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Luchador with purpose PG. 2
Wednesday, September 15, 2021 – Volume 34 • Issue 4 Entertainment
Opinion
Editorial
Feature
GOOD KID TURNED VILLAIN “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” is the best story yet. PG. 2
ABORT THIS NONSENSE Texas’ new abortion law puts women in a chokehold. PG. 3
EASEL YOUR MIND Art therapy can be a great form of expression. PG. 3
JUGANDO AHORA Films that represent Hispanic/ Latinx culture right. PG. 4
DISTRICT
DISTRICT
TCC offering testing, vaccinations MEGHAN SCHILLING reporter
TCC opened vaccination and testing sites last week that will run through the end of September. NE student Gracia Kadia said she’s happy that TCC is giving students a choice to wear masks but isn’t entirely confident with that decision since the pandemic is ongoing. TR nursing student Jaykob Harrington said that the virus will continue spreading, and that’s because some students remain unvaccinated. President Joe Biden’s vaccination mandate announced Sept. 9 requires workplaces with 100 or more employees to have the staff fully vaccinated and regularly tested. TCC has not mandated vaccinations at this time. “Until everyone is vaccinated for the virus, or at least a majority are, it would be a good idea to wear a mask where it is difficult to social distance like that of a full classroom,” Harrington said. TCC offers vaccination clinics and testing sites Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7. p.m. until Sept. 30. Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be offered. Vaccinations began on South and NW Sept. 1., while NE, TR and SE began Sept. 8. It will be free, paid by insurance or the CARES Act grant, an emergency relief fund. To register, go to TCC’s web-
site and click the banner that says “COVID-19 Updates.” After registering, a QR code will be provided which will be used to check in on the day of the appointment. Make sure to take a screenshot of the code and have it ready to show. “People who are vaccinated are fine, but it does raise concern for those who aren’t vaccinated,” NW student Hannah Lochtefeld said. “They have a higher chance of catching COVID-19 and passing it.” Drive-through COVID testing will also be provided. Testing has the same schedule as the vaccinations, but different starting dates. South began testing Sept. 8, NW begins Sept. 9, NE Sept. 14, TR Sept. 15 and SE Sept. 16. TCC wrote in an email Aug. 21 that it provided a system on its website that would help exposed students or faculty who tested positive for COVID-19 by allowing them to self-report cases. The link is under the COVID-19 banner and FAQ. It’s titled “COVID-19 Exposure Data,” and it allows students and employees to report their symptoms. “If a student is displaying any of the symptoms, even if mild, faculty members can and should refer them to the Health Services for determination if they should be sent home,” TCC wrote in its FAQ page. Students are required to stay home for 10 days if they have any onset symptoms. If vaccinated, then it's only 24 hours.
LOGAN EVANS
managing editor
Ian McIntosh/The Collegian
Desks are set up in the vaccine clinic in room 1506 for people wanting to get COVID vaccinations. Testing and vaccines are free.
DISTRICT
Students, staff share perspective on term Latinx
Illustration by Abbas Ghor/The Collegian
Latinx is a gender-neutral term used by people of Latin American origin or descent. Of those who have heard it, 3% use it. JOSE ROMERO editor-in-chief
Hispanic heritage month is underway, and a common discussion among Hispanic circles is the usage of Latinx because it still has not been entirely accepted into the Spanish lexicon since only about 3% of Hispanics and Latinos use the word, according to Pew Research Center. Oxford Languages defines Latinx — pronounced luh-TEEneks — as a gender-neutral term used for people of Latin American origin or descent. Currently, the terms Latino and Latina are primarily used, but some prefer Latinx because it doesn’t leave anybody out. “I like the word, and I do use it,” Connect student Lesley Rivera said. “I like it because it is inclusive to all genders, compared to the
Spanish language which only uses feminine and masculine language.” Lesley Rivera said a potential reason such a small percentage uses the term is that some may feel as if it’s being forced onto them. Cristina Rivera, president of NE Organization of Latin American Students, said another factor could be how new the word is. About 76% of Latino adults, which is the masculine default identifier for all Hispanics, have not heard of the term, and 20% of those who have do not use it, according to Pew Research Center. Of the people who have heard of the term, 65% say it should not be used to describe the Hispanic or Latino population. People need to work on the phobia they have with others who don’t identify as the sex assigned at birth, Lesley Rivera said. “Incorrect pronouns are hurtful to this community, and when
Professor launches new audiobook site
your own language doesn’t include LBGTQ+ pronouns, that’s another hurdle to jump over,” she said. “The more we use the word, Latinx, the more it becomes normalized.” Lesley Rivera mentioned a common argument used against Latinx. She said some don’t like it because they feel as if white people are pushing their culture and language into theirs. The history of the term isn’t definitive, but the most accepted theory of its origins comes from Latin American protests, according to David Bowles, Mexican-American author and professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. From the ‘70s to the ‘90s, feminists would put an “X” over the “OS” in Latinos as a way to reject the default masculine usage. Cristina Rivera said she can sympathize with the struggle of people who identify as Latinx.
