Richland Chronicle November 16, 2021 Issue

CHRONICLE Richland

Vol. XLVIII Issue 7, November 16, 2021

Astroworld: a student’s first-hand story Pg. 2 • Supply issue threatens high prices Pg. 3 • ‘Eternals’ stars immortals Pg. 4 • Turkey • Turkey Trot runs again Pg. 6

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2 NEWS

November 16, 2021

Student gives account of Astroworld tragedy

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Lizbeth Nava Staff Writer With the death of 22-year-old concertgoer Bharti Shahani confirmed on Nov. 11, the death toll from the Astroworld Festival with headliner Travis Scott in Houston on Nov. 5 now stands at nine. Richland Chronicle staff writer Lizbeth Nava was there as the tragedy unfolded: On Nov. 5 at 10 a.m., my boyfriend and I got in the car and drove to Houston, excited to attend our second Astroworld. We expected to see 21 artists, not counting surprise guests, in the span of two days.

Arriving at the festival was probably the easiest thing we had done all day. Houston’s public transportation service, Metro, securely dropped us at the stadium where the festival was held. The grounds were filled with cops on foot and on horseback, which made us feel, unlike other years, that they had the crowd under control.

To get into the festival, we did have to show proof of vaccination or a negative test result from the last 48 hours. There was onsite rapid testing, but also private security selling the “health check” wristbands so people could avoid the onsite testing.

The moment they began to allow us into the festival, I got a feeling something wasn’t right. There was no ticket to scan at the gate or anything keeping track of the festival attendee count. In order to gain entrance into the festival, we walked in with our wristbands high in the air so security could see them. Bag check wasn’t any better; they were set in a gray container for us to pick up on the other side of the metal detectors. They were not opened or checked with a metal detector.

As soon as we were on festival grounds and came across the crowds, I felt a wave of fear come over me. It was only 4:30 p.m. and people had already begun camping out at the “chills” stage area where Travis Scott was scheduled to perform at 8:45 p.m.

During the first couple of acts we watched the performances from the back. Even though we were not in between crowds, the Texas sun had us sweating and in need for a drink. The festival announced there would be free water stations available.

According to the Houston Chronicle, there were two water refill stations. I personally only came across one, and the line for it was an hour or more long. We opted out of waiting in line and decided to buy water bottles instead to avoid missing any of the acts. Water bottles were priced at $5 each and by the end of the night we had spent $30 on water.

A rapper who goes by the name Lil Baby ended his set at 7 p.m. and then SZA was set to perform at 7:30 p.m. Those 30 minutes in between were awful. Everyone began leaving the “thrills” stage to head over to the “chills” stage where Scott would begin his set at 8:45 p.m. There was pushing and people being violent, trying to rush over to camp nearly two hours before Travis came on. I went through that for a little under 30 minutes while trying to get to a safe place and out of the crowd area.

Photos The Associated Press

Two people mourn a victim they knew from the incident at the Houston Astroworld concert at a makeshift memorial on Sunday, Nov. 7.

For Travis’ set, I avoided the crowd entirely.

We watched from the back where we had enough space to move around and watch through the screens. We were having a great time. I never imagined a tragedy was happening right in front of me.

I spoke to Rodolfo Moreno, a festivalgoer who was involved in the crowd surge. He decided to head to the stage at 7 p.m. and wait for Scott, excited to see him for the first time.

He described those two hours as “pure hell.”

“The pushing only kept getting worse and more intense as the timer on stage kept counting down. Objects were being thrown around the place the whole time, with most of them striking people on the head,” Rodolfo said about the two hours he waited for the grand final performance.

The shoving didn’t end there. When 9 p.m. came, Travis hit the stage, and Rodolfo described the shoving as “aggressive” and

“nonstop.” Once you’re in the crowd it’s incredibly hard to get out. Rodolfo went four hours without water; for two hours prior to the show and for two hours during the show.

He mentioned that by the second song, people were already trying to leave but all the pushing caused a “mess” where people kept falling and screaming for help. It was not easy to pick the fallen ones up since there was no space to move around in. “The only way you moved was by how the wave of the crowd moved you.”

Unfortunately, Rodolfo witnessed people being carried out after they passed out and was in an area where help was needed to provide CPR on a girl. Due to the crowd movement, he never got to see if the girl got the help she needed. Rodolfo said hearing people yell for help and seeing people passing out “created a sense of panic” and the whole situation was a “crazy scene” he would never have imagined to be a part of.

