NW counselor Christopher Tovar speaks about warning signs of mental imbalance. @tccthecollegian
Counselors share ways to deal with college stress
AIRIANNA ROMAN campus editor airianna.roman@my.tccd.edu
Students can face many challenges when they transition from high school to college, including anxiety, depression, financial issues and the increased academic workload.
NW Campus hosted a session on “The Mental Load of College” on Sept. 18, where counselors shared different strategies to help prevent those struggles from affecting students’ academic success.
“Time management, financial concerns and social challenges, a lot of these are constant struggles with a lot of students,” counselor Christopher Tovar said. “A lot of things have changed and will change as you continue to get older.”
Some of these changes can include paying for tuition, navigating friendships and having increased family responsibilities. There’s also an adjustment to the requirements of college course work.
“It’s a balance of figuring it out,” Tovar said.
He said mood changes, anxiety, sadness, anger and suicidal ideation are all warning signs of someone going through a personal struggle that is taking a toll on their mental load.
“A mental load is a list of tasks that someone must remember to do,” said Nicole D’Alesandro, counselor supervisor.
She said there are four main areas of mental load that can affect a student’s health. The first is cognitive tasks, which include keeping track of schedules and being organized.
“Emotional labor is the second area, which is being in tune with our feelings, and our friends’ and family’s feelings,” D’Alesandro said. “Then there is decision fatigue, decisions we make on the regular.”
The last one is invisible work. D’Alesandro explained that it’s work we don’t pay attention to, such as emailing a professor or checking on a friend, but it can add to an already full plate.
See Mental load, Page 2
Therapy dogs visit students on campus
Food P�n�ry
Hunger doesn’t discriminate
Deaf community spends day at zoo
AVA REED campus editor ava.reed046@my.tccd.edu
Four-year-old Matilda Wingard loved her day at the Fort Worth Zoo. She was born with sensorineural bilateral hearing loss and used “pink, sparkly” hearing aids until she got the cochlear implant when she was 18 months old.
The Zoo on Sept. 20 had a special event for members of the deaf community. Instead of being the only hearing-impaired person around, Matilda suddenly was among her peers.
“We love it just because she sees other people around signing and everything,” Matilda’s mother Emily Wingard said. “I mean, I think at the moment signing is the norm for her.”
I wish they knew it was OK to gesture. It’s OK to communicate with us. We don’t bite
Lori Spalding ASL tutor
Deaf Day at the Zoo allowed members of the Deaf community as well as students from TR Campus’ American Sign Language program to have a day out together. The event was curated to make the zoo more accessible for Deaf people as well as give students who were interning as ASL interpreters more experience.
Maureen Denner, the director of the sign language interpreting program, said that after approaching zoo officials three years ago with the idea of a Deaf Day, they were open to help with the idea.
A discount code provided for Deaf attendees made the general admission cost less than it normally would.
“The first year, it was pretty successful,” Denner said. “There were over 200 discount codes
used. And then last year we had more, probably about 275. So we’re hoping this year, it’s going to be even more.”
With the help of online posts from the college’s social media and the zoo’s website, Deaf people from all over the area could find the event.
Denner said one of her goals in organizing the event was to create accessibility for the Deaf community.
“Two dads had come and were interviewed by CBS News, and I voiced for them,” Denner said about last year’s event. “And what they said was that they greatly appreciated this opportunity because they never knew what was going on, what the zookeepers were sharing.”
She said her second goal for this event was to expose her interns to real-world events and situations using ASL.
“It’s a teaching moment,” she said. “They’ll encounter vocabulary and situations here that they may not encounter elsewhere, and so this is part of their internship.”
The zoo was helpful with making sure this event was successful and accessible for the deaf community, Denner said. Avery Elander, the zoo’s director of communications, said she has been helping with this event since it started.
“It has turned into a wonderful community event that I think
lots of people look forward to,” Elander said.
TCC’s interpretation internship is one of four accredited associate degree programs in the U.S.
“This is a very competitive program,” interpreting intern Godfrey Scott said. “It’s one of the top four in the nation.”
The internship requires a lot but is rewarding for the students in the end, Scott said.
“So my goal for today, not only to bring awareness to Deaf culture, but to also spread awareness,” Scott said. “Because I think it’s important with oppression being in the Deaf community, I think it’s important for us to share the knowledge.”
Interpreting intern Yaya Austin said after taking the fourth ASL class, students take a course called T1, which is an interpretation class.
“We all fought to be here,” Austin said.
The interns receive assignments anywhere from going to the school or going to a doctor’s office, she said.
“You just never know, one day you could be at school, one day you could be at a courthouse, one day you could be on a football field, one day you could be here at the zoo,” Austin said.
Interpreting intern Amaia Gilbert said the interns all want to give more access to the Deaf
NW student and Intercultural Network employee Fabian Palacios and Istructional Aid for Humanities Olena Sviridova bag food donated by the Tarrant Area Food Bank. NW Campus’ monthly food market in one of its old aviation hangars.
Diego Santos/The Collegian
Kelly Amtower/The Collegian
See Food Pantry, Page 4-5
See Zoo, Page 3
See Dog Therapy, Page 2
Ryleigh Roper/The Collegian NE student Melody Ertz plays with the therapy dog Sadie at the Paws for Wellness event.
