Cruz beats beto Senate stays red, House turns blue Election results on pages 4–6
See page 8 & 9
Exploring the Motley’s History Discovering the lives and myths related to the family cemetery on campus.
Eastfield College
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Volume 50, Issue 6
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Student veterans struggle to fit in, find acceptance at EFC By YESENIA ALVARADO Managing Editor @YeseniaA_ETC
When Gulf War veteran Adam Gaona started this semester, he struggled with navigating Blackboard for his English 1302 class. The professor assumed everyone in class took English 1301 the past semester, but the last time Gaona took it was in 1997. Gaona retired in August after serving 30 years in the National Guard and Army. Majoring in homeland security, Gaona is continuing an education he had to step away from in 1997. “The biggest thing to overcome was transitioning from the army lifestyle to a civilian,” he said. “And coming back to school at my age.” There are about 500 veterans walking the halls at Eastfield, many with a story similar to Gaona’s. Eastfield will honor those who served with activities this month, including a flag-raising ceremony on Monday, Nov. 12. Veterans Day is Nov. 11, and this year marked the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. Other events include a meet-up social and service project on Nov. 7, a read-in Nov. 12 and a veteran transfer day Nov. 20. Although Veterans Day is a national holiday that pays homage to all veterans, those who come back with unforgettable experiences now have to revert to simple everyday life. From a group so misunderstood, this proves to be a challenge for some. Navy veteran Eddie Johnson, who works in the Center of Excellence for Veteran Student Success, said many students wonder about the older person in their class, who sometimes is retired military. When Johnson was an Eastfield student, he said he felt out of place in classes full of younger students. “They just see this old dude coming to class and they wonder, ‘What’s your story?’ ” Johnson said. “They probably think, ‘Are you a loser or just now finding yourself?’ ” Since Gaona came back to Eastfield, he said he appreciates the people who thank him for his service but they rarely ask about his experience. Sometimes when people are interested, they ask questions like, “Did you kill anyone?” “That’s not really something you
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Joe May and Eddie Tealer answered a list of prepared questions and some district questions during a forum on campus Nov. 5.
Chancellor champions student-first initiatives ‘High performing faculty’ and other plans discussed at forum By JAMES HARTLEY Digital Editor @ByJamesHartley
GRAPHIC BY ESTHER MORENO/THE ET CETERA
want to talk about,” Gaona said. “Your life changes when you kill somebody, not only mentally but spiritually. You always think about it. One thing we need to teach is: Don’t ask about killings. Ask us about how tough it was and, ‘What was it like to be away from your family?’ ” Because veterans don’t look any different than other students, it’s difficult for people like Gaona to find other veterans. He said it would be helpful if professors asked the class if any students served in the military. “When you talk about it at the beginning, it eases things a little bit more, so you know who’s who,” Gaona said.
There are many veterans Gaona has met who come to class, go home and don’t engage in campus activities. “Sometimes in order for us to talk, someone has to engage us,” Gaona said. “If not, we’re like shutting ourselves down and away from people who really care and want to know.” There are students, like Gaona, who are taking classes while they’re in service and then get called up or deployed for one or even more than five years. Some decide to come back and finish their studies, some don’t. Johnson said more awareness on campus is needed to create a stronger See Veterans, page 10 ➤
Faculty concerns about rating professors to determine teaching schedules are unfounded, Dallas County Community College District Chancellor Joe May said after a forum Nov. 5. May said that while the details of a multi-year master schedule are still being worked out, rating faculty and giving those with higher scores better class times has not been discussed. Concerns about giving “high performing faculty” preference in class scheduling were sparked when May started touring colleges to talk about the future of the district. “There’s been nothing developed, this is all really just to get input from the faculty as we move forward,” May said after the forum about the future of the DCCCD. May said discussion about high performing faculty refers to new professors who have skills and experience in the classroom, specifically to visiting scholars the district lost the chance to recruit. He said that master faculty, also referred to as high performing faculty, deserve different treatment. He did not talk about how master faculty will be determined. “I’ve always expressed my frustration that everyone was kind of treated the same, and we know that it takes a long time to become a master faculty.” May said. “We want to lever-
age that.” He referenced Dallas Independent School District’s higher pay for better teachers as one reason for determining high performing faculty. Faculty Association president Stacey Jurhree said faculty have serious concerns about the idea of rating professors to determine who is high performing. New college president Eddie Tealer said he has heard these concerns and is doing what he can to communicate them to district officials. “As I learn more, I’ll bring that information back to the college to make sure we’re all understanding and make sure the communication is clear,” he said. “And also any problems or any challenges at the college level, communicate that back up.” May and Tealer discussed the future of Eastfield and the DCCCD at the forum, touching on topics of increased tuition to cover textbook costs, online education, early college high school programs, corporate partnerships and district master planning. May said the district plan to raise tuition by $20 a credit hour to provide textbooks for students would make college more accessible. Under the plan, students would be given access to an online textbook where available and, where unavailable, would get a hard copy with no extra charge. Students who receive a digital textbook and want a physical copy See May, page 10 ➤
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Evaluating strategy
Petition against 8-week terms comes as college evaluates success By YESENIA ALVARADO and ARIA JONES Reporters @TheEtCetera
Students and faculty are petitioning against the new class schedules to administration and demanding more suitable class options after Eastfield College shifted to a primarily eightweek schedule. A petition calls for Eastfield to offer at least one 16-week option for every eight-week class in any course. Eastfield's Institutional Research department is collecting data to determine the success rate of the eightweek terms, which take half the time of a regular semester. Going into the second eight-week term, more than 150 students and faculty have signed a petition to reduce eight-week classes to 40 percent or less of the total classes offered. Administrators recommend taking two eight-week classes at a time to full-time students. English tutor Melody Hartley started the petition after seeing an increase in tutoring attendance by students who are struggling to com-
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Left, students write notes to administrators about eight-week classes on back of a petition. Above, Melody Hartley is gathering signatures to end the push toward all eight-week classes.
plete their work. “We try to get students to come back repeatedly for tutoring so that they can really comprehend that sub-
ject and we can work on a little bit at a time,” she said. “That’s why you don’t cram for tests. But in this eightweeks schedule, you can’t do that.