Travis Scott performs at Day 1 of the Astroworld Music Festival at NRG Park on Firday, Nov. 5 in Houston.

November 16, 2021

NATION 3

Photo The Associated Press

Cargo containers sit stacked at the Port of Los Angeles, Wednesday Oct. 20, 2021.

Alex Ortuno Managing Editor Supply disruptions have been an issue historically but the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way trading was being done. With a newly discovered disease in 2020, trading had to abide by health and safety regulations to keep workers safe and prevent any further spread of infection.

In 2021, another disruption of supply has occurred in the ports of Southern California where ships filled with cargo are anchored offshore, , waiting to unload their cargo.

Supplies are not reaching their destinations, prompting companies to make changes to product amid shortages of a variety of products.

Despite the issue being on the West Coast, it is also a global situation as California farmers are unable to export their crops to Asia, according to The Associated Press.

In an effort to ease the situation, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Oct. 28 that directs state agencies to find ways to lessen the congestion of cargo ships. On Oct. 13, President Joe Biden said in a conference that several ports will stay operational at all times to ease the supply disruption.

While efforts are being done in a way to ease the situation, Todd Senick, lab manager at the Bloomberg Finance and Investment lab at Dallas College Richland Campus, said the impact of the cargo ships waiting to be unloaded can be felt across the nation and locally in the Metroplex.

“We’re seeing those [ships] are waiting to be offloaded but there’s an impact from here on goods and goods being transported throughout the United States from those ships and what those goods are,” Senick said.

Many kinds of products may be appearing less often. This will especially hamper availability of specific products already

experiencing shortages or products arriving from Asia.

“We’re seeing a huge problem with car inventory on dealership lots. We’re seeing a huge problem with semiconductor chips.

We’re seeing a huge problem with anything [that] is basically shipped from Asia into the United States is getting backlogged,” said Senick.

Senick believes the supply situation has a problem with a shortage of workers but overall believes there are a multitude of problems, mainly stemming with the economic reactions from several countries around the world to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If you go back and look at the summer, countries were trying to open up. The [United States], other large countries [like] Germany, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, all of them.

So to put a large amount of demand that was backlogged from 2020 but getting those workers back was the hardest thing to do. Not only here, and especially here, but probably in China as well,” As the cargo is yet to be unloaded from the ships off the coast of California, product prices are expected to fluctuate as supplies may vary from different products.

“Food costs are going to go higher. Steel costs have gone higher, it’s just been kind of a ripple effect throughout the whole ecosystem.

So to take an example of that would be Peloton, which, you know, makes the bikes.

They just came out with earnings [on Nov. 4]. They have lowered the price of their bikes, their workout equipment, however, the costs of the equipment has gone higher, the steel, the chips, the processing, all of it has gone higher,” said Senick.

Senick stated that more products may run out of supplies later in the year and may last into the next year. For individuals who are concerned about the issue of rising prices, Senick said that saving money can be beneficial, especially for those who are raising a family or are in a tight economic situation.

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Supply chain disruption expected to raise prices

4 ENTERTAINMENT

November 16, 2021

New Bond flick kills time, treads water as adventure Ricky Miller

Entertainment Editor The latest James Bond entry, “No Time to Die,” finally hit theaters with a worldwide theatrical release. It marks Daniel Craig’s return to the 007 role that he has played since his James Bond debut in “Casino Royale” (2006), one of the better entries in the series as of late.

With “No Time to Die,” his Bond character faces bad guys aplenty, especially Rami Malek’s Lyutisfer Safin, a horticulturist who deals in toxic exotic plants and the like.

Also returning in “Die” are Jeffrey Wright, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes and Léa Seydoux. Seydoux shared screen time with Craig’s character in 2015’s “Spectre,” another solid Bond adventure.

New in this entry is Ana de Armas’s Paloma character who states she has just had the new job for three weeks.

Paloma can handle herself just fine, since she and Bond get into a couple of scrapes together. This includes some fisticuffs and battles together.

Christoph Waltz shows his disdain and muster with Bond in that he touts his superiority in that his questions and answers result in his downfall.

Wright’s Felix Leiter looks to Bond as a trustworthy friend and ally, something each hold dear to their friendship.

Also adding great support is Ben Whishaw’s Q character. As usual, he provides access to transportation to both Bond and Lashana Lynch’s Nomi in the form of a flying contraption to aid in their mission.

