Richland Chronicle August 23, 2022 issue

CHRONICLE Richland

Vol. L Issue 1, August 23, 2022

Metroplex f l oodi ng turns deadly Pg. 2

• Activities welcome students back Pg. 2 • Starting the semester healthy Pg. 4 • Women’s soccer ready to strike Pg. 5

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2 LOCAL/CAMPUS

August 23, 2022

Torrential downpour across the region CHRONICLE Richland

STUDENT MEDIA LEADERS

Acting Editor Entertainment Editor Online/Special Projects Online/Special Projects

Alex Ortuno Ricky Miller Ryan Bingham Duff Damon Craig

ON THE COVER Stalled cars sit in receeding flood waters in Dallas.

Photo: Associated Press

BACK COVER Staff Illustration: Melanie Castaneda

COVER AND FONTS Certain cover fonts are provided by the following www.nymfont.com – www.bvfonts.com

STUDENT MEDIA STAFF

Photo Courtesy Ron Edwards

A vehicle lays beneath a Mesquite underpass after flood waters swept the vehicle from Texas 352. The driver was killed.

Alex Ortuno

Acting Editor Summer mostly remained dry for the entirety of the region of North Texas. The regular feeling of a dry and arid day was changed completely with torrential downpours and flooding across the metroplex. On Aug. 18, the National Weather Service in Fort Worth said a change in the weather was going to happen the next week with rain expected from Sunday night to Tuesday afternoon.

Even though the region is known for dealing with tornadoes and thunderstorms, the flooding seen throughout the city of Dallas was unlike past events.

The agency said DFW airport faced the second greatest 24-hour precipitation totals since 1919 with 9.19 inches of rain, only beaten by the number one record of 9.57 inches of rain in 1932.

As many woke up with a washout across the city, some areas faced more torrential rainfall than others.

According to Dallas Water Utility Floodway Operations, areas of Downtown Dallas and eastern Dallas faced large amounts of rain

with the White Rock area facing up to 15.31 inches of rain. Richland Campus faced rainfall but not as severe as those on other campuses across the county.

Fatema Rehmant, SGA Region 2 Vice President from Brookhaven Campus describes as the flooding in the area being unlike anything she’s seen in her time in Texas.

“Oh yeah, it’s pretty bad. See, there are places where your shoes are bound to get wet and then there’s a little puddle here and there.

Compared to Indian floods, it’s nothing but in my five years of being in Texas, never have I seen the campus so flooded,” said Rehmant.

Rory Etienne, SGA Parliamentarian from North Lake Campus said the rain has been rough but no flooding has been present so far.

“It has been [raining] pretty hard today but luckily, as far as I can tell, there hasn’t been any flooding. It may flood later tonight or tomorrow though.

It just depends on where you’re located in Irving because Irving has both ‘hilly’ and flat plain areas,” said Etienne.

Eastfield Campus was near parts heavily flooded in Mesquite. Eastfield Campus began efforts to help students with the inclement

weather while others decided to stay safe in their homes, according to SGA state president from Eastfield, Hannah Spohn.

“Eastfield Campus has been affected by stormy weather and flooded pathways.

Students say that the storms have scared them and some of them are even skipping their first day of classes to stay safe. Eastfield, along with offering shelter, is giving our umbrellas and helping arranging transportation to keep students safe,” said Spohn.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a tweet that based on preliminary damage assessments, a declaration of a state of disaster for Dallas County was in effect and is requesting state and federal assistance for impacted individuals.

On Aug. 23, Gov. Abbott visited the city of Dallas and signed a disaster declaration for 23 counties in the North Texas region, including Dallas county, according to a press release from the governor’s webpage.

As rescue efforts were done to help stranded drivers stuck on flooded roads, one fatality was confirmed by Jenkins. A 60 year old woman was killed in Mesquite where the car was swept away by flood waters.

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Student opportunities to learn about campus Alex Ortuno

Acting Editor The semester starts this fall with events where students can interact and enjoy themselves. Kelly Sonnanstine, adviser for the Student Government Association and coordinator for the Office of Student Life said there will be multiple events in the upcoming days.

“For the first two weeks of school, the Office of Student Life and Engagement always do a lot of different things to kind of get people really in the spirit of coming back to school.

The first thing that happens on the first two days of school on the 22nd and 23rd, we have ‘Ask Me’ tables or ‘Donuts and Directions,’” said Sonnanstine.

