Richland Chronicle September 20, 2022 issue

CHRONICLE Richland

Vol. L Issue 3, September 20, 2022

Student opinion on Queen Elizabeth II Pg. 5

• A voice from the construction site • ‘Prey:’ entertaining waste of time • Student loan forgiveness: point/counterpoint point/counterpoint RichlandStudentMedia.com

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Pg. 2 Pg. 4 Pg. 5 Richland Student Media Richland Student Media

2 CAMPUS

September 20, 2022

Building on talent and positivity CHRONICLE Richland

Blanca Reyes

Editor-at-large It is another ordinary afternoon at Richland College. Busses, cars, and students are part of the scene. Suddenly, high notes started to fill the air throughout the parking lot close to the Red River Hall construction site.

Jaime Hernadez’s chest is the fount of those melodic notes. Construction workers rest under the shade that the new building provides them during the lunchtime. Hernandez entertains his co-workers with his talent.

“I haven’t taken any classes at all. It has been like this all the time. My friends ask me to sing for them,” Hernandez said.

He is a welder from Guadalajara, Mexico, but has lived in the United States for two and a half years. Hernandez has 12 siblings and two of them live in the North Dallas area.

“I have a brother who sings in the church chorus back in my hometown,” Hernandez said.

His dad played the guitar in the church when he was younger too.

Hernandez sings banda songs, which is “a style of Mexican music and the musical ensemble in which wind instruments, mostly of brass, and percussion, are performed,” according to the dictionary.

Banda music is very popular in Hernadez’s hometown. He sings what his friends ask him to perform.

“When they ask me to sing a song, I sing what comes to my mind first,” Hernadez said.

He is a little bit shy when he talks about his talent, but when Hernandez starts singing his personality changes.

He has not thought about entering a singing contest, although his natural talent is obvious.

If you step out of your car someday and hear a potent intoned voice, it will probably be Hernandez performing for his friends holding his hard hat and wearing his safety vest.

“I just try to be happy,” Hernadez said.

STUDENT MEDIA LEADERS

Editor-at-large Acting Editor Entertainment Editor Online/Special Projects Online/Special Projects

ON THE COVER Queen Elizabeth II in Germany in 2015.

Photo: Associated Press

BACK COVER Staff Illustration: Lana Huynhcong

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

STUDENT MEDIA STAFF Angelo Diaz Melanie Castaneda Blanca Reyes Lyall Leonardo Jerry Weiss Raymond Thomas Pronk David Acosta Melanie Vranovsky

RichlandStudentMedia.com

Staff Writer Over the last couple of weeks, parking lots Y and Z have become heavily congested due to the ongoing construction of the new Red River Hall building in Parking Lot Y. “The [Red River Hall] building is large and it’s taking up a lot of the footprint,” said Janet James, senior director of campus administration for the Richland Campus. “We truly regret the temporary inconvenience [of the construction].”

Because of this, students, faculty and staff have struggled to find parking in lots Y and Z. This struggle is most notably seen in the morning when everyone is rushing to their first class.

The best solution to this issue now is to find parking on the west side of campus (parking lots D and C). However, for students with classes in Del Rio Hall, Medina Hall or

Ryan Bingham Duff Alex Ortuno Shakir Acrey Eisley Schweers Saint Garcia Haley Aguayo Jesse Serrano Leo Rosas Lana Huynhcong

STUDENT MEDIA ADVISERS Erica Edwards

Tim Jones

Jubenal Aguilar

Larry Ratliff

ISSUE DATES October 4 November 1

October 18 November 22

December 6

STUDENT MEDIA AWARDS

Staff Photo Blanca Reyes

Jaime Hernadez sings as construction continues on Red River Hall.

New construction makes parking tight Leo Rosas

Blanca Reyes Alex Ortuno Ricky Miller Ryan Bingham Duff Damon Craig

Crockett Hall, the downside to parking in lots D and C is that students now have to take a longer route to their classes each morning.