She is from Brazil and said when she fills out an application and it doesn’t have an option for her to choose where she’s from, it makes her feel alienated. “Language can be hurtful, and it is important to be respectful to the many communities that make up who we are,” NE ESL professor Mary Williams said. Williams emphasized she isn’t a part of the Hispanic community and said she doesn’t want to draw conclusions without hearing the perspectives of those who do identify as Hispanic. Cristina Rivera said people being divided by labels is not a good thing, and that people should show more love. “Love and respect are the only things that don’t hurt anybody,” she said.
Over the summer, NW associate professor of Spanish Mayra Fuentes ran into a problem. She wanted to read books while running on her treadmill, but she found herself getting dizzy trying to make out the words on the page. To fix this, she turned to an alternative that more and more readers are considering — audiobooks. But just listening wasn’t enough for Fuentes. “Why can’t I be the one telling the stories?” she thought. The idea spurred the creation of TheBibliophileSite.com, a website Fuentes runs where she edits, narrates and publishes her own audiobook adaptations of Spanish-language works. The site launched in August, and has two titles available, with two more on the way. “It’s been interesting since everything is happening so fast,” she said. When the idea first struck her during the summer, Fuentes built a recording studio in her bedroom with the help of her husband. She learned every step of the production process herself — narrating, recording, editing and more — which proved to be a challenge. “When you start recording audio, all you see is waves,” she said. “When you’re typing and you make a mistake, you can go back and delete the words. But when listening to waves, you need to learn a whole new system.” The first book Fuentes produced was a children’s story called “Los Misterios Mayas,” or “The Mayan Mysteries” by author Carolina Aros. The book tells the story of an Argentinian kid visiting Mexico, where he learns the history of the Mayan civilization. It’s a choose-yourown-adventure book, which means Fuentes had to find a way to translate multiple endings to an audio format. “I had to record that book chapter by chapter, so the listener can click on a different chapter depending on which one they want to go to,” she said. The second book Fuentes produced is called “Valores en Un Minuto” or “Values in a Minute,” a collection of short stories by author Ana Maria Martinez on how to enjoy life. Fuentes found she had to record several parts multiple times due to her voice breaking from emotion. NW Spanish professor Alejandro Garza believes Spanishspeaking students have a lot to gain by listening to audiobooks in their own language that deal with helpful and sensitive topics. “A lot of times, we feel more connected when we express ourselves with people who also speak Spanish,” he said. In addition to audiobooks, TheBibliophileSite.com features a catalog of e-books on topics like mental health and self-help. Such books can be a helpful resource in trying times, said NW assistant director of library services Jim Baxter. “I don’t think they really replace print materials,” he said. “But certainly with the pandemic these last 18 months, e-resources and e-books have been really important to us.” Fuentes’ third audiobook, a religious-themed self-help book, will be released in the coming weeks. “You learn things. That’s the purpose of it,” she said. “You get a little learning from each story.”
