TCC The Collegian March 2, 2022

@tccthecollegian • collegian.tccd.edu What could have killed this game?

PG. 2

Wednesday, March 2, 2022 – Volume 35 • Issue 19 DISTRICT

DISTRICT

Faculty fears worst for Ukraine Russia invades Ukraine over territorial disputes JUAN SALINAS II

campus editor juan.salinas465@my.tccd.edu

Feb. 23 Russian President Putin went ahead with the invasion of Ukraine.

“What is happening in Ukraine is horrific,” said NE economics associate professor Oksana Zhuk, who is Ukrainian. “Russia is targeting with their missiles and aviation kindergartens, schools, orphanages, hospitals, ambulances, blood supply storages, apartment buildings and residential areas in general. These are crimes against humanity.”

Zhuk feels if Putin is not stopped, Russia will continue its campaign to the other Baltic states — Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — and she is glad that the U.S. and the rest of Europe have responded strongly to this crisis.

“I want to thank the American government and the American people for their support of Ukraine in this very difficult time,” she said Russia’s actions have resulted in a plummeting stock market and oil prices surging past $100 for the first time since 2014.

In the following days, NATO nations re-

sponded in multiple ways such as sanctions that affect Russian elites in Putin’s inner circle, and delaying the “Nord Stream 2” — a pipeline that would double the amount of oil flowing from Russia to Germany.

SE government professor Michael Williams stated the U.S. must answer some uncomfortable questions moving forward.

“I don’t know that Americans are willing to get involved in a hot war after just ending the war in Afghanistan, so this is another crisis that Biden probably would rather not have since seemingly he has faced a series of crises that have no easy decisions, and which have not gone so well for the president,” he said.

Williams fears the only way to deter Russia is a boots-on-the-ground operation.

“His choice of escalation and de-escalation will be criticized as it has been by both parties,” South history adjunct instructor Joseph Johnson said. “The question of military involvement from the U.S. will loom throughout this issue.”

U.S. sanctions will include blocking Russian banks from Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, which is what allows nations to transfer funds with each other. It will also cut off tech imports.

“This conflict will affect Europe more than the U.S.,” Johnson said. “The majority of Germany’s natural gas comes from Russia and they have already taken measures to cut that off. This level of economic strain on Europe could have rippling effects on the U.S. Any cutoff in commerce with Russia itself will also affect the U.S. I do not know the extent of these effects.”

He said that Russia’s cyberattacks targeted at the U.S. and other NATO nations could be on the rise.

“I do believe that Putin sees the current divisions in the U.S. as a sign of weakness,” TR adjunct history instructor George Fleming said.

Fleming feels that Biden has responded in the right way with the sanctions, but people need to be vigilant about how China will react.

China was the only nation to not put sanctions on Russia and accused the U.S. of creating “fear and panic” in a press conference given by China foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

“Will it support Russia and will China see this as an opportunity as far as the ongoing situation/tensions with Taiwan,” Fleming asked.

Alex Hoben/The Collegian

NW students Ashleigh Sommer, Trey Kelly and Connor Kaiser hold a gingerbread-shaped prop during rehearsal Feb. 22.

NORTHWEST

Candy Witch swoops into campus production

Photo courtesy of Pascuala Herrera

Pascuala Herrera poses with her book “Not Always a Valley of Tears.”

Upcoming event focuses on inspiring others AUSTIN FOLKERTSMA

campus editor austin.folkertsma@my.tccd.edu

Student accessibility resources and the intercultural network are hosting a virtual event with an in-person viewing option called “Not Always a Valley of Tears.”

Because of the weather, the event has been delayed with no new date given. Once rescheduled, there will be viewing locations districtwide. The room numbers can be found on the event calendar.

“Not Always a Valley of Tears” is a self-published book written by Pascuala Herrera that will be available for free at each of the viewing locations.

There will be viewing locations districtwide. The room numbers can be found on the event calendar.

Herrera is a Mexican immigrant residing in Chicago, Illinois. She was diagnosed with Polio at nine months old, and she will be sharing her story about overcoming adversity.

At six months old, Herrera said she was paralyzed, but eventually, because of physical therapy, she was able to move her upper body by 9 months.

