April 21, 2015 Issue of The Egalitarian

Today’s Weather

80/66 Intervals of cluds and sunshine during the day.

Rather cloudy at night.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015 • Vol. 41, No. 7 • HCCEgalitarian.com Engineering head touts program see News, Page 3

Blue Bell orders recall of all products see Community, Page 5

Marvel scores again with ‘Daredevil’ see A&E, page 9

Chancellor discusses HCC transformation John Cañamar The Egalitarian

Houston Community College Chancellor Cesar Maldonado addressed a group of over 70 faculty and staff members at the Southeast Campus Monday, detailing the transformation process and the future direction of the college.

The presentation was the first stop in Maldonado’s sevencampus tour this week in which the chancellor is discussing the

transformation plans with faculty and staff.

Maldonado started the meeting by redefining the transformation process by covering much of the same material that he pinpointed on All Campus Day. “This is not complicated. It is complex…like a well-tuned machine,” stated the chancellor.

The process of coming up with the transformation plan see

Chancellor talks, Page 3

Thomas Hopkins/The Egalitarian HCC Chancellor Cesar Maldonado answers questions from faculty and staff at the Southeast Campus Monday on the first stop of his seven-campus tour discussing the transformation plan this week.

Plan calls for ‘Centers of Excellence’; new faculty positions Alyssa Foley

The Egalitarian More programs will be hosted at focused locations starting this fall, HCC Chancellor Cesar Maldonado announced as he unveiled his transformation plan for the college earlier this month.

The changes are part of a plan to offer better instruction, more workforce-ready programs, improve the student experience, facilitate cooperation across the college and decrease costs.

The new “Centers of Excellence” will be styled after HCC’s Coleman College, which is exclusively devoted to health science education and training.

“We are moving from today’s centers of delivery model, to our model based on

“We will eliminate inefficiencies. We will align our priorities across the system ... We will leverage our college size and resources to advance towards a clear vision for the institution and our students.”

Cesar Maldonado HCCS Chancellor tomorrow’s centers of excellence,” stated Maldonado.

“The net budget implications from our transformation is zero,” claimed Maldonado. He said that any savings from the restructuring program will be

reinvested in the college.

Planned program hubs are: public safety and global energy at Northeast; logistics and corrosion at Eastside; manufacturing at Stafford; digital information and technologies at West Loop; health sciences

at Coleman; consumer arts and sciences, as well as construction at Central; media arts and technologies, as well as engineering at Alief; business technology at Northside; transportation at North Forest; and aviation at the South campus.

Other planned centers of excellence include maritime and robotics, but the locations for these is not set.

“A lot of what we’re talking about doing, we’ve already been doing. This is nothing new to you guys,” Admitted Chancellor Maldonado. Many of these campuses are already strong in these particular programs.

“While classes will be offered in different locations throughout the city, the higher

The Official Student Newspaper Of The Houston Community College System

see

New Centers, Page 3

Campus Briefs hccegalitarian.com

Page 2 - Tuesday, April 21, 2015

THE

EGALITARIAN

The Student Voice of Houston Community College Since 1974

Follow The Egalitarian on Twitter @HCC_Egalitarian Like The Egalitarian on Facebook facebook.com/HCCEgalitarian If you’re a currently-enrolled HCC student and interested in joining, staff meetings are Fridays at 11:30 a.m. in Room 302 of the Fine Arts Center, Central Campus

The Egalitarian is written, edited and published by members of the student body at Houston Community College.

All articles, photographs and graphics are property of The Egalitarian and its contents may not be reproduced or republished without the writeen permission of the editor-in-chief and adviser. The Egalitarian is published twice-monthly on Wednesdays with a run count of 8,000 copies per issue during the 2015 Spring semester.

The paper is free to students, staff, faculty and general public on Wednesdays the paper is published.

The Egalitarian is the official student newspaper of the Houston Community College System.

Articles, features, opinions, speak out and editorials do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the administration and its policies. Signed articles, feedback, commentaries and features do not necessarily reflect the views of the ditors, staff or student body.

The Egalitarian is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) and College Media Association (CMA).

hccegalitarian.com

The Student Voice of Houston Community College Since 1974

News

THE

EGALITARIAN

Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - Page 3

New Centers, From Page 1

Alyssa Foley/The Egalitarian Houston Community College Engineering Director Susan Thompson speaks during Thursday’s science career fair at Central Campus.

HCC engineering head touts program Alyssa Foley

The Egalitarian Over 100 science majors flooded HCC Central’s science career fair on Thursday to learn more about degrees and careers they can pursue in their field.