“Anybody who is having trouble finding where they’re supposed to be can ask questions and those tables will be very easily recognizable. And then the people that are working on them will have buttons on them. And of course, [there will] be doughnuts as well,” said Sonnanstine.

The Welcome Back Bash will return this year but inside instead of regularly outside due to the warmer than normal temperatures.

“We’re doing our Welcome Back Bash, which in the past it’s been outside but because of the heat, we’re moving inside this time.

So we’re going to have music and food and some of our small board games and free food to kind of welcome everybody back,” said Sonnanstine.

OSL will also host events to inform the community of what the campus offers from its departments and resources.

“The following day is our resource fair and that is where we have all the different resources that you can use for assistance on campus or in life in general. We all get together and we kind of have like a little department fair instead of a club fair. It’s kind of like a department fair where you can learn about all the different departments we have on campus that can help you,” said Sonnanstine.

More events regarding student involvement will be held later such as Ducktoberfest and a national voter registration day.

For more information, visit the Office of Student Life, located in El Paso Hall, E040.

Jason Ryer Angelo Diaz Melanie Castaneda Blanca Reyes Max Corder Lyall Leonardo Jerry Weiss Grey Schessler

Ryan Bingham Duff Damon Craig Alex Ortuno Shakir Acrey Sidney Mata Saint Garcia Haley Aguayo Raymond Thomas Pronk

STUDENT MEDIA ADVISERS Erica Edwards

Tim Jones

Jubenal Aguilar

Larry Ratliff

ISSUE DATES September 6 October 4 November 8

September 20 October 18 November 22

December 6

STUDENT MEDIA AWARDS 2021 Pinnacle Award for Two-Year Radio Station of the Year from College Media Association (CMA).

1st Place Cover Design - TIPA, 2021 1st Place Critical Review - TIPA, 2021 Student Organization Community Service Award, 2019 Student Organization of the Year, 2019 CMA Pinnacle Two-Year TV Station Award, 2018 CMA Two-Year Radio Station Award, 2018 ACP Newspaper Pacemaker Winner Award, 2016 ACP Best of Show Award, 2015 ACP Photo Excellence Award, 2015 CMA Newspaper of the Year Finalist, 2014 1st Place – TCCJA Overall General Excellence, 2014 2nd Place – Pinnacle College Media Award, 2014 1st Place – TIPA Sweepstakes, 2005 3rd Place – TIPA Online, 2005 & 2006 Over 270 Texas college journalism awards since 2000

CONTACT INFORMATION El Paso Hall, Room E020, 12800 Abrams Rd., Dallas 75243 Newsroom: 972-238-6079; richlandchronicle@gmail.com Advertising: 972-238-6068 Email: Advertise@dcccd.edu Staff meetings: Monday and Wednesday at 1 p.m. in E020 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 2022

NATIONAL 3

August 23, 2022

Pentagon denies DC mayor’s request for Guard

UPCOMING EVENTS All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise indicated.

Aug. 24 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. i

Speed Friending: A Network for Succeeding at Dallas College Reserve a spot online Sabine Hall, SH117

Aug. 25 noon - 1 p.m. i

Speed Friending: A Network for Succeeding at Dallas College Reserve a spot online Online

Aug. 26

Photos Associated Press

Undocumented immigrants hold items donated from the Red Cross after arriving in the U.S. Capitol from Texas on buses. to lift a pandemic-era emergency health order that restricted migrant entry numbers by denying them a chance to seek asylum. The rule remains in effect under court order.

As of Aug. 5, Texas had bused more than 7,000 migrants to Washington, D.C., and more than 900 to New York City, according to the governor’s office.

As of Aug. 22, the state of Arizona has sent 1,516 migrants to D.C., in 41 trips, according to the governor’s office. Two to three buses leave each week, and each can hold a maximum of 40 migrants.

The governors call the practice a voluntary free ride - paid for by state taxpayers — that gets migrants closer to family or support networks.

But Bowser has argued that the asylumseekers are being “tricked,” as many don’t get close enough to their final destinations and some are ditched at Union Station near the U.S. Capitol and the White House. Often they arrive with no resources and no clue what to do next.

Ducey, who began the program in May, has said everyone on the bus trips is going voluntarily to the nation’s capital with intended final destinations in East Coast cities.