2 • Wednesday, September 15, 2021
ENTERTAINMENT
MOVIE RETROSPECTIVE
Luchador culture explored in classic film JOSE ROMERO editor-in-chief
2006’s “Nacho Libre” stars Jack Black, a white man, playing a Mexican luchador. In most cases, this would be seen as racist. But ask any Hispanic, and they will tell you they love this movie. There’s a major difference between a portrayal of a Hispanic in “Nacho Libre” then there is “The Ridiculous 6.” The two are being compared since they both have a Mexican character played by a white guy. In “The Ridiculous 6”, Rob Schneider plays Ramon Lopez, an offensive Mexican caricature with an exaggerated accent and brownface. In “Nacho Libre,” Jack Black plays Igancio, a monk that becomes a wrestler to ensure the best life for the children at the or-
phanage he works at. It’s worth noting that this is loosely based on a true story. It was inspired by Fray Tormenta, a priest turned wrestler. The difference between both of those portrayals is that Black isn’t making being Mexican into a punchline, unlike Schneider. He’s a bowl of charisma and he tends to put others before him. An argument against Black’s portrayal can be the fake accent he puts on, but even that isn’t entirely offensive. His accent is similar to my dad’s. Also, Black’s pronunciation of Spanish words is surprisingly good. He took the time to ensure his elocution was as accurate as it could be. Made me think Black was Mexican for the longest time. “Nacho Libre” doesn’t use its runtime to make fun of Mexican culture. Instead, it frames Mexico as a pastel wilderness oozing with culture, which it is. Unironically, “Nacho Libre” is one of the most accurate representa-
tions of Mexico I can think of in American media. Other than Ignacio, the rest of the supporting cast are played by Hispanic actors. Ignacio and his sidekick Esqueleto, played by Héctor Jiménez, have great chemistry even though the pair are from two different worlds and ideologies. Esqueleto is a homeless atheist tag-teaming with a devout Catholic. The juxtaposition between the two adds to their relationship. Once they finally get to wrestle, they go on quite the losing streak. But, they get paid for losing. Ignacio uses his paychecks to buy the orphans higher quality food, and if he has any money left, he might buy himself a shiny new pair of boots or stretchy pants. Each location change offers a new, visually stunning look at the towns in Mexico. Even the interiors of buildings are filled with
proper Mexican decors like ceramic vases and hand-painted trinkets. The accuracy is because the movie was shot in Oaxaca, Mexico. Even the wrestlers they go up against are real professionals. It’s difficult to dislike this film. The soundtrack offers an outstanding list of songs that are difficult to not sing along to. “Religious Man” and “Bubblegum” alone make the soundtrack worth checking out. “Nacho Libre” really should be seen as offensive, but it isn’t. Its polite portrayal of Mexican culture and its people make for a heartwarming story. A story that still resonates with me 15 years later.
Courtesy of Nickelodeon
Nacho, played by Jack Black, dons his luchador outfit, preparing for a large tournament. The film is loosely inspired by priest-turned-luchador Fray Tormenta.
SERIES REVIEW
Raising Kanan’s origin story creates great TV MICHAEL FOSTER-SANDERS senior producer
What turns a person into a stone-cold killer? Is it the child’s upbringing, neighborhood or is it just in their DNA? Fans of the crime drama “Power,” wondered this as they saw Kanan Stark kill his only child because, in his eyes, he was weak and not cut from the same cloth as he was. Stark eventually met his end by the same deceitful ways that he was baptized in as a teenager by Tariq St. Patrick, a child he saw himself in and thought of as a son. “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” gives insight into the past that shaped the future Power’s universe. The show is narrated by rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, who played adult Kanan. The story begins with Kanan getting into a fight as a child with a couple of teenagers who decide to take his money, due to him being a chubby kid who doesn’t know how to defend himself. Returning home, crying and dejected, Kanan’s mother Raq demands to know what’s wrong. Kanan tells his mother what happened at the playground and she asks him two things, “Did you fight back, and do you still have your money?” Kanan tells her no, and she fills a white tube sock with die-cast metal hot wheel cars. She tells Kanan they’re going back to the teenagers to take back what’s his. Kanan
mercilessly beats the teens while his mother watches on. This sets the tone for the show with a mother trying to teach her son how to survive by being ruthless. Fast forward a few years later and Kanan is now 15. His family are the biggest drug dealers in Southside, Jamaica Queens. Kanan is living a normal life until he sees rival drug dealers trying to intimidate his mother. He takes it upon himself to protect his mother, thus creating the catalyst that will change his world forever. The world of “Raising Kanan” transports the viewer back into the year 1991 with its authentic aesthetic, from the clothes, lingo and hairstyles. The inclusion of the infamous real-life Lo-Life shoplifting gang that will make you appreciate the attention to detail that Curtis Jackson put into this show reflecting his upbringing. The side stories of Raising Kanan also will keep viewers tuning in with its themes of female empowerment, LGBTQ acceptance and the “haves” vs the “have nots” within the struggle of obtaining Power. The only issue one may have with the show is that the episodes are only an hour long. Because once Raising Kanan gives the viewer a taste of its product, it’s going to have them fiending for more.
Courtest of STARZ
The “Power” universe’s most ruthless villain, Kanan Stark, is given a backstory. Mekai Curtis plays the teen verison of 50 Cent’s character in the year 1991.