“In Mexico, we had no medical care,” Herrera said. “We were a family of 11 living in a very rural area, and my parents knew they wanted a better life for me.”

Herrera said she wasn't going to school at 6 years old, and she never had a wheelchair, so she was always crawling around.

She also mentioned she celebrated 50 years since coming to the U.S. in December.

When she was in Mexico, she was never labeled as anything, but as soon as she came to the U.S., she had a label put on her: “disabled.”

“I was just a kid, happy-go-lucky, crawling around,” she said. “I never heard the word ‘disability,’ or it didn't really point out to me that I was different.”

She said before the Americans with Disabilities Act, her family thought she would be able to go to school like her siblings, but she was denied because of her disability and had to go to a “special” school instead.

“It was 20 miles away, kindergarten through twelve, where everyone in the school had a disability,” she said. “They had physical therapists, they had what they called attendants that dressed like nurses, so in retrospect, I feel that all of that experience led me to have the career that I’ve had for 30 years.”

She met her husband protesting for the ADA. “The importance of the event is to inspire and motivate others in working toward achieving their goals despite challenges they face,” NE coordinator of student accessibility resources Kimberly Eason said.

Eason said Hererra inspired her because she made the impossible possible.

“Despite having polio and being a female Latina immigrant living in poverty, she found her purpose as an educator specialized in accessibility learning for college students with disabilities,” she said.

Eason wants students to know that having a disability doesn’t define who someone is as a person.

“I hope students come to realize that their path is not predetermined by how other people categorize them.”

The award-winning theater program at NW is putting on its annual spring children’s production with a rendition of the Brothers Grimm classic, “Hansel and Gretel.”

TCC students, faculty and staff get in for free. General admission is $3. Two showtimes are available to the public, March 4 at 7:30 p.m. and March 5 at 2 p.m.

According to NW theater director Brent Alford, this will be the eighth year in a row NW has produced a play of this kind.

“It’s become a tradition on this campus, and we invite in elementary school students from our service area,” Alford said. “We are expecting about 600 this time around.”

He said the story will embrace the play’s dark origins and remain faithful to the original content. Elements of the story will only be expanded or altered so the play can reach its 50-minute run time.

Starring in the role of Gretel will be NW student Laci Hawkins. The antagonist, the Witch, will be portrayed by NW student Bradley Trey Kelly. Currently, the role of Hansel is being recast as the original actor dropped out last minute.

Stage manager Casey Nail said it’s expected that at least one person will drop out, but the show must go on.

“The play happens Wednesday at 10 unless the place burns down,” Nail said. “The children’s show is the staff's favorite show to put on. We love doing this for kids.”

Nail said he hopes, however, their interpretation of the story is entertaining for

anyone that comes to see.

The show is expected to be filled with high-quality production value and effects.

Things like people being baked in ovens and witches appearing out of thin air are small examples of what’s in store.

“There’s plenty of visual eye candy, and effects that will be fun, particularly for young children to see,” Alford said.

While the target audience for the show is elementary students, Alford thinks the production presents a unique experience to anyone with young family members.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity if you have young ones in your family to bring them and expose them, possibly for the first time, to live theater,” Alford said.

The location for the play is NW Campus, WTLO 1108. The phone number to call for reservations is 817-515-7724.

Entertainment

Opinion

Opinion

Editorial

MEDIOCRITY IS EVERYWHERE New Apple TV+ movie doesn’t deliver. PG. 2

HIJAB DOUBLE STANDARDS Fashion industry appropriation of headscarves. PG. 3

TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY No way to escape COVID. PG. 3

THE BATTALION Administration tries to silence print media. PG. 3

CAMERON WEBSTER

campus editor cameron.webster@my.tccd.edu

ENTERTAINMENT

2 • Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Photo courtesy of Apple TV+

Lennie, played by Grace Kaufman, and Joe Fontaine, played by Jacques Colimon, have a conversation with each other. The movie can be streamed on Apple TV+.