Photos by Diego Santos/The Collegian
Grace Soechting, a deaf person who works in the field of wildlife sciences, feeds lettuce to a giraffe in Fort Worth Zoo during the Deaf Day at the Zoo event on Sept. 20.
Godfrey Scott interprets instructions given by zookeeper Hannah Richey at the giraffe exihibit.
NORTHEAST
Students relieve stress by playing with dogs
Volunteer program brings pets to campus
Students met three therapy dogs in the first of many Paws for Wellness events in the NE library Sept. 17.
Health Services hosted the event to help the 158 people who attended take a break and encourage them to take care of their mental health as the semester continues.
Amy Pellacani, a Health Services coordinator, helped put together the event and said she wanted to make an impact on that day for students.
“I think every student, anybody, could use a pick-me-up,” Pellacani said.
Pellacani said this event was a good way for students to take care of their mental health while getting to pet some sweet dogs.
“I hope they go away with a smile, and it uplifts their mood and makes them feel happy,” she said.
SOUTHEAST
This event was accomplished with the help of Pet Partners, a group where people can volunteer for events with their dogs. The group has done events at TCC campuses and volunteer at children’s hospitals every week, said Nicole Stolle, one of the volunteers with the group.
“It’s nice to have an animal around,” Stolle said. “It calms everything, and it makes people happy and more enjoyable to be around.”
Some students said they enjoyed this event and felt better after spending time with the dogs.
Career fair inform students of future career pathways
AVA REED campus editor ava.reed046@my.tccd.edu
SE Campus held a career fair Sept. 17 where universities and organizations met with students to discuss options for life after TCC.
The Heart and Hospitality Career Fair was organized by Administrative Assistant Ethan Hatley, who said it was intended to be different from past career fairs.
“My goal overall was to connect students with employers, specifically in health care, hospitality, but also culinary, any sort of adjacent fields to those specifically,” Hatley said. This fair offered students with specific wants and needs a look into their potential career path.
“Mainly with networking, that’s the key goal is to bring people in so that students can meet with people in those fields,” Hatley said.
The various booths offered to students ranged from the military to food services. Each booth in attendance had a specific purpose. Representatives from Falk, a health care organization, set up a booth at this fair to show students different opportunities, like EMS.
“It’s giving the opportunity for us to
get to know people that could be joining our Falk family,” paramedic Crystal Wise said.
“And then giving them an opportunity. It’s kind of hard in EMS to get out and find a job and know where to go.”
With the college providing an EMT program, the Falk team participated in the fair to help students interested in that pathway.
“TCC runs one of the biggest EMT and paramedic classes or programs in DFW,”
Managing Director David Phillips said. “A lot of these folks are doing prereqs for health care in general and don’t have a ton of clarity on exactly what that means.”
The U.S. Air Force participated in the career fair with a booth that provided different options to students seeking military information.
“We do get a lot of no’s as recruiters but I just hope that I can reach just one or two individuals to really change their lives, kind of like how the Air Force has changed my life for the better,” said technical Sgt. Christina Sheaks, an active-duty recruiter. “My goal for being here and at any job fair really is to kind of educate people on what the Air Force has to offer and what the Space Force has to offer.”
A women’s led health clinic based out of Dallas called Abide Women’s Health Services joined the career fair to share their purpose with students.
The clinic offers internships and volunteer opportunities for students to expand their healthcare knowledge in a more specific area.
“The goal today was basically to share the opportunities that we have at Abide with interning,” Director of Administration Melissa Resendiz said. “They are unpaid internships, but basically it’s an opportunity for students to be able to learn about different services.”
SE students were able to access career and further education information in a nonformal way that provided them with different options for after they graduate from TCC.
Mental load (continued from page 1)
Aside from everyday tasks, social life and school itself, college students have to carry the weight of their mental health as well.
Holly Diprisco, a student who has faced anxiety and depression, said she believes counseling can help.
“Mental health definitely impacts work ethic and the way you socialize with people,” she said.
Diprisco said she struggled with her mental health in high school.
“My work ethic was terrible,” she said. “It was so bad I almost flunked out of high school, but I’m here now, so it shows how you can really overcome it.”
Another student, Aliyah Almeida, said she struggled with depression, and it affected her schoolwork as well.
“I tried getting help, talking to my therapist, and then I also went to the inpatient …
so I also got help from there,” she said.
Counselor Jasmine Flippin said establishing healthy boundaries and withdrawing toxic environments is the balance blueprint that will help students protect their energy.
“If it’s something within your capacity to control, honor yourself, and remove yourself,” she said.
Flippin also said it’s important to be self-aware.
“Find your center and reset,” she said.
“Acknowledge what am I feeling? What is happening around me? What are my triggers?”
Journaling, meditation and therapy are strategies that can help process emotions,” she said.
“We’re human,” Flippin said. “We’re imperfect, so sometimes we make mistakes. It’s not about perfection. It’s about finding balance.”
NE student Dannen Hood said petting the animals was a tactile reminder of the things in life worth living for.
