January 27, 2016 Issue of The Egalitarian

Today’s Weather

59/34 Intervals of clouds and sunshine. Mainly clear at night.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016 • Vol. 43, No. 1 • www.HCCEgalitarian.com • @HCC_Egalitarian Open Carry is not Campus Carry see On Campus, Page 4

Trump Ruins Everything

Low-E Crusing

see Commentary, page 11

see Community, Page 5

Making students ready for college Jimmieka Mills The Egalitarian

T

he adoption of Common Core standards have been successfully implemented in 45 states in the U.S. The standards focus on English language arts and math, which are skill sets students use in other subjects.

These standards are seen as crucial to the future success of students across the U.S., education standards varied so widely between states that high school diplomas had lost all meaning as nearly 40 percent of college freshmen are required to take remedial classes.

At the Gates Educational Forum in Seattle, Washington, the Gates Foundation pledged their support for the rigorous clear standards as critical to better student results.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is committed to ensuring all students in the U.S. have the opportunity to receive a high quality education.

Their goal is to support innovation that can improve U.S. K-12 public schools to ensure that all students graduate from high school prepared to succeed in college.

The foundation has two programs which work together to achieve this goal, the College Ready Education Program and the Post-Secondary Success program; which aims to dramatically increase the

Alex Brandon/AP Photo Katerina Maylock, with Capital Educators, writes on the board as she teaches a college test preparation class at Holton Arms School. number of young people who obtain a post-secondary degree or certificate with labor market value.

This article will focus on the College Ready Education Program.

It is almost impossible to discuss the Gates’ vital impact on education without going back to the 1990s and acknowledging one of their first educational endeavors.

The launch of the Gates Library Foundation in 1996 allowed U.S. public libraries to

provide free internet access. The foundation, which is now led

by Patty Stonesifer, was built on the belief that drove both Bill and Melinda’s professional careers at Microsoft: the power that personal computing could provide everyone everywhere.

Since this major milestone, the foundation has continued to explore new ways to innovate education through all phases of learning.

The foundation describes programs focused towards their investments as having a

common goal, “to strengthen the connection between teachers and students.”

In order to align their goals, the foundation invited educators, policy makers, students and parents to the U.S. Education Learning Forum to expand and accelerate successful programs and identify innovative solutions that could unlock students potential.

Another one of the key areas of focus at the October forum was valuing and supporting great teaching. Forum speakers

touched on a research study program called the Measures of Effective Teaching.

This study helped the foundation better understand what great teaching looks like, and the types of measures that can provide a fair assessment of teaching directed at helping every teacher do their best.

Educator William Anderson spoke on the impact that exposing his students to a higher degree of learning had on him as a teacher, “It’s great to be able to expose students to a world they never knew existed.”

Although there are skeptics to the study, two-thirds of American teachers feel that traditional evaluations don’t accurately capture the full picture of what they do in the classroom. Educators who agree with the measures cite their need for information they can trust from measures that are fair and reliable.

In addressing concerns about the study, Gates stated, “Every teacher has the right to ask of evaluations: Is this designed to help me get better?”

——— Editor’s Note: The Egalitarian’s Jimmieka Mills was selected by the advocacy group Young Invincibles to report on the Gates Learning Forum Oct. 6-8 in Seattle.

Controversial MoCity campus moves Allysa Foley

I

The Egalitarian

f you have ever walked through the sparsely populated halls of the Missouri City campus, you wouldn’t guess that this quiet campus is probably the most controversial Houston Community College location.

On Thursday Jan. 21, the governing board of HCC voted to sell the remaining 33 acre tract of unimproved property around the campus back to the Johnson Development Corporation, which the college originally bought the land from in two purchases back in 2002 and 2004.

These acres in the masterplanned community of Sienna Plantation were declared a property surplus by the Board of Trustees about a year ago.

Thursday’s vote is another step in completing the relocation of the Missouri City campus to the new location adjacent to the Missouri City Hall building on Texas Parkway, where there is more sustained development by the city.

This is the third time that the Missouri City campus has moved.

Before the Sienna location was built, HCC had a location off Cartwright Road beginning in 1997. The new Texas Parkway location will be only two miles

away from the Stafford campus, the Sienna location is six miles away.

“Two times we built campuses in Missouri City, and two times they didn’t make. And here, we’re doing a third one?” asked Trustee Dave Wilson at the board meeting. He has voted against the deal every step of the way.

A commitment was made to the citizens of Missouri City when they joined the HCC taxing district that they would be given their own campus. Having locations so close together is economically questionable at see

MoCity Campus, Page 3

Image courtesy of HCC Exteior rendition of Missouti City Campus on Texas Parkway site.

On Campus 2 Open Carry is not Campus Carry Wednesday January 27, 2016

Alyssa Foley

The Egalitarian The Texas Open Carry law went into effect Jan 1, but that does not mean you can bring a gun to any Houston Community College campus.

House Bill 910 permits Concealed Handgun License holders to visibly carry handguns in Texas. This law does not allow anyone without a handgun license to open carry. It also does not allow those who do have a handgun license to openly carry on any college campus. No open carry is permitted on any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, parking garage or parking area of the college.

“Right now, you may never carry a gun openly on a campus,” said HCC Police Chief Greg Cunningham to student leaders at the United Student Council meeting on Jan. 15.

It’s still illegal to carry a weapon into places such as schools, courtrooms, airports, post offices, etc. The only thing this law changed is that where license holders were permitted to carry a gun before, they may now carry it openly instead of concealed.

“Basically, all they said was, ‘Take your jacket off,’” said Chief Cunningham.

There is some confusion between this open carry law which went into effect Jan. 1, and the new campus carry law. There are two separate laws and three implementation dates.

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Texas Senate Bill 11 will allow Concealed Handgun License holders to carry a concealed or hidden gun in particular areas on college campuses. The campus carry law does not go into effect for Texas public four-year institutions until Aug. 1, 2016.

Meanwhile, guns are still illegal on the campuses of public twoyear institutions like HCC until Aug. 1 of 2017.

Until August of 2017, no firearms are allowed at HCC. If you see anyone carrying a firearm on campus, stay calm and call the HCC Police Department emergency number immediately at 713-718-8888. “If you even hear someone say they thought they saw someone with a gun, just let us know so we can investigate,” said HCC Police Lt. John Boxie.

If anyone is caught carrying a weapon on campus, HCC police’s approach will be to educate that individual on the law. “Our approach to this thing is going to be non-confrontational to the best of our ability,” stated Chief Cunningham, “If they’re a jerk, or they choose not to [listen], then things get ugly and we start arresting people.” Violating open carry laws may result in a Class A misdemeanor.

It’s important to note that campus carry will only allow for concealed carry by handgun license holders. “Even after it’s OK to have guns on campus, they can’t be openly carried,” explained Cunningham, “concealed [carry] is you can’t tell I have a

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gun.”

Both of these laws only affect how and where Concealed Handgun License Holders may pack heat. A person is eligible to apply to the state for a CHL license if they are over the age of 21; have never been convicted of a felony; have not been convicted of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor in the past five years; and is fully qualified under federal and state law to purchase a handgun, among other requirements. Applicants must also pass a state gun-safety course to obtain a license.

HCC can decide to make particular parts of campus gun free—with the state legislature’s approval. For example, the child care center at the Central campus could be designated as a gun-free zone, but the entire HCC central campus cannot be made gun-free under the law simply because it has a childcare center. HCC Chancellor Cesar Maldonado has started a Campus Carry Committee to decide the details of the college’s campus carry policy.

