Eastfield Et Cetera October 23, 2019

Etera

Eastfield College

Tornadoes tear through North Texas leaving major damage in their path.

See back page ➤ Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Presidential candidates visit Dallas to whip up support ahead of election

see pages 4&5

Volume 51, Issue 5

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Wednesday, October 23, 2019

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Campus leaders questioned about diversity efforts

By SKYE SEIPP Editor in Chief @seippetc

Comments from faculty and staff members began pouring in after Dean of Student Success and Wellness Katy Launius proclaimed that LGBTQ members and other marginalized groups don’t feel safe on campus at the president’s forum on Oct. 11.

Launius gave multiple examples of incidents, such as LGBTQ safe zone stickers being torn off the office doors of some faculty and staff members and reports of derogatory comments towards LGBTQ members. This is not the first time the stickers have been torn off, but she said that was not the only reason she spoke out at the forum.

“I got one or two student concerns submitted to my office that kind of documented some homophobic and transphobic comments in the classroom,” Launius said. “Comments that made students feel unsafe and leave class.”

Launius said with all of that, plus the Supreme Court hearing cases on workplace discrimination due to sexual orientation and the fact she’s queer, made her decide to speak out at the forum.

“Eastfield remains an ongoing unsafe community for many queer and trans students and employees like myself,” she said at the forum.

“There’s been a long history of anti-LGBTQ incidents, that have continued into the fall.”

Launius also noted that the position of director for the Center of Equity, Inclusion and Diversity had not been filled.

President Eddie Tealer responded by saying he would be looking into the director’s position and how it can better be utilized to collaborate with departments across the campus.

“This is not the responsibility of one department but the responsibility of our college,” Tealer said. “But we have to show that from the college leadership.”

He said the director position was not filled because of because of budgetary reasons, but that it’s not “indefinite.”

The CEID has been without a director since Ashmi Patel left the role in August. Since then Launius, and CEID program coordinators Chris Schlarb and Danae Bass have been filling in.

“It’s like that position never existed,” Schlarb said a few days after the forum. “The responsibilities and programs that the position would have done that would have really improved our climate here when it comes to inclusion aren’t there.”

Schlarb, who is transgender, has worked at five different colleges, and while Eastfield isn’t the worst, they said there’s a real need for improvement when it comes to issues of diversity and accepting marginalized groups.

Schlarb had to deal with inappropriate comments and questions from colleagues like “what’s your real name?” or “how many surgeries have you had?” They also said using the

PRISM club founder and president Sandra True speaks to students at an involvement fair last semester.

bathroom can be problematic and that they’ve been yelled at for “being in the wrong restroom,” both on campus and at the district conference day.

Schlarb fears the diversity center may not stay open.

“If you think about it, we never even had a grand opening, so what is there really to solidify us on campus?” Schlarb said. “When it comes to the president’s cabinet and the executive body here, they say they support the work we do, but I don’t see it. Where is the evidence that they support the work we’re doing? Where are the diversity and inclusion initiatives that are happening on campus?”

Schlarb also advises the PRISM club at Eastfield, which is an LGBTQ alliance club for students to get support from others who may be struggling with their identities or to learn more about LGBTQ history.

The club was founded and is run by president Sandra True, a substance abuse counseling major and a lesbian.

PRISM’s membership has dropped from abut 30 members to five, True said, because of the antagonistic climate toward LGBTQ people on campus “It makes me shake because I’m so angry,”

she said. “When I first came out people were still being drug out of the bars by our hair, kicked in the street, and it was not a pleasant experience. It brings back a lot of harsh memories.”

True said hiring a new director for the CEID would help address the issue. She said since LGBTQ people are more susceptible to mental health conditions, it’s pertinent the school does something to address the situation.

“We go above and beyond for honors students who are low-risk to no-risk,” True said “And yes they deserve to be treated great, but what about that student who’s suffering? What about that student whose suicide is about to happen because they’re being discriminated against, or they’re at risk of other issues, mental health issues? There’s nothing being done for them.”

According to a 2015 survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality, 40 percent of transgender respondents had attempted suicide in their lives. The average for non-transgender U.S. citizens is 4.6 percent.

People who are lesbian, gay or bisexual are also about twice as likely as heterosexual people to have a mental health condition and twice as likely to have an illicit drug or alcohol disorder,

ET CETERA FILE PHOTO

according to a study done in 2015 by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

English Professor Andrew Tolle said his safe zone sticker has been torn down in the past and this semester as well.

When he noticed his sticker had been torn down, he emailed pictures, with a description, to let campus leaders and other people know the problem was back. He sent it to 11 people on Oct. 1, including Tealer, who said at the forum this was “the first he was hearing of the issue.”

Tolle did receive a response from Executive Vice President Mike Walker, who told him they would look at installing a camera that faces his hallway. Walker copied Vice President of Business Jose Rodriguez, who said he would look at the budget to see about having cameras installed. Tolle said cameras alone wouldn’t fix the issue.

“What would have to happen is for us not to be required to keep putting stickers up in order to make students feel safe,” he said. “It’s an ongoing problem. One speaker is not going to fix it.”