For many of them, they’re already rushing to class.

There are 189 parking spaces in the parking lot adjacent to Parking Lot ZZ plus 5 ADA accessible spots.

Even so, it seems to not be enough for the current situation. But efforts are being made to mitigate any future parking difficulties.

“There will be additional parking that will be added over north of [Red River Hall] near [Jan] LeCroy,” James said.

As for the idea of a parking garage: “We explored that when we were designing the building, but we are able to accommodate the number of parking spaces to be code compliant with the City of Dallas through ground level parking,” James said.

“When you force students and faculty and staff into a parking garage and because so

many classes release at the same time, it’s kind of like when you go to a sporting event and everyone leaves at the same time. We decided that ground level parking helps us manage traffic flow better.”

James said that the construction of Red River Hall is going just as planned and the building should be ready by this time next year.

“Everything that we’ve lost temporarily, we will gain back. I know it’s inconvenient right now but it’s just unavoidable,” James said.

Correction In the Sept. 6 issue, Downton Abbey was mispelled as “Downtown Abbey.”

The Chronicle regrets this mistake.

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

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

CONTACT INFORMATION El Paso Hall, Room E020, 12800 Abrams Rd., Dallas 75243 Newsroom: 972-238-6079; richlandchronicle@gmail.com Advertising: 972-238-6068 Email: Advertise@dcccd.edu Staff meetings: Monday and Wednesday at 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 Dallas College Richland Campus. Editorials, cartoons, columns and letters are the opinions of individual students and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other individual student writers, editors, advisers or the college administration. © Richland Chronicle 2022

CAMPUS 3

September 20, 2022

Campus buildings change over time

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

Sept. 20 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. i

SGA Constitution Day El Paso Hall Student Lounge 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

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Voter Registration Day El Paso Hall Student Lounge 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

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Carter Bloodcare Blood Drive East Circle Parking Lot

Acting Editor Looking at the Richland Campus buildings, one can see how there are several, big and small, that make up different parts of the campus.

From the bright lights at the entrance of Thunderduck Hall, the marbled floor at the first floor of Sabine Hall and the noises from the construction site of the future Red River Hall, the Richland Campus has changed greatly as time progressed.

Janet James, senior director of campus administration, said the Richland Campus planners built more buildings as enrollment increased.

“Over the years as Richland grew, I believe the enrollment in 1972 was 4,000. It ultimately grew to 21,000. And so with that, we needed more buildings. In the interim of being able to raise the Dallas County Community College District raising funds for bond funds that can be used towards new building construction, we added a lot of modular buildings. We still have some,” said James.

While not a building, a labyrinth was introduced to the campus in November, 2001 so people could find a place to relax and destress.

Modular buildings used to be called temporary buildings as they were mostly used for classroom space, James said.

“Kiowa, which is one of the larger ones, is primarily the hub for the Richland Collegiate High School and we do offer some classes in there. But now they call it a modular because they bring them in sections and then they put them together. That’s the reason they’re modular,” James said.

Yegua Hall, just outside of Pecos Hall and next to Richland West Drive and Walnut Street, is also considered a modular building, James said.

Many of the current campus buildings that we know were previously used for different purposes.

Neches Hall was formerly part of admissions before Thunderduck Hall, and Wichita Hall was the science building before Sabine Hall.

With the campus buildings changing throughout time, some were modified to fit the needs of the campus or were even removed.

One of the several buildings that were modular was Washita Hall, previously part of Richland.

“That was supposed to be temporary, and it was there 25 years and it fell into disrepair.

It started, that kind of thing and so we eliminated it. That helped provide some of the footprint for the Pecos [Hall] which is where the campus police now reside, along with facilities.”

Other former buildings include Terlingua and Verde Hall. They were located just outside Fannin Hall before being removed.

James said Terlingua and Verde halls were

modular buildings that were removed due to their aging and failing of their structures.

Another part of campus that was removed was the campus pool outside Guadalupe Hall.