MOVIE REVIEW

Film adaptation doesn’t do book justice MEGHAN SCHILLING

campus editor meghan.schilling@my.tccd.edu

Romantic movies always think they are doing something different because their stories include different people and issues. However, in the movie “The Sky Is Everywhere,” they take a different turn.

It focuses on a grieving character who can’t decide what she wants. People know the saying that books are always better than the movies. In this case, that is 100% true, which was very upsetting for me. Sadly, we aren’t here to review the book.

In the movie, we are following the griefstricken sister Lennie who lost her sibling Bailey to a sudden heart condition.

Lennie can’t cope with the loss of her sister, so she is trying everything she can to follow in her footsteps.

We also learn how Lennie thinks she is the only one grieving her sister’s death.

However, her uncle Big and her grandma are learning to move on and accept this fatal accident along with Bailey’s boyfriend, Toby.

After school on Lennie’s first day back, she hears about this new boy named Joe Fontaine, who is from Paris. Lennie couldn’t help but find the boy mesmerizing. I mean, he plays guitar, which I guess the movie director thinks girls are crazy about.

Lennie runs out of class after being challenged for the first chair in band and she forfeits her position. Fontaine begs her to play with him, but she refuses, causing her to break down in front of him.

She gets home and finds Toby helping out her Grandma who begs Lennie to talk to him, which she obliges. They learn how much they have in common besides her sister.

Eventually, this leads to Toby and Lennie kissing, which makes her feel like she betrayed her sister. Lennie then asks her sister for a sign of forgiveness, which brings Joe back into the picture as her saving grace. Or is it?

This movie missed multiple key elements from the book, which made the movie flop, in my opinion. They also made Lennie into a huge crybaby, which she isn’t in the book.

Lennie had a better character arc in the book because it shows how a person would truly grieve after losing someone close to them.

The book also gave a better understanding of why she went after both Toby and Joe,

unlike the movie did. The movie made her seem like she was boy crazy.

One thing that drove me really insane is we didn’t get to see much of Lennie’s grandma and her uncle. In the book, they gave her some wonderful life lessons and even brought some light to her story.

This movie just didn’t satisfy me as the book did. I will, however, compliment some components they brought from the book, even though it was only a few.

If directors want to make movies based on books, they need to do a better job at portraying them because, unfortunately, for this story, it left out a huge key element.

Become a Pioneer with a degree from Texas Woman’s

Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

Blair Witch is a survival game available on PlayStation, Xbox and PC.

VIDEO GAME REVIEW

Blair Witch focuses too heavily on external knowledge to tell story MICHAEL FOSTER-SANDERS

senior producer michael.foster-sanders@my.tccd.edu

Blair Witch lore received another piece of media in the form of a video game titled Blair Witch for PlayStation, Xbox and PC. When the movie “The Blair Witch Project” came out in 1999, it created a pandemonium that swept the world by storm. In it, three film students went into the Black Forest Woods in Burkittsville, Michigan, to shoot a documentary about the local legend of the Blair Witch. The students disappeared and were never found, but their recorded footage was discovered and showed the hell they experienced.

In 1785, during winter, Elly Kedward was banished from the town, accused of being a witch and died in the woods, but not before she cursed the grounds. Since then, people that have ventured into the woods have gone missing. Serial killer Rustin Parr was arrested for several child murders but said he doesn’t remember anything except a woman in his head that told him to do bad things.

The lore that went on outside of the movie to make people believe it actually happened was crazy. From websites to documentaries, the story was fabricated, but this was a pre-internet boom/social media era so it was easy to do since the invasion of private life wasn’t accepted yet. The movie’s success spun sequels, novels and this game.

Blair Witch stars Ellis Lynch as a for-

mer police officer and war veteran who suffers from PTSD. Lynch decides to help in the search for a missing child in the cursed woods with his service dog Bullet.

Armed with a radio, cell phone and flashlight, Lynch finds his first clue, which begins his descent to madness.

Ever since Konami’s P.T. demo, horrorbased games have taken inspiration from its first-person experience, using it as the template to make their game, and Blair Witch is no exception.

The shift between night and day in the woods is breathtakingly beautiful. The sound design makes the player feel like they’re in the Black Hills Forest and needs to be praised.