Tolle agreed with Launius that a good first See President’s page 4 ➤

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Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Rising protest trend mimics previous generation

By Harriet Ramos Staff Writer @TheEtCetera

When Joanna Cattanach arrived at Love Field on the morning of Jan. 20, 2017, she didn’t know she was about to help make history. She only knew she was frustrated with the direction the country was taking.

A staunch Democrat, she was opposed to newly elected President Donald Trump’s views on women’s rights and immigration.

But Cattanach didn’t sit on her feelings or wait for someone else to do something. She took action.

On the morning of Trump’s inauguration, the Eastfield adjunct journalism professor arrived at the airport with her pink pussy hat in tow and ready to participate in the Women’s March on Washington. With over 200,000 participants in Washington, D.C., and between 3 and 5 million in sister marches throughout the country, it was the largest singleday protest in U.S. history.

“For me personally, [protesting] is an expression of belief,” Cattanach said. “Not enough people realize the history of that in this country over time and how important it has been for social change.”

The third full week in October is recognized as Free Speech Week across the United States. Protesting is a form of free speech that is protected in the First Amendment. Eastfield conducted its own Free Speech Festival on Oct. 16 that included a mock

protest.

In the 1960s, civil rights marches and Vietnam War protests drew hundreds of thousands of people into the streets of Washington, D.C., and across the nation. An estimated 250,000 people took part in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech.

Young people were major players in the protests of the 1960s. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee organized sit-ins at segregated lunch counters across the South. Students at the University of California, Berkeley turned out in large numbers to protest the ban against political activity on their campus, and the Free Speech Movement was born.

Since 2017, our nation has once again seen an upsurge in activism. The protests of today are even larger than their counterparts from the 1960s era, and students are once again playing a key role.

Concern for the environment prompted 1 million protesters to participate in the 2017 March for Science.

The student led March for Our Lives, organized in response to the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting, brought out 2 million people in 2018 to call for stricter gun-control laws. A sister march was held in Dallas.

“Our country is being divided by the current administration,” Cattanach said. “There is a divisiveness in this country that is not bringing

BAYLIE TUCKER /THE ET CETERA

Stephanie Carrillo leads students in a march across campus during The Et Cetera’s Free Speech Festival on Oct. 16 .

Americans together but is putting us further apart, and [protesting] is how we as a country have expressed ourselves during these times.”

Kat Reguero-Vandeventer, a history professor and lifelong activist, said these problems didn’t happen overnight and they aren’t going to change overnight. She has picketed for safe working conditions for migrant farm workers in California, protested Trump’s travel ban against Muslims and participated in the Dallas March for Our Lives.

“When you go to these rallies, all you’re doing is showing support,” Reguero-Vandeventer said. “You’re showing, ‘This is something that

concerns me. It’s something that needs to change.’ And when you get enough people, that’s when they take notice. That’s what happened in the 1960s. People take notice. And once they take notice, that’s when the ball gets rolling.”

Reguero-Vandeventer gives her students examples from her own experiences and encourages them to get involved in local protests.

Students who have never participated in a protest were given the opportunity at Eastfield’s Free Speech Festival last week.

Dual-credit student Brianda Aguayo said the mock demonstration gave her an opportunity to show

support for women’s rights. Her hand-lettered poster read “Sisterhood over patriarchy.”

“It’s pretty interesting to me because I never speak out,” she said.

“You always have your opinion, but you don’t always get to express it in the way that you want to.”

Dezira Salazar, a biology major, designed a sign that said “Families belong together. End family separation now.”

Salazar said she has had previous experience with protests. Last year she participated in a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas. She identifies as white and Hispanic, but she went to show her support because she believes all lives have value.

“I want a better future for my niece,” she said. “I want her to be able to see that we were on the right side of history. That we were trying to make a change.”

Cattanach said positive changes are happening as a result of the protests that have occurred since 2017.

Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart are removing guns from their stores.

More young people are registering to vote. More women are running for office. The change that is easier to measure for Cattanach is the one she can see in herself. In 2018 she ran for Texas House District 108. Even though she lost the election, she said she is going to run again.

“I went from … watching government happen,” she said, “to saying I want to change it and participate in it.”

Pink tax causes women to pay more over lifetime

By ESON FELLERS Staff Writer @EsonFellersETC

Whether it’s waxing appointments, eyelash extensions or hair and makeup products, women pay more annually for services in which men don’t often partake.

However, necessary everyday products cost women more as well due to the pink tax.

The pink tax refers to the price difference in men’s and women’s products or services, causing women’s items to be more expensive than men’s.

The phenomenon affects the price of goods from the grocery aisle to the dry cleaners.

On Oct.19, women around the country, including in Dallas, protested to end taxes on tampons for the first ever National Period Day. Social sciences professor Tiffany Nacoste said overcharging for women’s products is a systemic problem because a lot of these economic policies are made by men.

She said many women, herself included, often give in to purchasing overpriced items because of aesthetics.

“Our government is not necessarily indicative of the population,” Nacoste said. “The people in charge are making policies for the people not in charge. I think that if there were more women representatives, then more than 36 states would have tax-free feminine hygiene products. But it’s just this one group making policies about another group.”

Of the 435 members of the House of Representatives, 109 are women, six of whom are from Texas.

The pink tax goes unnoticed by most shoppers, but it has a massive impact on consumers’ wallets over time.