You don’t have time.” Business major and early college student William Rowley finds time throughout the day to do work
and study for his two eight-week classes. He said his first experience with eight-week classes proved to be “pretty fun, but a little rough.” “Although the eight week comes with more work to me it is a better option than the 16-week course,” he said. “In an eight-week course, you’re learning everything and it’s fresh on your mind, so when you’re testing on it you don’t have to continuously study. For a 16-week course, you have to go all the way back. You can get your degree faster with eightweek classes.” Administrators say if a class can be done in the summer for five weeks, it can be done in eight. According to Rachel Wolf, associate vice president of academic affairs and student success, classes that require dedicated time for experiments and projects, like microbiology, are exceptions to eight weeks. Another factor considered are the success rates of courses. If they’re low, they will most likely not be constrained to an eight-week format. Wolf mentioned that classes like See Professors, page 7 ➤
Honors program adopts new admissions process By ANDREW WALTER Opinion Editor @AndyWalterETC
Eastfield’s Honors Program is changing the requirements for admission to improve accessibility and inclusivity, the program’s co-director said. “There’s no purpose in having an honors program if no one is graduating,” government professor Cindy Castañeda said. Castañeda and fellow co-director Jessica Kerins hope to reach their goal of having 75 students enrolled in the program by the end of the semester. Castañeda said that the old Honors Program admissions process was so complicated and lengthy that most students either never knew about it or wouldn’t complete the application because of its confusing and difficult nature. “It gives us a lot more control than saying, ‘Hey, where’s all the students with a 3.5 and why aren’t they submitting these five essays and two letters of recommendation?’ ” Castañeda said. The program no longer requires a written application. To be eligible, students must meet the criteria of a 3.35 GPA or higher on nine credit hours
and have completed an honors class at Eastfield with a grade of an A or B. Students must also have met with Castañeda or Kerins to discuss their goals beyond attending Eastfield. Castañeda said Eastfield’s website for the Honors Program is currently unreliable because it still has the old application requirements displayed. The old application process required a 3.5 GPA or higher on 12 credit hours, all college and high school transcripts, five essays and two letters of recommendation. The entire application required physical copies and could not be done online. Moises Garcia, a physician’s assistant major and graduate of the honors program, said more students should try honors classes. “They aren’t nearly as hard as you think they would be, but they’re still challenging enough to be deserving of the title,” Garcia said. Castañeda recommends that any student interested in joining the program should speak to her or Kerins for any specific questions or concerns. For students new to Eastfield or for those fresh out of high school, Castañeda said provisional admission into the Honors Program would be available. Castañeda and Kerins will
examine a student’s TSI scores and high school GPA to determine provisional admittance. If a student is accepted into provisional admission, enrolls in an honors course in the first eight-week term of a semester and completes the course with a B or higher, they become fully admitted into the program. Suri Zuniga, a social work major, took an honors history course last semester with professor Mike Noble and, after completing it, was admitted into the program. She said she only discovered that it was an honors class just before she took her midterm exam. “I honestly think people don’t know what the honors program is,” Zuniga said. “I only learned about it after speaking with professor Noble. I think enrollment would grow if more people started talking about how great the honors program is.” Zuniga said she enjoys the smaller size of honors classes because of the discussions and interactions that become possible with the professors. “A lot of classes are big, and the teachers don’t really have time to pay attention to you,” she said. Zuniga is currently in an honors drama class with professor Dusty Reasons-Thomas. She
said that speaking with Castañeda has encouraged her to continue with the program. “I’m really excited about taking government with professor Castañeda in the spring,” Zuniga said. Sociology major Angelica Avila, who graduated with an honors designation, said that the connections and bonds she made with professors and other students in the program helped her receive a full scholarship to the University of Texas at Dallas. She likes the more personalized feel of the courses. “Your professors are more than your professors. They’re your mentors,” she said. “When I was applying for universities, I ran into many challenges, and professor Castañeda helped me look at my program of study, review my applications and edit my essays.” Garcia said he hopes the new process means more students enroll in honors classes. “I think that nobody should be intimidated by the title of honors in these classes because college is a time to reinvent yourself,” Garcia said. “Your potential could be hidden away and by taking these classes, you could find out that you’re more talented than you’d ever known.” — David Van Laningham contributed to this report
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Cruz re-elected, Dems flip US House By JAMES HARTLEY Digital Editor @ByJamesHartley
Ted Cruz will serve another six years in the U.S. Senate after fending off a blue wave-propelled campaign by Democratic challenger U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke in a showdown between new and older grassroots movements. The junior senator walked on stage to “My Texas” by the Josh Abbott Band and cheers from supporters, praising them for their work with his campaign. “Tonight is a victory for all the men and women in this room and all the men and women across this state who poured your hearts, your passion, your time, your energy into rising to defend Texas,” Cruz said. Cruz trailed early in the race but pulled out a win as more rural precincts reported results. O’Rourke put up a fight in counties on the U.S.-Mexico border and in big cities— Dallas went to O’Rourke while Fort Worth went to Cruz. James Peinado, a libertarian from El Paso, said at a Dallas GOP rally that he hopes Cruz learns from the experiences he had during the campaign. “I hope that Cruz is humbled by the challenging race that he had just undergone,” Peinado said. “I’m from El Paso. Beto’s my congressman, and he was an outstanding congressman even though I disagreed with him on a lot of things. I’m glad Cruz won, but I hope he’s humbled and I hope he becomes a better senator from this experience.” Willie O’Brien, a man who said he recently left the Democratic party, supported Cruz because of similarities to the senator. “One of the things is yes, I disliked Cruz from the very beginning,” O’Brien said. “But when I found out that me and him were Latino, I said he has got to have my vote, my support, my block walking, asking people to vote for him.” O’Brien said he left the Democrat party in the #WalkAway movement after his employer tried to let him go for his support for President Donald Trump. Cruz’s win helped Republicans retain control of the Senate, but Democrats seized control of the House of Representatives. O’Rourke gave Cruz a run for
his money — about $30 million was spent on Cruz’s campaign and about $70 million on O’Rourke’s. In 2012, Cruz defeated Democrat opponent Paul Sadler by more than 16 percent. At press time, Cruz was holding O’Rourke off by less than 4 percent with nearly 90 percent or precincts reporting, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s website. “I’m as hopeful as I’ve ever been in my life, and tonight’s loss does nothing to diminish the way that I feel about Texas or this country,” O’Rourke said in his concession speech. “Getting to be with and see all of you tonight reminds me why we set out to do this in the first place.” O’Rourke and Cruz both said the campaign was not about either of the Senate hopefuls but about ideas. “This election wasn’t about me and it wasn’t about Beto O’Rourke,” Cruz said. “It was a battle of ideas.” O’Rourke said he spoke with Cruz over the phone and promised that he and his supporters would help Cruz in anything that brings the country together. “What I said, what I pledged on behalf of all of us is that in this time of division … if there’s anything we can do to help him in his position of public trust, to ensure that Texas helps to lead this country in a way that brings us back together around the big things that we want to achieve … I want to work with him,” he said. Joey Cade, a Democrat from Dallas, said he was disappointed by O’Rourke’s loss but not surprised. “Coming in was an emotional rollercoaster, like it has been for the past few weeks,” Cade said. “I think we always knew it wasn’t likely that he would win but it’s certainly disappointing.” O’Rourke and Cruz both categorized their campaign as grassroots movements. O’Rourke visited all 254 counties in the state to meet with voters. While much of his money came from small donors, O’Rourke was the largest beneficiary of funds from ActBlue, a Democratic support group that uses small donations to fund campaigns. While Cruz also received much of his funding from small donations, he received support from PACs as well. — Aria Jones, Yesenia Alvarado, Cameron Cook and Jessica Reyna contributed to this report
A group gathers and watches live results at the Republican watch party.
U.S. Senator
Ted Cruz Republican
Beto O’Rourke Democrat
51.2%
48%
90% precincts reporting
JESUS AYALA/THE ET CETERA
Governor
Greg Abbott Republican
Lupe Valdez Democrat
56.1%
42.2%
90% precincts reporting
Republicans gain in Senate, Sessions loses House seat Senate Republicans assured themselves of a majority late Tuesday, winning 51 races and leading in a handful of others. But Democrats were poised to flip the House of Representatives, gaining 26 seats and leading in eight more races. Celeste Romero, a student at Eastfield, said that despite Beto O’Rourke’s loss to Ted Cruz, O’Rourke has had an impact on the political makeup of Texas. “The end result of the election is not what I expected,” Romero said. “Usually America is dominated more Republican but this mid election really made a turn for Texas. Beto definitely helped Texas become a purple state.” Republican Congressman Pete Sessions, who
has been in office since 2003, was unseated by Colin Allred. Congressman John Culberson lost his seat in the House to Democratic challenger Lizzie Fletcher. While defeats in the House have the potential to hinder Trump’s legislative agenda, Republican’s victories in the Senate, actually gaining seats, gives them more control over confirming judges and other Trump appointees. Jackie Christman of Dallas said she hopes the election doesn’t hurt conservative progress. “We need to continue supporting Trump and keep control and keep making conservative efforts going forward,” Christman said.