HCC’s Engineering Program Director Susan Thompson spoke about the engineering program hosted at the AliefHayes campus.

Thompson said that engineers, “Make our lives better, and stronger, and more fun. Engineering is a creative, collaborative, lucrative, and fun degree program.”

At the Alief campus, students can earn an Associates of Science and Engineering Science degree though HCC’s partnership with the University of Texas at Tyler.

“Though this degree, you are able to earn bachelor’s degrees in engineering - engineering in mechanical, electrical, and civil,” explained Thompson, “These are seamlessly aligned though the A.S.E. degree that has been established it will feed directly into the UT-Tyler program.”

This engineering program allows engineering students to take more classes directly related to their major. “If you go the basic A.S., Associate of Science route, you are going to need about eighteen hours of

engineering credit before you are able to start your junior year,” Thompson pointed out.

Thompson said that’s what makes the program unique: the 18 hours of engineering credit students will be completing in their first two years of college.

The partnership program comes out to be less than $19 thousand for a four-year engineering degree. That’s nearly 50 percent in savings on tuition.

Students also do not have to leave Houston to complete their UT Tyler Engineering BS degree with this partnership.

Part of Chancellor Cesar Maldonado’s newly unveiled college of the future transformation plan is multiple “Centers of Excellence” to host particular program and degrees.

The centers of excellence are styled after HCC’s Coleman College of Health Sciences.

Maldonado announced earlier this month that one of the centers of excellence will be for engineering at the AliefHayes campus. The HCC Alief campus has already grown into a center for engineering with this program.

While Thompson admitted that most chemistry and physics classes students may take at any HCC campus, “There are a few [classes] that are only offered at the Alief campus.”

level requirements naturally are going to end up at the centers of excellence where we have a highdollar investment in equipment,” explained Maldonado. He added that, “These centers will have satellites.”

What about students who live across town from the campus?

Which will host what they wish to study? “We have positioned the centers of excellence strategically in the corridors where industries can help support the human capital that we have in delivering the education,” stated the chancellor.

ADMININSTRATION & DEAN ELECTIONS

With Maldonado’s announcement comes major shifts in the administrative structure of HCC. With the exception of the Coleman campus, all faculty chair positions are up for re-election this Friday — not just those that would usually be up for election this year.

Voting by faculty for each department will be held at the Central campus Friday from 1-4 p.m., or longer as needed. The official voting results for Chairs and Associate Chairs will be sent

to faculty on next Monday.

The aim is to have the new dean, chair and assistant chair positions filled by June 15.

The instructional chair structure is being changed because, “We’re moving our academic leadership from six colleges to one,” said Maldonado at All College Day. Instead of having a physical science chair at each of the system’s colleges (Central, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest), the new organizational structure will have one biology chair, one chemistry chair and one chair over all other physical sciences for all of the HCC System. Assisting them will be a total of six associate chairs, four of which are in biology. This is just one example of the administrative downsizing taking place.

“We cannot function well as six mid-sized colleges,” stated Maldonado, “We can function very well as one of the largest colleges in the country.”

The intent is to save the college money on administrative costs without decreasing the quality of instruction.

“We will eliminate inefficiencies,” said Dr. Maldonado, “We

will align our priorities across the system … We will leverage our college size and resources to advance towards a clear vision for the institution and our students.”

HCC’s new organizational chart also includes 32 new or repurposed director, co-director or dean positions which have not been filled.

The new number of chairs and associate chairs is aligned with the number of instructional contact hours each position will supervise. Deans will each oversee a million contact hours; chairs will each oversee 210,000 contact hours; and associate chairs will each oversee 400,000 contact hours.

Chair applicants must have served at least three years as a full-time faculty member and be credentialed to teach in the department where they are applying. Applications closed Monday for chair positions.

The academic chairs will oversee instruction in one or more disciplines while still actively teaching.

More about HCC’s transformation program is available at http://sites.hccs.edu/ transformations.

the task at hand?” By this he means that the student today is worth the investment of a higher upfront cost over the discounted rate in the future and the loss of the productivity that could have been met waiting around for that cheaper rate.

After his presentation, Maldonado open the floor for questions. He was faced with the question of what is the plan for meeting the need of the weekend and online student when it came to access to the library. His response was very honest in that the committee had not yet come up with a good solution and that they are still looking for ideas on how to attack the issue.

Professor Luciano Salinas asked about the issues of communication by email and or text messages with the students when it came to

class related matters. Once again Maldonado did not have an exact answer for the question but did agree in that, as Salinas suggested, in the future the only emails that would be accepted would be the emails that are issued through the school and not other email accounts like Google or Yahoo.

