February 5, 2013

Chronicle Richland

Vol. XXXVII, Issue 4, February 5, 2013

A College of the Dallas County Community College District

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Equal opportunity Pg. 6 7 for all?

Also inside: Eastfield lockdown

Pg. 3

‘Bullet to the Head’ review

Pg. 4

CAMPUS

Bass techniques class lures fishing enthusiasts JOYCE JACKSOn Copy Editor

Richlandchronicle.com February 5, 2013

A bass techniques course, an accelerated course in bass fishing strategy, is being offered through Continuing Education in February.

Four classes will be offered from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Feb. 12, 19 and 26 and at the same time Thursday, Feb. 28, in Wichita Hall.

Heather Young, coordinator of Continuing Education and Workforce Training, said this is the first time this particular course has been offered.

“It’s the only course offered in Texas,” Young said. “There are a lot of passionate anglers in North Texas.”

Young said Gary White, a fisherman living in Oklahoma, called her last fall about offering the classes because Dallas is a great location. White has already set up such classes in other states.

“People enjoy fishing when they are not busy with work and family,” Young said.

“It’s a great thing for them to do to wind down from the work week. They can spend time with family and friends.”

Young said fishing is a relatively inexpensive hobby compared to other sports. There are already 60 people enrolled, but there’s still plenty of space for others to enroll.

“People are passionate about fishing,” she said.

Each course will have a recognized speak-

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Image courtesy dnr.state.oh.us

Richland is offering bass fishing courses on Feb. 12, 19, 26 and 28 in Wichita Hall. The cost for the course is $99.

er, and the program itself has been inducted into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.

On Feb. 12, Ken Cook from Meers, Okla., Bassmaster Classic Champion and B.A.S.S. hall of famer, will discuss bass behavior, fishing spinnerbaits from A to Z and finesse tactics. On Feb. 19, Paul Elias from Laurel, Miss., also Bassmaster Classic Champion and FLW record setter, will talk about tackle and tactics for fishing the Carolina and Alabama Rigs, deep cranking on structure and understanding seasonal patterns. On Feb. 26, Clark Wendlandt from Cedar Park, FLW champion and four-time Bassmaster Classic finalist, will discuss power and sight fishing, how to locate bass and cranking shallow cover. On Feb. 28, George Cochran from Hot Springs, Ark., two-time Bassmaster Classic champion and FLW champion, will speak on flipping

and pitching, topwater fishing from A to Z, jerkbait fishing and fishing squarebill crankbaits.

White, who is “officially retired” from working at several colleges in Oklahoma, said during a phone interview that he has since started his own business with fishing schools.

“We’ve been at 137 colleges in 43 different states and Canada,” White said. “Then in 1994, the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society bought us out. We went to work for them.”

White said the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society is the largest fishing organization in the country with 700,000 members. It’s an organization that originated professional bass fishing. They have the “Bassmaster” TV show and magazine.

“The Bassmaster Classic Champions (four instructors),” White said, are “like the World

Series of bass fishing. When you win that, you are elevated to a different status. These guys are well known.”

White said the bass fishing industry originated most of the changes in fishing and boating. In addition to special boats for bass fishing, the industry has also developed better tackle and lures.

Richland was chosen as one of the community colleges to offer the classes, White said, because community colleges fit better in this type of instruction.

“These classes haven’t been done since 2006,” he said. “At that time, ESPN curtailed all of their outdoor programming. We just retired. We’ve had several schools contact us. We are doing four this year in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and in Nashville, Tenn.

White said all the classes are being done at the same time. The instructors go from one place to the other to teach them.

Fishing enthusiasts will enjoy these classes, White said, “If you are a bass fisherman, no matter how good you are, you’re not as good as these pros. The pros spend 250 days a year bass fishing. These guys are definitely good at it. They are so far ahead of the average fisherman.”

White said the class members will learn a lot from the instructors in a short priod of time because they teach what they do and the techniques they like best.

The four-part course costs $99. For more information, call Young at 972-761-6716 or to enroll, 972-238-6145. The course number Great Scott! The 1970s cult classic movie,

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‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ shadowcast thrills at theater HANNA FOSTER Staff Writer

Great Scott! The 1970s cult classic movie, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” is hitting stages near you.

For those of you who don’t know, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is not your average musical.