OPINION
Wednesday, September 15, 2021 • 3
EDITORIAL
Art therapy can benefit people with trauma Art is about making emotion visible — and while works of art are fulfilling to look at and to make, they can serve a practical purpose with just about anyone’s mental health. The last year and a half has been a lot to handle. Science backs this up — in the first year of COVID-19, symptoms of anxiety and depression jumped significantly in adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a result, countless people worldwide have turned to professional help to cope with the trauma spurred by isolation and a new way of living. The use of therapy is up, which is a very good thing. But sometimes, gathering thoughts is hard. How many times in the last year has a patient sat across from their therapist, teetering on the edge of a breakthrough, and felt a complete loss of words? Trained professionals are experts at talking patients through these moments, but sometimes the words just won’t come no matter what. The ideas are there. There are thoughts buzzing around the back of the mind, filling every nerve with meaning, but the patient is unable to make sense of them. Therapy is all about working through issues and trauma by collecting thoughts and making them verbal. When these thoughts are jumbled and confusing, taking paint to canvas and pen to paper can give them a literal shape. Art therapy draws on the sub-
Amber Davis/The Collegian
conscious. It brings ideas from the back of the mind and places them on paper. It gives insight into what the artist is feeling and how they view those feelings in ways that words may not be able to express. On a purely physical level, art therapy gives the patient something to do with their hands. Not a distraction, but a focused motion
to stir ideas. The calm swipe of a brushstroke. The smooth glide of a pen. Patients feeling a loss of control can find comfort in these things. Oftentimes, art therapy is more about the act of art-making than it is about the final product itself. This is why patients who might not consider themselves cre-
ative, or who might not have experience with visual art, can still find meaning in its process. Colors and shapes stimulate thought. Knowing exactly how colors and shapes unfold and take form can give insight into how thoughts come to be. This isn’t to say that valuable information can’t be pulled from a piece of artwork made in a therapy
setting. In fact, the opposite is true — the final product can be a stunning embodiment of the issues consuming the artist at the time. Even works of art made without technical proficiency can deliver an arresting impact. While painting is probably the most common medium used in art therapy, many other methods are used to help patients heal. A popular alternative is the use of collagemaking with magazine cutouts — a method that can be especially beneficial to people intimidated by the endless possibilities of paints. Like the calming effects of paint, cutting and pasting images can provide physical, emotional and spiritual insight. A collage is all about comparing and contrasting images, which can help a person dig deeper into themselves and how they perceive the world. When an artist views the art they make when thinking about a specific experience, they learn more about that experience. There is precedent for using art as therapy during times of national crisis. The practice has its roots in the U.K. and the U.S. following the second world war when mental health facilities began treating the post-traumatic stress disorder of returning soldiers by allowing the soldiers to paint. The process is just as beneficial today. While there are many professional programs that use art to supplement traditional interview therapy, the creation of art in any context is therapeutic.
VIEWPOINT
Texas’ abortion laws are detrimental to women’s health To take it all a step further, it seems that we are harkening back to a Red Scare Era by having neighbors accuse neighbors to enforce this new law. The way Texas was able to trample over every uterus in the state was interesting. Instead of making it enforceable by the government, the bill allows citizens to report others for a bounty. Release the guns and encourage neighbors to spy on neighbors, what could go wrong? It is disturbing to me that the state that’s loudest about demanding personal freedoms when it comes to guns and mask mandates is also the one that sent us back a century by stripping away personal choice. Gov. Greg Abbott’s political stunt will not successfully change the course of anyone’s life who is willing to seek the help and resources that are being made available through a sort of feminine rights underground railroad. It’s the girls who are closest to the problem who will truly suffer. The daughters of the ultra-conservative will not have the resources available to them. Abbott has made the statement that girls will not have to bear the child of their rapists, because they will have six weeks to abort. What he fails to see is the lack of comprehensive sex education in Texas will fail these girls. The lack of a true understanding of reproduction will leave minors in the dark. Wait until the first baby is forced to have a baby because she was too frightened to speak out against her rapist in a timely enough manner. And what about the separation of church and state? I fully stand by the personal right
AMBER DAVIS illustrator
Simone de Beauvoir once wrote, “Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with absolute truth.” I don’t know about you, but I think the world has had enough of the rulings of controlling white men, enabled by the insecure women who stand behind them. S.B.8 is just another one of these laws masked as moral superiority. The new law bans abortion after the six-week mark before the majority of women know that they are pregnant. Texas’s citizens woke to a dystopian reality Sept. 1. The same day that Texas legislators ripped regulations off of weapons, they turned right around and slapped them on every uterus in Texas.