Katyana Armani, a government professor, said she used to spend more than needed when getting her laundry professionally cleaned.

“Of course, their explanation was that there are more pleats in women’s tops or that the buttons are on the other side, like that justifies it,” she said. “There’s different variations from different vendors regarding why they charge an extra fee for that.”

A couple dollars here and there for laundry may not seem like

much on the surface, but that money adds up. According to Ax The Pink Tax, women pay $1,351 more than men annually.

The generic Target brand Up & Up laxatives provides a perfect example of the pink tax.

In a green box are 25 pills, all 12 milligrams of “gentle laxative tablets” selling for $1.49. The same amount of “women’s laxative tablets” in a pink box sell for $3.69. At Walgreens, 14 pairs of blue foam earplugs are sold for $4.59, while 12 pairs of purple “women’s” earplugs are sold for $5.70.

Jaylon Gross, a game design major, was unaware that the price difference existed and made the point that products should be equally priced for people as a whole.

“Now that I hear about it, I think it’s outrageous for women to pay more,” he said.

Rachel Wolf, associate vice president, said that a large portion of this marketing is based on gender norms.

“They’re capitalizing on the heteronormative or gender binary reality,” Wolf said. “This is feminine, and this is masculine, and we’re only comfortable in one of those two boxes, so we have to buy these products as part of that value system.”

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O’Rourke rally focuses on bridges, not walls

By Harriet Ramos Staff Writer @TheEtCetera

The mood was upbeat inside the Theatre at Grand Prairie on Oct. 17 where 5,500 supporters of presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke gathered to hear him talk about building bridges instead of walls.

O’Rourke’s Rally Against Fear was a counter-event to Donald Trump’s Keep America Great campaign event in Dallas. Speakers included Rabbi Nancy Kasten, Imam Omar Suleiman and the Rev. Dr. Michael Waters. Several candidates for the U.S. Senate, including Adrian Ocegueda, were there to garner support for their campaigns.

“The [real] enemy is ignorance,” Ocegueda said.

The line outside the venue started forming about 4 p.m., and by 5:30 it stretched from the front entrance, down the ramp and around the side of the building. One parking lot filled up, and another one had to be opened.

Volunteer Tiffany Essl stood in the parking lot, passing out American flag stickers. Essl has been helping with O’Rourke campaigns since he ran for Senate last year.

“I think he’s the strongest [candidate] when it comes to gun control,” she said.

Essl also approves of O’Rourke’s stand on immigration reform. As the mother of an 8-year-old boy, she said she is disgusted by the current administration’s immigration policies

SONYA NUNEZ/THE ET CETERA

Beto O’Rourke speaks during his Rally Against Fear on Oct. 17 at the Theater in Grand Prairie.

that led to children being detained.

Campaign volunteers in black “Beto for America” T-shirts walked around the perimeter jingling cowbells, checking tickets and directing people where to go.

On the sidewalk, someone in an inflatable baby Donald Trump costume with a pinned diaper drew stares and chuckles from the crowd.

People snapped selfies with him, and a woman kissed him on the cheek.

Toward the end of the line, Mike

and Martha Fleischer waited to get inside. Though they said O’Rourke was not their first choice for president, they came out to support his stand against fear. “[We came to] make a statement that we need to be a more supportive, caring, inclusive, tolerant country,” Mike said.

Alissa Maldonado, 18, said this was her first big political rally, and she was impressed by the diversity of the crowd. Maldonado volunteered

with O’Rourke’s Senate campaign a year ago.

She sees him as someone who is working to make young people safer and more successful.

“He isn’t threatening or overbearing,” she said. “He is one of us.”

The three keynote speakers, Kasten, Suleiman and Waters, exhorted attendees to focus on faith instead of fear and to choose love over hate.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins spoke about the need to “take

America back to a time of reason and compassion.”

The punk rock band NuFolk Rebel Alliance performed “Fronteras,” and the enthusiasm inside the auditorium quickly escalated into foot-stomping and clapping.

“No borders, no walls, Dallas!” shouted lead singer and Ecuadorian immigrant Pedro Erazo as he got ready to leave the stage.

Two hours into the program, O’Rourke took the stage to repeated cries of “Beto! Beto!” “I’m filled with so much gratitude to see so many good people of good conscience coming together, not just for a candidate … but for the United States of America,” O’Rourke said in his opening remarks.

In a 30-minute speech that was accompanied by cheers and whistles, he told his audience that the differences between people should not drive them apart but make them stronger.

“It is no longer sufficient not to be racist,” O’Rourke said. “Each one of us must commit to being anti-racist in America.”

The crowd dispersed slowly after the rally.

Some, like David Lopez, had a long drive ahead of them.

Lopez had come from Houston with his son earlier in the day to attend the rally. He supported O’Rourke in his bid for the Senate and hopes he will be the next president.

He’s for everybody,” Lopez said.

“Everything about him speaks America.”

President's forum leads to campus inquiry on equity

Continued from page 2 step is to hire someone to fill the CEID director position. He said when the diversity center first opened he was glad students would have a place they could go to get help with sensitive issues, rather than relying on the open LGBTQ faculty and staff.

