California State University, Bakersfield
February 24, 2021
Vol. 47, No. 2
CSUB becomes COVID testing site By Rosa Salazar Assistant News Editor CSU Bakersfield held a Chat with the Chief where `Runners were able to learn about the University Police Department, ask questions and be updated on campus resources. CSUB Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety, Marty Williamson, said the main motive of the talks was to reach out to the campus community. “The main purpose is just to be able to reach out to the campus community and allow the campus community to ask questions, offer thoughts, concerns, ideas; anything with campus safety,” Williamson said. COVID testing at the CSUB main campus was also discussed by Gonzales. Gonzalez said that CSUB will have testing every other Tuesday in the Stock-
dale room. Appointments are from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Gonzalez also demonstrated how to book a COVID test appointment through the CSUB website. Students wishing to get tested can click where it says alerts at the top of the website. From there students can view the upcoming testing dates available and book an appointment. The UPD representatives stressed the availability of mental health resources provided by the university. “It’s really important to include our campus partners as much as possible when we’re dealing with something like with mental health,” Gonzalez said. Gonzalez provided a list of on-campus resources when dealing with mental health including Behavioral Assessment Intervention and Response Team (BART), the Counseling Center, and the Employ-
ee Assistance Program (EAP). One community member asked about the availability of parking permits. “They should be mailed out, we’re hoping within two weeks, but until you get your permit, please put your receipt on your dash and that will suffice until the permit is received,” Williamson answered. The campus community also asked questions during the meeting. One of the questions was read by Hilda Moreno-Zuniga, Police Community Service Specialist. “I am a middle school teacher and pre covid, our school had a school resource officer; many of my students express negative feelings of having an officer at our school, what tips would you suggest for having conversations with students and helping them see officers in a positive manner,” Moreno-Zuniga
said. “There’s a lot of negativity and going out about law enforcement, and you know what, I’ll be honest, law enforcement hasn’t always portrayed itself as a professional, you know, ethical, in a sense,” Wiliamson said. “Individuals, we’ve seen it, it’s on video and stuff and I’ll tell you some of those people are just nothing more than criminals and they deserve to be prosecuted.” Williamson added that there are many factors that officers have to deal with and the UPD is a unique role. “Our role is there to support the educational process, certainly we’re there as law enforcement officers, absolutely, we can’t get away from that,” Williamson said. Williamson said he hopes to break down the barriers that exist between students and those in uniform.
Plans for fall semester are on the way By Rosa Salazar Assistant News Editor Vernon Harper, VP of Academic Affairs, provided updates CSU Bakersfield’s fall 2021 semester. Harper said the plan is projection based on the public health tiers in which Kern County will reside come this fall. In terms of instruction, Harper said there will be four different models of instruction that will be offered including face to face, asynchronous, synchronous, and a new mode called flex attendance. Flex attendance would allow a portion of students to be face to face and the rest would be on Zoom simultaneously. “What the pandemic has done is really impressed upon us as administrators
and leaders is that we need to build flexible and nimble environments that accommodate both the safety and educational needs of students and that is what we are in fact building,” Harper said. CSU Bakersfield Associated Students Inc. held their weekly board meeting on Feb. 12 via Zoom. The first agenda of the meeting was the Academic Senate meeting Report given by Charles C.Y. Lam, a member of the Senate. Lam said that the senate had committee reports that stated many professors wanted for students to use resources on campus. “There are lots of faculty who would like to see that even though the classes are conducted virtually, will like to see the possibility of a testing center avail-
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The event, free and open to the public, can be accessed on the CSUB website. CSUB will also have a paint night open to students on Feb. 25. On Feb. 18 there will be a Brown Bag Discussion titled; Black Superheroes: A Tribute to Chadwick Boseman at noon. Later that same day via Instagram Live, there will be an event called Expression Nights where Runners can participate in an open mic and show off their form of expression whether it be art, dancing, singing or anything else. CSUB President Zelezney, announced that all CSUB students will benefit from the CARES ACT funding and she said that funds will be distributed through BankMobile by
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the middle of March. The Office of Student Involvement and the SCR will hold a meeting on Feb. 17 to discuss the possibility of CSUB e-sports involvement. Vanessa Chicaiza, ASI President, said she received an email from a student who is concerned about the anticipated return of in-person instruction. Chicaiza said she understands that returning to school is a major concern for many students. The Center for Career Education and Community Engagement at CSUB will be hosting virtual information sessions for students interested in employment in companies including Kohls, Target, Amazon and more. Those interested can register online for the particular session to receive a
Zoom invitation. More information can be found under the event tab under the handshake website. According to Claudia Catota, Chief Diversity Officer at CSUB, starting next week students will be able to select their pronouns on PeopleSoft; the pronouns and their preferred names will appear on the class roster. “By respecting an individual’s pronouns, we recognize their sense of self and and affirm the humanities of all members of our community specifically our transgendered, gendered non conforming, non-binary, gender questioning and other gender diverse members of our campus community,” Catota said.