The removal of the pool was attributed to the costly amount of maintenance.

“It became very expensive to maintain because anyone that owns a pool knows that there are leaks and you have to keep the tile up and everything and it just became cost prohibitive to maintain it,” James said.

“The other thing is back in 1972 when it was installed, not a lot of people had pools.

There weren’t a lot of pools, maybe at YMCA or in people’s backyards and so forth. And so, the large number of swimming classes and things like that took place there over the years, it wasn’t utilized quite as much and so we studied the cost,” James said.

“We felt that over the long run, it was more cost conscious to go ahead and fill it in rather than keep repairing it and have it fall into less use,” said James.

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

Voter Registration Drive All around campus 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

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Carter Bloodcare Blood Drive East Circle Parking Lot

Sept. 22

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

Veterans Mental Health Summit Sabine Hall, SH117 and SH118 10 a.m. - noon

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SGA Cooking Demo Willing participants must register El Paso Hall, E036

Sept. 27

11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. i

Afrolatinidades: A Celebration of Black Empowerment and Advocacy in Latin America Sabine Hall, SH118

Sept. 29 9 a.m. - until supplies last i Richland Campus in 1978 facing northeast from the air.

Coffee Day El Paso Hall Student Lounge

RichlandStudentMedia.com

Alex Ortuno

Sept. 21

Photos Courtesy Jeff Stagner

Richland Campus in 1978 facing north from the air.

4 ENTERTAINMENT

September 20, 2022

Henry Silva dies at 95

Henry Silva, a prolific character actor best known for playing villains and tough guys in “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Ocean’s Eleven” and other films, has died at age 95.

Silva’s son Scott Silva told Variety that his father died Wednesday of natural causes at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California.

Silva was a New York City native who dropped out of school as a teenager, in the 1940s.

He was accepted the following decade into the Actors Studio, where fellow students included Shelley Winters and Ben Gazzara.

He went on to have a long and busy career in film and television, with hundreds of credits before retiring from acting in 2001.

He had a breakthrough role on stage and screen in the 1950s as a drug dealer in “A Hatful of Rain” and supporting parts in two of Frank Sinatra’s best known movies, both from the early 1960s: “Ocean’s Eleven,” the Las Vegas heist film that was a showcase for

Sinatra, Dean Martin and other “Rat Pack” members; and “The Manchurian Candidate,” the Cold War thriller about brainwashing and the attempted assassination of a presidential nominee that starred Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Janet Leigh. (In his last film appearance, Silva was cast in the “Ocean’s Eleven” remake from 2000 that starred George Clooney and Brad Pitt).

“Our hearts are broken at the loss of our dear friend Henry Silva, one of the nicest, kindest and most talented men I’ve had the pleasure of calling my friend,” Dean Martin’s daughter, Deana Martin, tweeted. “He was the last surviving star of the original Oceans 11 Movie.”

Silva was also seen on such television series as “Wagon Train” and “The F.B.I.,” and in such films as Warren Beatty’s “Dick Tracy,” Jerry Lewis’ “Cinderfella” and “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai,” in which he played a mobster in the 1999 release directed by one of his admirers, Jim Jarmusch.

-Associated Press

Amber Midthunder confronts the Predator in “Prey.”

‘Prey’ doesn’t have a prayer Ricky Miller

Entertainment Editor

Photo Rotten Tomatoes

Henry Silva in “The Italian Connection” in 1972.

Photo IMDb

“Prey” is part of Predator universe, wherein aliens from another universe hunt for other life forms. At the center of this tale is Naru (Amber Midthunder), a Native American of Comanche descent who wants more out of life.

The directing chores for “Prey” were handled by Dan Trachtenberg, who called the shots on “10 Cloverfield Lane” in 2016.

This tale was just an enjoyable waste of time. It did not really need the big screen to make it a worthwhile experience.

