Richland Chronicle May 7th, 2019

Richland

CHRONICLE Vol. XLVI Issue 29 May 7, 2019

Illustrating existentialism Pg. 5

• Boy Scouts may file Chapter 11

Pg. 2

• John Singleton’s film legacy

Pg. 4

• T-Ducks sign letters of intent

Pg. 7

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2 NATIONAL

May 7, 2019

Photo The Associated Press

Scouts recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the World Jamboree in Virginia in 2005.

Bankruptcy risk for BSA

Sex abuse cases looming after states change laws Trace Miller

RichlandStudentMedia.com

Assistant Managing Editor “It appears highly probable that the Scouts of America will commence a Chapter 11 masstort bankruptcy case in the not too distant future to resolve its legacy liabilities stemming from sexual assaults perpetrated by many of its adult volunteers on Boy Scouts of tender years,” said Jeffrey Schwartz, a bankruptcy expert with the firm McKool Smith based in New York.

This statement follows the rumblings of what could be, according to The Associated Press (AP), the most fateful chapter in the history of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), based in Irving, Texas.

In the past few months, according to AP, states have begun to change their statute-oflimitations laws. That means victims of longpassed sexual abuse will now be able sue the offender. New York passed a law that will allow such lawsuits beginning in August. Similar bills are pending in California and Pennsylvania. One such bill has arrived at the New Jersey governor’s desk.

Because of these statutory changes, according to AP, lawyers are recruiting clients via internet ads to bring sexual abuse cases against the BSA and sue.

According to Karen Bitar, a partner with Seyfirth Shaw, a law firm based in New York and national co-chair of the firm’s white collar, internal investigations and false claims team, these changes give victims a limited window to assert their claim to restitution.

“This presents a new and lucrative opportunity for those lawyers. Lastly, the #metoo movement has given many victims who would normally have suffered in silence the courage to come forward. I believe this confluence of events is what is leading to the uptick in litigation,” said Bitar Meanwhile, the BSA is exploring all possible options to contain the damage, including Chapter 11 bankruptcy. They are also defending their current policies.

“We care deeply about all victims of child abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting,”

the BSA said a prepared statement released to the Chronicle. “We believe victims. We support them, and we have paid for unlimited counseling by a provider of their choice. Nothing is more important than the safety and protection of children in Scouting and we are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to abuse innocent children.”

According to the statement, the BSA has enacted “strong youth protection policies” to prevent abuse, such as mandatory youth protection trainings and a “formal leaderselection process” which includes criminal background checks. The BSA has also maintained a volunteer screening database since the 1920s. This database prevents individual accused of “abuse of inappropriate conduct” from rejoining BSA programs.

“At no time have we ever knowingly allowed a perpetrator to work with youth, and we mandate that all leaders, volunteers and staff members nationwide immediately report any abuse allegation to law enforcement,” the BSA said.

Schwartz said that the BSA does not have a large cash flow. In the event of bankruptcy, the 109-year-old organization could be forced to sell property.

Another point of contention is the BSA’s so-called “ineligible files;” a list of adult volunteers believed to pose a threat of sexual abuse.

Boy Scout spokeswoman Effie Delimarkos told AP that as soon as a volunteer is added to this list, “They are reported to law enforcement, removed entirely from any scouting program and prohibited from re-joining anywhere.”

According to AP, lawyers and litigants hope that court action will cause classified names in the “ineligible files” to be released to the public, or at least put pressure on the BSA to release them.

The BSA has policies and measures in place meant to check for sexual abuse and pedophilia. These measures include criminal background checks for all adult volunteers, according to AP, and the so-called “two-deep leadership,” a policy which requires two adults to accompany a single scout or two scouts to be with a single adult.

STATE 3

May 7, 2019

Texas lawmakers tackle everything from taxes to scooters Staff Writer

The 86th biennial session of the Texas Legislature is addressing issues ranging from the mundane to life-changing – scooter regulation, possession of marijuana, hemp farming, and refusal of services due to faith.

A slew of proposals would regulate medical concerns; other bills address sexual misconduct. This is a very small sampling.

Legislators’ top three bills are intertwined: the budget, also known as the Appropriations

Daylight Saving Time In the Senate, Johnson co-authored a resolution with Senator Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, that would abolish Daylight Saving Time (DST). A house bill on the topic allows Texans to choose whether they would like to continue to fall back and spring forward or ditch DST through a referendum in November.

