaper founded by students in 1949, covering topics from racial disparity to food critiques. “One of the best things I could’ve gotten out of the State Hornet was kind of like a second family, which is totally like a cliche, right?” said Hall. “But we are all very close to one another”

But Hall did not begin her time at SAC state knowing that she would build such great connections and get the same if not more op-

portunities than students who spent the duration of their college experience at Sacramento State. “I am a first-gen student so it’s kinda hard to navigate what you wanna do” said Hall. “I was encouraged by my advisor to go to SAC State as he was an alum”

Although at first, she was unsure of where to transfer or what her experience would be like, during her time at SAC State, Hall has built quite a portfolio. She is currently NPR’s Diverse Sources intern as well as The Hornets News Editor and has featured her work in KQED, High Country News, POLITICO, NPR, and of course, The State Hornet.

Transferring will, for many, require a transition period; however, transferring does not necessarily mean you will ‘be behind.’ Hall is a great representation that although many have established relationships and a portfolio, transfer students still have the opportunities to join a community and excel in their major.

Exploring your interests, going to meetups, and putting yourself out there (even if it seems scary) is how you will build a community for yourself and begin networking for your career. Hall is an example of just one student who has thrived after transferring, but thousands upon thousands are reaching their academic and social goals. Venturing out into the unknown will always be anxiety inducing, but you never know what you’ll be able to achieve if you do not take the steps to find out.

Emma Hall shared that she plans to graduate this May, stating that she will greatly miss her friends and the community she has built for herself at SAC State. She plans to continue writing with the goal of working for a news publication.

Learning Disabilities and Higher Education

By Sophie Singh

Nearly 19% of college students have a learning disability. While 94% of students with disabilities receive accommodations throughout their K-12 journeys, yet only 17% receive accommodations in postsec ondary education, the remainder experi encing difficulties obtaining support. 72% of parents find it challenging to find infor mation about college disability services for their kids.

According to the California Depart ment of Education 2020-2021 Data Sum mary, only 68% of students with disabil ities will complete high school, and over 72% will take five years to graduate. Of 6.7 million, only 18% hold a bachelor’s de gree, considerably lower than 36% of the general population.

These students can receive an equitable education with appropriate academic, so cial, and emotional support.

Bill S.2550 was submitted by Senator Robert P Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania on July 29th, 2021, to amend the Higher Educa tion Act of 1965 to provide students with disabilities, and their families, with access to critical information needed to select the right college and succeed once enrolled. This Act cites as the “Respond, Innovate, Succeed, and Empower (RISE) Act of 2021”.

This bill would streamline the process to qualify for disability services. Requiring colleges to accept various forms of documentation of a disability, such as Individualized Education Program (IEP), 504 plans, doctor notices, psychologist evaluations, and to report data on students with disabilities in the Integrated Postsecondary Data System. The Act would also provide

Behind WLC’s doors

By Justin Allahyari

WLC — Writing & Language Center

— on the surface is just a place to receive tutoring. While this is true for the most part, the WLC offers a variety of services from psychology research papers, a cover letter for an internship, or even Spanish conversation practice. It distinguishes itself by fostering a community that understands the student struggle.

Being an open-door space is Vanessa Santillan-Nieto’s intention, program coordinator of the WLC.

“I want to be accessible to students because as a student before myself, I feel like I struggled to connect with people and researchers because I always had to make an appointment, I always had to navigate all these systems and I want to be [the opposite] of that.”

She adds how she “always wants students to feel welcome to just come, and at least be like ‘hey, I’m so-and-so, can I meet with you?’ I’m like, ‘sure let’s do it’ or ‘no, I can’t right now, but let’s look at a time that works for us’ so it’s really an open-door collaborative space.”

Services provided by the WLC are free and open to all who are enrolled on campus. These services are available to all Foothill students both online and in-person. For those of you who may feel intimidated, the WLC will work with you to make sure you get the support you need. “I understand how overwhelming it could be and intimidating if you’ve never been in a higher education institution, they’re throwing a bunch of resources and services at you, and it could be a lot.” Vanessa and her team will help you navigate the in-person tutoring experience, or the online experience through a one-on-one zoom session to help you learn and navigate the Canvas site.

The WLC wouldn’t be the community that it is if it weren’t for the collaboration with student staff; ran by students, for students — We have a voice in the decision making of the WLC. Vanessa mentions how she really enjoys her work through collaboration. “I also get feedback because I’m serving them [students], the service is for students.” She wants the student staff to “feel like they have a say in what we do, or at least that their feedback is valuable.”

The WLC, in addition to its namesake, is a space to come and collaborate with other faculty or peers, whether it’s through a tutoring session or just dropping by to use the facilities. “Our center is like a hub for connections,” said Vanessa. It is a place where you can put projects together and collaborate with both students and professors. “That’s how I like to see it because there’s not a lot of buildings on campus where students can just come

education.

The statistics speak for themselves; continued advocacy on the postsecondary level for students with disabilities is still greatly needed.

As a community, we can help! Congress is currently negotiating for next year’s federal budget, which means now is the time to have our voice heard and urge Members of Congress to invest in students

and use as a study space”, adding that “It’s either you’re at the library or you’re like literally outside.”

Even if you have adept writing skills, Vanessa says WLC still has something for you. “You can come if you have writer’s block, you are writing a cover letter for a job or an internship, and you’re like ‘I’ve never written a cover letter,’” not to mention the Spanish conversation services. Vanessa adds that sessions can be brief or they can last up to an hour depending on your liking.

Students shouldn’t be sleeping on the WLC, “It’s a big learning community. Yeah,

with disabilities and sponsor the RISE ACT. By submitting letters of support through the organization NCLD – National Center for Learning Disabilities – we can continue to advocate for an equitable education for all. Their website is www.NCLD.org/RISEACT.

there is a focus in writing, of course, but there’s so much more.”

If you’re still asking if the WLC is for you, Vanessa encourages you to

“Just come visit us! You almost have to be here to feel it.”

Vanessa Santillan-Nieto standing infront of the WLC

Photo taken by Justin Allahyari

Kids’ Mental Health is in Crisis: Here’s What’s Going on in the Bay Area

By Anna Lindahl

T he COVID-19 pandemic’s aftereffects have been demonstrated to have a significant negative impact on young people’s mental health. However, American youth have been suffering for a lot longer. On top of mounting worries about social media, psychologists say that children being exposed to aggressive behavior at an earlier age than before is a driving factor. Not to mention the typical ups and downs of youth and adolescence: lack of sleep, greater financial strain on parents, and decreased parental involvement. The statistics on adolescent health and academic achievement in the US are extremely worrying. Seventy-five percent of mental health illnesses appear before the age of 25, with 50 percent beginning before the age of 14. Half of adolescents meet the criteria for a mental disorder at some point, and 79% of youth and young adults with mental health issues do not access care. There is something lacking in the care for young people, as evidenced by the high rates of depression, alcohol and drug misuse, teen pregnancies, juvenile violence, and low college graduation rates when compared to other developed nations. Adolescent welfare in the United States requires a new culture that fosters opportunity, adaptation, and skill development for a seamless transition into adulthood.

The Stanford Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing is dedicated to leading a new national vision for adolescent and young adult wellness and mental health support. Teenagers in the US are reportedly under more stress than ever. Teenagers reported more stress than adults in a 2013 poll, and many also said that stress had left them feeling overwhelmed, unhappy, or sad (Bethune, 2014).

Dr. Steven Adelsheim, director of the Stanford Medicine Center for Youth Mental Health and Well-Being, addresses the need for access to mental health

resources, how they are meeting that need, and how families may get started.

In an interview conducted by CBS News, Adelsheim points out the importance of the need to get rid of the stigma associated with mental health and take action to start asking for help. “We know that early intervention works just as well for mental health conditions as it does for any medical related issue,” Adelsheim says. But the reality of the matter is that there is a lack of support and access to professional care, and there are not enough resources to step in and provide early treatment.

The era between the ages of 12 and 25 is the final crucial chance to impact the healthy development of our young people since the adolescent brain is particularly pliable to both good and negative influences (Steinberg, 2014). Therefore, the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford has laid the foundation for the development of a national initiative for youth. They have expertise in early mental health support, the creation of self-regulation tools, school mental health, and suicide prevention.

Stanford aims to set an example for the nation in terms of how to better assist our young people in navigating the transition to adulthood and reaching their full poten

tial as adults by developing an innovative health system and a new culture of health for the adolescent and young adult population. “We are working in partnership to create programs called Allcove, which are spaces for young people that are developed by and for young people,” says Adelsheim.