When asked about safety with the possibility of campus carry gun laws, Maldonado preferred not to get into the politics of the issue. He did, however, tell the audience that his office is aware of the happenings in Austin with the Legislature and that the HCC Board of Trustees is having discussions on the college’s official point of view on the matter.

Maldonado stated that transformation has already began and that major changes would be seen by the beginning of the fall semester.

Chancellor Talks, From Page 1 was derived from a group made up of 65 students, faculty and administrators from around the district. After multiple meetings and questionnaires, Maldonado said the group of 65 made suggestions to a panel of 13 individuals that have worked hand-in-hand with the chancellor for over six months. ”We will not have 100 percent of the information when this plan is put into practice, it will be more like working with 80 percent,” he said, placing the amount at only 80 percent due to changes in technology and future demands.

He made the analogy to the purchase of a new computer, “Do you wait until a newer model comes out lowering the price on the one that you need, or do you purchase it now so that you do not lose time and accomplish

Community E Six charged with trying to join militants hccegalitarian.com

THE

GALITARIAN

Page 4 - Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Amy Forliti

Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. — When Guled Ali Omar made up his mind to join the Islamic State group, authorities said, he wasn’t easily deterred.

The Minnesota man emptied his bank accounts last May and planned to fly to Syria via San Diego, federal officials say, but his family confronted him and he set his plans aside. In November, officials say, he tried to board a flight in Minneapolis, but was stopped by the FBI. Even while under investigation, authorities say, Omar and five other men kept trying to make their way to Syria, coming up with a plot to secure false passports.

Omar is among six Minnesota men charged with terrorismrelated offenses in a criminal complaint unsealed Monday.

They are the latest Westerners accused of traveling or attempting to travel to Syria to join the Islamic

State group, which has carried out a host of attacks including beheading Americans.

Authorities described the men as friends in Minnesota’s Somali community who recruited and inspired each other and met secretly to plan their travels. They are charged with conspiracy to provide material support and attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

“What is remarkable about this case is that nothing stopped these defendants from pursuing their goal,” U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Andy Luger said Monday. “They never stopped plotting another way to get to Syria to join ISIL.” The Minneapolis area is home to the largest concentration of Somali immigrants in the U.S. Since 2007, more than 22 young Somali men have also traveled from Minnesota to Somalia to join the militant group al-Shabab, which is also listed by the U.S. State Department as fomenting

The Student Voice of Houston Community College Since 1974

Andy Clayton-King/AP PHOTO United States Attorney Andrew Luger, right, and FBI special agent Richard Thornton explain the criminal complaint charging six Minnesota men with terrorism at a news conference in Minneapolis Monday. The six, whom authorities described as friends who met secretly to plan their travels, are accused of conspiracy to provide material support and attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. The complaint says the men planned to reach Syria by flying to nearby countries from Minneapolis, San Diego or New York City, and lied to federal investigators when they were stopped. terrorism. Authorities have said a handful of Minnesota residents have traveled to Syria to fight with militants in the past year, and at least one has died.

Al-Shabab gunmen carried out an attack on a university in Kenya on April 2 that left 148 people dead, most of them university

students.

The Minnesota men charged on Monday were identified as Omar, 20; brothers Mohamed Abdihamid Farah, 21, and Adnan Abdihamid Farah, 19; Abdurahman Yasin Daud, 21; Zacharia Yusuf Abdurahman, 19; and Hanad Mustafe Musse, 19.

Luger said that in this case, there was no “master recruiter” in Minnesota’s Somali community, but rather this group of family and friends engaged in “peer-topeer” recruiting. They also helped each other with funding — taking money out of their own accounts or, in one case, trying to sell a car.

Texas House OKs changing who investigates public corruption Eva Ruth Moravec Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas lawmakers are closer to gutting the anti-public corruption unit that was at the center of former Gov. Rick Perry’s indictment last year.

The Republican-controlled Texas House gave preliminary approval Monday to letting the Texas Rangers investigate allegations of public corruption. Under Weatherford Republican Rep. Phil King’s bill, the Public Integrity Unit would continue to investigate insurance fraud and motor vehicles tax fraud.

The Senate has already passed a similar measure.

House Democrats had stalled passage of the bill last week, but Republicans are

bent on uprooting the unit out of the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, which is run by an elected Democrat. The current configuration puts “too much power in one elected official,” King said.

If his measure passes, complaints deemed credible by the Texas Rangers would be forwarded to the district attorney in the county where the official was elected.

“There is no perfect answer, but this is a lot better than what we have now in terms of removing politics from the equation,” King said.