It is an outrageous story about a young couple, Brad and Janet, who get blind-sided by a flat tire while on their way to announce their engagement to their favorite teacher, Dr. Scott. A storm begins to roll in, leaving them no choice but to seek refuge at a nearby creepy castle where the strange Dr. Frank-NFurter is hosting a convention of sorts. Soon to follow are the peculiar trials and tribulations that the two experience.

Many know the story, thanks to the movie that came out in 1975. Teens and “twentysomethings’ were more likely introduced to it through its role in the recent movie, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”

As featured in “Perks,” there are still some theaters today that perform “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” via a shadowcast.

A shadowcast is a technique in which a

Eastfield lockdown REBEcCA Banks Editor in Chief

Last Tuesday evening, the Eastfield College campus located in Mesquite, was locked down.

According to the Timely Notification Bulletin released Wednesday, a male suspect departed from the DART bus at La Prada and John West in Dallas. The DART police reported that the suspect was carrying a gun and walked across the fields toward campus.

The bulletin identified the suspect as a black male, approximately 19 years old, wearing a black shirt and blue jeans.

“The DART police department notified the DCCCD Central Dispatch at Brookhaven at 9:49 p.m. Brookhaven then notified the police at Eastfield,” said Sharon Cook.

Cook is assistant to the president on campus.

Cook added that evening classes are released by 10 p.m. and at the time of the incident very few students would be on campus.

At press time the suspect has not been found.

movie is played on a screen and actors act out the scenes on stage while the movie is playing behind them. These shows encourage as much audience participation as possible, which usually involves dressing up and shouting out jokes in reference to the movie.

Another thing that sets shadowcasts apart is the unique addition of what they like to call “riffers.” Riffers are performers who walk around the theater and sit in the audience to tell jokes and encourage audience participation.

I had never been to a shadowcast before and this all sounded very interesting to me.

So my friend and I headed to the nearest shadowcast showing.

I must admit, I had a great time! The cast did a wonderful job acting out each scene and they could not have possibly picked a better man to play Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Tim Curry.

The riffers were hilarious and the audience was extraordinary. We all got up and danced “The Time Warp” and sang the words to every song.

It was, overall, a very good experience.

And if you ever have free time or want to try something different, I would definitely recommend seeing it.

The group I saw was Amber Does Dallas.

The ensemble performs “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” twice a month at the Lakewood Theater in Dallas.

For more information visit, www.amberdoesdallas.com.

Image courtesy archiveattic.wordpress.com

A scene from the 1970s “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” The shadowcast performers act each scene while the movie plays in the background.

Upcoming Events Each week, the Division of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts at Richland College presents its Recital Series. All performances are on Tuesdays at 12:30 p.m. in the Fannin Performance Hall and are free to the general public. For more information about this series, contact Dr. Michael Crawford, associate dean of performing arts.

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

Fannin Performance Hall, Room F-102 The Richland College Instrumental faculty will perform.

Tuesday, Feb. 5: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

East Circle Drive (close to the library) Free STD Testing - The Dallas County Health and Human Services Sexually Transmitted Disease Mobile Medical Unit will be testing for HIV, chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhea. For questions, call 214-500-2968. For more information, please call the Richland Health Center at 972-238-6135 or stop by Thunderduck Hall, Room T-110.

Thursday, Feb. 14: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Valentine’s Day Student Club Fair El Paso Hall - This is the best time to learn about the huge number of clubs available to students. Sign up in the Office of Student Life in El Paso Hall, Room E-040, if you want to reserve a table. Or, call 972-238-6130 for more information.

Ongoing free flu shots - Dallas County Health & Human Services 2377 N. Stemmons Fwy., Room #141, Dallas The shots are available for adults and children. Children’s flu shots are offered at each Dallas County Health Dept. Immunization Clinic. For more information call 214-819-2162 or go to http://www.dallascounty.org/hhs - for updates and a location near you. The flu season runs from October 2012 through April 2013.

Richlandchronicle.com February 5, 2013

STUDENT MEDIA LEADERS

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MOVIES

As subtle as a ‘Bullet to the Head’

RICKY MILLER Staff Writer

Richlandchronicle.com February 5, 2013

Sylvester Stallone has received a bad rap for years. Everyone associated him with the two “R” personas: Rambo and Rocky.

People seem to have forgotten he wrote the original “Rocky” as a vehicle for himself.

For crying out loud, “Rocky” won best picture that year (1977). He was also nominated for best actor that year.

“Bullet to the Head” was supposed to come out last fall, but, for some unexplained reason, it was relegated to the back shelf.