“It’s just like a treat. It’s like pizza. It’s like ice cream. It’s something fun and nice,” Hood said. Many students left with a smile
on their face and feeling a little more relaxed.
“In general, I think people like animals and being able to just unwind and hang out with a very sweet, calm, soft animal,” NE student Dallas Gartrell said. “I think it just kind of relaxes people.”
NE student Isabella Bartrum said therapy dogs can relieve the stressors of college life.
“I think being able to play with them, and just even pet them alone, just gives a sense of relief and brings you away from the stress and craziness of college life,” Bartrum said.
Therapy dogs can be beneficial, often being able to relieve symptoms of anxiety, depression, ADHD and more.
“If a dog is trained for therapy, they can respond and let them know, you can have a panic attack, and a lot of people don’t understand that dogs can sense feeling, so they kind of adapt to that as well,” said Jurnee Clouse, a NE psychology student.
NE student Aiden Johnson said therapy animals are helpful for moments of stress, and having a pet in general helps improve more than just mental health.
“Dogs are like partners,” he said. “Any animal can be a partner for someone, so having that trust in them to kind of guide you and help and always have someone to rely on it good.”
Students get competitive at pickleball, showcase
HOPE SMITH campus editor hope.smith393@tccd.edu
TR Campus Fitness Center recommends all forms of activity, even pickleball.
Juan Najera, a coordinator for the fitness center, explained that pickleball is a fun and creative way to get active.
“I can see how people are liking it, especially when it could get competitive,” he said.
Najera joined students who had the opportunity to stop by on their way to class for a short pickleball game, playing to 11 points on TR’s outdoor patio Sept. 17.
Preston Doyle, a TR student who joined brought his own pickleball paddle to play, often plays with his family and said that he believes the game has gained so much popularity because it can be played casually or competitively.
He explained a time that he and his family visited a park in Keller one morning to play a few rounds only to find all four tennis courts packed with pickleball players.
“We sat there for two hours, and they were still full. We were talking to people waiting, and it was all random people that showed up just wanting to play pickleball,” he said. “I mean, as annoyed as we were, it was kind of funny.”
Other students who joined the game stayed for multiple rounds on the patio all in the name of winning.
TR student Samuel Kolede played four rounds with different competitors, including
skills
TR student Richie Besnet.
Kolede said he does not like to lose. So, when he lost the first round with Besnet, they ended up rechallenging each other twice. In between games, he said that he is very competitive but enjoyed winning when he did.
“If you don’t like losing, yeah, I would recommend pickleball,” he said.
Besnet has previous experience playing with his friends and enjoys doing it casually.
“I was just passing by, and I saw y’all playing pickleball,” he said. “I thought, ‘might as well step in.’” Sam Ngaihte, a student employee at the TR Fitness Center was also there to help promote the center with Najera. He previously played tennis competitively and says that he appreciates its fast pace as a way to get moving.
“I think everyone should have some sort of fitness that keeps up their health,” he said. “There’s a big epidemic in the U.S. right now concerning childhood obesity and obesity in general. I encourage people to take some part in some sort of fitness, whether it’s pickleball, running, swimming, whatever it is.”
Najera is also a strong advocate for fitness, and while he recommends people check out the TR Fitness Center as it’s a free resource for TCC students to easily access, he explained that practice will make anyone better if they are trying to get involved with pickleball.
“Even if it’s a friendly game between you and your friend or someone that you just met, it can easily be competitive with the amount of skill it takes to hit a ball,” he said.
Ryleigh Roper/The Collegian
Photos by Diego Santos/The Collegian
Kelly Amtower/The Collegian
Pet Partners volunteer Nicole Stolle and her therapy dog Sadie wait for the Paws for Wellness event to begin. Sadie has been a therapy dog for six years, often visiting colleges and hospitals.
TR student Sam Ngaihte plays pickleball at TR Campus on Sept 17. Ngaihte used to play tennis and was at the event to promote the Fitness Center.
Melissa Resendiz shares information about a women’s health clinic in Dallas.
Fitness Center coordinator Juan Najera volunteers to play pickleball.
TR student Richie Besnet plays pickleball at TR’s outdoor patio.
NE student Taliyah West is the president and one of the founding members of the Behavioral Science Club on Campus. She shared how she became interested in sociology and the struggles she faced on the way in an interview with The Collegian.
What is the purpose of the Behavioral Science Club?
I think that psychology and sociology are incredibly important, especially now in our current society. I think that learning these topics helps people be better people really and better move around in life and tackle certain obstacles.
It helps us understand why other people may think the way that they do. ... I think underneath all that, it really just teaches how to understand one another, which is obviously incredibly important to make connections, to want to educate and to help people be closer. Kind of the purpose of a club is to meet other like-minded individuals.
On top of it being educational, I also wanted it to be something where anybody can come in and meet people and get a chance to explore out of their comfort zone.
When did sociology become a passion for you?
Since I was a kid, I was very interested in politics, and politics and sociology kind of go hand in hand. But I was always more on the artsy side. I kind of steered away from that passion, because I didn’t think that I was educated enough for it.
