April 21,2015

CHRONICLE Richland

Vol. XL Issue 12 April 21, 2015

Celebrating the culture of Richland: Pgs. 6-7 Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com

Official Richland Chronicle Outlets

@ChronicleDCCCD

CAMPUS

Chancellor May addresses student concerns

District prepares for HB 937: Concealed guns on campus

Chancellor Joe May during his visit to Richland last February.

File photo

DCCCD readies program in early childhood education MARTA PLANELLS

Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 21, 2015

Managing Editor

2

Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) plans to offer a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education possibly beginning in 2016. DCCCD chancellor Joe May, at a meeting held with student leaders of the seven campuses on April 6.

This new education program responds to the high demand for early childhood education teachers in the Metroplex. According to district data, there are approximately 37,000 pre-kindergarten children who can’t go to school because there aren’t enough teachers and classrooms for that age group.

This new program means DCCCD would offer classes in early childhood education so that students can earn a bachelor’s in that field. The district is now waiting for the Texas Legislature to approve this measure. District media relation sources confirmed that the process is on the right path so they might be able to offer the new program by 2016.

This degree in education not only provides more choices for college students in the

Dallas area, but is also a direct response to a request that current DCCCD students have been asking for several semesters: child care services on campus.

Currently, only two campuses, Eastfield and Brookhaven, offer child care services. Child care is implemented on campus as a part of the programs in early childhood education those colleges already offer.

The two facilities give students a chance to work with young children, thus two functions are provided: an early education laboratory for students and a child care service for the community.

If the proposal is approved, it means that child care services may be offered in all DCCCD locations. At least, that’s the idea May gave in response to questions from the students during the meeting. The same district sources, however, have explained that there is no decision yet about what colleges will offer the program and if there will be new child care locations as the ones at Eastfield and Brookhaven.

They still have to develop plans to decide how the program will be implemented throughout the district.

Another concern of students is what the district will be if HB 937 bill is passed by the Texas Legislature. HB 937 will allow concealed handgun license holders to carry a concealed weapon on campus.

May was very clear in his position. The district is against the possession of weapons on campus. If the law is passed, however, there is nothing the district can do to forbid handguns on DCCCD campuses.

Right now, the DCCCD Code of Student Conduct states: “Students shall not bring on College District property or to any college or College District-sponsored or -related activity any gun, weapon or simulated weapon.”

Therefore, May explained that the board is working on a series of procedures that will have to change if this new scenario becomes reality.

“We are going to be looking at buildings in terms of everything from security cameras,

how are we doing that, to access the building, how we get in and out of rooms, we are going to be looking at the police officers and who we hire and we are going to be looking at training,” he said.

The president of the Student Government Association Quynh Pham had this question in her list before going to the meeting.

“I want to ask if we are going to have more code black drills because of the open carry,” she said.

House lawmakers gave preliminary approval to HB 910 on Friday. It will allow licensed open carry in Texas. At press time, it was scheduled to come up for vote on Monday.

However, the bill that will allow concealed guns on campus, HB 937, is still waiting to be placed on the House calendar.

— Marta Planells

“I am for it in a way in the instance that, an active shooter, we can have more aid instead of law enforcement.”

Staff photo illustration Isai Diaz

Christian DeLagarga RCHS student

“He did tell us if it does get passed what security preparations he will have, that was good.”

Staff photo illustration Marta Planells

Quynh Pham SGA President

Staff photo illustration Isai Diaz

Rawan Alhosani Art major

“As a student you want to feel safe and your college is somewhat your second home ... we are all family ... you shouldn’t feel threatened by your siblings.”

OPINION/ COLUMN

TJCSGA resolutions, possible changes to landscape Staff Writer

Nearly 50 community colleges from all over the state gathered at the Texas Junior College Student Government Association 2015 Convention in Dallas April 9 to discuss issues that could have a profound effect on how colleges and universities in Texas run their daily business.

The Resolutions Committee spent the first two days of the convention working on certain resolutions dealing with bills and acts that are in debate in the Texas Legislature. The committee presented its resolutions on April 11 during the third general assembly.

On the resolution to support the passage of HB 82, which approves a singular common course numbering system that will give college-level courses the same number across all colleges and universities in Texas, giving students and advisers more clarity and understanding of the transfer requirements the delegation voted in favor. That means the State Legislature will have to decide whether or not ENGL 1302 at Richland will read as ENGL 1302 at, say, Midwestern State or University of North Texas.

On the resolution to support the Texas Dream Act to allow undocumented children who wish to pursue higher education with in-state tuition, the delegation was somewhat uncertain of its staying power. Several delegates rose to question its overall legitimacy.