Of course, there are nods to past entries such as the sexy line “If it bleeds, we can kill it,” something lead character Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) said in the 1987 original “Predator”. That fun flick was at the start of John Mctiernan’s directing career. He also directed the classic ”Die Hard” a year later in 1988.

“Prey” does everything it’s supposed to do in intertwining the previous “Predator” entries. To me, the best entries are the 1987 “Predator” with Schwarzenegger, the so-so

“Predator 2” in 1990 with Danny Glover, the late Bill Paxton, Maria Conchita Alonso and Gary Busey.

Then there’s “Predators” from the summer of 2010 in which various miscreants were thrown onto a foreign planet and hunted for sport.

That tale featured Oscar-winner Adrien Brody and Laurence Fishburne?

The most recent entry was the Shane Blackdirected “The Predator” in 2018. It featured Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Thomas Jane and Jake Busey.

Irony fell into the picture because Black was a soldier in the 1987 incarnation.

His character met his demise early on in that engaging run through the South American jungle.

Going back to “Prey,” the revolver Danny Glover received in “Predator 2” makes an appearance here. It is all woven together to give the story justification and relevance to make it a more cohesive tale.

As aforementioned, this was sold as some sort of deal with Hulu, one of the many places streaming titles can now go to for a wider audience.

Grade: B-

“Predator” (1987) – This Arnold Schwarzeneggerled tale dealt with a hidden baddie in the South American jungle. Directed by John McTiernan.

“Predator 2” (1990) – Danny Glover was the lead here, a cop in the city of angels. Also stars Bill Paxton, Maria Conchita Alonso and Gary Busey. Directed

by Stephen Hopkins.

“Alien vs. Predator” (2004) – This one finds Lance Henriksen playing a different character altogether. With Sanaa Latham, who actually teams up with the predator.

“Predators” (2010) – Stars Oscar winner Adrien Brody who’s character and other people are taken from their mission to another an alien planet . Also includes Alex Braga and Topher Grace.

“The Predator ” (2018) – Shane Black directed this entry which finds a crashed alien ship, and brings a variety of alien characters to our planet.

-Ricky Miller

B+

C

C

C

B-

OPINION 5

September 20, 2022

President Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness: for and against An entitlement program too far

Raymond Thomas Pronk Staff Writer

The American worker should not be burdened with the cost of paying-off the debt freely incurred by those who received the benefit of a college education.

Until the U.S. addresses its addiction to more and more debt to pay for federal government spending, there should be a moratorium on new, expensive and every expanding entitlement programs.

American citizens who work for a living are required to pay Social Security, Medicare and disability federal payroll taxes for as long as they are employed.

The 2022 payroll tax rates for an employee total 7.65% consisting of three separate taxes.

The tax rate for Social Security (OASI) is 5.3% , for Medicare (HI) the rate is 1.45% percent, and for disability (DI) the rate is .9%.

The employer pays a matching 7.65% total tax. The combined tax totals 15.30% and is also the total tax rate paid by self-employed individuals.

For 2021 and 2022, the maximum taxable earnings are $142,800 and $147,000, respectively.

Each year the maximum taxable income has been increased and the current taxable rates applied to determine total payroll tax owed by employees and employers.

Since January 2013, if you are single and earn more than $200,000, or married filing jointly and earn over $250,000, you must pay an additional .9% tax.

Most Americans work 40 - 50 years before they decide to retire and collect their monthly Social Security benefits. Once eligible for Social Security benefits, Americans can select

the month and year they want their Social Security benefits to start being paid.

For Medicare, eligibility starts at 65 and requires 10 years or 40 quarters of work before becoming eligible.

According to annual Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare 2022 reports, “Social Security and Medicare both face long-term financing shortfalls under scheduled benefits and financing.” How bad is the situation? A clear and present danger.

“The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund, which pays retirement and survivors benefits will be able to pay scheduled benefits on a timely basis until 2034, one year later than reported last year.

At that time, the fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing tax income will be sufficient to pay 77% of scheduled benefits.”

