AN ACP HALL OF FAME NEWSPAPER
NOVEMBER 1, 2021 / VOL 58-A, ISSUE 2
what’s
in a name?
ALL IS FORGIVEN
$1.5 M Southwestern College will use funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to erase all outstanding debt for students enrolled during Spring and Summer 2021. Holds for non-payment will be removed from their accounts. Students whose debt was forgiven may reenroll for Spring 2022.
A NATIONAL PACEMAKER AWARD NEWSPAPER
Otay Mesa fired up by its new facilities
Latinos and human rights activists insist it is past time for America’s pastime to lose the nickname Texas Rangers. Southwestern College abandoned its offensive nickname 21 years ago. Why are so many others slow to follow? Special Section
SC FORGIVES DEBT FOR NEARLY 4,200 STUDENTS BY NICOLETTE MONIQUE LUNA News Editor
About 4,200 Southwestern College students woke up recently suddenly free of their looming educational debt. It was a dream come true for legions of scholars who had fallen behind with registration fees and other payments. Some students’ debt accumulation was so high they were ineligible to register for classes anywhere in the California Community College system. SC will forgive $1.5 million in student debt using funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. College president Dr. Mark Sanchez said eliminating the debt will benefit students
and the college. “We’re hoping this will help us strengthen our enrollment,” he said. “It will help us to ensure that we have full classes and (possibly) offer additional classes. Ultimately, we are setting students on a pathway to their personal career or transfer goals.” SC is one of California’s lowest-income colleges located in a community hit very hard by COVID-19. South San Diego County, for a time, had one of the highest COVID infection and hospitalization rates in the nation. As illness and deaths spiked in the region, businesses laid off thousands of employees. SC students
ROCK SOLID DREAMER
FORGIVE PG 2
Students experience realistic scenarios of first responders BY ADRIAN PUNZAL Staff Writer
OTAY MESA – No need to call firefighters if the newest building at the Otay Mesa satellite campus starts to burn. They are already there. Like a concrete phoenix, the four-story live fire training tower on the little campus near the border has resilience to burn. Stephan Bowlin, a retired San Diego Fire Department Battalion Chief, said the gas-powered structure is a hot property. “It’s a pretty dynamic building for us,” he said. “This is something that is going to be a draw for the South Bay. We hope to get a lot of students interested in the fire service, (emergency medical services), paramedics and police STEVE BOWLIN academy here.” Expansion of the Fire Academy comes thanks to Proposition Z, the 2016 ballot measure, which kicked in $29.1 million for the new facilities. Otay Mesa dean Silvia Cornejo said the campus is a center for first responders training. “These are valuable career education programs,” she said. “That’s the reason the college really supports them, even though they are expensive.” Another new building that looks like student ACADEMY PG 2
Call to rename National City park to honor Dolores Huerta BY CAMILA GONZALEZ Editor-in-Chief
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outhwestern College alumnus Mexline Garcia said she was always a DREAMER and a dreamer. Now she is an advocate for other undocumented students propelled by dreams of a college degree and a meaningful life in the United States. A spokesperson for Undocumented Student Action Week, Garcia met members of the San Diego County Congressional delegation to advocate for vulnerable students. Photo by Ernesto Rivera
“During my fellowship I learned to embrace being undocumented. I used to feel ashamed, but through the Dreamer Center I learned to normalize being undocumented. I like to help people.”
Mexline Garcia SC graduate
NATIONAL CITY — Dolores Huerta’s clarion cry “Si se puede!” (Yes we can!) energized rallies of the United Farm Workers throughout the 1970s and animated Latino activists for the last half century. Admirers of Huerta have been harkening back to the UFW mantra recently in National City, where they are rallying to rename a park in her honor. Gente Unida founder Enrique Morones and DOLORES muralist Mario Torero HUERTA are among the leaders of a growing movement to change the name of Paradise Creek Park to honor the Latina icon. National City Mayor Alejandra Sotelo-Solis said she would also like to honor Huerta, but first wants to hear from PARK PG 2
NEWS Dolores Huerta Foundation
“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.”
Dolores Huerta
American labor leader and civil rights activist CONTINUED FROM PG. 1
PARK: Activists seek to honor Latina rights icon her constituents. Morones said he respects the points of view of the community, but also expressed his concern to the National City Council that Huerta is 91 years old and has been overlooked because she is female. “My big pitch is not only the renaming of the park, but streets, statues and murals, too,” he said. “One of the reasons she does not get the same attention as Cesar Chavez – and they are equals who co-founded the United Farm Workers – is that she is a woman. That has always been upsetting to me.” Huerta is one of America’s greatest women, Morones said, and a vital role model for Latinas of all ages. “It is important for young ladies to see a woman leader who is still alive with us today so that they know they can (make similar contributions),” he said. “She is the most powerful Latina in the country and she is 91. We need to honor her before she passes away because we too often wait to honor people until after they pass away.” Proponents of the name change heard some objection from National City residents who said they too admire Huerta, but are reluctant to change the name of Paradise Creek Park. It was named for a small stream that runs from Paradise Hills through National City and empties into the wetlands of San Diego Bay. For decades Paradise Creek was a filthy, toxic drainage trench oozing of sludge until environmental activists led by Ted and Margaret Godshalk launched an effort in the mid-1980s to clean up the creek and stop upstream polluters from dumping waste and toxins into the waterway. Margaret Godshalk, a teacher at Kimball School adjacent to the creek, was concerned that the predominantly Latino children living on the low-income West Side of National City were getting sick from the toxic runoff contiguous with a small community park. She and Ted Godshalk established community cleanups that continue today. Janice Reynoso, executive director of the nonprofit Mundo Gardens, works with community members who tend vegetable patches near the park. She too admires Dolores Huerta, she said, and supports a memorial in National City, but did not support changing the name of the park. The name Paradise Creek has meaning to people in the community, she said, which should be acknowledged and respected. Sotelo-Solis proposed a compromise that would include both names. She suggested Dolores Huerta Park and Paradise Creek Education Center. Council members asked city staff to develop an official naming and renaming policy for city properties. A draft policy is expected to come before the council in November or December. A vote to rename the park would not likely happen until early 2022. Torero said he enthusiastically supports honoring Huerta, but he also respects the point of view of Reynoso and other community members who feel a connection to Paradise Creek. “She opened my eyes to the situation,” he said. “(Community members) are not against Dolores Huerta, but they want to be considered because these people fought for a long time to create this park and they want to be consulted. That is completely understandable.
