collegian.tccd.edu
Homelander is back and The Boys are in danger PG. 2
Wednesday, September 23, 2020 – Volume 33 • Issue 4 Entertainment
Opinion
Opinion
Editorial
Feature
THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM Ballerini delivers mashup of two musical genres PG. 2
VOTE HIM OUT Key reasons why Trump shouldn’t be re-elected. PG. 3
DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY How to spend money wisely as a college student. PG. 3
CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL Here’s how you can reduce your environmental footprint. PG. 3
TRINITY TRASH BASH TR Campus students and staff beautify Trinity trails. PG. 4
DISTRICT
TCC’s fall enrollment decreases by 8.5% District experiences unexpected decline due to online learning, social unrest and a pandemic MADDY REMINGTON campus editor
As of Sept. 9 the total number of enrolled students in the TCC District is 46,558. The drop in enrollment has been attributed to numerous factors from the remote learning programming for the semester, to the social unrest happening across the country. With the largest decline seen in numbers for the first time in college students amounting to a 30% decrease in enrollment overall. “Students are having to make tough decisions about their academic plans during a national pandemic and an overlapping period of racial unrest,” Dr. Ticily Medley South Campus’ director of counseling said. “Therefore, completing a semester of school may have moved down on some students’ priority list.” With the college’s decision to transfer to a fully remote learning environment for the semester coming out fairly late in the summer, many prospective students were left wondering what was going to happen with their classes. The decision to go in the direction of a remote learning format may have been one of the factors leading to the decline. “There are many students who are fearful of the prospect of online learning, so TCC’s shift to mostly virtual learning is requiring that students conquer their fear and develop a new skill of using technology in a way that they may not be accustomed to,” Medley said. The drop in numbers for the first time in college students and transfer-in, which is down 21% this semester, highlights that many of the new TCC students had trouble completing the on-boarding process which left them unable to register for this semester in time. Associate vice chancellor for enrollment and academic support services David Ximenez speculates that the decrease in enrollment may be attributed to the remote learning system TCC adopted for the semester. “The overall enrollment decline also suggests that many new to TCC students may
File photo The Collegian
TCC takes steps to counter significant student enrollment decreases by increasing availability of remote services for fall semester. have preferred to attend face-to-face classes,” Ximenez said. TCC has taken many steps to counter this decrease in enrollment to make TCC courses more accessible to prospective students. “TCC has enhanced its online course offerings and refined its student support services which continues to include limited in-person services at each of our five physical campuses. Between our remote and in-person services, we stand ready to engage with our students,” said Ximenez.
SOUTHEAST
Stress-free Mondays are possible with meditation MALIK GILES
managing editor
Mindfulness is a state of being in the present and opening up to one’s thoughts and emotions without judging them to be good or bad, a counselor said during the Mindful Monday Mornings workshop. It comes from Hinduism and Buddhism and a lot of people today practice it regularly, SE counselor Divya Patel said. “Mindfulness is an ancient practice and a way of life,” Patel said. “A lot of you have probably heard of meditation, you heard of yoga, mindfulness is actually the foundation of them.” The term “to be mindful” is overused in ways of being aware of things like one’s actions or words,
“It is evident that mindfulness is for stress relief and now it’s booming, especially after Covid happened. It’s becoming more popular.”
Divya Patel SE counselor
“It is evident that mindfulness is for stress relief and now it’s booming, especially after Covid happened. It’s becoming more popular,” Patel said. Patel said mindfulness will help people who have test anxiety gather their thoughts for a test and stay focus. It helps a person be happy and empathic towards the world. Meditating is like exercise for one’s brain, she said. This can give one special abilities like staying calm in intense situations, excellent memorization and proper organization. One must clear their mind of thoughts and emotion and focus on their breathing. Patel does this for 10 minutes and she listens to different types of world music to smooth the setting. NE student Payton Breeding said that because of the pandemic he had lost his job and was forced to move back in with his parents. “I did start doing yoga when we had to stay in our homes,”Breeding said. “That helped a lot with stress and helped me keep a schedule going while not being at work.” NE student Vanessa Mendez never tried meditating but she does take 10 minutes out of her day to relax when her plate is full in order to relieve stress. “I honestly just read. I really like to read,” she said. Patel will host three more workshops going over different ways to practice mindfulness every fourth Monday of the month. Her next workshop will be 11 a.m. Oct. 26.
