Richland Chronicle September 21st, 2021

CHRONICLE Richland

Vol. XLVIII Issue 3, September 21, 2021

Club Fair gets students involved Pg. 2

• Bloomberg Lab interests students in finance • COVID-19 vaccines on campus • Hurricanes strike the Gulf Coast RichlandStudentMedia.com

Richland Student Media Media

@RLCStudentMedia

Pg. 3 Pg. 5 Pg. 7 Richland Student Media Richland Student Media

2 CAMPUS

September 21, 2021

Staff Photos Trang Nguyen and Jason Ryer

Left: SGA leaders ready to inform students of their organization.Top Left: Gilian Rojas and Daphnae Earnest at the Art Club booth. Bottom Left: The Green Team greet attendees at the Club Fair.

Club Fair gets students involved in activities across campus Kendra Alise Staff Writer

From Sept. 14 and 15, Club Fair was held at Dallas College Richland Campus in El Paso Hall, part of exciting back to campus activities for Richland students and faculty. Each club presented their posters and flyers to passersby in an attempt to get them interested in what they have to offer. Ranging from the Art Club, to the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), to Fellowship Of Christian University Students (F.O.C.U.S.), there seemed to be a club for every student to get involved in on campus.

“The pandemic really broke everybody apart and this club fair is bringing everyone back together, step by step,” said Gaganjit Sidhu from PTK, an honor society focusing on community service and scholarships.

Following the lockdown of the past year, many

students feel as though their college experience has been limited. In an effort to reclaim those missing experiences, more Richland College students have been joining clubs than in previous years.

Joey Thurston, a current youth pastor with F.O.C.U.S, is particularly excited about the sense of community that comes with being in a club, “In life, you get out what you put in. You want lifelong friends? Come join us, because we do too,” F.O.C.U.S. encourages all students to join them through multiple events each week. Such events include bible study, group/team building, praise and worship nights, and one-on-one discussions with pastors or mentors. Daphne Earnest, a student involved with the Art Club, said her favorite thing is the sense of community, “You get a chance to network and be around similar minded people.”

There are many benefits to being a member of a Dallas College Club. Nada Iqval is a member of The National Society of Collegiate

Scholars, a club dedicated to empowering students via leadership opportunities, scholarships, and service. “NSCS is a great way to start networking without it being as intimidating,” Iqval said Helping the community is also a benefit for many students. The Richland Green Team has one goal: to help the environment in any way they can. They are found primarily planting trees and doing other various projects like trash cleanups across campus. While the Green Team does a lot for the Richland campus, they have also ventured out to help the Dallas community as well.

“Who doesn’t want to help out the environment?” “It wouldn’t hurt to try,” Richland Green Team members said. For Abby, a member of the Dallas College Honors Program, it is the perks that come with being an honor student that reeled her in. “Most honors classes now are smaller, as far as quantity goes. It helps having more one-on-one with teachers. We have a really special place

for honors students. We have, like, a kitchen and a conference room for presentations, a printer, and it’s where we meet as a family!”

Ultimately, there are so many ways for students to add richness to their Richland experience. There is a place for everyone on campus, even if they do not find the perfect fit. Students can start their own club.

Kelly Sonnanstine from the Office of Student Life and Engagement (OSL) says that any student can create their own club as long as they have six members, a faculty member as a supervisor and they take a visit down to OSL. “Be involved. Students that are involved outside of the classroom, do better inside of the classroom,” Sonnanstine said with a smile on her face, “Celebrating student success [and] watching them get excited about their own successes is the most fulfilling thing.”

Chronicle Staff Writers Adam Kotch and Kimberly Gabino contributed to this article.

September 21, 2021

CAMPUS 3

Bloomberg Lab introduces students to finances Mike Sokolski Staff Writer

Did you know there is an educational resource on campus that can lead to a certificate that may open the door into the exciting world of finance and investment? That resource is The Bloomberg Finance/Investment Lab. It is in El Paso Hall, E018, not far from the office of student life. To be certified there are four required areas of instructional videos the student needs to complete. The topics are economic indicators, currencies, fixed income (bonds), and equities (stocks).