Now, without much fanfare, Warner Bros. is releasing it under the Dark Castle banner, which usually releases garbage like “Ghost Ship” and the unnecessary update of “House on Haunted Hill,” with Oscar® winner Geoffrey Rush.

Dark Castle is also prominent for the executive producers involved, including Joel Silver (who produced the original “Die Hard” and “Lethal Weapon”) and Robert Zemeckis

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RAYMOND THOMAS PRONK Staff Writer

President Lincoln meets with advisers to discuss the timing for passing the 13th Amendment “Lincoln,” the film, is a riveting and moving masterpiece of an historical drama that covers the last four months of Abraham Lincoln’s life and his efforts to pass through Congress the 13th Amendment and end the Civil War. Lincoln is played by Daniel Day-Lewis, who spent a year researching the life and time of the president. Lewis’s memorable performance transforms Lincoln from a white marble statue in Washington to an in-the-flesh father, husband, lawyer, storyteller, politician, strategist and visionary on the screen. His performance should earn Day-Lewis another

(who directed the “Back to the Future” trilogy).

The plot to “Bullet” revolves around Stallone’s assassin, James Bronomo, getting revenge for his partner (Jon Seda), who was killed by a character simply known as Keegan (Jason Momosa, 2011 version of “Conan the Barbarian”). Bronomo hooks up with a cop named Taylor Kwon (Sung Kang), who grew up in Florida.

Also, throw in Bronomo’s daughter Lisa (Sarah Shahi), a tattoo artist who just wants James to quit the business altogether.

Boy, have times changed. Go back about 25 years, 1985 to be exact. Both “Rocky IV” and “Rambo: First Blood Part II” dominated American screens.

One of my all-time favorite Stallone flicks is called “Night Hawks,” an action drama with Stallone starring as Dick DeSilva, a New York City detective. It marked Dutchman Rutger Hauer’s first stateside entry. It also co-starred Billy Dee Williams and Lindsay Crouse (TV’s “Bionic Woman”).

Nowadays, he just wants the respect. I

thought that would come with Richard Donner’s “Assassins” (1995), a character-driven drama in which he was paired with the vibrant Julianne Moore facing off against Antonio Banderas, a killer who wants to be the world’s No.1 assassin.

He tried again in 1997 with a starring role in James Mangold’s “Cop Land,” the story of a small town sheriff in the fictional town of Garrison, N. J. His character (Freddy Heflin) sustains a brain injury when rescuing a stranded motorist (Annabella Sciorra) whose car crashes into the water. I thought an all-star cast with the likes of Oscar winner Robert De Niro, Michael Rapaport, Robert Patrick, Harvey Keitel and Ray Liotta would guarantee that respect would finally come his way.

Stallone also did a credible job tackling the Michael Caine role in Stephen Kay’s update of “Get Carter.” That flick was panned when it originally came out in 2000, but it is actually a pretty darn good flick.

For some unknown reason, Louisiana seems to be a happening place to make mov-

ies. In addition to “Bullet to the Head,” last year, some duds such as the Nicolas Cageled kidnapped daughter stinker of Simon West’s “Stolen,” as well as “Hatchet,” and its sequel , “The Expendables 2,” “The Cleaner,” “Seeking Justice” (also with Cage) and the upcoming Antoine Fuqua presidential action drama “Olympus Has fallen,” with Aaron Eckhart, Gerard Butler, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman. The Crescent State seems to be a place with tax abatements aplenty.

I also have a bit of a soft spot for director Walter Hill, one of my favorite action directors who had a trio of great films in the late 1980s with “Extreme Prejudice,” “Red Heat” and “Johnny Handsome.”

Going back, he also helmed “The Warriors” and “48 Hrs.,” a couple of dynamic and gritty action entries.

Even though I have a feeling this will sink at the box office, it still proves that Stallone can carry a movie, albeit one without the old days of strong fanfare.

Grade: B-

Go see ‘Lincoln’ Oscar, which would be his third Academy Award for best actor.

The focus of the movie is Lincoln’s efforts in January 1865, with the assistance of his close adviser and Secretary of State William Seward (played by David Strathairn), to round up enough Democratic and Republican votes to pass a bill in the House of Representatives that would lead to the passage of the 13th Amendment that would abolish slavery in the United States. Lincoln directs Seward to enlist three unscrupulous political agents to offer patronage jobs, once they leave Congress in March, to lame-duck Democrats, who lost their seats in the November 1864 election, in exchange for their voting for the bill in January.