When campus carry goes into effect, the HCC Police Department cannot require CHL students or staff to register with the department, nor can they require individuals to take a gun safety class. “I cannot infringe on your right in any way,” noted Cunningham. The HCC Police Department plans on developing classes closer to the campus roll out date. The classes would focus on gun-safety and what to do in

Oscar noms set off controversy Marialuisa Rincon The Egalitarian

After noticing that none of the 20 actors nominated for Oscars last year were of color, Maryland activist April Reign tweeted, “#oscarssowhite they asked to touch my hair.” The hashtag went viral within days and the memes and jokes that stemmed from it served to highlight the lack of diversity that has become a hallmark of academy nominations.

It opened up a conversation— first, between Reign and her followers—and later, among the public, celebrities and the nominees themselves about the absence of inclusion in Academy Award nominations.

For the second year in a row, all of the nominees are white.

The internet was in an uproar almost immediately after the nominations were announced this year. That same day, Spike Lee, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith,

Tyrese Gibson, Snoop Dogg and a number of other black entertainers announced their intention to boycott the Oscars.

Pinkett Smith is encouraging other people of color to do the same.

“At the Oscars...people of color are always welcomed to give out awards...even entertain, but we are rarely recognized for our artistic accomplishments,” she wrote on Facebook, “should people of color refrain from participating all together? People can only treat us in the way in which we allow.” She ends, “with much respect in the midst of deep disappointment, J.” Her sentiment seems to echo throughout the AfricanAmerican entertaining community. With so many actors snubbed this year—Idris Elba in ‘Beasts of No Nation’, Will Smith in ‘Concussion’, and Michael B. Jordan in ‘Creed’— it’s hard not to wonder if the nominators actually saw the

Eric Gay/AP Photo Activists held an open carry rally at the Texas state capitol on Jan. 1, 2016 in Austin, Texas. an active shooter scenario.

The Texas State Legislature re-convenes in January 2017, months before campus carry goes into effect for public twoyear colleges. “Somebody might be able to get them to change this thing,” said Chief Cunningham, who admitted that he opposed

the campus carry legislation because he believes it’s a bad idea. “Don’t plan on it, but we at least have a chance.”

——— For more info, visit: hccs.edu/ CampusCarry Read the campus carry bill: bit.ly/1S4LiDb

HCC carry group meets Alyssa Foley

The Egalitarian

M Terrill/AP Photo Chris Rock hosted the 77th Academy Awards telecast in Los Angeles. Rock will return to host the Oscars for a second time. Rock has made adecisions about his opening monologue. films at all. Members of the Academy are not required to do so before casting a vote.

Appearing on Good Morning America, Will Smith talked about how the underrepresentation of black people in the movies could stymie future filmmakers.

“Had I been nominated and no other people of color were, see

Oscar, Page 4

In the Chancellor’s September memo on the campus carry legislation, Dr. Maldonado stated that, “HCC will seek input from our many stakeholder groups, including faculty, staff and students, to responsibly assess our options for adherence to the law, while protecting the safety of those whom we serve on our campuses.”

As the president of the United Student Council, Josue Rodriguez is the student body president for all of HCC’s 60 thousand plus students. Rodriguez is one of the three students named to the Campus Carry Committee, along with student government leaders Alejandra Soto and Marcos Barron.

“My role has been just basically adding student input,” Rodriguez explained.

“My main priority is to first, inform students [about the law]. And then second, to find out what students in every campus think the policy should be. And then third, present that to the Campus

Carry Committee.”

Rodriguez believes that “we need to get more student input” than simply the three students on the committee. He said it’s important that students know that they can express their opinions on the future HCC policy on campus carry.

With the help of the college administration, he would like to create an online survey in order to ask students what they think the policy should be.

Rodriguez, a student at the HCC Honors College at the Central campus, wants to have student contributions from across town so that “every campus would be represented in that statement” to the committee. He said that he aims to have the survey up and running by the end of this month.

Rodriguez said that the committee’s goal is “making sure we have a draft policy close to the end of this semester.” They want to discuss some legal aspects of the policy before this summer’s campus carry rollout date for four-year institutions, because HCC has a UT-Tyler satellite program for engineering hosted at the Alief-Hays campus.

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News

Wednesday January 27, 2016

The Egalitarian www.HCCEgalitarian.com

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Parade honors King’s legacy Emmanuel Akinola The Egalitarian

The 22nd annual MLK Grande Parade in Midtown Houston commemorated Martin Luther King’s birthday on Jan. 18, with tens of thousands of people attending to witness the processions through midtown, marching within blocks of Houston Community College Central’s campus.

The processions consisted of marching bands from the University of Houston, Bellaire High School, St. Augustine High School, and Scarborough High School, to name a few. Other groups that attended were the Sikh Martial Arts Group and the Roller Derby Society. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner also made a brief appearance. The main theme for the event was “It Takes a Village,” a phrase from an old proverb.

To many people, the message and legacy of the late reverend’s movements still resonates. This

rings true, especially for the parents and older citizens who brought their kids to attend.

Several decades ago, AfricanAmericans couldn’t be seen in the front of the bus or attend any restaurant freely due to harsh Jim Crow laws.

Air Force JROTC Master Sergeant Raymond Brown from C.E. King High School acknowledged the disparity and hardships from days gone by. To him, the holiday means “the sacrifice of those who were there” which gave rise to “more opportunities” for black people.

When asked about the current situation with our first black president, Barack Obama, holding office, Brown said, “He [MLK] would’ve been very proud.”

Brown also cautioned that there’s “still work to be done” on the issue of race relations in this country. He noted, “Materially, things have gotten better,” but he would like to see more progress.

This is highlighted by the recent controversy with the

John Canamar/The Egalitarian Mounted Buffalo Soldiers trott down parade route in the 2016 Midtown MLK Parade.

Oscars. There has been an outcry from actors and directors on the fact that the majority of nominees for the categories had no AfricanAmericans artists or other ethnicities.

Brown hopes that MLK’S legacy can inspire future generations to “serve” and give back to their communities. He also says there’s “lots of lessons that can be learned here” for young people today.

Often, our generation takes for granted the amount of freedom

without realizing the struggles undergone in the 60s.

It’s hard to fathom the hosing or assault of MLK’s day when trying to walk freely into a street, store, or even a public school. What comes to mind are the struggles undergone by Rosa Parks on the bus and the Little Rock Nine, the nine black students who were able to attend a segregated school after Eisenhower’s intervention.

People construe the Civil Rights movement as only helping

MoCityCampus, From Page 1 best, but the administration believes that moving to a more visible location off Texas Parkway will attract new students.

Back in December, the Board of Trustees gave their final approval to the sale of 11.75 acres and the current campus building to Fort Bent County. About 4.5 acres were previously given to the county for the development of the Sienna Plantation library.

The administration claims that relocation will come with no deficit to HCC’s budget, but that doesn’t mean HCC didn’t sink a few million in the Sienna Plantation campus.

HCC invested $18,770,520 in non-transferable assets in the Sienna location.

(Transferable assets like furniture and equipment will be moved to the new location.)

Subtract $2,667,818 of value in accumulated depreciation, and HCC is walking away from $16,102,702 of invested tax money.

The college sold the undeveloped 33 acres to the Johnson Corporation for $2,563,161.