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FORGIVE: College cancels debt from summer, spring ‘21 and their families bore the brunt of the economic hit. In addition to college debt, students have reported record levels of housing insecurity, unemployment and hunger. Hundreds of families in the district suffered coronavirus-related illness and deaths, often without health insurance. Ernesto Rivera, an SC Marketing and Communications Associate and a former student, said the college wants to help students hit by the pandemic to get back on their feet. He said the process has been made quick and easy. “Every student is unique and has their own challenges,” he said. “I know the college is trying to move toward as many equitable opportunities to remove barriers for students. This is one of many steps.” PIO Lillian Leopold agreed. “We wanted to re-invest in our students,” she said. “It’s been a difficult time for everybody. “ Leopold said there are no longer any holds for students who did not pay for classes during the 2021 spring and summer semesters. “Whether it was a health fee, whether it was tuition, that is erased completely,” she said. Rivera said students who did not register for the fall due to financial distress may re-enroll in the spring. “You have to re-apply to the college same way you’d re-apply in the past,” he said. “If you’re a fall semester student, you’ll be able to continue to register when you get your registration statement in November.” Sanchez said there is an important message in the debt forgiveness. “(Students) have a college that cares about them,” he said. “By helping them to reenroll it gives them access to all the other support services we have.”
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ACADEMY: Fire simulator anchors new OM facilities
TRIBUTE IN NAPA – Dolores Huerta with sculptor Mario Chiodo at the unveiling of statues of Cesar Chavez and Huerta. Chiodo was commissioned to create the sculpture in 2014. Southwestern College awarded Huerta and UFW compadre Luis Valdez honorary degrees in 1999. Courtesy Dolores Huerta Foundation
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER — Dolores Huerta speaking at a United Farm Workers rally in Salinas, CA, in 1970. Courtesy Bob Fitch Photography Archive, Department of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries
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Presidential Medal In 2012 President Obama bestowed Huerta with the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. Hall of Fame She was inducted into the California Hall of Fame in March of 2013.
School Names There are four elementary schools in California, one in Fort Worth, Texas, and a high school in Pueblo, Colorado named after Dolores Huerta. Gateway Park The Dolores Huerta Gateway Park in Albuquerque, NM, is currently undergoing a renovation.
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They need to participate in this name change (proposal).” Torero said he hopes all parties can find common ground. “We need to remember Dolores,” he said. “We don’t even have a mural in Chicano Park related to Dolores. La Raza deserves that kind of image.” Huerta has devoted her life to the humane treatment of farm workers and other underrepresented people in California and the nation. She co-founded the United Farm Workers union with Cesar Chavez in 1962. She helped to organize the seminal Delano grape strike of 1965, traveling the nation to picket in front of grocery stores to ask consumers to consider the plight of farm laborers. Her inspiring grito “Si se puede!” became the battle cry of the agricultural labor movement and a mantra among American Latinos. President Barack Obama presented Huerta with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and she is the first Latina inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Huerta was honored by Southwestern College in 1999 with its highest award, an honorary degree. She has visited the college on several occasions, delivering talks to students about the importance of becoming degree holders and professional empowered to help the less fortunate.
housing is also a hot house of activity. A single-story apartment-style building is a burning attraction for student firefighters and other first responders, according to Jason Hum, director of the EMT and paramedic program. “(Students) will drive in an ambulance to this apartment that is in the complex, take care of a simulated patient, drive (the patient) to our new (simulation) center,” he said. “We have a simulated emergency room (where) they can turn the patient in.” Hum said the facilities and vehicles will give students a “hyperrealistic” experience that allows them to experience an emergency process from beginning to end. Some of the new vehicles include a fire engine, ambulances and police cars. Classrooms, driving and shooting simulators, and a gym round out the new complex. Police academy cadets can drive an obstacle course on the property and undergo fitness training, said academy director David Espiritu. “This demonstrates the support from the college and the administration for the community and the students,” he said. Southwestern’s fire academy has been accredited by the California Fire and Rescue Training Authority, said Cornejo, and students are able to graduate with a California Firefighter I Certificate. Otay Mesa es en fuego among students interested in becoming first responders, she said, and the campus is expecting to grow in enrollment and reputation as COVID-19 limitations subside. A once-lonely campus is now a hot ticket that includes SC’s highlyregarded nursing program. “We have an exciting future here,” Cornejo said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
VIEWPOINTS
EDITORIALS / OPINIONS / LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Camila Gonzalez News Editor Nicolette Monique Luna Campus Editor Diego Higuera Sports Editor Sebastian Sanchez Senior Staff Writer Andrew Penalosa Staff Writers Dominic Escobar Lesley Garate Yahir Ibarra Sebastian Melendrez Adrian Punzal Carson Timmons Staff Artists Baby Bonane Yaritza Cuevas Ji Ho Kim Assistant Adviser Kenneth Pagano Adviser Dr. Max Branscomb
Ji Ho Kim / Staff
AWARDS/HONORS National College Newspaper Hall of Fame Inducted 2018 Student Press Law Center National College Press Freedom Award 2011, 2018 National Newspaper Association National College Newspaper of the Year 2004-2021 Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker Awards 2003-06, 2008, 2009, 2011, 20122017, 2019, 2020 General Excellence 2001-20 Best of Show 2003-20 Columbia University Scholastic Press Association Gold Medal for Journalism Excellence 2001-20 College Media Association National College Newspaper of the Year, 2020 California College Media Association Outstanding Community College Newspaper
San Diego County Multicultural Heritage Award California Newspaper Publishers Association California College Newspaper of the Year 2013, 2016, 2020, 2021 Student Newspaper General Excellence 2002-21 Society of Professional Journalists National Mark of Excellence 2001-21 First Amendment Award 2002, 2005 San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism 1999-2021 Directors Award for Defense of Free Speech 2012 Journalism Association of Community Colleges Pacesetter Award 2001-18 Newspaper General Excellence 2000-2020 American Scholastic Press Association Community College Newspaper of the Year
SC should become vaccination center
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outhwestern College stepped up its game this year. Once an isolated island of self-importance, SC has shown signs of becoming the community center it was created to be. Pandemicfueled efforts to help students with debt, hunger, housing insecurity, healthcare and more are laudable. Now it is time for the college to do its greatest service yet – help smash the coronavirus and transform the South County into a COVID-19 free zone. Our region – once a hot zone of COVID suffering and death – is on the mend. Health care experts postulate that more than 80 percent of South Bay adults are vaccinated. That may be generous, but a huge improvement over August and September when we were suffering a spike. So let’s end it. Let’s stamp out SARS-CoV-2 in the Southwestern Community College District, en nuestra barrio. Herd immunity requires a population that is 95 percent vaccinated. We can do that. We can TOTALLY do that. SC is the key. We are calling on SC to become the COVID vaccination center of the South Bay. We urge the college to act boldly and:
The Issue: Brutally battered by COVID-19 for 18 months, the South County has turned a corner and has an opportunity to crush the coronavirus. Our position: Southwestern College should mobilize its resources and become the COVID vaccination center of the South Bay. Open a vaccination station open from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m., Tuesday-Sunday until Christmas Eve. Use all its marketing might to attract the unvaccinated. Deploy campus health care professionals and nursing students to work side-by-side with other medical professionals. This is entirely possible and doable. Polling data consistently shows SC is trusted by South County Latinos and respected by the community at large. The medium is the message. If SC hosts vaccinations that has rich symbolic meaning. The logistics are ideal. People know where we are and can get here on the area’s web of bus lines. We
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have plenty of parking. This is a safe location and a comfortable setting. SC is the geographic center of Chula Vista. More important, we aspire to be the center of learning and intellectualism. We need to own that and play the part. No more fence sitting and ‘Rona wobbling. We must take a side and declare that we are an institution that supports science, sound public health policy and a vaccinated South Bay. A core part of the Mission Statement of SC and the California community college system is to be an engine of a strong economy. There is a lot riding on our battle with coronavirus: reopening businesses, theaters, restaurants and other places of employment that provide jobs for members of our community. It would send a message that SC cares about its community. Need a selfish reason to crush COVID? It would be good for us. There are still way too many unvaccinated students stumbling around our campus (including members of this newspaper staff ). We want to fully reopen this college ASAP. Help us to get our vaccines. Let’s think big and show a little courage. Let’s declare V for Vaccinate! V for Victory!