Lincoln seeks the assistance of Radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones), leader of the abolitionist movement and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, to secure the votes of Radical Republicans in the House.

Lincoln also needs the votes of all the conservative Republicans in the House. To accomplish this, Lincoln seeks the help of Preston Blair (Hal Holbrook), founder of the Republican Party, and unofficial adviser to Lincoln. Blair gives Lincoln his support provided he is given the authority to go to

Image credit Ign.com

now, now, now!

Richmond, Va., the capitol of the Confederacy, to initiate peace talks.

Blair is successful in getting the Confederacy to send a three-man peace delegation headed by the Confederate States vice president Alexander Stephens (Jackie Earle Haley), that is delayed en route by Lincoln in order to first get the emancipation bill through Congress. The bill almost fails at the last moment when the Democrats disclose to the House the rumor that a Confederate peace delegation is in Washington. Lincoln replies to the rumor by sending a misleading message to the House and the historic bill passes on Jan. 31.

Lincoln finally meets with the Confederate peace delegation on Feb. 3, 1865, in Hampton Roads on the River Queen steamboat.

The meeting ends in failure because Lincoln offers no concessions and demands the end of slavery as a condition for peace — the unconditional surrender of the South.

The Civil War’s massive death toll exceeding 600,000 and destruction are graphically

illustrated on screen with Lincoln’s visit on April 3 to the Petersburg battlefield after the Union victory to meet with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (Jared Harris).

“Lincoln” is a Hollywood blockbuster with record box-office receipts of more than $175 million and 12 Academy Award nominations.

The film faces stiff competition at the box office and at the Academy Awards from the films “Argo,” “Les Miserables,” “Life of Pi,” “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Zero Dark Thirty.”

I believe “Lincoln” will win at least five Academy Awards including best picture, actor (Day-Lewis), director (Steven Spielberg), adapted screenplay (Tony Kushner), and cinematography (Janusz Kamiński) at the 85th Academy Awards ceremony on Feb. 24.

Celebrate the anniversary of the birth of this historic president on Feb. 12, 1809 or the Presidents’ Day and the Washington’s Birthday holiday on Feb. 18 by seeing “Lincoln.”

Grade: (A) Image credit Welivefilm.com

GAME REVIEW

Gaming Editor

So many choices, so little time

“The Walking Dead” is based on the comic book series, which they use to transcend the game visually to give players that edgy look and feel of the comic book world.

I remember when the demo first came out and I was already anxious for “Episode 1: A New Day” to come out. Knowing myself, if I had played each episode individually by each release date, it would have driven me insane. So I decided to wait for all five episodes, which are “Episode 1: A New Day,” “Episode 2: Starved for Help,” “Episode 3: Long Road Ahead,” “Episode 4: Around Every Corner” and “Episode 5: No Time Left,” to come out and play them back to back.

Talk about an intense roller coaster ride and a compelling story line that makes a player not want to put the controller down until it’s finished! I have not played a game like that in a long time, which, to be honest, brings me hope of the future in games.

Being able to literally choose your own path along with the set story line is something that causal gamers do not always get to experience. Telltale games just nailed it, where everything is so intricately sewn within its own unique twist. And there are twists and turns, ups and downs, just a serious emotional roller coaster.

Playing this game makes players become attached to the characters. You have to make the biggest decisions of your game life, because any choice you make will affect the

story and the people who are in it. So choose wisely. But all the biggest decisions, you know, the life-or-death kind, are timed!

So it makes it so much harder and you end up surprising yourself with the end results. I know that so many times I’ll make a decision and then doubt it later; luckily most of the time, I end up making the right decision. But I would be seriously worried until I saw what my consequences were.

I love games that make you think and worry and problem solve. Don’t get me wrong, I “luurv” my first-person shooters. But “The Walking Dead” has given players a new way to play, not a whole lot of action play like a FPS but enough gore and some seriously scary and demented (expletive omitted). Trying to be ladylike with some of my terms, but you get the gist.

I’m trying not to give anything away because I do not want to sway your decisions on this game. It makes it so much more fun when you have to figure it out on your own.

You should also play it in the dark, that is if you’re not chicken to do so.

So my verdict is (drum roll) buy the game!

It is one of a kind and you will not be disappointed. It’s only $29.99 for all five episodes, which is a good buy for games these days. If that’s still too pricey for you, then go rent it!

You just have to play this game, or you will be missing out.