One delegate, however, gave a powerful speech supporting the resolution. The entire delegation was moved, and when the vote came, it gave the resolution its full support

Staff illustration Isai Diaz

with an unusually loud and emotional unanimous vote.

On the resolution to recommend to the State Legislature that Mental Health Awareness Day be hosted on college campuses throughout the regions, as well as the State of Texas, every Oct. 10 during Mental Health Awareness Week, the delegation voted in favor. This also means that every member college of the

TJCSGA will be strongly encouraged, if not required, to host events on their campuses to raise awareness of mental health.

On the resolution support, the request of the TJCSGA Convention that all member schools of the TJCSGA hold an event each school year to increasingly promote awareness of sexual assault, the delegation voted in favor. Based on the wording, however, and

the intent of the resolution, this is a request, not a requirement. The choice to hold a sexual assault awareness event will ultimately rest with each college, whether its local SGA makes a proposal, if they have the resources to hold such an event or whether the opinion of the students of each college favors holding the event.

There’s a lot to think about when making these kinds of choices.

On the resolution to amend HB 937 to grant the boards of colleges and universities, public and private, the right to choose whether or not to allow students to carry concealed handguns on campus, as well as require each to implement their own requirements and certifications for said permissions, the delegation was divided.

After a heated debate from two delegates for and against this resolution, the delegation was still divided. During the vocal vote, both the “yays" and the “nays” were met with equal voices; during the rising vote, roughly the same number of delegates rose for each position.

This led to the roll call vote, where each school at the convention had to decide whether to support, oppose or abstain from the resolution. After a tense count, the resolution passed.

Although some kinks are being ironed out, these resolutions have passed the convention floor and will be brought before the State Legislature.

The resolutions passed in this convention require support from members of the TJCSGA to be present at the legislative hearings for support/rejection of whatever issue is at hand.

Unconventional:

Look, Ma, I won best video!

Out of nearly 50 community colleges represented at the Texas Junior College Student Government Association (TJCSGA) convention in Dallas April 9-12, Richland’s video was selected as the recipient of the 2015 TJCSGA Best Video award. To win in this category, the college must have produced a video no longer than 10 minutes demonstrating how that college’s local SGA embraced the theme of the year. This year, it had to show what everyone did for the theme, Unite to Ignite.

As one of the senators for Richland SGA, I made the video. It depicts a student struggling to make his dream a reality. Through a series of interactions with random students and members of the SGA, as well as a bizarre dream sequence, he achieves his dream.

The electronic video board played the winning video, and when I heard the opening tone of that video, it really hit home for me. With all the effort I put into this, and how everyone gave their time to make this possible, it just made winning all the more sweet.

This is the first award Richland has won from the TJCSGA. Ever. This means Richland has set a precedent that will hopefully be followed for years to come.

Starting now, my video will be showcased throughout the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) as a promotion to attract international students to its colleges, which, for me, meant reiterating the theme numerous times throughout the video.

This sets up a huge role for me where I feel like everyone has been slapped in the face with it. It’s a giant iceberg, I know, but someone’s got to do it. Somebody has to send a signal, and thanks to this little video, it can be DCCCD. We’ve come together to unite, we’ve ignited the flame. Now all we have to do is to keep it burning. We cannot let it go out on us.

If you want to see exactly what I’m talking about, visit this link: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=3oH_d_uZcF8 — Anthony Nguyen

Staff photo Melanie Brandow

Richland took Best Video honors at the Texas Junior College Student Government Association convention. The award hangs outside the Office of Student Life.

Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 21, 2015

ANTHONY NGUYEN

3

ENTERTAINMENT

USA film festival here

Born to be wild in

‘Monkey Kingdom’

An institution in Dallas, the USA Film Festival is celebrating its 45th year in 2015.

Highlights include appearances by actress Margo Martndale (TV’s “Dexter,” “Twilight”), Candy Clark (“The Man Who Fell to Earth,” “American Graffiti”), actor Ernie Hudson (“Ghostbusters,” “The Crow”) and Glenn Morshower (“Transformers,” “Moneyball”).

Singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb, a Dallas native, will be in attendance for her new film “Helicopter Mom” along with director Salomé Breziner and producer Stephen Israel.

Also screening will be Bill Condon’s (“Gods and Monsters”) drama “Mr. Holmes” with Ian McKellen, one of his favorite actors, starring as famed sleuth Sherlock Holmes.

Clark will be in attendance for a screening of “The Man Who Fell to Earth” Friday.

Admission is free.

The festival runs Wednesday through Sunday. All movies will be screened at the Dallas Angelika, 5321 E. Mockingbird Lane.

Advance tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.