Perry vetoed funding for the unit in 2013 after District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg refused to resign following a drunken driving arrest. He was later indicted on abuse-ofpower charges. The Public Integrity Unit was not involved in the Perry investigation,

which was handled by a special prosecutor and remains pending.

“Is this just because of her?” asked Edinburg Rep. Terry Canales, apparently referencing Lehmberg. Canales was one of a half-dozen Democrats whose amendments, many of which attempted to change the venue of the trial to the county where the crime was committed, were defeated.

But 16 amendments to the bill — 10 carried by Democrats — passed, including one to withdraw prosecutors who have relationships with the officials they are meant to probe.

Recently, a district attorney in Collin County — home of state Attorney General Ken Paxton — turned a criminal complaint involving his admitted securities violations over to the Texas Rangers for investigation.

He was fined $1,000 for being paid for investment advising without registering, but Texans for Public Justice, a left-leaning watchdog group, filed a criminal complaint.

Texans for Public Justice then criticized Collin County officials for foot-dragging and called for the prosecutor’s recusal because he and Paxton are friends and business associates.

Craig McDonald, the group’s director, said after the House vote, “Corruption prosecutions are now in the hands of hometown cronies.”

Meanwhile, Public Integrity Unit head Gregg Cox on Monday rebuffed a request from the Texas Department of Public Safety to clear the agency’s name over $20 million in border security contracts that have come under intense scrutiny.

The Student Voice of Houston Community College Since 1974

THE

EGALITARIAN

Blue Bell issues recall The Associated Press

BRENHAM, Texas — Texas-based Blue Bell Creameries issued a voluntary recall Monday night for all of its products on the market after two samples of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream tested positive for listeriosis.

The company “can’t say with certainty” how the bacteria was introduced to the manufacturing line, Blue Bell’s chief executive Paul Kruse said in a statement.

“We’re committed to doing the 100 percent right thing, and the best way to do that is to take all of our products off the

market until we can be confident that they are all safe,” Kruse said.

The first recall in the family-owned creamery’s 108-year history was issued last month after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked ice cream contaminated with listeriosis to three deaths at a Kansas hospital. Five others in Kansas and Texas were sickened with the disease.

The foodborne illness was tracked to a production line in Brenham, Texas, and later to a second line in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

The recall extends to retail outlets in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado,

Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wyoming and international locations.

A manufacturing facility in Oklahoma where operations were suspended earlier this month for sanitizing will remain closed as Blue Bell continues to investigate the source of the bacteria, the statement said.

Blue Bell is also implementing a process to test all of its products before releasing them to the market.

Records reveal Dallas officers with checkered work history David Warren Associated Press

DALLAS — Records show that about 160 officers in Dallas, one of the country’s largest police departments, remain on the job despite being punished for a variety of offenses, some serious such as theft, excessive force and lying.

The list, which includes the officers’ misconduct and punishment, provides a glimpse into transgressions that typically aren’t released publicly. In one instance, an officer was twice cited for unnecessary use of force, in 1991 and 2000; causing a disturbance in 2000; and filing a false report in 2008. He was suspended each time, a range of two to 20 days.

Dallas police did not respond to repeated inquiries for information such as which policies guide police managers in determining whether officers should be terminated.

The Dallas Police Department’s list came to light last week following a lengthy investigation by the Austin AmericanStatesman in which the paper requested such information from each district attorney’s office in Texas. Most denied the request, but a few complied.

The Dallas department has more than 3,500 sworn officers, and the officers on the list represent about 5 percent of the force. Numerous officers were punished for filing a false report or providing misleading statements to supervisors, while others stole, committed fraud, drove while drunk or committed some other offense. In some cases, the officer was

LM Otero/AP File Photo In this Nov. 17, 2011 file photo, Dallas Police Chief David Brown speaks during a news conference at police headquarters in Dallas. Amid the national focus on deadly police shootings, records show scores of Dallas officers remain on the job despite being punished for serious offenses such as theft, excessive force and lying. fired but reinstated upon appeal.

Lynn Pride Richardson, chief public defender for Dallas County, said Monday that the so-called Brady list puts pressure on the department to better determine who’s fit to wear a badge. Chief David Brown has fired some officers, which shows he’s trying to weed out some troubled ones, she said, but there’s little he can do if an officer is reinstated by a civil service board.

“If you get a bad apple, then you recognize that and you put the training in place or the mechanism in place to correct the problem,” she said.

Bob Gorsky, a lawyer who represents

the Dallas Police Association, declined to discuss specific officers, but said he’s reviewed the list and noticed errors that include police supervisors being omitted from it. He also argues that some officers are punished for being “untruthful,” a broad criticism that can include an officer who was simply mistaken when relaying information.