The mechanic that makes this game is Ellis suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The Witch messes with his mind and leads to some pretty terrifying incidents within the game. One set piece revolves around a Minecart that is moving too slowly for the player’s safety, and this leads to almost panic attack nervousness.

What will make or break this game to some players will be the lore behind the Blair Witch. If the player has invested time within the other media in the series, they will appreciate the game a lot more than someone going in blind.

Take a trip into the forest only if you like the franchise or have some time to kill.

Join us at our Transfer Connection in Denton March 5 | 8:30 a.m.-noon Learn about: • Admissions • Financial Aid • Scholarship

Register at OR schedule your own visit time

Tour our campus – Families welcome!

OPINION

Wednesday, March 2, 2022 • 3

EDITORIAL

A&M’s administration is attacking print media Freedom of the press is crucial in upholding any democracy that would like to stay a democracy.

Therefore, it must be fought for at any turn, no matter how small it seems.

Earlier this month, the Texas A&M student publication The Battalion began fighting for that very right with A&M’s administration.

A decision was made on the pretext that it will benefit students and help them focus on digital media and not print.

A&M’s administration has given The Battalion the “privilege” to continue its print edition until this spring semester. After that, it still plans to shut down its print edition and transition to digital.

According to The Battalion, doing this will remove the publication’s largest revenue source.

This decision was made without the input of The Battalion’s staff, and the news was given at the last possible moment.

There has been massive coverage from numerous outlets and support from other college newspapers and A&M’s student body.

There was also a protest during a board of regents meeting and a hashtag titled #savethebatt. It’s safe to say people are against the decision to stop printing The Battalion, including us.

This has been a great way to kill morale, A&M. How does A&M expect to attract students interested in journalism if it undermines the department at every turn?

While it is true that journalism is turning a new leaf, print media is still vital for the development of students pursuing a degree in

Alex Hoben/The Collegian

journalism.

Getting into journalism tends to be more about a person’s experience rather than just the degree itself.

Being employed by a print newspaper is an excellent way to gain that experience. It also teaches students to work with tight deadlines and learn the writing process

behind news reporting.

In this digital age, practically anyone can cover the news and write about it for a blog or social media account, but often, those dissolve into confirming already established beliefs and usually aren’t taken seriously by the job market.

Working for a print newspaper demands a higher standard from the

student and gets them out of their comfort zone.

It teaches them how to confront their bias and fairly report the facts and the other side of an issue.

Also, it allows them to work closely with the production team to craft something they can be proud of each week. This is something that can’t be replaced.

College newspaper is the pipeline to a real-world job. Taking the print experience away from the students is doing them a disservice and will put them behind in this competitive profession.

A&M can’t hide behind a lousy excuse because it seems like this is an attempt to quiet the student body. The new regime is testing how far it could go.

This is definitely a slippery slope for The Battalion. If the administration is allowed to decide the fate of the publication without a real reason, what would stop it from turning The Battalion into a PR machine?

The administration potentially has the power to pick and choose what type of content goes out.

How does the administration expect to bring in quality students?

It’s going to potentially control what will be put out and put its students at a disadvantage by not allowing them to sharpen the skills needed for the real world.

If A&M President Kathy Banks’ goal was to kill journalism at A&M, she’s going in the right direction.

“With the return of the degree and The Battalion returning to a university department — combined with our new facilities and an innovative examination of the future of journalism at A&M — I believe we will elevate the profession and aid in restoring trust in the news media,” Banks said in a statement.

If that is the case, Banks, you must revert your decision and allow The Battalion to continue to print if you want a strong journalism program for your university.

VIEWPOINTS

Fashion industry has blatant double standard for hijabs

After two years of COVID, it still lurks around every corner

apparently if a non-Muslim woman decides to wear a scarf around her head as a fashion statement, it is socially acceptable. However, when a Muslim woman wears a scarf on her head for her religious beliefs, it’s dangerous, oppressive and to some, even unAmerican.

Obviously, Muslim women don’t own the headscarf, but the issue isn’t who shouldn’t wear one, it’s everyone should be able to wear whatever they would like without the fear of discrimination.