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able on campus for final exams,” Lam said. Lam also mentioned that the senate will further discuss the topic and express their recommendations to the senate. Next was the Campus Programming Report updated by Afaf Aldhulay, Campus Programming Coordinator. Aldhulay said this week is the last week of Black Mental Wholeness Week. Amanda Seales, actress, podcaster, rapper, singer, songwriter, comedian, DJ, poet, activist, presenter and media personality, will do a Q and A via Zoom on Feb. 17. “Invite your friends, its open to the whole campus community and it’s going to be a night for laughs cuz I think we all need that,” Aldhulay said.
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News
The Runner
February 24, 2021
Ethnic Studies requirement set to begin in the fall By Zeltzin EstradaRodriguez Reporter Despite California having a history of being one of the most ethnically diverse states in the country, the push for the mandatory instruction of the histories of those ethnic groups in the CSU education system has been a long and challenging journey. January 2014 marks the systems initial attempt to advance Ethnic Studies as a requirement in the CSU system. After six and a half years of hard work and many meetings, Gov. Gavin Newsom finally signed AB 1460 into law, requiring all CSU undergraduates to take a 3-unit course in Ethnic Studies starting in the 2021-22 academic year. Amidst the system-wide effort that came with approving the legislature for this decision, CSU Bakersfield spearheaded their own Ethnic Studies Unit Implementation Task Force last year to determine a quicker and more focused approach to the implementation of the Ethnic Studies requirement on our campus. They determined to remove one 3-unit course from the General Education (GE) lower-division Area-D to allow for the addition of the 3-unit Ethnic Studies course, which will be found under the new GE lower-division Area-F. Jorge Moraga, Assistant Professor in the Interdisciplinary Studies program at CSUB who is a part of the Task Force, says that the first two courses with the official academic prefix ETHS (Ethnic Studies) were offered last Fall: Introduction to Latinx Stud-
Illustration by Paige Atkison/The Runner
ies and Introduction to Comparative Ethnic Studies. We can look forward to seeing the implementation of more Ethnic Studies courses introduced this upcoming Fall semester. Moraga will be one of two faculty teaching these courses. “I expect to teach at least 2 sections of Introduction to Ethnic Studies course I developed for our program (in GE Area F) each semester for the foreseeable future,” Moraga wrote in an email response. “I also plan to teach Latinxs and Popular Culture Studies, an upper division course.” Tracey Salisbury, another Assistant Professor in the Interdisciplinary Studies program, will be another pioneer professor for CSUB’s Ethnic Studies courses. “I’ll be teaching at least two sections myself,” Salisbury said. “There will be a Black feminist/womanist track... a Black popular culture track... a Black political track... there’s going to be a lot of stuff. History, cul-
ture, feminist issues... the sky’s the limit!” However, the CSU system’s mission statement directly establishes four traditional ethnic studies groups: Latino and Latina Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. This means that CSUB is currently lacking in faculty who can thoroughly and effectively instruct courses on Asian American and Native American studies. “Right now, we only have two experts out of the four on campus,” Salisbury said. “We may hire someone in the other two if we get applications. It’s not easy to find someone.” Although the implementation of formal and focused Ethnic Studies courses is barely beginning to catch fire at CSUB, Monica Ayuso, Professor of Literature in CSUB’s English Department, has been teaching courses focused on Ethnic Literatures for over 20 years. “I was hired precisely to teach this area,”
Ayuso said. “I came here to design courses and syllabi that I have been teaching for 26 years.” Ayuso’s classes focus on works of literature written by Latinx, Black, Asian American, and Native American authors. Ayuso elaborated on the key themes of her classes that she expects will inevitably be highlighted in the new Ethnic Studies courses. “The theme of culture, of justice, is very crucial to these folks,” Ayuso said. “Most countries have a historical reality in which not everybody was treated with the same degree of justice. So, it’s important not to cover them up.” These GE courses are projected to be available in fall of 2021. In addition to CSUB’s withstanding courses, students can expect even more of the hidden histories of the several ethnic groups that are offered by the university to be shared and celebrated with the implementation of these new Ethnic Studies courses.