Allcove are centers where young people ages 12 to 25 can, on their own terms, access a variety of emotional, physical, and social support services. This comprehensive approach is used at each center, with consideration given to the particular requirements of the local youth and community. As of right now, Allcove is up and running in Midtown Palo Alto, but numerous centers, including those in Sacramento, San Mateo, and South Orange County, are under various phases of development.

As college students, the topic of mental health is a major concern and one that is not discussed often enough. Taking a course in stress management might not always be enough if there is a deeper underlying issue. To be able to succeed, it is very important to take care of one’s mental health, and Foothill College is on top of the game with the various opportunities they offer their students.

If you don’t feel comfortable or have the ability to drive yourself all the way over to an Allcove, look no further. Foothill Mental Health Resources offers both drop-in and virtual appointments as well as booked appointments. But if it is 2 a.m. and you cannot fall asleep or you just need to talk to someone, you can download the app TimelyCare, which offers free 24/7 mental health support. TimelyCare provides 12 sessions of 45 minutes each per year. In addition students at Foothill have access to tbh, short for “to be honest,” an online resource for mental health. TBH is a terrific place for you to establish a mental health routine because you can virtually schedule as many weekly checkins with any therapist as you’d like. Foothill is very ahead of the game when it comes to offering mental health services for students, so even if you don’t feel like you need them, you are encouraged to look into them. As research has shown, the ages of 12 and 25 are the final crucial window to impact the healthy development of both good and negative influences.

Opinion

The drowsy epidemic: why have we normalized having terrible sleep hygiene?

By Danny Nguyen

M any of us complain about feeling tired every day. And yet, that same group is also repelled by the idea of sleeping properly. Some of us turn to abusing highly-potent stimulants, like caffeine. Others embrace it as a social gimmick: “I only slept 4 hours!”, a statement that seems to lift the sleep-deprived corpse high onto a pedestal rather than the opposite direction.

To put it kindly, I think this attitude toward sleep is disastrous. And let’s be real – it’s almost always us STEM majors. Welcome to STEM, where how little sleep you get is a portrait framing just how hard you work, a sure-fire prognostication reflecting how far you will go in life! But in reality, we aren’t staying up until 2:00 - 3:00 AM because we’re just fantastically studious. Many of us are staying up that late because we neglect our sleep in favor of late-night Discord calls and catching up on homework.

I notice that a considerable amount of Foothill students have held onto their high school study habits. I’ve definitely retained those habits during my few first quarters at Foothill myself, which went something like this: the night before the exam, I’ll tell myself that Galvanic cells and colligative properties are definitely just common sense, and decide that returning to watch videos like “First Time Smoking Weed Captured in Slow Motion” on YouTube is the sensible thing to do. Then, usually around midnight and halfway through “Guess Who’s White”, I suddenly realize my lapse in judgment in not studying earlier. So, hours before the exam, I begin. Allow me to introduce the South Korean college entrance exam. The Suneung is a notoriously challenging and riveting exam for young South Koreans. It is the source of nearly 100,00 “cram classes’’, or hagwon. Korea JoongAng Daily reports that “23.4 trillion won ($18.9 billion) was spent on private tutoring in Korea’’. In essence, a hagwon is like Kumon, except you’re there from 5:00 PM to 12:00 AM and cops are literally patrolling streets to make sure no student comes home too late after attending a hagwon.

When the average South Korean high school student studies anywhere “...between 12 to 16 hours per day” (InterNations), we need to start asking ourselves if the time demands of school isultimately setting the nation’s kids up for long term health problems. The 2022 article titled South Korea: Why so many struggle to sleep, published by the BCC, reveals a disturbing truth about the nation, “South Korea is one of the most sleep deprived nations on earth. It also has the highest suicide rate among developed nations, the highest consumption of hard liquor and a huge number of people on antidepressants.”

As students at an American institution, it demonstrates how there’s no real justification for staying up so late compared to South Korean high schooler’s whose futures more heavily depend on it. We need to begin taking more ownership of our own health, as when it comes to health, sleep is paramount – especially when we’re in a privileged situation wherein the prestige of our college and our grades don’t as heavily determine the fate of our lives. When the average

South Korean high school student studies anywhere “...between 12 to 16 hours per day” (InterNations), we should know that we need to do better with our relative freedom.

So the obvious takeaway is this: students aren’t getting enough sleep. The Korea Herald reports that the average Korean high school student “...sleep[s] an average of 5 hours and 27 minutes a night”.

Overseas, the CDC reports that “72.7% [of American high school students] did not get enough sleep on school nights”.

Indeed, there is an epidemic of sleep deprivation amongst students. In 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics declared sleep deprivation in teenagers as a public health epidemic. The implication being that it is harmful to a large number of people, and in this case, the health consequences affect students globally. Sleep deprivation can lead to a higher risk for neurodegenerative diseases (like Alzheimer’s), immune system deterioration, heart disease, kidney disease, and literally hundreds more that have probably paid for your local health insurance rep-

resentative’s house and weekend Porsche. Although, as students, two such consequences are especially relevant: the effect it has on our mental health and our ability to learn.

Dr. Rafael Pelayo, a Clinical Professor of Sleep Medicine at Stanford School of Medicine, speaks passionately about the connection between sleep and mental health in his talk “Sleep Disorders in Adolescents: How can they sleep when their world is raging?”

“Insufficient sleep is connected to several problems, including depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, risky behaviors, and suicide”, Dr. Pelayo explains.

Pelayo wasn’t messing around. With a total of 172,077 participants, one metastudy analyzed 34 cohort studies that studied the effects of insomnia on depression (insomnia is characteristically the same as deliberately staying awake, rather than the clinical inability to fall asleep at a normal time). It found that “...participants with insomnia, compared to those free of it, experienced more than a two-fold risk to develop depression” (Li, Wu, et al). “We [also] sleep to help us learn”, Dr. Pelayo also explains. “Sleep is strongly tied to learning.”

Here, Pelayo refers to sleep’s essential role in memory consolidation and learning. An article by the Sleep Foundation explains that during sleep, “..the brain [sorts] through your various memories from the previous day, filtering out important memories and eliminating other information.” Without adequate sleep, our brains retain less, have trouble focusing, don’t regulate emotions as well, and make less sensible decisions.

We live in yet another sleepless epidemic. Though, that does not mean we cannot start adapting better student habits. We can start realizing that our social media feeds aren’t going to be that interesting at 2 AM, going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, creating a wind-down routine before retiring to bed, and overall just taking ownership of your life that so heavily depends on sleeping well. Let’s make our lives more enriching by taking our sleep hygiene a little more seriously. I promise it’s possible.

The Forgotten Pandemic: The Age of Loneliness

Opinion

By Griffin O’Shea

“Loneliness is my least favorite thing about life. That thing that I’m most worried about is just being alone without anybody to care for or someone who will care for me.”

- Anne Hathaway

T he Covid-19 Pandemic destroyed our collective way of life, and we as a society are slowly putting the pieces back together. Dreams were put on hold, friendships were lost to the sands of time, and motivation has been at an all-time low. The pandemic as we know it has passed, and yet the sense of being alone still remains. You’re not alone, millions of Americans across all ages are experiencing loneliness at record highs never before seen in our nation’s history.

Loneliness has been steadily increasing for many years now, but the pandemic caused the number of people reporting feeling lonely or unloved to jump dramatically. In a research study conducted by Ipsos and commissioned by Cigna between July and August of 2019 reported: 58% of respondents say they always or sometimes feel like no one knows them well, up four percentage points from 2018 (54%) [Previously Commissioned Study]. 52% report sometimes or always feeling alone, up six percentage

points from 2018 (46%). 47% report their relationships with others are not meaningful (47% vs. 43% in 2018). 45% say they sometimes or always feel that they are no longer close to anyone (2018: 39%).

This data is especially frightening when you remember that it was collected before the Covid-19 Pandemic. As expected, the data shows that Covid-19 exacerbated the loneliness epidemic, but the increase was still staggering. The Roots of Loneliness Project reported through an anonymous independent survey conducted between April and May of 2020 that before the Coronavirus 20.7% of participants said they felt lonely, and during the pandemic that number jumped to 58.1%. That’s an increase of 181%, nearly three out of five people saying they are lonely. Even taking into account that a study like this would be more likely to attract those who are already feeling the symptoms of loneliness, the fact that 606 participants out of a total 1043 described themselves as lonely is still something to take note of.