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ARTS
CAMPUS ARTS / REVIEWS / COMMUNITY CULTURE
Yahir Ibarra / Staff
Sebastian Sanchez / Staff
Camila Gonzalez / Staff WELCOME HOME — From Tijuana to Oceanside, from National City to Campo, Dia de los Muertos altars blossomed across the region like fragrant cempasúchil flowers bursting forth in the fall air. Families and friends of the dead honored their ancestors with colorful tables covered with their favorite things from the world of the living. Sebastian Sanchez / Staff
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Yahir Ibarra / Staff
Yahir Ibarra / Staff RETURN OF THE OLD ONES — Memorials for ancestors can be found inside homes, schools, businesses and outdoors at cemeteries. Some of the most striking Dia de los Muertos displays were found in Tijuana’s Panteon Municipal No. 1 and the La Vista Cemetery in National City, two of the oldest cemeteries in the region.
Feast for the Dead BY JULIA WOOCK Staff Writer
Lesley Garate / Staff
ALTAR ESSENTIALS
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exico and much of Latin America blossom with fragrant orange flowers on the first two days of November to welcome home their dead on Día de los Muertos. An amalgamation of pre-Hispanic and Catholic traditions, it was inducted in 2008 by UNESCO as a cherished cultural heritage. It is so much more for Mexicanos. CONACULTA (Coordinación Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural y Turismo), a Mexican governmental agency whose mission is to preserve heritage, asserts that Día de los Muertos has permeated every aspect of Mexican culture. Día de los Muertos is reflected in music, art and literature, including José Gorostiza’s poetry, José Guadalupe Posada’s murals, the sublime literature of Octavio Paz, dance, popular narratives and la artesanía (handmade crafts). It is celebrated by 97.2 percent of Mexico’s indigenous populations, according to CONACULTA. Día de los Muertos stems from Aztec mythology. Pre-Cortez Aztecs believed when people died they embarked on a perilous journey through Mictlán, la Tierra de los Muertos, the underworld. It is said they travel with dogs, the noblest of creatures, in search of eternal peace for their souls, but only if their owners were good to them in life. Mictlán is ruled by the Lord and Lady of Death, Mictlantecutli (Señor de la muerte) y Mictecacihuatl (Señora de la muerte). Celebrants set up colorful altars in their home or at the cemetery by the graves of loved ones. Each is unique, but usually include papel picado, the deceased’s favorite foods, drinks, hobbies and photos. Other common staples are sugar skulls, pan de muerto and fragrant flores de cempasúchil (marigolds). Flores de cempasúchil, are indigenous to Latin America and their name originates from Nahuatl. It literally means “a flower of 20 petals,” due to the many petals and earthy scent that helps guide spirits home. Legendary Aztec heroes Xóchitl and Huitzilin were childhood sweethearts who climbed the mountain in honor of Tonatiuh, the Aztec sun god, and left flowers as an offering. War broke out and Huitzilin died in battle. Grief stricken, Xóchitl asked Tonatiuh to take her out of her misery and reunite her with her love. The sun god agreed to her request and his beams of sun turned her into the flower we now know as cempasúchil. A hummingbird landed on the flower and her many petals blossomed. As long as there are marigolds and hummingbirds, the legend says, their love will endure.
The Four Elements An altar combines the four elements: fire (candles), wind (papel picado), earth (food), and water. Cempasuchil (Marigolds). Known for their medicinal properties and used to decorate graves, the golden yellow or copper brown color of marigolds represents the sun. Their strong scent creates an aromatic ambiance, and they are believed to attract the souls of the dead. Pan de Muerto (Bread of the Dead). This a sweet bread baked and offered as a type of ofrenda that is part of an altar. Its criss-cross shape represents bones and the single tear shape stands in for sorrow. The bread symbolizes the generosity of the host who is feeding the dead after a long, weary journey. Velas (Candles). The flames of the candles symbolize hope and faith, and they light the way to help the souls find their way to the altar. Typically white candles are used, but purple can also stand in to symbolize grief. Copal Incense. The incense represents praise and prayer. It is believed that the rising smoke takes the prayer to the gods and serves as an offering to the gods to cleanse the air and allow spirits to enter without difficulty. Papel Picado. The thin sheet of colorful paper typically designed with skeletons, animals and pumpkins represents the wind, because when loved ones arrive, the paper will move and thus alert the host to their presence. Yellow paper symbolizes life, purple stands in for death and orange serves as the union between life and death. Drinks and Food. Water is a must because it not only quenches the soul's thirst, but it represents purity of the soul and the source of life. Other drinks and food can vary depending on what ancestors enjoyed. Sugar Skulls. Typically decorated with flowers and other designs, sugar skulls represent death and the sweetness of life. Personal Objects. These objects define a loved one and can range anywhere from a piece of clothing to a favorite hobby. They stand in to make a loved one feel at home and comfortable. Adobe Stock
Source: 9news.com
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ARTS AND BACKPAGE
Concert a clarion call for return of performing arts BY NICOLETTE MONIQUE LUNA News Editor
I
t is hard to find words to describe the 2021 Pops Choral Concert in all its glory, but here goes: soloists were euphonious, ensembles harmonious and instrumentalists melodious. Time to toss the pretense and the thesaurus. Southwestern’s Concert Choir is just flat out good and has been for decades. In its first post-COVID performance, the headlining Concert Choir seemed in mid-season form, ready for a return engagement to Carnegie Hall, the Vatican or any other of the prestigious venues it has played this century. Director
REVIEW Dr. Teresa Russell, as expected, had her singers and instrumentalists impeccably rehearsed, polished like an apple and resounding like angels in a clear winter sky. No one would have blamed Russell or the choir had they come out flat. COVID crushed the performing arts like a sledgehammer pulverizing an ice cube. Ensemble music -- the epitome of an array of people pulling together to work as one – was consigned to the Zoom wilderness or worse. Homebound singers and musicians trained to listen to each other while creating their own aural art muttered soft
profanities in bedrooms and kitchens across the South Bay, that is when they weren’t shouting profanities from the rooftops. Russell, with baton magical as Hermione’s wand, seemed happy to release the kraken. “Everyone had been in hibernation for a year and a half,” she said. “The energy was very high and so was their motivation to make music together.” It would have been easy to play into the distractions. A masked audience looked both scary and silly. Hand sanitizer overwhelmed perfume and cologne. Silvia Nogales, SC’s ubiquitous Performing Arts Coordinator, transformed into Chief Safety Officer.
