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California State University, East Bay
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¡EDICION EN ESPAÑOL! PAGINA SEIS
THURSDAY JULY 27, 2017
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Summer 2017 Issue 6
Junior Giants give kids major league summer Pioneer updates on America's president
SEE OPINION PAGE 2
What happened? Senior Adviser and son-inlaw to President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) on Monday about the potential collusion between Trump and Russia.
SUMMER GIVES BEST STUDENT EXPERIENCE
SEE OPINION PAGE 3
EAST BAY STUDENTS STUDY ABROAD IN CUBA
SEE SPANISH PAGE 6
RUSSIAN COLLUSION INVESTIGATION CONTINUES
PHOTO BY LOUIS LAVENTURE/THE PIONEER
Nine and 10-year-olds in the Hayward Junior Giants summer program listen to an assistant coach in the dugout during a night game on Tuesday at Weekes Park in South Hayward.
Baseball just one of the few lessons particpants learn in local program SEE OPINION PAGE 8
INTERNSHIP PROVIDES NETWORKING CHANCES
By Louis LaVenture EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
I grew up in South Hayward, just down the street from the Cal State East Bay Hayward campus. During the summer I played little league baseball, but by July, the season was over and I had a couple month break before school started up again. This down time was filled with bike riding, hanging out with friends, swimming and other activities we could do
in our neighborhood. There wasn’t much for students to do in our community that was organized. Enter the Junior Giants. Sixteen years ago the Hayward Junior Giants chapter opened up at Weekes Park in South Hayward thanks in large part to a Hayward school counselor, Denise Patterson, who
SEE BASEBALL PAGE 7
Students reflect on study abroad trip to Cuba A woman's place in a foreign country By Kali Persall MANAGING EDITOR My favorite monument in Havana lives in the courtyard of the Plaza Vieja. A voluptuous woman wielding a fork rides a giant rooster that stands poised on one leg. There’s no plaque and no explanation of the meaning behind the statue but it’s intriguing and strangely empowering. The woman is unabashedly naked except for her shoes, and seems to have tamed the masculine chicken. It’s unique and also symbolic of the progress that women have made toward equal rights in Cuba. In the workforce, women are doctors, engineers and small business owners. CENECEX and the FMC, two major organizations that were established by Raul Castro’s wife Vilma and carried on by daughter Mariela, are devoted to preserving and enhancing this movement. My project in Cuba focused on women’s rights. I interviewed various women from different walks of life to get a sense of what life is like for women in Cuba and gained an entirely new perspective. The leader of an all-women band shared that they have to work twice as hard as men to establish themselves in the music industry. They practice six days a week and play five; all of the women can play multiple instruments and sing as well. A social psychologist-turned-nail salon owner switched to the beauty industry because she couldn’t find a job that paid
PHOTO BY DAISY ORTIZ/THE PIONEER
A statue of a woman riding a rooster in Plaza Vieja in Cuba. Cal State East Bay students visited the country on a study abroad trip to the communist country in June and July.
well enough in her field. She employs one other girl and paints nails in the front room of her house. She charged me only 3 CUC’s or $3 to paint and file my nails. A professor of women’s studies at the University of Havana shared that there are limited organizations and re-
sources to help women who are victims of domestic violence, a frequent occurrence in Cuba. While organizations like the FMC and CENECEX supposedly devote themselves to women’s rights, the interests of the revolution come first.
In theory, this was all very fascinating for my project, yet it wasn’t until the last night of my trip that I witnessed firsthand what life is like for many women in Cuba. Two of my classmates and I were walk-
SEE CUBA PAGE 3
The investigation, initiated by the FBI and SIC in May, is centered around allegations that the son of the president, Donald Trump Jr., met with a Russian lawyer in 2016 regarding the United States presidential election and Hillary Clinton, according to the SIC investigation. Trump Jr. was promised information about Clinton from the Russian government that would have damaged her campaign, according to The New York Times. Early Monday morning, Trump took to Twitter to vent about the investigation in a string of tweets. “So why aren't the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered A.G., looking into Crooked Hillarys crimes & Russia relations?” Trump tweeted. “After 1 year of investigation with Zero evidence being found, Chuck Schumer just stated that "Democrats should blame ourselves, not Russia.” According to a statement made by Kushner on Monday to the SIC committee, he arrived to the meeting late because it was rescheduled and when he got there, Trump Jr. introduced him to somebody identified as a Russian lawyer. Kushner also confirmed in his statement that he left early and for the brief time he was there, there wasn’t any mention of the campaign or Clinton. In the second statement Trump Jr. gave to the committee last week, he confirmed Kushner was not there for the part about the campaign and Clinton, but also admitted the lawyer brought up the campaign after some talk about Russian adoption policies. According to The Washington Post, in the first statement given to the committee by Trump Jr., he tried to cover up the reason for the meeting, gathering damaging information against Clinton, and his father, Trump Sr. “signed off” on the original statement implicating Trump was involved in a cover up, a potentially criminal offense. At the time of publication, it was still unclear if this investigation would lead to any disciplinary action or charges. However, several notable publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post reported on Monday and Tuesday that Trump inquired to some of his staff members about pardoning himself and others in his cabinet.
By Louis LaVenture Editor-in-Chief
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