I also thought that my personality, it’s very big. It can sometimes come off as brash. I just didn’t think that I would be that accepted in that field. But when I started taking art [at TCC], I started realizing how this just isn’t what I wanted to do. It was boring, to be frank. Studying art was boring. But I took a sociology class, because I told my adviser that I was really into sociology and politics. They said that they had a sociology class here.
So, when I took it with Cheryl North, and I loved it. ... It’s kind of just like a light bulb went in my head, and I was doing this and, being able to be in this field and actually help people and do something that isn’t just the regular cubicle 9-to-5.
Why did you initially think you were not educated enough for sociology?
I was a very smart kid, [but] I was definitely a kid that people most saw is a little bit off. I was very distant. I didn’t really know how to make friends.
I also grew up in a predominantly white, Hispanic school. I was probably one of the maybe three black kids in the entire grade. I didn’t see a lot of people that acted like me or looked like me. ... I wasn’t supported by most teachers. I wasn’t really supported by family.
My family didn’t really support my idea of really taking advantage of the resources at school. My mom never signed me up for clubs. ... It wasn’t really that I thought I was stupid. It was just that I just didn’t have that support system that would push me to where I needed to be.
Would you say that your parents would be proud of you today?
I don’t really think about that, to be honest. I think when I think about success, the idea of what my family thinks of me, or my friends think of me, it’s not really in the picture.
My idea of success is incredibly personal. I’m always kind of thinking, “Where do I need to be to know that I’ve done enough?” Or to know that the work that I’ve put in or the struggling that I’ve endured was worth it, because success looks different for everybody.
And so, for my family, neither of my parents went to college, I was very distant from my mom. So, my mom wasn’t really involved in school.
My dad, however, he didn’t even graduate high school. ... He’s always been very supportive, but since he hasn’t lived it, he kind of think is kind of just like a walk in the park. When he celebrates it, it’s more so that he’s just celebrating me, but not because he understands the work that’s put into it.
Who do you want impact in your career?
People that need more support. People who are similar to me, who feel like they don’t have backup plans, or don’t have any shoulders to lean on.
I want people to know that even though America kind of pushes that idea, like you need to figure out on your own and if you’re struggling, it’s just because you’re not working hard enough. I don’t believe that’s true. I think everybody needs a person, even if it’s just a couple of people on their side. Nobody needs to have a whole village. But I think even just that one person could really make a difference.
And I want people to know that it’s never too late to pursue what you want to do or live the life that you want to live. ... I want to be that person that gives them that push that I didn’t get.
Interns were placed all over the zoo at each exhibit and made available to anyone who may need ASL interpretation.
Lori Spalding, a tutor for the ASL courses, attended Deaf Day for the first time to evaluate the interns and experience the event from a Deaf perspective. When interviewed, she was interpreted by TCC-certified interpreter Chloe Cook.
“Being Deaf is really amazing,” Spalding said. “Seeing the different interpreters’ accessibility, it’s actually more information for me.”
Spalding said she wishes hearing people knew some gestures and were willing to learn how to communicate with Deaf people.
“Because really we’re all humans, but some people are a little bit more timid and shy to communicate with us,” she said. “So I wish they knew it was OK to gesture. It’s OK to communicate with us. We don’t bite.”
She also said this day was important to her.
“I’m excited for the Deaf individuals, especially the Deaf children too who are learning,” she said. “They definitely need that.”
Four-year-old Matilda does not quite realize yet that apart from her home and school, people do not sign everywhere, said her mother, Emily Wingard.
“I think coming to places like this shows her that it’s out there,” Wingard said. “But I still don’t think she really realizes like this is one day. It’s not always like this at the zoo.”
Who inspired you to fulfill your dreams?
I can’t say that I have a particular inspiration. I have some teachers that I think definitely shaped me to be the way that I am.
I got along really well with my English teachers, and they kind of knew the person that I was and where I came from. So, they were a little bit more empathetic with me.
Sometimes I would not always be all there in class, but they kind of helped remind me, like, “Hey, you’re not a lost cause. I do see something in you, and I think that once you see it too, you’ll be able to do great things.”
So, I’m very grateful for those English teachers, and at one point I did want to be a teacher, because they were just so kind to me, and it really showed me that it’s not all bad. There [are] good people out there, and I want to be one of those good people.
Even here at TCC, the professors here are really sweet and kind and understanding, and they’re not just doing it just because it’s what they chose when they were 20 years old, and now they’re kind of just stuck with it. They do it because they’re very passionate about it, and that’s something that I admire or something that I crave. I want to live a life with passion.
Would you say that you are the person to inspire others?
I hope that I can. Even if my story specifically or the things that I go through isn’t particularly relatable to other people, I hope that I could at least kind of give them that encouragement to live their life and encourage them to do whatever it is that they want to do. I don’t think that I’m that person right now, but that’s the person that I’m aiming to be.
DISTRICT CRIME LOG
Sept. 15
TR: An assault causing bodily injury was reported in the traffic circle.
Sept. 16
Near SE: An unattended vehicle was hit.
Sept. 17
NW: Theft of property valued at less than $30,000 was reported in NW04.
South: An unattended vehicle was hit in parking lot 1.
Sept. 19
SE: Clery Stalking was reported.