Additional videos include commodities, options, and portfolio management. The only requirement is that you be a student at Dallas College with a student email account. The best feature is that it is free.

The person in charge is Todd Senick who can be contacted through Tsenick@dcccd. edu. Senick has 25 years of experience in the finance industry. Among other things he has been a stockbroker and hedge fund manager.

He was working in education as an academic coach for masters ’ programs when the opportunity to oversee the certificate program at Dallas College became a reality. He says, “tThis is the best of both worlds, I get to be in education, ([and]) I get to do some things in finance and investments.”

What is the Bloomberg Terminal? Senick describes it as a “large database of anything

Staff Photo Victor London

Stock values are shown across the television and the ticker in the Bloomberg Finance and Investment lab.

Tristian Townes says that being certified without the risk of financial loss The club is in you can think of.” He notes that its main purpose is “for economic information relating on the Bloomberg Terminal gives a “leg up on its early stages but already has a full completo investments such as stocks and bonds.” It landing an internship” in the finance indus- ment of officers. Also like the real world, club is a great tool to do economic research with try. Tristian is also a member of the invest- members compete with each other to see who a vast array news, opinion, analysis, and fore- ment club that uses the Bloomberg Terminal. the best performer is.

You can find Todd Senick in the Bloomcasts available. The Bloomberg Terminal is He learned about the club when Todd Senick berg Lab in El Paso Hall or send him an email ubiquitous throughout the financial industry visited his economics class.

The idea of the club is to generate inter- at Tsenick@dcccd.edu. There is a podcast and therefore the certificate offered at Dallas College can be a plus to someone interested in est in investing. Members use the Bloomberg interview with Mr. Senick available at richTerminal to create simulated portfolios by landstudentmedia.com. working in the financial industry. executing trades. It gives real world experience One of the students in the program,

Emergency line outage across Dallas College

A screenshot taken from a phone showing the alert and the description on the Guardian app.

Alex Ortuno

Interim Managing Editor

The emergency lines for Dallas College were down for approximately 25 minutes at Sept. 16, beginning at 12:36 p.m. affecting all campuses.

The Rave Guardian app, the app used for safety on campus, sent out an alert of “Zulu Ice Station” closing. In the app, the alert stated all Dallas College campuses and service buildings will be closing on an unspecified date due to inclement weather.

“All Dallas College campuses and service locations will be closed on (DAY OF THE WEEK),

(MONTH) (DATE), due to bad weather,” said the alert on the Guardian app.

Despite the alert sent in the app, at press time no severe weather is expected to be occurring the next couple of days, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. Only sunny days with hot temperatures are expected.

At 1:03 p.m. Dallas College sent an email to all students, staff and faculty stating the emergency lines were back in service.

“Dallas College 911 lines are back up, please call 972-860-4290 for emergencies or police assistance,” the email stated.

4 ENTERTAINMENT

September 21, 2021

‘Perfect Blue’ is a perfectly good psychological thriller Damon Craig

Online/Special Projects Editor Perfect Blue (1997), written and directed by the late Satoshi Kon (‘Paprika,’ ‘Tokyo Godfathers,’ ‘Paranoia Agent’), is a psychological thriller that follows the tale of Mima, a former pop idol of the fictional group CHAM, who leaves the music scene behind in pursuit of acting.

The animation is beautiful, colorful and vibrant. The opening scenes start out optimistic and bright, then slowly begin to introduce elements to the plot that hint towards a more sinister, underlying danger, spiraling into a full-on descent into madness.

In terms of execution, what I found most interesting was the way Satoshi-san makes use of more than one tactic. The earlier scenes provide these subtle, mundane story elements, relying more on the power of suggestion, à la Hitchcock. As the story progresses and the tone begins to shift, the imagery becomes far more graphic, but does so in a way that contributes to the overall narrative.