Newly elected Trustee John Hansen called the sell back a “yucky deal,” but HCC lawyers advised that under the college’s current deed, they have no chance of getting a better deal even if they take it to court.

When selling to another governmental entity, the college must abide by the appraised value. They’re selling the 11.75 acres and campus building to Fort Bend County, at the appraised value of $8,000,000.

From the two separate land

Image courtesy of HCC Artist rendition of the inteerior of the Missouri City Campus that will be erected on the 41 acre site off of Texas Parkway near Buffalo Run Drive. and building sales, HCC is taking in $10,563,161 for the property.

Recall that HCC invested $16,102,702 in non-transferable assets. That means at least $5,539,541 in tax money was lost on the Sienna location. HCC sold a $16 million investment for $10.5 million.

The way HCC is passing this off as zero-dollar loss is that the deficit is filled by grant and tax dollars. Besides sinking $5,539,541 on the Sienna location, the college is appropriating $21,500,000 from the 2013 Capital Improvement Project bond approved by district voters.

Add those two numbers together and HCC is dropping $27,039,541 of taxpayer money to move the Missouri City campus.

“Fort Bend County is making out real well. The city of Missouri City is making out real well. The

developer is making out real well,” criticized Trustee Wilson, who reiterated that as trustees, they are supposed to be looking after the interests of HCC. Granted, the $21.5 million in tax money was approved by voters as part of the Capital Improvement project, which was a $425 million bond package for 12 projects across the city.

After the bond program passed, “there was going to be building happening in one place or another [in Missouri City],” said Trustee Zeph Capo, “there was nothing else that anybody on this board could do to turn that particular issue around.”

He added that, “I didn’t support putting another $21 million into the current Sienna Plantation area.”

The Texas Parkway location is flushed with $33,330,923 in funding when you add the bond money, the land

and building sales and the $1,267,762 grant received from the non-governmental George Foundation.

In Jan. 2015, the board approved the $3,627,677 purchase of the 41 acre Texas Parkway site. Building construction is budgeted at $28,691,579 for the new 75 thousand square foot building, set to be completed in March 2017. Meanwhile, closing and other relocation costs add up to $868,596. If the new construction stays on target, HCC will have $143,071 in cash left over, but since any unused funds will be returned to the George Foundation, there will be no net cash gain for HCC from the move.

The administration did not publish these numbers until a day after the final vote. “We can’t get input from the community if we can’t give you the facts,”

African-Americans, but in a lot of ways, it also helped other minorities in general. Among the many participants were people of different faiths with Jewish, Hispanic, and even Asian backgrounds. Ultimately, the cause that drove King in his activism was equality for all in civil rights. The parade showed the melting pot that is American society. The late reverend would be proud of the racial inclusion made over the years. said Trustee Robert Glaser, who has been making calls for more transparency. “We’re making a decision on buying and selling property without data,” added Trustee Dave Wilson.

Trustee Eva Loredo called the deal “a win” for HCC because the local community supports it. She admitted that “the dollar issue is there,” but even though she is one of the nine, elected trustees with final authority to make the decisions that govern HCC, she said that “it’s beyond our control.” Loredo was just reelected to serve another six-year term. Who controls “the dollar issue” if not trustees?

Trustee Dave Wilson said that, “Everyone at this table knew what this deal was, and they had a judiciary responsibility to look into that.”

Trustee Christopher Oliver said that this should serve “as a teaching moment as we move forward on any and all real estate deals as to how much homework we should do.” First elected to the board in 1995, Oliver is the longest-serving trustee on the board. He is the only current trustee who has sat through all three of the Missouri City campus moves.

Trustee Hansen was elected last November and had just taken his oath of office before this meeting, so he had no role in the making of this deal. After making a 10-minute public statement, which made it clear how much homework he did on this issue, he said “this ship has already sailed” and abstained from voting.

Read the numbers published Friday on the Missouri City campus move: bit.ly/1JvtQqn

Community What’s with the Greek names?

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Wednesday January 27, 2016

Alyssa Foley

The Egalitarian Phi Theta Kappa. Psi Beta.

Sigma Alpha Pi. Psi Kappa. Phi Beta Lambda. The National Society of Leadership and Success. The National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

Use the words ‘Phi’, ‘Psi’, ‘Pi’ or ‘The National Society of’ and you have yourself a student group.

If you are asked to join any of these organizations this semester, you may be wondering what are the differences between them.

HCC does not have the party-hosting Fraternities and Sororities of Greek-life, but there are three honor societies: Phi Theta Kappa, The National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Sigma Alpha Pi (The National Society of Leadership and Success).

These honor societies are invitation-only organizations that recognize academic and leadership achievement.

Invitations to join HCC’s three are mostly based on grades.

Qualifying HCC students of all majors will receive invitations to join these groups in the mail and via email in the coming weeks. Every semester, the college administration turns over the names and contact info of students whose grades and credit hours meet the individual society’s criteria. Often the invitation to join is the first time students hear about these groups.

These societies boast that the benefits of joining include recognition in the form of an induction ceremony and the privilege of wearing the society’s regalia at graduation; networking with other highperforming students; leadership opportunities and other activities to put on transfer applications and résumés; and scholarships exclusively for their members. All three conduct community service initiatives. Each group has a onetime membership fee of $85-95 to join. The flashy colored cord, medallion, stole and tassel for graduation are, of course, not included with the joining fee.

While each of these groups sound similar, there are some notable differences.

Phi Theta Kappa or PTK. After a student joins, the words

Oscars, From Page 2 she still would have made the video,” he said about his wife Jada’s video last week chastising the Academy for its lapse in judgement.

“This is so deeply not about me. This is about the children that are going to sit down and

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is why universities ask about transfer students’ membership.

Founded in 1918, it’s by far the oldest honor society presence at two-year colleges and the most recognizable.

A 3.5 GPA or above and at least 12 hours of college-level credit are what it takes to earn an invitation.

Their self-reported, member scholarship offerings are $90 million nation-wide, with $37 million of that money being transfer scholarships. With about 12 hundred chapters, the society has inducted over 3 million

7.5 and 10 percent of their class respectively.

The National Society of Collegiate Scholars or NSCS Chapters can be found at both community colleges and universities, there are chapters at all the big name universities in Texas, so students are already members of a group when they step foot on their new campus after transferring.

Freshmen and sophomores with a 3.4 GPA or above are invited. Their self-reported, exclusive scholarship offerings are $1 million. They have 330

leadership training day, three streamed speaker broadcasts and three meetings with networking teams before they can be inducted. At some HCC chapters, up to 10 hours of community service—often with the group— is required before students are inducted as members.

This society focuses on leadership development rather than on grades alone. Invitation criteria is set by individual chapters instead of at the national level, and the GPA requirement is often much lower (2.0 GPA at some chapters) than the other

two societies at HCC. Their self-reported, memberonly scholarship offerings are $200 thousand nationwide.

There are over 500 thousand members at nearly 500 chapters.

Psi Beta Honor Society This is a national psychology honor society at two-year colleges. The group offers leadership and community service opportunities. There is a one-time membership fee of $50. Listed on their national website are a few scholarships for research projects which total to about $5 thousand.

Members are eligible for student affiliate membership in the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. Psi Beta members can also be “introduced” upon transfer to a Psi Chi chapter at a four-year college or university. Psi Chi is the international honor society for psychology majors at most four-year institutions in Texas and beyond.