“They’ve been labeled now on this list and it results in a very unfair perception about these officers,” Gorsky said.

Named after a 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case, Brady lists are maintained by prosecutors legally obligated to provide defendants with relevant material that may be favorable to their case.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - Page 5

Nelson enters marijuana business Nicholas K. Geranios Associated Press

SPOKANE, Wash. — Country music star Willie Nelson announced plans Monday to roll out his own brand of marijuana, capitalizing on his association with pot and the unofficial stoner holiday, 4/20.

The move makes the 81-year-old “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die” singer the latest celebrity to jump into the marijuana marketplace.

“Willie’s Reserve” will be grown and sold in Colorado and Washington, where recreational pot is legal. Nelson said in a statement that he’s “looking forward to working with the best growers in Colorado and Washington to make sure our product is the best on the market.”

Nelson joins other famous pot personalities, including rapper Snoop Dogg, who endorses vaporizing products; singer Melissa Etheridge, developing marijuana-infused wine; and reality TV star and self-help guru Bethenny Frankel, who is working on a strain of Skinnygirl weed that wouldn’t leave users with the munchies.

“Like other industries, branding and creative marketing is a big part of supporting legal cannabis products,” said Vicki Christophersen, director of the Washington CannaBusiness Association.

Christophersen said these connections continue a long tradition of celebrities endorsing the use of marijuana — even decades before it became legal for adult use.

Nelson, who was not available for comment Monday, is among those with well-established connections to cannabis.

He’s been a decriminalization advocate and has been busted for pot possession several times. He also appeared in the stoner comedy “Half Baked.”

Washington and Colorado made pot legal for adult use in 2012. Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia also have removed legal restrictions, and more states are expected to vote on legalization next year.

The moves have created marketing opportunities, but links to celebrity smokers aren’t always considered a positive.

This year, the National Cannabis

TransformaTionE hccegalitarian.com

THE

GALITARIAN

Page 6 - Tuesday, aPril 21, 2015

The sTudenT Voice of housTon communiTy college since 1974

Gallery

Upcoming Chat with the Chancellor Sessions Date Today Today Thursday Thursday Friday

Time 10 a.m.

1:30 p.m. noon 3 p.m.

10:30 a.m.

Location District Office, 3100 Main Southwest (5601 West Loop), Room C108 Coleman College (1900 Pressler), Auditorium Northwest (Spring Branch Campus), PAC-Theatre Two Central (1300 Holman), Heinen Theatre

TransformaTion hccegalitarian.com

The sTudenT Voice of housTon communiTy college since 1974

THE

EGALITARIAN

Teusday, aPril 21, 2015 - Page 7

Houston Community College Chancellor Cesar Maldonado revealed a transformation for the HCC System earlier this month, proposing changing the organizational structure of HCC while creating “centers of excellence� at specific HCC campuses.

At left, an organizational chart diagramming the proposed structural changes in HCC administration.

Several new positions will be created to administer the centers of excellence, while college presidents will report to the Vice Chancellor of Student Activities.

Below, a campus map shows locations of those centers of excellence. Planned program hubs are: public safety and global energy at Northeast; logistics and corrosion at Eastside; manufacturing at Stafford; digital information and technologies at West Loop; health sciences at Coleman; consumer arts and sciences, as well as construction at Central; media arts and technologies, as well as engineering at Alief; business technology at Northside; transportation at North Forest; and aviation at the South campus.

More information regarding the transformation plan is available at http://sites.hccs.edu/transformations/.

Mobile users can scan this QR code to view the transformation plan:

Sports Boston trial enters penalty phase hccegalitarian.com

Page 8 - Tuesday, April 21, 2015

THE

EGALITARIAN

The Student Voice of Houston Community College Since 1974

Slive still SEC boss after cancer battle John Zenor

AP Sports Writer

Denise Lavoie

AP Legal Affairs Writer Charles Krupa/AP PHOTO BOSTON — The guilt phase of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s trial was considered a slam dunk for prosecutors, especially after his lawyers bluntly admitted during opening statements that he participated in the deadly 2013 attack.

But the outcome of the next phase of the trial is much more difficult to predict. The same jury must decide whether Tsarnaev, 21, should be put to death or spend the rest of his life in prison. The penalty phase begins Tuesday in U.S. District Court.

Debate over whether Tsarnaev should get the death penalty intensified recently after the parents of Martin Richard, an 8-year-old boy who was killed in the bombings, urged federal authorities to consider taking death off the table in exchange for Tsarnaev spending the rest of his life in prison and giving up his rights to appeal.