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Meek loses sheriff bid By CAMERON R. COOK Staff Writer @Cameron_ETC
The Dallas County Sheriff ’s election results with 93 percent of the votes counted last night had come out to 64 percent in favor of Marian Brown against opponent Aaron Meek’s nearly 36 percent. Meek graduated from Eastfield’s Law Enforcement Academy in 2005 and had wanted to bring more focus to mental health and family violence if he was elected Dallas County Sheriff this November. Around 9:30 p.m. Nov. 6, at the Dallas County Republican watch party, Meek was in good spirits and said he was feeling confident. He said it had all been a real blessing. “Hoping to win, but if not it’s whatever God has in store for me,” Meek said. “That’s all this is.” He said that he’d been able to sleep better in the past few days than he’d been able to sleep in a while; and he said that he had not run into many voters who weren’t either voting straight-ticket Republican or voting for him specifically. “[I’ve] felt confident since the very beginning,” he said. “[There’s been] complete
peace in the last two days.” Meek, the Republican nominee, has been a resident of Dallas County for 35 years and a member of Dallas law enforcement for the last 17 years. He worked as a jailer full time during his schooling and after graduating from Eastfield he made it into an academy with the Dallas County Sheriff ’s Department. From there, Meek moved on toward his career as an officer and a deputy. When Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, a Democrat, resigned last year to run for governor, Meek saw an opportunity. He resigned his deputy job in January to run as a Republican. He faced interim sheriff Marian Brown, who spent 26 years with the Duncanville Police Department before joining the Sheriff ’s Department about four years ago. Meek said if he had won the first thing he would have done would be to thank God, and the next few steps would have been to start setting up his entry team and to have worked from there. Looking ahead at the prospect of things beyond results of the sheriff ’s election, Meek said, “I just know whatever happens, I’m going to come out on top and I will continue to live my life.”
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Shi-Asia Branch, 20, and Ray Dorfman, 20, from Garland cheer as results begin pouring in at the Democratic watch party in the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Nov. 6. O’Rourke lost against Ted Cruz in the Senate race, but Democrats flipped seats in other races.
Professor’s race undecided By ALEXIS RODRIGUEZ Staff Writer @theetcetera
Lieutenant Governor
Dan Patrick Republican
Kerry Douglas McKennon Libertarian
Mike Collier Democrat
51.6%
2.2%
46.2%
90% precincts reporting
Attorney General
Ken Paxton Republican 50.9% 90% precincts reporting
Justin Nelson Democrat 46.7%
Michael Ray Harris Libertarian 2.4%
NIELS WINTER/THE ET CETERA
Joanna Cattanach poses with supporter and Dallas resident Clinton Swingle during her March 6 primary election watch party.
The race between former Eastfield adjunct professor Joanna Cattanach and Morgan Meyer remained too close to call early Wednesday. First-time candidate Cattanach is trying to unseat the lawyer in state House District 108, which includes the Park Cities and East Dallas. At 2 a.m., Meyer led by 540 votes with two precincts left to report. Cattanach ran an aggressive ground campaign, block walking nearly every weekend and greeters voters at the polls each day of early voting. She aligned herself with U.S. Rep Beto O’Rourke, and an artist created a mural of the candidates in East Dallas. O’Rourke lost his Senate bid to Ted Cruz. “Her teaching and foster child background make her more connected to the children,” said Liz Wally, a supporter who attended Dallas County Democratic Party’s watch party Tuesday night. Supporter Ken Duble said he admires Cattanach’s dedication to education reform. “Joanna is very oriented towards education, and particularly disadvantaged children because Joanna came from a disadvantaged background herself,” Duble said.
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PUT IT ON YOUR
SELECTED RESULTS
Calendar November Wed
7
Thu
8
Wed
14 Thu
15
Recital: EFC Jazz Faculty, 1 p.m., F-117
61% precincts reporting
Free Speech Festival, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., C-135
Native American Month Film, “Man Killer,” 11 a.m.-1 p.m., C-135
Tue
Student Veteran Transfer Day, 10 a.m., the Hive
Wed
Recital: Guitar Department, 1 p.m., F-117
Thu
Thanksgiving holiday, campus closed through Nov. 25
22 Mon
Gallery show: Visual Art Student Exhibit, through Dec. 7, Gallery 219
Wed
Lecture: Texas Liberators, military that freed Dachau Concentration Camp, 11 a.m.-12:20 p.m., S-101
26 28
Native American Month Pow Wow, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Lower Courtyard Recital: Choral and voice students, 1 p.m., F-117
Fri
30
Day of Action: Racial Justice, discussion about race and the media, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., G-101 Recital Series: Brandi Estwick and Eddie Healy, 1 p.m., F-117
Wed
5
59% precincts reporting
Study Abroad in Cuba Info Session, 1:30-2 p.m., G-230
Mon
21
U.S. Representative District 32 0 Pete Sessions 46.3% ☑ Colin Allred 51.9% 0 Melina Baker 1.8%
Recital: Keyboard Department, 1 p.m., F-117
Native American Month Short Film Series, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., TBD
20
58% precincts reporting
STEMinar: Financial Math, 12:30 p.m., S-101
Fri
19
U.S. Representative District 30 ☑ Eddie Bernice Johnson 91.1% 0 Shawn Jones 8.9%
Meet-Up Social with Veterans, 11:30 a.m.-12:10 p.m., The Hive
Last day to withdraw with a grade of W
16
U.S. Representative District 5 ☑ Lance Gooden 63.1% 0 Dan Wood 36.8% 0 Phil Gray 0.2%
Recital Series: EFC Jazz Ensemble, 1 p.m., F-117 Et Cetera distribution, 10 a.m.-noon, the Hive
ABOUT THE COVER ILLUSTRATION BY MATEO COREY
RORY MOORE/THE ET CETERA
Voters line up to cast early ballots at Eastfield, which served as a polling location for three days.
Early voting numbers surge, students embrace campus poll By DAVID SILVA Senior Videographer @DavidSilvaETC
Long lines, and often hours in wait times, were seen at early voting locations around the country. Nearly 39 million Americans had already voted before Tuesday’s election, surpassing the total number of votes from the 2014 midterm election, which saw 27 million votes cast. That amount of turnout is largely unprecedented for midterm elections. Midterm elections generally see about a 20 percent drop in voters compared to a presidential election cycle. But many states, including Texas, have not only surpassed their 2014’s total voting percentages through early voting alone, but have also surpassed the early voting percentage they saw during the 2012 presidential election. Texas, the second most populous state in the country yet the 47th-ranked state in voter turnout in 2016, saw over 4.8 million early votes in the state’s 30 most populous counties, which include Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton. The 4.8 million make up 39.9 percent of registered voters in the state. In comparison, 2014 saw just over 2 million (18.8 percent) early votes, and 2012 just over 4 million (39.2 percent) votes. The largest portion of increased votes came from young, first-time voters like electrical engineering major Brianna Hill, who expressed concern for women’s rights and the LGBTQ community and wanted to make that clear at the ballot. “I have been dissatisfied with the last few years po-
litically,” Hill said. “I am finally able to be heard as a citizen.” Statewide Democratic candidates, including Beto O’Rourke, saw the surge of early voters as a sign that their campaigns would win their race. At a Lewisville rally on Friday, the U.S. Senate candidate pointed to winning North Texas counties as a path to victory. “If North Texas continues to turn out in the record numbers that we’ve seen, shattering every midterm total for as long as we’ve been looking at them, in some cases rivaling presidential voter turnout, then we’re going to win this race,” he said. Younger voters, even in conservative Texas, were expected to lean towards Democratic candidates. Jeffery Seals, a 61-year-old social work major who has been a consistent voter, has been urging his younger classmates to hit the polls. “I believe in having a voice, and without a vote, there is no voice,” he said. Eastfield’s main campus was an early voting location from Oct. 29 through Oct. 31, while the Pleasant Grove campus was an early voting location for the entirety of the early voting period. This was accompanied with “Get Out the Vote” events on Oct. 29, 30 and 31, including Halloweeninspired events that had Uncle Sam urging students and employees to vote. “I felt guilty I didn’t vote in 2017, so I made it a priority to vote this year,” Diana Tezock, a biochemistry major who first voted in 2016 said. “Convenience was also a big factor. Having the early voting booths on campus made it easier for me to vote and gave me a convenient reminder.” This is the second time Eastfield has been an early voting location, the first being in 2016.