Psi Kappa or The Psychology Club at Houston Community College.

Based out of HCC’s Stafford campus, this club promotes psychology education outside of the classroom. The group conducts informative meetings and service projects, and there are leadership opportunities as club officers.

This is an independent HCC student club, not an honor society. Don’t confuse Psi Kappa with Psi Beta, or Phi Theta Kappa for that matter.

Students can become a member of HCC’s Psi Kappa by attending meetings and signing up.

Phi Beta Lambda or PBL (High school level is called Future Business Leaders of America or FBLA) This is an organization specifically for business majors.

They focus on leadership development, academic competitions and other portfoliobuilding exercises, and offer a few scholarships.

Don’t let the Greek name confuse you. It is not an invitation-only honor society.

HCC has a chapter of this majorspecific, national student club and they are based at the West Loop campus. Nationwide, there are over 250 thousand members of Phi Beta Lambda.

watch this show and are not going to see themselves represented.”

Roberts added that he also would not attend or watch the award show on TV. Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who is African American, revealed that the present voting body was a whopping 76 percent men and

94 percent white—a figure, she said is “not representative of the industry itself.”

In response to the controversy, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Friday that in a unanimous decision, they would be implementing new measures in their voting and membership

practices to avoid this from happening again.

In a statement, Isaacs says that though they have been actively increasing diversity for the past four years, the changes are not coming fast enough and with the new measures, the Academy is working to double of women and diverse members by 2020.

The number of members whose involvement in the industry has waned in recent years, possibly tainting the voting pool. In the future, members will be granted lifetime voting rights after three 10-year terms. In each of the terms, they must demonstrate being active in Hollywood at least once. Past and future nominees

“Phi Theta Kappa” are printed on their HCC transcript. When applying to transfer, university applications on ApplyTexas. org ask students to check the box if they are a member of Phi Theta Kappa. Currently, student membership within any other organization is not printed on HCC transcripts, and transfer applications don’t ask specifically about any other memberships.

Beside the society’s own scholarships, many universities have their own transfer grants for Phi Theta Kappa students, which

members since its founding.

Need more Greek letters?

HCC’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa is called Omega Sigma.

It’s a district-wide organization that hosts events at campuses across town, but most of their meetings are at the West Loop campus.

It’s easy to get Phi Theta Kappa confused with Phi Theta Phi, a similar all-disciplinary honor society for Juniors and Seniors at most four-year universities.

To join Phi Theta Phi, Juniors and Seniors must be in the top

chapters and just over a million members. At HCC’s chapter of the collegiate society, most of their events are hosted at the Spring Branch campus.

Sigma Alpha Pi, The National Society of Leadership and Success or NSLS. With the other two honor societies, good grades plus the induction fee gives you a ticket to the membership induction ceremony. Not so with Sigma Alpha Pi. Members are required to attend an orientation, a

Thomas Hopkins/The Egalitarian

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Wednesday January 27, 2016

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NASA provides space for STEM students Ana Ramirez

The Egalitarian Houston Community College student Jimmy Lazo was accepted for a NASA electrical design Internship during the 2014 spring semester.

“It all started after Chemistry class. I saw a NASA’s National Community College of Aerospace poster on the wall of the Stafford campus and decided to give it a try,” he says.

Lazo signed up with NASA’s National Community College of Aerospace. He attended a class, and passed the exam that followed. Later, they paid him to visit the Johnson Space Center for a workshop. His workshop project was to build a robot and test it out on a surface similar to Mars. “I met lots of people who work for NASA and was able to have a mini conversation,” Lazo said.

He later received a call from

the NASA Education department asking him if he would like to fillin a team for the Micro-g NExT challenge. In the challenge, students work in teams to design and build prototypes of spacewalking tools to be used by astronauts for spacewalk training in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

He accepted the challenge, and competed against other students from different fouryear universities like Purdue and Yale. His team was comprised of students from different community colleges. “I was teamed up with three guys and we improvise to do the project,” explains Lazo.

He describes the challenge as interesting, but intimidating because of financial problems.

Lazo’s team used their own money to buy materials, while the other students had budgets from their schools.

He finished the challenge

in early May 2015. His team’s prototype was tested in the simulated microgravity environment of the 6.2 million gallon indoor pool where NASA astronauts train before space missions.

Afterward, he heard about a temporary internship from OSSI and he signed up for the Electrical Design Internship.

OSSI is a NASA-wide system for the recruitment and career development for college students, it’s mostly for STEM majors.

Lazo received a phone call, but didn’t answer because he didn’t recognize the number. That night, he checked his voicemail and heard the message from NASA saying they accepted him for the internship if he was still interested. “I thought the call was some type of prank,” he said.

The objective of the internship is to find a way to lay out all the electrical wiring for the space shuttle, but in a smaller space.

Image courtesy of Marcos Guzman 2014 NASA Aerospace Summer Internsip program.

In November 2015, Lazo worked on the layout of two different boards. He has already finished designing the boards.

In December, he worked on the physical layout and some programming.

Lazo says he enjoys being a part of the internship, and that he is enjoying his time working with NASA. NASA’s Community College of Aerospace also gives students

the opportunity to have a 3-day, online interactive experience at NASA. It’s available for middle school students all the way to community college students.

OSSI stands for One Stop Shopping Initiative. OSSI is a program connected with NASA to get undergraduate and graduate students to apply for career development opportunities primarily in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Transfer process has several steps

Law breathes new life into hotrods

Emmanuel Akinola The Egalitarian

John Cañamar The Egalitarian

Does the mention of Rat Fink put a smile on your face? Do you get chills when you hear the rumble of Magna-Flows hooked up to a 475 horse powered Chevy Big Block stuffed inside of a 1934 five window coupe Hot Rod? If so, then one of your dreams has come true thanks to the 114th Congress.

There is a new law that is being called the “Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act of 2015.”

Bill H.R. 2675 reads as follows: To direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to establish a program allowing low volume motor vehicle manufacturers to produce a limited number of vehicles annually within a regulatory system that addresses the unique safety and financial issues associated with limited production, and to direct the Environmental Protection Agency to allow low volume motor vehicle manufacturers to install engines from vehicles that have been issued certificates of conformity.

What does this mean to the Gear Head community? It’s quite exciting actually.

In short, you can now buy a turnkey 1932 Ford Coupe, instead of having to order all the parts and then building a kit car. Under the bill, manufactures are allowed to build up to 500 replica vehicles per year.

Here is the catch: the replicas will have to be emission compliant, and have an OBDII computer to qualify to be sold and put on the road.

It won’t be the same as having a six-pack mounted on top of your manifold, but don’t be disappointed.

You will now be able to order a Ford High Boy from a company and pay the same as if you were to go to any dealership and buy an SUV. Now you can own your dream car.

Some may say that the fun in owning a hot rod

5

John Cañamar/The Egalitarian 1930’s Ford Hot-Rod during 2016 Midtown MLK Parade. is all the hours spent under, over and inside of the car perfecting every detail. Spending time along the side of your son, brother, dad and friends turning wrenches while cracking jokes and busting knuckles is a right of passage. There is the sheer euphoria when you first hear that motor turn over and stay on. While this is all true, the fact is there are less and less metal canvases available to build one from scratch.

There is also the other side of owning a Hot Rod: the cruising.