Directing chores for “No Time to Die” were handled by Cary Joji Fukunaga, who helmed the well-received “Beasts of No Nation” in 2015.

With “No Time to Die,” the pieces are all in place, but a certain gravitas is missing with said execution of all the dynamics within.

Writing chores for “No Time to Die” were handled by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Fukunaga and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. In this tale, family dynamics take center stage, since misogyny and philandering are put in the back seat altogether. I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure, since it constantly finds new ways of weaving the tableau to make it more dynamic.

If one looks closer at the characters, they will see that Purvis, Wade and Fukunaga receive story by credits as well along with writer Ian Fleming whose characters make up the general story.

“No Time To Die” was worth the wait, even though we had the COVID-19 predicament and dilemma to deal with. At least it’s not like the old days where one had years to wait until the next chapter rolled around.

Grade: B

Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas star in “No Time to Die.”

Photo Courtesy Rotten Tomatoes

“The Ice Storm” (1997) - This masterpiece from director Ang Lee follows a family snowed in for the duration of the Thanksgiving weekend. With Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci and a very young Katie Holmes.

Thanksgiving Edition

A-

Photo Courtesy Rotten Tomatoes

Kumail Nanjiani, left, Gemma Chan and Lia McHugh star in “Eternals.”

Marvel may make ‘Eternals’ immortal Ricky Miller

Entertainment Editor Save for the COVID-19 predicament that encapsulated our entire world the past year and a half, the latest Marvel-based adventure recently hit the screens with “Eternals,” a group of 10 individuals who are all immortal beings.

Like the characters once obscure in director James Gun’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” all of the individuals in “Eternals” will probably be immortalized with their own entry on an Wikipedia page and the like.

The whole reason “Eternals” went into production was thanks to best director winner Chloé Zhao for last year’s “Nomadland”, which won Best Picture of the year along with lead actress Frances McDormand at the Academy Awards.

Like the obscure group of denizens hat inhabit the characters in “Guardians of the Galaxy,’ ” Eternals” has an equal number of

“Snow Day” (2000) - This is not really a holiday movie, but it does follow every child’s wish to stay home from school because of bad weather. Enjoyable family flick with Chevy Chase (the “Vacation” franchise), Jean Smart, Pam Grier and Chris Elliott as the nemesis of the story, Snowplow Man. C

“Dutch” (1991) - This dud of a movie was written and co-produced, but not directed by John Hughes.

Directing credits go to Peter Faiman, who helmed the smash worldwide hit “Crocodile Dundee.”

Ethan Embry stars with Ed O’Neill in another tale of two opposites who get together as friends

D+

people viewers can bond with. This includes popular actor Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, the top box-office star in this fictional world.

Also involved is Angelina Jolie’s Thena, a goddess from the hero world unable to suffer any dilemmas in the real world.

She has a kinship with Ma Dong-seok’s Gilgamesh. The pair are not necessarily lovers, but share a common immortal bond since they care for one another.

Also part of the troupe is Lia McHugh’s Sprite. She is one of the younger individuals involved with all the shenanigans and has a major crush on Richard Madden’s Ikaris.

I’m sure that people will complain about two men kissing here, but that part of the plot demands it. I think that is part of the reason this was tagged with a PG-13 rating.

Officials at Marvel Studios are so sure of themselves with the hit-making machine, they have already touted a sequel.

Grade: B-

“Planes, Trains and Automobiles” (1987) – It’s so sappy, I think I might fall into a diabetic coma if I have to watch it again.

Steve Martin befriends John Candy on the way to his destination, but they always end up crossing paths on the way home.

C-

“A C h a r l i e Brow n Thanksgiving” (1973) – This Emmy-winning animated TV special finds Snoopy making a feast for Charlie Brown and his friends. Peppermint Patty complains and the joke is on her, since Snoopy has the real meal planned after all.

-Ricky Miller B+

November 16, 2021

ENTERTAINMENT 5

‘Dawn of the Dead’ retread still holds up in horror department Alex Ortuno

Managing Editor

Build a Bolder Future

Photo Courtesy IMDB

Sarah Polley, Kevin Zegers and Ving Rhames star in “Dawn of the Dead” (2004).

Even more surprising, we get to see the actual decay of the zombies as time progresses in the movie. We’re no longer looking at victims who recently fell victim to the undead, rather just a husk of what was left of humanity in a rotten-yet-reanimated corpse.