Also, there is a season two of “The Walking Dead” that is in the works right now and all the choices you made in season one do matter for season two! So good luck and no pressure.

Images credit Leagueofcomicgeeks.com, Shortandsweetreviews.co

Richlandchronicle.com February 5, 2013

MARY CHANNELL

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Opinion

D. Daniels, 25, psychology “Mainly, I agree to some extent. The government is giving them a chance to earn their citizenship the right way instead of being like, ‘Hey, you need to get up out of here’.”

Immigration reform,

Trinh Duong, 25, computer science “I think we should open our hearts to other countries. USA is God’s country.”

Madeline Battle, 19, addictive studies/ philosophy “I agree with it because I have a good friend who loves America and works way too hard to support herself. Our kind of freedom shouldn’t be such a pain.”

David Coley, 20, visual communications/Advertising “We are and always have been a nation of immigrants.

The president, myself, my friends, my family- we are all mosaics of races and countries. It’s about time we had a little reform.”

America’s dilemma: citizenship or deportation?

Raymond Thomas Pronk

Richlandchronicle.com February 5, 2013

Staff Writer

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“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

– Albert Einstein President Barack Obama flew to Las Vegas last week to give a speech at a local school outlining his views and principles for comprehensive immigration reform.

“Right now, we have 11 million undocumented immigrants in America; 11 million men and women from all over the world who live their lives in the shadows. Yes, they broke the rules. They crossed the border illegally. Maybe they overstayed their visas. Those are facts. Nobody disputes them. But these 11 million men and women are now here,” Obama said.

Why are there more than 11 million illegal aliens in the United States? Simply put, the federal government under both Democratic and Republican progressive presidents has refused to vigorously enforce existing immigration law as set forth in federal statutes and regulations and failed to control and secure U.S. borders against a massive invasion of illegal aliens. These presidents betrayed their oath of office to defend and protect the Constitution.

In a debate with Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale in 1984, President Ronald Reagan said, “I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here, even though some time back they may have entered illegally.”

On Nov. 6, 1986, Congress enacted the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), also known as the Simpson-Mazzoli Act, to reform immigration law and control the number of illegal immigrants entering the country. Reagan signed the bill.

Under this law approximately 3 million illegal aliens who had continuously resided in the U.S. before Jan.1, 1982, were granted legal status and eventually citizenship — amnesty for illegal aliens.

Since then, the federal government has failed to control and secure the borders and by so doing, the 1986 law, by granting amnesty, created a strong magnet or incentive for future illegal aliens. Both Reagan and the American people were double-crossed by progressive Democrats and Republicans in Congress who really wanted open borders and unlimited illegal immigration.

The American people are asking for immigration law enforcement and secure borders and not Obama’s comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship.

Americans favor limited controlled legal immigration but oppose open borders with unlimited illegal immigration.

So-called “undocumented workers” or more accurately illegal aliens should, as required by federal law, be removed from their place of work and deported to their country of origin.

Why? First, aliens broke into the country illegally when they entered the U.S. without a valid visa, or overstayed their visas and did not return to the country of origin. Second, aliens broke the law when they either stole

identities of U.S. citizens or purchased fraudulent documents such as driver’s licenses and Social Security cards in order to obtain employment in the U.S. Third, aliens broke the law when they worked in the U.S. without having the legal status to do so. Fourth, many employers broke the law when they knowingly hired illegal aliens.

You do not reward criminal behavior by granting a pathway to citizenship. The rule of law requires federal government enforcement of immigration law by deporting illegal aliens.

When you multiply these crimes by millions, you are dealing with a crime wave and mass invasion that has been sanctioned by the progressive ruling elites in Washington from both the Democratic and Republican parties who favor open borders and token enforcement of existing federal immigration law.

Why has the ruling elite ignored the will of the American people? The Democratic Party favors open borders and a pathway to citizenship or amnesty for illegal aliens because it believes the overwhelming majority of these illegal aliens will, when they become citizens, vote for Democratic candidates.

Progressive Republicans likewise favors open borders and amnesty for illegal aliens because many of the businesses that employ illegal aliens also contribute to the campaigns of Republican candidates.

Both political parties could care less that millions of American citizens are unemployed as a direct result of policies that encouraged massive illegal immigration. Staying

in power, not the welfare of the American people, was and is the top priority of these politicians.

The 11 million illegal aliens and their dependents should be given the choice to either voluntarily return to their country of origin by a certain date or face deportation under existing federal immigration law. With more than 25 million American citizens seeking permanent full time jobs, this would immediately reduce the number of unemployed citizens by millions.