Other efforts to counter enrollment drops include introducing a new device loan program. This program increases accessibility to technology for students who do not have access to computers to take online classes. The availability of these devices is limited and they are checked out on a first-come, first-serve basis. TCC has also begun offering the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund grants program to eligible students who have completed the FAFSA and the emergency grant application.
These grants will help students who are financially struggling due to the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 has disrupted the operations of the district and left many students and staff challenged. TCC says that it is committed to assisting students to thrive in light of the pandemic and this period of social unrest. “We will continue to do everything possible to advocate and support our students through these challenging times,” says Ximenez.
SOUTH
Academic help at home through online tutoring MEGAN TOWERY campus editor
Students can get tutoring help online for all subjects. Students may go to TCC Blackboard Collaborate to access the link tutoring@tcc. This page will inform students about the lab hours and provide a range of subjects to choose from —business, math, science, languages and more. Click on the learning centers from the campus of your choice, enroll and enter. “When you first join the waiting room there is little to no wait time before a tutor comes to help,” South student Yulonda Smith said. “The tutors use the computer white-
board to answer questions precisely with detailed explanations.” If students need assistance when it comes to writing essays, they will need to schedule an appointment beforehand. Students will need to send an email to the leaders with their name, student ID number, day and time of the appointment request, subject, the type of paper students are working on, assignment due date, phone number and email. Students can choose if they would like the session to be live or via email. Students can also request a drop-in through TutorTrac. This brief tutoring session is 15-20 minutes. South Campus Science Instructor Associate Kristina Pham said tutors are ready to help with students' science needs. “We provide links, model pictures, slide pictures and textbooks to help with reports,” Pham said.
COVID-19 saliva testing will be available courtesy of the City of Fort Worth at the following locations Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2-5 p.m. Como Community Center, 4660 Horne St. Wednesday, Sept. 23, 8-11 a.m. City Northside Service Center, 309 Hillshire Drive. Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2-5 p.m. Tarrant County College-Northwest Campus, 4801 Marine Creek Parkway. Thursday, Sept. 24, 8-11 a.m. La Gran Plaza, 4200 South Freeway.
Thursday, Sept. 24, 2-5 p.m. Beth Eden Missionary Baptist Church, 3208 Wilbarger St. Friday, Sept. 25, 8-11 a.m. Christ Church Assembly of God, 5301 Altamesa Blvd. Friday, Sept. 25, 2-5 p.m. Hillwood Commons I, 9800 Hillwood Parkway.
Appointments at all sites are available next week by online appointment. Residents who do not have access to a computer may call 817-248-6299 to schedule an appointment.
Page 2 • September 23, 2020
Entertainment
AMAZON PRIME REVIEW
The Boys show how killing heroes is fun
Photos courtesy Amazon Prime
Billy Butcher, Mother’s Milk, Frenchy, Hughie and Kamiko continute their fight with The Seven in season 2 of The Boys streaming through Amazon Prime. MICHAEL FOSTER-SANDERS editor in chief
The racist hero Stormfront blasts Kamiko as she tries to save her brother from the clutches of The Seven in the comic book turned TV series The Boys.
White supremacy, xenophobia, sexism, homophobia, abuse of power, rapists and a dash of love. This is not your Marvel summer blockbuster fluff superhero movie. It’s the return of “The Seven” for season two of Amazon’s “The Boys.” Action-packed is the only word that can describe the season debut. America’s most infamous superhero killing team “The Boys’’ have been regulated to a Haitian gang hideout after Billy Butcher, played by the rugged actor Karl Urban, is framed for killing Madelyn Stillwell, thus landing the team on the fugitive list by the superhero-creating company Vought Enterprises. Billy, now knowing his wife is alive, imprisoned is hell-bent on finding her and getting the love of his life back. Throwing caution to the wind, he embarks on a journey that might leave him and his team more broken than they can possibly be. The leader of “The Seven,” Homelander, is completely out of control now knowing that the company lied to him about his child conceived through sexual assault is still alive and goes to try to be a father to his son. Becca Butcher is caught off guard by his appearance to where she was promised by Vought Enterprises and vows not to let their son become like him. Becca is still in love with Billy.