The post by Vogue France, though upsetting, did have one upside. Because of the post’s popularity, it highlighted an issue that may have already been prevalent in the Muslim community but unknown to many outside of it. Once the hypocrisy started to gain notice, there was an onslaught of people from all over the world of every age, race and religion ready to hold one of the oldest pillars of fashion accountable for its contrasting principles.

One person in particular who has been using her platform to speak on several issues faced by Muslim women has been supermodel Bella Hadid. She has made numerous posts on her Instagram recently talking about the rise of headscarves in mainstream media and fashion.

“Although different forms of the hijab and head coverings are starting to make an appearance in fashion, let’s still remember the daily struggle, abuse and discrimination Muslim women face on a regular basis because of their faith and what they stand for,” Hadid wrote.

At the end of the day, the way we all choose to express ourselves through our fashion choices should be exactly that, our choice. No one should be made to feel persecuted for the way they choose to dress, and hijabs should be included in that narrative.

down.

But I can’t calm down. Because there’s a chance I’ll catch it. If that happens, then I could bring it into my immunocompromised household, and it’ll be my fault. This downward spiral has been my mindset for so long that when I found the anniversary date, it felt like an insult.

Even with the decreasing cases and vaccines, there’s still a sense of never returning to normal. It’s why I still take every precaution available, even if some see it as redundant now. At least it gives me security in knowing I’ve done all I can for the safety of my family.

I’ve heard people say the only way out of this pandemic is for all of us to get it, and while we may lose people in the process, it’s all for the greater good. To me, this belief is one of the consequences of living in a twoyear pandemic-ravaged world.

This virus has taken away the ability to see an individual instead of just a number. Each numeral is a real human that had connections and relationships, but for reporting purposes, has been reduced to a digit.

These digits still haunt me because what if I, or one of my family members, become just a number? How can I reconcile this terror with the notion that everything will be fine if we all just get it and mourn those who are unlucky?

I have another fun fact: recently, my sister who’s prone to getting sick, called in a panic, saying she’s felt terrible for a week and can hardly taste anything. Well, it’s not fun, but it’s my reality.

COVID continues to be a monster that lurks two years later. Even if the majority have become accustomed to its presence, I just can’t.

RABBIA MOLAI

campus editor rabbia.molai@my.tccd.edu

French Vogue’s blatant double standard regarding the hijab has caused major controversy in the Muslim community.

Vogue France posted a photo on Instagram Jan. 28 of Julia Fox wearing a scarf on her head with the caption “Yes to the headscarf!” The caption was later deleted but not before mainstream media picked it apart, pointing out the obvious hypocrisy since the week before the post, France had banned the hijab from being worn in sports competitions.

The use of head coverings in mainstream media as a fashion statement has become increasingly popular. From TikTok trends to the covers of high fashion magazines, it seems the only place where head coverings aren’t becoming more accepted is on the heads of Muslim women.

The hijab is a religious head covering worn by Muslim women to symbolize their faith, not only on a personal level, but also on a public level. Hijabi women are some of the most easily recognizable people in a crowd, and that is something they take great pride in, regardless of the persecution they may face because of it.

You would assume since the world has jumped on the live and let live train that the philosophy would apply to all women, but unfortunately, you would be wrong. Because

ALEX HOBEN photo editor

alexandra.hoben@my.tccd.edu

My experience with this pandemic has left me empty and tired, but I refuse to be apathetic to its still present dangers.

Here’s a fun fact: at the time this paper is released, it will be two days away from the two-year anniversary of COVID coming to Texas. Well, maybe it’s not fun, but it’s definitely a fact.

Since that day, COVID has become a silent monster, lurking in our social spaces and striking indiscriminately, and I’m sick of it. Even before being hired to work in the newsroom, COVID was a constant in my life.

I would look at social media only to see reports of people my age dying suddenly. I would wake up excited to go out but then have the reality of the world come crashing down around me when I’d turn and see discarded masks on the dresser.

I went two years without hugging my sister, telling myself it was for the best. Even now, two years later, it’s still hanging over my shoulder.