The narrative is truly unsettling, and deals with an array of heavily traumatic themes, ranging from mental and psychological disorders, to stalking, and exploitation, with DID

(Dissociative Identity Disorder) and Imposter Syndrome being the most prevalent. While such themes might be common topics of film and popular media for us, this was most certainly not the case for Japanese society in the late 1990’s.

The subject of mental health has been gravely stigmatized by a large percentage of Japanese culture, especially where the older generations are concerned. It was not until recently that the country began to gradually shift its disposition on the subject. To see it depicted so vividly in a time where such conditions were often met with ridicule or ignored must have been truly shocking from a cultural standpoint.

The imagery in this film is definitely not for everyone, and may be difficult for people to sit through. The overall theme is largely dark and unnerving, and one of the antagonists remains a menacing presence throughout. Part of what makes this film so effective at what it does, is the ever present sense of realism. Despite being an animated work, a great deal of the events that happen in this film have a solid grounding in reality, where the audience could logically see the probability of such horrors happening to someone in real life.

As previously mentioned, some of these scenes may be upsetting for some, especially

Photo Courtsey: FilmGrab

Mima, voiced by Junko Iwao, reflects on her career outlook in “Perfect Blue”(1997).

for survivors of physical assault. But in the way that the film presents it, it is never done to any particular excess, and never feels out of place or forced. Rather, it serves further narrative, and to paint a clear picture of what the protagonist is willing to endure, and the very real toll it takes on the human psyche.

In terms of plot, the film starts out as a bit of a slow burn, though not at the expense of the pacing, and is very much akin to a roller coaster in the way that it starts with that slow, gradual ascent, then, as it crests over the tipping point, plunges into a fast, winding descent into mania with various twists and

turns. There were certain moments that sort of fell into the old anime tropes, but even at that, it was easily forgivable.

All in all, Perfect Blue is a wild ride, and certainly worth a watch for those looking for something a little different from the typical tropes of most conventional horror. As someone who does not scare easily, there were moments where I felt genuinely disturbed by the contents of the film. Though disturbing, it serves its purpose both as an entertainment piece, and a social statement that holds true even today.

Grade: A

Davis Oyola

tension and emotional impact resulting in a distracting sequence of sound designs. The supporting characters don’t get much development but discover shocking revelations usually reserved for the main character.

“Malignant” does shine with some of its camera movement and set pieces, taking advantage of the different environments.

Cinematographer Michael Burgess brilliantly uses point-of-view shots to change perspective and reveal new details to pay attention to.

“Malignant” is a bold attempt at a genrebending horror-thriller, with an interesting visual style and twist along the way. Unfortunately, that isn’t enough to make up for bad performances, a mediocre plot and poor sound design.

Grade: D

‘Malignant’ ends up struggling to scare even flies

Photo Courtsey: Rotten Tomatoes

Annabelle Wallis performs the role of Madison Mitchell in “Malignant”(2021)

Clint Eastwood edition

“The Good, the Bad and The Ugly” (1966) – This is one of the rarities in cinema. Everything works to perfection. From the great direction by Sergio Leone, the score from Ennio Morricone and the stellar performances from the great trio of Clint Eastwood, Le Van Cleef and Eli Wallach.

A+

Staff Writer Madison (Annabelle Wallis) starts to experience paralyzing visions, which she discovers are a reality. Directed by James Wan, (“The Conjuring,” “Insidious,” “Aquaman”), “Malignant” is Wan’s return to the horror genre after “Aquaman” in 2018.

The protagonist sets out to discover the connections between her visions and the harsh realities they are related to.

Unfortunately, the movie struggles with an identity crisis, relying on tropes from other genres to avoid horror cliches pushed forward by the director’s previous work. By doing so, however, “Malignant” loses its identity.