It does not matter if you are into a Rat Rod, Hot Rod, muscle car or classic truck the end game of owning one is driving it on the road either to get away from it all or to join up with others who share the same passion.

This is a great new bill. Think of all the good times you will have going to the Good Guys Shows in your 2016 ’32 coupe with your son looking for that perfect project that you can work on for the next five to ten years.

The spring semester is here, and that means graduation for some of us community college students. That also brings the prospect of transferring to a four-year university. It’s essential to know the steps in making sure your transfer application process runs as smoothly as possible. Those steps include talking to an adviser, filling out applications and sending transcripts, test scores, and recommendation letters.

Simply visit the Advising Center or make an appointment by calling the respective numbers for each campus that can be found on the Houston Community College website.

The advisers will be able to inform you which classes can be transferred over to your prospective future college.

Another resource is in the PeopleSoft Student Sign-In System, which informs you if you have completed all requirements in your major under the tab or section (iAAR) Academic Requirements.

Each university has different deadlines and requirements depending on the major that you are applying.

A great resource to use online is CollegeBoard.com.

The website has up-to-date information on the deadlines for each college and extensive

background information which includes graduation and retention rates, and national school rankings.

Send in official transcript(s) from any college previously attended and current.

To request or order your transcript, go to CredentialsInc.com from the Houston Community College website under Transcripts or use this link: bit.ly/1KnnNPw. Each transcript costs $7 to send electronically and $17 to order through the phone.

In most cases, recommendation letters aren’t necessary with state schools in Texas. But if you’re applying to a private university or an Ivy League school like Rice or Brown, they tend to ask. However, the fact that you’re a transfer student signifies college readiness to begin with.

On average, private institutions do often require standardized test scores, just like with recommendation letters or instructor evaluations. For example, SAT and/ or ACT scores are required from Rice University, but in the case of Brown University, they aren’t required from a community college student.

Since Ivy League schools fall into this category, if you are looking to apply to a school on either the West or East Coast, make sure that your test scores are stellar.

6

Wednesday January 27, 2016

The Egalitarian www.HCCEgalitarian.com

Around

Image by Thomas Hopkins

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Image by Thomas Hopkins

Top Left - A student at Central Campus library studies prior to final exams.

Above - Printing student inks design before making multiple prints on press.

Left- A couple of friends browsing the internet enjoying spring like day on first day back from Winter Break.

Below - Students speaking with reps of various companies at the Stafford Campus Job Fair.

Bottom - Speaker informing new students at Advising and Registration orientation.

Image by Thomas Hopkins

Image by Thomas Hopkins

Image by Ajani Stewart

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HCC

Image by Ajani Stewart

Wednesday January 27, 2016

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Image by Ajani Stewart

Above - Relaxing in the lower level of the library on the Central Campus.

Top Right - Starting the Sping Semester on the right foot by hitting the books hard on the first day of class.

Right - Taking advantage of the time between classes preparing for next task at hand.

Bottom Right - A fan of Wade Winston Wilson, better know as Deadpool, plots out his Spring Semster at the registration center inside of the Central HUB building.

Image by Thomas Hopkins

Image by Thomas Hopkins

Image by Ajani Stewart

k e

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The Egalitarian www.HCCEgalitarian.com

Wednesday January 27, 2016

Sports

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Fútbol Champions Ajani Stewart The Egalitarian

CONCACAF has chosen their players of the year: Women’s World Cup winner and U.S. national team captain Carli Lloyd and the Mexican International Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez.

CONCACAF is the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football. Based on voting in by fans, technical directors and players alike, the award winning categories stretched from Men and Women’s Player of the Year to Men and Women’s Coach of the Year.

First-time winner Carli Llyod succeeded her former teammate Abby Wambach— the all time leading women’s goal scorer— through her performance in the women’s world cup during the summer. Llyod’s 10 plus year gig with the United States women’s national team has included her involvement in over five major tournaments for the U.S., along with her overcoming a mid-career ankle injury that looked to halt her success.

Lloyd was also the winner of the 2015 Women’s World Cup Golden Ball and FIFA’s World Player of the Year for 2015. She is also currently a member of the Houston Dash within the National Women’s Soccer League. As a starting member of the United States women’s national team, Lloyd’s informal role as an idol is decisive in gathering and influencing a new audience to join American soccer, both on and off the pitch.

Javier Hernandez is second on the list of all time goal scorers for the Mexican national team and Bundesliga Player of the Month in both November

and December of 2015. He has been recognized for his contributions in the Mexican national team and the German club Bayer Leverkusen. Among the laurels Hernandez has received, he sits comfortably holding league titles with English soccer powerhouse Manchester United, a 2011 Gold Cup MVP and top scorer award, along with a comfortable 11 goals in the German Bundesliga.

Despite being left out of the Mexican squad that went on to win the 2015 Gold Cup—beating Jamaica in the final 3-1, and the squad that participated in the 2015 Copa America—Hernandez was still able to exceed players from the most elite teams, including his own team, in the CONCACAF region. At age 27, Hernandez has a résumé including the likes of European powerhouses Manchester United and Real Madrid, two of the most decorated clubs in the history of the sport.

Both award winners have displayed their talents overseas and at home, and give a voice to the CONCACAF region, which is sometimes overshadowed by the history and prestige created by the European sphere. Though comparing the likes of the Houston Dynamo to the Arsenal Football Club of London might seem a bit rushed at the moment, it shows that the players who call CONCACAF home are undoubtedly making it evident the gap is forever becoming smaller and smaller while home support continues to grow.

Far less recognized than the players, the coaches who were awarded CONCACAF Men’s and Women’s Coach of the year respectively, were Hernan Dario Gomez of the Panama National Team; and Jill Ellis

CONCACAF picked Mexico star Javier Hernandez, above, and U.S. women’s soccer star Carli Lloyd, right, as their male and female soccer players of the year.

Hernandez, shown celebrating after scoring a penalty kick during a friendly soccer match against Argentina, earned the men’s honor for his play in Germany’s Bundesliga and the Mexican national team.

Lloyd, shown celebrating her third goal against Japan in the Women’s World Cup, became America’s all-time leading women’s goal scorer.

AP File Photos

of the United States Women’s National Team.

Hernan Gomez was appointed manager Panama, after brief periods coaching teams such as Columbia and Ecuador after, and led them to a third place spot in the Gold Cup in 2015.

Jill Ellis executed an outstanding display as she guided the U.S. women’s national team to a World Cup, ending

the 16 year long shortcoming of the world champion title. Ellis also went on to win FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Football. Her rise from an assistant coach to World Cup winner epitomizes the strength and audacity of soccer within the western hemisphere, where she continues to impact the future of the sport by acting as the National Development Director for the Unite States women’s youth teams.

Fantasy sports take on state lottery John Cañamar The Egalitarian

D

id you pick Cam Newton or Tom Brady to lead your team to victory, and you to the bank this week with your Fantasy Football winnings? Don’t worry about playing; it’s not illegal in Texas.

In Texas, sports fans can play all the fantasy sports they wish and not worry about any repercussions from the criminal courts.

On Jan. 19, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote an opinion, not any different than what I am doing in this piece.

Nothing that I write will become law or change any law, the same as when Paxton wrote his opinion.