They leave from Arizona’s western Yuma County, a small border county without a shelter or other infrastructure needed to house and process the large number of asylum seekers now arriving.

When her initial request was turned down, Bowser said she expects the problem to only get worse and that if D.C. were a state, she would have already used the Guard for assistance.

State governors control the use of their Guard troops for any state duties. But, as the D.C. mayor, Bowser does not have the authority to personally order a National Guard deployment, an issue that has become emotionally charged in recent years as a symbol of the district’s entrenched status as less than a state.

Her limited authority played a role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. When it became clear that Capitol Police were overmatched by the crowds, Bowser couldn’t immediately deploy the district guard. Instead, crucial time was lost while the request was considered inside the Pentagon, and protesters rampaged through the building.

A coalition of local charitable groups has been working to feed and shelter the migrants, aided by a $1 million grant from FEMA. But organizers warn that both their resources and personnel were nearing exhaustion.

Bowser has said relying on the groups is not sustainable because they are overwhelmed and underfunded.

-The Associated Press

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. i

Community Pantry Day El Paso Hall, E030 noon - 1:30 p.m.

i

Speed Friending: A Network for Succeeding at Dallas College Reserve a spot online Sabine Hall, SH117

Aug. 30 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. i

Welcome Back Bash El Paso Hall Student Lounge

Aug. 31 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. i

Resource Fair El Paso Hall Student Lounge

Sept. 5 i

Labor Day holiday Campus will be closed and classes will not be held.

All Dallas College buildings

Sept. 6

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. i Mayor Bowser has asked the Pentagon for National Guard troops in D.C.

Resource Fair El Paso Hall Student Lounge

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The Pentagon on Aug. 22 once again denied a request from the District of Columbia seeking National Guard assistance in dealing with thousands of migrants being bused to the city from Texas and Arizona.

According to a copy of a letter to the city reviewed by The Associated Press, the Defense Department said use of the D.C. National Guard would be inappropriate and would hurt the overall readiness of the troops, forcing some to cancel or disrupt military training.

The letter said the department also is concerned about putting uniformed military members in direct contact with migrants to provide food, sanitation or other support, saying the troops have no real experience or training for that mission.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin rejected a similar D.C. request earlier this month, and Mayor Muriel Bowser had said she would send an amended, “more specific” proposal. Bowser had initially asked for an open-ended deployment of 150 National Guard members per day as well as a “suitable federal location” for a mass housing and processing center, mentioning the D.C. Armory as a logical candidate.

The revised request asked that the help be provided for just 90 days.

The Pentagon also denied the use of the armory, saying it is not air conditioned and would have to undergo costly changes and repairs to make it suitable for overnight stays.

When the Defense Department rejected the first request, officials said the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s food and shelter program has provided funding for the problem, and has indicated those funds are sufficient at this point.

The latest letter said the city should continue to work with non-government groups to address the issue.

During the spring, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, both Republicans, announced plans to send busloads of migrants to Washington, D.C., in response to President Joe Biden’s decision

4 CAMPUS/ENTERTAINMENT

August 23, 2022

Red River Hall rises

Professor gives advice to those who want to succeed in a new semester

Staff Photos Blanca Reyes

Top: The building takes shape as workers add another story.

Bottom Left: Workers make sure ground floor plans are followed.

Bottom Right: A giant crane has become a campus fixture.

“Walking and Talking” (1996) – This comicdrama looks at a group of friends with Heche, Catherine Keener and Liev Schreiber enjoying their lives as twentysomethings. So you know, they each had a membership at a video store. That was relevant in people’s lives at the time.

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As another semester begins, let’s breathe new life into old ideas for a successful postpandemic semester.

First, be ready to have a great semester.

Everything begins with a thought, so set your intention to make this a successful semester.

A successful semester does not simply happen, but by consciously planning for it, we make choices and decisions that will result in a favorable semester for us.

Second, get organized. To get organized for your classes, have a designated study area.

Clear your study desk at home and keep it tidy so that it remains your go-to place to study.

Once you’ve completed using something, be it books, technology, clothes, lunch box or water bottle, or sports equipment, put it back in its designated place so that you can find it easily for its next use. Get ready for the following day by putting your materials and items together.

Do a run-through in your head of the following day. Have a set bedtime routine and try to sleep at the same time every night.