The performances don’t fit the tone of the film, and the score drowns out moments of

“Dirty Harry”(1971) – Another landmark in Clint Eastwood’s resume is this new (at the time) take on the police procedural, bureaucrats and pencil pushers included. Don Siegel directed this tale that finds Eastwood’s Harry Callahan dealing with all the minutia involved in the city of San Francisco.

A

“Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” (1974) – Pre-”The Deer Hunter,” Michael Cimino directed this tale of Eastwood’s aged safecracker taking on a young protege portrayed by Jeff Bridges. With Oscarwinner George Kennedy (“Cool Hand Luke”).

A-

“Unforgiven” (1992) – This gritty Western tale found Eastwood’s mature story that involved a retired gunslinger (Eastwood), a best friend (Morgan Freeman) and a corrupt sheriff (Gene Hackman). A triple Oscar win for Eastwood for best picture, best actor and best director.

A

“A Perfect World” (1993) – In this crime-drama thriller, Eastwood plays a sheriff looking for bad guy Kevin Costner in the mid-1960s milieu. With Laura Dern and Bradley Whitford

-Ricky Miller

A-

September 21, 2021

CAMPUS 5

Richland provides COVID-19 vaccination for the community

Photo Illustration Courtsey: Gustavo Fring through Pexels.com

Jason Ryer

Staff Writer Richland is holding a COVID-19 vaccination drive this term to help students get vaccinated while receiving a $200 incentive payment. According to Dallas College nurse Georgia Johnson, “Dallas College has gotten a private vender to help supply the vaccine for students.”

The vaccine drive currently runs Monday and Tuesday and students can come in and get vaccines while it is open. Students can get the first and second dose through the vaccine drive as well as get only a second dose if they

already have gotten the first one at somewhere else. All they need to bring is their vaccination card with them.

The process for getting the vaccine is straight forward. There is some paperwork required from the students to the vender, which will be needed to help the college process their record, in order to help keep track of those getting the vaccine. The check-in and check-out process is streamlined to get students and faculty through the process quickly.

Johnson said they have been able to process as many as 40 people at a time. There are tables in Sabine Hall where the drive helps students through the process.

INCREASE your OPPORTUNITIES

Complete your bachelor’s degree Gain the advantage of TWU’s legacy and leadership in health-related professions.

Take classes online or in person.

Learn more at TWU.edu/health

“Once they get their shot, they will come over to the nurse table. Once there with the card we verify that they had it with Medtrack then they go to the next table where they get help getting it on Medproctor and get clearance. We verify the COVID dates and they go on to the Medproctor for the incentive,” Johnson said. The vaccine being given out by the vender is made by Pfizer. The campus location for students to receive the vaccine is the Sabine Hall lobby/atrium between 2and 5:30 p.m.

The vaccine drive so far has been a success and the overall wait time has dropped.. For those worried about not being able to get the vaccine in time to qualify for the $200 incentive, the event is going to be held weekly until November 15. For students and faculty curious about of how the shot is administered, the shot process is easy and painless.

Johnson describes the process by saying, “When they sit down to get their vaccine, I tell them they are going to feel a little pinch.

Some kids say they experience a little sting.

We let them choose what arm they want it in.

That arm will be sore for 48 hours.” Although no abnormal side-effects have been reported so far, students must wait 15 minutes before leaving to be safe. This is similar to how Walgreens or CVS has patients wait after getting the vaccine.

Faculty are also encouraged to stop by and get the vaccination, since they are also eligible for the Dallas College COVID-19 vaccination incentive program. incentive program eligibility.

“Once they get their shot, they will come over to the nurse table. Once there with the card we verify that they had it with Medtrack then they go to the next table where they get help getting it on Medproctor and get clearance. We verify the COVID dates and they go on to the Medproctor for the incentive,” Johnson said. The vaccine being given out by the vender is made by Pfizer. The campus location for students to receive the vaccine is the Sabine Hall lobby/atrium between 2and 5:30 p.m.