When Paxton replied to state Rep. Myra Crownover’s question on whether fantasy sports are legal or not in Texas, he concluded his nine-page opinion by saying: “Under section 47.02 of the Penal Code, a person commits an offense if he or she makes a bet on the partial or final result of a game or contest or on the performance of a participant in a game or contest. Because the outcome of games in daily fantasy sports

leagues depends partially on chance, an individual’s payment of a fee to participate in such activities is a bet. Accordingly, a court would likely determine that participation in daily fantasy sports leagues is illegal gambling ‘under section 47.02 of the Penal Code.

Though participating in a traditional fantasy sports league is also illegal gambling under section 47.02, participants in such leagues may avail themselves of a statutory defense to prosecution under section 47.02(b) of the Penal Code when play is in a private place, no person receives any economic benefit other than personal winnings, and the risks of winning or losing are the same for all participants.”

Using the same penal code as Paxton, it appears to me that fantasy sports are not to be considered gambling, while the Texas Lottery and all games sold under the Texas Lottery are clearly forms of gambling.

Under section 47.04.A, a “Gambling Device” is any electronic, electromechanical or mechanical contrivance. That includes, but is not limited to, gambling device versions of bingo,

Image courtesy of Texas Lottery Commission This graphic from the Texas Lottery Commission illustrates how lottery ticket sales are divided. Nearly two-thirds of all lottery ticket sales to paying prize money while more than a quarter of those funds are dedicated to the Texas Education Foundation School Fund. keno, blackjack and notably, the lottery.

For example, Texas’ new $1 scratch off ticket “Wild1’s” has a run of 11,135,250 tickets printed.

There is a total of $6,678,700 in total prizes awarded but only $5,614,415 in prizes when not counting break-even tickets.

Now, I am not against money going to schools, veterans and even the retailers who sell the tickets, but the $4,456,550 that the state is collecting is the “Rake” under the penal code.

A “Rake” is the percentage or fee taken from the bet and is not distributed to the winners, but instead kept for self gain.

To take it one step further, all locations that sell Texas Lottery should be considered “Gambling Places” under the law, and if you are caught in one, you could be punished with a fine and even jail time. Will that ever happen? No. Video slot machines in Texas are illegal, as are the Game Rooms where people gather to play these games. One of the main reasons it’s illegal is that there is no accounting system in place to collect or record the amount of money that is taken in by the owners of these establishments.

Without accountability in place, the government cannot collect the proper amount of

taxes.

The truth behind government agencies and Fantasy Sports is that the government wants more taxes than what are being paid in just income taxes on the 6-14 percent that companies like Draft Kings and Fanduel take on in the rake.

I believe that playing fantasy sports is more like playing in the stock market than gambling. Even if there is a risk of losing money in fantasy sports, you still pick your team (or stocks) with an educated guess, based on what players (or stocks) you think will perform well this week. The lottery is true gambling; you pick numbers and win by pure, dumb luck.

9 Culture Rebirth-Revival-Revolution Wednesday January 27, 2016

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Jimmieka Mills The Egalitarian

The Houston Community College Codwell campus Art Hub Gallery held its first exhibit of the spring semester, entitled ‘Rebirth-Revival-Revolution,’ showcasing the works of Alvin and Ezra Roy. The father and son duo are native to Houston and have garnered a following as far as Eastern Europe.

Their story of perseverance in the face of adversity began three days after Ezra was born, when a doctor announced a diagnosis that initially overwhelmed Alvin. Ezra was diagnosed with Down Syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes growth and intellectual delays.

“I remember being devastated,” says Alvin, “that lasted for about 2 minutes. I drew upon the strength of my grandparents who had never given up in the face of adversity.”

Alvin, an army veteran, had no idea that the battle had just begun. Within two years after Ezra’s birth, his biological mother abandoned the family and the single father was left to pick up the pieces.

Alvin had started a promising career in law after serving in the military. However, he switched his profession to art, which he had always loved,

when he realized how well his son responded to it. “I began to notice his association with color and saw how it excited him.”

The single father began teaching his son how to draw and paint. He used art as a teaching tool to expand Ezra’s vocabulary and phonic sensibilities. “When Ezra was growing up, my house looked like a rainbow coalition! There were sticky notes everywhere with vocabulary words to help Ezra to learn.”

In 2006 Alvin Roy founded an art education program called 1-On-1 Art, where today he trains other teenagers and young adults with Down Syndrome and autism. He uses the special techniques that helped Ezra to achieve what was once thought to be impossible.

In 2014 Ezra graduated magna cum laude from Texas Southern University, becoming the firstknown individual with his condition to earn a degree from TSU. Since many special-needs individuals lack exposure to artistic possibilities as a means of self-expression, the 1-On1 Art curriculum is designed to help students develop their motor skills, while increasing their self-esteem.

“My personal goal is to provide the students with such, and extend community awareness

The Egalitarian www.HCCEgalitarian.com

Jimmieka Mills/The Egalitarian The works of local father-and-son duo Alvin and Ezra Roy are currently being displayed at the Northeast College’s Art Hub Gallery. The Roys’ artwork will be on display at the Codwell Campus from now until Feb. 11. of the artistic talent of young people with special needs in the Houston area,” Alvin stated in his mission statement for 1-On1 Art, Inc. Though the exhibit was a showing of the duo’s artwork, many in attendance at the Codwell campus gallery took away much more.

“I was literally in tears listening to Alvin speak of his love for his son,” said Cameron Williams, a graphic artist and local community member attending the gallery opening.

“I was told by one of my friends who attends HCC that there

was an exhibit that I may gain inspiration from in my own work. I did not expect this!”

As a father of two young boys, Williams can remember the births of both his children and the concerns he had for his children’s health. “I remember checking to see if they had 10 fingers and 10 toes. We never even considered cognitive delays and a syndrome that could potentially affect their quality of life.”

When asked what he would like those attending the exhibit to take away from it, the elder Roy stated, “I want people

to know that everyone has a disability. Whether it’s physical or will manifest itself later in life, we all have some sense of disability. I would like for people to purely focus on one’s ability.”

Ezra’s work has been sold commercially and showcased at Houston City Hall. Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker has previously proclaimed Jan. 6 as Ezra Roy Day in the city.

Alvin and Ezra Roy’s artwork will be on display at the Codwell Campus’ art gallery until Feb. 11, Monday through Thursday, and Fridays by appointment.

Contact: 713-718-8329.

Arts program helps HCC student give back Eric Calderon The Egalitarian

Houston is growing and the lifestyle we are leading is far beyond what any generation has ever experienced. The West side of Houston has more affluence than any city I’ve ever seen, and if you add in The Galleria, West University, The Heights and River Oaks, you see wealth left and right.

What about those parts of the city where people still struggle, like the Third and Fifth Ward, and Denver Harbour? What’s being done in those parts of the city to help out?

Houston Community College student Breanna Cotton is involved in making sure that development is happening in the less fortunate parts of Houston. She grew up in the Third Ward, and from an early age began volunteering in her community. Worried about the schools she would be attending, her mother decided to homeschool her.

Cotton explained how, by

visiting with an HCC Adviser, she easily transitioned from homeschooling to college.

She is now excited about transitioning from HCC to the University of Houston.

Her dream is to return to her community and open a restaurant. “I want to attend University of Houston for Hotel and Restaurant Management because they’re one of the top schools for that degree.”

Last fall and this spring semester, Cotton volunteers at a unique program called ‘From A Space to a Place’. It’s a program founded by Karine Parker of the Texan French Alliance for the Arts. The purpose of this program is to use art to inspire the youth to improve and give back to their community.