— Ricky Miller

RICKY MILLER

Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 21, 2015

Entertainment Editor

4

Yes, monkeys can swim! It is evident in Disney Nature’s latest documentary “Monkey Kingdom.” As in the United States, however, there is a hierarchy in the chimp world.

The big screen is a must here, since directors Mark Linfield and Alastair Fothergill capture an atypical world amid ruins in the jungles of Sri Lanka. This 81-minute tale follows a chimpanzee named Maya and her plight in dealing with three sisters. The chimp siblings steal Maya’s son for a while. The sisters are companions to the alpha chimp of the bunch, Raja.

Though he does not fancy Maya, he stakes claim to her as well.

In order to get the audience involved, the theme song to the mid-‘60s TV show “The Monkees” blares over the soundtrack. I think it sets the right tone for the antics the viewer will eventually see.

Tina Fey, of TV’s “30 Rock,” provides the narration for our cinematic trip. Her soothing voice sets the right ambience for the flick.

One segment finds the various creatures invading an abandoned kids’ classroom while the students are at recess.

I enjoyed this flick for what it was trying to do, but in the end, it is really not worth the price of admission.

Grade: C+

Image courtesy maxresdefault.com

Ricky’s Take

5

“Danny Collins” -- Al Pacino is the title character, a famous singer-songwriter who finds out about a letter John Lennon wrote him back in the early 1970s and how receiving it at that time could have changed his career and outlook. Also stars Jennifer Garner, Christopher Plummer, Bobby Cannavale and Annette Bening. Grade: B“Wild Card” -- Jason Statham is kicking butt, as usual, in this story about a Las Vegas bodyguard who faces a multitude of ne’er-do-wells. Also features Michael Angarano, Stanley Tucci and Anne Heche. B-

“True Story” -- Jonah Hill (“Moneyball”) and James Franco (“Pineapple Express”), who usually spend time with sophomoric comedies, tackle this heavy duty drama involving identity theft and fillicide (the killing of one’s own children). C“What We Do in the Shadows” -- This is an amusing Swedish vampire satire that pokes fun at all the legends and mores as filmed by a documentary crew. B“While We’re Young” -- Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts star as a childless couple who meet a pair of young 20-somethings, Amanda Seyfried and Adam Diver. C+

SPORTS/COLUMN

Signing day

Image courtesy facebook.com/richlandcollege

Richland basketball players sign letters of intent to various universities in the gym of Guadalupe Hall Wednesday, Trey Hall, left, is headed to St. Mary’s Univer-

sity in San Antonio; Ishmael Donzo is off to East Central University in Ada, Okla., and Kierre Moore will play for Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla.

Local boy Masters golf BLANCA REYES

April 25 Brookhaven noon April 26 Brookhaven 2 p.m.

April 29 @ TCS Postgrad 3 p.m.

May 2 @ Cedar Valley 2 p.m.

Image courtesy eighteenunderpar.com

Jordon Spieth blasts out of a sand trap and into the spotlight.

came the second youngest Masters champion in history. Spieth also earned selection to the 2014 Ryder Cup team, becoming the youngest American team member just past his 21st birthday.

Spieth began 2015 by winning the Valspar Championship in a three-way playoff with Patrick Reed and Sean O’Hair. Spieth really stepped out into the public spotlight with his Masters win.

May 3 @ Cedar Valley noon @ Cedar Valley 2 p.m.

Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 21, 2015

April 21 Paris JC 2:30 p.m.

Photography Editor

Jordan Spieth’s name has been on many people’s minds lately, especially in the Dallas golf community. Spieth’s career reached astronomical levels after winning The Masters in Augusta, Ga. and rising in rank to No. 2 in the world.

Who is this 21-year-old golfer who tied the record set by former golf sensation Tiger Woods? Well, maybe for golf fans he is not new to the world of sports celebrity, but for golf neophytes like me, Spieth is a rising star.

According to online sources, Spieth is the oldest of three siblings. He attended St. Monica Catholic School and Jesuit College Preparatory School. Jordan graduated from JCPS in 2011.

Spieth was also on the golf team at University of Texas at Austin. As freshman at UT, Spieth won three events and led the team in scoring average. At U.S. Open in 2012, he carded the lowest amateur score and became No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf ranking.

That same year, Spieth turned 19. In 2013, the Texas native tied for the second place in the Puerto Rico Open and tied for the seventh in the Tampa Bay Championship.

Before his 20th birthday, Spieth won the John Deere Classic and became the fourth youngest PGA Tour winner and the first teenager in 82 years.

And as if that wasn’t enough, Spieth be-

Baseball

5

CAMPUS

Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 21, 2015

Celebrating T-Ducks f

MARTA PLANELLS Managing Editor

Staff photo Melanie Brandow

Dance group squeezes in for a group photo with Richland President Kay Eggleston.