Johnson is from Arizona which does not observe DST. He said that he is in favor of abolishing DST although he does not think this legislation is as important as other bills he has proposed. Moore said he thinks it would be beneficial not to have twice yearly clock fluctuations.

Moore and Johnson noted that many studies have shown that the time change causes functional disruption and economic harm in people’s lives.

Marijuana Although the House had passed a measure that reduced the penalty for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana to a $250 fine, Lt. Gov. Patrick declared House Bill 63 (HB63), the pot bill, “dead” in the Senate last week, despite its tough penalties for possession of large amounts of cannabis or drug paraphernalia.

Current law imposes a fine of up to $2,000 or 180 days in jail for possessing less than an ounce of pot.

A bill that would legalize hemp farming passed the House and is now in the Senate.

Hemp plants contain miniscule amounts of the high-inducing substance THC and produce CBD oils, which have become a popular remedy for variety of ailments in people and animals.

Moore said that claims from CBD oils purveyors are largely unproven and consumers deserve protection from them even though he doubts that either the FDA or the state of Texas will take that step.

Another recently heard bill would allow Sunday sales at 10 a.m. instead of 12 p.m. as well as sales of beer to go from craft breweries.

Act, property tax reform and school finance.

The first order of business is to craft a budget, although it usually does not get approval from both chambers until near the end of the session and its final form will be heavily dependent on promised reforms of property taxes and school finance.

The sticking point is which of these two goals is most important. The Senate would first curb rising property taxes and then increase school funding, while the House favors increased spending on schools before lowering property taxes. The House has gotten out the top three bills and the Senate was scheduled to hear the

Religious Refusal (SB17) A bill from Senator Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, gives licensed professionals the right to refuse service if they have a faith-based objection.

Licensed occupations include lawyers, healthcare providers, massage therapists – the list is long. First responders and those who provide life-saving services would be exempt.

“There are some people who are attempting to legislate the right to discriminate,” said Professor Patrick Moore who teaches government at Richland about Senate Bill 17 (SB17).

“What I object to, this is what I say in class, some students get angry with me, is the weaponization of your religious beliefs in the service of your ideology. The Klu Klux Klan all along has touted itself as a fundamentally Christian institution. Now, as I see it, it’s the same thing. It’s not skin color, but it’s the same citation of sincere religious beliefs to provide a cover for bigotry,” he said.

LGBTQ and transgender groups see the bill as legislation to allow discriminatory action against groups that do not have legal protections under state and federal law.

Abortion A measure that would subject a woman seeking an abortion and the doctor who provides it to criminal penalties failed, but House Bill 16 (HB16), the so-called “born alive” bill has persisted.

According to the text of the bill, a physician who fails to save the life of an infant who is born alive after an attempted abortion (very rare) would face a civil penalty of not less than $100,000.

Recently, abortions became practically unavailable in Mississippi as the governor signed legislation that criminalizes abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected via ultrasound.

Several other states are considering similar laws.

school finance bill on May 6.

Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, said property tax relief is the Senate’s first priority, but the issue is divided along party lines.

“Democrats have been in favor of increasing funding for schools and reducing runaway property taxes. Republicans have been in favor of reducing runaway property taxes and funding the schools. You know, it’s number one and two for both,” said Johnson, the freshman senator for District 16, which includes Richland.

Key Republican state lawmakers, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dennis

Children on Medicaid Although the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the medical insurance partnership for children between the federal and state entities, only checks eligibility requirements once a year, Texas Health and Human Services (THHS) has been conducting more frequent checks.

This results in children losing coverage until they are re-enrolled in the next cycle.

Bills filed in both chambers would reduce THHS’s checks of enrollees to yearly, similar to CHIP. “Do we really think kids that are on Medicaid to suddenly in 90 days be affluent? It doesn’t happen that way, typically. It just creates additional burden for the state which means additional tax dollars that we’re devoting to bureaucratic nonsense,” Johnson said.

Bonnen and Governor Greg Abbott, have proposed raising the sales tax by a cent from 6.25% to 7.25%. With the 2% that goes to taxing jurisdictions like municipalities, Texans would pay a total of 9.25% in sales taxes.

Lawmakers estimate that would raise $5 billion to help property tax cuts, according to the Texas Tribune.