Features
The Runner
February 24, 2021
Healing through music virtually Kaleigh Day Features Writer Regardless life circumstances, music is a common denominator. With a few notes, one can be moved to tears or transported back to their childhood. By eliciting these visceral and emotional responses, music is the ultimate form of therapy and reflection. Music has often been influenced by members of the Black community. Under the horrific conditions of slavery, spirituals were sung among slaves while laboring to offer emotional support to one another. In the 1920s and 30s, Jazz and Blues’ dynamic sounds offered an escape from the harsh realities of racism while giving Black voices a platform. Again, Black musicians
helped mold modern Rock n’ Roll. Even now, modern Hip-Hop involves tackling ongoing social issues with style. On Feb. 10, CSU Bakersfield’s Black Faculty and Staff Association hosted singer-songwriter Jarret Johnson as he spoke about his relationship to music and the healing power it possesses. Facilitated by Bre Evans-Santiago, Department Chair of Teacher Education, the meeting began with a video featuring Jonhson’s Grammy-nominated rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing”. The song, often referred to as the “Black National Anthem”, was accompanied by video footage of Johnson singing. Coupled with this were images from Civil Rights marches of the 1960s and Black Lives Matter protests which have
taken place recently. The song and video calls on Americans to continue making strides forward. Johnson reflected on the project stating that he felt compelled to create it to call attention to the Black community’s past and present struggles. “History needs to be told with all of the scars of this country ... this is an opportunity to acknowledge a very necessary part of the fabric of this country and if we don’t, I believe we are continuing to live in ignorance,” Johnson said. Evans-Santiago spoke about the ways in which music can strengthen bonds between communities, while educating others on the rich history of the Black community in the face of adversity. “Tonight is about how music connects us and can
Local spotlight: Barrington’s Jamaican Kaleigh Day Features Writer If you’re searching for an island paradise in Bakersfield, you can find it in a parking lot. Though it sounds counterintuitive, nestled between Petsmart and Wienerschnitzel off of Ming and Stine is Barrington’s Jamaican Kitchen, a small restaurant turning out authentic Jamaican fare. At the helm is owner Barrington Lewis whose love of community and food led to a hometown hidden gem. For Lewis, this business seems to have been inevitable. He started in the kitchen learning traditional Jamaican recipes from his mother and says his kitchen skills bloomed at the age of 15 when he was in the Combined Cadet Force. Lewis recounted his time in the force preparing food for upwards of 150 other young men as a great learning experience. This homestyle method of cooking for crowds has allowed him to cater several local events including CSU Bakersfield Alumni and Take Out Tuesday. His authentic food has even garnered upwards of
200 reviews and five stars on Yelp. Barrington’s is best known for their succulent jerk chicken with the perfect blend of peppery heat and a subtle sweetness. On the weekends, Barrington’s serves savory, tender oxtail and Brownstew chicken with a side of cabbage and plantains. “My boyfriend kept breaking into happy-dance moves while he was eating the Jerk Chicken. The Curry Chicken had such a nice flavor and the potatoes were the best. I’m looking forward to going back to try the Oxtail and Brownstew chicken on the weekend,” Trish Stanifer said about her experience at Barrington’s. The food isn’t the only thing that keeps customers coming time and time again; many credit the excellent service provided by Lewis and his staff as a driving force in the business’s overall appeal. “Barrington’s is one of those places that check off all of the ‘yes’ boxes for me. It’s a locally owned, family establishment and the prices are great for the portions! The owner is a sweetheart and deserves all the business he gets,”
Heidi Bailey wrote via her Yelp review. Lewis stated that his hope in opening the restaurant was to bring people together through food. “When I was putting together the business, I wanted to give customers a place to reminisce about their time in Jamaica. I wanted it (the restaurant) to be a place where family and friends can have that nostalgic taste,” Lewis said. What’s even more important to Lewis is the mark he has left on his community. Local news outlets have praised him for feeding the homeless in Bakersfield with food leftover by the time of closing. Aside from the restaurant, Lewis has also been heavily involved in West High School’s track team where he has been a volunteer coach. He says that community-building is what fuels him to grow the business. “I’m after happiness and peace of mind. I tell my kids, ‘when you can walk without having to look over your shoulder, that’s how you know you’ve done good. That’s what this is’,” Lewis said.
