CHRONICLE Richland
Vol. XL Issue 11 April 7, 2015
Goal! Hosting the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup: Pg. 5 Pg. 2 Villalba’s bill of wrongs: Pg. 7 Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com
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COLUMN
April is autism awareness month ANTHONY NGUYEN Staff Writer
Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 7, 2015
It’s that time of the year again. No, I don’t mean last week’s April Fools’ Day, but I do know a few people who take April l the same way they take April Fools’ Day … very seriously. April is Autism Awareness Month. Autism spectrum disorder is a complex disability that largely affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. Autism itself is rather vague, as there are a number of categories for certain sets of behaviors and symptoms that range from mild to noticeable to very noticeable. The irony is that, like the flow of wasted time itself, these symptoms go unnoticed for so many people during their infancies. Those afflicted with autism only show clear signs of autism in their early childhood. They seem to distance themselves from the crowd, preferring only the solidarity of their own kind. As a person affected by autism myself, I can’t help but wonder what it would it be like if I didn’t have this condition. Would I have been able to make more friends if I hadn’t been inhibited by autism? What about others who have autism? So I decided to take a little stroll around campus to find someone with autism. After all, what better way to get answers about
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Image illustration Isai Diaz
it than to go straight to the source? It wasn’t easy. As I looked around, I could discern only a handful of students who showed physical symptoms of autism. And even the handful I randomly said hello to seemed reluctant to respond. Why would that be? Maybe it’s because they feel insecure about their autistic disorder. For some reason, there’s this cloud of isolation hovering above their heads 24/7, as if they go into auto-pilot the instant they wake. They become self-conscious about how others will perceive them,
how others will talk to them, how others will treat them now and especially how others will treat them in the future. As a result, many of those people, who often have fantastic ideas about the world around them, don’t speak up. When they don’t speak up, people tend to form negative judgments about them. Most, if not all, don’t know how to handle situations like coping with failure or responding to criticism. Some go so far as to blame themselves for this inability to cope. Whoa. Slow down. Just because you have
autism doesn’t mean you’re incapable of performing amazing feats. You know you’re capable of so much more than is evident on the surface. Don’t let your fears of being different cloud your thinking and make you look down on yourself. Trust me. I’ve been there. It’s not pretty. That feeling of isolation and anxiety is not at all pleasant, but it is a part of life. It’s an obstacle that truly tests you to see how much you’ve grown over the years. You’ll learn as you face those obstacles head-on, you can’t do it alone. You’ll need people who will support you and help you learn to live with your autism. And you’ll definitely need some friends to back you out of difficult situations. So, as we travel through the month of April, I encourage you all to take at least one moment out of your lives to sit down with an autistic person and get to know him or her a little better. Just find someone and have a random chat with that person. Make them feel at home. Even a little smile can go a long way to help them break out. As I did with Henry Pham, a 19-year-old filmmaking major, who still struggles with his autistic disorder. If you want to see what he had to say about his life, check out this video of our chat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAKGKB_ ItuU For more information about autism go to: http://www.autism-society.org
CAMPUS
Encouraging multicultural T-Ducks to share stories Copy Editor
Staff photo Melanie Brandow
Students gather to improve their English skills at the ESOL corner in Wichita Hall.
