that faculty members were provided with incorrect information contrary to TCC policy and state law,” said Chancellor Elva LeBlanc in a statement given to The Collegian.
ASH PETRIE
editor-in-chief ashleigh.petrie@my.tccd.edu
Dozens of full-time faculty members will be required to pay back portions of their salary due to incorrect contract information regarding their courseload.
“The college acknowledges
Full-time faculty members whose 12-month contracts were amended to 10.5 months were required to teach 15 hours in the fall, 15 hours in the spring and six hours in the first summer semester during their Aug. 12, 2024 to July 7, 2025 contract.
The difference between the two contracts was the required number of teaching hours over the Summer I and II semesters. Instead of teaching six hours
for both, the 10.5-month contract removed Summer II from their schedule and only required six hours during Summer I.
“Compensation provided to faculty under the 10.5-month contract was based on faculty teaching six hours during the Summer I session,” LeBlanc said. “Therefore, any faculty that failed to teach six hours under their contract were paid for work they did not perform.”
Vice Chancellor for Communications and External Affairs Reginald Gates said Human Resources informed him 65 employees were impacted.
However, he wasn’t sure all
employees affected had been informed.
“The information I have is that they would be contacted in the next coming weeks,” Gates said. “I think they’re compiling again. It just happened this summer, so they’re going through records and pulling up information.”
On Nov. 5, some Connect Campus faculty were called into a mandatory meeting where LeBlanc, General Counsel Antonio Allen and Chief Human Resources Officer Gloria Maddox-Powell informed them they were overcompensated,
The 113-year-old TXU Power Plant will be bidded off by the college on Nov. 20 after owning the property since 2004.
Sitting along the Trinity River, the property lies near Panther Island, a proposed redevelopment project to the city.
When TCC purchased land for the TR East Campus, the building came along with it. Built between 1911 to 1913, the plant began operating in late December 1912 and for over 40 years it powered all of Fort Worth. Since the purchase, there has been debate within the community about what the college should do with it.
“Proceeds from the sale of the TXU building can be invested in TCC’s core educational priorities,” Chancellor Elva LeBlanc said in a statement to The Collegian.
In 2014, TCC asked the community for recommendations, but no decision was made even though many organizations have requested the building be designated a histori-
cal landmark. Susan Kline, a preservation consultant who specializes in the preparation of nominations for the National Register of Historic Places, said there are multiple reasons the building is a historical landmark.
If you take that power plant out of history, Fort Worth would be Benbrook.
Jim Hodgson Tarrant County Historical Comission member
“Number one, it’s significant for its architecture. It’s a great example of the Beaux Arts style in Fort Worth,” she said. “Then, of course, it’s very representative of Fort Worth growth and industries.”
While she said there have been many attempts to pursue it being designated, it hasn’t gone anywhere.
“So many people would love
to see it rehabilitated and put back into good use,” she said.
One of those people include Jim Hodgson who is a member and former chair of the Tarrant County Historical Commission.
“If you take that power plant out of history, Fort Worth would be Benbrook,” Hodgson said. “It could be considered a historical building, but they’re going to just demolish it without any consideration to preservation.”
According to him, the building’s age and historical significance to Fort Worth deems it a historical landmark.
“It was an integral part of commerce and development of the city and the college has just simply been negligent,” Hodgson said. “It should be treated with dignity and proper respect … for both the significance of that building and the people who worked.”
However, because the college will sell it off to the highest bidder, he said it will most likely be destroyed.
“It has nothing to do with the building. It’s a business decision on their part, opposite to the way you would expect an institution of higher learning to handle something,”
Hodgson said. He sent a resolution plan for the building to the board in 2019 expressing a concern about the condition of the structure and the uncertainty of the building’s future.
“They refused to even answer us on it. We never got an answer back,” Hodgson said. “Tarrant County College had the responsibility for the upkeep of the building, and they weren’t doing it.”
When owning a property, one must mitigate deterioration of buildings, and LeBlanc said there were too many repairs to make and too much maintenance to perform..
“Selling now enables private investment to help realize Panther Island’s vision as a vibrant, mixeduse waterfront district with walkable streets, green spaces and robust transit,” she said.
For Hodgson, he said he doesn’t have any personal want for the building’s future besides it be treated with respect and not become a multiunit apartment building.
“The significance of that power plant and what it did for the city is enormous,” Hodgson said. “But history doesn’t mean much here.”
We don’t have the authority to spend public dollars that have not been authorized to be spent by the board.
Antonio Allen General Counsel
AIRIANNA ROMAN campus editor airianna.roman@my.tccd.edu
NW students have felt a lack of culture on campus since Texas Senate Bill 17 banned diversity, equity and inclusion activities at public institutions. Since the bill passed, students have noticed there haven’t been events celebrating the different cultures that make up the TCC community.
NW student Mayuelis Pantojas is from Venezuela, a country
with many of its people in different areas of the world. At her schools in Venezuela, Pantojas attended many events that celebrated different cultures. However, she has noticed culture isn’t celebrated as much at TCC.
“They need to know more about the culture that is here in the country,” she said. “When I saw the activities for culture, or intercultural diversity on this campus, I don’t see my culture, even when I know that [many] people here are from Venezuela and Columbia.” Pantojas said she wants stu -
dents who come from different countries to be able to feel comfortable at NW, but it feels like no one is interested in learning more about their cultures.