This program is currently being held at Agape Development Ministries in the Third Ward. Two or three times a week after school, a group of middle school children meet to learn from community leaders and to be inspired to

develop their talents and their community.

From ‘A Space to A Place’ is a five stage process. First students meet to learn about themselves and to gain a sense of purpose. They study the life of William the Conqueror, learning about chivalry in France and England. They create their own crest to illustrate their personal values, vision and motto. They learn about each other as they share their visions, and they learn to respect each other’s differences.

In the second stage, they learn about team building, and the power of image and language. Through special activities, they work in small groups to reflect and build a stronger image. In the third stage, they learn about strength and needs. A wide range of community leaders come and talk about their work and involvement within the community.

In the fourth stage of this program, kids learn about brainstorming and

Eric Calderon/The Egalitarian Houston Community College student Breanna Cotton volunteered with the Texan French Alliance for the Arts’ “From a Space to a Place” program, which uses art to inspire youth to improve in school and give back to their local communities. mindmapping. As a collective group, the children are asked to put together something that will benefit the community through the use of art. They learn how to put their ideas to paper and plan them out.

During the fifth and final stage, they implement those ideas.

Last fall, the kids decided to paint a mural that symbolizes the importance of community and development.

They planned a block party with concessions and music to

celebrate their achievements.

Cotton started participating at an early age in these kinds of programs through the Youth Council. “My parents always instilled in us values of helping other people out and having a sense of ownership in the place that we live.” She has seen the community change and develop over time. She takes ownership for where she lives and plans to dedicate her life to helping her community.

For more info: TexanFrenchAlliance.org

10 Goss: ‘Cabaret’ lead ‘a dream’ Wednesday January 27, 2016

The Egalitarian www.HCCEgalitarian.com

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Group says bar broke law Bill Draper

Associated Press

Mark Kennedy AP Drama Writer

NEW YORK — The national tour of the thrilling musical “Cabaret” is about to launch and it’s led by a young woman who knows it intimately. After all, she watched it for a year on Broadway — from the stage.

Andrea Goss will play the fishnet-andbowler hat wearing chanteuse Sally Bowles after being a member of the ensemble and an understudy for Sally. She patiently backed up Michelle Williams, Emma Stone and Sienna Miller.

“You learn from everybody you watch.

You can’t ignore the incredible women who I saw do it and also the ones before,” said Goss, from Salem, Oregon, who also cited Natasha Richardson and Liza Minnelli as important Sallys. “You have to somehow pay homage but still make it your own and bring your own to it.”

The tour, which also stars “Queer as Folk” star Randy Harrison as the slippery Emcee, kicks off in Rhode Island on Tuesday before making its way to Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kentucky, South Carolina, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina, Maryland, Ohio, Nevada, and California.

“Cabaret” centers on the world of the indulgent Kit Kat Klub in Berlin as it becomes intertwined with the world outside, which gets more precarious on the brink of World War II. The songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb include “Willkommen” and “Tomorrow Belongs to Me.”

Mark Kennedy/AP Photo This Jan. 8, 2016 photo shows Andrea Goss, who plays chanteuse Sally Bowles, a role made famous by Liza Minnelli and Natasha Richardson, during a rehearsal in New York for the “Cabaret” tour. The musical, about the world of the indulgent Kit Kat Klub in Berlin, kicked off in Rhode Island Tuesday and will make a stop in Houston in March.

It debuted in Boston in 1966 and was a sensation — audiences were not used to going to shows that mixed burlesque call girls and Nazis, lasciviousness, alcoholism or abortions.

“I always thought that this show was very iffy. We had done so many things that nobody in their right mind would have done.

That it worked was a pleasant surprise,” said Joe Masteroff, who adapted the story. “’Cabaret’ turned out to have a long life.

Obviously, it’s not dead yet.”

The new touring version is directed by B.T. McNicholl, who will recreate the Broadway direction by Sam Mendes and co-direction and choreography by Rob Marshall. It won the best revival Tony in 1998.

“This particular production transformed the musical and almost transformed Broadway theater,” said Todd Haimes, the artistic director of the Roundabout Theatre Company, which birthed the production. “I think it’s something that should be seen by every generation.”

Harrison, who has been in “Wicked” on Broadway, saw Alan Cumming three times as the lascivious Master of Ceremonies and leapt at the chance to play the role, one that’s both naughty and heartbreaking.

“It’s a dream part. It’s an extraordinary role. It’s an amazing challenge,” he said. “I feel like I can be myself in a lot of ways — in ways that oftentimes I can’t onstage.”

Goss, whose Broadway credits also include “Once” and “Rent,” will be hitting the road for the first time in a show and will be looking forward to exploring coffee shops wherever she is. She’s still a little stunned that the role of Sally is finally hers.

“It’s a dream. I never thought I would be able to do that when I was younger. You see those roles and it’s like, ‘That’s out of my league.’ And to be able to do this, I’m still in a dream.”

——— Online: http://cabaretmusical.com

Thurman, Ora at Paris couture as Dior shows without designer Thomas Adamson AP Fashion Writer

PARIS — Spring-summer couture shows blossomed into focus Monday — parading their silken, and often sexy, savoir faire to front rows spilling with celebrities from Uma Thurman, Kate Bosworth to Rita Ora. Here are the highlights of the 2016 collections.

——— RITA ORA HITS VERSACE WITH INVISIBLE UNDERWEAR All eyes were on British singer Ora who arrived at the Versace Atelier show to a flurry of paparazzi flashes.

The 25-year-old star wore a red cutout mini dress — with invisible underwear — and sandals inspired by the Italian house’s spring-summer 2016 collection.

“I love Versace,” she purred from the front row in a carpeted pavilion in Paris’ exclusive Place

Vendome.

——— VERSACE ATELIER “I was born with a body to manifest my power,” boomed the soundtrack to Donatella Versace’s flesh-baring and architectural couture show.

It was a feminism of sorts — Versace-style — a collection of 46 assertive looks that seemed to say a woman’s body can be a force to be reckoned with.

Sporty white skirt and pantsuits began the collection with dangerous flashes of primary red and yellow, giving way to floor length light turquoise and blue silk gowns gathered sometimes in strong rope-like sections.

Then the Italian designer got creative — exploring the metaphor that a body — like a building — can be a strong, architectural structure.

Interlocking panels, and, as the program notes described, cinch waisted dresses “caged by

cutouts,” gave a steely strength to the sometimes 6-foot-tall models.

While, a white jumpsuit with draped back was held by a harness of hand-embroidered micro-paillettes.

“I believe women can be powerful and achieve their dreams while also having great elegance and beauty,” the 60-year-old designer said.

“This is a collection for all women who walk their own path.”

——— DIOR’S STUDIO SHOW It shocked the fashion world in October when Dior’s latest star designer Raf Simons resigned.

Many were baffled, since it came just a few months after the release of the highly-publicized documentary, “Dior and I,” which explored the Belgianborn designer’s beginnings at the iconic Parisian house.

Christian Dior’s first couture show since Simons left took place on Monday — designed,

the house said, by “the studio.”

A group of unnamed atelier designers came out at the end of the valiant job-well-done to take a deserved bow.

It was against the rather symbolic decor of 360-degree, identity-less mirrors.

Dior is currently searching for a new designer — their third in 5 years. Simons had replaced John Galliano after he was sacked amid controversy in 2011.