While the visual aspects of the zombies were greatly changed for the remake, the story holds up just enough to follow. It doesn’t have such a dramatic twist and turn here and there with

emotions flying left and right, it’s simple to follow along. Even then, it also follows the same concept of the original film: survivors of the zombie apocalypse holding out in a large mall.

Even some bits of the story were well made, such as seeing a character grow from being helpless in the early stage of the outbreak to being brave against the undead. Also, a tyrannical mall cop redeems himself and becomes a

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Zombie movies have always had the generic slow walking and ignorant zombies that wish nothing else than to feast upon the flesh of the living, especially living humans. This can be best expressed in the series of George A. Romero’s zombie films from ”Night of the Living Dead” in 1968 all the way to his last movie, ”Survival of the Dead” in 2009. One of the most notable movies in the series was ”Dawn of the Dead,”’ in 1978, a grisly bloodfest where survivors holed up in a mall in the midst of a zombie apocalypse.

In 2004, Zack Snyder made his debut on the silver screen with a remake of the original 1978 film with the same title. The “Dawn of the Dead” retread was not quite like its predecessor and these changes were big.

For starters, these zombies were no longer appearing human-like and slow. The ones in the remake were like monsters. They were full front runners, charging at their victims at running speeds. Not only were they just full of undead energy, much of their looks were different. In the original, they were mostly bloody with grayed out skin. Perhaps some gore here and there too.

The remake pushed the “dead” factor into the undead as many had looked like they suffered fatal injuries such as missing pieces of flesh, bite marks with gashes of blood and in some situations, entire limbs missing with only pieces of bone or flesh left hanging.

crucial part of the group and even the growing friendship between two survivors as they are separated not because they are in two different buildings but because of the streets filled with crowds of the undead.

While the film may have its strong points, it has some of its weak points such as the illogical ideas they have like using shotguns and revolvers as if it were a Western film or having a character devote so much to a dog’s life, it risks the entire group’s plans.

Overall, the story of the film isn’t that hard to follow either. It’s not too complex or not too mundane. It’s just enough to tag along.

While the story around the characters grows, it’s interesting how we hear about the zombie outbreak. We hear about it from several angles such as emergency broadcasts, television broadcasts showcasing the military ensuring civilians can be saved, a sheriff instructing how to kill the undead and even a televangelist blaming the entire population for causing the zombie apocalypse for religious reasons. We even hear from other survivors about what’s going on, talking about their struggles when they tried to reach somewhere safe but ended up failing.

It leaves you wondering what truly happened but only gives you just enough to know what’s generally going on but leaves you in complete mystery about what actually happened.

Despite the film being from 2004, just around the turn of the new millennium, it still holds up to this day.

Grade: A-

6 LOCAL/CAMPUS

November 16, 2021

Turkey Trot runs again in Dallas this year CHRONICLE Richland

Haley Aguayo Staff Writer

For the 54th year, the people of Dallas can once again compete in the annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot race that gets underway at 8:30 a.m. every year.

Dating back to 1896, the Turkey Trot might possibly be America’s longest running racing tradition, pun completely intended.

With origins in Buffalo, New York , the race has made its way across America. If a Turkey Trot isn’t held in a certain city, then people can join in on the fun virtually.

Beginning in Dallas with laps around White Rock Lake in 1967 with a couple thousand participants at most, the Turkey Trot has now expanded and since 1979 has taken place in Downtown Dallas, which now hosts tens of thousands of participants every Thanksgiving morning.

The excursions include a 5k run/walk; the most popular choice, an 8-mile run, a virtual trot, a 1k junior trot, and dogs are more than welcome, even encouraged to join in any of these Thanksgiving festivities.

Funded by local corporate sponsors including but not limited to the Dallas Mavericks,

this race provides participants, whether they be sponsors, volunteers, or racers, a way to give back to their community. Racer fees are donated to the Dallas YMCA and proceeds go to Kamp K’aana, Fit For Health, the YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program, and the Blood Pressure Self-Monitoring Program, all programs geared toward maintaining health within the community.

The Turkey Trot has become a great symbol of giving back to the community over the years. At the least it’s a great way to burn some calories before you gain them back during Thanksgiving dinner.

The Giving Tree gives to those in need Alex Ortuno Managing Editor

In previous years, Richland campus has hosted an annual charity event toward the end of the fall semester in conjunction with the Salvation Army and its Angel Tree charity drive. This year’s charity drive is called the Giving Tree. Kelly Sonnanstine, adviser for the Student Government Association and coordinator for Office of Student Life, said there is a change in the charity drive.