NW student Diana Rocha remembers friends who attended TCC before her talking about Hispanic heritage month events or Mexican cultural events being held on campus. But she has been at NW for two years and said she’s never noticed any events like that being hosted.
“It’s kind of weird. I feel like I used to see it a lot during high school,” she said. “At least in my
If the campus feels it draws unecessary attention, they might not want to approve it.
Patrick Longoria president of NW SGA
high school, they used to have a lot of Day of the Dead stuff or Cinco de Mayo celebrations.” A Dia de los Muertos
AVA REED campus editor ava.reed046@my.tccd.edu
The SE Campus theater department is putting on a production of the 1960s-themed play “Boeing-Boeing,” written by Marc Camoletti. The comedy premieres Nov. 19-21 at the C.A. Roberson Theater.
“Boeing-Boeing” features a Parisian man named Bernard, played by SE student Liam Alejandre, who said his character is both comedic and deceiving, especially to the women in his life. Alejandre said he is excited for the role because it gives him a chance to express himself without being too serious. He is looking forward to seeing the audience’s reaction to the plot.
“Since it’s a comedy, you get to make people laugh,” he said. “I think it allows others to express themselves creatively.”
Bernard is engaged to three different women from around the world, who all happen to be flight
See Play, Page 3
event was held on Oct. 30, but it wasn’t in an area where campus events are usually held. Instead, it was in a classroom on the third floor of NW01 that was so crowded people had to sit on the floor.
“It’s kind of like you’re shoved in a corner somewhere,” Rocha said. TCC website information about SB17 says that cultural heritage events can be celebrated if the events are inclusive and do not give preferential treatment based on race, ethnicity or other characteristics.
3 See Salary, Page 3
Kelly Amtower/The Collegian
Diego Santos/The Collegian SE students Abby Ahmed, Liam Alejandre and Tamia Tubbs play run through a scene “Bernard’s Paris Apartment.”
Student takes daily stroll for solidarity
Crouch carries Palestinian flag to show her support
The Palestinian flag fluttered against the breeze as Sasha Crouch made her way around NE Campus aimlessly.
The NE dual credit student has walked for roughly two to four hours every weekday since Oct. 28 as a form of solidarity with the residents of Gaza who have been victims of the war with Israel.
“I think in the grand scheme, what I’m doing for other people is they get to think about Palestine one extra time that day,” she said. “I want to show that I was on the right side of history.”
Crouch said she got the idea of showcasing her support when she saw someone carrying the Palestinian flag at a No Kings protest in Dallas Oct. 18, where people peacefully rallied against the Trump administration.
She said her voice may be small and unlikely to make a major change, but she hopes she can influence at least one other person to join her in showing support.
Crouch said she learned about Palestinian history as a part of her project for Global Elementary Model United Nations, a nonprofit organization that she has been a part of since she was 8.
“I didn’t even know what Palestine looked like. It’s actually two territories,” she said. “I didn’t know that before, like how did I go this long without knowing fundamental things about Palestine? In my opinion, that’s crazy.”
Jillian Hunter has been working with Sa-
sha for GEMUN for nearly 10 years. She said she was introduced to the organization by Sasha’s mom through their co-op classes.
Hunter explained that students in the organization can serve in three roles. Delegates represent countries, write resolutions and take part in debates. Pages, typically younger students ranging from 8 to 10 years old, manage
the note-passing system between delegates.
High school students may join the secretariat and lead workshops and the chair committee.
“I have been in every single role because I’ve been in it for 10 years,” she said. “I am the secretary general this year. I am basically in charge of the entire secretariat.”
Upon researching more, Crouch said she discovered that there’s a 70% casualty rate among civilians in Gaza.
“I think you can go the extra way and just say ‘Yeah, it’s a genocide,’” she said.
George Nelson met Crouch in high school through Youth and Government, a nationwide YMCA program that immerses high school students in a model government setting. He described her as a unique and contrarian character.
“He will do things that are designed to grab attention in kind of a driven way,” said Nelson, who uses he/him pronouns to refer to Crouch, who describes herself as genderfluid.“Whenever we would go to [debate] events, everyone was either wearing some grey suit or some black suit, he would show up in a pink suit.”
Nelson said he once brought Crouch to a Catholic church, and she showed up crossdressing. Even though no one was weird about it, he said it is the kind of confrontational thing she does.
“He will do things he thinks will challenge the people around him,” he said. “It’s like he’s a walking protest.”
Another NE student, Arlo Hewitt, showed his solidarity through his zines, a small, selfpublished and handmade booklet that can be
about any topic.
Hewitt’s zine about Palestine was the third he has created.
Nov. 12 marked his second week of creating zines.
“Innocent people are just losing their lives for being where they’re at, for just existing basically, for living in Palestine,” Hewitt said.
He said he puts the zines in public places in hopes of receiving a reaction from someone.
“I have an email in the back if anybody needs to email me,” Hewitt said. “If they want to give me criticism or anything, I’m up to it.”
Hewitt said creating zines is a way to express his ideas, and he is the only person he knows that is passing them out.