The vaccine drive so far has been a success and the overall wait time has dropped.. For those worried about not being able to get the vaccine in time to qualify for the $200 incentive, the event is going to be held weekly until November 15. For students and faculty curious about of how the shot is administered, the shot process is easy and painless.

Johnson describes the process by saying, “When they sit down to get their vaccine, I tell them they are going to feel a little pinch.

Some kids say they experience a little sting.

We let them choose what arm they want it in.

That arm will be sore for 48 hours.” Although no abnormal side-effects have been reported so far, students must wait 15 minutes before leaving to be safe. This is similar to how Walgreens or CVS has patients wait after getting the vaccine.

Faculty are also encouraged to stop by and get the vaccination, since they are also eligible for the Dallas College COVID-19 vaccination incentive program. incentive program eligibility.

6 SPORTS

September 21, 2021

CHRONICLE Richland

STUDENT MEDIA LEADERS

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

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

ON THE COVER Staff Photo: Trang Nguyen

BACK COVER Staff Illustration: Angelo Diaz

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

STUDENT MEDIA STAFF Meshack Mashua Fiona Forney Mike Sokolski Beth Swider Davis Oyola Riley Cook Jason Ryer Angelo Diaz Victor London Anish Singh Photo courtesy UTSA

Danil Medvedev takes aim during the men’s championship game against top seeded Novak Djokovic, winning the US Open on Sept. 12.

Open features first-time Grand Slam event winners David Acosta Staff Writer

The 2021 US Open Women’s Tennis Championship featured two unseeded underdogs who no one imagined would wind up in the final for the first time, while the men’s side saw an elite player fall short of history of completing a calendar-year Grand Slam. Serena, Venus Williams, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were out due to injuries.

The Open is held every year at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York in front of a capacity crowd, and is attended by celebrities from around the world.

The women’s final was a rare one in which both players had the opportunity to capture their first championship. Both were ranked way outside the top 25 at 150 and 73, respectively. Emma Raducanu, an 18 year old right-handed teenager from Great Britain who blasted her way to several straight set wins over opponents faced off against Leylah Fernandez, a 19 year old lefty from Canada who defeated top 25 opponent and three time Grand Slam tournament winner Angelique Kerber and two top five opponents, Naomi Osaka (a Grand Slam tournament winner with four titles) and Aryna Sabalenka respectively.

In the first set Raducanu got off to a quick start by taking a commanding 2-0 lead.

Fernandez fought back to tie at 2 games a piece. Both players held serve at 4-4 after trading tremendous groundstroke winners.

Fernandez at 4-5 down (15-40) rebounded to get to deuce only for Raducanu to eventually take the set 6-4.

In the second set, Rauducanu would then take a commanding 5-2 lead and had two championship points only to commit two

unforced errors allowing Fernandez to keep the match alive at 5-3. The match ended with Raducanu prevailing in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.

After both players embraced, Raducanu ran out of the stadium and into the stands to the coaches’ box embracing her coaches, family and friends while Fernandez was griping to an official regarding the automatic injury timeout.

Receiving her runner-up trophy Leylah Fernandez congratulated Raducanu as she told Eurosport: “Today is going to be hard, but Emma played amazing.” She expressed her disappointing loss as she told USA Today, “I think I’m going to carry this loss for a very long time,” Fernandez said. “But I’m very happy with myself, with the way I competed and played and acted on court the past two weeks.

Unfortunately, I made one too many mistakes in key moments.” Fernandez congratulated her family for quote “Having my back, even for the lows, and will be back in the finals with the right trophy.”

Upon receiving her championship trophy, Raducanu had nothing but praise for Fernandez by quote: “I want to congratulate Leylah and her team for an incredible run.”

Raducanu made history by achieving three goas;she won her first Grand Slam tournament final. She became the first qualifier to ever win and the first female British competitor to win since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977.

Both players have jumped much higher in the rankings, with Raduncanu now ranked 23 by the Women’s Tennis Association, while Fernandez is now ranked 28.