State Senator District 2 ☑ Bob Hall 60.5% 0 Kendall Scudde 39.5% 63%precincts reporting
State Senator District 16 0 Don Huffines 46.1% ☑ Nathan Johnson 53.9% 58% precincts reporting
State Representative District 107 0 Deanna Maria Metzgerl 42.8% ☑ Victoria Neave 57.2% 58% precincts reporting
State Representative District 113 0 Jonathan Boos 46.3% ☑ Rhetta Andrews Bowers 53.7% 58% precincts reporting
Criminal District Attorney 0 Faith Johnson 39.9% ☑ John Creuzot 60.1% 93% precincts reporting
County Judge 0 Brian Hutcheson 34.2% ☑ Clay Jenkins 63.3% 0 Preston Poulte 2.6% 93% precincts reporting
Dallas ISD Bond Election Proposition A ☑ For 73.1% 0 Against 26.9% 94% precincts reporting
Proposition B ☑ For 57.6% 0 Against 42.4% 94% precincts reporting
Dallas ISD Tax Ratification Proposition C ☑ For 59.8% 0 Against 40.1% 94% precincts reporting
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Take loans and save them for university Reporter Sonia Hernandez spoke with financial aid adviser Geneva Lawson about the best money practices for students and why Lawson does what she does every day.
Should students take out loans? Is it risky?
We try to recommend them to take that money to save up and go to university. Here it’s cheaper, but there, it’s going to be more. So we try to tell them to weigh out their options. There seems to be some confusion among the student body where they think they have to pay back financial aid. Is that correct?
Q. Why are you working in the financial aid office?
No. The only time you have to pay financial aid back is if you’re not meeting the criteria or dropping classes. A lot of times students will drop [their classes]. We try to make sure that they don’t but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Loans, you do have to pay back.
A. I love to work with students. Students are our future. I feel like I’m in a good spot here, I get to explain financial aid to them. And I like what I do. What’s a common question many students have when they come see you? “Where’s my money?” A lot of the times they want to know when they’re gonna get their next disbursement or if they’re on suspension or just typical questions, like where their money is. Many students are afraid of falling into debt. Is this a plausible fear? It is, and we do have a lot of students who are
Have you ever helped inspire a student?
JESUS AYALA/THE ET CETERA
[in debt], but they need that money and need those loans to go to school. What’s good with financial aid and what’s good about going to school is it’s a guarantee that student loans are available as long as you’re in school.
Yes, many. When I worked at Cedar Valley, I was mentioned a lot for reaching out to a lot of the students that were undocumented. They mentioned me when they were valedictorians of their college because I inspired them through their walk. That’s what I’m here for, to serve the students and do the best I can.
Is there something pertaining to financial aid that you wish students knew before coming to you for help? Educating themselves about financial aid. We’re here to educate them, but there’s a lot to learn. You’ll have students come here and they’ve been here a couple years, and they still don’t know [about financial aid]. Those students should have an idea of what’s going on and prepare themselves to do FAFSA every year. You have to apply for financial aid every year. Do you plan to stay here at Eastfield for a long time? Yes, if possible. I mean, I would like to grow financially, get a better education and make a little extra cash. However, I love working in financial aid. Is there anything else that I should know? The students are the reason why I have my job, and I try to do the best I can for them. Of course, I don’t always give them the answer they want or positive information, but I want them to leave here with an understanding of what’s going on.
Professors, students skeptical of 8-week term effectiveness Continued from page 3 microbiology or anatomy and physiology would be exceptions. But biology and A&P professor Rik Post was scheduled to teach A&P in eight weeks. “Some [students] asked me to tell administration, ‘We don’t like this,’ ” he said. “They felt like it was too fast.” Post remains skeptical but says this faster course can prepare his students for the fastpaced classes in medical school. He said that because this is a drastic change for Eastfield, there would be an adjusting period and complications to work through. He remains concerned, however, that students won’t take double the class time required to study and retain information. He said he doesn’t believe most students will follow through on that necessity. “A part of that is just human nature and how the brain figures out how much time you need to study, but the brain seriously underestimates how much time you actually need,” he said. Post said his students also worry the material for class won’t be retained. “The students would say, ‘Well I feel like I knew enough for the final, but I’m not sure if I’m gonna remember later on.’ So there were some concerns of how much would go into long-term memory,” he said. A problem administrators are still trying to deal with is finals week. They realized eightweek classes went through the original 16-week finals week. The original finals week had classes meet
YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA
The petition to end eight-weeks has more than 150 signatures.
the last day for 110 minutes. Eight-week classes continue to meet regularly, which causes conflict with room scheduling. “A lot of faculty don’t give finals on finals week,” Wolf said. “They give take-home papers, or give their final online, so we were starting to think the traditional finals week was not necessary.” Wolf said the deans and Vice President Mike Walker had initially decided there wouldn’t be a traditional finals week. This was emailed to
faculty on Monday, Oct. 29. She said they are still debating whether there will be no finals week at all or a day when all finals will be scheduled. Hartley said she knows several students who have dropped courses because of the new schedule or opted to take them at another college. Students have made comments on the back of the petition stating what change they want to see or why eight-week courses didn’t work out for them. “It’s a lot of work for students to be compressed into eight-week terms,” student Araceli Martinez wrote on the petition. “People have work, kids and a lot going on.” Hartley said this is why she’s not taking a class this semester. When she couldn’t get into the one math class she needed to retake in a 16-week format, she decided waiting for spring was a better option. “If I got [a bad grade] in a 16-week class, there’s no way I can take it in an eight-week class,” she said. Hartley has taken eight-week courses in English and passed, but she says it’s because she is strong in the subject. “I don’t want to be forced to take an eightweek class in subjects that I struggle in and I don’t think that anyone else should be either,” she said. Geology professor Daniel Murphy said it’s possible to balance two eight-week classes at a time and a job. He said students had trouble creating a class
schedule that would work with their work schedule because of the different lengths in classes. “Now it’s consistent, it makes it easier to arrange transportation, it makes it easier to arrange your work schedule,” Murphy said. “Having more consistent courses in their schedules will actually make students’ lives simpler.” Gianelli Lopez, a science major, said that she was disappointed when she couldn’t find an algebra class that didn’t include an eight-week developmental math class that she has already taken. “I just need to take that one college algebra class, and the school did not provide that for me,” she said. “That pushes me back and so I had to extend an extra semester for me to get my associate degree.” Lopez said a lot of students are trying to take the classes they need but in these situations where the class they need is not provided, it just pushes back their goal. “The community college is here to help those people who have jobs and who have kids,” Hartley said. “It’s untraditional students who need to be here or who are here most of the time. These students are the ones who can’t do this. They have other things to do. They have lives and jobs and families to take care of.” Hartley plans to submit the petition to Eastfield President Eddie Tealer, Vice President Mike Walker, the Office of Student Engagement and Retention and Dallas County Community College District Chancellor Joe May when she feels there are enough signatures.