Discovering Crouch while she was on her walk, Hewitt passed the zine to her and said he applauded Crouch for her efforts.
“I thought it was pretty courageous — what they’re doing,” he said. “I think what Sasha is doing is really cool, really kick a**.”
Hunter said she has known Crouch forever, and she always has great conversations with her whether it be politics or movies.
“We will talk for hours about politics and beliefs. We will agree on some things and disagree on some other things,” she said. “It is very refreshing to see that they are so educated in so many different things.”
She said she admired Crouch for exercising her privilege to speak up.
“I try to use my privilege as much as possible as a white person, like I have that and I try to use it for people that I can,” Hunter said. “I always admire that about [Sasha].”
Scholarship, grant supports aviation program
HOPE SMITH campus editor hope.smith393@my.tccd.edu
Aviation mechanics and techs are in high demand in Fort Worth’s growing aviation industry, and TCC’s aviation program is in the spotlight.
“We want to be the No. 1 provider. We’ve got a strong reputation of over 40 years. I think we do it the best,” said Michael Esquivel, the NW dean of business and industry.
It’s a really good feeling to see that we’re contributing to the industry.
Michael Esquivel NW dean of business and industry
The aviation maintenance technology program recently received $25,000 in partner scholarship funds from the Embraer Foundation, as well as a $250,000 grant from the GE Aerospace Foundation.
According to Esquivel, a majority of the funds will go to student testing fees. The typical testing cost for a student in the program
is $1,500. From the Embraer fund, 15 student tests will be funded, as well as 50 through the GE fund.
Esquivel explained that the impact of the funding will allow students to accelerate their learning path without having to take time away to earn enough money to afford testing.
“A lot of them, if they don’t have the money, tend to go to work,” he said. “They might not be working with an aircraft, airframe or pilot licensure, and then some don’t come back for many years later.”
While attending a recent job fair on the aviation campus, Esquivel said he saw a former student of the program. The student was hired at the local Embraer facility and was promoted to team lead.
“Now he’s helping hire the next generation, not too many years apart from him,” he said. “It was kind of neat to see him.”
He said he was glad to see the aviation industries participate at the fair but was even happier to know that the student has the opportunity to foster a close relationship with Embraer.
“It’s a really good feeling to see that we’re contributing to the industry,” he said.
NW Campus President Zarina Blankenbaker explained in a press release that the college is committed to ensuring graduates are workforce ready.
“That is why this $25,000 gift from Embraer is so meaningful. It is more than a financial contribution — it is an investment in human potential and in an industry that connects the world,” she said.
In the same press release, Chancellor Elva LeBlanc said that the success of the program shows the ambition of the college.
“This partnership with Embraer and the Embraer Foundation reflects a shared commit-
ment to workforce readiness and innovation in aviation education. We’re proud to support Embraer’s growth and strengthen the region’s aviation workforce,” she said.
The location of NW’s aviation program is part of what gives the students a unique experience in the industry.
The Erma C. Johnson Hadley Northwest Center of Excellence for Aviation is surrounded by industry partners.
With an Embraer maintenance, repair and overhaul facility scheduled to be completed by late 2026 at the Alliance Airport, the company plans to employ 500 mechanics and is in the process of recruiting TCC students, according to the release. Any student can start their journey with
no aviation knowledge, Esquivel said, and can end up ensuring a lifelong career.
“Our faculty –– they’ll train you to become a mechanic in two years, and you can earn probably $35 an hour starting off,” he said.
Along with Embraer, other Fort Worth locations for Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, MTU Maintenance and Aspire MRO are located close enough to the campus that offer job opportunities across the field. Esquivel explains that they all need experienced mechanics. “It’s just such a demand with aviation right now in the
Photos by Diego Santos/The Collegian
Photos by Diego Santos/The Collegian
NE student Sasha Crouch strolls around campus holding a Palestinian flag for two to four hours each day on NE Campus to show support for Gaza residents. Crouch times her walks around when classes end.
NE students Daven Scott and Sasha Crouch discuss the symbolism of placing flag on the ground as defeat on NE campus Nov.5.
Student and AAS Instructor, walking outside where planes are parked outside of the airport apron parkway Erma C. Johnson Hafley Center of excellence Nov.14.
Faculty contracts were amended from 12 months to 10.5 months in FY 24-25.
according to a faculty member who attended the meeting and asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.
Portions of the meeting’s audio were anonymously uploaded to YouTube, and in the recording a person identified as a department chair said at first the summer expectation was two classes.
“At some point, from somewhere, so many in this room got the information ‘No, that’s been changed to one [class],’” the department chair said. “We didn’t change it. It was changed for us.”
LeBlanc, Maddox-Powell and Allen said the individual was correct.
“You received communica -
attendants. The women are unaware that the others exist. His fiancées consist of an Italian woman, a German woman and an American woman.
On an unfortunate day for Bernard, all three women happen to be visiting Bernard and insist on
tion that says something other than what it should have said,” Allen said in the audio.
As a public institution, the college is accountable for the overspent money to the taxpayers of Tarrant County, according to Allen in the audio. Those members who were paid salaries for teaching fewer classes, even though they were informed incorrectly, still violated their contract, he said.