6

Staff photo Ashling Han

A spellbound crowd watches the talent show performance in the breezeway.

With 130 countries represented and 79 languages spoken, Richland is clearly an international community. Students displayed their traditions at the Intercultural Festival of Cultures held on campus Thursday.

Music, dancing, traditional clothing and all kinds of curious were exhibited throughout the morning on the breezeway. According to a representative of the Office of Student Life (OSL), 700-plus students attended the festival.

The day started with the 25th Peace Pole Planting Ceremony, the opening event for the festival. The languages represented on the peace pole were Lao, Lingala, Turkmen and English. Afterward, a parade with Chinese

Students representing the Middle Eas

lion dancers led the celebration to the breezeway.

The event continued with a fashion show.

Students from Vietnam wore traditional attire for women: An ankle-length dress with many colors. One of the largest groups was the one from Saudi Arabia. Dressed in traditional attire, they staged funny moments in both the fashion show and the dance performance.

Khalid Alobaishi, an ESOL student, said he was dressed in the clothes men wear daily in his country and explained each part of men’s attire. They wear white ankle-length long-sleeved robes called thawbs. The red-andwhite scarf that covers the head is the ghutra and the black cord that holds it is called an igaal. They wear leather handmade sandals.

Alobaishi said he moved to the United States last year.

“I miss my family and the food. I can’t find the traditional food here,” he said.

CAMPUS

st gather together and smile for a photo.

Staff photo Melanie Brandow

After the fashion show, a talent show kept the ball rolling. The group from Saudi Arabia was one of the most popular. A dozen students performed a choreographed routine with wooden sticks and traditional Arabian music.

Although there were a lot of dance performances, singers took part in the talent show as well. Two students were brave enough to take the stage and sing in front of the large crowd.

The Latin dance group was popular as well.

Monica Beatriz performed with her dance group. “I moved two years ago. I really like the country. [It] is very beautiful and there are a lot of opportunities for people from [another] country,� she said.

Staff photo Melanie Brandow

Rawan Alhosani, 18, an art major from Bahrain.

Staff photo Isai Diaz

Multicultural center academic adviser Jana Mller has a blast.

Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 21, 2015

from around the world

7

OPINION

Solo heroine movies are coming

Images courtesy deviantart.com, moviepiolet.com and tumblr.com

Will they be successful at box office?

JOE STUMPO

Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 21, 2015

Online Editor

8

Can you hear it? Listen again. It’s the sounds of women everywhere shouting the phrases, “I am Woman! Hear me roar!” and “Women rule!” The chants are so loud I cannot even hear myself think writing this column. They’re even drowning out the cheers of the “Big Bang Theory” crowd.

Like it or not, there’s a reason for this. On July 23, 2017 the big screen will no longer be exclusively a male superhero’s world anymore.

The days where female super heroines would occupy the same film alongside the male superhero in the same blockbuster franchise movie will officially be over. Two and a half years from now following her big screen debut in March 2016 alongside the Man of Steel and the Caped Crusader in “Batman Superman: Dawn of Justice,” the Amazonian princess Wonder Woman (aka Diana Prince as played

by Gal Gadot of “ Fast & Furious 6” in 2013) will get her own stand-alone superhero movie in what is already being planned as a trilogy by DC Comics and Warner Bros.

Then in July 2018 Marvel Comics and Disney will bring their own female superhero to the big screen known as Captain Marvel.

While I know enough about Wonder Woman, I am ignorant when it comes to Captain Marvel. The comic book nerds, the “Big Bang Theory” crowd and the “I am woman, hear me roar” crowd will have to set me straight about who this female character is. The most I know is what Marvel President Kevin Feige

said last November when announcing future Marvel Comic movie projects.

“This Captain Marvel’s name is Carol Danvers,” Feige said. “This film has been in the works almost as long as the upcoming ‘Doctor Strange’ or ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ before it came out, and one of the key things was figuring out what we wanted to do with it. Her adventures are very earthbound, but her powers are based in the cosmic realm.”

It isn’t just the big screen where female superheroes will make their presence strongly known. CBS has been hard at work bringing Supergirl to the small screen and unlike producer/screenwriter David E. Kelley’s proposed Wonder Woman series in 2011 that crashed and burned before her invisible plane ever took off, I have not heard any critical rumblings about the upcoming series let alone the Woman of Steel’s costume. It debuted on the Internet recently featuring star Melissa Benoist in the title role. Allow me to offer my own negative criticism of her. She looks too thin and has no muscle. I don’t think villain Lex Luthor has anything to worry about.