COVID never stood a chance. Neither did mediocrity. Noemí Joselyn Hernández Castillo made sure of that. Castillo, a soloist and member of the Chamber Singers, Gospel Choir and Concert Choir, was busy and brilliant. Her powerful voice radiated like the morning sun through the pandemic chill, basking the audience in warmth and hope for a new day. “It felt really good,” she said afterwards. “I forgot what it was like to perform on stage. I felt alive.” Concert Choir veteran Shelley Courchaine was as magnanimous as she was magnificent, as philosophical as philharmonic. “It’s always a pleasure to perform with the Concert Choir,” she said. “It
was great to have a chance to have a live performance after a year and a half of Covid. It was a return to normalcy.” Chamber Singers Director Ania Sundstrom agreed. “This face-to-face performance shows our students that we survived the pandemic and things could go back to the normal we know,” she said. Sundstrom was right in tune. As inspiring as the performances were, the most powerful music of the evening was the parking cars, an audience heading for seats, and other flesh and blood in the line of sight. It was the event itself. That was, simply, sweet music. And great relief.
‘Kasama” christens arts center with emotional Asian-powered one-acts REVIEW BY ANDREW PENALOSA Senior Staff Writer
Southwestern College’s newest building played host to a pair of humanity’s oldest stories, leaving an inaugural audience uncomfortable and rethinking some age-old maladies. “Kasama” made history the moment the lights went up. It was the first production inside the $53 million SC Performing Arts Center and the first written by a Filipina. And — despite the legions of ubertalented Filipino-Americans that have gone through this college’s vaunted theater arts program over the past half century — it was the first with a mostly-Asian cast. Thelma Virata de Castro’s hardhitting one acts were not light fare. “The Fire in Me” was a disturbing reflection on domestic violence and “Hand Under Hand” a rare but much-needed look at caregivers and aging in poverty. Both pieces start light and slide into serious. Early on “The Fire in Me” felt like it might be a comedy thanks to Lark (Annabelle Ramos) watching the chuckle-inducing wanna-be fashionista Divina (Gabrielle Flanders) on a soap opera. Once lecturing Mom (Jaena-Mae Caguiat) turns off the TV, the fun and games are over. Lark’s walking tour of a legal clinic for immigrant survivors of domestic violence was as Joseph Conrad’s boat in “Heart of Darkness,” pushing upstream into the worst humanity has to offer. It was a journey that triggered her own past trauma and Lark transitions from counselor to patient. Ramos’ compelling portrayal of descent into the dark aftermath of abuse and eventual rescue was impressive, especially in the cozy 170-seat Black Box Theater. Even social distancing could not distance the audience from the shockwaves of her raw performance. It shook the audience to its core. De Castro said she was inspired to write “Fire” by the personal story of a domestic violence survivor. She explored the issue in a manner that was believable and powerful. Ramos was up to the task, releasing a torrent of emotion when her character’s repressed trauma reasserts itself. “Hand Under Hand” was inspired by an AARP volunteer advocating for Filipinx and Asian American caregivers. It begins sweetly with a group folk dance to a children’s song on a sunny day. Jenna (Ramos in another role) and Marilyn run
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joyfully around in a circle while Mrs. Smith (Jescel “May” Esteban) claps along and Manny (Jaden Guerrero) plays his guitar. “The Farmer in the Dell” ends with Jenna all alone, slowly finishing the lyrics when Manny interrupts her to drag her back to reality. Manny is a music therapist for the elderly, Jenna the overwhelmed caretaker of her sick aunt, “Tita.” When Manny offers Jenna a ukulele, she is left to cope and meditate on her life. It was a poignant moment and referential of the yet-to-be-explained tendency of memory care patients to remember their favorite music even after they have forgotten their families. Most of the musical numbers were well written and performed beautifully under the watchful eye (and ear) of Guerrero, the multitalented musical director. Guerrero was the title character in the brilliant March 2019 production of “Romeo and Juliet,” probably the best Southwestern College production no one ever saw. It was closed by the COVID-19 shutdown days before it was to officially open. Guerrero once again demonstrated that he is a performing artist of great talent with a bright future. “Kasama” was a doubleheader full of powerful moments and glimpses of talent, but it has some blemishes that de Castro must address if it is to receive another production. Too much of the dialogue was didactic and seemed to be shortcuts through difficult topics that would have been better performed. For instance, Jenna’s revelation to Manny about her troubling past and parents’ passing felt less than impactful. We never saw Jenna’s struggles with her sick aunt. The song “Treasure” also lost its punch because we were told the issues rather than shown them. Director Ruff Yeager’s steady hand pushed the production gamely along and wizardly designer Michael Buckley shows once again why he is the region’s King of the Black Box. Designing in claustrophobic experimental theaters has been Waterloo for legions of creatives, but Buckley is at his biggest when the theater is at its smallest. His allin-one rotating shed was a brilliant way to move set pieces around organically and his props deserve props. De Castro said “kasama” is Tagalog for “included,” come with,” “companion” and “together.” Her two one acts captured the spirit of kasama by bringing together underrepresented theater artists to tackle edgy material. Her characters embody courage and, through their travails, show us that no one is alone.
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FREAK FLAG FLIES – Hair Slayer Salon’s mission statement describes itself “a safe place where every freak, weirdo, goth, punk, artist and visitor is welcomed and celebrated.” It draws people from Baja California as well as Orange, Riverside and Imperial Counties. It was wall-to-wall booked in October. Photos Courtesy shesahairslayer.com
"I am seeing people that live around here or close to the border come in just because they see the pride flag.”
Tanya Alfaro, owner Hair Slayers studio CONTINUED FROM PG. 8
HAIR: LGBTQ-friendly salon is a cut above for a marginalized, underserved community “Finding a place that understood me and my desire for an androgynous look was something I was always scared (to ask for),” she said. “When I asked for (that style) at home (stylists) always said ‘no, that’s not going to look good on you’ or ‘I don’t know how to do that’. It was really important for me to find a place that would and Hair Slayers was the place.” Hair Slayers stylists are also convention slayers. Even the studio’s mission statement is a red carpet for people who often feel uncomfortable or unwelcomed in the broader community. “Hair Slayers is a year-round celebration of Halloween with an artistic and thematic atmosphere inspired by horror culture, magic and the artistic works of Tim Burton and Bram Stoker. We are a safe place where every freak, weirdo, goth, punk, artist and visitor is welcomed and celebrated. You get the quality of an upscale salon in a wonderful environment that celebrates your uniqueness.” Owner Tanya Alfaro is eccentric, but also grounded in the art form and trained by masters like Robert
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Cromeans. Her freak flag flies with the confidence and experience of a seasoned stylist marinated in the culture by some of the best in the business. “I hear stories from my clients and I’m just so surprised by the anxiety related to their hair,” she said. “One of my adult clients wanted a more gender-neutral haircut, but was scared to get it done because of what her parents might think.” Alfaro said the LGBTQ culture is slowly asserting itself in parts of the United States and she considers herself a student. “I’m still learning about being all-inclusive and the different pronouns,” she said. “There are still so many different things I’m learning and I’m teaching my daughters. (For so long) people held back because they were afraid of what others might say or think.” Trust is an essential element of a healthy relationship and a good hair styling, Alfaro said. “It’s amazing to know that my customers feel comfortable enough with me to show me a picture of themselves and to tell me their
stories,” she said. “It makes opening a salon here worthwhile, it makes it special to me.” Alfaro and her crew are practiced in discretion, she said, and respect everyone’s boundaries. Chula Vista’s proximity to the Mexican border and its blended culture can make things complicated for members of the LGBTQ community, she said. Mexico is evolving, but still behind the United States in accepting members of the LGBTQ. “Not everyone is comfortable enough to say ‘this is who I am’,” she said. “Because we are so close to the border (many) people here won't say anything like that. But I am seeing people that live around here or close to the border come in just because they see the pride flag.” Hair Slayers Studios at 730 Broadway is nestled in a generic strip mall, but all connections to the routine and typical are clipped at the door. Expression is encouraged, but secrets are safe. In fact, Alfaro insists, everyone is safe. Hair styling, she said, helped her “to find my tribe.” “Inner beauty is your job,” she likes to say. “We do the rest!”