“In the past, Richland as a whole college, participated in the Salvation Army Angel Tree. This year, we were not able to make those arrangements, so the student government chose to do their own version. And so as

to alleviate any confusion, they’ve called it the Giving Tree,” Sonnanstine said.

The SGA plans to continue the drive but with changes in the kinds of gifts and charities involved.

“So for the Giving Tree, what the SGA did was that they chose three separate charities that all participate in fulfilling the needs of specific populations during the holiday season,” she said.

The first one is the Community Partners of Dallas, a charity based on children who have been neglected, abused or put into foster care.

The second one is animal based as it focuses on the Animal Services of Richardson. While food is greatly appreciated, donations such as beds, blankets, shampoo and toys are needed.

Last, but not least, is Dickinson Place, which provides affordable housing for senior citizens. They are requesting towels.

Students and faculty may get involved in donating materials for the charities by looking at tags that list items needed.

“People can come in, take a tag for one of each, or just one that they want to help out.

And they can go get as much or as little of those needs and want off that list as they want and then they bring it back and we’ll see what we end up with,” said Sonnanstine.

The deadline for donations for the Giving Tree is Dec. 3. For more information, visit the Office of Student Life in El Paso Hall, room E040. Members from the Student Government Association can assist with further info.

STUDENT MEDIA LEADERS

Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Photo Editor Design Editor Entertainment Editor Online/Special Projects Online/Special Projects

Barbara Gandica Martinez Alex Ortuno Trang Nguyen Barbara Gandica Martinez Ricky Miller Ryan Bingham Duff Damon Craig

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STUDENT MEDIA STAFF Meshack Mashua Fiona Forney Davis Oyola Jason Ryer Angelo Diaz Victor London David Acosta Noah Holt Aidan Biddle Jerry Weiss Yessi Lipscomb Grey Schessler Haley Aguayo

Ryan Bingham Duff Damon Craig Alexis Rodriguez Saint Garcia Barbara Gandica Martinez Alex Ortuno Kendra Bailey Kimberly M. Gabino Adam Koch Trang Nguyen Eden Belete Shakir Acrey Lizbeth Nava

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ISSUE DATES November 30

December 7

STUDENT MEDIA AWARDS 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

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“I DON’T MEAN TO BRAG BUT SHE’S INVITED ME TO CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING WITH THEM” Staff Cartoon Jerry Weiss

Staff meetings: Monday and Wednesday at 2 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 2021

November 16, 2021

POP CULTURE/SPORTS 7

Conservatorship ends, Spears freed

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

Nov. 16 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. i

SGA town hall - Cancer awareness El Paso Hall Student Lounge

Nov. 17 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. i

Financial aid help session Thunderduck Hall, T224

Photo The Associated Press

4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Confetti falls on Spears’ supporters after an L.A. judge ends her conservatorship Nov. 12.

documentary about a listening device placed in her bedroom.

James Spears’ attorneys said Rosengart’s allegations ranged from unsubstantiated to impossible, and that he only ever acted in his daughter’s best interest.

The post-conservatorship fight has in some ways already begun. James Spears has parted ways with the attorneys who helped him operate it, and he has hired Alex Weingarten, a lawyer specializing in the kind of litigation that may be coming.

In court filings last week, Britney Spears’ former business managers, Tri Star Sports and Entertainment Group, pushed back against Rosengart’s demands for documents about the firm’s involvement in the conservatorship from 2008 to 2018. The group also denied any role in or knowledge of any surveillance of the superstar.

Jodi Montgomery, the court-appointed conservator who oversaw the singer’s life and medical decisions starting in 2019, developed a care plan with her therapists and doctors to guide Spears through the end of the conservatorship and its aftermath.

“There is no reason Ms. Spears can’t lead a safe, happy, fulfilling life after this conservatorship,” Montgomery’s attorney, Lauriann Wright, said at the hearing.

The judge kept a small part of the conservatorship temporarily in place to allow the accountant who took over for James Spears to put the singer’s affairs in order in the coming months before transferring power back to her.

Britney Spears was a 26-year-old new mother at the height of her career when her father established the conservatorship, at first on a temporary basis, in February 2008 after a series of public mental health struggles.

It ends a few weeks before her 40th birthday, with her sons in their mid-teens and her career on indefinite hold, as she is engaged to be married a second time.

A turning point came early in 2019, when she canceled a planned concert residency in Las Vegas.