International students getting bilingual boost
RYAN BINGHAM DUFF Staff Writer
International students for whom English is their second language are improving their skills in Wichita Hall at the ESOL corner. They have come from places such as Africa, Asia, South and Central America for self-improvement and to learn social skills. Any student is welcome. Some of the verbal exercises are actually beneficial to students who don’t know the basics of language, science, math or history. American students may also be able to assist them in answering potential follow-up questions. Peter Kaneng, 19, from The Congo, has attended Richland for a year to pursue a career in civil engineering. He is fluent in French, his native language, and hopes to gain self-confidence in learning English so he can transfer to a university for a bachelor’s degree. “It is very educational,” Kaneng said. Coming to the language lab “has helped me a lot [to] improve my English and my life,” he said. Kaneng has attended the language exchange session for six months. Aspiring petroleum engineer Habacuc Mussunda, 21, is from Angola. His first language is Portuguese. Mussunda has been attending since he started participating in the English for speakers of other languages program (ESOL) because he wanted to get more contact with other people. “To improve my English, that was my goal,” he said. Mussunda enjoys the game Brain Quest, often a selection of gaming in sessions that ESOL provides, because it helps him with
math, art, history and other things from all around the world. Brain Quest consists of a player asking a question from a trivia card, once the spinning arrow lands on a category. The other player must then answer the question. Mussunda believes that for students who want to meet people and learn another language this is the right place. “I wasn’t able to speak English when I first came to the U.S.,” Mussunda said. He has now been here a year and can communicate better with everyone. He says he doesn’t always speak quickly, but he can understand everybody. Astra Rakhmatillakyzy, 21, is from Kyrgyzstan and fluent in four languages; Kyrgyz, Russian, Turkish and English. Rakhmatillakyzy is an accounting major, but is looking to pursue a degree in international relations. She works in the language lab to take advantage of improving her English. She is also the president of the Intercultural Women’s Society, a club consisting of 15 members that meet and discuss cultural experiences. This will be the last semester for Rakmatillakyzy at Richland. She said about the ESOL program, “I’ve learned a lot.” Since her first semester, Rakhmatillakyzy has built a family type relationship with her teachers. “I always go to them … [when] I need any help. They are like my family.” The language exchange get-togethers are hosted by Natalia Vargas, a colombian native and former Richland student. Vargas hosts foreign films, often with subtitles, every month in Sabine Hall, Room 117 or 118 provided by the Richland library. Last week’s feature was the Russian thriller “Black Lightning.” Next up is the Japanese crimethriller “Beyond Outrage” (SH-117 or 118) at 12:30 p.m. Friday.
Feel like reading a short selection of your favorite poem, essay or short story? The library is looking for students who would like to share some multicultural readings in the “Around the Globe” read-in from 12:30 to 2 p.m. April 15. Ashley Franklin, circulation assistant II/ ICL representative, said the library is participating in Multi-Cultural week. The event will take place on the lower level of the library, the Lago Vista Gallery. “I’m the committee chair,” Franklin said. Library Director Lennijo Henderson and the library staff, the Community Engagement Team, planned the event. Other members of the team, in addition to Henderson and Franklin, are Amy Ferguson, Annie Ross, Ray DeShong and Mike George. “We don’t believe that libraries should be drab places where people sit in silence all the time,” Franklin said. “Here at the Richland College Library, we are devoted to making our library more fun, exciting and overall, a great learning environment for students, faculty and staff.” Franklin said events such as the “Around the Globe” read-in are one of the many ways
Staff photo illustration Isai Diaz
Ashley Franklin explains how the event is designed to attract international students.
Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 7, 2015
JOYCE JACKSON
to connect with and show appreciation for Richland students. “As we know, Richland is an extremely diverse community and the sole purpose of this event is to give our international students a chance to showcase and represent their native country in a positive way,” Franklin said. Franklin said that right now, there are about 10 students signed up for the read-in. “So far, since this is our first year, we thought we would have the students just do it [the readings],” Franklin said. “Maybe next year we’ll include faculty and staff. This is kind of like ‘baby steps.’” Students from a number of different countries will read their selections in their native languages. “First, however, they will come into the library and write the word ‘read’ in their own language upstairs on a poster board,” Franklin said. “Once the students go downstairs, they can choose a variety of literature they want to read in their own language.” “Before they read,” Franklin said, “they will introduce themselves and then give a summary of what their reading is in English so that the audience is not totally lost,” Franklin said. The event is geared only for entertainment purposes. Each student will be allowed three to five minutes to read. To sign up for this event, go to the front desk on the upper floor of the library.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Furious 7 Don’t worry; it’s still fast RICKY MILLER Entertainment Editor
Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 7, 2015
I hate to say it, but sometimes I’m glad to be wrong. Case in point: Universal’s “The Fast and the Furious” franchise. The first couple in this series were nothing but nonsense to me. The only real car anyone drove was Dom’s (Vin Diesel’s) SuperSport. I’m sorry, but I’m old school and do not look at souped-up Hondas as legitimate race cars. I’ve never had that gene that makes me look at race cars as the end-all of human existence. Believe it or not, I was not really interested in this franchise until the fifth chapter, unlike the “Saw” flicks, which became a parody of themselves. It’s kind of ironic, since “Furious7” has original “Saw” director James Wan as the captain of this ship.