The question I have is, who besides women, the nerds and the “Big Bang Theory” crowd will flock to the box office and sit in front of their flat screens and computers and download the Supergirl series off of Netflix and Hulu? Whereas the Batman, Superman and Avengers movies appeal to both sexes, how many guys will actually want to sit through a female stand-alone superheroine film or television series?

It’s not as if women superheroes have had major success in both television and the big

screen. Yes the original Wonder Woman TV series with Lynda Carter had a catchy song that I still can’t get out of my head but the show featuring the Amazonian princess in the “satin tights, fighting for your rights, and the old red, white and blue” lasted only 60 episodes from 1975 to 1979. Compare that number to the WB’s Smallville series about a young Clark Kent that lasted ten years (2001-2011) with 217 episodes.

How many remember the 1984 movie, “Supergirl,” with Helen Slater in her movie debut?

I suspect more people remember “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” (1987). Its $15 million gross was one million more than what Supergirl made at the box office.

Or “Catwoman” (2004), in which star Halle Berry won and accepted the Worst Actress Raspberry Award in person in 2005?

The Amazonian princess and Captain Marvel’s Carol Danvers still have plenty of obstacles to get over before making it to the big screen. Disney’s Marvel has not unveiled what actress will play Captain Marvel as yet.

“Wonder Woman” director Michelle MacLaren (Game of Thrones) left the project earlier this month citing creative differences with the studio on what direction to take the character.

Even after those temporary issues are solved, there is still one more obstacle for the two superheroines to conquer. That’s the box office. Money is what makes the world go round. The amount of green will be what determines if what audiences get is another bomb the equivalent of a Supergirl or Catwoman movie or if they get another Superman/Avengers style blockbuster franchise.

Clockwise from left: Wonder Woman, Supergirl and Carol Danver as Captain Marvel.

CAMPUS

Around the Globe read-in features diversity MELANIE BRANDOW Editor-in-Chief

Students and faculty alike read diverse books and poems in their native language at the first Around the Globe Read-In Wednesday in the library.

Allison Skaraa, 21 Science major

“We always read it before we go to bed. It’s very comforting.”

Languages heard included English, Venezuelan, Ukrainian, Spanish, Chinese and Malayalam from India, which combined to make it a truly international experience.

The library’s community management team collaborated to make this event successful.

The team hosted the read-in to honor the 145 countries represented at Richland.

Garrett Valedez, 21, read from “Jumanji,” written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg.

“Jumanji” is about a magical jungle board game. Animals are real and other components of a jungle become obstacles as the game is played. The players have to overcome their fears and deal with “jungle life” throughout the game. Things tend to get worse until the game is finished. That is when everything will disappear.

Victor Martinez, an ESOL student from Barcelona, Venezuela, who has been in the U.S. for about three years, read an illustrated Asian story, in his native Venezuelan tongue, about two daughters and a father. The point of the story was about a reflection of life. The present and the future depends on us. We cannot blame anyone else for our decisions of our life.

Natalie Vargas, employee in the Language Center, read “El Renacuajo Paseador” by Rafael Pombo. This is a children’s book about a mother frog trying to tell her son (RinRin) and his mouse friend (Don Raton) not to go out on a walk because it’s dangerous outside. They

rebel and go to visit their lady mouse friend (Dona Ratona). They’re having a good time dancing and singing. Suddenly, a couple of cats crash the party and gobbles up the mice and the frog. Now the mother sits alone at home.

Allison Skaraa, a 21-year-old science major, from the tropical southern part of India, read from the Bible, Psalms 23-24. The verses express God’s presence with us every step of the way, even if in you’re in worst time of your life. And He will protect you. She said she has it memorized. “We always read it before we go to bed. It’s very comforting,” Skaraa said.

Jiajun Yan has been in the United States since 2007 and is from Lou Di, a small town in the Hunan Province of southern China.

Yan read from a Chinese children’s book about how a child named Alibaba tries to fight against bandits to get out of a sticky situation.

The point of the story is not to be too greedy in life and appreciate what we have now. Be smarter than your enemy and you will thrive. Yan said that this story was one of her favorites as a child. She said she read it a lot to her daughter, who is U.S. born, so that she could learn more Chinese. Yan teaches Chinese and Japanese and is also part of the ESOL program.

According to one of the team members, Ashley Franklin, circulation assistant, the purpose of this event was to reach out to students and get them excited about the library.

Jiajun Yan Richland faculty

“When I was a child I liked reading that story.”

“People don’t read anymore, poetry or an actual book,” Franklin said. She added that with the students representing their countries, it would be a positive way to celebrate their cultures.