Loneliness isn’t “merely a feeling.” Loneliness can cause serious health-related issues in the long run. The U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Hallegere Murthy, discussed the “Invisible Cost” of the pandemic on The View in 2023, saying “Loneliness increases your risk for anxiety and depression. It also increases your risk for heart disease and other physical illnesses. And it turns out that the mortality impact of lacking social connection

is similar to the mortality impact of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It’s greater than the mortality impact of obesity.” The Surgeon General also mentions that the younger generation is more adversely affected by loneliness in the United States.

The Roots of Loneliness Project during the same study on loneliness discovered that before the pandemic 24.3% of millennials reported feeling a sense of loneliness, and after the pandemic that number shot up to 61.8%—an increase of 154%. Gen X and baby boomers were also drastically affected by the pandemic. Gen X went from 16.6% before the pandemic to 53.6% (222% increase), and baby boomers went from 15.7% to 50.8% (224% increase) respectively. The pandemic as we knew it might be over, but the damage has been done. The lingering feelings of loneliness that were hidden in plain sight got thrust into the open, forcing our nation to acknowledge the problem.

So what resources can Foothill Students take advantage of to combat this? Registered Foothill students can make an appointment for therapy at no additional cost at the Student Resource Center (SRC) Building 5400. Foothill also works with TimelyCare, so students can register and make an appointment online free of charge, twenty-fours a day, seven days a week. Foothill also works with tbh = To Be Honest, an online mental health support group. You’ll be able to have one on one coaching with a licensed therapist once

a week, and you can participate in multiple group sessions a week. Something very important to note, tbh therapy sessions don’t count towards your Foothill Psychological Services Counseling session limit. So don’t worry about applying to one or more of these options, they are independent of one another. For students looking to meet and interact with other students there are always clubs looking for more members. Choose from a variety of options online, and meet with clubs in person. If you aren’t able to find a club you’re looking for on campus, don’t worry. You can contact the Inter Club Council (ICC) to reactivate a previously existing club or create a new one. Check out the ICC webpage for more details. However, if you are nervous to start or join a club, or not be able to attend regularly due to a hectic schedule, there are outside services perfect for students. I personally recommend Meetup—it’s free and easy. Meetup is highly flexible, allowing individuals to opt in to user-created events, so if you can’t commit due to a variety of reasons but still want to establish a group of like-minded individuals, you can.

It’s alright to be nervous about reintegrating back into society, there are millions struggling with this issue. Just be aware that there are a variety of services and groups here to help, so take as much time as you need—they’ll be waiting for you.

TORONTO STAR

South Korean students at a hagwon.

Has technology made things too easy?

By Justin Allahyari

If a tool can do in a few seconds what takes you 30 minutes, then you’d be a fool not to use it, right? Although it is tempting to use ChatGPT, it may not be the best course of action for you or the rest of humanity, since it does for us what we do to learn. Using Ai’s such as ChatGPT for a one-off assignment is negligible, but using it for everything has significant repercussions.

In order to gain a better understanding into the potential consequences ChatGPT may have on learning Psychology Professor Ben Stefonik was interviewed.

AI’s such as ChatGPT may make it tempting to skip out on work; however there are

consequences, other than getting caught, that students should consider. “We know that in order to learn something you have to ‘do’ it; you can’t become a good writer by just evaluating the quality of an essay produced by ChatGPT. You have to produce the sentences, and it has to come from your brain,” said Stefonik. Adding that “experience and practice is so incredibly important to developing skills in your brain.”

This fact, however, won’t stop people from using ChatGPT. And why should they? One’s writing ability will not be as important once AI’s such as ChatGPT enter the workplace. However one must consider the fact that writing has crossover with other skills. The essays we learn in school teaches us many things; for instance, how to make a claim and support it.

The individual parts of our brain are like muscles and, if AI does all the heavy lifting, the parts that are underused will atrophy. Stefonik raised a concern with AI’s unique ability to do things for us that are more prominent within one’s life. He compared it to the calculator, “It’s very important [the calculator]. But the vast majority of people don’t need to include high level mathematics in their life, whereas basically almost everyone needs to be able to communicate with language.” Adding that “We’re also talking about a cognitive area that is much more widely utilized, in terms of communicating in society and getting along, than

Foothill College Science Learning Institute

Science Learning Institute is a program at Foothill that focuses on supporting students from underrepresented backgrounds majoring in STEM disciplines. They offer all types of opportunities for students in STEM such as their learning community PRE-STEM, their school-year and summer internships, and events. SLI also offers a weekly newsletter with opportunities for all STEM majors from inside and outside of Foothill, like internships, jobs, events, and other opportunities. There is also the SLI website which is a wealth of information, including updated information about Foothill’s STEM clubs, tips for creating your resume, the Foothill Physics Show, and so much more!

One of the best things about SLI is their vibrant and unique community. Their passionate students are eager to learn and share their knowledge with others and are a diverse group of people from various backgrounds, ages, and majors, but all united by STEM. The SLI hosts various fun events for their community during the school year, including workshops, guest speakers, and STEM-related gatherings! These events foster a sense of belonging and provide opportunities to connect with like-minded people. Most importantly, the SLI community offers a supportive environment for learning. They have resources and opportunities to help all students, whether in their first year or about to graduate, along their STEM pathway.

The Program for Readiness and Exploration in STEM (PRE-STEM) is a learning community at Foothill College focused on increasing the persistence and retention of students, especially from underrepresented groups, in STEM fields. The program goals are for students to explore STEM fields to get a better idea of what to major in. PRE-STEM is targeted to new students to Foothill College who do not have any previous degrees and are entering college for the first time.

In the SLI internships, Foothill College students will have an opportunity to gain experience under the guidance of a project mentor in institutions and companies such as biotech startups, Stanford University, San Jose State University, and tech companies in the Bay Area. They offer paid summer and winter quarter internships for students from underrepresented backgrounds interested in gaining hands-on experience in research or industry in many STEM disciplines. Interns gain valuable skills, build their resumes, and contribute to important work in their chosen STEM field.

SLI organizes events on its own and in collaboration with others to increase visibility of issues of equity and diversity in STEM. One example is their STEM Equity Seminars for Owls (SESO) talks, where you’ll hear from speakers in many different STEM careers talk about their professional and college pathway as well as their current work and research.

SLI welcomes students to get involved in any way they can, if you would like to be involved and find out more about their programs check out the links below to their website, newsletter, instagram, and discord server!

Website: foothill.edu/sli/

Newsletter: tinyurl.com/fhslinewsletter

Instagram: @fh_sli

Discord: discord.gg/G7X7VbmN8z

10 years after ChatGPT mathematics.”

So will humanity devolve into people of WALL-E, having AI’s do everything for them? Well, maybe. The cat has been let out of the bag. AI is only going to get better from here, so it’s best to try to understand the consequences in an effort to get ahead of it. However, it’s important to remember that we made it this far in humanity’s relentless quest for technological advancement.

pact. “I do think there is a risk; I don’t think society’s going to fall apart. I think people are going to continue to learn, people are going to continue to be motivated and continue to want to thrive and make their mark on the world. That’s part of the human spirit,” Stefonik said. “But I do think there is the real possibility that it could shift the entire population curve downward just a little bit in terms of developing their verbal abilities.”

Possible self experiential

STEMentors Silicon Valley has partnered with Foothill College and the Science Learning Institute to host the 2023 “Possible Self” STEAM Experiential at Foothill College Los Altos Campus, Thursday April 27th, through Saturday, April 29th, 2023.

The mission of the “Possible Self” experiential is to stimulate and increase the interest of our youth and to empower and inspire all kids about careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. The workshops are intended to help college students explore their career paths in a world where Artificial Intelligence is fundamentally changing the way we work and the jobs we can choose from, and to also help them explore the ethics and the Humanity of Artificial Intelligence.

“Possible Self” is a family event unlike any other and we want to invite all students and their families to come and enjoy our fun loving, hands-on exciting demonstrations, engaging experiences, geeky games, historical exhibits, stage performances and other astounding activities for all ages! This super-charged, super-fun celebration will also include tons of interactive activities and experientials in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence coding. This will also be a great opportunity to meet local scientists and engineers, ranging from NASA Astronauts to internet game coders, and an exclusive, handpicked group of organizations, companies, and visionaries, whose aim is to empower and inspire all kids about careers in STEM and the Arts, all offered at no cost to the attendees nor to the exhibitors/vendors.

Possible Self events:

Thursday April 27, 2023

AI and the future of work

Friday April 28, 2023

AI Ethics—The Good, The Bad, and Technology

Saturday April 29, 2023

STEM Expo (K-20)

If you’re interested in volunteering or hosting a table, please fill out this sign up form!