The Men’s Championship had everyone on their seats as well, as millions of viewers were watching at home to witness #1 ranked Novak Djokovic from Serbia to become the first

player since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete the Grand Slam in one calendar year. All he needed to do was surpass a tall lanky opponent by the name of Daniil Medvedev, 24, from Russia to achieve it. Unfortunately for Djokovic, the match took an unexpected turn.

In the first set, Djokovic got off to a bad start, trailing 2 games to none. Djokovic could only stand there, unable to return the blistering serves. Djokovic tried to stay in the set, but Medvedev proved too much as he prevailed 6-4.

Djokovic got off to a good start in the second set but fell behind Medvedev 3-2.

Djokovic reacted by throwing a temper tantrum, breaking his racket by slamming it on the court, and was issued a warning by the chair umpire while going to his corner for a new racket.

Djokovic tried new tactics by serving and volleying, and going with his specialty dropshots for winners, but it either resulted in shots missing wildly for unforced errors or Medvedev countering by maneuvering quickly to the ball resulting in points for him that most other opponents wouldn’t receive. This would eventually become the meltdown for Djokovic who would go on to lose in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Both players showed mutual respect as they embraced one another.

Although in tears and not being able to make history, Djokovic expressed empathy towards Medvedev while receiving the runner up trophy: “Congrats to Daniil, if anyone deserves the Grand Slam Title It’s You.” At 24-years-old, this was Medvedev’s first Grand Slam tournament title. Djokovic remains tied with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with 20 overall Grand Slam tournament titles.

Ryan Bingham Duff Damon Craig Alexis Rodriguez Yessi Lipscomb Barbara Gandica Martinez Alex Ortuno Kendra Alise Kimberly Gabino Adam Koch Trang Nguyen

STUDENT MEDIA ADVISERS Erica Edwards

Tim Jones

Jack Fletcher

Larry Ratliff

ISSUE DATES October 5

November 16

October 19

November 30

November 2

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

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 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

NATIONAL 7

September 21, 2021

Hurricane season brings devastation Alex Ortuno Interim Managing Editor

Hurricane season has gotten underway throughout recent weeks with Hurricane Ida, a major hurricane bringing devastation to the states of Louisiana and Mississippi. Torrential rain, wind speeds reaching over 100 mph and even tornadoes were spotted from the Gulf states of Louisiana and Mississippi and even as far as New England.

Kurt Van Speybroeck, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the devastation in the southern states was caused by a multitude of weather events caused by the hurricane, causing electricity outages.

“What we saw was a lot of rain, quite a bit of wind reports, a lot of power outages and downed trees, some flooding of homes and it was a major hurricane so you would expect that the damage would match with a Category 4 hurricane.”

While the damage was severe in Louisiana, it reached further into Mississippi, according to Van Speybroeck.

“The extent of the damage did reach all the way up into the Gulf Coast states. It reached all the way up to Mississippi, right towards the Jackson area with a lot of tree damage and downed trees in central and northern Mississippi.”

Hurricane Ida completely dissipated on Sept. 4, leaving behind 26 dead in Louisiana, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. Over 40 were confirmed dead, according to the Associated Press. The damage cost in Mississippi and Louisiana is estimated to be between 27 and 40 million dollars, according to the website CoreLogic.com.

On Sept. 9, the National Hurricane Center began monitoring a disturbance in the Bay of Campeche. Eventually, this disturbance became a Category 1 hurricane that struck the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. Although it was given the weakest rating on the Saffir Simpson Scale, it did not leave the affected areas unscathed.

“The main impact that we saw was localized flooding, isolated flooding in Southeast Texas.

Generally from Matagorda Bay up to the south and southeast side of Houston. We did see quite a bit of coastal erosion and wave action type damage. Some wind damage on the immediate coast,” said Van Speybroeck.

Van Speybroeck said many power lines have been downed due to falling trees.

However, Hurricane Nicholas was problematic as it barely hung onto its status as a hurricane.