Staff photo illustrations Isai Diaz

JOYCE JACKSON Copy Editor

Almost everybody knows that dogs are man’s best friend, but what happens when a man becomes so obsessed with his pet that his life starts to fall apart?

That’s the premise of the Richland Drama Department’s comedy-drama “Sylvia” by A. R. Gurney. The play was originally produced in New York City in 1995.

Gurney wrote “Sylvia” for actress Sarah Jessica Parker, who played Carrie Bradshaw in the “Sex and the City” TV show and movies.

He was a close friend with Parker and wanted to write a play for her to star in on Broadway.

“Sylvia” takes place in a Manhattan apartment and involves a middle-aged professional couple, Greg and Kate, who have left the suburbs for a new life in the city.

One day Greg comes home with a scraggly stray dog that he found in the park and thus begins a true love story between the two of them.

Director Andy Long said the dog in this production is a Labrador and poodle mix.

“It’s a mutt,” Long said. “It’s that dog that is the greatest kind of dog – just that friendly mutt that has great traits of many different

breeds.”

Long said dog owners will love this play because they’re going to recognize the struggles and the relationship they go through between house training and the accidents that occur to a dog going into heat. Having been a dog owner himself, one of Long’s favorite quotes is: “Dogs are the only creatures on earth that love you more than they love themselves.”

Long said Gurney really wanted to relate the idea that people attach human personalities and traits to a dog, such as when we give a dog a name and we talk about our dogs in a very human way.

As “Sylvia” progresses, Greg becomes obsessed with his frisky pet to the point where the dog can do no wrong. His wife Kate, however, can’t stand Sylvia from the moment he brings her home and wants to get rid of her immediately. Thus, the fight begins as their peaceful existence turns into a doggone battle – rivalry between Kate and Sylvia.

Four actors make up the cast: Jordan Bechtol plays Kate; Jermaine Johnson portrays

her husband Greg and Audrey Clark has the lead role as the canine, Sylvia. Raied Makhamreh plays three roles: Tom, a guy Greg meets in the park; Phyllis, Kate’s girlfriend and Leslie, a marriage counselor. All four actors are majoring in drama and are students in Long’s classes.

“It’s a great actor challenge for Raied because he takes on three different characters,” Long said.

Long said he chose Clark for the role of Sylvia because she “presented this great youthful exuberance and this wonderful honesty in her audition.

“She’s got this wonderful openness about her, this sweet sincerStaff illustration Isai Diaz ity that said to me, kind of like a loving dog, a pet that is open and honest and genuine,” he said.

Clark, 18, who was home schooled, is going for an associate in arts at Richland with a theater emphasis. She has a dog, a German Shepherd-poodle mix named Flower and said her dog reminded her of Sylvia.

“I watched my dog’s actions and other vid-

eos of dogs to get the mannerisms and behaviors,” Clark said. She said her role as Sylvia was challenging because in some scenes, Sylvia is very dog-like and at other times human like.

As Greg becomes more and more obsessed with Sylvia, his home life disintegrates and he eventually loses his job. Kate becomes even more resentful that the disruptive, disobedient and dirty dog is still in their home, which has become a ménage a trois. Their marriage is on the rocks.

Long said this particular play will be done in an “extreme thrust situation,” so the audience will be on three sides of the stage.

“It’s a completely different style of blocking and staging than in the Performance Hall, where the audience sits and watches from a distance,” he said. “It’s also good for the actors because the entire play is filled with simple, quiet dialogue that is honest and sincere. They [the actors] have to do it in such a way where the audience might be two or three feet from them, so if they act the role and present it in any sort of false way, the audience will see that.”

“Sylvia” will run at 7:30 p.m. April 29-May 2 in the Arena Theater in Fannin Hall. It’s free and open to the public. No reservations are necessary.

Long said the play is not for children. It’s rated R for profanity and is not recommended for anyone under 16.

Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 21, 2015

‘Sylvia’s’ doggone world – Those #&@% humans

9

OPINION/CAMPUS

College graduation:

Richland

CHRONICLE

Determination for the road to success JEROME ROBINSON II Staff Writer

Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 21, 2015

Courses chosen, professors’ reactions to questions (supposedly easy to answer) the distant bonds of eye-catching phrases and tunes that pop culture dictates to the masses all play a major role in a college graduate’s life.

Some may agree, others will disagree, but despite the choice one prefers, blunt decisions have to be made in this cold, cruel world in which we live.

Whether graduating from Richland or UCLA or any other school in the United States it brings a person to a road of clarity and achievement.

There may also be a forecast of gray and cloudy confusion if he or she doesn’t do the necessary work that is required to survive in this fragile, competitive, hard-driven, rat race we humans have to survive in every day.