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In addition to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as FBI agent Hobbs, they upped the ante by bringing in high profile legitimate actors like “The Transporter” star Jason Statham as well as Kurt Russell (“Miracle,” “Escape From New York”) to the party. Also introduced in this chapter is Ronda Rousey, who co-starred with Statham in “The Expendables 3.” Rousey’s character of Kara is a bodyguard for a rich Arab prince. Of course she gets in a tussle with Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty, wherein the pair goes toe-to-toe in a fistfight/martial arts extravaganza. What amounts to nothing but sheer lunacy is watching cars fall from the sky à la Chicken Little, where the cars land in Europe somewhere. That introduces some nifty stunt work involving trucks and ledges, coupled with death-defying stunts and pratfalls. Ludicrous would be one word I could use
Image courtesy bitcast.com
Paul Walker died before the movie could be released.
to describe the antics that go on in this chapter of the franchise. Russell’s Mr. Nobody is a person who works for some high-ranking office in the federal government and essentially gives Dom the keys to his toy store. Also involved in the shenanigans is a device called God’s Eye, a satellite that can infiltrate almost anything. There’s plenty of action, as we would expect. The core group’s house blows up. Also, a couple of people fall from a two-story building and end up with just a couple of
minor scrapes. When it comes down to it, “Fuious7” does what it’s supposed to do in giving the moviegoers what they came for: just a sheer good time. I hate to say it, but like the “Saw” flicks, when the receipts come in for this entry, they will continue to produce more for a franchise that, even after Paul Walker’s death, brings people out of the house and into theater seats. Grade: B
“Fast and Furious” staple Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), left, stares down the film’s latest villain, Ian Shaw (Jason Statham), in a scene from “Furious7.”
Ricky’s Take
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Image courtesy thenypost.com
“The Cobbler” — Adam Sandler is Max Simkin, who shares “Woman in Gold” — Amazing and emotional fact-based here, a former gets pulled backway intoof life thatassassin-for-hire changes when who he discovers a new story of Maria Altman (Helen Mirren), who tries to re- an ordinary the seething underworld he thought he left behind. with the public. Bunite with a painting lost due to events during World interacting Asylum” This is an—intriguing tale “The“Stonehearst Hobbit: Battle of theC+ Five- Armies” Peter Jackson’s War II. Also“Birdman stars Ryan Reynolds (“The Virtue Proposal”) and or (“The Unexpected of Ignorance”) a mental in- a otherabout trilogyvarious comes denizens to an endofwith this taleinstitution of hobbits,that eagles, Katie Holmes (TV’s “Dawson’s Creek”). Grade: A B - Michael Keaton is a washed-up actor staging a one- cludes Michael Caine, Jim Sturgess, Kate Beckinsale and ruthless dragon. Bmanvideo show onand Broadway who deals with a variety of pre- Ben Kingsley. New on on demand “Interstellar” — Director Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic dicaments and problems preceding the opening of his play. “St. Vincent” B - Bill Murray a curmudgeon of an to the small screen withisMatthew McConaughey “The Imitation Game” — Benedict Cumberbatch is Alan finally comes “Fury” B+ - Brad Pitt is commander of a platoon of old man who befriends a next door neighbor kid (Jaeden the way as an astronaut and all around do-gooder searchTuring, who tries to break the Enigma code at the height of leading soldiers facing predicaments aplenty in Germany at the Lieberher) who learns to fend for himself in the everyday ing for inhabitable life in another galaxy. AWorld War II. Aend of World War II. world. “John Wick” B - Keanu Reeves is the title character
SPORTS/CAMPUS
Literary week: Read all about it
MELANIE BRANDOW Editor-in-chief
Richland’s 32nd annual Literary Festival was well received by all who attended the events last week. Novelists, non-fiction writers, playwrights, poets and voice artists were featured. Rage Almighty, a spoken-word artist and activist, gave an outstanding performance in the library on Wednesday. He stood head and shoulders above the typical podium speaker. Active within the Dallas community, he is an advocate for leading the youth toward living positive lifestyles and encouraging them to express their feelings through poetry. The artist uses rap poetry, acting and comedic performance as his media. He specializes in slam poetry, which was initiated by American poet Marc Smith. Poetry slams are composed of a broad range of voices, styles, cultural traditions and approaches to writing and performance. Some poets are closely associated with the vocal delivery style, like Rage Almighty. He was the 2013 Texas Grand Slam champion and is now on the 2015 Dallas slam team. To get the audience fired up at points of the presentation, he would say, “When I say ‘Feelin’ good?’ you say ‘Feelin’ great!’” The artist compared slam poetry to digging deep within oneself.