Johnson said that he doesn’t see a high enough level of support from either chamber for raising sales tax. He said there might be support for a fraction of a cent if some revenues brought in went to schools that serve low-income children. The senate plan for school finance has a $5000 raise for teachers and librarians while the house plan gives schools more discretion in how funds are spent.

“We already have a regressive tax system in Texas. I’m not a fan of the sales tax,” Johnson said.

In addition to the sales tax increase, proposals for reining in property taxes include decreasing the amount of tax a municipality can impose without having to call an election.

Currently, it can levy up to 8% without having to call an election. Legislators would curb that to 3.5% or less.

The House version of the bill leaves the 8% rate for hospitals and community colleges and also allows a $500,000 increase in taxing for any entity without requiring an election.

The legislature wraps up May 27.

Also on the agenda Several bills have been filed that deal with sexual misconduct, including one that would criminalize groping. Another flags the transcripts of college students convicted of sexual assault. There are bills that expand the statute of limitations for sexual assault of a child from 15 to 30 years and that put in place an audit process and timeline for rape kit testing.

And then, there are motorized scooters. Senator Royce West, D-Dallas, has proposed restraints on the popular, urban short-haul vehicles. His legislation restricts scooter ridership to those age 16 and older and no more than one person. Other facets are that speed shall not exceed 15 mph and that they must be driven on bicycle paths or near the edges of the street. A separate bill would limit the number of scooters allowed on streets.

Have a personal matter for the legislature or want to weigh in on the current proceedings? You can find the state legislators for your district here: https://house.texas.gov/ members/find-your-representative/ for state reps and https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home for state senators.

RichlandStudentMedia.com

Jani Leuschel

4 MOVIES/COLUMN

May 7, 2019

Unplugging ‘da’ vice Aly Rodrigues Design Editor

John Singleton was the youngest director ever nominated for an Oscar.

Photo Courtesy IMDb

Singleton’s legacy Ricky Miller

Entertainment Editor It is a shame when a director you admire is taken all too soon. I was surprised when I heard that Oscar-nominated “Boyz N the Hood” director John Singleton had passed away on April 29 at the age of 51.

Singleton burst onto the scene with the aforementioned “Boyz N the Hood” in 1991, a feature film about young black men growing up in South-Central Los Angeles. He was still going strong, directing an episodic television series in addition to his feature film work when he reportedly suffered a stroke on April 17.

Singleton was the youngest director ever nominated by the Academy. He was just 23 when he started filming his masterpiece. “Boyz” to me is just a great piece of all-around entertainment.

Singleton followed that movie with personal projects like “Poetic Justice” with Janet Jackson and the late Tupac Shakur, and “Higher Learning,” in which he brought his headliners from “Boyz N the Hood,” Ice Cube and Laurence Fishburne to Columbia TriStar studios.

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He then went on to direct the period-piece drama “Rosewood” with Ving Rhames and Oscar-winner Jon Voight in 1997. Then Singleton tackled a remake of “Shaft” in 2000. This one starred Samuel L. Jackson and Richard Rountree, who were in the 1971 original.

Singleton then went on to helm the sequel “2 Fast 2 Furious” sans Vin Diesel. It focused on Paul Walker’s character Brian O’Conner who was trying to nab a big-time drug dealer in Cole Hauser’s malevolent character Carter Verone.

I met Singleton in 2005 when I participated in the junket for his actor-game-drama, “Four Brothers.” He was very cordial, sincere and honest.

In 2001, he segued into another feature film with the slice-of-life drama “Baby Boy,” which starred Tyrese Gibson, Snoop Dogg and Taraji P. Henson. In 2011, I saw his release of “Abduction” with “Twilight” star Taylor Lautner and Lily Collins.

At various points in his career Singleton also delved into producing with titles such as “Black Snake Moan,” (2006) “Hustle and Flow” (2005) and “Illegal Tender.” (2007).

“Terms of Endearment” (1983) — A terrific movie, but it only needs to be watched once or twice. Director James L. Brooks won an Academy Award and so did lead Shirley MacLaine and supporter Jack Nicholson. It also won for best adapted screenplay.

B+

Isn’t it ironic that social media is making us less social? There are people everywhere on their phones, not talking to each other. Maybe we are going too far with this addiction?

Bodegraven, a small town in the Netherlands, installed LED traffic lights on the ground to avoid accidents caused by those who can’t take their eyes off the small screen.