Nothing is promised, guarantees are few and disappointment is very likely, but you have to decide to be strong-willed and brave every day you have the opportunity.

Most college graduates need people to show them certain little tidbits about real-life issue.

Nothing is wrong with that because most people need help sometime. This is just a simple essay about being prepared.

You want to enter into the life lane well

10

STUDENT MEDIA LEADERS Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Layout Editor Online Editor Photography Editor Entertainment Editor Copy Editor

Melanie Brandow Marta Planells Kisten S. Chetty Joe Stumpo Blanca Reyes Ricky Miller Joyce Jackson

ON THE COVER Gullale Kutlyyeva, 20, from Turkmenistan.

COVER AND FONTS Staff photo Ashling Han Certain cover fonts are provided by the following: http://www.nymfont.com - http://www.bvfonts.com

STUDENT MEDIA STAFF

Crissy Ashley Isai Diaz Ryan Bingham Duff Ashling Han Abraham Igene Truman Kohler-Katz

Anthony Nguyen Lydia Nigussie Jerome Robinson II James Shrader Fatma Mohamed Swaleh Quan Tran

STUDENT MEDIA ADVISERS Images courtesy cliparts.com

prepared for the bumps and bruises. The obstacles that college grads face on campus are much simpler than the mind-boggling, tragic and even horrific life measurements most college grads will have to face.

I’m basically saying to all my fellow college

students and graduates that things await you both good and bad. The things that will take you to the next level however, are determination, a sense of peace and tranquility. The world won’t get any better if we just let it be.

We have to change it ourselves.

Richland briefs Black Student Association workshop The Black Student Association is hosting some professional networking experience workshops. The two-day event will include a workshop that covers résumé writing, interview and networking skills, building a personal brand and managing a digital footprint.

Students can participate in a mock interview and a networking reception designed to provide students with the opportunity to receive constructive feedback from hiring professionals.

The workshops are: Brand Building, 3-4 p.m. Monday, Del Rio Hall, Room D-270; Mock Interviews, 3-4 p.m., Tuesday, Crockett Hall, Room C-102; Networking Reception, 3-4 p.m. April 28, Brazos Art Gallery.

All students are welcome, but must sign up to participate on a (first come, first served) basis.

To sign up, contact Rolanda Randle at: rolandarandle@dcccd.edu, or call 972-238-3708. The deadline is Friday.

Challenge: Can you unplug for a day?

Join your peers and digitally unplug for 24 hours – from 6 p.m.

Friday through 6 p.m. Saturday.

Unplug from video games, emails, texts, smart phones, tablets, TV and computers.

What fun things will you do? Get uninterrupted sleep? Have dinner with friends? Go to a concert or a movie? Take a trip? Just relax and experience silence?

Emeritus women’s work conference Richland will present a 50+ Go 2 Work conference: “Ready, Set, Employed” in collaboration with the Women’s Bureau and the U. S. Department of Labor from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. April 29 in Sabine Hall, Room SH-118.

Emeritus director Susan Holloway-Snider said the conference is geared toward women over 50.

“It’s prepping women who are between employment, or they’ve been out of the work force for a while,” Holloway-Snider said.

“We’ll talk about continuing education programs and getting them ready for interviews.”

In addition, Holloway-Snider said the conference will include workshops on applying for a job and entrepreneurship.

Richland President Kay Eggleston, will kick off the event, to be followed by keynote speaker Peggy Edge, a business networking expert, speaker and author.

It will also include basic financial education and fraud/scam awareness.

Call 214-890-3877 to register through Continuing Education, Course #960929. Registration is $10 and lunch is provided. Door prizes will be given throughout the day.

Contact Holloway-Snider at 972-238-6393 or 6972 for more information about the conference, the Emeritus Program, or go to www.richlandcollege.edu/emeritus.

Erica Edwards Jack Fletcher David Goodloe Tim Jones

Steve Noviello Larry Ratliff Marshall Siegel

ISSUE DATES April 21 April 28

May 5 May 12

AWARDS

ACP Pacemaker Winner, 2000, 2001, 2007 ACP Pacemaker Finalist, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007 ACP Online Pacemaker Finalist, 2007, 2008 1st Place - TIPA Sweepstakes, 2005 3rd Place - TIPA Online, 2005 & 2006 CMA Newspaper of the Year Finalist, 2014 1st Place – TCCJA Overall General Excellence, 2014 Over 170 Texas college journalism awards since 2000

CONTACT INFORMATION

El Paso Hall, Room E-020, 12800 Abrams Rd. Dallas, 75243 Newsroom: 972-238-6079 E-mail: richanchronicle@gmail.com Advertising: 972-238-6068 E-mail: advertise@dcccd.edu Fax: 972-238-6037 Staff meetings: Monday and Wednesday 2 p.m. in E-020 Letter Policy Letters to the editor may be edited for space. They will be edited for spelling, grammar and malicious or libelous statements.