——— DIOR’S PARISIENNE US Vogue fashion doyenne Anna Wintour, former French first lady Bernadette Chirac and Chinese actress Liu Yifei were among celebrities on the pared-down front row of the show held in an annex inside the picturesque Rodin Museum gardens.

In the clothes, the “spontaneous, relaxed Parisienne of today” mixed with the iconic styles of the 1940s and 1950s.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Refrain, karaoke lovers, from swooning the bar crowd with tales of discovering your homeroom angel is a centerfold.

A national songwriters’ organization sued a handful of bars nationwide this week, accusing them of violating federal law for failing to pay fees to use copyrighted music. One of those was Tanner’s Bar and Grill near Liberty, Missouri, which was slapped with a lawsuit after patrons sang The J. Geils Band’s “Centerfold” and two other well-known songs during a recent Tuesday karaoke night.

The lawsuits aren’t a new tactic by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, which typically files about 40 such complaints a year, sometimes as many as 100, to push bars or other establishments to pay licensing fees that largely go to songwriters, said Jackson Wagener, ASCAP’s vice president for business and legal affairs.

He said most cases are quickly resolved, but he declined to detail any settlements.

“There comes a time where you’ve made so many efforts and the place refuses to get a license,” Wagener said. “At that point we take the unusual step of filing litigation.”

The group sued Tanner’s on behalf of three ASCAP members, saying the restaurant was given dozens of chances to buy an ASCAP license but refused. Wagner said the restaurant also is known to have DJs and live bands, all of which require a license.

Tanner’s owner Allan Shep-herd said he isn’t convinced he needs a license and turned the lawsuit over to his lawyers.

“There are five different interpretations if you talk to the attorneys,” Shepherd said Thursday, noting that he pays someone else to run his karaoke nights and could simply shut it down to fix the problem.

ASCAP’s other lawsuits filed Wednesday were against bars in Arizona, California, Florida, New York, Ohio and Texas.

While the licensing fee can be nominal — Wagener estimated it would be less than $500 for a place the size of Tanner’s — revenue generated from thousands of establishments paying it provides a big chunk of the income songwriters receive.

Bars that use copyrighted music also must pay a fee to Broadcast Music Inc., or BMI, which has licensed about 650,000 businesses.

Like ASCAP, BMI’s annual licensing fee depends on the size of venue and how often copyrighted music is played there, BMI spokeswoman Jodie Thomas said.

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Commentary

Wednesday January 27, 2016

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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 2016 EGALITARIAN STAFF Editor-in-Chief...........................................Alyssa Foley Managing Editor.....................................................TBA News Editor...........................................Jimmieka Mills Sports Editor.......................................... John Cañamar Culture Editor...........................................Eric Caldeon Commentary Editor................................................TBA Photo Editor.......................................Thomas Hopkins Social Media Mgr....................................... Cierra Foley Staff Writer............................................... Ajani Stewart Staff Writer................................................ Ana Ramirez Staff Writer...................................... Emmanuel Akinola Staff Writer........................................ Marialuisa Rincon ———

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.

Trump Ruins Everything

D

onald Trump’s business failures are well documented. As you would expect from a world famous businessman with his fingers in so many pies, some endeavours were bound to fail. However, thanks to his famously big mouth and infinitely bigger ego, Trump ruins everything. Here we explore my personal favorites: 1. Trump ruined his very own “university.”

This is a power trip if ever I’ve seen one. In 2005, Trump founded Trump University—a technically illegally named institution that was not accredited and therefore could not award actual degrees. Students paid upwards of $35 thousand for a set of seminars, but several said they were shocked to realise they could have borrowed “books from the library [that would have] prepared [them] more” than Trump’s classes did.

“Just copy what I did and get rich,” he promised students—a tempting offer from someone who has (or appears to have) a lot of money. No one got rich. After a class action lawsuit, a Federal Trade Commission investigation, and a $40 million suit from the New York attorney general, Trump U was shut down in 2010.

2. Trump ruined perfectly good vodka by plastering his name all over it.

Little more can shield us from the atrocity that is Donald Trump than a stiff drink. Unfortunately for the good people of America, he attempted to ruin that for us as well. Released in 2006 with much self-fanfare, Trump Vodka was expected to become the most requested drink in America by its creator. “A great friend of mine was a founder of Grey Goose,” he told Larry King, “and what we’re going to do is to top it. I want to top them just because it’s fun to top my friends.” Why anyone would want to be friends with Trump is beyond me and it’s no surprise that a venture born in spite got nowhere. Funny enough, the vodka itself received positive reviews, but faded into obscurity. Until recently it was only being peddled in Israel by a private vendor who was sued to cease operations by—you guessed it—Trump himself.

3. Trump ruined a professional football team.

Surprisingly, it is a little known fact that Donald Trump once owned a professional football team.

In 1983, Trump was flying high. He had just opened the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, and potential business ventures up and down the East Coast were panning out. However, King Donald wanted more, much more. He decided to buy the fledging New Jersey Generals for $9 million.

Apparently, he wasn’t all bad, “He was the air pump into the tire,” said Charley Steiner, a sports broadcaster who the play-by-play for the Generals.

“He gave the league the air it needed, elevated it to another level, pumped it up real good, and kept pumping till it exploded.” He abandoned them in favor of more realistic projects—the Generals changed hands a few times, merged and unmerged with other football teams—most notably the Houston Gamblers. They eventually went under in 1986, around the time the whole league did. This one could be dismissed as a lapse in judgement.

Trump merely put his name on since the United

Marialuisa Rincon The Egalitarian

States Football League was notable mostly for the talent that it drew; but trying to directly compete with one of the oldest and most established sports leagues in the world couldn’t have been a good idea.

4. Trump ruined his marriages.

I do not know Donald Trump personally and, as much as I doubt it, maybe he is a completely different person in private—and who am I to speculate on the downfalls of his marriages? I’m not going to judge any of the women unfortunate enough to be married to “The Donald.” I’m sure they loved him at the time—and if not, definitely loved their lives with, or because, of him. A young Trump married Ivana Zelníčková; mother of Ivanka, Eric, and Donald Jr. In 1977, he left Ivana in 1990 for actress Marla Maples. After separating from Maples in 1997, Trump dated around, most notably supermodel Kara Young, before meeting and marrying Slovenian model Melania Knauss in 2005, with whom he has two children and is still happily (?) married. Third time’s the charm?

(Trump’s failed marriages are now fair game since he brought up Hillary Clinton’s marriage.)

5. Trump ruined his hair.

For my fifth choice, I could’ve included one of many hilarious business-related failures—each one is more ridiculous than the next. However, the people have spoken and honestly, the only thing more shocking than what comes out of Trump’s mouth is his hair. I came across an article called “A hairdresser explains why Donald Trump’s hair looks like that,” which, honestly, is what we’re all wondering. In the article, Caroline Mitgang explains that his hairstyle isn’t a toupee or a combover, it isn’t fake, it isn’t covering a bald-spot; rather it is just the result of some his hair follicles growing in contradicting directions to the rest of his hair. Creative combing and copious amounts of hairspray cause his ‘do to look like he’s “wearing a Kangol hat made out of spun sugar.”

I would think that most of the stories we tell our children about the 2016 presidential election will be about Donald Trump. At first the butt of everyone’s joke, he now seems to be gaining traction in the Republican Party leading up to the primary elections, and if the thought of him as president doesn’t keep you up at night, then nothing will.

12

Wednesday January 27, 2016

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