“As employees of the college, we don’t have the authority to spend public dollars that have not been authorized to be spent by the board,” Allen said. “We are required to recoup that overpayment. We don’t have a choice about that.”
plays the German fiancé Gretchen, said the role she plays is different from how she acts in real life, which makes acting it out exciting for her.
Tubbs said the cast of “BoeingBoeing” has been rehearsing since early October.
What faculty was told for the Summer 1 semester: 3 hours, 1 class.
Any faculty contract under the 10.5 months was required to teach 6 hours during Summer 1. If they didn't, they were paid for work they did not perform.
In her statement, LeBlanc said the college has been transparent with faculty about the ramifications.
“Tarrant County College remains dedicated to supporting its faculty and staff while ensuring that all employment practices are consistent with board policies and state law,” she said.
The overcompensation to these full-time faculty members should not have affected the justreleased Compensation and Classification Study because it was based on faculty positions, not hours worked, according to Gates.
“It’s kind of separate,” he said. “Even if those employers were part of the Comp. and Class Study, it had to do with their posi-
tion and where they were by job, family and things like that.”
Affected individuals will be provided with fair and flexible repayment options.
“It’ll probably be a range of agreements based on the individual employee,” Gates said.
Some faculty members have even submitted plan recommendations to the college for the administration to review for consideration.
“We’re going to take every measure to provide them a flexible kind of option for paying back the dollar,” Gates said. “It’s going to be based on a reasonable, convenient plan. So it’s not an attempt on our part to put someone through a hardship.”
cast from the practicum class on SE.
“We have more females than we do males and so we were trying to find a more comedy, a more heavier female show and so this was one of the picks,” Garcia said. “We just thought that the funniness,
Nov. 6
NE: A Clery report on stalking was made in the student center building, and the case was referred to Title IX.
Nov. 11
TR: Theft of property valued at less than $2500 was made in the west fork building and is being investigated.
NE: An active investigation is taking place for an unattended vehicle hit and reported at the campus parking lot C4.
NW: Disorderly conduct was reported at NW06, and the case is closed.
South: An individual practicing disorderly conduct was reported at parking lot 5, and the case is closed.
NW: A parked car was hit, resulting in damage valued at less than $200, and the case is closed with no suspects or witnesses.
Nov. 12
South: Forceful entry with the intent to commit a felony, theft, or assault was reported in the music building, and is actively being investigated.
Near SE: Valued at less than $2500, theft of property was reported.
Nov. 13
NW: A report on theft of property valued at less than $100 was made.
Nov. 14
TR: A report was filed for the theft of property valued at less than $750.
NW: An active report for a person engaging in public sexual conduct was made in NW05.
donate money for the ticket which goes to supporting the theater department.
“We want our guests to feel free to come to our shows without worrying,” Garcia said. “If they pay zero, that’s what they pay.”
He also said the money the box office receives from the optional donations goes right back to the department, specifically toward scholarships for students as well.
“We want it to be accessible to everybody,” Garcia said.
The cast and director encouraged students, faculty and the community to come out and watch their show without having to worry about paying for a ticket.
“I think it’ll attract people,” said SE student Abby Ahmed, who plays the Italian fiancée, Gabriella. “Whenever people hear a price tag on something, they’re a little turned off. This is a way to bring in people while also still being open to money donations.”
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Patrick Longoria, presi -
dent of the NW Student Government Association, said there is still a lot of confusion about what clubs and organizations can and cannot do in order to comply
He said some organizations such as the Latin Club and the African American Student Association are specifically highlighting a demographic group, that is considered noninclusive and DEI reinforces the inclusivity along with many other similar clubs.
“They told us ‘You can do these things, but they have to be purely student led,’ but there is an irony there because every activity we want to have has to be approved by the campus,” Longoria said. “If the campus feels it draws unnecessary attention, they might not want to approve it.”
Candace Soto, sponsor of the Advocating, Solidarity, Inclusivity, & Awareness on Nurturing Cultures club, said that since public institutions are funded by the government and taxpayers, they must be very particular about verbiage on flyers as well as how they conduct them.
“Let’s say if we’re celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. That has to be worded very specifically, where students know even though we’re celebrating something like this on campus, it’s open to everybody,” she said.
TCC employees have been fired for violating SB-17 because of DEI content
being mentioned in a training video. In April, The Collegian reported on this issue and the TCC legal counsel team said that if an employee violates SB-17, they are required by law to either terminate or discipline them.
“A lot of people are so scared of getting that $65 million fine or getting fired that they don’t even want to approach it,” Longoria said.
Longoria said the sponsors of the clubs do a great job of supporting the students, trying to help them in any way they can, but he feels as if the ban leaves them restricted to hosting certain events. He said he was in a meeting with faculty and students, and some of the faculty members were so worried about getting fired that they couldn’t even tell the students what they needed to know.
“I could not, in good faith, blame advisers for wanting to keep their job,” Longoria said. “I blame the people, the policy makers within the campus, who know or whose job is to interpret and understand the legality and then pass that information.”
Longoria said the bill trickles down to people who are scared to speak their mind and have an honest conversation in any capacity.
“I think it’s absolutely asinine that you can’t have a normal conversation with somebody,” he said. “College was the one place that I felt I could exchange ideas with another person.”