SPORTS Photo Justin Dottery
CAMPUS SPORTS / FEATURES / ALTERNATIVE SPORTS
Ed Carberry, Southwestern College’s winningest football coach, is already at work building a strong 2022 squad.
Courtesy Russ Scoffin
HIATUS FORCES A FOOTBALL REBUILD AFTER A YEAR IN EXILE
C
BY CARSON TIMMONS | Staff Writer
oronavirus clobbered the football team in 2020, spiking the entire season and scattering players. A brand new $73 million stadium sat quiet under invisible waves of wireless Zoom classes that held the college together for an agonizing 18
months. Players were zooming again in August, this time across the verdant turf. Football was back, but the reawakened Jaguars will need a bit more recovery time. Opponents clobbered the football team in 2021. A rebuilding squad entered November with a 2-5 overall record and 0-3 in conference play. A bowl invitation is unlikely, but the team did give fans a pair of exciting victories that stirred memories of the 2018 championship team and perhaps a glimpse of better things to come in 2022.
THE
THE
WINS
SOUTHWESTERN 10 GROSSMONT 7 A brilliant victory over a fierce rival got the season off to a promising start. SC edged Grossmont College 10-7 in a defensive battle where the stingy Jaguars held the normallypotent Griffins to just 228 total yards. Defensive lineman Andrew Sola forced a fumble that was recovered by safety Michael Harrington. Cornerback Tre Taylor blunted a long Grossmont drive with a timely interception and safety Jaheem Williams had 12 tackles and 3 sacks. Jace Fuamatu, Jeriah Jackson, Cayden Herbert and Gabe Acosta also registered a sack. Asher Boothe gave SC’s sluggish offense a lift by drilling a 50-year field goal as time expired to end the first half. Christian Jourdain’s touchdown reception sealed the win for the Jaguars. SOUTHWESTERN 26 CHAFFEY 24 SC’s somnolent offense enjoyed a breakout, piling up 248 yards in an aerial bombardment of Chaffey College and a 26-24 victory. Brandon Smith and Stevie Orr split time at quarterback, but it was Smith who alone put points on the board with a 48-yard touchdown strike to Fernando Ruelas. James Coleman and Albert Robinson each rushed for touchdowns. Boothe was the leading scorer with soaring field goals of 51 and 52 years to go along with two extra points. Harrington was again the star on defense with 10 tackles.
UPCOMING
GAMES
Nov. 6 at San Bernardino Valley College Nov. 13 home against San Diego Mesa College Nov. 20 at Cerritos College
LOSSES
COLLEGE OF THE CANYONS 52 SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE 10 Cougars running backs ran wild over the Jaguar defense, piling up 238 yards for a whopping 7.2 yards per carry. Canyons racked 506 total yards of offense and were merciless on defense, holding three SC quarterbacks to just 164 passing yards. Jaguar signal callers were sacked seven times and completed just 44 percent of their passes. Jourdain was a bright spot with six catches for 49 yards and Terry Wright snagged four passes for 64 yards. Harrington, Alfa Sola and Andrew Sola each had five tackles. PALOMAR COLLEGE 27 SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE 7 This decades-long rivalry never generated much drama as the Comets flew by the Jaguars in the air, on the ground and on the scoreboard. Comets running back Tawee Walker dusted SC for 154 yards on 20 carries on a night Palomar romped for 236 rushing yards and 7.2 yards per carry. SC’s leading rusher, James Coleman, scratched out just 31 yards. Punter Justin McElligot was busy and likely kept the game much closer than it could have been by booming six kicks for 234 yards. GOLDEN WEST COLLEGE 45 SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE 0 In one of the worst SC games of the 21st century, Golden West stuffed and snuffed the Jaguars in a grimacing 45-0 shutout. Rustlers running backs raced through waving Jaguar defenders, rolling up 304 yards on the ground to go with another 265 in the air. Golden West backs averaged an eyepopping 14.7 yards per carry. SC’s offense played the game between the 20-yard lines, avoided the red zone and seldom threatened to score. None of the three quarterbacks Coach Ed Carberry deployed could get untracked and tallied just 115 yards on the night. Those yards came almost entirely on short, unproductive sideline passes that never stretched out the Golden West defense. A bedraggled defense seemed to be on the field all night, bouncing off slippery running backs and leaving receivers wide open. Williams, busy and bombarded, had 11 tackles. FULLERTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE 31 SOUTHWESTERN 0 SADDLEBACK COLLEGE 49 SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE 7
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BACKPAGE
VOICES IN OUR COMMUNITIES
Photos Courtesy shesahairslayer.com
Letting their
Hair Down Hair Slayers Studio is the go-to salon for the region’s LGBTQ community and has drawn customers as far away as wine country Temecula and desert El Centro
A BY DIEGO HIGUERA Campus Editor
“It’s amazing to know that my customers feel comfortable enough with me to show me a picture of themselves and to tell me their stories."