“Issues like this are emotional, and there are very good reasons that people will get emotional over it,” Tolle said. “Cultural responsiveness would also require acknowledging the true pain and fear that it causes in students and faculty on this campus.”

The Center of Equity, Inclusion and Diversity is still a newer division on campus. It was spearheaded by Associate Vice President Rachel Wolf and opened last year.

Eastfield is the only DCCCD campus with a center focused on equity, inclusion and diver-

sity.

Wolf said one of the goals was to determine from an institutional perspective whether these incidents were part of a deeper-rooted problem or if they were just one-time happenings.

“I think there’s bias, but I don’t know that it’s any more here than other places,” Wolf said. “What I think is most important is that we continue to have the conversations and we continue to be open to recognizing the experiences of others.”

Before stepping in to her role as an administrator, Wolf taught a woman’s cultural studies class at Richland and Eastfield.

She said that experience showed her that students are open and ready to discuss national and global injustices.

“If we start having culturally relevant pedagogy happening in the classroom, I think that’s going to make a difference, and I think that’s

our job,” she said. “It is actually a fact that students who are marginalized or otherwise under-represented and under-supported are not successful.”

Launius said for real change to happen there has to be a commitment from all departments, and the training is something that can’t be done in a single day.

“What we are talking about is unlearning the ways that we’re all socialized,” she said. “We have to be truly willing to invest time and resources into improving the climate and ensuring that we have a culture of inclusion.”

Launius said she and Patel wanted the center hold professional development for faculty and staff and to set up a student leadership program centered around promoting diversity.

Another goal was to set up employee resource groups for staff and faculty members of similar backgrounds to connect with one

another. Without a director, that work has not continued.

“As a college we espouse that diversity is a value, but how are we putting that value into action?” she said. “Are we demonstrating we value diversity when we don’t fill a position committed to fostering diversity on campus?”

Launius said there should be someone on the executive level that is an advocate for diversity, such as a chief diversity officer, which she said is a trend in higher education. She said there also needs to be clear guidance and leadership as to what should be done to ensure Eastfield is championing equity on campus.

“Eastfield is about to enter its 50th year,” Launius said. “The Eastfield of today does not look like the Eastfield of 50 years ago. So we’ve gotta change. We have to adapt. And a lot of times we have to learn new skills and think about doing things in a new way.”

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Trump supporters flood streets for Dallas rally

By SKYE SEIPP Editor in Chief @seippetc

Victory Plaza and the surrounding streets turned into a red sea on Oct. 17 for President Donald Trump’s Keep America Great rally at the American Airlines Center.

Supporters wearing Trump paraphernalia such as Keep America Great hats, which have replaced the popular Make America Great Again caps of Trump’s 2016 presidential run.

Vendors walked the lines selling everything from Trump socks to “$5 hats made in China by a 3-year-old,” as one seller yelled out to the crowd.

By 2 p.m. the line extended about half a mile to the House of Blues before wrapping back around Houston Street. It moved at the pace of a ride at Six Flags when the doors opened at 4 p.m.

Some supporters like Blake Marnell, who flew in from San Diego, began lining up the day before the event. He wore his signature brick wall suit for his sixth Trump rally, an article of clothing that got him called up on stage for a rally in Pennsylvania.

“Now I’m a meme in real life,” he said. “I go out, and I represent something you could probably get thrown out of Facebook for being a guy wore a brick suit, because ‘it’s offensive, it’s racist.’ I can go anywhere in this country and wear this because it’s neither one of those things.

And people who disagree with me have to objectively deal with their feelings and realize it’s them and not me.”

Marnell said the Dallas rally had a great crowd with no outbursts from protestors during the event.

He also noted that the message from the president was “clear as ever.”

Trump spoke on a plethora of issues during the rally and highlighted some of his accomplishments, while also belittling Democratic opponents.

“Our country is thriving, and our nation is stronger than ever before,” Trump said. “But the more America achieves, the more hateful and enraged these crazy Democrats become.”

About 18,500 people packed into the American Airlines Center, which reaches capacity at 20,000, to hear Trump speak for the second time in Dallas. The first was before he was elected in 2015.

At about 7:40 p.m., “Macho Man” by the Village People had just finished playing and the crowd began to cheer as Trump emerged to walk the blue winding platform that led to his podium as “God Bless the U.S.A.” by Lee Greenwood blasted the high-powered crowd.

As the music stopped, Trump was still unable to utter a word over the repeated chants of “U-S-A” from a lively group that had been waiting all day (some over 24 hours) to see the commander in chief.

In his opening remarks Trump boasted that he had created about 775,000 new jobs in Texas

PHOTOS BY ANTHONY LAZON/THE ET CETERA

Clockwise from the top, a supporter of President Donald Trump cheers from outside of the American Airlines Center during the rally on Oct. 16. A vendor pulls a cart of hats, T-shirts and other merchandise along Houston Street before the rally. Trump supporters crowd into Victory Plaza awaiting Trump’s rally on Oct. 16.

since taking office. Throughout the night he made remarks about the state, showing off his knowledge of Texas history and joking about how much the state profited off Hurricane Harvey relief funds.

“They made a fortune,” Trump said in regards to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott. “You made a fortune on the hurricane.”