Convinced she was put in a mental hospital against her will, fans began coalescing and demanding that the court #FreeBritney. At first, they were dismissed as conspiracy theorists, but the singer herself gave them validation in 2020 in a series of court filings that said they were correct to demand greater transparency and scrutiny of her legal situation.

Those filings proved to be the first indication from Spears, who had remained silent on the conservatorship for years, that she would seek major changes.

The Associated Press

Men’s basketball starts off with a defeat Saint Garcia Staff Writer The Richland men’s basketball team lost after a hard fought match against Collin College 77-64 on Nov. 8.

From the start, the T-Ducks were running at a very fast pace. Although the Cougars kept the ball in their possession, it seemed as if Richland could not find the answer in the first half as the opposing team kept drawing fouls and hitting their outside shots, keeping them ahead throughout the game. That put the T-Ducks behind at 41-23.

Richland came out in the second half with a new found energy as could be seen in each key

matchup. The key to any chance at a comeback would be have to be defensive stops. Each time the Cougars got possession, the T-Ducks would chant “D-up, d-up, d-up,” encouraging teammates to not let the score be run up any more than it already had been. Richland was down by 15 with 13 minutes left in the game when they made key steals and defensive stops that lead to transition layups drawing fouls and converting the and-one.

The T-Ducks closed the gap to within 5 points in their stretch and hoped to take the lead, but somehow the Cougars adjusted and came back with their own set of 3-point shots from behind the arc, leaving the T-Ducks coming up short in their comeback effort.

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PTK Career night Sabine Hall, SH117

Nov. 19 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. i

Financial aid help session Thunderduck Hall, T224

Nov. 24 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. i

SGA game tournament Tickets range from $3 - 10 El Paso Hall Cafeteria 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

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Financial aid help session Thunderduck Hall, T224

Dec. 1 9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. i

Free HIV testing and sex ed Health Center, Thunderduck Hall, T110 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

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Stress relief activities El Paso Hall Student Lounge 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

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Financial aid help session Thunderduck Hall, T224

RichlandStudentMedia.com

Britney Spears is free. A Los Angeles judge on Friday ended the conservatorship that has controlled the pop singer’s life and money for nearly 14 years.

The decision capped a stunning odyssey that saw Spears publicly demand the end of the conservatorship, hire her own attorney, have her father removed from power and finally win the freedom to make her own medical, financial and personal decisions for the first time since 2008.

“As of today, the conservatorship of the person and estate of Britney Jean Spears is hereby terminated,” Judge Brenda Penny said.

Jubilation erupted outside the courthouse, with fans cheering and shouting after the decision was announced. The crowd chanted “Britney! Britney! Britney!” and fans sang and danced to Spears’ song “Stronger.”

Spears promptly tweeted about the decision: “Good God I love my fans so much it’s crazy!!!

I think I’m gonna cry the rest of the day!!!! Best day ever … praise the Lord … can I get an Amen???”

Spears’ attorney, Mathew Rosengart, told fans and reporters that the case “helped shine a light on conservatorships and guardianships from coast to coast, from California to New York. And that took a tremendous amount of insight, courage and grace.”

The judge’s move was widely expected, with little support left for prolonging the legal arrangement. No new arguments were offered at the 30-minute hearing. Spears did not attend.

As recently as last spring, it appeared that the conservatorship could continue for years.

Then it unraveled with surprising speed.

Key to the unraveling was a speech Spears made at a hearing in June when she passionately described the restrictions and scrutiny as “abusive” and said “I just want my life back,” a line her lawyer repeated in court Friday. Spears demanded that the conservatorship end without any prying evaluation of her mental state.

Legal experts at the time said that was unlikely to happen, and would represent a departure from common court practice.

But the judge said at Wednesday’s hearing that California law did not require her to order further evaluation of Spears if no one requested it.

The judge allowed Spears to hire Rosengart, an attorney of her choice, in July. He made it his goal first to have James Spears removed from his role as conservator of his daughter’s finances before working to end the conservatorship altogether. The judge suspended James Spears at a September hearing, citing the “toxic environment” his presence created.

But more courtroom battles could lie ahead.

Rosengart has further vowed to pursue an investigation of James Spears’ role in the conservatorship. He said he and his team have found mismanagement of Britney Spears’ finances, suggesting she could pursue further legal action. Court records put her net worth at about $60 million.

He also said that law enforcement should investigate revelations in a New York Times

UPCOMING EVENTS

8

November 16, 2021

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