No screen time at least one hour before bedtime. Research shows that the light from the device screen hampers our ability to fall asleep quickly. Instead, develop the habit to read for half an hour before going to bed.

Make sure to get seven to eight hours of quality sleep each night.

Third, make effort. Effort is entirely in our hands and it carries the potential to affect the result. Show up on time or a few minutes early. Anticipate hitting red traffic lights, driving through school zones, or having to look

“Donnie Brasco” (1997) – In this Mike Newelldirected gem, Heche portrayed the spouse of Johnny Depp’s title character, based on Joseph Pistone’s book, going undercover for the FBI. The duo share some great scenes together.

Co-star Al Pacino is very subtle as gangster Lefty Ruggiero.

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for a parking spot. The way to combat these “speed-breakers” is to allow additional drive time so that we aren’t rushing.

Then, in class, pay attention by bringing all your materials, participating by listening and asking relevant questions and keeping up with your daily work. Ask instructors for help if you don’t understand something.

Do your homework every day at the same time. Set aside “homework time.” Do not rush through tasks, and do devote sufficient time for each work item. Manage your time daily and prioritize your tasks.

What if you don’t like a particular course?

Remind yourself that its presence in your college life is brief. Don’t indulge in negative self-talk. Speak with your instructors. Get a study buddy or form a study group.

What if you are not motivated? Newsflash we don’t need to be motivated to start doing things. We just need to do them. Please ask any responsible person if they are motivated to do the pile of dirty dishes and laundry, and yet here we are, dressed in laundered clothes and not in ER suffering from food poisoning because we ate mold in a dirty plate. So, don’t wait for motivation to strike.

Instead, rely on commitment and discipline to begin tasks. Break down a big task into smaller goals. Take ministeps to complete daily goals. Accomplishing tasks and minigoals is the great motivator.

College is a place for studies, as well as for learning useful life-long skills, making friends, and building one’s character. Be a kind and helpful person. Greet others. If someone is carrying more bags than their body, offer to help. Hold the door open for the person behind you.

Be courteous when speaking. Listen to what others have to say. Say the magic words, please, sorry and thank you. Remember to schedule some daily time for play and for personal reflection.

And finally, for students who have support from parents, family, neighbors, colleagues, and friends, be grateful, and remember that it’s not what others do for us, but what we do for ourselves that will eventually make us successful.

Allow the “support system” to take a step back and enable students to become responsible for their own semester’s – and life’s success.

Above all else, let’s relish this time as it will not come back.

Aditi Samarth is a professor of humanities for Dallas College Richland Campus.

“Wag the Dog” (1997) – Oscar winners Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman share some pleasant scenes with Heche in director Barry Levenson’s satire of a fictional war. It also stars Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson and a very young Kirsten Dunst.

“Volcano” (1997) – This came out in a year where disaster flicks were all the rage for a brief second.

Heche shares some decent screen time with Oscarwinner Tommy Lee Jones as a river of lava may or may not flow through L.A.

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“Psycho” (1998) – Gus Van Sant, a two-time Oscar nominee, directs this lackluster shot-by-shot remake of the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock classic. Heche plays Marion Crane, who exits stage left in the proceedings. With Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn and Viggo Mortensen.

-Ricky Miller C-

August 23, 2022

HEALTH/SPORTS 5

COVID-19 lingers as monkeypox emerges

Photo Associated Press

A physician’s assistant prepares a syringe with the monkeypox vaccine. biology professor Jill Buettner said that mutaAlex Ortuno tions of the virus are to be expected and are Acting Editor not out of the ordinary.

“There’s always a chance because a new variOfficials report that the number of new COVID-19 cases is on the rise in Dallas ant is just a new mutation. It’s just another word for mutation, so a new variant which County even as global numbers decline.

According to a spokesperson for Dallas viruses accumulate mutations, no matter what County Health and Human Services, the virus,” said Buettner.

Even though mutations are expected, they COVID-19 assessment risk has been raised to can bring changes in how the virus transmits orange as cases begin to rise once again.

This comes as the Associated Press reports and what it does to the infected hosts.

“So this is not a new concept for COVID that the subvariant of the omicron variant known as BA.2 is more contagious and has but certainly there’s always a chance that become the dominant strain in the United there could be a new mutation that somehow renders that virus more lethal, more contaStates.