Don’t get me wrong, I was that person too.

That’s until I got to the point where it became a vice. I used to spend three hours or more a day on social media, watching shows, texting, talking to people or simply scrolling down my feed on Facebook or Instagram. It was fun until it wasn’t. I was tired of the things I was seeing on my feeds. I was exhausted by the bad energy and stress I was feeling from reading posts. Talking to many other people I realized I wasn’t alone.

May Benitez, a Richland student, said she used to spend about two hours on social media. She said it made her feel unproductive.

“I deleted my social media because it was too distracting. I wanted more time to focus on my priorities like studying,” Benitez said.

YouTube once recommended the Ted Talk by Bailey Parnell, a social media expert, titled, “Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health?” The video talks about the relationship of social media addiction to depression between students.

People are constantly trying to impress each other on social media. Users share photos of their “perfect lives” and “perfect vacations,” while on the other side of the screen viewers are looking at this false reality and comparing it to their own lives and feeling depressed.

“For other people [who] may not have the self-confidence, self-esteem or maybe they’re really experiencing something negative, it seems to make that [experience] even more negative,” Karen Cuttill, a counselor at the Counseling Center at Richland, said. She added that posts like these can have an impact on those looking at them.

“If everybody out there is writing about good things, then that one person says, ‘Oh my gosh, I really am all alone’ so it can enforce that feeling of feeling isolated,” Cuttill said.

While I was reading the news one day I read an article about the book “Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right

“Almost Famous” (2000) — This is a great biopic about Cameron Crowe’s life and how he was a writer for Rolling Stone magazine during his teenage years. Frances McDormand, as Elaine Miller, was Oscar-nominated as the matriarch of the family.

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“Erin Brockovich” (2000) — Julia Roberts portrays the title character who works for an attorney played by Albert Finney.

Her performance resulted in a Best Actress Oscar.

Steven Soderbergh was nominated for Best Director.

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Now” by Jaron Lanier. Seeing this article was perfect timing. I needed a more concrete reason to finally get rid of social media and the audiobook was available for free. The audiobook gave me a great opportunity to use the time I previously used to spend checking my social media and instead start listening to the book.

The book is really interesting and makes a lot of good points, like how much time we are spending on social media and how much our habits and humor are changing for the worse.

Lanier claims the internet is controlling us, and making us angrier as a society. It has opened the door for more disagreement and conflicts.

Facebook became unbearable during the election year. I got tired of seeing people attacking each other with ironic comments like their opinion was the only valid or correct point of view. Politics is a tense topic and it seems to intensify on social media.

Social media can be a good thing when it’s controlled. The reality is that we are spending more time on our phones than we realize. All those notifications coming up on the screen makes us anxious to find out what is happening, or at worst, make us fear to what is going on without us. This type of anxiety is called “Fear of Missing Out” [FOMO].

I lost track of how many times I checked my phone first thing when I woke up in the morning. I was disappointed when there weren’t any messages. Other times I sat down to check my social media before studying, got distracted and hours had passed.

“Anything, too much of even a positive thing, [can] become a really negative thing,” said Cuttill. As with any other addiction, people shouldn’t delete their social media all at once. Cuttill suggested starting with measuring how much time you are on your phone and the second step is to begin to unplug.

For those who use social media for work, or simply don’t want to cut it out completely, instead of deleting, start filtering the content you are receiving. Unfollow or unfriend people who bring negativity to your life. Stay away from shallow content, including profiles of people who are selling lies. No one has a perfect life, so don’t waste your energy looking for unrealistic “inspiration.”

Turn off all your notifications and focus on you. It’s not going to be easy to unplug, but it will make a difference in your life.

Start unplugging now!

“Joy” (2015) — Oscarwinner Jennifer Lawrence (“Silver-Lining’s Play book”) reteamed with Oscar-nominated director David O. Russell for this tale of a single mother who changed the way moms cleaned with the invention of a household cleaning device.

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“mother!” (2017) — Jennifer Lawrence is the expectant mom-to-be in director Darren Aronofsky’s pretzel-twisting drama that is heavy on allegory and heavy-handed symbolism. Sometimes it’s just difficult to watch.

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May 7, 2019

Students artwork visualizing nihilism and existentialism recently on display in Brazos Gallery.