Tanya Alfaro, owner Hair Slayers studio
A pride flag painted on the door was like a glimmering rainbow welcome mat for the young man with a chipper step but tired eyes. There were other cues that Hair Slayers Studio is a little bit different. Jack Skellington is clearly in command of a freaky mural that is a 2D hall of fame for animated horror heroes like Oogie Boogie, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and the Corpse Bride. A deranged doll that could throw down with Annabelle loomed up front next to a bowl brimming with Halloween candy. Harley Quinn’s bat hung within arm’s reach. Make that a lot different. Hair Slayers is the place the LGBTQ community gets its hair done. Like a skilled stylist who shapes purple hair in the manner of a clipper-wielding Michelangelo, Tanya Alfaro and her sassy salon have carved out a name for themselves throughout the county. And in just six months. Customers stream in from wine country Temecula to the north and the broiling Imperial County city of El Centro to the east. Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas Salas is a fan and issued Hair Slayers Studio a City Proclamation honoring its contributions to underserved people in the community. October was entirely booked with wall-to-wall appointments. Hair Slayers’ stylists are relentlessly talented, but to many customers the welcoming, non-judgmental vibe of the salon is even more important. Members of the LGBTQIA community stop in to visit even when they are doing the Werewolf of London and their hair is perfect. UCSD Sophomore Lucas Lima said he was slayed. “My brother was the first to spot the pride flag in the window, and he said ‘we should go there because I’m tired of going to barber shops’,” he said. “Even though he’s a big dude, he doesn’t feel particularly comfortable in predominately cisgender male spaces, like barber shops tend to be.” Lima said his brother had a great Hair Slayers experience, so he went, too. “It’s nice to finally have that safe space!” he said. “As a trans person, it’s nice to be able to have a gender-affirming haircut because it really comes down to how your stylist perceives you as either more feminine or more masculine. They have control over your expression. We really needed to go somewhere more LGBT friendly and Hair Slayers was exactly that.” UCSD student Rhiannen Callahan said she also had a great experience at Hair Slayers Studio. “I wanted my hair to be more reflective of who I am and how I wanted to express myself,” she said. “Coming from a very conservative town was always very scary to me. (I was told) ‘You were born female so you must look super girly and frilly and like all the stereotypes’.” Callahan said she did not feel comfortable with traditional feminine hair styles. HAIR PG 6
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THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN
Safe welcoming
affirming space
A safe, welcoming, affirming space signals that facilities and resources are available to everyone of any sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. It is a space that celebrates LGBTQ people and respects the culture of the community. It is a judgment-free zone of inclusivity, compassion and love. Source: San Diego Pride
SPECIAL SECTION FALL 2021 NOV. 1, 2021/VOL 58-A, ISSUE 2
what’s
in a name? Latinos and Native Americans battle racist and offensive names in professional sports and education. Latino activists call the Texas Rangers “los diablos Tejanos” because of their history of ethnic cleansing, murder and rape.
Illustration Ji Ho Kim
THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN
NOV. 1, 2021 / VOL 58-A, ISSUE 2
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Adobe Stock
what’s
in a name? Chicano leaders call for the Texas Rangers baseball team to reject namesake’s violent history BY CAMILA GONZALEZ | Editor-in-Chief
SC MASCOT CONTROVERSY
College dropped Apaches in 2000 Southwestern College had its own moment of reckoning with an inappropriate nickname and mascot. For reasons long lost to history, in the mid-1960s SC’s sports teams were christened the Apaches. An accompanying mascot was a leather-faced profile of a Native American man much like the image on a worn buffalo nickel. For generations the name and mascot DR. SERAFIN mystified ZASUETA thinking people in the community. Southwestern College had Mayan-style architecture and the Apaches never lived in the South Bay. San Diego County is Kumeyaay Country with a little bit of the Shoneshone Wedge in the area that is now Escondido. Like good soldiers, though, faculty and students embraced the Apache. Legendary baseball coach Jerry Bartow – a full-blooded Native American – named the baseball field he built with his own hands Apache Junction. SC’s student newspaper, originally called The Southwesterner, changed APACHES PG S3
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P
orvenir, Texas, has no Texas Rangers baseball fans. l It has no baseball fans. l It has nobody. l Porvenir is an uninhabited ghost town in the West Texas borderlands because its inhabitants were exterminated or driven off in 1918 by the Texas Rangers – the
paramilitary vigilantes, not the baseball team. After murdering every man and teenage boy in the frontier village, the Rangers sent away the surviving widows FRANK HAMER
and children on a forced march into the desiccated prairie. The Porvenir Massacre was just one of many perpetrated by the Texas Rangers, according to historians. Formed in the 1820s as a private army for a corrupt governor who wanted to rid Texas of Native Americans, the Rangers grew in numbers in the early years after the Civil War to resist settlements by freed Black slaves and MexicanAmericans. They have been described by academics, historians and Latino leaders as “America’s Gestapo,” “the Nazis of Texas” and “the Lone Star Ku Klux Klan.” Many Rangers, in fact, were active members of the KKK. Gente Unida founder Enrique Morones said he does not understand why a Major League Baseball team would name itself for “a gun slinging, racist, terrorist organization.” He is calling for the Texas Rangers baseball team to change its name. “A name like the Texas Rangers is a mockery to the Mexican people and to all Mexican-Americans,” Morones said. “Glorifying a hyper-violent
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum
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Francis Augustus Hamer (March 17, 1884 – July 10, 1955) was an American law enforcement officer and Texas Ranger who led the 1934 posse that tracked down and killed criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Renowned for his toughness, marksmanship, and investigative skill, he acquired status in the Southwest as the archetypal Texas Ranger.
MURDER AT LA MATANZA – Historians say Texas Rangers killed hundreds, possibly thousands, of Mexicans and Tejanos in South Texas from 1915-19, calling the victims “bandits.” They were actually legal landowners, ranchers, farmworkers or Latino Texans traveling in their home state. This photo was taken in October 1915 by Texas Rangers proud of their work. Courtesy Dolph Briscoe Center for American History/University of Texas at Austin private vigilante army that brutally murdered, raped and expelled people of Mexican ancestry from their own lands was an American genocide. The Texas Rangers have been portrayed as heroic cowboys guarding the range, but they are actually lawless thugs.” Morones, a former vice president with the San Diego Padres, said he is heartened by recent decisions by the Cleveland Indians and Washington NFL franchise to change their names after years of pressure. “We want Major League Baseball
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to accept its responsibility and remove the name of Texas Rangers from its Arlington, Texas franchise,” he said. “The league should no longer profit off the suffering inflicted on our people. Neither should MLB confuse the players’ popularity with acceptance of the Texas Rangers’ namesake nor what those hired guns did to tens of thousands of Americans of Mexican ancestry.” Attorney Sheryl Ring said the Texas Rangers baseball team is RANGERS PG S3
Hamer and the KKK Hamer also led the fight in Texas against the Ku Klux Klan, starting in 1922, as senior captain of the Texas Rangers, and he is believed to have saved at least 15 people from lynch mobs. He was inducted into the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame. Controversial figure His professional record and reputation are controversial, particularly with regard to his willingness to use extrajudicial killing even in an increasingly modernized society. Source: Wikipedia
SPECIAL SECTION: WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Courtesy Enrique Morones CONTINUED FROM PG. S1
RANGERS: Latino leaders insist baseball glorifies violent vigilantes named for “an American Gestapo.” “The original Texas Rangers are responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of innocents,” she said. “The Rangers were originally formed in the 1820s to forcibly exterminate Indigenous and Native peoples from Texas, with an appalling body count.” Ring said the Ranger’s terror campaign continued into the 20th century and included prolific lynchings of Black and Latino Texans well into the 1930s. “The Rangers killed thousands of innocent civilians in a one-year period during the early days of World War I,” she wrote. “They justified the carnage by saying they were trying to dissuade Mexico from siding with Germany.” The 1918 Porvenir Massacre was a culmination of these murderous activities, Ring said, but even subsequent hearings in the Texas legislature did not slow down the Rangers. If anything, she said, they further emboldened the Rangers and their extra-judicial executions. Morones agreed. He said the misanthropic activities of the Texas Rangers never fully abated. After Porvenir the Rangers worked to drive the NAACP from Texas. In 1956 they helped to prevent the integration of Texarkana Junior College, allowing a White mob to hurl rocks and racial slurs at minority students attempting to attend classes. They attacked Black children in towns and cities across the Lone Star State who attempted to integrate K-12 schools. Journalist Doug J. Swanson’s book, “Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers,” examines the long history of racism and lawlessness. “They burned peasant villages and slaughtered innocents,” he wrote. “They committed war crimes. Their murders of Mexicans and Mexican Americans made them as feared on the border as the Ku Klux Klan in the South.” Chicano scholar Dr. José Angel Gutiérrez, a native Texan, said he has first-hand experience with the Ranger’s violent intimidation tactics. “My first encounter with the Texas Rangers was in 1962 when I was a teenager,” he said. “I attended a rally to oppose segregation in my hometown. As we were heading home we were pulled over by two cop cars. One was Texas Rangers, the other local sheriffs.” Gutiérrez said he and friends were just a block from their homes when Texas Ranger Alfred Y. Allee forced him from his car, then slapped and kicked him. Gutierrez said his mother saw what was happening and burst out of the house with a loaded shotgun. “Touch my son one more time and I’ll kill you,” she said. Gutiérrez said he was sure they were all about to die, but Allee waved off the other cops and they left.