The theme this year is “Artificial Intelligence (AI), retention and equity”.This event will be an extreme STEM Experiential/Expo for all the Bay Area’s Elementary, Middle and High school students and their families. All students are invited, but we are targeting students from inner-city, under-represented, and underserved communities who are least exposed to STEM field(s) and less likely to see people in their neighborhoods that are in the STEM fields they relate to. This year, we will have both outdoor booths and indoor rooms that have opportunities for hands-on learning, displays, and seminars with games, shows and knowledgeable professionals ready to interest kids of all ages in STEM. Our hope is that these exhibits will ignite student’s curiosity through, experientials, storytelling, and live demonstrations. While these experientials and exhibits offer all the details of almost any topic you could name, the STEM stage is where the big action takes place. STEM role models and speakers from up and down the state of California will take to the STEM Stage with STEM-focused talks, performances, and more hands-on demonstrations.

Artificial Intelligence is just starting to take its first steps, especially in early education that can easily benefit underserved students; we do this by aligning and growing resources to support high-impact, mentor-led STEM learning opportunities at key points in our accessible K-20 pipeline. Artificial Intelligence, (AI) has the potential to ‘help’ create racial equality for the future. However, increasing diversity is critical to developing AI that can overcome racial disparities.

A workshop intended to help college students explore their career paths in a world where Artificial Intelligence is fundamentally changing the way we work and the jobs we can choose from.

As the field of artificial intelligence expands, we continue to ask ourselves, “Is this ethical?” “What are the impacts on humanity?” “How will our society be affected by this powerful technology?”

Please join the Foothill-De Anza Center for Applied Humanites for a day with guest speakers to discuss these pressing issues and grapple with the ethics of technology for our future.

STEMentors “Possible Self” is an Extreme STEM Experiential for the K-20 student group — and specifically for those that are under-represented, underserved and under-supported in the STEM communities.

(WALT DISNEY PICTURES/PIXAR)

Data Science in Elections

By Abhay Behera

There is one goal every campaign is focused on and that is, “How can I convince the most people to vote for me with the least amount of resources?” Traditional methods of mass targeting with large events and campaigns generally run on intuition have been fairly hit or miss. However, recently, microtargeting and catering to specific voters are now considered the only options. Campaigns are now fought much more on a digital front,

PRINCIPIA PRINCIPIA PRINCIPIA

with social media advertisements, taking the forefront of these online campaigns. In 2020, over half of all Americans got news from social media, and a third of them turned to Facebook. Facebook has been under fire for years due to their questionable methods of data gathering. Problems begin to arise when this data could get into the wrong hands. Many point to Cambridge Analytica, a campaign consulting agency that was accused of playing a crucial role in the˛ 2016 elections in favor of Trump, as an example of the dangers Facebook’s data could bring. However, the first time data science was heavily relied upon, was in Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. While Obama somewhat used data science in 2008, his team was somewhat hesitant to fully entrust their campaign strategy to such new technology. In 2012 however, Jim Messina, Obama’s campaign manager, decided to entirely focus his campaign strategies based on the data. Obama’s data scientists, a.k.a “The Cave”, spent over 18 months collecting and cleaning vast amounts of data searching for commonalities with voters. However, they soon realized there wasn’t much use in finding insignificant

correlations between tastes in shows or magazines. Instead, they turned to the Democratic National Committee’s immense voter database. Using the DNC’s data, they were able to measure 4 main characteristics: how likely someone was to vote, how supportive they were of Obama, how much persuasion they needed to vote, and how much persuasion they needed to support Obama. By using these metrics, they were able to predict which states were going to win and by how much with incredible precision. However, more importantly, they were also able to target which voters would require persuasion to vote or support Obama. This information was incredibly effective, especially in swing states.

In Florida, one of the primary swing states, Obama and Romney fought an intense battle. The polls continued to favor Romney, yet in the last few weeks of the election, Dan Wagner, the chief officer of The Cave, was able to detect hundreds of thousands of discouraged voters (voters who could easily be persuaded to vote). They made thousands of calls, emails, and talked to voters doorto-door. They knew which areas to target and were able to gain 250,000 new voters, 80 percent of whom supported Obama. They repeated these tactics in other decisive states like Ohio and Wisconsin. While they did use some amount of personal information, to specifically cater messages to different voters, Dan Wagner and other officials heavily downplayed the importance of this data. Instead, their focus was on voter databases and who people would vote for, or if they’d even vote at all. However, four years later, Cambridge Analytica, would revolutionize digital campaigns.

To understand Cambridge Analytica’s involvement in the 2016 elections, there are 3 questions we need to ask: how did Cambridge Analytica collect

the data? What data did they collect? And most importantly, what did they use the data for? To find out how Cambridge Analytica collected the data, we first need to understand what Cambridge Analytica is, and we can start by looking at co-founder and former CEO, Alexander Nix. He was heavily involved in several campaigns in Africa and Europe and was even accused of playing a hand in the Vote Leave Campaign (Britain’s exit from the European Union, more commonly known as Brexit). He used dubious techniques to influence the public through social media and other digital marketing campaigns. Cambridge Analytica was originally hired by Ted Cruz to handle nearly all aspects of his online campaign. They were able to amass vast amounts of data on over 60 million voters. To accomplish this, they partnered with Aleksandr Kogan, a renowned psychologist, in 2014. He created a short, seemingly innocuous personality quiz and paid Facebook users a few bucks to take it. Here’s the catch, to take the personality quiz, people had to sign in with their Facebook account. This allowed Kogan to access all of the user’s personal data that Facebook stored. Kogan didn’t stop there. He was also able to grab their friends’ private information as well, friends who haven’t even heard about the test. Each test taken got Kogan vast amounts of data from sometimes hundreds of people. Less than 300,000 tests were needed for Cambridge Analytica to access nearly half of all voters’ private information. Facebook viewed this technique of data gathering as acceptable, as Kogan did not access any passwords. However, they did say it was a breach of trust as Kogan claimed the test was for academic research but failed to mention he also sold the data to Cambridge Analytica. This led to a mass investigation which closed on December 23rd, 2022, resulting in Meta, facebook’s parent company, paying 725 million dollars.

We’ve now established how Cambridge Analytica was able to collect their substantial data sets on millions of voters. But exactly what data did they collect? Herein lies the main difference between Dan Wagner’s “Cave’’ collection of data and Cambridge Analytica’s. While The Cave arguably had data on more people, Cambridge Analytica searched beyond crude voter information and went straight to the heart of the person. They denounced demographics, age, ethnicity, etc, as not nearly precise enough to conduct accurate data analysis of determining people’s responses to marketing strategies. Christopher Wylie, a former employee of Cambridge Analytica stated in an interview, “We wouldn’t just target you as a voter [which is what previous campaigns like Obama’s 2012 campaign had done], but we’d target you as a personality,”. They searched for 5 psychographics in individuals: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism, a.k.a (O.C.E.A.N). Kogan combined the test results and Facebook data to properly assess each of these traits. For example, they could determine how extroverted someone was by seeing how many Facebook friends they have, or how many times they frequent bars or other social places. Or they could see how neurotic someone was based on how many times they liked or commented on certain posts. All of this data allowed Kogan to create accurate psychometric models of millions of individuals. So far, we’ve covered how Cambridge Analytica collected data and what type of data they collected. This is where the third, sadly incredibly complex piece of the puzzle fits in: What did they do with your data? Originally, they were hired by Ted Cruz, Donald Trump’s rival in the primaries. They completely transformed his campaign, using Facebook and other digital ads tailored to specific audiences, yet were clearly unsuccessful. Steve Bannon, Trump’s infamous campaign advisor, was another co-founder of Cambridge Analytica. He introduced them to many individuals working on Trump’s campaign. While there is ample evidence suggesting Cambridge Analytica’s partnership with the Trump campaign (whistleblower statements as well as confirmed meetings and agreements), it is still unclear how large of a part they played in getting him elected. Trump himself argued that data is overrated, preferring to use more traditional methods. During the height of the scandal, many news outlets and sources also inflated the actual influence Cambridge Analytica had, after all, Alexander Nix, the CEO himself bragged how they were solely responsible for Trump’s win. However, after the fallout, it’s still unclear how much the Trump campaign actually used Cambridge Analytica’s infamous data.

Where does that leave us? While data science is an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to elections, it

Continued on the next page.

GROWING FIELD AND STAY AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE LATEST TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS WITH INDEPTH ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS FROM INDUSTRY EXPERTS

UK and Greece Discuss Conflict Over Parthenon Marbles

By Kimberly Wing

Home to over 8 million artifacts from around the world, the British Museum was founded in 1753 and has acquired a jaw-dropping number of precious artifacts thanks to the British Empire’s expeditions.