REVIEW 5

Staff Photo Mye Miller

Art students visually render existentialism Staff Writer The Existentialist Art Student Exhibition included student works that visually represent aphorisms by 19th century existentialist philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche.

These artworks, created by student artists at Richland, represent Nietzsche’s views on topics of religion, morality, nihilism, existentialism and culture.

The philosophical study of “existentialism” focuses on the freedom and choice in an individual’s existence and the beliefs that define the meaning of individual lives.

According to Geoff Manzi, a philosophy professor at Richland, Nietzsche is often called the “philosopher-poet” because he incorporates “deep symbolism and style” into his works. His philosophy centers around the idea that humans are the animals that create value and meaning.

“In other words, he contends that all human beings are inherently creative,” said Manzi.

“I mention this,” he continued, “because the student artists, in creating their works, were doing more than merely representing existentialist truths in the pieces themselves; rather, in seeking to interpret some of Nietzsche’s more cryptic aphorisms through their pieces, they were embodying the very spirit of Nietzschean philosophy by literally creating something whose meaning can be ‘played with,’ or open to interpretation.”

The mediums in the exhibit ranged from paintings and sketches to embroideries and three-dimensional pieces. Design student Kencey Christopher’s piece was a jean jacket with the lyrics “It is the springtime of my loving/The second season I am to know” from Led Zeppelin’s “The Rain Song.” It represents Nietzsche’s aphorism, “without music, life would be a mistake.” It was beautifully

embroidered in multicolored threads.

Drawing student Pierce Tuttle’s vibrant piece is “based off of the [Nietzschean] aphorism that the maturity of man is shown in the seriousness of playing as a child,” he said in an interview. Tuttle “took a literal approach” to this aphorism in his colorful three-part work.

“Perhaps no two disciplines are better suited for collaboration. Indeed, the connection between the Fine Arts and Philosophy runs extremely deep because both fields of study originate in a sense of wonder and awe over the world and one’s place therein,” Manzi said. “Those who are drawn (pun intended) to the arts and to philosophy tend to exhibit (also intended) a greater connection with the human proclivity towards self-expression and self-reflection.”

The creativity required by this collaboration, the variety of aphorisms expressed by these students and the aesthetic qualities of

the art all served to intrigue the observer. The layout of the exhibit was straightforward and intuitive.

“This collaboration is an exceedingly rewarding one because it serves as a wonderful opportunity for Richland to celebrate some of its most creative and contemplative students.

And this celebration comes in a most appropriate form: The kind of shared discussion that encourages the cultivation of one’s own aesthetic sensibilities and philosophical mindfulness,” Manzi said. “Ultimately, inspiration is contagious, and I can think of nothing more inspiring than when creative expression serves as a catalyst for deep conversations on what both unites us and individuates us as creative, contemplative selves. Needless to say, we have some very inspired students here at Richland.”

The deep philosophical meaning in each work combined with their creative qualities formed a fascinating exhibit.

RichlandStudentMedia.com

Mye Miller

6

CAMPUS/GLOBAL

May 7, 2019

Students and advisers receive awards CHRONICLE Jack Ramirez Bernal Richland

STUDENT MEDIA LEADERS

Staff Writer

Students and staff were dressed in formal attire for a dinner celebrating professionalism and success. They represented Richland clubs and organizations that were nominated to attend the Student Success Banquet April 25 at the Garland Campus. They received awards and congratulatory remarks from Dr. Kay Eggleston, Richland College president, who recognized their contributions and influence throughout the school year.

The event was hosted by the newly-elected Student Government Association (SGA) president, Edward Sesay and outgoing president, Haya Qazi. Together, they stood in front of the crowd and called out the nominees for each category with their subsequent winners.

Some of the clubs and organizations that attended included Achieving Latino Academic Success (ALAS), the Anthropology Club, Asian Student Association (ASA), Male Achievement Program (MAP), Pride at Richland College Club, Richland Student Media, The Student Government Association (SGA) and Women’s Initiative Network (WIN).

“There are a lot of clubs and advisers that work very hard,” said Christopher GeorgeTwyman, college financial manager and Pride at Richland Club adviser and winner of the

Editor-in-Chief Design Editor Managing Editor Assistant Mng. Editor Copy Editor Entertainment Editor Layout Editor Social Media Editor

ON THE COVER Pierce Tuttle stands in front of his drawing, which was part of the Existentialist Student Art Exhibition Staff Photo Mye Miller

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

Attendees pose for a photo at the Student Success Banquet.