“The Seven” are going through their own changes. A-Train, who played Jessie T. Usher. is still recovering from his heart attack from Compound V abuse and worried about losing his spot on the team. Starlight is going through all kinds of complex emotions finding out her mother volunteered her to be a guinea pig for Vought with their Compound V, being in love with Hughie who happens to be a member of the boys and worried about being outed for exposing Vought’s hand in superhumans. What makes “The Boys” work as a show is it shows the real-life consequences if superhumans were real and had real emotions and issues. Families are affected by their fights and left homeless or dead from the aftermath. Abuse of having unchecked powers with sexual assault, robberies and other crimes. The dark humorous tone is what sets this show apart from other comic book adaptations is the cherry on top for this sundae of massacre and destruction. The team of “The Boys” get into all kinds of funny situations, trying to avoid being captured and trying not to kill each other in the process. Mother’s Milk played by the charismatic Laz Alonso plays the yang to Billy Butcher’s as the logically sound co-leader to Butcher chaos. Instead of releasing all the episodes for the season at once, Amazon decided to release the first four episodes and then offer the rest on a weekly basis.
MUSIC REVIEW
Storytelling, ballads show pop country diva’s heart LINDA PUGA
campus editor
Pop-country artist Kelsea Ballerini released her third studio album “kelsea” alongside a bonus album titled “ballerini” featuring the same 13 tracks with an acoustic twist. Ballerini took home the Academy of Country Music award for Top New Female Vocalist in 2015 after the release of her debut album and is the only female artist in country music to hit the No.1 spot with her first three singles. Her songwriting is stronger than ever as she has grown in her lyrical content over the last few years. The album “Kelsea” starts with “overshare,” a great opening song that highlights her storytelling. She writes in the second verse about a time she cried in the hallway outside of a bathroom and told every girl she saw to never date anyone whose name starts with the letter A because he’ll just break your heart. She continued the strong storytelling through the entirety of the album, letting listeners paint a picture of her life as they listen to her beautiful voice in falsetto. The production stayed consistent with focus on background vocals, guitar and drums, and occasional claps and violin instrumentation. The tracks “club” and “bragger” demonstrate exactly why ballerini is a pop-country artist and not just a country artist. They both
include upbeat production that emphasizes the lyrics and Ballerini’s vibrant tone — songs to dance in your seat to. In addition to a collaboration with fellow country star Kenny Chesney, a track featuring Halsey titled “the other girl” describes a girl who finds out she’s not the only one entertaining her boyfriend, leaving her to wonder which of them he actually loves. Though it’s a collaboration people may not have expected coming into this album, it is one that worked really well. “homecoming queen?” is a beautiful depiction of the perfection everyone sees when looking at the school’s homecoming queen without realizing she’s just as broken as they are. She illustrates the comfort of showing who you truly are with the line “not everything pretty sparkles and shines and even the homecoming queen cries.” The concluding track to the project is a track titled “La.” This song eloquently expresses the way Ballerini feels about her home in the City of Angels compared to the warmth of her hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. She talks about the good and the bad that make it a love-hate relationship. She showcases her vulnerability by opening up about things like insecurities, heartbreak, homesickness, her lifestyle and the way being a songwriter in country music has impacted her life. Photo courtesy Black River Records
Kelsea Ballerini releases third studio album on September 11. Her album features collaborations and a new form of storytelling.