Infographic by Rena Aquino/The Collegian
However,
NE Campus is giving students and faculty a chance to connect through one of the country’s fastest growing sports, pickleball.
The Pickleball Club officially started in early October and has attracted students looking for competition and connections on campus. The idea began in a speech class when NE speech instructor Jamie Kerr mentioned the sport and noticed her students’ enthusiasm.
“You can be a beginner, but you can pick it up so quickly so you get good enough to make it fun,” Kerr said. “I wanted to make it a possibility for students to play, a good place for students to hang out together outside of classes and have some community and also have some fun and competition. Good, healthy competition.”
Club president Logan Schmidt took that encouragement and helped make the club official.
Club Corner Pickleball Club
by Brian Martinez
“I’m not the best at it, but I’m a good team player,” he said. “I really want the club to be about teaching leadership, teamwork and having a good competitive side.”
Schmidt said the club is still small but growing, with hopes of adding more members by spring.
Pickleball, which combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis, has been one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S. in recent years. Its appeal lies in how quickly beginners can learn and start playing.
For club member Mason Donaho, the club is about having fun with friends. Donaho found out about the club during the Club Rush event in
September.
“I was a little on the fence about playing pickleball, but when I came, Jamie and Logan were really welcom ing and nice,” he said. “My favorite part is just playing, having the chance to be outside after school. If I have a long day of exams, I can just come out here and have fun, enjoy myself.”
That welcoming atmosphere is what drew in new member Samuel Choe, who joined after seeing the club’s poster on campus.
“I’m new here to Fort Worth, so I want to get myself out there,” Choe said. “What’s a better way than a sport or an activity that I could do with oth er people. I’d never played pickleball
before but it’s so welcoming. Everybody’s cool.”
The club is open to all students, fac-
CAMPUS VOICES
“I
been doing it since I was a little kid.”
Illustrations by Izzie Webb/The Collegian
Illustrations by Izzie Webb/The Collegian
It is unfair to demand faculty members repay portions of their salary back to the college because of a contract error made by the administration.
Incorrect contract information was given to full-time faculty with a teaching requirement for the 24-25 academic year of one class during the Summer I semester, when actually it was two.
Anonymous sources leaked audio recordings on YouTube of a Nov. 5 meeting when the chancellor, general counsel and chief human resources officer informed faculty privately about the error. Chancellor Elva LeBlanc admitted in a statement to The Collegian after that meeting that “faculty members were provided with incorrect information contrary to TCC policy and state law.”
Admitting an error isn’t any form of an apology, specially when it’s done after the error is exposed by someone else.
It also doesn’t change the financial impact on faculty at a time when many people are struggling to afford their basic needs.
The college’s offer of flexible repayment plans is great, but this will still hurt the instructors, no matter how little they may owe.
Even if someone were told they owed $200 without forewarning, it would be financially damaging.
Faculty salaries are based on their degree, years of experience, what they’re teaching and their contract schedule. The base can range from $64,000 to $82,000 for fulltime 170-day contracts to 192-day contracts, according to the 20242025 Annual Compensation Plan. The salary needed to live com-
fortably in Fort Worth for a single adult is $94,800 and for two adults with two children is $214,490, according to a 2024 SmartAssest study done by gathering the cost of living including housing, food and transportation. Instructors aren’t paid a livable salary, and the board is forcing
faculty to pay for their mistake because it’s taxpayer money. These employees signed a contract, fulfilled the requirements within that contract, and the college compensated them accordingly. Now the college is not holding up their end of contract. If the college is at the will of
taxpayers, were taxpayers informed of the administration’s error before demanding our faculty to pay them back?
Why wasn’t there a board vote to authorize faculty to pay back taxpayers when they thought they were abiding by the correct requirements?
The board oversees a budget of over $400 million and decides how taxpayer money is spent by the college.
It will vote on Nov. 20 to authorize $551,565 for the chancellor’s salary.
Truth is, our college wouldn’t be able to pay a chancellor over $500,000 if it weren’t for the faculty dedicated to us students for 170 days, 192 days, 10.5 months or 12 months, on and off the clock. This news came right after a Compensation and Classification Study that stated 45% of employees are underpaid.
To say the only way the issue can be solved is for our instructors to pay for an administrative error is hard to swallow.
The Collegian staff believes there should be an open conversation about how to support our faculty during this time and for our college to approach mistakes like this in the future with integrity. Because what is the administration telling students when they don’t?
Women are shaming other women, and it is just embarrassing.
The recently popular vogue article titled “Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?” is opening the floor for a controversial and awkward debate –– which I call blatant hate –– and it is stirring up a pot of biased opinions.
To see women bashed for being in healthy relationships is no short of baffling. Having a boyfriend is not embarrassing now, and it never was.
The article starts with a strong hook that indicates the writer, Chanté Joseph, will mute any girl that so much as mentions her boyfriend on social media. She claims she finds it the opposite of fun when someone suddenly “boyfriendifies” her content.
I agree with Joseph, but only to an extent.
I am the biggest advocate for women’s individualism. Every woman should have her own independence, and I believe Joseph clarifies it in her hook that no woman should make her content
America’s red and blue twoparty system has destroyed the meaning of democracy in this country.