I think about it in the most innocuous of actions. When there’s the slightest urge to sneeze, I immediately think about where I’ve been and who I’ve been around in the past few days, then have to tell myself to calm

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Staff

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4 • Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Women’s History Month

Joel Solis/The Collegian

SE associate Spanish professor Angel Hidalgo stares at a computer being used by SE associate humanities instructor Anel Herrera.

Two SE faculty members turn love for teaching into book CAMERON WEBSTER & RABBIA MOLAI

campus editors collegian.editor@my.tccd.edu

Faculty members Angel Hidalgo and Anel Herrera are the epitome of the American dream, two immigrants who used education to overcome hardships.

“When you arrive to a different country, the first thing you must do is to adapt,” Hidalgo said. “My Cuban culture is different from the North American culture. So, you must find a way to integrate into the new society and learn the language.”

Hidalgo is an SE associate Spanish professor and Herrera is an SE associate humanities instructor. Their passion for education led to a collaborative effort, resulting in their book “Be Successful in America.”

“We are dedicated to education, and we have an infinite love for the teaching profession,” Hidalgo said. “It was easy for us to write about our experiences, but the goal of the book are the students. No matter where you come from or the obstacles you face, you just must focus on studying, and you will surely achieve success.”

He started his journey at TCC as a student taking English as a second language and eventually earned his associate degree in art. After his time as a student, he felt like he needed to stay connected to the school in some way or another and knew he would end up coming back as an instructor at some point.

We are dedicated to education, and we have an infinite love for the teaching profession.

Angel Hidalgo

SE Spanish professor

His experience as an SE professor is one of the reasons he wanted to write the book.

“The book has taught me to strengthen myself as a teacher and as a writer,” Hidalgo said. “The main thing is that I understand the students better, and in this way, I not only teach them Spanish, but I also help them in their decisions and goals for the future.”

Herrera is Mexican American and was raised by her grandmother in Laredo, where she grew up in a conservative, Spanish-speaking

household. One of the most important lessons she was taught was that continuing her education would lead her to a better life.

“I always knew I would not become a housewife,” she said. “Education was always the way to succeed in life.”

Herrera spent her freshman year of college at the Texas A&M International University in Laredo. Life, however, led her to Dallas, where she decided to take a break from school. She said she knew she would always go back, though.

After nearly 10 years away, Herrera returned as a student to the University of Texas at Arlington. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, with a minor in business administration, but she was not done there.

“There was a professor who inspired me to keep going, and I started my master’s degree and graduated from UTA with a modern languages in Spanish master’s degree,” Herrera said.

They have previously worked together on three other books before “Be Successful in America.” Both Hidalgo and Herrera have such a passion for education that writing books together seemed like a no-brainer.

For them, the most important part of the process was using their own experiences as immigrants and the similarities and differences from their upbringing to create a fusion of knowledge from both the male and female perspectives.

Hidalgo said it was incredibly important to both him and Herrera to keep the wording of the book simple to understand so it can be easily accessible to students and instructors. They have structured the book to have a natural flow from the perspective of being a student to becoming an instructor, highlighting all the trials and tribulations along the way.

“I had written a book of poems in Spanish before this,” Herrera said. “The idea was to write about our experiences, but because I am a doctoral student pursuing a degree in educational leadership, Dr. Hidalgo asked me to also write about my knowledge in education.”

Herrera contributed to the book with insight on “how to manage a classroom,” “leadership,” “educational theories” and information on “how to create a lesson plan.”

According to Herrera, the book was written with the theme of inspiring students to pursue their goals. She wants educators who read the book to remember they too were once students.

Anel Herrera and Angel Hidalgo

“Professors need to be helpful, and they also need to remember that we are here to serve the students,” Herrera said.

The experience of writing the book has helped Herrera heed her own advice during hard times.

“My background as a student who was able to come back to college after taking about a 10-year break made me think that if I can do it, other students can as well,” Herrera said.

Hidalgo and Herrera have poured their heart and soul into creating this book for future students and instructors in hopes of helping them gain the success they seek, regardless of the struggles they may face.

“You will see that there will be obstacles along the way, but if you prepare yourself and have a goal, you will surely achieve success in your life,” Hidalgo said.

Layout Design/ Shelby Gatewood