Opinion Viewpoints
Dumping Trump will save America
MALIK GILES
managing editor
“Make America Great Again” is a slogan that needs to die. America was never “great” to begin with. Not with a history of pain and oppression of its own citizens. Just turn on the TV and turn to a news station. Does America look great today with the pandemic and police brutality infecting the country? First, Trump does not care about the people. How could not only the president, but a man not care about people — he constantly lies to them. Trump lied to the people about knowing the true dangers of COVID-19. Well, great work, Mr. President because people are panicking now. If Biden becomes president, he will not keep something this important and dangerous from the people. Trump doesn’t take responsibility about the tragedies that were caused by
COVID-19. Biden’s plan is to restore Obamacare to its fullest and make sure everyone has health care. People who are voting against him see this as a problem because the Affordable Care Act forces people to have health insurance. It’s understandable that some people probably cannot afford this, but people are already forced to have car insurance, which is also a little dumb because wouldn’t someone need health insurance before car insurance? Finally, Donald Trump has tendencies that could label him a racist. While Trump’s administration separated immigrant families and put kids in cages, Obama’s created Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals that helps prevent deportation if one was brought into this country as a child. Trump wants to get rid of DACA but Biden wants to keep it. Trump also does not see anything wrong with police brutality and disdains the Black Lives Matter protesting as shown when he tried to protect Kyle Rittenhouse, the armed 17-year-old self-declared militia member who shot and killed two protesters. These are just a few key points on why Trump is not suited for presidency. He has no plans to “Make America Great Again” or to change it from its current status. If there is to be change in the U.S., we need to vote him out.
Tips to help college students save cash
MEGAN TOWERY campus editor
As a college student wiithout having a budget, managing how much money is spent is hard. Starting with a basic budget for necessities is a good way to start. First list out books, food and other school supplies since this is the most important. Be sure you have enough in your savings. A way to save money is instead of buying a new textbook at full price, rent one online. There are websites where you can compare prices for textbook rentals. Instead of dining out and eating fast food throughout the week, buy groceries and cook your food. Eating out at places everyday adds up quickly.Cooking food at home, smart grocery shopping, eating out when it’s a sale are all smart ways to save. Setting limits on spending in en-
tertainment can help gain financial control. Knowing the difference between wants and needs helps with impulsive spending. Ask yourself a few questions to decide if the product is worth buying. Will this product help add any value to my life? If the answer is no, then it’s not important and can be bought later. Getting a credit card helps build credit in college and also helps with saving money. It can also help build your credit score. Only spend what can be paid off by the end of the month. Paying off student loans while in school will help save thousands of dollars. Borrow only what is needed. Student loans should not be viewed as free money. In the long run, it will come at a price. Try to find a side job that pays well so there is money on the side for savings. Web designing, tutoring, delivering food are some examples. There’s endless amounts of ways to make money. Not only will this help with saving, but it will open opportunities in that degree field. It builds a professional network in college to be one step ahead gaining knowledge and skills with a profession. Selling textbooks once you’re done with that class for the semester is also a good way to make money. If you can’t find people in person to sell your books to then you can sell those books online.