“We know that the government has its reasons for seeking the death penalty, but the continued pursuit of that punishment could bring years of appeals and prolong reliving the most painful day of our lives,” Bill and Denise Richard said in a statement to The Boston Globe last week.

A married couple who lost limbs in the attack also asked the U.S. Justice Department not to pursue the death penalty.

“If there is anyone who deserves the ultimate punishment, it is the defendant. However, we must overcome the impulse for vengeance,” Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes said in a statement to the Globe Sunday.

Kensky and Downes were newlyweds

Police flank an explosive ordnance disposal officer, second from left, as they patrol past the site of the first 2013 bombing site before the start of the Boston Marathon Monday in Boston. when two bombs exploded near the marathon finish line on April 15, 2013, killing three people and injuring more than 260. They each lost their left leg.

Kensky endured more than a dozen surgeries before having her severely damaged right leg amputated in January.

Others have said they favor the death penalty for Tsarnaev. Liz Norden, whose two adult sons each lost a leg in the bombings, said nothing short of execution is warranted.

“He destroyed so many families that day,” she said. “I want the ultimate justice.”

Legal experts differ on whether the pleas from victims will persuade the federal government to drop its bid for the death penalty.

“If the Justice Department seriously takes into consideration the feelings of the family members in this case, they have every justification to take death off the table,” said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.

But New York Law School professor Robert Blecker said the Justice Department has to consider the larger question of denouncing terrorism.

“They’ll go forward with it. It will not change the decision. Denunciation is a legitimate purpose,” Blecker said.

Public opinion polls have shown that a majority of Boston-area residents oppose the death penalty for Tsarnaev.

Massachusetts abolished the state death penalty more than 30 years ago,

but Tsarnaev is charged under the federal death penalty statute. The 12 jurors who will decide his fate all told a judge they would be willing to consider the death penalty if they believed the facts of the case and the law called for it. They also said they would consider life in prison.

During the penalty phase, the defense will continue to portray Tsarnaev’s brother, Tamerlan, 26, as a domineering follower of radical Islam who convinced his then 19-yearold brother that America had to be punished for its wars in Muslim countries. Tamerlan died four days after the bombings when he was shot during a firefight with police and run over by Dzhokhar during a getaway attempt.

Prosecutors are expected to emphasize the brutality of the bombings by calling more survivors to testify. During the first phase, several survivors testified about devastating injuries, including lost limbs.

Others described watching friends and loved ones die, including Martin Richard, the 8-year-old Boston boy; Lingzi Lu, a 23-year-old Boston University graduate student from China; and Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager from Medford.

If even one juror votes against the death penalty, Tsarnaev will get a life sentence.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Mike Slive made it clear he’s still the boss of the Southeastern Conference, even with his successor seated next to him.

The outgoing SEC commissioner said it will be “business as usual” the final three months of his tenure after undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatment for prostate cancer, along with back surgery. Slive stressed he won’t hand over the reins of the powerhouse league to his longtime No. 2 man, Greg Sankey, until Aug. 1.

“The presidents and chancellors made it very clear that I am the commissioner,” Slive said Monday, speaking at a Southeast Regional APSE meeting. “As a matter of fact, now that I am getting further and further away from chemo, I’m getting more and more feisty.

I don’t hold back on my opinions. Over 13 years, Greg and I have consulted on all major decisions. There’s really nothing different going on now than has gone on for the last 13 years.”

The 74-year-old Slive is retiring on July 31 but will still have a voice in SEC business, saying he will remain in Birmingham and be a consultant to the conference.

Slive has remained mostly out of the limelight since announcing in October that he had cancer and setting a retirement date. He still looked a little frail during the 56-minute question and answer session but was in good spirits.

“I feel as good as I’ve felt in a very long time,” he said, joking about saving money on haircuts and razor blades in recent months after undergoing chemo.

Sankey frequently gave Slive first dibs on fielding questions about present and future issues facing the league and the NCAA. He’s also not sharing details of his plans for running the league that he laid out during his job interview — not while Slive is still in charge.

“I spent a lot of time on those issues, and I’ve been intentionally careful because my approach has been that Mike is still the commissioner and will be, and I’m certainly not inclined to overshadow his next couple of months as we head into Destin,” said Sankey, referring to spring meetings in Florida.

Both Slive and Sankey addressed a number of issues facing the SEC and college athletics.