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Jarrett Johnson speaks to the audience via Zoom about his experience with creating music.
heal us, as well as help us express, teach, and learn,” Evans-Santiago stated. The need for open communication sparked Jonhson’s revitalization of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Although Johnson states that he had never envisioned himself as a figure in social justice, his newfound exposure form the video has expanded his understanding of music
and its ability to reach others. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would fall into social activism at this type of level, but now I feel even more compelled to use my voice,” Johnson said. Many attendees noted in a poll that they had never before heard “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, which stands out as a reminder that progress requires
education. “Learning the history behind that song (Lift Every Voice and Sing) was interesting to me because it made me realize how little is taught about Black history,” Caitlin Livingston, a psychology major at CSUB, said. While healing can be a long journey, Johnson’s work seeks to help the process along by connecting to each listener.
Opinions
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The Runner
February 24, 2021
Drop the mansplaining in sports By Jennifer Mancilla Opinions Writer The Superbowl has passed, and Tom Brady has proven to us, once again, that he is indeed the greatest of all time by winning his seventh Superbowl. However, we’re not here to discuss the game between the Chiefs and Buccaneers, no – we’re here to talk about the way girls get laughed at by guys when they talk about sports. By laughed at, I don’t mean the whole “pointing and falling to the ground and laughing” but making a face when she doesn’t know the player’s name or the player’s position. The face that says, “okay, just stop.” Instead of scolding the guys who mansplain sports to women, and for claiming that they “try too hard” when they are genuinely interested into a certain sport, I will share some tips on how to talk sports with a woman properly. Before I share my tips, let me explain what mansplaining is and how to know when someone is doing it. In the article, “Mansplaining, explained in one simple chart” the author, Kim Goodwin, illustrated a chart that shows if a man is mansplaining. The chart is simple, and breaks down mansplaining in three factors and they are: “Do they want the explanation? Are you making bad assumptions about competence? How does bias affect your interpretation of the above?” (Goodwin). Did they want the explanation? Did she ask for help when she was telling you what part of the Superbowl she liked but was unable to pinpoint what position the player was in, and so you, a guy, felt the need to interrupt her to explain who the player was and what his position was. No? Then next time listen to her and don’t interrupt unless she asks you to pitch in. Are you making bad assumptions about competence? Meaning, are you assuming that a woman doesn’t know what she is talking about, and therefore when you educate her on a subject she already knows, you are undermining her and making her feel like you don’t trust that her
information is correct? In the article, “Mansplaining: The Sexist Attitude Toward Female Sports Fans” the unnamed author, who is an opinions writer at UC Irvine, shares her experience with a guy explaining a sport’s position to her. She had tweeted, -“So does defense not exist? #ClippersvsBlazers” to which a guy replied, “Oh I assure you it exists defense is when you try to stop the other team from scoring. It’s really hard and Clips can’t do it”. The author wasn’t asking what defense was, she was making a sarcastic joke after watching the game and noting the lack of defense her team had. After reading the tweet, the guy had assumed that she needed the definition of what defense is and then proceeded to reply sarcastically, “Clips can’t do it,” as if he hadn’t just defined what defense is. If a guy had tweeted that, I could assure you the reply to it would have been, “defense is hard, and clips
can’t do it.” Instead, he read it in a way that made her feel as if she didn’t just watch the entire game. Sport’s wasn’t made for guys. It was made to be experienced by anyone. A woman can play it, watch it, and study it as much as a guy can. Men, don’t assume that a woman talking about a sport is only trying to sound cool or to get your attention. Don’t assume that you know more about soccer than she does because she could have grown up watching it and playing it with her family. Don’t assume that a girl wearing a basketball jersey is just wearing it for fashion (Which some girls do and is completely okay because not ALL girls like sports, just like not ALL guys mansplain), and don’t quiz her on who’s number it is and what position they play. Let’s say she doesn’t know the plays and the positions and the player. She watched a game and it interested her and she wants