Medicare is even in worse financial shape compared to Social Security: “The Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund, or Medicare Part A, which helps pay for services such as inpatient hospital care, will be able to pay for schedule benefits until 2028, two years later than reported last year.

At that time, the fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing total program income will be sufficient to pay 90% of total scheduled benefits.”

Congress and President Joe Biden must address the financial shortfall in both Social Security and Medicare before even considering a new and expensive entitlement program.

The total national debt of the U.S. including both debt held by the public and intragovernmental debt will by the end of fiscal year 2022 exceed an estimated $30.85 trillion.

The interest cost of servicing this debt is also growing and becoming an even larger percentage of the total U.S. fiscal year budget.

Easing the pain on student debt Blanca Reyes

Editor-at-large Although education should be a right and an open door to a better life, for many it has become a life-long debt. President Joe Biden finally made an announcement that many have been waiting for: student loan debt relief.

President Biden is now making a reality what he promised to borrowers during his presidential campaign in 2020.

According to the Federal Student Aid webpage, it is a three-part plan to help middleclass borrowers, especially after the economic hardships that the pandemic caused.

Although some people might think it is just more “free money” to give away when some social programs such as social security do have not enough funds, the money these and other social programs need will be provided through more taxes.

The programs will also help pay for unjustified tuition some universities charge. Sometimes students pay for things that have nothing to do with education such as extravagant buildings or excessive costs on athletic teams.

Although these things are part of the college experience and tradition of the universities, they increase student costs enormously. That money should be invested into things such as higher salaries for professors and scholarships.

According to collegeboard.org, in the last 30 years, average tuition per year has increased more than 50% at two-year ($2,310 to $3,800) and four-year public higher education institutions (4,160 to $10,740). In four-year private institutions, the increase was from $19,360 to $38,070, which is almost 50% more.

Those increases directly impact students from low-income and middle-class families because they must decide whether they can

afford to have debt at the end of their college education, which on average is about $25,000 (www.whitehouse.gov), or not attend college.

This can prevent those families from accumulating wealth including buying houses, saving money, investing money, or even opening a small business. With more education, these people could generate more wealth and pay more taxes that could go into social programs, more student loans and scholarships.

The three-part plan Biden offered will give relief for vulnerable families and also will allow people who serve in the military, nonprofits and others a chance at even more student loan debt relief.

Another reason to support the plan is because it is supposed to reduce the costs of tuition in “the largest increase to Pell Grants in over a decade and one of the largest onetime influxes to colleges and universities,” according to a White House fact sheet. Biden will continue his efforts to double the funds for Pell Grants and make community colleges free, according to the White House website.

More people will have access to better education and better jobs that will improve their life, but it will have a great impact on the country.

Although I earned my degrees with scholarships and I did not need to ask for a loan, I have friends who have been paying their loans for years and cannot see the end of their debts.

It is like being punished for trying to pursue a better life when college should be a right in a developed country.

If our taxes are spent on programs that are meant to improve our life, why not spend that money on education? Most people who have earned a degree see their lives positively impacted and agree education should be a right, not a luxury.

VIEWPOINTS: The death of a queen

Shafayee Khan, 16, Computer Science “It doesn’t affect me, I’m not political, and I do not care. … Return the diamond and all other valuables.”

Keila Colon, 20, English literature “I don’t really care, I wasn’t very informed.

One of the things I know is the name. She doesn’t really take control of the government.”

Leonardo Franzak, 22, Business “At first I had a distasful opinion of her, but now I feel bad. It’s amazing how the lineage has gone so far. I saw old videos of her, and was so heartfelt to me.”

Sukh Rai, 21, Computer Science “It was very heart breaking. I heard she was famous in my community. She supports my community Punjabi. People say she stole a diamond, but I respect the queen.”

RichlandStudentMedia.com

On Sept. 8, Queen Elizabeth II died. Students weigh in about the passing of the British monarch.

6

September 20, 2022

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mythology, spooky stories and folk lore

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