——— FRESHMAN ELIGIBILITY: Slive read from his highlighted copy of a speech at SEC football media days in 2011 after being asked about Big

Arts & Entertainment hccegalitarian.com

The Student Voice of Houston Community College Since 1974

THE

EGALITARIAN

Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - Page 9

‘Daredevil’ another hit for Marvel Christopher Joseph The Egalitarian

Marvel Studios have been transitioning well from the big screen to the small screen, with shows like “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “Agent Carter.”

“Daredevil” now joins the rank of its brethren.

The first time we saw the red devil was in 2002 with Ben Affleck as Daredevil. That movie was critically panned by critics and by fans alike as one of the worst Marvel movies in history.

With the news of a Netflix adaptation of Daredevil, skepticism is to be expected because of the bad taste the first film leaves in your mouth.

However, the first episode this new series shocked me: it was good.

The show follows Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) a blind lawyer by day who, with his business partner Franklin “Foggy” Nelson (Elden Henson), will help the people who he finds innocent by night. Matt Murdock becomes the blind crime-fighting vigilante Daredevil.

The show didn’t muddle around and take a whole episode establishing Daredevils’ backstory. Instead, they told his story through flashbacks to help viewers understand where he is now as an adult. While uncovering Daredevil’s past, the episode progresses as he tries to stop the villain Wilson Fisk’s plans.

There were times when it feels as if it was a lawyer drama like “Law and Order,” but that tone quickly left when the action starts. It felt as if the show copied the comic when it comes to Daredevil’s stealth and fighting style. The show’s fighting scenes really show that Daredevil packs a punch.

What sets this show apart from other comic book television series is that the tone of this series exactly matches the tone of the comic.

While other series have been toned down to accommodate a more family-friendly atmosphere, Daredevil will be talking about legal activities in one scene and kicking butt in the next.

As this show develops, I hope to see more of the lesser-

Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP PHOTO Charlie Cox arrives at the premiere of “Marvel’s Daredevil” in Los Angeles. known Marvel roster, such as the superhuman defense attorney She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters). It has been confirmed that this show

is tied into the Cinematic Marvel Universe, so let us hope that in the near future we will be seeing Daredevil on the big screen again.

The whole first season of Marvel’s Daredevil was released on April 10 and is only available on Netflix.

explained the moral and cultural difference between now and the 1940s; “Some films seem morally sound, but most affect and reflect a deterioration in the morals of our society … Movies since the 1950’s have portrayed what I can only describe as a deteriorating morality.”

Gonzalez added that, “Today, these portrayals are so common they are no longer considered immoral — in some cases, the more promiscuous or criminal, the more praised the character.

I think films reflect the current morality of the society that makes them.”

Market Square Park to show ‘Casablanca’ Thursday Chutiya Metheesupapak The Egalitarian

Market Square Park will present the A-list, classic romantic film from the 1940s, “Casablanca” at 8 p.m. Thursday at 301 Milam Street. Admission is free.

Casablanca is a city in Morocco in Africa; the movie is set around World War II. The main character, Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), opened a nightclub and casino called “Rick’s Café Américain.”

His customers were mostly French and German officials and U.S. immigrants. Everyone knows Rick. Rick’s ex-lover, IIsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), visits the club and asks Sam to play a significant love song called “As

Time Goes By.” Rick meets IIsa face-to-face, but she comes with her Austrian fiancé, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid).

Casablanca received many awards: three Academy Awards in 1944 for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay.

It was also nominated for Best Actor in Leading Role, Best Actor in Supporting Role, Best Cinematography (Black and White), Best Film Editing and Best Music.

Additionally, it won a several more awards in the following years such as National Board of Review (1943), National Film Preservation Board (1989) and Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards (2008).

People believed that the story was based on a stage play that had never been produced called, “Everybody’s Comes to Rick” wrote by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison. However, it is believed that nobody knew how the story would end because the screenwriter always changed the scene.

For example, the scene that Rick and IIsa would get together in the end changed because their relationship would depict a love affair to the public, which would have been scandalous at the time and violated the Hays Code.

It’s may be hard to believe today that “Casablanca” could be considered scandalous, but HCC Southwest Communication Instructor Ovidio Gonzalez

Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - Page 10

THE

EGALITARIAN

The Student Voice of Houston Community College Since 1974

The Student Voice of Houston Community College Since 1974

THE

EGALITARIAN

Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - Page 11

Egal•i•tar•i•an (adjective) aiming for equal wealth, status, etc., for all people

3517 Austin; 303 Fine Arts Center; Houston TX 77004 Phone: 713.718.6016; Fax: 713.718.6601 Adviser: Fredrick Batiste

SPRING 2015 EGALITARIAN STAFF Editor-in-Chief.................................................Alyssa Foley Managing Editor..........................................................TBA News Editor................................................. Jimmieka Mills Sports Editor............................................... John Cañamar A&E Editor...................................................................TBA Commentary Editor......................................................TBA Photo Editor................................................. Gilbert Bernal Social Media Mgr............................................ Cierra Foley Staff Writer.......................................... Christopher Joseph Staff Writer...................................Chutiya Metheesupapak Staff Writer...................................................... Maria Smith ———

The Egalitarian has been the official student newspaper of the Houston Community College System since September 1974.