Adviser of the Year Award.

Richland Student Media won the Student Organization Community Service Award and a Student Organization Program of the Year Award. Additionally, the Chronicle’s outgoing editor-in-chief, Alessandra Rodrigues, received the Outstanding Student Organization Leader of the Year.

“We are honored to be selected from all those [clubs]. It’s great. I’m so glad for our organization for coming through and getting recognition for something it deserves,” said Adrienne Aguilar, editor-in-chief of the

Staff Photo Jack Ramirez Bernal

Richland Chronicle student newspaper.

The Multicultural Center received the OSL Thunderduck Award.

“It was real fun to see and celebrate our students’ success out there and to have the chance to be honored,” said Lindsay Parks, senior academic adviser for the Multicultural Center.

While not everyone received an award at the event, they did get to enjoy a delicious meal, mingle with friends, take a lot of group pictures and, overall, demonstrate Thunderduck spirit.

Scientist makes history and diversifies field Mye Miller Staff Writer

A team of about 200 scientists, including Dr. Katherine (Katie) L. Bouman, released the first photograph of a black hole ever to be captured on April 10. The image confirmed the presence of black holes in our universe.

Their existence was theorized by the famous physicist Albert Einstein.

The final image required data gathered from eight radio telescopes positioned around the world, collectively known as the Event Horizon Telescope. The picture showed “light and gas swirling around the lip of a supermassive black hole, a monster of the universe” located “in a galaxy 53 million light-years from Earth,” according to The Associated Press (AP).

Bouman, a researcher, received her Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). By the age of 29 she had developed a

Adrienne Aguilar Aly Rodrigues Kammonke Obase-Wotta Trace Miller Joyce Jackson Ricky Miller Dara Jones Kobloh-Obase Kammonke

large part of the algorithm that made photographing such an elusive subject at first feasible, and then possible.

Her role was not one of singular effort, but rather of strong team leadership and vital contributions that, when combined with the work of the entire team, made history. according to Bouman and AP. Scientific discovery “is cross-disciplinary, it is collaborative. It is not even a small group; it is a huge group of a bunch of people in a bunch of different fields who are coming together and working together towards a common goal. Everybody is doing just a little piece of work, but without each of them it wouldn’t happen,” Heather Appleby, a Richland professor of physics and astronomy said.

Appleby hopes “people maybe get to the point where they understand that that is how science works. And so it is not likely to be biased. It is not likely to be one-sided. It is a lot of people doing a lot of hard work and a lot of thinking. It is teamwork.”

Dr. Katherine Bouman displays her hard drives.

Photo Reddit.com

Variety in backgrounds, genders and ethnicities participating in a scientific discovery is valuable, according to Appleby, because “The more diverse any field becomes, the stronger it becomes. Part of my evidence for that is our country [the United States]; we the most diverse country in the world. Why do you think we are so good at what we do? Because we do not look at problems from one point of view, we get it from a bunch of different points of view. Having different perspectives, which happens through diversity, leads to better research, better discoveries, better products.”

According to Appleby, women, however, have been historically discriminated against in the field of science. While progress has been made, a feeling of being unwelcome still prevails. Powerful women like Bouman help to overcome the barrier and strengthen the presence of women in science, serving as an inspiration to future generations and to people all over the world.

“If nothing else, it encourages girls and women to go into those STEM fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, [because] those are fields that numerically do not have a lot of women, and so we really are a minority there,” Appleby said.

The picture of the black hole is revolutionary in the world of science, according to AP. The mysterious entity clouded by unproven theories for years has suddenly become real.

Bouman’s vital role in acquiring the image also signifies a triumph for women who devote their lives to science. The diversity of her entire team also marks great progress in the field of science.