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Eastfield’s Buried Histor Exploring the Motley Cemetery lore
THE CIVIL WAR SOLDIER: FR Sept. 2, 1844-Ju
first grave: Penelope “Penny” Motley, June 14, 1842-December 1863 By SAMUEL FARLEY Reporter @SamuelFarleyETC
The Motley family cemetery is a unique part of Eastfield, where generations of pioneers and their descendants lay at rest beneath brown and gray headstones enclosed by a milky-white iron fence. While the imposing grave of the family’s patriarch, Zachariah Motley, stands tallest amongst his family, there is one grave that stands apart from the rest. That is the grave of Penelope Ann Motley McLain, who is the reason why the cemetery was built. Penelope was born June 14, 1842, in Allen County, Kentucky, to Zachariah and Mary Lynn Motley. She was the third oldest child among her 10 siblings. Her father Zachariah was a successful farmer and businessman who brought his family to Texas during an uncivil time, according to descendant and family historian Carol Riggs Anderson. Anderson has spent years knitting together her families’ histories through pictures, reunions and court documents. She calls Penelope “Penny,” and though Anderson never met Penny face to face, she has taken the responsibility of passing down her family’s history to heart. Anderson sits at a family dinner table with tintype photographs of old family members displayed on the walls behind her. She speaks about the wagon train that Zachariah used to bring his family and
other settlers from Kentucky to Texas in 1856. “Penny was 14 years old when Zach brought the family to Texas,” she said. “In those days, if you were old enough to walk outside the wagon you did, so she walked most of the way. She was one tough girl.” From Bowling Green, Kentucky, the family began their journey to Dallas. The distance is over 700 miles. Anderson believes that the reason the family traveled so far was that of the turbulent times that the Motleys were living. “Bleeding Kansas, that’s what brought me here,” Anderson said. “Zach owned a family of slaves, so he figured that it was best to move his family and slaves to Texas where they would be safe.” Bleeding Kansas was a conflict that started in 1854 between anti- and pro-slavery groups in the newly created state. Violence broke out in the territory, and it became dangerous for owners of slaves who lived in the area. “Zach didn’t own a lot of slaves,” Anderson said. “There was a father and mother and some children, but I think what happened in Kansas made him fear that people in Kentucky might start up the same thing.” The total land acquired by Zachariah was over 6,000 acres and included parts of Mesquite, Garland and Dallas. Penny married J.B. McLain in 1861 at the age of 18 at their home in Breckenridge. McLain was a captain in the Confederate Army and was away
from home when Penny gave birth to their son J.B. McLain Jr. in 1862. According to family lore, Zachariah began construction on the family’s farmhouse in early August the next year when Penny and her son fell ill. According to Anderson, their deaths were the result of an epidemic such as typhoid or pneumonia. “In those days illnesses turned into epidemics quickly because people didn’t have the medicine that we have today,” Anderson said. Penny was buried in December of 1863. She was 21 years old and the first of the family to be buried in the cemetery. A few months later, J.B. Jr. passed away. Both Penny and her son are examples of the hard and fragile life that pioneers lived. J.B. McLain Sr. survived the war only to find out that his wife and son had passed away. He sold his land to Zachariah and according to Anderson, “went home.” Although his home is unknown, it is believed that Mclain was from Kentucky. There is only one surviving picture of Penny and her husband. She stands next to a sitting J.B. with her hand placed on the shoulder of his chair and her eyes gazing off into the distance. Like the picture, Penny’s life was brief like a snapshot of a much larger story. And yet 155 years after Penny’s death, the Motleys and their extended family are continuing the tradition of being buried in this cemetery.
By JAMES EYRE Reporter @JamesEyreEFC
ARIA JONES/THE ET CETERA
Carol Anderson, relative and Motley family historian.
COURTESY OF CAROL ANDERSON
Penelope Motley about age 19, and John B. McLain about age 30.
A covered wagon rides along a bumpy, dusty road. A man and woman, their 10 children, and a family of slaves brace themselves for a trek from bloodshed in Kentucky to safety in Texas. Those who could walk, including the children, walked alongside the wagon. Francis Marion “Frank” Motley was one of them. Frank, the fifth of 10 children to Motley patriarch Zachariah and his wife, Mary Lynn, was born Sept. 22, 1844. He was a mere 12 years old when this caravan began. During this time, Kentucky was a “border state” between the slaveowning South and free North. The Motleys left Kentucky, trapped in a war within a war, for Texas so they could keep their slaves, all of whom were from the same family. At the start of the Civil War, 18-year-old Frank and his brothers William and Jefferson served in Company K, 19th Texas Cavalry Regiment at Camp Stonewall Jackson. Many of the men were recruited from the North Texas area. According to Motley family historian Carol Anderson, no surviving photos of Frank exist. He is described as being 5 feet, 7 inches tall with fair-colored hair and gray eyes in a document she provided. Company K was involved in Gen. John S. Marmaduke’s Missouri Raid of 1863. Nine in the unit went missing, 19 were wounded and five killed. The cavalry also fought in operations against Banks’ Red River Campaign
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RANCIS MARION MOTLEY une 14, 1915
the following year. The campaign, led by the Union, set out to capture everything along the Red River in Louisiana and Texas. When the war ended in 1865, the cavalry disbanded, and Frank joined the Texas Rangers Division for a brief period that same year. “He had to provide his own horse, his own tack, and they didn’t pay him very much,” Anderson said. “It was very brief. He did six weeks to six months.” Afterwards he returned to his family’s land and continued work as a cotton farmer. Frank married his first wife, Isabelle Williams, in 1868. The couple had six sons: Thomas Zachariah, Benjamin Franklin, William Masten, Charles, Hugh Richard and Delbert, and three daughters: Edna, Gussie and Hattie. Isabelle died in childbirth with daughter Hattie in 1894. Frank later married Mollie [records did not reveal her maiden name]. They had no children and remained married until his death. According to Mesquite city librarian Molly Allison, Frank’s daughterin-law Bess was a schoolteacher and librarian who contributed to the creation of the Mesquite Public Library system in 1939. Anderson said Frank was highly religious, and donated land for an early church located on what is today Gus Thomasson Road in 1894. He died of natural causes June 14, 1915, at the age of 70 and is buried in the Motley family cemetery with his first wife, Isabelle, buried to his right and his second wife, Mollie, buried to his left..
www.eastfieldnews.com
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
one foot in the grave: Grover cleveland motley, June 7, 1885-AUG. 2, 1977 By ARIA JONES Editor in Chief @AriaJonesETC
Grover Cleveland Motley broke his foot beyond repair when he was thrown from a horse, or a pig, as some family believe. After being amputated and buried in 1911, the foot shares an address with Eastfield College at the Motley Cemetery. “He was ridin’ like a fool,” Motley family historian Carol Riggs Anderson said. “The horse got away from him, or he fell out of the saddle — I’m not sure what it was — and drug him.” Anderson, a relative of the Motley family, said then 26-year-old Grover Cleveland Motley, or “Cleve” as the family called him, had a mangled foot. But he managed to free himself from the stirrup and get back home, where the family took care of him. Cleve’s nephew, Bobby Poynter, said he remembers the story much differently. It’s possible Cleve was horsing around. “The family story that I know is that he was riding a pig,” Poynter, 84, said. “Now maybe someone said he was riding a horse. He may not have supposed to have been riding a pig. I can visualize him doing that.” Anderson said the doctor was called in when the foot wasn’t recovering. “The doctor said, ‘You’ve broken every bone in your foot and it’s now gangrenous and it has got to go,’ ” she said. Cleve’s foot was amputated above the ankle and buried in the cemetery near the Motley mansion. Established in 1857, the mansion was built when Cleve’s grandfather, Zachariah Motley, bought 320 acres of land. That land went on to be used as a homestead, farmland, a golf course and eventually Eastfield College after it was bought by the Dallas County Community College District for $970,552 in 1966. After his amputation, Cleve was outfitted with a prosthetic and took over the home on the property un-
til 1955, when he moved to a new house on Shiloh Road. The mansion included 10 bedrooms, a wrap-around porch, and a red roof that Anderson said could be seen from downtown Dallas at one point. The Motley mansion stood on the site of the current Eastfield College campus for 88 years, and Cleve watched over it for 43 years, nearly half of that time. Poynter said this was where many of the family gettogethers were when he was a child, and that most of his memories are from when he was 10 years old or younger. Cleve farmed his whole life until he retired. Even on his World War II draft card, his profession is listed as farming. The farm was primarily used to grow cotton and corn, but Poynter said there was much more. He said the farm had mules, pigs, chickens and other livestock. He said he remembers the farm having bees for honey and an orchard to grow peaches, plums and other fruits to be canned. “When I got big enough to start helping on the farm, they were still using mules to farm the land in the ‘30s,” he said. “Starting in the ‘40s we got tractors.” Poynter said Cleve was someone who liked working with his hands. He had several mules to work the farm, along with horses and blacksmith equipment to make their shoes. “He was a grouchy fella,” Poynter said. He said Cleve was like many of the men he remembers from that time: tough. But he still got along well with most people. The reason, he said, is because Cleve had to be a hard-to-deal-with businessperson. That’s how men made their money. “Nowadays it’s not like that,” he said. “But back in the (‘40s and before), that’s the way it was. It was a rugged country at that time. Back then, you had to be that to survive.”