to believe that conception equals consciousness. I do not condone force-feeding any moral rule based on a belief system down the throat of every other citizen of this state. It’s a dangerous precedent to be setting for a state so full of its own freedoms. What we have with S.B.8 is a roadmap for other states to take away citizens’ constitutional rights. Today, a person is encouraged to sue another over a personal medical decision, and tomorrow it could be a law over guns or free speech. I’m talking to you, gun-toting Yosemite Sam. The pro-lifers have set a precedent that can be used to sue you over your gun ownership in the future because if this law sticks, what is to stop California from using the same structure, but replacing abortion with gun ownership? Where does it end? We need to make men hold the same amount of responsibility for this nonsense to subside. Men are literally the loaded gun in this scenario. I look forward to the first woman to be sued by this ridiculous law to turn right around and sue the man who impregnated her. Let’s see how long this law lasts once men realize that it will also affect their freedoms. If it is anything like the mandates on masking and vaccinations, it won’t last long. It is quite humorous the swiftness in which pro-life people hijacked the “my body, my choice” stance to defend their right to not protect the lives of others. I don’t like to generalize about groups of people, but time and time again it seems that the pro-lifer is also an anti-vaxxer/masker screaming about their freedoms. If that cognitive dissonance
doesn’t make your eyes cross, I don’t know what will. We live in a state that forgives rape because “he has a bright future,” while taking away women’s rights to their body parts. Rapists roam free while women hide and pray that they will not fall victim. Our country does not even see stealthing, the act of removing a condom during sex, as rape. How, then, can we punish a woman for falling prey to this sort of behavior, especially when it is the norm? If you don’t believe me, take a moment today and ask a woman if she knows a woman who has been sexually assaulted, raped or impregnated against her will. I’ll wait. For those of you who are male and claim to be standing with women, I challenge you to take up the fight and stand. Stand up for freedom. Stand up for personal choice. We will be marching at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 2 beginning at the Tarrant County Courthouse 100 E. Weatherford St. I hope to see you all there. Overall, it seems that this is an exposure of deep-seated jealousy that is as old as the patriarchy itself. The knowledge women are the true bearers of life is too much for some men to handle. It proves that their consistent use of the generic masculine by default to describe everything from humankind to their great creator is no longer relevant, and never really was, to begin with. Keep brandishing your egos, boys, because mandatory vasectomies are sounding better and better. Thanks for setting the precedent.
Clarification: On Sept. 8’s issue in the opinion piece titled “Texas needs to put its guns away. They’re unnecessary,” there are two sentences that need clarifying. Long-rifles have been legal in Texas for years, and HB 1927 allows law enforcement to stop people with handguns.
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FEATURE
4 • Wednesday, September 15, 2021
Coco: A beautifully animated film about a boy named Miguel. He wants to be a musician, something forbidden in the family. Miguel travels to the land of the dead where he meets up with his late family members and explores what he’s truly passionate about.
El Patrullero 777: Starring Cantinflas, often compared to Charlie Chaplin, this comedy from 1978 tells multiple stories of Diogenes, a policeman that has a unique way of solving issues. That’s putting it lightly. Each new situation offers a new comedic setpiece for Cantinflas to excel in. His physical humor still can’t be beaten.
Diarios de Motocicleta: A biopic about Che Guevara, a Marxist revolutionary that played a major role in the Cuban Revolution. He and his friends go on a motorcycle trip that changes Che’s life forever. The experiences he has during the trip molds him into the revolutionary figure he becomes.
A Better Life: This movie tells the story of a father trying to give the best life he can to his son. He tries to steer him in the right direction, away from gang life, hoping his son will be able to experience a life he never could.
Hispanic Media Movies with great cultural representation National Hispanic Heritage Month is a time to highlight the art of Hispanic/Latinx creators. From a story of a boy in Mexico that plays a magic guitar to get into the land of the dead, to an immigrant’s struggle to give his son a better life than he had, their films have a wide variety of stories to tell. Whether it’s modern or old, filmmakers through the ages have told a diverse slew of narratives relating to Hispanic/Latino culture.
Illustration by Amber Davis/The Collegian