STUDENT MEDIA STAFF Kaelyn Bradley Bernard Cheatham Jonathan Lin Ryan Duff André Duncan Jani Leuschel Barbara C. Gandica Martinez Mirco Daniel Mbega Ndoumou

Mye Miller Everett Newson Jack Ramirez Bernal Jeremy Gaydosh Pete Shannon Ola Sawalhi Jerry Weiss Muyideen Ogunbunmi Macy Wheeler

STUDENT MEDIA ADVISERS Erica Edwards

Tim Jones

Jack Fletcher

Larry Ratliff

Meg Fullwood

Karin Matz

ISSUE DATES May 14

AWARDS CMA Two-Year TV Station First Place, 2018 ACP National Ad Design awards, 2018 ACP Newspaper Pacemaker Winner, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2016 CMA Two-Year Radio Station of the Year 2015 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 ACP Pacemaker Finalist, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007 ACP Online Pacemaker finalist, 2007, 2008 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 2 p.m. in E020 Letter Policy richlandchronicle@gmail.com Letters to the editor may be edited for space. They will be edited for spelling, grammar and malicious or libelous statements.

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SPORTS

May 7, 2019

T-Duck basketball players commit to area universities

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

May 7

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

Vocal honors recital Fannin Performance Hall, F102

May 8 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. i

Game day El Paso Lounge 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

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Free HIV testing, Health Center Thunderduck Hall, T110 Open to all students, employees and the community 18 and over, picture ID required 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

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Fannin Performance Hall, F102

Staff Photo Mirco Daniel Mbega Ndoumou

Davon Berry, left, Coach Brian Graham, Caleb Williams, Coach Jon Havens and David Shepard at signing day on April 30.

Staff Writer

“I can’t say thank you enough for each and every one of you guys,” Coach John Havens said expressing his gratitude to his players.

“Obviously, your best basketball is ahead of you. I’m proud of you for taking care of business on and off the court. East Central and Texas Wesleyan are getting a couple of great players.”

Richland basketball had three players sign to four-year universities on April 30. First Team All-American Caleb Williams will be attending East Central University in Ada, Okla. Davon

“It’s no coincidence at what they’re accomplishing now, because of the work that they put in .”

-Brian Graham

Berry and David Shepard will be attending Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth.

Havens opened the ceremony with a word of thanks for the entire staff.

“We’re only as good as the players we have, and that goes for Coach Graham, in the work he’s done to recruit everyone,” Havens said.

Addressing the returning roster, Havens said, “and you guys, hopefully next year, this is where you’re at (referencing those sitting at the signing table). You’ve got to set the bar, got to set the tone all summer to get here.”

Talking to the signee’s, he said, “First off, thank you very much for everything you have done for our program, for myself. It speaks volumes and that’s why you are here today.

Can’t wait to see where you go next and let’s see what happens.”

Graham pointed out all the hard work the athletes put in, setting a foundation for excellence moving forward.

“I will say one thing, and I think everyone on the team would agree, if you gave out a questionnaire and asked who the hardest playing guys were, I think there’s no questions that these guys would be in the conversation,” Graham said.

“It’s no coincidence at what they’re accomplishing now, because of the work that they put in and the dedication through 6 a.m. in the study halls and the film sessions and the things that no one wants to do. But you do it

to achieve the bigger and better and so we’re extremely proud of you guys and thankful. We thought we had a pretty good thing going, but you guys have kind of raised the bar for that, and we’re thankful for the foundation that you guys have laid going forward,” he said.

The Thunderducks ended their season as district champions and won the third place game at the NJCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament. Havens challenged next year’s returning players to take a step forward from the end results of this year.

“Now the pressure is on you, freshman, to get back where these guys left off,” Havens said addressing his returning players.

As the signees go on to new adventures, they offered encouragement to the team.

“Make it back there. We set the bar pretty high. They just gotta go top it off. They’re going to win a ring next year. We came short.

Their goal is to go win,” Berry said exuding confidence in the returning Richland roster.

“Continue to play hard. Play together and play for each other like we’ve always been doing. Be a family,” Shepard said reminding the players that it is about the team first.

Williams feels like they’ve set the path and encouraged his teammates to take it a step further.

“Even though we couldn’t, we set them up for where they need to be. All they need to do is win two more games,” he said.

May 9 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. i

Instrumental honors recital Fannin performance hall, F102

May 10

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. i

Open MIC: Hosted by the Student Government Association All performers welcome Cafeteria stage 12 to 2 p.m.

i

Cab block party Free barbecue, games, music El Paso Lounge

May 11 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. i

Richland music scholarship benefit concert $10 Fannin Performance Hall, F102

Inclement Weather Hotline RLC students: 972-238-6196 RLC employees: 972-238-6912

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André Duncan

Spring student composer’s concert: “New Music Richland” Works composed by students of Professor Omar Surillo

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May 7, 2019

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