Poynter said most of the roads were made by landowners with packed dirt and gravel, and the Motleys purchased property that would provide the gravel and fence posts they needed. While Cleve is described in a children’s book, “Motley Mansion Part II,” as being a bachelor with little patience for kids, he was married to his wife Sibbie for 66 years until she died in 1971. The couple never had children. But Poynter lived next door and remembers Cleve not wanting children on his property, worried that they might take fruit from his orchard. “He was always concerned that we were getting his pears and he’d say he didn’t want us bothering those pears,” he said. Although the pears were on the fence line, Poynter said he didn’t have any reason to take them. His family farm next door had pears, too. “I just know that if he had kids, he wouldn’t have worried about who got his pears,” he said. Cleve’s final resting place is not with his foot, but by his wife’s side at Grove Hill Memorial Park in Garland. He died in 1977 at the age of 92. Anderson said it was never even Cleve’s decision to bury his foot. It was his aunt Sallie Motley who made the decision in 1911 to bury it and keep the animals away from it. Poynter said one of the reasons he may have chosen not to be buried with his foot is that the property ownership of the cemetery moved to the Lawrence family, who intermarried with the Motleys. That meant there was no way to ensure the future of his grave. In the children’s book, Cleve said, “I don’t care if you cut off my foot. As long as you promise to bury it next to the arm grave.” And there is an arm buried in the cemetery. John S. Motley, Cleve’s cousin, lost his arm in a cotton gin accident in 1894.
COURTESY OF CAROL ANDERSON
Cleve Motley, 19, and Sibbie Motley, 17, in 1904.
COURTESY OF CAROL ANDERSON
Cleve and Sibbie Motley in 1951.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY MANUEL GUAPO/THE ET CETERA
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Veterans continue life after the battlefield Continued from page 2 relationship with veterans. Criminal justice professor Patrick Patterson served in the Air Force for 15 years. He said he can use his military background to relate to veteran students and talk about problems they’re going through that he has already faced. Patterson said he believes many people assume all veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, but it’s not true. He said they change once they go through training, but when they go through training and are deployed they aren’t the same person they used to be. “A lot of times, vets look like they’re being aggressive but they’re not,” he said. “But in civilian world it is because vets are told to be clear and distinct when they talk with somebody.” He said many times veterans can’t adjust outside in “civilian world” so they just go back in to service. Their training teaches them to be excellent at what they do, but when in an academic setting, some may struggle and not be used to asking for help, Johnson said. “When we don’t do things the way they’re supposed to be done, it’s disheartening,” he said. “We feel like a failure. Because we live at such a high standard of doing things, when we’re failing in a class or not getting a certain subject, we don’t like that because it makes us feel like we’re not operating at the capacity that we should be.” CEVSS is a safe space for veterans to get help filling out their Veterans Affairs educational benefits paperwork and a place where they can meet others with similar experiences. Some find comfort by socializing with other veterans but others want to find people with different stories to tell. Travis Beasley was the only veteran in his class. He wasn’t the oldest or a foreigner, yet all eyes were on him when his class finished reading chapter three of “The Things They Carried,” a collection of stories about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War. He dreaded the end discussion, but everyone wanted to hear
Plan it Out Veterans Day celebrations Monday, Nov. 12 Veterans Day Flag Raising Ceremony 8 a.m. • C building flagpoles Read-In 11 a.m.-1 p.m. • C-135 Tuesday, Nov. 20 Student Veteran Transfer Day 10 a.m. • The Hive Wednesday, Nov. 28 Texas Liberators Presentation 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. • S-100 Contact 4veteranaffairs@dcccd.edu
his perspective based on his military background. “It’s that whole situation of that crazy dream where you find yourself on stage in front of everybody and you’re naked. That’s how I felt,” Beasley said. When veterans come back to school, challenges can occur after a change of pace and mindset. Beasley suggests not making sudden loud noises or grabbing a veteran from behind but besides that, he said he wants to be treated like anyone else. “Now I just want to be one of the normal kids in class,” he said. “I’m here like everyone else trying to achieve the same thing: get a C or better so it transfers to another school.” Patience is a suggestion Johnson would make for people who work with veterans. “We come from an environment that’s very pushed, very high pressure, very intense, and so we do everything fast and we do everything hard,” Johnson said. “And sometimes it doesn’t take that, and we don’t know any other way. So sometimes you have to slow us down a little bit. You gotta have patience to help us relearn.”
RORY MOORE/THE ET CETERA
Eastfield honored veterans on Arbor Day. ROTC marched in a parade while trees were planted on Nov. 1.
May, Tealer discuss faculty concerns and the future of DCCCD Continued from page 2 would be able to either print out the textbook or pay extra for a hard copy. “I’ve known for a long time, from talking to the bookstore providers — Barnes and Noble, Follett and the former CEO of Pearson — … it depends on who you ask, but somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of students are not receiving their materials,” May said during the forum. “We began the quest of how do we basically just cook this into the tuition so that there’s not a textbook fee, basically.” May said the district had trouble locating partners for the plan. Textbook publishers wanted to offer discounts to carry their textbooks exclusively but the district wanted to leave the choice of textbooks used in class to professors. “We realized that only in working with our bookstore provider could we get what every faculty needed for their classes,” May said. The Et Cetera has been unable to find the source of information and statistics the district is using to support the plan.
May expects to take the plan to the DCCCD Board of Trustees for approval in March and implement it in the fall 2019 semester. History professor Liz Nichols moderated the forum, but audience members were not permitted to address May or Tealer directly. Instead, they were required to submit questions electronically. Nichols said the questions she asked were provided by the district, though some questions, like one about Blackboard malfunctioning during finals week, were off script. Mike Noble, a history professor, spoke out during the forum to ask about high performance faculty and Jurhree, a government professor, expressed concerns about eight-week terms. “We have to be worried because when we hear about these master faculty but we don’t hear any specifics, we let our imaginations run to the worst place,” Noble told the chancellor during the forum. May said that faculty will be involved in the design of master faculty requirements and that it’s just a recommendation at this point. He said master faculty are those who have been here “10, 20, 30, 40 years.”
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History professor Mike Noble challenges Chancellor Joe May about reports of performance standards for faculty during a forum Monday.