Five minutes into his speech the president began to refer to Democrats, mainly House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as “crazy.”

This is the first time Trump has been to Texas since Pelosi and other Democrats opened up an impeachment inquiry last month into a July phone call he had with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Democrats say the call shows Trump asking for Zelensky to look into Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son.

“I hate to talk about [Biden],” Trump said.

“You know why? I don’t think the guy’s got a chance. Sleepy Joe. I don’t think he’s got it.”

Supporters weren’t the only people who descended on downtown. Kurdish supporters assembled outside the arena. In recent weeks Trump began pulling U.S. troops out of the North Syria region, a decision prompted backlash from members of both parties and led to Turkey invading Syria.

“Sometimes you have to let them fight like two kids in a lot,” Trump said. “You got to let them fight, and then you pull them apart.”

Antifa, the group of left-wing radicals who oppose right-wing ideologies with action, was met with boos from the crowd of Trump supporters entering the American Airlines Center.

A group of vapers was also standing outside of the arena, although they weren’t exactly protesting. They just repeatedly yelled out, “We vape; we vote. We vote; we vape!”

Last month Trump said he would consider banning flavored electronic cigarette juices in an effort to cut down on vaping related sicknesses and prevent children from vaping.

Outside of the arena about 5,000 people huddled together in Victory Plaza, unable to get into inside but determined to watch the president on the big screen.

Joann Balfour, who drove down from Oklahoma City for her fourth Trump rally, sat on the lower level balcony at the W hotel to watch the rally.

She said she wanted to let other people who haven’t had a chance to see the president get inside.

“When you’re in the arena there’s an energy force in there,” she said, “And it’s the people. It’s not him. I wanted to be out here amongst the crowd when it was full and it’s that same energy. It’s positive, like a warrior spirit.”

6 Wednesday, October 23, 2019

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“This community has unwritten rules, and they can only be learned through exposure.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANTHONY LAZON

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Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Et cetera staff writer jordan lackey gives you some tips for being on the receiving end of an artist’s needle There are a few things you can learn from observation and common sense while paying a stranger to drag sharp needles across your skin. Tattoo culture is a real thing. This community has unwritten rules, and they can only be learned through exposure.

After spending countless hours in the chair, I feel I’m slightly qualified to impart a few do’s and don’ts to the general public.

Some of these rules are for the comfort and satisfaction of the person getting inked, and some are for the comfort of the people in the shop.

Here are a few lessons I’ve learned from the tattooed heathens in my life.

back, that’s when you’ve earned your discount.

I spent at least a grand working on my half-sleeve before I started seeing any changes in price. You have to establish yourself as a repeat customer. If you obviously have a lot of work from different artists, or not much work under your skin at all, then it’s only fair for the current artist to make the assumption that you won’t be coming in a second time.

Just like getting large tattoos, earning your discount is a long process. If you ask for it, you can almost guarantee that it’s not going to happen.

Always tip

A solid way to earn that discount is to always tip your artist.

Most people don’t realize that tattoo artists have to pay a percentage of every transaction they make to the shop owner. Tips aren’t included in that percentage, so it’s a surefire way to get on their good side. And that’s exactly where you want to be.

Know your artist

It all depends on what you want and how you want it done.

You may know an amazing artist who specializes in American traditional, but that doesn’t mean they can pull off clean portrait work. Most artists have a specific style they like to play with, so make sure their style matches what you’re looking for.

A good artist should have control of their ego and enough experience to tell you when you’re asking for something outside of their wheelhouse. Remember, this is a community. Tattoo artists network like crazy. They’ll probably be more than happy to recommend someone.

Every artist tattoos differently

PHOTO COURTESY OF BRETT SAYLES/PEXELS.COM

You get what you pay for

Just because your cousin’s weed dealer says he can do a full sleeve for $200 does not mean it’s a good idea. Tattoos, like most things in life, are a reflection of the work and money you put into them. A good artist knows the true value and quality of their work, and a bad or mediocre one will offer to do it for much cheaper. Like buying a car, beware of a price tag that sounds too good to be true. This investment is permanent.

Agree on a price before ink ever hits skin

You’d think this rule wouldn’t need to be spoken, but unfortunately this happens often. Always make it clear with your artist what your budget is before getting started. Trust me, the artist will work with you. They still want whatever cash you’ve got. Don’t get halfway through your session before realizing you’ve shot your budget.

Discounts are earned not asked for

Regular customers typically get better deals. That hook-up must be earned, though. Don’t expect to get one or two sessions knocked out and have a better deal waiting the third time around. That’s not how this works. You must develop a good rapport with your artist. Once they know you’ll keep coming

Two primary artists did most of my work, but there have been a handful of others who have done some smaller pieces on me that were a bit more spontaneous and random. I can tell you from experience, each one of them felt different. Some were more heavy-handed than others, and some work light as a feather, just softly applying layer after layer of ink. Sometimes your artist will be heavy-handed on their line work but light-handed when it comes to their shading, or vice versa. It all

depends on the individual artist and who taught them. Never expect one artist to feel the same as another.

Check for quality

This is the age of social media, and artists definitely keep an online presence to promote business. In the old days most artists would keep a portfolio of their work in the shop. Now it’s much more common for an artist to tell you to check their Instagram page.