As the years go on, America seems to decline and lose the image of a united nation due to its twoparty system.
It’s normal to have disagreements. What is not normal is the way disagreements have affected American citizens.
The government shutdown is a result of the Republican and Democratic parties not being able to agree on a budget. Shutdowns have occurred during President Trump’s presidency as well as former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. This happens almost every time a new president comes into office.
The current shutdown has affected millions of federal employees and those who depend on gov-
only about her boyfriend.
However, the sources that she uses, and the statements that she makes in her article doesn’t reflect her “feminist” opinion on the matter. Instead, it is used as an indirect pathway to hate on women that have made choices for themselves.
The article didn’t decenter men but instead divided women up.
On TikTok and Instagram, women who are not single and have posted their views on the article are being called a “pick me,”
ernment-funded programs. This is a prime example of how the people who are supposed to help us have put the American people in a bind yet again. The Federal Aviation Administration has been affected by its employees having to work without getting paid, which has also impacted air traffic control and led to many flights being canceled. This caused a struggle for people who
and they are being told they don’t know how to read.
My friend, Bernadette — who I like to call the epitome of knowledge –– said the article distinguished women in happy relationships versus women who are single.
Me and my girlfriends were discussing the article that was overt in disrespecting women who are not single, and we all agreed that it defied the concept of feminism.
Feminism is about inclusivity, not diminishing women who make the choice themselves to have a romantic interest.
The article just discusses straight relationships and only focuses on straight women.
What about men that have boyfriends? What about women that have girlfriends? Wouldn’t it be as equally embarrassing for them to have partners?
In the Vogue article, Joseph said it felt like to her that this complicated correlation between embarrassment and having a boy-
were travelling, making it harder to get to their home.
Families in low-income households who struggle to afford food depend on SNAP, which sometimes can be their only way to receive meals. Almost 3.2 million Texas citizens have been affected because of the pause of SNAP benefits in November.
We the people, are also to blame for the division
Protests are important to voice our opinions and raise awareness of the social issues going on in our country.
However, protests can sometimes end badly with people destroying buildings and protestors resulting in violence.
This happens because a group of people are upset about a decision and they feel like their voices are not being heard.
Jan.6, 2021, is an example of
friend is a result of women wanting to straddle two worlds: one where they can receive the social benefits of having a partner but also not appear so boyfriend-obsessed that they come across as quite culturally loser-ish.
Why are we labeling women who are satisfied with their choice, who are proud of their partners, who want to show off their boyfriends, “loser-ish”?
This article feels like women who have had bad romantic experiences hating on women that have evolved past them.
When these women have finally found stability, there is an article on Vogue calling them embarrassing.
One of the sources that Joseph used in her article said, “Why does having a boyfriend feel Republican?”
That comment made me gasp because being with a partner should not at all be compared to being affiliated with a conservative political party.
Another source reads, “Being
protesters getting out of control.
Protesters broke through barriers and stormed through the Capitol leaving people injured, lives lost and left members of congress in hiding because two political sides not being able to come to an agreement.
I understand being angry at certain decisions and feeling like no one is listening, but there should be no reason as to why we’re putting other lives in danger, including our own.
People voicing their opinions on politics has gotten extreme. It’s no longer a simple talk, but an argument that ends in anger and sometimes violence toward each other.
America is losing the true sight of what it means to have a political debate.
When it comes to trying to make friends and having different views than them, it has been a
single gives you this ultimate freedom to say and do what you want. It is absolutely not every woman, but I do notice that we can become more beige and watered-down online when in a relationship — myself included.”
From these comments the writer used, it seems as though these women have been wronged or have lost themselves completely in a man before. They are now cautious of making boyfriends. There are women who have learned self-respect, who have strengthened their dignity and are in relationships with those who choose to grow with them. I think this article and the reaction to it is unfair to them.
Let’s not shame women for their choices. Instead, let’s give them the space to make mistakes, grow and decide for themselves what they want.
Women in the past didn’t have the same freedoms we do today, and they paved the way for us. So why limit ourselves now?
struggle. I’ve experienced people treating me differently than others simply because I have an opposing opinion.
It makes me extremely upset that I’m getting judged based on my political beliefs. We should judge how we make our friends based on morals and loyalty.
I’ve noticed we never try to understand people’s arguments. We’re stuck in our heads and believe what we think is right, and that’s the only way.
We’ve become closed-minded. We argue and never agree or try to understand one another. This is what is tearing the country apart. The United States of America is no longer united.
If America wants to fix its problems, we need to become the country that we so proudly claim we are. We need to be truthful, open-minded and understanding.
Izzie Webb/The Collegian
Sh ow R evie ws
Nobody loves ‘Nobody Wants This’ anymore
AVA REED campus editor ava.reed@my.tccd.edu
Season 2 of the Netflix series “Nobody Wants This” was released on Oct. 23 and has the internet talking.
The series follows controversial podcaster Joanne and a young rabbi named Noah who begin a relationship which sparks tension between both sets of families.
The Netflix original series launched last year and had the internet flooded with mostly positive opinions. I believe that the initial positive feedback was because of the realistic relationship and brief cliffhanger at the end.
I finished Season 1 in one day because it was something fresh and somewhat comforting.