SE: A person threatened to harm an individual with the intention to prohibit them from making a police report.
TR: Indecency with a child was reported in the parking garage.
Photo by Kelly Amtower/The Collegian
Taliyah West, the president of the Behavioral Science Club, changed her major from art to sociology.
Maureen Denner, the director of the sign language interpreting program at TCC, gives instructions to the interpreters before the Deaf Day at the Zoo event.
The impor��nce of �
Programs fight food insecurity in community
Food P�n�ry
BY
ASH PETRIE
As the NW Campus food market starts its 10th year, volunteer Lourdes Davenport said she has seen that food insecurity affects everyone.
“It’s anybody you run into anywhere in the community,” said Davenport, coordinator of the English Language Learning Program. “It’s our high school kids. It’s our college students. It’s their parents, their grandparents. There isn’t one demographic solely this food market serves.”
Texas is the most food-insecure state in the nation, according to a May 14 study by Feeding America. The Dallas-Fort Worth area currently ranks No. 3 in the nation for the highest number of people experiencing hunger, with 60% living in the Tarrant and Dallas counties.
People struggle with food insecurity all the time ... It’s not something they’re going to say outwardly or as confidently because that can because that can be very hard.
Courtney MatthewsRoberson NE Student Activities Coordinator
“My family, we go to food markets when we need it and take it for our family and to our neighbors,” Palacios said. “It helps when the money is not enough to buy all the groceries that we need, especially with fluctuating prices right now.”
Markets help lighten the financial load of groceries by providing people with produce and ingredients. Palacios said getting the more expensive items from a market, such as produce and dairy, gives families the ability to set extra funds aside they normally wouldn’t have.
“I think mentally, it’s also a relief to know that there’s somebody there to help you,” Palacios said.
The market is essential, Davenport said, and they try to reach everyone in the community through the necessary goods they supply.
However, some people don’t have a stable home with a pantry to store items or a kitchen to cook in.
“I don’t like staying around where I’m at because it’s real foul over there,” said South student Anthony Vilano, who lives in a shelter. “Sometimes I have to force myself to eat, you know.”
Vilano picked at his guitar strings while sitting in the cafeteria between classes. He said living in a shelter is distracting but the food pantry on campus allows him to be somewhere he feels productive.
“It takes a lot of stress out of my mind about what I’m going to do later,” Vilano said.
Toro’s Food Pantry is available on South, NE and NW campuses, where students can check in to grab essential items donated by the Tarrant Area Food Bank and TCC’s faculty and staff.
Food insecurity is defined as not having access to sufficient food or quality food to meet one’s basic needs.
Monthly food markets are hosted on every campus for anyone in the community, and donations are provided by Tarrant Area Food Bank. Student and faculty volunteers run the market’s operation by unloading pallets, setting up tables, bagging food and guiding visitors through the facility.
“I’m able to save a lot more because they’ll have something. A little snack. Usually something healthy,” Vilano said. “They’ll have little soaps that make it real convenient, so I don’t have to run all over the place, spending money up the street.”
Any current TCC student can access the pantries on any campus by bringing their student ID.
Jasmine Quezada, NW coordinator of Intercultural Student Engagement and Academic Success, said in the past academic year, their pantry had about 2,600 students check in.
“It really takes a village to put the market on,” Davenport said. “The number of families served through this food market is upwards of 2,000 people in Tarrant County.” NW student Fabian Palacios volunteered at the market on Sept. 19 and said he knows first-hand how it aids the community’s hunger issue.
“It’s difficult maintaining both work and academics and then having to worry about food. It’s an additional piece of worry for students,” Quezada said. “It really alleviates them from having to go to the gas station or having to go back home and then having to come back.” NW Campus’ pantry is located in their Intercultural Network room, but Quezada said the new facility should open once construction is completed
Diego Santos/The Collegian Infographic by Rena Aquino/The Collegian
NW student Fabian Palacios volunteering at the market by bagging carrots donated by the Tarrant Area Food Bank inside the old aviation hangar.
It takes a lot of stress out of my mind about what I’m going to do later ... The food pantry takes an insecurity and gives it security.
Diego Santos/The Collegian
Diego Santos/The Collegian
Diego Santos/The Collegian
Ash Petrie/The Collegian
NE Student Activities Coordinator Courtney Mathews-Roberson stocking the pantry’s shelves with baby formula.
Student employees, Saleema Jayawardane, A’Darion Mayshaw and Maiya Green-Brady backstocking into crates in the NE food pantry.
South student Jake Wisdom chooses items from Toro’s Food Pantry.
A’Darion Mayshaw breaking down cardboard box of Seattle’s Best Coffee.
Anthony Vilano South Student
Limiting expression threatens our First Amendment rights
The First Amendment rights of students at Texas universities are already being limited, and it’s only going to get worse.
Recently, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonprofit organization focusing on sustaining free speech, surveyed students at 257 universities nationwide regarding the extent of free speech on their campus.
The average ranking for Texas universities continues to decline. Now, it is an F.
The University of Texas, UNT, UT Dallas and Texas State University all received Fs in the latest survey. The best scores were given to UT Arlington and Texas A&M, which both received a D. Universities are being told to restrict their public demonstrations, and now their campus events are being deliberately targeted.