Zoom in on those pictures and really look. Check out the line work. Is it shaky? Is the shading a smooth gradation? Does their style match what you’re looking for?

In general, does it look good, or does it look like chicken scratch?

This isn’t a race

Yes, it can be frustrating when you’re working on a big piece and realize you probably won’t have enough time to finish it during your session. No one likes walking around with an unfinished tattoo, but that does not mean you should rush your artist. It’s better to temporarily walk around with unfinished work than to walk around with a mistake under your skin for the rest of your life. Let your artist take their time.

Hands, face and neck

These areas are considered prime real estate in tattoo culture. It is heavily frowned upon to walk into a shop with a blank canvas and immediately request a tattoo on one of these three places. You have to earn these spots. Fill out your arms, torso or legs first. Hands, face and neck are to be saved for last, after you’ve paid your dues.

Don’t bring your friends to the shop

This is probably one of the biggest mistakes people make when walking into a shop. Don’t bring 12 of your friends with you to crowd up the place and annoy everyone else with endless talk of what they’re “going to do some day.” If you aren’t spending money, stay out. Bringing a buddy or something is all fine and good, but even Christ himself shouldn’t walk in the shop with all 12 of his disciples.

Life&Arts

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Lunge Into a Night of Comedy

The Laugh Supper Improv Troupe Eastfield was in the thick of a heated presidential debate about “fast matresses driving” on the night of Oct. 11 in the Performance Hall.

The debate featured two “candidates,” one who favored the rapid driving bedding and said he would support them wwby taxing the rich, while the other opposed everything his counterpart said.

This was just one of the outlandish skits the

improv group The Laugh Supper acted out during its visit to Eastfield.

The group was invited by theater professor Dusty Reasons Thomas. On top of the performance, students, faculty and staff were also invited to attend a workshop hosted by the improv group the night before, which entitled them to take part in the performance.

—Skye Seipp

SKYE SEIPP/THE ET CETERA

SKYE SEIPP/THE ET CETERA

Above, Theater majors Raygn Payne and Zion Reynolds and arts major Taylor McMillan act out the improv routine called puppets with The Laugh Supper’s Chris Hurt in the Performance Hall on Oct. 11.

Top right, Clay Wheeler, a theater teacher for Plano ISD and one of the founding members of The Laugh Supper, acts out a skit in the Performance Hall on Oct. 11. Right, Sandra Cano, an arts major, pretends to ride a human bicycle made up of Reynolds for the skit called presidential candidate during the workshop in the Performance Hall on Oct. 9.

SONYA NUNEZ/THE ET CETERA

Sports The Et Cetera

9 eastfieldnews.com

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Cruz pushes forward to success despite adversity

By Brianna Harmon Staff Writer @ItsBHarmonETC

As the final whistle sounds, freshman forward Soledad Cruz jogs off the soccer field, ecstatic. In her first game as a Harvester, she has just led Eastfield to a win over Division I Cisco College by completing her first collegiate hat trick..

After cool-downs, she rushes back to the bus, eager to share the news with her family, who live nine hours away in Mercades.

“The first thing I do after a game is sit down and text my family group chat,” she said. “I tell them how everything went, and it makes me want to cry because they weren’t here to see what I’ve done. I want them to see how hard I’ve worked.”

Cruz has made a major impact on the Harvesters this season — who finished last week at 9-7 — leading the team with 15 goals scored. She was also named Dallas Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 25-30.

“She is the difference between us winning games and not winning,” coach Paul Tate said. “She has fought to get us on the board early. After she got recognized nationally, people were looking her up and started double-teaming her, which created space to open other people up. So even when she isn’t able to score, she is still creating problems.”

Tate commended Cruz for being able to transition smoothly after her move.

“She came in and hit the ground running,” he said “She strives to push herself and likes the challenge. It’s a big change for athletes [who move from so far away].

Sole has became very close with some people on the team. It’s hard for these freshman. These kids have to become residents here.

Being away from her family is a daily battle for Cruz, who won’t be able to return home until Christmas.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she said as she broke down crying. “I’m not going to see them until after the season. It sucks, because what if something happens and I’m not there?”

All the hardships over the years have brought the family closer together. Cruz was only 10 years old when her two brothers, sister and mother stood outside their house and watched their father leave.

“I’ll be back,” he said to his family as they sobbed Cruz’s mother Graciela swore her husband would be back. It wasn’t the first time he had done this. But this was the first time she was wrong.

Watching her father leave at such

PHOTOS BY RORY MOORE/THE ET CETERA

Above, forward Soledad Cruz plays defense against Murray State on Sept. 6. Left, Cruz gets past a Mountain View defender on Oct. 8.

Right, Cruz pushes for the ball against Richland on Sept. 24. a young age has stuck with Cruz over the years. She began to cling to her two brothers, sister and mother.

“I could see it coming,” Karla Perez, Cruz’s sister said. “That entire week

before, he would avoid us. Behind the scenes, he knew he was going to leave us.

One day he couldn’t control us anymore and he left and never came back.”

As days turned to weeks and weeks

ESTEFANY KULAS/THE ET CETERA

to months, Graciela continued to try to reach out to her husband, but he never came back.