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Play explores lives of friends of Anne Frank mid-Holocaust
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Dance & Snack
By CAMERON R. COOK Staff Writer @Cameron_ETC
The Harvester Theatre Company explores the tales of two friends of Anne Frank, the Jewish girl whose diary from the Holocaust became world-renowned, in “And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank.” Performances will take place at Eastfield Nov. 15-16. The play is directed by guest and Eastfield alumnus Lucas Haupert. Eva Geiringer and Ed Silverberg were two teenagers who both lived through the Holocaust, during which their friend Frank unfortunately perished. Silverberg, who survived the Nazi purge of Jews on the run, met Frank in 1942 before she and her family went into hiding. He knew her only that year, during which Frank looked at him as a love interest, writing of Silverberg in her diary as her first boyfriend. Geiringer, a childhood playmate of Frank, went into her own hiding before being sent to a concentration camp that she later survived. After World War II ended, Geiringer’s mother and Frank’s father married, both having lost their respective spouses in the war. Had Frank lived, Geiringer and her would’ve been stepsisters. The play is different than most, with videotaped interviews of both friends played along with actors performing their stories on stage. Joe Martinez will portray Silverberg and Oliver Wyer will portray Geiringer. Brittany Rupert is playing the somewhat smaller character in this story, Frank. “What I’ve learned is to make it impactful, give a meaning and a purpose to this wonderful character that I am portraying,” Rupert said. She said she had known of Frank since she was in fourth grade and was absolutely ecstatic to get role. “We really want the audience to feel the way the characters feel,” Rupert said. “We want them to really grasp this situation and understand, so that won’t happen again.” Martinez said that a lot of middle school students and high school freshman will be coming to see the shows as a part of their studies about Holocaust.
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“And Then They Came for Me” depicts the lives of survivors from the Holocaust.
His character’s story, Martinez said, is different in the way that Silverberg did not ever go to a concentration camp. He was briefly captured by the Nazis and then escaped. He and his family were on the run, planning everyday around evading the Nazis. One mistake could have gotten them killed. “This is someone’s life,” Martinez said. “This actually happened to him, so I want to get that across.” He said the director, Haupert, has shown the actors the respect that is required of these stories. “A reason a lot of us are so eager to get these accurate is Lucas’ determination to get real emotions,” Martinez said. “That way, we are actually doing this in honor of them and not just doing it as a show.” For his part, Haupert said he wants to help his actors delve in the same type of experience he had as a theater student at Eastfield, during which he felt like part of a family. “I really loved my time here. … Rather than you’re just a student who’s learning how to act, you’re a part of a big community,” he said. “It’s really nice to be a part of something bigger than yourself. They make you feel very welcome here.” Haupert went on to graduate from Oklahoma City University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting with a minor in directing. He eventually wants to earn a Master of Fine Arts
Plan it Out “And Then They Came for Me” Thursday and Friday Nov. 15-16 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Performance Hall
in directing. In the meantime, Haupert is doing work at Pocket Sandwich Theatre in Dallas and also performing guest direction on plays such as “And Then They Came for Me”. He said with the multimedia aspect and minimalist approach to the background, he wants this particular play to really resonate with the audience in a detailed way. “They get a bite of history, but at the same time they get to experience what the characters are experiencing themselves,” Haupert said. Martinez said he thinks these events can help students’ knowledge of current issues in other countries. “Understanding the Holocaust, something that’s already happened is definitely going to be easier than learning about something that is still going on in the other side of the world,” Martinez said. “If people can relate these stories to someone else’s and see what’s being done, then hopefully we can start to do something about it.”
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Dance major Mikaela Carrillo performs at the Dance & Snack Nov. 1. The event was meant to serve as a preview of the Fall Dance Concert scheduled Dec. 6-7.
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Homecoming Kick-Off Eastfield is celebrating it’s first Homecoming through Nov. 9. The event kicked off with a homecoming parade, with floats made my student services across campus. Other events will include a service day, a students
versus employees volleyball game and a special homecoming Fun Friday. See our calendar to the right for a list of events, their times and locations. Visit EastfieldNews.com for an updating photo gallery throughout the week.
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Clockwise from left: Eastfield students and employees voted to name the mascot Motley. Faculty cheer on Motley. Bryanna Fecteau draws a flower in parking lot 1 during the tailgate party on Nov. 6. Homecoming Week Wednesday The Big Event and Donation Drive 12:30-1:30 p.m., C-135 Thursday Employees vs. Students Volleyball Tournament 12:30-3 p.m., gym Friday Blue and Orange Party 11 a.m.-1 p.m., the Hive YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA
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Arbor Day
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Outgoing president Jean Conway plants a tree for Arbor Day. Eastfield plants a tree every year on Arbor Day. Conway said the foliage on Eastfield’s campus is one of her favorite characteristics, giving life and shade.
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
opinion
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Etera Award-winning member of: • Texas Intercollegiate Press Association • Texas Community College Journalism Association • Associated Collegiate Press • College Media Association
Eastfield College 3737 Motley Drive Mesquite, TX 75150 Phone: 972-860-7130 Email: etc4640@dcccd.edu Editor in Chief Aria Jones Managing Editor Yesenia Alvarado Photo Editor Jesus Ayala Opinion Editor Andrew Walter Digital Editor James Hartley Graphic Design Editor Mateo Corey Multimedia Editor Esther Moreno Senior Videographer David Silva Senior Graphic Designer Manuel Guapo Staff Writers Macks Prewitt Cameron R. Cook Alexis Rodriguez Photographers Jonathan Diaz Rory Moore Kate Arrows Enoire Graphic Artists Anthony Lazon Aldahir Segovia Brice Washington
Abednego Leal Daisy Araujo
Reporters James Eyre Samuel Farley Jocyln Ventura
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Editorial Assistant Marie Garcia Student Publications Adviser Elizabeth Langton Digital Media Adviser Sarah Sheldon Faculty Adviser Lori Dann The views expressed on the opinion pages and other opinion pieces and cartoons in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of The Et Cetera, Eastfield College or the Dallas County Community College District. The Et Cetera is published every two weeks — except December, January and summer months — by a student staff. Each member of the college community is entitled to one free copy of The Et Cetera. First Amendment Right Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Letters to the Editor Letters must be typed, signed and include a phone number. Letters will be edited for profanity and vulgarity, Associated Press style, grammar, libel and space when needed. The content will remain that of the author. Letters considered for publication must be 250 words or fewer. Deliver letters to room N-240 or send to etc4640@dcccd.edu.
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
OUR VIEW
Partisan attitudes hurt us all, left or right
America’s political climate is in turmoil. Neighbors refuse to speak to others in their communities. Families are torn apart, brother to sister, cousin to cousin, and uncle to niece. Co-workers isolate themselves in fear of workplace hostility, all because political partisanship has commandeered the behemoth battleship that is America. If we the people of the United States wish to form a more perfect union, we must accept that there are those who think our country should operate in different ways. This shouldn’t be hard to accept in the land of the free. But since the 2016 presidential election, Americans have found it more difficult than ever to hold conversations with those who possess opposing views. The Et Cetera suggests that instead of surrounding yourself with like-minded people, try speaking with someone with whom you disagree. Opening yourself to worldviews different than your own allows for
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growth in ways that you’d never expect. Before we continue, we’d like to say that we can’t control how you or someone else will react when discussing politics. If you think you’ve entered a completely hostile situation, you have every right to walk away.
The point is that not enough people are attempting to communicate with civility when expressing their views. It is of the utmost importance to have your views challenged on a regular basis, because life isn’t always about being right or winning. It’s about learning and growing.
It’s about trying to see life from every angle while you still live and breathe on this Earth. So what if you talk to someone and they criticize you for your views? As long as it is pure criticism and not raw hostility, you should try to listen to it, accept it, or possibly even learn from it. If you don’t, how do you expect to gain anything, let alone insight about life? Before you all send letters to the editor saying, “How dare you accuse me of not being tolerant? I’ve gotten hundreds of death threats online,” know that we aren’t telling you that you can’t block people on social media. We simply want you to know that the moment you shut yourself off from others and never speak to someone you disagree with, you deny yourself the opportunity to become something better than what you were before. Never stop talking to different people. Never stop challenging the ideas that you believe are universal truths. Never give up.