In fact, the British Museum can only display around 80,000 objects at a time, which is only 1% of its entire collection. The institution houses renowned artifacts, such as the Rosetta Stone, which helped translate ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, and Hoa Hakananai’a, a moai which represents the aringa ora (the “living faces of the ancestors”) from Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Many of these artifacts were taken from their countries of origin during the British expeditions to these countries. Today, several countries continue to demand the British Museum return their artifacts, as many were unjustly stolen and represent historical oppression under the occupation of the British Empire.

“[Countries such as India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh] have a historical, structural disadvantage vis-à-vis Europe,” said Pakistani historian Ammar Ali Jan in the Vice World News article, Why These Former British Colonies Want $45 Trillion in Reparations From the Royal Family. “We’re still caught in a historical cycle of 250 years of plunder and structural poverty.”

Conflicts over historical artifacts owned by the British is still an issue that taints the United Kingdom’s relationships with other nations. One of these controversial pieces includes the Parthenon Sculptures, otherwise known as the “Elgin Marbles” or the “Parthenon Marbles”, which were taken from Greece by the British in the early 19th century. Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin (otherwise known simply as Lord Elgin), who served as British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, decided to document Greek sculptures from the Acropolis of Ath-

ens. However, he ended up removing the marbles between 1801 and 1805, which were then sent to be displayed at the British Museum. The historical pieces remain on display today in one of the museum’s longest galleries.

The British Museum insists that Elgin’s acquisition of the Greek marbles was done legally.

“His actions were thoroughly investigated by a Parliamentary Select Committee in 1816 and found to be entirely legal, prior to the sculptures entering the collection of the British Museum by Act of Parliament,” The museum’s official website states about the marbles.

On the other hand, the Greek government argues that Lord Elgin illegally sawed off the Parthenon marbles, which exceeded the terms of a questionable permit granted by Turkish authorities during a time when Greece was unwillingly part of the Ottoman Empire.

“The violent detachment of the Parthenon Sculptures from their physical context and the architectural setting that they were part of vi-

olated the laws, the common sense of justice and the established morals at the time,” The Office of the Secretary General for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy in Athens said in ABC article, Who rightfully owns a country’s artifacts? Greece’s fight over Parthenon marbles spark debate.

Since January 2023, current chair of the British Museum George Osborne and Greece’s prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis have been discussing the possible return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece after decades of dispute. In a statement to the BBC, Osborne said that the marbles could be seen in both London and Athens, which would be “a winwin” for Greece and the UK. He added that he was “reasonably optimistic” about reaching an agreement, but also warned that “it may well not come to anything.”

“What we are calling for is an active ‘Parthenon partnership’ with our friends and colleagues in Greece,’’ Jonathan Williams, the British Museum’s deputy director, told the Sunday Times. “I firmly believe there is space for a really dynamic and positive conversation within which new ways of working together can be found.”

As an alternative to returning the marbles, along with other artifacts taken from British expeditions, the museum suggests loans to other institutions and countries rather than complete returns. This means that, although these objects will be on display at a different museum, the British Museum would still have technical ownership of these artifacts, and relics would have to be returned at some point later in time.

“The Elgin Marbles are the Crown Jewels of the British Museum – a national museum with a universal mission. We should feel proud of our ability to show them to the world in London. There is nothing to apologize for here.”

Sir Noel Malcolm, a senior research fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, said to the Daily Mail.

The reason why the British Museum often proposes loans rather than returns is partly due to the British Museum Act of 1963, which forbids the institution from removing any artifacts from its collection except for a few very specific circumstances. This includes if the object is a duplicate (and presumably not the original), if the object appears to not have been made earlier than 1850, or if the museum trustees deem the object unfit to be retained in the museum. In December 2022, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the British government said that there were no intentions of amending the British Museum Act.

“Recent siren calls by celebrity-backed campaigns funded by millionaire plastic magnates to give the marbles to Greece are misguided and dangerous and threaten to open the floodgates for the despoliation of our world institutions,” Tim Loughton, Chairman of the British Museum All-Party Parliamentary Group said.

Cultural artifacts held in Western museums have been a modern controversy. For instance, the bust of Nefertiti by Thutmose. The bust was discovered by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt during a 1912 Egyptian excavation, who claimed to have an agreement with the Egyptian government that would give them the rights to half his finds. Using this as justification, the bust was then smuggled out of Egypt into Germany, where it has been on display in the Neues Museum in Berlin since 1923. The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities has repeatedly asked Germany to return the bust or let it return to Egypt temporarily. However, Germany insists their ownership of Nefertiti is “without doubt”, and Berlin’s Egyptian Museum claims that even a brief loan may damage the bust.

“Sending [the Parthenon Marbles] back is a dangerous road to go down,” Michelle Donelan, Britain’s culture minister, told the BBC.

Regardless, the British Museum has garnered a reputation throughout the 20th and 21st centuries for insisting on loans rather than permanent returns of stolen artifacts, mostly taken through raids and occupations instilled by the British Empire. As of now, however, the British Museum and Greece, along with the aid of the United Kingdom’s government, are still discussing possible solutions for the return of the Parthenon Marbles: while Greece wants a complete return of the artifacts, the British Museum’s Act of 1963 prohibits this, and the institution’s policies insist that they obtained the marbles legally.

“We’re not going to dismantle our great collection as it tells a unique story of our common humanity,” The British Museum said in a statement in December 2022. “But we are seeking new positive, long-term partnerships with countries and communities around the world, and that of course includes Greece.”

Data Science in Elections cont.

is still relatively new. In the most recent 2020 election, even though previous methods have been improved upon, there haven’t been any significant increases in the use of data science in campaigns. Cambridge Analytica singlehandedly proved the risk and dangers of using extremely personal data in elections, and they ended up disbanding in 2018, after many leaked documents and investigative journalism efforts revealed many of the dark behindthe-scenes methods Nix used. However, many claim that while Cambridge Analytica and Alexander Nix have been villainized for assisting Trump’s campaign, Dan Wagner and his band of nerds have been widely regarded as heroes. While there is some obvious hypocrisy, Cambridge Analytica’s extreme misuse of individuals’ private data seemed to have crossed a line Wagner did not. It also tells a bigger story, that a private entity could access so much information on so many individuals and know

exactly who you are as a person. Facebook’s reputation has been irrevocably destroyed yet this problem still continues to persist. The internet is run on ads, and targeted ads make them much more valuable to companies. The real danger comes when a company isn’t selling a product anymore. Cambridge Analytica was selling us people who are going to impact billions of lives. Mark Turnbull, former managing director of Cambridge Analytica, revealed in an undercover interview, “It’s no good fighting an election campaign on the facts, because actually, it’s all about the emotion.” Cambridge Analytica seeks to uncover deep-rooted, underlying fears and they’re able to do it because of the large amounts of data Facebook and other social media sites store. While data science has certainly the potential to transform elections, it may not be for the better.

Greece wants a complete return of the sculptures, while Britain insists on a rotational loan.

Victim’s Rights in the Criminal Justice System Why It Affects You

By Brystol Beatley

America’s Criminal Justice System has become a national entertainment phenomenon in the last few decades consisting of true crime podcasts, TV shows, documentaries, and books. It’s the tension of wondering “did they do it?”.

It’s the thrill of freeing the innocent suspect in return for capturing the true criminal. The offender’s rights are strictly followed, debated, rehearsed, and presented in these stories.

Yet, changes have risen behind the scenes in the real legal world—tucked away from the glamor of true crime—that focuses on the establishment of victims’ rights in the criminal justice system. And as college students begin to enter the world, challenges are thrown to the youth left and right; taxes, jobs, real estate, and retirement funds. This critical area of law should be just as well known.

On November 4, 2008, citizens of California approved Proposition 9, the first litigation step towards enacting Marsy’s Law, which is the 17 enumerated rights addressed to victims and their families. It includes rights such as the right to be notified and attend proceedings. This is also extended to the right of the victim to be heard in the court process like the plea, sentencing, parole, and so on. Victims are also given the right to receive restitution from the offender for things like property damage, hospital bills, counseling expenses, etc.

With these rights among many others, victims are represented by men and women known as victim advocates. One such person

is Blanca Tapia, the Victim Services Unit Supervisor for San Mateo County’s DA Office. A San Jose State graduate with a master’s degree in psychology, she has held this position for 10 years.

Ms. Tapia had not always planned to enter the legal field, yet what she had always known for sure was that she wanted to help individuals who had undergone trauma. Before her occupation in the DA’s Office, she volunteered for the YWCA Rape Crisis Center in San Jose as a 24-hour hotline responder. “That volunteer experience gave me some good hands-on experience of what it is like to work in a field like this”, Tapia explained.“And I really thought it was important, meaningful work.”