“As soon as my dad stepped out of the picture, I felt like my mom went into survival mode,” Perez said. “Being undocumented and then having to provide for four kids is the hardest thing ever. At any

moment she could have said she was taking us back to Mexico with her family, but she stayed here. She fought for us.”

Watching what her father did to the family has numbed Cruz to him.

“I don’t have hate towards him,” she said. “He has been missing for so long that I have no feelings for him anymore.

A year ago I saw him hanging out with my brothers, but I just saw him as one of their homeboys hanging out.”

When Graciela went to take over payments for the family home, she found out her husband had not been paying the bills for eight months. She and her four kids now had no place to live.

Graciela began working whatever odd jobs she could to raise money for her family. Before then she was always the stay-at-home mom raising the kids. Being undocumented meant it was a struggle for her to hold down a job, but she would sell plates of food, clean people’s houses or work in the fields with her kids just to make ends meet.

Things got so bad that she sold their house and anything of value just to have money.

“My children are the best thing God has given me,” Graciela said. “The hardest thing was not having a job, but I always knew I had to find a way. It’s been difficult but not impossible. Seeing my children’s faces every day pushed me to keep moving forward so I can give them a better future.”

Each time Cruz steps on the field she remembers the struggles faced by her family in the years since her father left.

She remembers the push her sister gave her to achieve her goals.

“I knew that she needed to have a good education,” Perez said.. “That’s something I firmly had to tell her is that education is important. I saw she had an opportunity and I saw that was what was going to take her to college was her talent.

She had an opportunity that my brothers and I didn’t have, and I didn’t want her to miss out on it.”

Cruz credits her smooth transition in college to the dedication and support her family has for her.

“All I want to do is make my mom proud,” she said “I want to become an architect to build a house for my mom. My mom means everything to me.”

Graciela said she is beyond proud of the success Cruz has had on the field this season.

“I’m filled with excitement,” she said “I’m always amazed at how talented she is.

She’s doing what she loves. I love how she sets her mind to something and doesn’t let anyone or anything get in her way.”

opinion 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 Skye Seipp Creative Director Anthony Lazon Graphics Editor Erik Krouskop

Senior Photographer Rory Moore Staff Writers Eson Fellers Harriet Ramos Brianna Harmon Jordan Lackey Graphic Artists Allan Garcia-Ramos Jessica Martinez Margaret Tamez Lucero Guzman Cartoonists Laura Sanchez Romero Eric Santos Jesus Madrid Photographers Baylie Tucker Sirgio Ruvalcaba Sonya Nunez Christian Vargas Contributors Manuel Cruz Jessica Ramirez Sazoun Grayer Lindsey Craft Ritchie Manalastas Hunter Garza Juan Quevedo Hernandez Editorial Assistants Marie Garcia Jonathan Winter Publication Adviser Elizabeth Langton Student Media Manager Sarah Sheldon Digital Media Adviser Sandra Evans 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.

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10 eastfieldnews.com

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

OUR VIEW

True culture change requires time, effort If the Dallas County Community College District is serious about increasing student success, it’s time they begin to act like it.

In the past Eastfield has struggled to make LGBTQ people feel safe. The safe zone stickers were started by employees, not administrators, and almost immediately faced vandalism. The problem has returned.

Not only are the stickers being defaced, but there are also reports of comments being made by students and employees that have made LGBTQ people feel unsafe. This is unacceptable.

While no evidence pins responsibility for recent cases on the administration, there should be strong support coming directly from the top. Even a statement as simple as “This behavior is unacceptable, and anyone caught destroying property or bullying will be dealt with accordingly.”

Not only should that message be coming from the college administration, but district officials should also be pushing for diversity initiatives and creating a community college system that actually makes everyone feel welcome no matter their race, religion or sexual identity. Because right now that’s not the case.

The administration isn’t the only people we’re pointing the finger at. It’s up to the faculty to champion diversity in the classroom and create a habitat that ensures everyone is received with

sor Frank Dobbin says employees are more likely to respond with animosity to diversity training if they’re forced to go through with it.

Voluntary training increases compliance because attendees view themselves as pro-diversity for showing up on their own accord.

Dobbin also suggest that companies “Don’t make me come down there” form diversity task forces. Many colleges and universities, like North Country Community College in New York, have implemented them.

A task force at Eastfield would need to involve more than the usual suspects. It must include representatives from all areas of the college including president’s cabinet, ANTHONY LAZON/THE ET CETERA student leaders, deans, faculty and staff so open arms. that diversity initiatives are being heard at all This can be done by simply encouraging your levels of the campus. students to engage in conversations that force Now on to our fellow constituents. It’s time to them to think outside of their comfort zone. Angrow up. You’re in college now. Leave behind your other way is to have a varied amount of readings archaic ideas of who people should love or how for your students that makes them to consider they should identify. It has no place in 2019 or the new ideas and ways of thinking. future.

We know some teachers already do this, but if If the people who run this campus are serious Eastfield truly values diversity, then it’s important about having a joyful, diverse and successful stuthat we begin to act now. A one-time speaker will dent body, then it’s their obligation to transforms not be enough to fix the issue. the school into an inclusive community. Diversity Forcing people to attend diversity training isn’t just a box you a check and call it done for the won’t fix our problems. Harvard sociology profes- day.