Americans should care about more than Trump The fact that it took one huge flaming orange comet of presidential malice and ignorance for us to give a damn and show up to the polls on Election Day is total bull. Educated people (us, college students) with any kind of perception of the trouble that marginalized groups endure should not have needed to be slapped out of their indifference by President Trump. Whether or not your boy Beto is a U.S. senator-elect today is probably based on how many people actually showed up to vote yesterday, how many people were actually shaken enough to simply perform their civic duty. But many still didn’t vote, many still looked the other way, and depending on the results, that may have had a huge impact. Many of us students still accept and even embrace indifference, not only in the political, but also in the many aspects of life, and that’s the biggest threat we can pose to our world.
David Silva @TheEtCetera
Yep, it’s bigger than climate change, world hunger and most anything Trump does during his term. The biggest threat to our communities, our country, and our world is our indifference. Our unwillingness to make the extra effort, our lack of attempts to understand the issues, and the inability to trust in the democratic process enough to participate in it ensures that our journey to social progression has as many setbacks as possible. The indifference within us is mainly a form of social preservation. Guys and girls have been acting like they’re too cool too care since like seventh grade. Back then it was a way to navigate
through a new social hierarchy. But we’re not kids anymore. We need to care about each other. We shouldn’t be afraid to be impassioned, even when the energy we give isn’t received. Once we do that, once we lose the fear of portraying ourselves genuinely, then the ball starts to roll with everything else. Don’t be indifferent about your education, about your career. Don’t be indifferent about your family matters; don’t be indifferent about the things you see in your neighborhood. Don’t be indifferent about immigrant rights, women’s rights and LGBTQ rights, about holding your local government accountable (someone tell Mike Rawlings I’m still waiting for him to fix up the roads). Don’t be indifferent about world hunger, child abuse and any issue affecting the world as a whole. Don’t let the things you see, the news you hear, the tragedies and efforts to which you’re introduced
be forgotten the minute you scroll down your feed. Don’t be indifferent about the things the president does and that his administration peddles out. And don’t you dare be indifferent once Trump is out of office. Take the time to figure out the things that are essential in your ideal candidate and vote every time, for the president, for midterms and in all primaries. Wake up those people around you who are still too cool for school. Don’t allow yourself to be a contributor to our culture of uncaring individuals. Guide them through your thoughts and opinions and encourage them to have their own, regardless if they coincide with your own. There is no denying that there’s an energy built up since 2016. Don’t let that energy die; use it as foundation to shed our society’s worst characteristic. — David Silva is a senior videographer at The Et Cetera
Sports The Et Cetera
Nov. 8 Nov. 12 Nov. 13 Nov. 15
Basketball vs. Jarvis Christian JV Basketball vs. Paul Quinn College Basketball vs. Tribulation Prep Basketball vs. Texas Wesleyan JV
www.eastfieldnews.com
6 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 6 p.m.
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Kicking into gear
Volleyball to defend national championship title By JAMES HARTLEY Digital Editor @ByJamesHartley
Eastfield’s championship-defending volleyball team (9-1), is recognizing its full potential heading into the national tournament, head coach Brandon Crisp said. Last year’s Harvesters were undefeated in conference play, but Crisp said it’s been a rockier road this season. “It hasn’t been an easy season,” Crisp said. “But I like how we’re playing at the end. We’re playing much, much better now.” Before the season started, Crisp said this year’s Harvesters had the potential to be better than last year. They’re beginning to live up to that now. “I think the last conference game against North Lake and then the regional finals are the best I’ve seen them play,” he said. “So they’re definitely peaking at the right time. This team still has a lot of potential, it’s just up to them to play with that.” This year’s Harvesters are third in the nation in kills per set and are ninth in digs per set. The Harvesters have had four Dallas Athletic Conference Players of the Week and two players recognized nationally this year. The Harvesters went 9-1 in conference play this season, with sophomore libero Maura Munoz ranking eighth in the nation in digs and sophomore outside hitter Keishla “Kiki” Reyes ranking 17th in kills. The No. 3 seeded defending national champions will first play the winner of a match between Northampton and Lorain County. It’s only the team’s fourth trip to the national tournament. Last year they collected Eastfield’s first women’s national title. Crisp said that the team knows it won’t be easy to repeat as national champions. The national championship tournament brings new challenges: a different size serving space, uncertainty of what to expect from unfamiliar teams and a longer tournament that could affect the team’s energy. “I feel like coach has done a good job this year of scheduling games and making this season, in a way, as hard as possible,” Munoz said. “He scheduled us against Division I and Division II teams, and they were working us. We were tired. And he was like, ‘No, you’re staying in. No subs.’ And so you just have to stay in.
Plan it Out Volleyball national tournament Follow @ByJamesHartley on Twitter for live updates before and during matches and go to njcaaTV.com for livestreams of each game. Visit eastfieldnews.com for game schedules, roster, exclusive videos and information on livestreams.
JONATHAN DIAZ/THE ET CETERA
Keishla Reyes and Shelby Browning celebrate a point in the Dallas Area Conference playoffs. The Eastfield volleyball squad is playing in the national championship tournament in Rochester, Minnesota.
But if you really want it, it doesn’t matter how long you’re in.” Munoz said the anticipation for nationals changes the intensity the squad feels in practice and in games at the tournament in Rochester, Minnesota. “I feel nervous, but in a way that nervous-
ness turns into excitement,” Munoz said. “It makes my heart race, makes me want to move faster. Since I play back row and I am a digger, I’ve gotta hustle a little more. I seem to wake up a little more.” Reyes, last year’s national championship MVP, thinks being in Rochester will give the
team more motivation and help them play to the best of their ability. “Once you’re there, once you step on the court, that’s what did it for me last year,” Reyes said. “Once I stepped foot on the court in practice, in the gym, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah. We’re here.’ That’ll help wake up people.” Middle blocker Chloe Hope said the past few weeks have built up her confidence in the team’s ability to repeat as national champs. “If you had asked me a week ago, I would have been nervous,” Hope said. “I think in the past week, our team has really gotten our groove together. We’ve really had a roller coaster up and down this year. But this last week of practice and games we’ve had a lot of energy and played like a team should. I’m way more confident going in now.” The national championship fight won’t be any easier, Crisp said. “I think we’re going to see some good volleyball at nationals,” Crisp said. “There’s a reason why they’re there.” Eastfield’s team size — 19 women compared to last year’s 15 — has provided more competition during practice and more opportunity to build their skills and compete with each other for starting positions. Sophomore setter Kalli Caddell said that has made a big difference. “We were able to play six-on-six during practice and have a full-on scrimmage,” Caddell said. “So I think the practices have changed. They’ve been a lot more intense.” Hope said that competition between teammates has created an atmosphere where the whole team is fighting to be the best. It’s strengthened without hurting the family vibe the squad strives for. “We have girls who are sitting out and rotating in, so it makes it competitive,” she said. “Everyone is competing for their spot.”
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NEWS
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Sus Comics By Aldahir Segovia
www.eastfieldnews.com
The Et Cetera
Pirate and the president
Awkward Avocado By Abednego Leal
MATEO COREY/THE ET CETERA
Jess Kelly, executive dean of the STEM division, and college President Eddie Tealer participate during the campus Dia de los Muertos celebration on Oct. 31.
Go transfer to a brighter future. Begin a journey that will lead you to greater things at Texas Woman’s University. We work closely with you to easily transfer your credits. Learn to lead at TWU. Learn more at TWU.edu/transfer