Blanca Tapia’s responsibilities in this specific role are two-fold; a victim’s advocate and a supervisor of the unit. As an advocate, she is tasked with informing victims of violent crimes about their rights. This entails that she and other victim advocates hand them a physical copy of Marsy’s Law to read through, walk them through the process of the judicial system, and attend hearings and sentencings alongside them.

Her second role as a supervisor also incorporates other duties, such as assigning caseloads to her employees, training victim advocates, and speaking to other DA offices in collaboration for certain cases. Another facet of her position is supporting the 18 employees she supervises, who have a draining job due to the daily exposure to violent crime.

Another important aspect is aiding the individual in writing their victim impact statement to the California Victim Compensation Board which helps,“ get them [the victim] some financial assistance for very specific crime-related expenses” Tapia describes. She

highlighted that this program only pays for rigidly specific areas like counseling or medical expenses which leads her to address a problem with restitution; the formal process of the offender paying the victim back for the damage they caused. “The judge can order on a Saturday for you to pay this victim back $1,000. But if that offender is going to go to prison for the next five or ten years, he or she doesn’t have a job to pay the victim.” Tapia clarified that the “process has good intentions” but that many times the expectations of what should happen are not met.

One of the most intriguing things discussed was how, in the span of the Criminal Justice System, victims’ rights are relatively new. Tapia gave a prevalent example when working on a domestic violence case, where the victim wanted Ms. Tapia on the stand with her while testifying. Under Marsy’s Law, this is under the individual’s right, but it should be noted that the victim’s advocate is not allowed to talk or make any sort of expression. But the judge, not knowing why she was there with the victim, asked Tapia to step down from the witness stand. In the end, the judge was informed about this right under Marsy’s Law, and from that day forward “he would now make it a point to quote victim rights”, Tapia recalls. Generally, though, she said people in the legal field are, “a little bit more accepting of- you would think that is- Marsy’s Law. Everyone knows about it.”

But for victims and their families, this is not the case. Unfortunately, Tapia explained to me that the majority of the victims she comes across are not aware of their legal rights in the judicial process unless they have already been directly exposed to it. That is why victim advocates are incredibly important. It is not only

Misinformation, echo chambers, and how it protects radical political ideologies.

By Justin Allahyari

People’s confidence within News outlets has been on the decline for the past 4 decades. And it’s not hard to see why with the prevalence of biased news and the blatant attempts at misinformation. People are retreating into echo chambers that represent their views as they become increasingly skeptical of information put out by the media.

The democratic process requires an informed populace, a populace that can see arguments from all corners of the political compass. Citizens who swear blind loyalty to their respective echo chamber are left vulnerable to political entities that wish to manipulate for their own personal gain.

How people began to distrust the news.

In 1987 the FCC decided to repeal the “Fairness Doctrine”, which required news sources to present contrasting viewpoints on issues, which would mark the start of this trend.

Newsrooms began to only show one side of an issue, leaving their depiction unchallenged, and making it easier to slip in bias. Competition from social media, a platform plagued with sensationalism and misinformation, only made things worse. These factors encourage news outlets to disregard the “truth” and include bias to make a more entertaining product. People began to recognize this as shown in the data collected by Gallop Inc.

Consequently, echo chambers have formed, where viewers who received one-sided and biased information from one news source would become suspicious when hearing conflicting

information from another. When no opposing views are displayed to news consumers, viewers, those who subscribe to one source of media only have one reasonable world view to adopt.

Echo chambers are vulnerable to domination and blatant acts of misinformation.

Trump’s claims of ‘fake news’ strike so well with republicans since many news articles leaned left with a left bias to coincide. Many mainstream news outlets lean left while there are very few leaning right. Consequently, right viewership has become centralized within Fox, the most popular news organization overall with an average of 2.3 million primetime viewers. Fox’s lack of competition within the right allows them to make ‘fake news’ of their own.

In the filings for the dominion case against Fox, Tucker Carlson acknowledged the lack of evidence of rigged elections, saying that it was “shockingly reckless”. “If there’s no one inside the company willing to talk, or internal Dominion documents or copies of the software showing that they did it” -- “as you know there isn’t”. Carlson, however, would continue to spread doubt about the elections, eroding democracy. Just last month, Tucker Carlson of Fox tried to convince his own viewers into thinking that the Jan 6 capitol riots was just a tour. Who would challenge Fox? Like many outlets, Fox rarely brings anyone on air that provides counterarguments. Due to the nature of echo chambers, any outlet on the left who challenged their claims would be labeled as leftist ‘fake news’ and unable to reach Fox News’ target audience. Although this is most likely done for sensationalism, politicians can spread lies and manipulate the public as seen with Trump’s claims of rigged elections.

Radical ideologies can fly under the radar.

Echo chambers have also encouraged a twoway thinking politically, reminiscent of the leadup to WW2. Written in 1936 the article Mr. Dennis and His “American” Fascism, shows Lawrence Dennis’ argument for a fascist America, “But if we are not to have a Communist America, so the reasoning runs, we must have a Fascist America,” summed up by R.L. Duffus.

The echo chambers scream “Democrats are socialists” for wanting social services and that “Republicans are fascists” for exhibiting nationalism. Both statements, after losing all meaning from repeated far-reaching accusations from both sides, cast a benefit of the doubt upon individuals who truly exhibit these political ideologies, such as Trump.

Trump’s claims, unchallenged within echo chambers, would come at the detriment of minorities. When addressing the issue of unemployment, he pointed the finger at Mexicans for stealing jobs, instead of the government entities tasked with preventing such issues. The association of ethnic groups with current issues was repeated during the pandemic, when Trump repeatedly called COVID-19 a “chinese virus.” The association of Chinese people with a worldwide pandemic, consequently, elicits Asian hate. Blaming the country’s problems on ethnic groups incites prejudice and has been used throughout history by political parties to rally the country and garner support.

Henry A. Wallace – In a 1944 New York Times article titled Wallace Defines ‘American Fascism’ – hypothesized how an American fascist would rise to power, pointing out how “The American Fascist would prefer not to use violence. His method is to poison the channels of public information. With a Fascist the problem is never how best to present the truth to the public but how best to use the news to deceive the public into giving the Fascist and his group more money and power.” During this time, Fascism was in the minds of the public and people were worried of a potential emergence of this ideology within America. The prospect of fascism coming to America has since fallen out of the public consciousness, despite being more relevant than ever.

the lack of knowledge about Marsy’s Law but also the trauma that follows the crime and as Tapia described, “But then you also get, most people, who are so traumatized about what has happened to them, that they can’t always follow through or say, ‘I want to exercise my rights’ ”.

Why are the majority of people not aware of their rights as victims? Tapia believes it to be a lack of presence in the media. Rarely is there representation of a victim actively advocating for their rights, but rather the focus is on the offender, with juicy bits about how and why they committed the crime and whether or not they will get away with it. This occurs with both true crime outlets and fictional portrayals of the justice system as well.

Tapia’s closing remark was for young people, especially college students, to be aware of their rights and stay safe. Explicitly with drinking and driving, she said, “You just never think it’s going to happen to you.” That is why it is critical that everyone, including the youth, are attentive to the functions and changes of the legal system; to stand firm in their rights. Knowledge is power and as citizens, we should be informed about the power we hold.

At Foothill College there are many resources for students to turn to in times of physical and mental distress such as Title IX Virtual Office to report sexual assault, abuse, or discrimination on campus. For mental health, counseling resources are abundant for free including virtual or on-campus drop-in appointments with the Psych Services Office in Building 5400. Online spaces are also a flexible way to receive the help you need, such as TimelyCare, open 24 hours with mental health professionals.

Aaron Wilson - Student athlete and Business major “Nah, unreliable”

Charlize Tan - Computer Science major “Yes, but taking initiative by selectively consuming news that are from reputable sources is necessary!”

Jake Broeder - Rad-Tech major “Not really. Both sides are incredibly biased and it’s hard to get the truth of a story without some political BS shoved into it.”

Jessie Valle - Film, Tv, Media Production major “Sometimes, they mostly talk about what will get them clicks.”

Do Foothill students trust the news?

Will the Pipeline shut off ?