Staff photo Isa Diaz
Spoken word poet, Rage Almighty, recites his poem with feeling and actions.
“It’s tough when you do poetry. It’s like reopening a wound.” When the artist was learning how to act, he was taught a technique called sense memory. This is a style that recalls a sensual experience such as sight, sound, smell, taste or touch. “Put yourself in that moment again. When you wrote that poem and when that poem was fresh, it felt sensitive. And you kinda’ have to cut yourself again. And hopefully you’ll heal after you get off the mic,” he said.
Staff photo Ashling Han
Birmingham City defeating Andromeda 2-0 March 31 at the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup.
MARTA PLANELLS Managing Editor
This is not the first year Richland has hosted the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup tournament. It is an international soccer competition that takes place every year locally and draws teams from many different countries. Hosting this type of event is good exposure for the campus. Over 900 international players participate in the tournament each year and they come with their families and friends. The organization says on its official website, “Dallas Cup teams, referees, scouts and spectators use over 8,200 hotel rooms each tournament.” This provides an idea of how big this competition is and the impact it has locally. Last week was somewhat chaotic for Richland students and staff members. It was difficult to find a parking spot. Early last week, the Chronicle received notice that campus police officers might be asking for employees’ identification when they parked at Le Croy Center. Traffic on campus was already complicated. The soccer tournament accepts approximately 180 teams every year that are divided into seven age categories ranging from U-13 through U-17, U-19 and the prestigious U-19
Staff photo Ashling Han
Joshua Peugh and Alex Karigan Farrio dance to “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows.”
Students dazzle at dance concert Staff photo Isai Diaz
An unidentified child runs with the Tigres’ flag from Monterrey.
Gordon Jago Super Group. This year’s edition had teams from Argentina, Mexico, Spain, China, Germany and the United Kingdom, just to name a few.
Richland students, faculty and guest artists performed a variety of dance styles Friday and Saturday at the Bella Giorno dance concert. Dances included jazz, tap, hip-hop and contemporary. The event took place in Fannin Performance Hall. The music and visual effects in every dramatic frolic were impressive. A video titled “Richland Funk,” edited by Cheryl Callon, showed students dancing in different areas on campus. In “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows,” guest
artist and dancer Josua L. Peugh, along with Alex Karigan Farrio, evoked different emotions. The duo showed the audience a marvelous relatioship between lovers with interesting, innovative choreography. Katelyn Harris tapped her feet swiftly to the rhythm and sound of “The Consequence of Sound” by Regina Spektor. Richland dance students closed the recital with “At the Playground,” which portrayed children playing on the beach. -— Ashling Han
Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 7, 2015
Richland plays host to Dr Pepper Dallas Cup
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OPINION
And … they’re off!
Richland
CHRONICLE
My problems with voting for Cruz
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 Everton FC scores a goal against LA Galaxy Academy at the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup tournament . Villalb’s bill of wrongs. Autism Month.