“The league should no longer profit off the suffering inflicted on our people. Neither should MLB confuse the players’ popularity with acceptance of the Texas Rangers’ namesake nor what those hired guns did to tens of thousands of Americans of Mexican ancestry.”
Enrique Morones Gente Unida
Courtesy José Gutiérrez
“They’re laughing in our faces. (The Texas Rangers commit atrocities) against Mexicans, and yet who goes to the baseball games? Mexicans! That is because we do not know our own history.”
Dr. José Angel Gutiérrez
attorney, professor at the University of Texas at Arlington
In 1966 the Texas Rangers were brought in to break up a strike by farmworkers in a rural area south of Crystal City in Zavala County, Gutiérrez said. Mexican and Mexican-American farmworkers were beaten, kicked and shot. One laborer, Magdaleno Dimas, was killed. Naming a baseball team for the Texas Rangers is an affront to Latinos, Gutiérrez said. “They’re laughing in our faces,” he said. “(The Texas Rangers commit atrocities) against Mexicans, and yet who goes to the baseball games? Mexicans! That is because we do not know our own history.” Morones agreed. Latino players are foundational to MLB, he said. More than 30 percent of major league players are Latinos, including many of its biggest stars. Gutiérrez said the education system in Texas and most of the United States is “Anglocentric” and too often overlooks historic episodes of violence and mistreatment of minorities. Most Americans, he said, never heard of Porvenir, the destruction of the Black town Rosewood, Florida or the White riots of Tulsa, Oklahoma which burned a thriving Black business district to the ground. The Texas Rangers, he said, got the Hollywood treatment. “Everything written about the Rangers is glorious, fantastic, wonderful,” he said. “None of that is true. They are murderers of Mexicans and they have been for a long time.” While working with the Padres in the 1990s, Morones had an opportunity to meet with the managing owner of the Texas Rangers Baseball Club, Texas governor and future U.S. President George W. Bush. Morones pressed his case that his team should not be named for the Rangers. Bush, generally considered a moderate on race for a Republican, was not receptive. “I got nothing but a blank stare,” he said. “Governor Bush wasn’t having it.” Domingo Garcia said he likes baseball, but is no fan of the Texas Rangers moniker. Garcia said his mother, grandmother and grandfather lived in Porvenir. Pedro Cano, his great grandfather, and Chico Cano, a great uncle, lost their land resisting the Texas Rangers. “Remember, the Anglos write the history,” he said. “So Chico Cano is a Mexican bandit even though he was a resistance fighter and hero to the Latinos. The Texas Rangers are responsible for the lynching of 5,000 Mexican-Americans. They stole the land of Mexican-American people. They committed robbery and arson.” History books, however, paint the Tejanos as the bad guys and the CONT ON NEXT PAGE
ONE TOUGH CAT – After about 35 years as the Apaches, SC switched nicknames in 2000 and became the Jaguars. Sycuan donated $10,000 to the athletic department for new uniforms. There was little pushback from the community. CONTINUED FROM PG. S1
APACHES: Sycuan donation motivated SC name change its name to The Athapascan, the ancient language spoken by The Apaches. Efforts by Native Americans in the 1970s and 1980s to pressure high schools and colleges to eliminate Indian mascots bypassed Southwestern. It just did not seem like anyone’s priority, though in the 1980s The Athapascan switched its name to The Sun. Change came in 1998 after Dr. Serafin Zasueta took the helm as college president. A child development scholar, Zasueta had served in K-12 schools in poverty stricken communities of Southwest U.S. Native American reservations, including the Dine’ (Navajo) and Hopi. Empathetic to Native American culture and steeped in their history, Zasueta was receptive to a proposal by the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. Newly affluent San Diego County Native American gaming tribes made a push to eliminate Indian mascots in the region. A Sycuan leader offered Southwestern $10,000 to JERRY purchase brand BARTOW new uniforms for all its athletic teams if the college would change its name and mascot. Zasueta and the coaches agreed. There was some pushback in the community, mostly based on nostalgia, but it was insignificant. Zasueta thought the college needed a photogenic, powerful animal from Mesoamerica to tie in with the Mayan architecture. The jaguar pounced at the opportunity and became the college’s new mascot in 2000.
A Sycuan leader offered Southwestern $10,000 to purchase brand new uniforms for all its athletic teams if the college
‘A BLANK STARE’ – Former San Diego Padres executive Enrique Morones said his meeting with former Texas Rangers owner George W. Bush (r, then governor of Texas), elicited just “a blank stare.” Pictured in Bush’s Texas Ranger office are his father, President George H. W. Bush (l) and baseball Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, an MLB broadcaster. Courtesy Wikipedia
BLOODY HISTORY – Doug J. Swanson’s ‘Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers’ is considered a seminal study of the group that began in 1820 as a private army to exterminate Native Americans in the Texas territories.
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would change its name and mascot. SC’s first jaguar was a kittenish spotted cat that did not exactly strike fear in the hearts of collegiate athletic opponents. S/he was sent back to the jungle and replaced with the badass black jag today’s students wear on sweatshirts and football jerseys. Bartow changed Apache Junction to Jaguar Junction, which he admitted rolled off the tongue with a certain elegance. SC’s Native American godfather sent five Jaguars to Major League Baseball, but none to the Cleveland Indians.