Letters must be the work of the writer and must be signed. For identification and verification purposes, letters also must include the writer’s classification (grade level), full name, address and telephone number, although address and telephone number will not be published.

Editorial Policy The Chronicle is the official student-produced newspaper of Richland College. Editorials, cartoons, columns and letters are the opinions of individual students and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other individual student writers, editors, advisers or the college administration. © Richland Chronicle 2015

NEWS/OPINION

BLANCA REYES Photography Editor

Richland will hold an informational meeting Wednesday about immigration and how executive actions by President Obama are affecting people.

It will take place at Wichita Hall, Room WH-103 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The speakers for this meeting are from different non-profit organizations, among them, Proyecto Inmigrante and the North Texas DREAM. The forum will be open to students, faculty, staff and anyone desiring about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA).

Diana Flores, a DCCCD trustee who helps to contact these organizations for the district, emphasizes the importance of these meetings because many immigrants are unaware of U.S. laws and how the system works. It makes them vulnerable to scams.

Flags for our forefather

RYAN BINGHAM DUFF

“They do not need to be scammed and potentially lose the right to adjust their status because fraudulent paperwork was submitted on their behalf,” Flores said.

Flores emphasized that there is not any reason to be afraid to attend this meeting. She said if there were any risk for the attendees, they would not hold this meeting.

“It is a safe zone. Immigration will not be there to place anyone on immigration hold or detention,” Flores said.

Public should be prepared to ask any questions and concerns about how DACA and DAPA, representatives from authorized organizations will be answering questions and providing information about places and people who can help with further assistance throughout the process.

“No one should hold back from attending the workshops and no one should hold back from applying for DACA or DAPA if they qualify,” Flores said.

For more information visit www.DCCCD. edu/DAPA.

Requirements to qualify for DAPA : • Be the parent of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (residency cardholder) born before Nov. 20, 2014.

• Have lived in the U.S. since Jan. 1, 2010.

• Been in the U.S. on Nov. 20, 2014 and the date applying for the Deferred Action.

• Have no lawful immigration status in the U.S. on Nov. 20, 2014.

• Submit to, and pass, security and criminal background check.

Upcoming Events Today 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Richland Jazz Ensembles Fannin Performance Hall

Wednesday 10 - 11 a.m

Thunderduck Lake clean up 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Silent Auction in El Paso Hallway 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Earth Days - Movie and pizza Movie screaning in D-174

Thursday

Chronicle Editorial Cartoon

4 p.m. in SH-118

Alfredo Corchado, Mexican correspondent for the Dallas Morning

News. Speaking about drug cartels and current events in Mexico.

Staff Writer

On April 15 every year, Richland lowers all three flags to half-staff to remember the day President Abraham Lincoln died in 1865.

Richland information specialist, Howard Clapper, 67, said: “I’ve had several students who are veterans walk across them flagpoles and understand why they would be raised at half-staff and I would have to remind them that it’s the day of remembrance of the assassination of our Abraham Lincoln.”

Clapper comes from a military family. He said that the orders are only given by the president to lower our national flag, which is forwarded by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. No other flag is to be raised higher than the U.S flag.

The governor is the only person who can order flags lowered at state buildings.

Joey Wommack, 41, an Army veteran and Richland student majoring in manufacturing, becomes irritated when some students, especially American citizens, know very little about the meaning of the half-staff tradition.

“You know, if they see a flag raised down they’re like ‘Yeah whatever,’ They don’t realize, I guess, the significance of it,” Wommack said.

“If you’re an American, regardless if you were born here or you came here, you should know the history and the meaning behind things.”

Richland VA specialist Corey Loverson, 35, a former Air Force staff sergeant, agrees.

“I think, because of the things he did ... as president, and myself, being an AfricanAmerican, he kind of started the movement ... I think being at half-staff is sort of paying respect to him.”

Friday 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Man-Up Conference

Guest Speaker/Facilitator: Harry Everett Sign-up mandatory at:

http://bit.ly/1MIXcwG (972) 238-6130

Monday 11 a.m.

Intercultural Leadership Development Amer Ahmed in SH 118

May 4 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Annual “Star Wars” day

Meet at the student lounge to meet

Darth Vader and some of his friends.

Free photo ops will be provided.

May 5 Cinco de Mayo celebration

Outdoors in the Breezeway

Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 21, 2015

Informative immigration forum at Richland

11

12

Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 21, 2015