While a new variant of the virus has become gious, more aggressive. We’ve already seen dominant and cases rise, Richland Campus some of that,” said Buettner.

“There’s always a chance that something very aggressive could mutate. However, it’s more likely that it’s just going to keep kind of petering out,” said Buettner.

Buettner stresses that when cases of people testing positive rise, it is important to see if hospitalizations from the virus are changing as well.

“I would say you’re having an uptick of cases but my question would be ‘Are you having an uptick of hospitalizations,’ that would be more of my concern,” Buettner said.

According to a study from UT Southwestern Medical Center about the future projections of COVID-19 for the metroplex. Hospitalizations have overall declined slightly in the region but due to recent trends, hospitalizations could return to higher levels by early fall.

Buettner believes that with the new semester beginning, more people will test positive for the virus.

“There may be an uptick of cases as people start going back to school. Certainly anytime people get together there’s going to be more [of a risk of] transmission,” she said.

Buettner said that people should still practice caution and allow people to practice safety standards that they are comfortable with, even if COVID-19 has become less of a problem than in previous years.

“If you live with someone who is immunocompromised, if you are for any reason worried about it, I think it’s a healthy mindset to allow people who want to wear masks to understand that people may not want to be close, to be able to just be tolerant of whatever somebody’s preferences are,” said Buettner.

As for Dallas College, an email was sent to employees on Aug. 15 advising caution about COVID-19 and monkeypox. That email went out just after the U.S. Department of Health

and Human Services declared monkeypox a public health emergency.

According to the World Health Organization, monkeypox is transmitted from person to person by contact with lesions, bodily fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials. Buettner said that people should be careful as physical contact with infected lesions can spread the disease.

Even though the omicron subvariant is more contagious, Dallas College will remain open, monitoring the situation closely, according to Megan Deal, senior administrative assistant to the vice chancellor of operations at Dallas College.

“We will continue to engage in normal instruction, including face-to-face, online and hybrid course options at the present time.

Masks are now recommended but not required at Dallas College locations and events. We continue to closely monitor the positive cases within Dallas College as well as the surrounding county and will make any changes to our mask recommendation, as necessary, and in accordance with Dallas County Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control guidelines,” Deal said.

For more information about monkeypox, visit the following websites.

Dallas County Health and Human Services

www.dallascounty.org/departments/dchhs/monkeypox.php

Centers of Disease Control and Prevention https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/index.html Texas Department of State Health Services www.dshs.state.tx.us/IDCU/disease/ monkeypox/Monkeypox/

Saint Garcia Staff Writer

Richland’s women’s soccer Thunderducks are coming out of the off-season with new incoming players and the common goal of breaking the ceiling of last season’s efforts.

In the 2021-2022 season, the T-Ducks finished with a competitive 6-3-1 (.650-win percentage) in their conference.

On Aug. 15, the NJCAA released the preseason rankings naming Richland 9th overall coming into this year’s season.

New players are also being introduced into the culture that is Richland. The Women’s T-Ducks have always been a very competitive team, especially when it comes to the conference battles with longtime rival Brookhaven.

This season’s success seems to start with building the foundation of chemistry which would lead to a successful year.

When asked about their interest in joining Richland sports, Gissel Hernandez, a freshman defender, said; “Everyone is so nice, and they treat you as equals... especially the returning players.”

“If anything, they encourage you to be better.” Hearing the excited tone in her voice shows the chemistry already building.

This year comes with an absolute test within the first month.

The key matchups are all on the road against the University of Texas at Dallas (7-2 at home, 2021 season), Navarro College (8-1 at home, 2021 season), and the defending champions Brookhaven campus (10-1 at home, 2021 season).

The excitement that comes with the competitive level has to come into play as many of the returning players have been able to experience the tough second half of the season and going into the playoffs.

Incoming sophomore midfielder Ashlyn Pozorski expressed her experience.

“I’ve been at a pretty competitive level going to national leagues... so coming here I already have the competitive mindset,” Pozorski said.

That same mindset is going to be focused as the season prolongs as the women’s soccer team looks to advance further into playoffs and in the hopes of bringing Richland the championship home.

The women’s soccer team practices on the soccer field.

Staff Photo Blanca Reyes

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Women’s soccer: Different players, common goals

6

August 23, 2022

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mythology, spooky stories and folk lore

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