to discuss with it someone. Take my experience for example. I had just watched the Superbowl and was in disbelief that the Chiefs defense was not protecting their quarterback because when at times, he went to throw the ball at one of his teammates, he was being chased down by the opposing team. I didn’t know the name of the Chiefs quarterback and I didn’t know the name of #87 who used to play for the Patriots team, and now plays for the Buccaneers, and because of that, my guy friend told me, “You’re trying too hard”. I replied with, “how?” and he had said that I was “trying too hard to get into the game.” At that moment I felt dumb and angry because did he think that I was trying to impress him with the fact that I was into the game? He wasn’t the first guy to say that to me, so I wasn’t surprised. What does surprise me is when some guys listen to me when I talk sports. They hear my opinions,
Illustration by Paige Atkison/The Runner
even when I don’t know the player’s names but only the main concept of the game. Korryn Sanchez can relate to the feeling as well. In her article, “I don’t need you to mansplain to me,” where she discusses her love for sports and how she always felt scrutinized and out of place when she talked sports with boys, she says -“it is sad that when I have a conversation about sports with a guy or a group of guys, I feel surprised when they regard my opinion as equal to theirs” Sanchez said. I was at Lowes the next day with my brother and I started talking about football. I heard myself mess up the name of the position and I started to cringe when I looked over at him and saw that he noticed my struggle. All he said then was, “defense” and I was surprised. I said, “yeah, the defense.” He hadn’t tried explaining anything to me, all he did was offer the
name of the position to me and I felt like he was attentively listening to what I was saying. Lastly, how does bias affect your interpretation of the first two factors of mansplaining? Which were “did they ask for your help and are you making bad assumptions.” When communicating with someone, are you bias of the person’s race or gender? Did you assume based on their race or gender that their intelligence is lower than yours? Before piping up in a conversation with women about anything, consider the following three factors of mansplaining. Did she ask for your help? Are you assuming that they aren’t educated on a certain topic when in fact they might know it better than you? Lastly, don’t be biased. Just because they are women, does not mean you’re entitled to know more sports logic than them. Be kind and respectful and never assume.
Sports The Runner
February 24, 2021
CSUB men’s basketball survives in game against UC San Diego By Michael Canelo Sports Reporter Both new to the Big West Conference, CSU Bakersfield and UC San Diego faced off Friday Feb. 12 at the Icardo Center, ending in a 76-71 victory for CSUB. The Roadrunners came in knowing UC San Diego did not have much size inside and they took advantage of that early in the first half. CSUB kept feeding each other inside, that led to easy layups, and an early 23-12 lead with 10:58 left in the first half. “In the first half, we were playing good defense. They were just making outside shots. The number one thing is playing together. It does not matter if we are on defense or offense when we play together
we are helping each other out,” CSUB senior Czar Perry said, who had four points, two rebounds, two steals, and five assists. The ‘Runners’ pressured the ball handler full court and had success causing turnovers. CSUB’s defense was denying everything because they knew that UC San Diego was a team that shoots mostly three point shots. CSUB’s offense was in rhythm in the first half and that gave them a 39-25 lead at halftime. Sophomore Shaun Williams was in rhythm all night scoring a career-high 24 points along with four assists and five rebounds. “You look up at the score and you are up by 14 and then you look back up and it is three. And then you think are they keeping the
Photo by Ellen Kommel/The Runner
score right. So quickly they could turn the game around,” head coach Rod Barnes said. “We went from getting into the paint, scoring the basket, to we became what they are. We probably took more three’s this game than we have all
season.” The ‘Runners’ came out flat-footed allowing UC San Diego to settle in and hit shots. CSUB struggled to get into the paint in the second half, leading them to take 14 three-point shots in the second half and 26
total in the game. UC San Diego hung around the whole second half until CSUB senior Taze Moore hit two clutch three-point shots in the final minutes. It gave CSUB a 76-71 victory. Moore, the forward, had 18
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points, five assists, and five rebounds. “A lot of other teams that we have played have a more balanced offense, where you know they have some people who they are going to go inside with, and then some people who are going to shoot outside with. UC San Diego lives and dies with the three basically, so that is what makes them different,” CSUB senior Justin McCall said, who helped his team with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and two assists. With this win over UC San Diego, the ‘Runners’ improve to 13-7 on the season. These teams will play again in another non-conference matchup on February 13 at the Icardo Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.