At several Texas universities, including UTA, drag shows have been banned.
Republican lawmakers also sent a letter to UNT administrators calling for the removal of pro-Palestinian student artwork from a campus exhibit, saying that the artwork inflammatory and false.
Leaders are increasingly focused on controlling student expression, and it’s raising our concerns about free speech being under threat.
Gov. Greg Abbott recently signed Senate Bill 2972 that would prohibit any “expressive activities” on campuses from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.
The bill went into effect on Sept.1.
“Expressive activities” means any speech or expressive conduct
It is nearly impossible to go to bookstores today and not have sexually explicit books shoved down your throat.
From Barnes & Noble to Target and even some local bookstores, the displays are lined with nothing but sex. This can be attributed to the rise of BookTok.
In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many women flocked to TikTok to share their book interests in hopes of finding community during the isolating times. This community soon became known as BookTok.
The community started with women of all ages sharing a wide range of books from fantasy to nonfiction, but it quickly took a dark turn. BookTok became a space for people to share their darkest sexual desires and find books that fit those fantasies.
The world is bleeding with corruption, and young people around the globe are challenging it, calling for a revolution.
Youths from countries like France, Nepal and Indonesia have protested corruption and in return were teargassed, shot and even killed.
Corruption is the fraudulent use of entrusted power for personal gain. Crimes like bribery, embezzlement and even nepotism are forms of corruption that leads to economic turmoil.
“The winner takes it all,” a phrase from a popular ABBA song trending on TikTok, has now become an audio recently used by protesters to expose political wrongdoings.
Protests in France were prompted by the government’s efforts to cut the national budget, which would heavily impact public spending and freeze pensions.
French youths, having wit-
protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or by Sec. 8, Article I of the Texas Constitution, and includes assemblies, protests, speeches, the distribution of written material, the carrying of signs and the circulation of petitions.
Such activities can now be considered unlawful. Enforcement of the bill means universities can discipline students for practicing any of these activities after 10 p.m.
The bill remains vague, allow-
“Credence” by Penelope Douglas is highly recommended by many on TikTok, so I had to check it out for myself. The book was nothing less than diabolical.
From the poor writing to the incestuous relationships between the main female character, her two male cousins and her uncle all at the same time, to the rape tropes being promoted, it was extremely hard to read. In truth, I couldn’t
nessed high taxes for the common man and more business-favored policies that weigh on their generation for years, took upon themselves to force a change.
They took to the streets, making their “Block Everything” movement known, calling for the president to resign, only for authorities to deploy more than 80,000 security personnel to make arrests.
“Tax the rich” was another slogan these protesters have promoted.
In Nepal, politicians have been
ing universities to decide for themselves what to enforce and how. When it comes to “expressive activities,” it can mean something as minor as wearing any political merchandise on campus after 10 p.m. or having politically affiliated signs.
FIRE filed a lawsuit against the University of Texas System in response to the bill.
“The First Amendment doesn’t set when the sun goes down,” FIRE senior supervising attorney JT Morris
even finish it.
I wish I could say these themes were only presented in this one book, but nearly every dark fantasy novel recommended on BookTok is filled with misogynistic and harmful images of women and how they should be petite and submissive.
The issue is not the fact that grown women are being open about their kinks but rather that the books supporting this wave of literary porn are easily accessible to the public, more specifically young girls.
To buy pornography, one must be at least 18 years old, so why isn’t that standard applied to books with the same material?
Right now, anyone can walk into a store and buy whatever book they wish. A 14-year-old could simply walk into Target, pick up a book from the “as seen on BookTok” section, purchase it and walk out.
selfishly pickpocketing tax money from the people for years.
The youth of Nepal were enraged at how luxury lifestyles of the children of these politicians, referred to as “nepo-babies,” were funded by their income taxes while unemployment rose.
Exposing longstanding corruption, they expressed their anger through social media, which the government banned.
Generation Z protests against the corrupted system erupted in Nepal.
The government’s decision was nothing but a fearful, irrational and selfish response to corrupt leaders being outed in the media.
Likewise, in Indonesia, protests against the country’s economic state hindered by corruption broke out.
By Sept. 8, it had lasted 14 days.
These protests were student-led with a big participation from Indonesian women, in response to politicians receiving a $3,000 housing
said in a news release.
This new bill completely reverses the efforts of SB 18, passed in 2019, which encouraged student free speech. This bill required universities to allow students to engage in free speech activities on campus, even creating disciplinary actions for anyone who interfered with those activities.
We have taken three steps backward instead of forward in terms of student speech.
All without being questioned about what content resides on the pages.
The worst part is that these explicit books are often marketed toward younger audiences.
The popular book “Icebreaker” has been raved about over the last couple of years and is a perfect example of publishers not considering young readers. The cover of the book can be described as a “cutesy little cartoon” with an ice skater and hockey player standing side by side. The colors of the cover are pastel, giving the impression that the novel is a lighthearted and gentle read, but the book is nothing but toxic relationships and detailed sex. Teachers on BookTok are constantly begging parents to pay attention to the books their kids are reading and to not be deceived by the “cute” covers.