COVER AND FONTS Top : Staff photo Ashling Han. Bottom: Staff illustrations Isai Diaz 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
Is Texas Senator Ted Cruz the right candidate to become the 45th president of the United States?
JOE STUMPO
Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 7, 2015
Online Editor
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When Texas Senator Ted Cruz threw his hat into the ring, being the first Republican announcing his 2016 presidential run March 23 to a packed audience at Liberty University in Virginia, a part of me wanted to cheer him on simply because he is Hispanic and I, too, am a combination of both Hispanic and Italian (though in reality I am likely more Italian based on my temper and love of all Italian foods carb related). For over 20 years now, in particular the past six years that President Barack Obama has been in office, I have repeatedly heard Obama supporters telling me how I should vote Democrat because I am a minority. Yet, when I asked all those people why I should be for Obama and the Democratic Party, not a single one of them could offer any justification on why I should vote for him. I equate being told to vote Democrat just because I am a minority as the equivalent of asking, “Why do bad things happen?” like when people are taken away from us too soon and I get the same answer, “It’s a part of God’s plan.” I am as sick and tired of hearing that same vague religious answer and being told to become a certified liberal Democrat simply because of my race. Unlike the ones I personally know who voted for Obama simply because it was time for an African-American to be in the White House taking the “We shall overcome” stance and not look at what it was he stood for and wanted to accomplish, I actually attempted to get more information about Cruz. I didn’t vote
for him when he ran as senator and the most I really know about him is his reading Dr. Seuss’ “Green Eggs and Ham” on the senate floor in 2013 speaking out against Obamacare. To quote the line from Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off,” “And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate,” instead of listening to the liberal drive-by media who loathe Republican conservatives anyway, especially those running for president, and who pledge their allegiance to Obama and the Democratic Party. With the mass amounts of bile I saw posted at the end of various Cruz articles bashing his presidential aspirations, I went to the senator’s website, www.tedcruz.org, to see what the congressman stands for and what he could do as president. Under the heading on his site titled Our Standard: The Constitution, I read some of the highlights that included keeping the words, “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and supporting students’ rights to display banners containing religious content at school sporting events. On the subject of the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms, Cruz argued against gun restrictions before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and called for a special prosecutor to investigate the IRS’ targeting of conservatives. After reading some of Cruz’ accomplishments, I found that they are not enough for me to back him as a presidential candidate. Some may argue, like Obama’s single term as a senator, Cruz still has limited experience in Congress. “Real problem, I think is this: I mean senators are going to have a hard time; first term senators, we already tried a first-term senator (Obama),” said Charles Krauthammer on Fox
Image courtesy: joeforamerica.com
News’ “Special Report.” “Cruz talks, but you have to ‘walk the walk’ rather than just talk the talk. You have to have done something. But that’s not his record in the Senate.” I didn’t vote for Obama in the 2008 and 2012 elections. But upon his winning on election night in 2008, my temporary support of him was not based on him being AfricanAmerican and the country’s first black president. I wanted to support him based on what he could accomplish in the next four to eight years. With his second term almost over, this country is still in dire need of a positive change but
“I am not sure Cruz, if the presidential election were held today, would be the country’s best choice.” I am not sure Cruz, if the presidential election were held today, would be the country’s best choice. Do Americans want to make the same mistake again on the Republican side? There is a lot more to voting for president than just race. I will be proud, should the country one day elect an Hispanic or a female president on the Republican side. If I vote for that person, however, it will be based on what they stand for and not because I am a minority and should vote for that person, regardless of their platform.