The Egalitarian is published bi-monthly, every other Wednesday except during holiday breaks.

Print circulation is 8,000 copies per issue and distributed to selected HCC campuses in the Houston, Spring Branch, Alief, Katy, North Forest and Fort Bend areas. Comments and contributions are always welcome.

Deadlines for contributions and advertisements are one week before the issue print date.

The Egalitarian is written and edited by students of Houston Community College. This publication does not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, interests, attitudes and tastes of the Board of Trustees, HCC administration, faculty, staff or students.

Opinions and editorial content of The Egalitarian that are unsigned do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Egalitarian staff or adviser. The Egalitarian reserves the right to edit any submitted material for grammatical errors, offensive language, libelous materials and space constraints. It may also refuse any advertising that does not adhere to the HCC mission.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

The Egalitarian staff consists of HCC students who must complete all tasks required to produce the newspaper, which serves all campuses of the HCC System. We want all students from all majors to contribute. However, we must follow our submissions policy in order to operate under our limitations of time, energy and staff.

All staff and contributing writers must be currently enrolled students at Houston Community College. The Egalitarian interacts with contributing writers via e-mail and telephone. Visiting The Egalitarian will not help contributors get published, only quality work will.

Publication priority is given to staff members and assigned articles, and verbal commitments for assignments will not be accepted or recognized.

Press releases, story ideas, news tips and suggestions are always welcomed.

Any student interested in joining The Egalitarian staff may request more detailed information regarding story length, topics, style, etc., by e-mailing The Egalitarian Faculty Adviser Fredrick Batiste at adviser@hccegalitarian.com.

Carrie Antlfinger/AP PHOTO Veronica Berns holds the comic book “Atomic Size Matters” that she created to explain her doctoral chemistry thesis to her family at her apartment in Chicago. Berns, a comic book fan, says the illustrations are not well-polished because she wanted it to be like she was explaining on the back on an envelope. She ended up raising more than twice what she asked for on the crowd funding website Kickstarter to print the book.

Chemistry Ph.D. student illustrates her thesis in comic book Dana Ferguson Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Late last spring, a doctoral student worked late into the night. As she doodled, her chemistry thesis took on a life of its own, transforming into a comic book.

Veronica Berns, 28, was working on her Ph. D. in chemistry at the University of Wisconsin -Madison.

Berns said she long struggled to explain her work to her parents and friends. The self-described comic book fan said she began drafting her thesis on quasicrystals — a subset of crystals that diverge from the usual structural characteristics of crystals. Berns quickly concluded that she would be best able to describe the oddball compounds with illustrations.

“They’re not very well-polished illustrations.

That’s on purpose,” Berns said. “I wanted it to be like I’m explaining on the back of an envelope.”

And on many occasions, it was on the back of an envelope or on a napkin that she doodled sketches of the chemical bonds to better show her parents what she was working on in the lab. Jody Berns, Veronica’s mother, said their family has a history of doodling and has shared comics for years.

Berns surprised her family with her comic

THE

book “Atomic Size Matters” at her graduation last year. The book depicts cartoons of Berns wearing various costumes and uses humor as well as simple comparisons to describe elaborate chemistry.

“We’re just really proud that she can take something so complex and put it into a fun visual explanation that everyone can enjoy,” Jody Berns said.

Veronica Berns’ professor Danny Fredrickson said Berns was the first of his students to construct her thesis in an artistic way. He said often it is difficult for scientists to explain what they do with proper context.

“If it’s worth doing, we should be able to explain it,” Fredrickson said.

And he said Berns managed to accomplish that.

Berns said she hopes other scientists will find ways to illustrate what they’re doing in the lab. She now lives in Chicago and works as a chemist. Berns also writes a blog in which she uses comics to explain the work of Nobel Prize winning scientists.

Berns started a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to finance printing a small batch of the books. She said she wanted to raise $5,965 to cover the costs of professional printing. The website says she has raised more than $14,000.

EGALITARIAN

Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - Page 12

THE

EGALITARIAN

The Student Voice of Houston Community College Since 1974