My own sister, who is 14, came home from school one day
allowance on top of their salaries while the common people were undergoing economic hardship.
Youth protests were interrupted by bullets, killing 19 in one day in Nepal and 10 in 14 days in Indonesia.
Innocent students being murdered left and right, all because today’s youth chose to speak over silence. The dreadful anticipation of another life being lost has overtaken mine and many other sufferers’ lives.
A teenage student in Nepal returning home from his school amid protests was brutally shot in the head, instantly killing him.
A motorcycle delivery driver in Indonesia, 21-year-old Affan Kurniawan, delivering a food order during protests was run over and killed by a police car.
How many more martyrs? How many more until these nations gain the freedom and democracy they were promised?
There are still a lot of unanswered questions regarding the language of the bill, like what specifically are we as students allowed to do? What can we wear? What can we say? What does “expressive activities” entail?
This bill attacks our First Amendment right that protects free speech.
It might not be obvious, but our freedom is gradually being restricted.
Recently, an arts and sciences professor, Melissa McCoul, was fired from Texas A&M for referring to the existence of more than two genders during an in-class discussion.
A dean of the university and the head of the English department were demoted, according to the Texas Tribune.
McCoul’s discussion was interrupted by a student claiming she deemed it illegal for the professor to mention more than two genders because President Donald Trump frowned upon it.
She also claimed that the president is aiming to freeze funding for programs that promote gender ideology.
The student’s confrontation went viral on Twitter, prompting even Abbott to respond to it, calling for the professor’s termination. As student journalists, we are alarmed by this trend, and we are worried about the potential harm to our freedom of press.
The recent restrictions on free speech in higher education may be just the beginning. Soon, the broader public could feel the impact.
This bill is just a breeze to the potential storm in the future.
asking about “Icebreaker” and if she could read it. I obviously said no and gave her some recommendations that fit her age range. She then proceeded to get upset with me because girls at school were already reading it. So why couldn’t she? Porn is a huge issue among adolescents, and at this point we are handing it to them on a silver platter.
According to Culture Reframed, a nonprofit that seeks to stop mainstream porn exposure to children, adolescents who watch porn have an increased likelihood of emotional, social and sexual problems in adult life.
Just as there are age restrictions for buying pornographic movies, Playboy magazines, mature-rated video games and explicit albums, there should also be limitations preventing minors from purchasing erotic books.
With no communication and no way of keeping track of the happenings in my own country, I was distraught.
These protests were happening in real time, police forces were shooting bullets in real time, and I had no way of knowing if my best friend got home safe from work.
Choosing to speak up was now a newfound problem. It hurts to see my generation in shambles.
However, the pools of blood in the same streets I used to walk in were not all for nothing. With the Gen Z protesters’ efforts, the corrupted regime has now been disowned, and the interim prime minister’s chair awaits the first female prime minister. Although still recovering from the loss, it is a step toward an ethical governance for Nepal, but the terror in the streets of France and Indonesia have yet to achieve their goal of a responsible government.
Izzie Webb /The Collegian
Instrumental synth resurrects Tron hype
HOPE SMITH
The newest Nine Inch Nails album is ushering in “Tron: Ares” with a track list that is so akin to what makes the movies unique.
First impression did not make me think that Nine Inch Nails would take on a Tron movie without some twist, but I ended up pleasantly surprised to hear the electronic orchestral nostalgia of “Tron: Legacy” who preceded the newest movie in 2010.
A three-week-prior album release of the actual movie was a smart move on the movie’s part because it gets the audience ready for what is in store.
With no pun intended, Tron’s legacy is lasting on cyberpunk media. Expectations are high and no one will really know how 15 years after Legacy will do for storyline and visuals. The backbone of the movie is built on the aesthetic elements of world-building. If the soundtrack is lackluster, the movie will have to lean on something else.
Since I can only speak on the music until Oct. 10 I am confident that we will not be disappointed.
While a portion of the album is ambience for movie-sake, it was still an intriguing listen because I almost couldn’t sense the Nine Inch Nails aspect until I approached the vocal tracks.
I knew prior to listening that Michael Trent Reznor, the lead singer of Nine Inch Nails, already has a unique tone of voice that I was curious to hear mixed with synth and techno as opposed to the traditional alternative indie and rock.
What I heard was just right. Like Goldie Locks and her need for a beautiful medium, I was relieved to hear a vocal that didn’t override the instrumental but was used to levitate the words, I think “I Know You Can Feel It” is the best I could pick where where we hear a classic haunting vibrato in the intro.
It’s not so high energy as it is intense, which I think for a second Tron movie is necessary. Legacy was about discovery, but it left viewers off knowing action would have to
MOVIE REVIEW
Nine Inch Nails released the “Tron: Ares” soundtrack album Sept. 19 to tease music for the movie’s upcoming release.
come. Visually red and dark, it takes on a new face of angst.
That’s why I believe choosing Nine Inch Nails as the leader of the track list was in such good taste because they have a knack for experimenting with techno and futuristic sound. I get subtle reminders of their 2007 “Year Zero” album that experiments with synth and industrial notes.