Anthony Nguyen Lydia Nigussie Jerome Robinson II James Shrader Fatma Mohamed Swaleh Quan Tran
STUDENT MEDIA ADVISERS Erica Edwards Jack Fletcher David Goodloe Tim Jones
Steve Noviello Larry Ratliff Marshall Siegel
ISSUE DATES April 7 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
EDITORIAL
Freedom for the opPRESSed:
Villalba goes too far with amendment This amendment was created in response to “cop-watching” groups, which tend to be citizens who are concerned about potential police misconduct. These so called cop-watchers organize trips for the purpose of filming or recording the work of police patrols on the streets. Police officers have stated repeatedly that they felt helpless against such groups because they often were too close to the area they were working. They don’t know if these people are going for a smartphone or a weapon when reaching in their pocket. It could be misinterpreted as a threat toward them, according to an article in the Dallas Morning News. Do these people really intend to document an arrest, for instance, by interfering with police work? Is that their goal? Even if one of them interferes, isn’t there already a law that regulates this? This is just the beginning of the dispute. Villalba’s proposal makes a big exception with “news media.” And we say “news media” because the representative has his own definition. A radio or television station that holds a license issued by the Federal Communications Commission; a newspaper that is qualified under Section 2051.044, Government Code, to publish legal notices or is a free newspaper of general circulation and that is published at least once a week and available and of interest to
the general public [...]; or a magazine that appears at a regular interval, that contains stories, articles, and essays by various writers, and that is available and of interest to the general public [...]. First of all, Villalba’s definition of “news media” seems to exclude Richland broadcast journalists because neither the TV nor radio operation has an FCC license. The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently ruled that student-journalists, irrespective of medium, have the same First Amendment rights as any other journalist. Is Villalba so powerful that he is the one to decide what is media and what is not? Furthermore, how are we supposed to approach a situation if the police start to pick and choose who are the media? As Villalba explained to the Dallas Morning News, the bill was drafted by a police union and all he did was present it. Villalba’s media list also leaves out online publications and bloggers. But the important question is: Why is it so important to make a distinction between professional journalists and citizen journalists? Aren’t we all ruled by the Texas Penal Code? Aren’t we all protected by the First Amendment? Villalba made a mistake presenting this amendment and opening it up to interpretation. Worse than that, it goes against our freedom of speech and freedom of the press. —The Chronicle
Today 10:30 a.m.
Peace Pole ceremony
East side of Upper Lake Thunderduck
adjacent to Fannin Hall ceramics porch
April 14 7:30 p.m.
Spring Richland Guitar Ensemble Concert “Touched by Strings”
Fannin Performance Hall
April 15 Noon to 1 p.m.
Richland Steel Sound Steel Band Cafeteria stage, El Paso Hall
April 16 Last day to drop with a “W” 10:30 a.m.
Peace Pole ceremony
East side of Upper Lake Thunderduck
adjacent to Fannin Hall ceramics porch 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Got Talent? Celebrate the Intercultural
Festival by wearing traditional clothing of your home country. We need singers, dancers
and those who play instruments. Contact Christi
Nealy in the OSL in El Paso Hall, Room 040, or call
972-238-6130 for more information.
The Summer 2015 course schedule is available in April.
Note: The Chronicle will not publish Tuesday, April 14 Staff illustration Quan Tran
Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 7, 2015
Who decides what is legitimate news media and what is not? Who decides who are journalists and who are not? It is a debate that has occurred for years in journalism and now has escalated because of a controversial bill proposed by Texas State Representative Jason Villalba, the Republican House member who represents house district 114, part of Dallas County. House Bill 2918 seeks to incorporate some points into Texas Penal Code Section 38.15 that prohibits citizens from interfering in police matters. His proposed amendment labels filming or documenting police action as “interference.” Here is the amendment: Adding Subsections (f) and (g) to read as follows: (1)Filming, recording, photographing, or documenting the officer within 25 feet of the officer; or (2)A filming, recording, photographing, or documenting the officer within 100 feet of the officer while carrying a handgun under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code. Villalba’s measure seeks to create a “safety zone” of 25 feet between police officers and anyone who wants to document an incident. The safety distance is increased to 100 feet if the person is carrying a weapon. Recently, Villalba decided to rewrite the bill to shorten the distance to 15 feet. The Chronicle staff wonders, if there is already a law that regulates this issue, why do we need another one?
Upcoming Events
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Richlandchronicle.wordpress.com April 7, 2015