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SPECIAL SECTION: WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Rangers as the noble heroes, Garcia said. “No baseball team should be named after a domestic terrorist organization,” he said. Morones said naming a team the Texas Rangers is no different that naming a team after terror organizations such as Isis, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram or the Proud Boys. Legions of American Latinos of the Southwest are descendants of victims of vigilante crime, he said, and have violence embedded in their family histories. “We will never erase that stain and we must never forget those innocent people killed or the women violated,” he said. “We must not forget families who saw their lands stolen at gun point and their rights denied because of the color of their skin.” Young Americans have begun to challenge the presence of statues and monuments around the nation that glorified the Confederacy, slave owners and people with histories of violence, Morones said. Many Texans are calling for the removal of Confederate statues at the state capitol and on the grounds of the University of Texas. Cities and towns with statues and monuments to the Texas Rangers are also initiating discussions about their appropriateness. Last year Dallas Love Field Airport removed a notorious statue of Jay Banks, a Texas Ranger who recruited other Rangers to assault Black children attempting to go to school. That is a good start, Morones said, but even cosmopolitan, multicultural San Diego has racist statues. “In our downtown in Horton Plaza is a statue of Pete Wilson, the architect of Proposition 187, a racist, anti-Latino bill that did a lot of damage to Latinos all over the state,” he said. “Wilson is a symbol of hate and division, which has no place in a multicultural city like San Diego. Our city is one third Latino, but has a statue of a man who dehumanized and demonized the Latino community for personal political gain.” A hot, dusty wind drags through what remains of Porvenir. Desolation reigns. Its ghosts have wandered a century, mostly forgotten. Gutierrez said he will never forget and will not rest until the Texas Rangers join Cleveland in finding a new name. The Rangers, however, are playing hardball and have given no indication they will need new uniform tops any time soon. “While we may have originally taken our name from the law enforcement agency, since 1971 the Texas Rangers Baseball Club has forged its own, independent identity,” read a 2020 statement from the team. “The Texas Rangers Baseball Club stands for equality. We condemn racism, bigotry, and discrimination in all forms.” Ring scoffed. “The Rangers cannot reject bigotry in any form when they are named for an agency created for the purpose of exterminating Indigenous people, murdering Latinos, and attacking Black kids,” she said. “The law enforcement agency known as the Texas Rangers are a white supremacist institution.” As American Latinos become wealthier and more powerful, racist marketing campaigns like the Frito Bandito, Taco Bell Chihuahua and Burger King’s Texican Whooper are not tolerated and are not long for the air. As once deep-red Texas becomes younger, diverse and purple will the Texas Rangers finally get shot out of the saddle? “We shouldn’t have to wait,” Morones said. “The vigilante Texas Rangers were losers. The baseball Texas Rangers need to lose the name – now.”
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High profile name changes
S
chool and sports nicknames have been slowly
Chicago Black Hawks and Atlanta Braves to join
evolving since the early 1970s, with dozens of
the Cleveland Indians and Washington Redskins as
professional and college teams moving away from
professional sports franchises that abandon Native
the use of Native Americans as mascots.
American names and imagery.
Not fast enough for Native America advocates. Stephanie Cross, a University of Oklahoma
Native American mascots are the most common among those drawing criticism in the United States
doctoral candidate, said about 770 schools still have
today, but there are others. There is organized
Indian-based names or mascots, including at least
opposition to names and images that depict
100 that still use the derogatory slur “redskins.”
white settlers, Confederates and other white
“Schools across America are perpetuating the myth of Native Americans as aggressive, warlike and savage,” she said.
supremacists, Crusaders and names hostile to Muslims, and names that glory violence. Here are some professional teams and
Cross and the makers of the 2017 documentary “More Than a Word” call for the Kansas City Chiefs,
universities that have abandoned Native American and white supremacist names or symbols:
North Carolina’s Elon University dropped The Fighting Christians and adopted The Phoenix. 1969 Philadelphia Warriors move to San Francisco and become the Golden State Warriors. The team abandons its mascot, a cheerful Indian caricature dribbling a basketball. 1972 Dickinson State University of North Dakota drops The Savages as its mascot and eventually settles on Blue Hawks. Stanford University changes its name from The Indians to The Cardinal (and later to The Cardinals). 1973 Eastern Washington University discontinues The Savages to become The Eagles.
2000 The College of William and Mary changed its nickname from The Indians to The Tribe, a name that has not entirely placated its community. Nebraska Wesleyan University dumps The Plainsman to become The Prairie Wolves. Seattle University discontinues The Chieftains to become the Redhawks. Southwestern College stops using The Apaches and rebrands as The Jaguars. 2006 Midwestern State University of Wichita Falls, Texas changes from The Indians to The Mustangs. 2007 University of Illinois drops its Indian face mascot and logo, but retains the name Illini.
1974 Dartmouth College stops using The Indians and switches to The Big Green.
2008 Arkansas State University retires The Indians to become The Red Wolves.
1979 St. Bonaventure University dumped The Brown Indians and The Brown Squaws to become The Bonnies. 1991 Eastern Michigan University moves on from The Hurons and rebrands as The Eagles.
2018 The Cleveland Indians stop using blushing Chief Wahoo as its mascot. In 2021 the team announces it will change its name to The Guardians. 2020 The Washington Redskins, under pressure from FedEx, which purchased naming rights to the stadium, announced it will abandon its name and logo. A new name has yet to be announced.
1994 New York’s St. John’s University replaces The Redmen with The Red Storm. 1997 Miami University of Ohio abandons The Redskins to become The Redhawks. 1999 Oklahoma City University retires The Chiefs and becomes The Stars.
SDSU MASCOT CONTROVERSY
Compiled by The Sun staff
THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN
50 years of debate, but SDSU still the Aztecs San Diego State University’s mascot and nickname, The Aztecs, came to the Montezuma Mesa in 1925 and was generally not controversial until the early 1970s when the American Indian Movement began to gain influence in the United States. Early attempts to start a conversation about the OZZIE MONGE Aztec name and the Monty Montezuma mascot were brushed aside in the mid-1970s and early 1980s. Wealthy alumni threatened to halt donations to DR. SALLY the university, ROUSH which was growing in enrollment and ambition. In 2001 the university renamed the mascot and gave it a new outfit that was supposed to be less of a beefcake cheerleader and more in line with an Aztec warrior of the 1500s. The new iteration of the mascot first appeared in 2004 to mixed reviews. Traditionalists were upset that Monty Montezuma was sidelined and younger activists, along with a group of SDSU professors, argued that any Aztec mascot was inappropriate. Zuma the Jaguar was introduced in 2010 as a secondary mascot in an effort to test market an alternative. It was an unsuccessful effort, and Zuma was quietly put out to pasture in 2012. American Indian Studies Professor Ozzie Monge brought the issue to the public again in 2015 with a paper that argued against the name and the mascot. Monge decried the “noble savage” stereotype and said SDSU had reduced the Aztec people to “a good luck charm.” In 2018 battle lines hardened. SDSU faculty and students organized an effort to do away with the Aztec, while more than 9,000 supporters of the mascot signed an online petition to “Save The Aztec.” In February SDSU President Dr. Sally Roush appointed a 17-member Aztec Identity Task Force to re-examine the issue. That May the committee recommended keeping the Aztec name, but was split on whether to retain the warrior mascot. Roush accepted the recommendations and the Aztec remains the moniker of the university. Few people involved said they believe the debate is over. Sources: San Diego Union-Tribune, SDSU Daily Aztec, SDSU President’s Office report Decisions on Aztec Identity