September 23, 2020 • Page 3
Editorial
Earth’s dying. What can be done to help? Green New Deal
Amber Davis/The Collegian
Climate change is easily one of the biggest problems we are facing today. On the West Coast, firefighters are fighting some of the worst wildfires ever seen in the U.S. that have already claimed the lives of 35 people and burned across three states. In the Southeast, hurricanes are hitting the Texas, Louisiana and Florida coasts tearing apart communities and leaving thousands displaced. Americans are divided. Some debate if climate change is even real. Meanwhile, temperatures increase, natural disasters worsen and oceans rise. What is it going to take for us to wake up to the global disaster that we are facing at this very moment? We should be taking steps to prevent the further escalation of global warming. TCC has taken many steps to set examples for how students should handle sustainability, which includes more efficient recycling programs, reducing the district’s water and energy use, and designing more energy-efficient campuses. However, there is something more TCC could be doing to lessen its environmental footprint. TCC could make the switch to renewable energy sources like solar panels to cut district energy consumption down to zero. During the pandemic, students attend classes remotely. Since separated, we each have the responsibility to pay attention to how our actions affect the environment, and ultimately, our future. As world citizens, we have the obligation to become aware of our environmental footprint and take the necessary steps to prevent further envi-
ronmental damage. This can be done in many different ways—by setting limits on how much energy used daily and unplugging appliances and electronics when they are not in use. Or even turning out the lights when not being used. To reduce water consumption, limit shower times, and only wash loads of clothes and dishes when your washer is full to conserve water. Take steps to cut plastic and styrofoam out of your life and find new creative ways to reuse old boxes or plastic containers instead of just throwing them out. Pay attention to the weather before using fertilizer on your lawn to reduce the risk of fertilizer runoff into waterways. As citizens, we also have the obligation to pay attention to the country’s environmental policies that affect our nation’s footprint. We could put pressure on our elected officials to create and adopt policies like the Green New Deal which limit fossil fuels and begin progressive initiatives to save the environment from irreversible damage. The Green New Deal would not only cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 but also create millions of jobs fueling our economy. Thus creating a more sustainable economy. The Green New Deal is a bold sustainability initiative that would tackle the crises of climate change and inequality. It’s a win-win for everyone. Now more than ever, we need to stand up for the environment because it is our planet, our home and our future that will ultimately be impacted by climate change.
Letters to the Editor
The Collegian staff welcomes letters to the editor concerning articles that have run in the paper or on other subjects that may be of interest to the general public. All letters should be signed by the writer, who should include his or her Colleague ID or telephone number. The numbers will not be published. They are used for verification only. Letters should be typed and not longer than 150 words. They will be edited for grammar, style and space and will run as space is available and at the discretion of the editor. Letters should be e-mailed to: micheal.foster-sanders@my.tccd.edu
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Staff
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Foster-Sanders
MANAGING EDITOR Malik Giles
CAMPUS EDITORS Linda Puga Maddy Remington Megan Towery
LAYOUT & DESIGN Abbas Ghor Amber Davis Kristal Blankinship
Letter Policy MARKETING AND ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Rudy Martinez WEBSITE COORDINATOR Kristal Blankinship
The Collegian is a weekly student publication serving the Tarrant County College District. Editorial statements and advertisements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the TCC administration. Letters to the paper should be 150 words or less, free from libel and poor taste and include the writer’s Colleague ID or telephone number (the numbers will not be published).
ILLUSTRATOR Amber Davis
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The Collegian • 828 Harwood Road Hurst, TX 76054 Office: 817-515-6391 Editor: 817-515-6394 Advertising: 817-515-6619 email: collegian.editor@tccd.edu TCC is an equal opportunity institution that provides educational and employment opportunities on the basis of merit and without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status or disability.
Page 4 • September 23, 2020
Feature
TRINITY RIVER
Student activities hosts annual cleanup while social distancing during global health crisis
Photos by Azul Sordo/The Collegian
Alisha Edwards and Diana La walk along the Trinity River bridge looking for trash to pickup at Trinity River’s Trash Bash. LINDA PUGA
campus editor
Due to COVID-19, student development associate director Eddie Brassart altered Trash Bash for community members to still be able to participate. “There were ‘official’ trash bash sites along
the Trinity River but the event also encourages people to fight litter in their own neighborhoods,” Brassart said. “We let our students know that we would be cleaning up along the river behind our campus and that they were welcome to join us there as well.” The event was held Sept. 19 is an annual event hosted by TR Campus for the last three
Diana La collects trash along the Trinity Trails on Sept. 19 as part of the Trinity River’s Trash Bash event.
years. Twenty students, faculty and staff attended. Brassart was happy with how the event turned out and impressed with their students going out and showing support. “Participation was great and the weather was outstanding,” he said. “I think most people enjoyed being outside, getting some exercise and helping keep Fort Worth beautiful.”
Liz Warner practices social distancing while wearing a face mask at the Trinity River’s Trash Bash.
Alisha Edwards participates in the third annual the Trinity River Trash Bash event along Trinity River in parts of downtown Fort Worth on Sept. 19.