Most Americans would agree with two of Obama’s principles of comprehensive immigration reform, namely “to stay focused on enforcement” and “to bring our legal immigration system into the 21st century.”

However, most Americans would not agree with Obama to first give the 11 millionplus illegal aliens a pathway to citizenship or amnesty for illegal aliens before first controlling and securing the borders and enforcing existing immigration law.

There is an old saying in Texas, “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.”

“You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

—Abraham Lincoln Raymond Thomas Pronk is host of the Pronk Pops Show on KDUX web radio from 3-5 p.m. Fridays and author of the companion blog http://www. pronkpops.wordpress.com/

where do you stand?

Opinion

Staff photos Isai Diaz

What is your stance on immigration reform?

I support immigration reform.

I believe this is bad for the U. S. A. What would Christopher Columbus do?

Jackie Farina, 21, engineering “If they’re willing to work, let them stay. If they’re criminals, keep them out.”

The New Colossus

By Emma Lazarus, 1883 The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

An excerpt from the famous poem that is inscribed on a plaque on the base of the Statue of Liberty. The poet believed that the Statue of Liberty welcomes all castaways, misfits and homeless types dreaming of freedom.

We want to hear from you! Post your answer at www.richlandchronicle.com

A dream come true

BLANCA REYES Staff Writer

“We are not going to ship back 11 million people, we’re not going to do it as a practical matter … that’s not what America is about,” President Barack Obama said recently about immigration reform.

Obama has targeted this national concern with the support of other political figures and organizations such as Sen. John McCain, Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Utah) and the National Immigration Forum.

Being one of Obama’s campaign promises, I think it is time to work seriously on comprehensive immigration reform because it is not a secret that there are around 11 million human beings living in the shadows and being treated as second-class citizens.

Although some Republicans say that any serious amnesty would be like rewarding “criminals,” it is well known that all immigrants, legal and illegal, are important to the United States economy.

Some people point to undocumented people as part of the problem of the weak economy and Social Security problems that the nation is experiencing.

However, it is well known that these people do not have access to almost any welfare programs that require proof of citizenship or legal residence.

In addition, the majority of undocumented persons is afraid to come out of the shadows and speak out about these issues. Also, it is a fact that most of them come here trying to

find a better life, and, in the United States, a place to call their new home.

Another important factor, I think, is that there are millions of undocumented young people who have been raised here who are trying to get a higher education, are law-abiding and are just ready to get the opportunity to work in their adopted country.

It could mean a significant influx of money through taxes that these people would pay for having the opportunity to get a good job legally.

Additionally, I believe that with immigration reform, Obama will be delivering a blow to organized crime, which takes advantage of these people’s dreams and poverty to obtain money for their illegal activities.

For example, human trafficking is one of the most terrible crimes because undocumented people sometimes try to reunite their families, including little children, and are forced, due to their status, to bring them into the most dangerous and inhumane situations.

In addition, it is a fact that there are certain types of jobs that have been traditionally done by immigrants. Most of them are illegal workers, in agriculture and construction. Even that has been affected since a few years ago when a strong anti-immigrant feeling started.

Finally, President Obama said the United States is bound by a spirit of freedom, justice, compassion, opportunities and immigrants, who help every day for this country to be as great and cosmopolitan as it is.

Richlandchronicle.com February 5, 2013

Chinedu Odiachi, 20, undeclared “He’s (Obama) trying to speed up the legal way. I think it’s pretty good. He’s doing the right thing.”

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M

Richlandchronicle.com February 5, 2013

Class of 2013

Meet Mariana

ariana, a native of Mexico and mother of four, came to A&M-Commerce to pursue a career in bilingual education, something that wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for a group of alumni who took the time to teach her English.

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“Wow, my life has changed so much after coming to A&M-Commerce,� she said. “I have grown as a person, as a woman, as a mom, and as a citizen.

I am really glad I decided to get involved with university life.�

A Stars on the Rise scholarship recipient, Mariana is excited to work in elementary education helping to bridge the gap between Hispanic families and American schools. She also hopes to pursue a master’s degree in Spanish so she can teach and share her knowledge with others.

When she’s not in class, Mariana enjoys volunteering with the Office of Hispanic Outreach and unwinding at the Morris Recreation Center. “The university staff has been so helpful with studying, scholarships and showing me opportunities to get involved,� she said. “I really love being an A&M-Commerce student.�

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