The storyline highlighted the hardships that follows a Jewish rabbi creating a relationship with a non-Jewish woman who has little to no interest in converting.
Noah’s family and the church did not approve of his relationship with Joanne and became increasingly more frustrated with him as time went on.
Noah was being considered for the head rabbi position at his temple because the standing head rabbi was getting ready to retire.
In Season 2, we see that the temple decided to go with another rabbi for the position, strictly because of Noah’s relationship with a non-Jewish woman.
Personally, I was excited for this season to come out because I was intrigued to see if Joanne would convert considering she knew what was on the line for Noah in his career.
Considering the storylines that the producers of the show chose to use in season two, I am both let down and quite frankly confused by all of it.
It felt like the producers and writers of season two completely disregarded what had already happened along with the style of how it happened in the previous season.
The turnaround time for the season was extremely fast for Netflix, which tells me the producers saw the attention from the audience and focused on quickness rather than good dialogue.
The second season is only ten episodes and feels extremely repetitive of the first sea-
son. It seems like the production team was too eager to put something out for the excited viewers rather than give them a good story.
In Season 1, the couple dramatically broke up, which was rooted in Joanne not wanting to convert to Judaism. The breakup only lasted for an hour or two.
The exact scenario is repeated at the end of Season 2 and the result is the same. The writing for this scene felt lazy and repetitive to me and many others on social media.
The feedback I have seen on TikTok and
Instagram was mostly negative. People were initially excited that we were getting a second season so fast. That excitement quickly vanished as the fandom watched each episode.
The obvious product placement was also frustrating and felt unnecessary to me and people reviewing the season on social media.
Weirdly enough, the show is hard to look away from. I found myself rewatching Season 1 after finishing Season 2.
It’s witty, clever and somewhat relaxing
to watch due to the music and lack of distracting action. A third season is already in the works.
My hope for the next season is that the writers of the show will consider that the audience wants to see a different storyline between the two main characters without drastically changing the footprint of the show itself.
‘Smiling Friends’ keeps us grinning in new season
The post credit scene to episode 3 featuring Smiling Friends employees Alan, Glep, Pim and Charlie watching their boss dance uncontrollably after a day of work.
NICHOLAS BOLTZ videographer nicholas.boltz@my.tccd.edu
Adult Swim’s animated television series “Smiling Friends” aired its third season, promising new, whimsical and absurd adventures. The show’s previous two seasons have been critically acclaimed for their writing, jokes and animation styles. Season 3 delivers the same quality and content from previous seasons with new characters and adventures.
Main characters Charlie and Pim are two critters who work for the Smiling Friends company dedicated to making people happy.
Animation styles vary for each character while the show’s background remains two-dimensional. For example, Silly Samuel, a character focused on in the first episode, looks like he came out of a circus fun house. One arm was a gooey, stretchy hand toy, and the other a spring with a crab claw attached.
This character felt incredibly mean-spirited and never really had a lot of funny moments as if the episode was relying on his appearance alone to carry the comedy.
He touches on the theme of how society is quick to judge others based on appearances alone. Highlighted by his rage against the world around him, others never take him seriously due to his physical appearance.
The humor is still effective even though it can be very fast paced. Certain slapstick jokes will often happen quickly and randomly in their delivery. One of my favorite gags was in Episode 3 when a random character got taken by a giant bird while casually walking down the street.
Episode 2 sees the return of Mr. Frog, a character who went from being a famous actor the Smiling Friends helped out in Season 1, to being an opposition to Pim and Charlie in Season 2. In Season 3, Mr. Frog had retired as president of the United States and is now dis-
satisfied with life, causing Pim and Charlie to want to make him smile again.
This episode sees Mr. Frog uncharacteristically depressed and no longer being a fast-moving individual often engaging in violence. Unlike the first two seasons when he commits random acts of violence for the sake of his own satisfaction, Mr. Frog now doesn’t take any pleasure in violence.
While the usual absurd slapstick humor is present, the story has a more emotional tone and tackles the theme of the emptiness someone feels after finally achieving everything and having no more challenges to overcome. It does it effectively as the tone is dictated by Mr. Frog’s mood. He remains sad despite the wacky and whimsical visuals around him.
Episode 3 sees Pim and Charlie being forced to help out a client. They are kidnapped by Mole Man, a humanoid mole creature who is very insecure about his genitalia.
The episode explores more adult and sexual humor but doesn’t make it the whole basis for the episode’s comedy. It also commented on obsessive fandom as Mole Man has an unhealthy obsession with Pim and Charlie, even trying to force them to act as if he is a friend and demanding approval from Pim and Charlie. When Pim and Charlie show hesitation or even the slightest disapproval, Mole Man’s mannerisms become hostile as he feels betrayed by his idols.
Smiling Friends Season 3 retains its humor and art direction while trying to bring some new elements to the show, such as an emotional focus on characters and leaning into more adult-oriented humor. It manages to keep its core foundation while experimenting with new animation techniques, story elements and comedy.
Photo courtesy of Adult Swim
Photo courtesy of IMDB
Adam Brody who plays Noah holds his girlfriend Joanne, played by Kristen Bell, while talking to his mother.
with
Native heritage, old-school approach help NE professor connect with students
The sound of keys jangling and sandals flopping can be heard as the professor walks through the hallway with a smile on her face greeting everyone her eyes meet.