Challenging books should be taught not banned Frustrated supporters of thoughtprovoking literature recently celebrated Banned Books Week.

But considering all the efforts to suppress “controversial” writing, maybe the recognition should be year-round.

The inclusion of LGBTQ content is cited as being the most prevalent reason why a book is deemed inappropriate to be read by school children, according to the American Library Association .

Other reasons include the use of stereotypes, sexual references and profanity.

Banning books is regarded as a form of censorship. Schools have been banning books from Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” to Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”

However, this practice is limiting to the depth of perspective on certain issues that students should

Juan Quevedo Hernandez

@TheEtCetera

have access to.

School libraries should be fountainheads of experimental knowledge.

They should be places where students can venture away from the structured, formulated plots of class curriculums to find material that can help them better understand what they are learning.

They should be places where they can learn new things about what interests them.

If a book is challenged for whatever reason that might offend one group, it shouldn’t be taken out of

the school completely.

Students should have the option to read the material, even if it requires parental permission.

Author Jonah Winter endured an online campaign against his children’s book “The Secret Project,” Critics accused him of historical errors and misrepresenting Native Americans. During the social media onslaught, he stayed silent.

“If every book that might offend someone were cancelled in advance of its publication date, few books would wind up on store shelves,” he wrote later in The New York Times.

“Caving to the social media critics … reinforces the power of the online mob.”

Winter is arguing against another form of book banning, but the point is the same.

If something offends a few people, why is it necessary to limit access to those who might not be

offended?

Also, should a book be banned when the overall message of a book transcends the minor blemishes it might have?

“George” by Alex Gino was the No. 1 most challenged or banned book last year The story is about a transgender child who knows she is a girl. She is willing to show people who she is by doing all it takes to play Charlotte from “Charlotte’s Web”.

Identity is something everyone tries to discover, and this novel helps that understanding.

Books have to be critically analyzed.

Yes, minors might not have the level of critical thinking that adults have, but is there something wrong with having teachers guide them through a novel? No. At the end of the day, that is what schools and teachers are for.

Wrapup The Et Cetera

Mudpuffy Comics By Jesus Madrid

11 eastfieldnews.com

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Homecoming week kicks off

Oddball Scribbles By Eric Santos

SONYA NUNEZ/THE ET CETERA

Students take part in one of the games set up in parking lot 1 on Oct. 22 as a part of the Orange and Blue Tailgate for Homecoming week. The week will feature an array of activities, including a parade on Wednesday.

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WRAP-UP

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

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The Et Cetera

DFW twisters spare lives, destroy property across cities

By ESON FELLERS Staff Writer @EsonFellersETC

Three tornados tore across North Texas after dark Sunday night, leaving severe damage in their wake but causing no deaths, according to the National Weather Service.

An EF-3 tornado touched down near Love Field and streaked east on a path south of Interstate 635 before crossing the highway into Richardson. An EF-1 battered Rowlett, and a EF-0 hit Wills Point.

The EF rating scale ranks tornadoes from weakest to strongest, ranging from zero to five. The tornado watch lasted until 4:52 a.m.

Dallas County Community College District’s Richland campus is near the path of the Dallas funnel.

The college and its LeCroy Center were closed Monday because they had no electricity.

Power was restored Monday night, and normal operations resumed Tuesday.

DCCCD Chancellor Joe May said in an email to employees Monday that the district is assessing the needs of students and employees who may have been impacted by the storm.

Dallas police urged residents in the affected areas to remain indoors from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. through Thursday.

About 130,000 people across North Texas without power as of 4:40 a.m. Monday, according to Oncor Electric Delivery. About 40,000 remained in the dark Monday night.

The Richland Oaks neighborhood in Richardson received heavy damages from the storm on Oct. 20, with many houses in the area being condemned.

Jane Murrell, a renter in the neighborhood, was staying over at a friend’s house on Sunday night when her roof collapsed into her living room.

She has been working to get her belongings out of the house before the expected rain on Thursday, but she’s been having asthma problems

from the mildew inside her home.

“It’s horrible inside the homes,” she said. “Everything is wet, but we have to rush to get things out of the home.”

The National Weather Service reports there’s a 60 percent chance of rain on Thursday.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said the Bachman Recreation Center has been opened as a shelter by the American Red Cross.

“Considering the path the storm took, it went across a pretty densely populated part of our city,” Johnson said in a news conference on Monday. “We should consider ourselves very fortunate we didn’t lose any lives.”

At the intersection of Pimberton Drive and Tibbs Street in Dallas, houses suffered from roof and window damage, with at least one car flipping over onto its side.

Trees and utility poles snapped due to strong winds.

—Anthony Lazon contributed to this report

SONYA NUNEZ/THE ET CETERA

9

PHOTOS BY BRIANNA HARMON/THE ET CETERA

Above, a fallen tree lays on a pickup truck in Garland the morning following the EF-3 tornado that hit the area the previous night. Top right, the U.S. flag at the Home Depot off of I-75 and Forest Lane continues to stay raised on the Monday following the night of tornados. Bottom right, people in the Richland Oaks neighborhood work to assess the damage two days after the tornado hit.

ANTHONY LAZON/THE ET CETERA