That’s another thing, Tron being as old as it is already has a sense of nostalgia. Most
of us likely watched the first movie when we were younger, and while I did a current watch-back to compare Daft Punk’s take on what I imagine Nine Inch Nails will look like in theaters, I was immediately reminded of what it felt like to be introduced to the cyberpunk scene.
Maybe that’s why I like this newest album so much, because I remember what it felt like to hear instrumental like Tron’s for the first time sitting on the floor and watch-
ing a Redbox rental on our DVD player of the movie. I will always be a raving fan of the genre, and it’s no simple feat to not just replicate what Tron established twelve years ago, but to add style into it that adds on what Tron might become after the first release in theaters.
Classic thriller displays bleakness of city life
together to investigate a serial
NGUYEN managing editor collegian.editor@tccd.edu
David Fincher’s crime thriller “Seven” is a fantastically bleak depiction of a world of apathy and violence through the lens of a police procedural.
Released 30 years ago, the film has garnered a reputation for its on-screen violence and uncompromising commitment to showing the worst of humans. Set in a constantly raining city drowning in crime, the film follows the last week before the retirement of disillusioned police Detective William Somerset, played by Morgan Freeman. Somerset is partnered with the young, idealistic Detective David Mills, played by Brad Pitt, to investigate a series of horrific crimes throughout the city themed by the seven deadly sins.
As the week progresses and the crimes escalate, the pair rush to find the killer while their contrasting personalities and outlook on their job clashes.
The use of literary references and allusions to art gives “Seven” a level of sophistication that is hard to achieve and successfully balance with the all-out brutality inflicted on the victims in the film. It weaves the Christian idea of the deadly sins with the physical manifestation of its punishments by someone who is omniscient-like in their intelligence.
The film is further elevated by the visual style that Fincher would later be well-known for: underexposed shots and strong contrasts with a gritty, cool toned color palette.
Fincher might now be known for his dark, polished thrillers, but “Seven” was the film that started it all. All the landmarks of his directing, pacing and thematic elements can be seen in “Seven.” He went on to direct
films like “Fight Club,” “Zodiac” and “Gone Girl,” all of which are considered classics of their genres. The film also features some fantastic performances. Freeman is at his best here, though an argument can also be made for his role in another ‘90s classic, “The Shawshank Redemption.” Freeman gives a fresh take to the archetypal brooding noir detective, a kind of role that he is not usually known for. He is the best actor in the film and steals every scene he’s in. It’s hard to remember when Pitt wasn’t a cultural icon but “Seven” was one of the first films where Pitt started moving away from his image of a Hollywood pretty boy and took on more complex roles. His portrayal of the brash and impulsive Detective Mills was one of the foundations of his dramatic acting career.
The memorable story and ending are also where “Seven” shines. It’s like how other great ‘90s crime thrillers like “The Usual Suspects” and “LA Confidential” drew viewers into a complex web twists and turns that leaves them exhausted by its conclusion.
There is something quintessentially ‘90s about “Seven” and how it strives to portray all the evils that are in the world.
The film came at a time when the war on drugs was still in full swing and many Americans still remembered watching Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer being tried and executed for their crimes. It’s a dark and depressing film for a time when Americans were becoming more disillusioned.
FRED
Courtesy of IMDB
Courtesy of NIN.com
Detective David Mills, played by Brad Pitt, and Detective William Somerset, played by Morgan Freeman, are partnered
killer in “Seven.”
Club corner NE DancE club
members, Movers Unlimited, they come up with choreography in which they teach that class,” Bui said. “So, yeah, this upcoming [teacher] is Rachel. She’s teaching like a hip hop
The coaches who teach these lessons for the club are students of associate professor, Hyun Jung Chang. They take classes for their audition- based Dance Company, Movers Unlimited, as well.
Chang said these dancers work very hard to keep up with their performances.
“So, [for] practices, we have rehearsals for our audition-based Dance Company, and those are Mondays and Wednesdays, specifically for the company, 4:30 all the way to 10 p.m.,” she said. “So, our students are here for a long time on school days and then, and they make sure they stay on top of their academics too.”
Starting out as a TCC student herself, Chang said she switched her paths from pur suing Dental Hygiene to Dance after she met professor and coordinator of the dance program, Kihyoung Choi.
“[Choi] mentored me. I got hired whenever I graduated, and I’ve been here since 2018, so
I’ve been teaching dance here,” she said. “I guess you could say I made my full circle, be cause I started here as a dance student, and then I graduated, and am here as a teacher.”
Chang said the audience for dance club has grown a lot.
“When we first started, the dance club was really small,” she said. “With the club growing as well, I think our audience has been growing.”
Alicia Hobson, Chang’s student and a par ticipant of the dance club, talked about the rou tine for their master classes.
“A master class is kind of like, it’s usually about an hour, hour and a half. And they’ll usu ally warm you up,” she said. “Every genre is dif ferent, depending on the teacher, and basically, by the end, they’ll have a combination for you.”
CAMPUS VOICES
Photos by Diego Santos/The Collegian NE Dance Club members perform on Sept. 4.
Dancers gather for group photo after performing for students at Club Rush on NE Campus.
Illustrations by Kiarah Smith and Izzie Webb /The Collegian