By Jarred Quilter

Although it is not an issue being covered by any mainstream media, the very system of college education in America has been undergoing unprecedented changes that will surely affect all future generations of Americans. In 2020, The Supreme Court decided to allow NCAA athletes to transfer once without any suspension and also decided to finally allow these student athletes to earn money off of their name, imagen and likeness (NIL). While everyone is focused on how the major 4 year universities must adapt to this new environment, most people have completely forgotten about how these changes impact America’s Junior College system, and what the unforeseen consequences might come with this new era of

college education and athletics.

If you were to ask a random college graduate what their favorite thing about college was, they might mention the large beautiful campuses, the freedom to make their own decisions and live away from home for the first time, the long nights in the library or long nights out with friends. Most students would not reminisce about the year or two they spent at local junior college and most students can’t even relate to this experience, as junior colleges are not the primary or most advertised route for students to take. Some high school graduates don’t have the grades to get into a college that they find desirable, other’s need more time to figure out what they want to do.

Junior colleges provide an avenue for all kinds of students to get an education that can help them achieve their personal goals, which does not exclude athletes. “Juco” athletes have al-

An Interview with Coach Brandon Younger

By Enoch Ampofo

Coach Brandon Younger, Defensive Coordinator for the Foothill College Football Team, is one of the Staff members of Umoja (a Kiswahili word meaning unity) Community, a critical resource dedicated to enhancing the cultural and educational experiences of African Americans and other students.

A native of Oakland, he started his football playing days with the East Bay Warriors youth football program at the age of eleven, playing high school football at Oakland Technical high school where he received all-league honors as a senior. Coach

Younger then went on to attend the College of the Sequoias where he played for two years and earned an athletic scholarship to Langston University. At Langs ton University Coach Younger helped lead his team to its first Red River conference championship in eleven years.

Aside from helping Foothill college win many football games and continuing to make history by helping student-athletes from all over come to Foothill, he is also making sure that non-students athletes are doing well in school and he is helping them with whatever resources they need.

Why did you decide to come to Foothill College?

Coach Younger: I started coaching at Oak Grove High school before Foothill and although I enjoyed my time there, I wanted more for myself and for my family. While I was at Oak Grove High school in San Jose, the team made school history by leading the Central Coast Section in interceptions with 18 as well as being a part of a staff that won its first Central Coast Section title in eight years. I felt that I did all that I could do at Oak Grove and it was time for a change. Foothill College wasn’t known yet and since I saw so many of the games before I became a coach I wanted to help build a new culture at Foothill especially because I knew what it was like to be a Juco athlete so it was a no-brainer.

What is your favorite thing about Foothill?

My favorite thing about Foothill is the community. I always feel the love and support from everyone when I talk to them. And I just enjoy how they support us and our football games and how we support them with their events. If there is an event and they need help setting up I will find some of the guys to help them. Foothill is a family and we got to support one another.

What makes the Foothill football team so successful?

I feel like what makes the football team so successful is the fact that everyone buys into what we are doing. The fact that they put all this trust into me and the other coaches makes us able to do the best job possible to make them successful and hopefully get them a scholarship. Another thing that makes us successful is all the hard work we put in as a team. During the football season, we see each other more than our families sometimes but it’s a sacrifice we need to make to become successful.

How are you able to recruit players to come to Foothill when there are other schools closer to them?

When I recruit players I try to keep it 100 percent honest. I tell them the truth that if they want to play here, they need to go above and beyond in the weight room, football field, and especially the classroom. I feel like when I tell them this stuff, they respect me more. Another reason why I’m so good at recruiting is that I’m able to relate to many of the players which help us have a closer bond. Before I get to know anyone, I try to see how they are and what they do and don’t like. When I do this with students and athletes it helps them see that I’m putting an effort into trying to get to know them. I also try to get them out of their comfort zone once I get connected with them to show them that it’s okay to try new things.

What is the main goal that you want for the students and athletes at Foothill?

I believe that education is one of the most important things a person can have. Football and sports only last so long so it’s important that everyone has a great education because no one can take that away from you. My main goal would be for everyone at Foothill to graduate or at least find their passion or career in life.

What do you want to be remembered as during your time at Foothill?

I want to be remembered as someone who always went above and beyond in everything that he did and always wanted to help people. And if they remember me as one of the many factors that helped the football team win some games that would be a plus too. But yea I love Foothill and everything about I will continue to do my best for the community of Foothill.

Coach Younger has had a big impact on me as a student and a former athlete. The way he cares for others is truly inspiring and I’m glad that I got a chance to interview him and was able to share time with someone who has had a big impact on my life and so many others in the Foothill Community.

ways flocked to programs around the state of California, and the nation in hopes of having one “last chance” to play the game they love and impress college coaches in the process. Local junior colleges such as CSM, who won the 2022 Juco Football State and National Championship, and others have strong programs with long lists of athletes that they have sent to the Division 1 level, and a shorter list of athletes that made it all the way to the pros. Foothill college also has a history of sending athletes of all sports and backgrounds to the next level, up until now.

While the Supreme Court’s decision was mostly aimed at solving disputes between officials and athletes at the higher ranks, the effects will be felt at Foothill College and every other Junior College in the nation. Programs like USC, UCLA, Oregon, Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, and more have repeatedly used the junior college system to recruit athletes from California junior colleges like Foothill because there was no other option. If athletes from a prestigious program found themselves in trouble and kicked off of their team, their only route was to play at a junior college. Athletes who became academically ineligible or weren’t satisfied with their situation at their current schools had to transfer to junior colleges and show that they were still able to compete at a high level and remain academically eligible. Teams that needed quick fix and a player that was a proven commodity could find a prospect from a junior college and offer them an athletic scholarship to transfer to their school, nearly identical to whatever offers they received out of highschool.

Household names like Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Tyreke Hill, Dennis Rodman, and Jimmy Butler all chose to bet on themselves once upon a time and found their way to stardom even from the humble beginnings of a junior college. In our new climate, these stars would have been able to transfer directly from their first institution to another. In interviews leading up to SuperBowl 50 in 2015, Cam Newton specif-

ically referenced his time at junior college as a time for maturation and growth that he was as vital to his path to being a starting quarterback in the Superbowl and the 2015 NFL MVP.

Current junior college athletes who have the same dreams and work ethic may be disheartened to learn they will not have the same opportunities going forward that previous athletes had, as they are no longer going to be the pool that college coaches recruit from. Instead of dipping into the junior college talent pool, college coaches can just poach players directly from their competition’s rosters.

Sadly, it seems the long established junior college to division 1 pipeline may be in danger of being shut off completely in the future. While schools in California have not suffered so far, many junior colleges in other states depend on their athletic programs to bring in necessary revenue needed to maintain campus operations. Independence Community College, located in Kansas, is well known for its appearance in the Netflix documentary “ Last Chance U.” The show followed coaches and players from the nationally ranked football program to show the struggles and realities of these schools and the funding they receive.

ICC, unlike California Community Colleges, has dorms and needs football to pay for electric and other utilities associated with these dorms. Fans used to pour into the stands every saturday night to watch their ICC Pirates compete with a roster that was usually loaded with D1 and NFL talent. Now that these high profile players don’t need to take a 1 or 2 year detour at ICC, there isn’t as much of a reason to go to ICC at all. This trend has started to affect schools in multiple states across the nation and is a trend both highschool, junior college, and college coaches have all started to notice and be wary of. While California has the funds to keep the lights on at our local junior colleges, the funding that athletics programs receive from the state may be altered in the future to better fit the new system that is being created around us. While no one knows for sure what will happen in the future in regards to junior college athletics, it is clear that meaningful change is coming sooner than later.

Peninsula Powers face off

By Jarred Quilter

California has always been a mecca for athletics, consistently showcasing some of the most dominant highschool, NCAA, and professional teams in the entire nation. Junior college athletics are no stranger to these high levels of competition, especially on the hardwood. City College of San Francisco and Foothill College’s battle on Wednesday night was a classic display of competitiveness and skill that makes California basketball so elite.

The CCSF Rams have been a California Powerhouse in recent years, sending at least 3 players to the next level every season since 2003. Head Coach Justin Labagh has accumulated a record of 518-61 on his way to 4 California State Championships, 2 state runner up finishes, and 17 Central Conference Championships. The Rams came into the season riding a 32-1 season that they ended by raising the State Championship trophy. Labagh, who has been named California coach of the year 10 times, has a squad full of talented players with determination to get to the highest levels of the game. Unlike many other coaches in his profession, Labagh has rare wisdom acquired from developing Delon Wright during the 2 years Delon spent playing at CCSF. Wright Transferred to Utah, where he was the star of 2 consecutive NCAA tournament runs on his way to being a 1st round NBA Draft pick. Current Rams will do their best to prove why they should be the next in line against the Foothill owls squad in a matchup that heavily favors the Rams.