After entering the classroom, her shoes come off, and she stands at the podium with an Expo marker in hand ready to begin the lecture.
NE Campus government professor Lisa Uhlir teaches in an old-school way. No projectors. No online assignments. Just a whiteboard, some notes and her voice. And her students can’t seem to get enough.
Uhlir recalled being asked by a student what the secret to being a great professor was. She said, “to care.”
“If you don’t care, it doesn’t matter what you do. You’re not going to be good at it,” she said. “Teaching has given me that ability to care.”
From wanting to be a veterinarian, then a geneticist, then a spy for the CIA and then eventually landing on becoming a teacher, Uhlir has gone down many paths of life. Through it all learning has always been something that she prioritized.
“I love teaching. I love school,” she said. “If I could have just stayed in school as a student forever, I would have got like 80 degrees or whatever, but it’s not feasible.”
But learning wasn’t always easy for her, partially because of her Native American heritage.
The way Native people learn is drastically different than how children are taught in the public school system, she said. In Western education, they use math and the scientific method to find the answer, while Native learning, according to Uhlir, is rooted in observation and patience.
She explained that in order for a Westerner to figure out how a bird flies, they would take it apart, dissect it and measure the length and width of the bird.
“We learn through mostly observation over a long period of time,” she said. “Then we, overtime, go ‘OK. When it flies, what does it do? How does it do it? Where does it go?’ We watch the winds and then we come up with conclusions.”
This makes it difficult for Native children to adapt to Western schools. Uhlir, being half Native American, faced similar challenges.
Uhlir spent her early childhood in
northern Michigan on the Ojibwe reservation, where her father is from. Later, her family moved to southern Michigan where she started pre-K in a Lutheran private school that closely followed her mother’s beliefs.
At the private school where they knew she was Native, she was described as a tough kid. Teachers would say “she talks too much,” or “she won’t sit still.” She constantly got bad grades and was pulled into teacher/parent meetings where the teachers would make remarks about Uhlir’s father and whether he would be in attendance because of the negative stereotypes that were associated with Native Americans.
makes a lot of sense to me.”
Uhlir is always looking for ways to engage students in an era of technology and isolation.
“People just don’t interact the way we used to when I was younger,” she said. “So, people are very open to having somebody notice that they exist and talk to them and care about them.”
To increase direct interaction with her students, she has started a new type of office hours she calls “walking hours.”
During this time, she walks around the school gym and allows students to join her and talk about anything from class questions to life issues.
“The cool thing about walking hours is it’s an informal environment, and it’s a group environment,” she said. “I think students will feel less intimidated to come up to me and to just kind of chat.”
Uhlir is a pool of knowledge. She has a bachelor’s degree in Russian studies, a master’s degree in international affairs with a minor in international organizations and administration and a doctorate in political science with areas in political theory, American government and international relations as well as a high honors in political theory.
She uses this knowledge to help those at TCC in any way she can.
When they moved to a new town, Uhlir’s mother decided when enrolling her to check the “white” box. Uhlir was then described as the perfect student with straight A’s. She was seen as helpful rather than talkative. This led Uhlir to deny her heritage for a while because it gave her benefits. It wasn’t until high school that she reconnected with her past and heritage.
Uhlir described the challenges of being a child split between two different ways of life between her mother and her father.
“Having both of them in one way has really helped me to see the world from many ways,” she said. “And helped me relate to students better in some things and understand.”
NE student Isaiah Anderson sees that firsthand. He said he enjoys her class because she goes in-depth into government topics, giving real-world scenarios that help him understand better.
“I’ve dropped a lot of classes in the past because teachers just didn’t teach the way I learned,” he said. “So, it’s refreshing and nice to be able to have a class that
Every Tuesday, Uhlir is one of the few mentors in an event titled “Mentors, Mindset, & Money: Intercultural Network & Mentors,” an event that helps students prepare for lifelong financial and civic impact.
NE student and regular attendee Amelia Ignatenko said having Uhlir as both a professor and mentor has helped her foster long-term skills in financial management and test-taking abilities.
“I used to have a lot of anxiety about taking tests,” she said. “Now, whenever I take a test, I’m much more cool-headed about it.”
Uhlir is often asked why she teaches at TCC when she has so many degrees and worldly knowledge. She said at first it was out of necessity. After finishing up her doctorate, she had just gotten divorced and become a single mom. Although she was offered jobs at universities like UTD and UTA, TCC was the only college willing to work with her schedule.
She then grew to prefer TCC because she felt she could connect with the students better.
“I think I make a bigger difference here,” she said. “I think I can make a bigger change and have a bigger impact here.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because of Lisa Uhlir’s religious beliefs she can’t have her photo taken. “Because we believe in reincarnation, we don’t want to be tied to our past life,” she said. “Our personal belongings, a photograph of me, I’m attached to that, and you’re attached to that. So you’ll be crying, you miss me, etc., and my spirit won’t want to move on, because there’s longing and stuff left here.”
Illustrations by Dom Martinez/The Collegian
This symbol is the official emblem of the Ojibwe tribe displaying the thunderbird that represents strength.