“Nicholas was briefly a hurricane, there were just a few observations that said that there was hurricane force winds for a short period of time so it was right on the border of strong tropical storm and hurricane,” said Van Speybroeck.

As Nicholas moved east, it weakened to a tropical depression. Despite being less than a hurricane, it moved toward Louisiana and affected areas that were previously hit by Hurricane Ida. “The heaviest rain fell in Louisiana. It was

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

Sept. 21 2 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. i

COVID-19 vaccine clinic Sabine Hall lobby/atrium

Sept. 27 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. i

Anxiety Relief Lavaca Hall, library 2 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

i

COVID-19 vaccine clinic Sabine Hall lobby/atrium

Sept. 28

Photo The Associated Press

Homes are left in ruins from the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in Grand Isle, Louisiana.

over Lake Charles and then transitioned to the area where Ida went,” Van Speybroeck said.

At press time, the National Hurricane Center has posted an advisory on Tropical Depression Nicholas, stating it was nearly stationary over the gulf states and bringing a risk of flash flooding across parts of the central gulf coast region.

While both Hurricane Ida and Nicholas were completely different in terms of strength of wind speeds, they still brought a dangerous part that every tropical system includes; the storm surge.

Stephen Kallenberg, earth science and environmental science faculty for Dallas College Richland Campus, explained what a storm surge is.

“What a hurricane is at the very very center, the eye of the hurricane, there is a very low pressure, it’s a deep low pressure. So the air is actually being lifted so the air is going upwards and the air in the hurricane in the center is so strong, that it’s actually pulling the water up. And so there’s this bulge of water near the eyewall basically and it’s around the hurricane so this bulge of water is kinda like just a slow moving tidal wave in a sense that’s just following along with the storm,” said Kallenberg.

Hurricane season begins in June and ends in November but it may begin earlier or end later. Kallenberg believes that more hurricanes are a possibility.

“For sure. The hurricane season doesn’t end until November 30th so there’s still plenty of time,” said Kallenberg.

At press time, three areas of the Atlantic Ocean are being monitored by the National Hurricane Center for possible development of tropical systems. Kallenberg said many of these could fully develop within the span of days.

“It could still strengthen, there’s enough warmth in the Atlantic. It could turn into a hurricane so that’s possible,” Kallenberg said.

NOAA has stated the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane season to have a 60% chance of being an above-average hurricane season, Kallenberg agrees with the notion.

“On average, we get about 14.2 named storms, 7.2 hurricanes, about 3.2 major hurricanes. Where we stand right now, we got 14 named storms and we’re likely going to add two more by the end of the week so we’ll probably be at 16 so that’s slightly above average,” said Kallenberg.

As more tropical storms may form throughout the upcoming weeks, Van Speybroeck advises people to responsibly be aware of any official warnings and to be updated on the latest information about hurricanes, especially as social media may cause confusion amongst official messages and opinions of those on the platforms.

“What we suggest people do is for people to follow information from the National Hurricane Center and now with social media and all the different YouTube channels and everybody having a forecast or an opinion, sometimes it’s hard to see the official message so that’s why we point everybody to the official messages that come out from the National Hurricane Center,” said Van Speybroeck.

Local weather offices are helpful as they will also provide information about inclement weather affecting the area, even if it’s about a hurricane.

“We have them everywhere from Brownsville through the upper coast and all the way to Florida and there are 132 weather offices that deal with different hazards, Van Speybroeck said.”

2:30 p.m. i

National Voter Registration Day El Paso Lounge, El Paso Hall

4 p.m. i

A conversation with Latino USA award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa Online

Sept. 30 9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. i

Free HIV testing Health Center, Thunderduck Hall, T110

October 1 1 p.m. i

SGA General Assembly Sabine Hall, SB117

October 4 2 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. i

COVID-19 vaccine clinic Sabine Hall lobby/atrium

8

September 21, 2021

mythology, spooky stories and folk lore

RichlandStudentMedia.com

Richland Student Media

@RLCStudentMedia

Richland Student Media