Foothill College’s squad is hungry to prove why they belong in the same conversation as great players such as Delon Wright. Foothill doesn’t have a 1st round pick to boast, but they do have a lengthy list of players who have moved on to a variety of NCAA basketball programs. While they are 11-11 on the season so far, this squad shows up to compete no matter who the opponent is and

plays together as a unit. Head Coach Mike Reynoso believes that his team must work together on defense to make up for the lack of size needed to guard some of CCSF’s players 1v1. Reynoso knows Durrell Laury will need to avoid foul trouble and continue to carry some of the offensive load in order to have a chance at upsetting CCSF. City tends to attract decent crowds who love to get the Rams squad hyped at their home court, so limiting explosive plays was Reynoso’s final key to the game on Wednesday Night.

When the final buzzer sounded on Wednesday night in San Francisco, the game hadn’t played out exactly how Reynoso and the Owls had hoped. Durrell Laury only accounted for 8 points as the Rams made it a priority to slow him down as much as possible. Alijah Washington dropped 27 points with Jaylin Leslie adding 16 of his own in an effort to upset CCSF which ultimately ended in a 94-74 win for city. The Owls played CCSF closely going into the half, only trailing by 12 points during the 1st half of play. During the final minute of the 1st half, CCSF’s CJ Hardy took flight and slammed a dunk that received a standing ovation from their entire bench and the entire crowd, giving CCSF strong momentum heading into the locker room for halftime.

CCSF came out of the locker room energized and ready to pull away from the Owls. The Rams proceeded to extend their lead from 12 to 20 and attempted multiple flashy dunks that enticed the eager crowd. The Owls struggled to score as consistently as they had in the 1st half and seemed to fall victim to the numbers game. Foothill only had 7 members of the team available for the game on Wednesday Night while CCSF had 13 players see minutes on the floor. The Owls battled to the end and walked away with both mistakes to learn from as well as positives to build on for the remainder of their season. With the spirit they displayed and the leadership of their coach, the Owls are sure to find their stride soon.

New study abroad program at Foothill

By Tamar Grosskopf

Starting in the Fall of 2022, Foothill College introduced two opportunities: Florence, Italy, for the Spring Quarter of 2023 and London, England, for the Fall Quarter of 2023.

These programs are eight to nine weeks, connected through Foothill College and AIFS, an educational and travel program agency founded in 1964 centered on cultural exchange.

Commonly seen introduced at four-year colleges and generally done in either the sophomore or junior year of college, studying abroad is an opportunity to pursue an academic path in a foreign country. Typically a quarter or semester-long, study abroad programs allow for students to immerse themselves in a new environment and culture.

Essential and time-sensitive information for both the Florence Spring 2023 trip and the London Fall 2023 trip was presented by Che Menses – Communications professor at Foothill College and London 2023 Faculty Co-Lead– and Milissa Carey –Music & Theatre Arts Professor and Faculty Co-Lead for Florence 2023 – during an info session.

The London study abroad program is set to begin September 30th, 2023, with a return date of December 2nd, 2023. London, the capital city of England, is said to be one of the best introductory countries in Europe to travel to for English speakers. London is known for its history, art, and politics, as well as great sightseeing such as Big Ben, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, and many more. It is a metropolis with food from various cultures, eclectic shops, museums, and more. Also located in Europe, this gives prospective students for the London trip an opportunity to book trips to neighboring countries.

The AIFS program, in conjunction with Foothill College, offers a nine-week program that includes accommodation in a shared double room in a homestay in a residential neighborhood in central London. This includes laundry privileges, wifi, and continental breakfast on weekdays.

After receiving feedback and concern from a prospective student on the significant cost of the trips, Co-Lead (Florence) Carey reassured the student: “While we know that the cost for these trips are high, we are here to aid any student trying to finance their trip.”

Che Meneses followed this by saying, “The most important steps at this point of Florence and London is to make sure you submit your 2023 FAFSA as it is due in February (15th), to be able to apply for scholarships and lower the cost of your chosen trip, and to join the Canvas Florence and London Page; here you’ll be able to connect with your co-leads and other prospective students and applicants ”

The trip cost without airfare is $6895, with the chance of a cost reduction if the program reaches 60 applicants. There will also be two full-day excursions out of London with round-trip transportation. Possible locations for these excursions include Bath and Stonehenge, Brighton, Cambridge, Oxford, Windsor and Eton, and Stratford-Upon-Avon. There will also be an optional four-day excursion to Scotland for an additional cost.

Program Co-Leads for London, Prof. Che Menses (Communications) and Prof. Ben Armerding (English), will teach UC/CSU transferable courses in their respective subjects. These courses include but are not limited to COMM 1A, COMM 5, ENGL 1A, ENGL 80, and more.

The application deadline for London is June 29th, 2023. More information on the program and how to access the canvas page and apply to the programs can be found on the Foothill Website on the Global Experiential Learning Page.

Student Resources

Financial Aid Office

Room: 8101

Phone: 650. 949.7245

Site: foothill.edu/financialaid/

Extended Opportunity Programs and Services

Room: 8202

Phone: 650.949.7207

Site: foothill.edu/eops/

Disability Resource Center Building: 8101

Phone: 650. 949.7245

Site: foothill.edu/financialaid/

International Student Program Office

Room: 1933

Phone: 650.949.7293

Site: foothill.edu/international/

Office of Equity and Inclusion

Room: 1944

Site: foothill.edu/equity/

Admissions and Records

Room: 8101

Phone: 650.949.7325

Site: foothill.edu/reg/

Title IX Stop Sexual

Violence

Room: 2003

Phone: 650.949.7389

Site: foothill.edu/titleix/

Transfer Center Room: 8329

Phone: 650.949.7821

Site: foothill.edu/transfer/

Student Affairs & Activities

Room: 2002

Phone: 650.949.7241

Site: foothill.edu/studentaffairs/

Food Pantry Room: 2004

Phone: 650.949.7618

Site: foothill.edu/foodpantry/

Psychological Services Building: 5400

Phone: 650.949.7910

Site: foothill.edu/psychservices/

Family Engagement Institute

Room: 5420

Phone: 650.949.7463

Site: foothill.edu/fci

Housing Insecurity Resources

Site: foothill.edu/housing-insecurity/

Veteran’s Resource Center

Room: 5403

Phone: 650.949.7912

Site: foothill.edu/veterans/

Library Building: 3500

Phone: 650.949.7611

Site: foothill.edu/library/

Bookstore Building: 2200

Phone: 650.949.7611

Site: bkstr.com/foothillstore/home

Campus Programs

Foothill Sports Teams and Schedules

Site: foothillowls.com

STEM Center

Room: 4213

Phone: 650.949.7042

Site: foothill.edu/stemcenter/

Writing & Language Center

Room: 3600

Site: foothill.edu/wlc/

Tutoring

Site: foothill.edu/tutoring/

Welcome & Design Center

Room: 2016

Phone: 650.949.7551

Site: foothill.edu/smartshop/

Student Run Organizations

The Script

Room: 3537

Email: contact@foothillscript.com

Site: foothillscript.com

Associated Students of Foothill College

Room: 2013

Site: foothill.edu/asfc/

Inter Club Council Room: 2013

Phone: 650.383.7350

Site: foothill.edu/clubs/

Foothill Ambassadors Program

Room: 2149

Phone: 650.949.7241

Site: foothill.edu/ambassadors/

Pass the Torch Room: 3609

Phone: 650.949.7687

Site: foothill.edu/torch/

Learning Communities

Honors Institute

Room: 1961

Phone: 650.949.7061

Site: foothill.edu/honors/

Humanities Melon Scholars

Phone: 650.949.7442

Site: foothill.edu/mellonscholars/

Puente

Room: 8302

Site: foothill.edu/puente/

Umoja

Room: 8302

Phone: 650.949.7211

Site: foothill.edu/umoja/

Across

3. Foothill College’s Anthropology department will be having field programs this summer at Hawaii and

6. The Center is offering drop-in tutoring both onsite and online (via ZOOM), during the regular academic year (Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters)

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

10. A form of literature that focuses on expression of feelings through literary techniques such as rhyme

11. May the force be with you

12. The title of Taylor Swift’s latest album

Down

1. A TV show that follows the life of Wednesday Addams, a student at Nevermore Academy

2. The activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information (American Press Institute)

4. A voice, video, and text chat app commonly used by students to talk and hang out with their communities and friends

5. Foothill College’s Student News Publication

7. Fall back, forward

8. The name of Foothill’s official mascot

9. The and Language Center (WLC) offers tutoring in reading, writing, and conversation support across all subjects.