Spring Issue 216.03 by CSULA University Times

NIVERSITY IMES

February 5, 2018

www.csulauniversitytimes.com

C A L I F O R N I A S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y, L O S A N G E L E S

Calling the CSU Out!

Issue 216.03

Skilled trade workers from 22 CSU’s unite to protest in front of the Chancellor’s office.

Read on Page 2.

Attention All Dreamers Nicaragua the ability to work and live in the United States with a protected status due to a war or natural disasters in their native country.

A recent immigration event on campus informed students of DACA and TPS statuses.

Recently the Trump administration has cancelled the protected status for thousands of TPS recipients.

Mike Nelson Staff Reporter

Marcus Montes, a Cal State LA student, talked about the importance of immigrant students to get involved in student government and oncampus events.

On Feb. 1, Cal State LA held an immigration event where students were informed on DACA and Temporary Protection Status (TPS). There, 5 speakers presented at a forum and followed with a Q&A. Dr. Raphael Sonhestein, the first guest speaker, spoke about where the DACA bill is currently being discussed in Congress and how it led to a government shutdown a few weeks back. Legal expert, Shui Ming Cheer, followed with a presentation on the DACA Bill. According to Cheer, there are approximately 800,000 people that have been

Robert Yomemoto spoke about the Cal State LA Food Pantry and that DACA students should not hesitate to use it if they need it. Camille Jessie

From left to right: Dr. Raphael Sonenshein, Shui Ming Cheer,Jennifer M. Esquivel, Marcos Montes Robert, Yonemoto Jr.

approved for DACA and many are losing their status every day.

solution to DACA that may occur in 2018 but is expected to be extended into 2019.

Cheer also spoked about the different legal cases in a few states that will affect the final

Jennifer M. Esquivel spoke about TPS and asked the audience who knew about

the program because most people are not aware of it. It is a government program that allows people from Haiti, El Salvador, Syria, Nepal, Honduras, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and

Jessica Chavez, a Cal State LA alumna, was at the event and gave her opinion: “I think it’s very important for students to be informed and aware of what is going on especially if it pertains to them and their access to their education here.”

February 5, 2018

University Times

NEWS

Calling the CSU Out!

is unaware of the required maintenance, Watson cited the campus administration’s lack of understanding regarding campus buildings:

Skilled trade workers from 22 CSU’s unite to protest in front of the Chancellor’s office.

“After 17 years, I’m at the bottom of my pay scale"

Ricky Rodas Investigative Reporter Last Wednesday, 60 trade workers representing 22 of the 23 California State Universities (CSU’s) gathered in front of The CSU Chancellor's office in Long Beach, where they voiced frustrations with the CSU administration. Teamsters Local 2010, the union that represents the majority of CSUs, excluding Cal State Maritime, organized the workers. Demonstrators chanted rallying cries such as “no contract, no peace” and “Cal State you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side.” Currently, the State Employee Trade Council (SETC) is in negotiations with the CSU on behalf of the workers to change portions of their contract that deal with work wages and benefits.

Teamsters Local 2010

Teamsters Local 2010 protesting at the CSU Trustee Meeting Action on Jan. 31, 2018.

Throughout the protest, demonstrators held signs that displayed concise messages like “overworked, understaffed, underpaid” and “$2 billion failure.” The University Times (UT) conducted interviews with several CSU workers, and found that many were aggravated with the university

system’s unresolved issues. Jim Watson, San Francisco State (SF) building service engineer, spoke on his experiences of being overworked: “I am the only building service engineer for San

Francisco State’s housing; they have two vacant positions but we really need five minimum,” said Watson. “They don’t even know all the equipment we have to operate, from exhaust fans, HVAC systems and air handler units.” When asked why SF State

“They’re administrators, they don’t know how buildings operate. They came to me a couple months ago and asked how many boilers we have; I have fifty boilers.” Christopher Thomas Rooney, Cal State Northridge metalworker, openly voiced his dissatisfaction with his campus’ tendency to contract out maintenance, which he explained was a common practice throughout the CSU system: “At my campus, we’ll have a (Continued to Page 8)

3 NEWS

University Times

February 5, 2018

Women’s Golf Tees Off Tournament series. He was fortunate enough to call Golf Digest’s Mike LaBauve his mentor. LaBauve guided him to play collegiately where he was able to gain great experience and develop competitively. “I earned my degree from the University of New Mexico in 1995, and I immediately turned professional,” he said. “I had a group of sponsors helping me out, and I competed on various mini-tours for nearly three years. After that, I accepted a job as a golf professional at a private club in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This is when I began focusing on becoming a golf instructor.” Hans Kersting

The Women's Golf Team at Point Lima’s golf tournament in San Diego.

PGA Professional leads Golden Eagle’s newest NCAA team–Women’s Golf. Yamani Wallace Contributing Writer Cal State L.A. makes history in 2018, adding the first ever National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Women’s Golf team. The team will be included in the University’s six California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) conference teams. The new team will compete against Chico State, Sonoma State, Cal State Monterey Bay, Cal State East Bay and Cal State San Marcos. The women’s team will be

led by New Mexico native and Professional Golf Association (PGA) golfer, Hans Kersting. Kersting is an 18-year PGA competitor who thrives on his love for the game and teaching others to develop their skills. When he is not coaching at the university level, he can often be found at Woodland Hills Country Club. There he serves as a golf instructor and director of the club. Kersting has a lengthy golfing background dating back to the age of eight years old. “I was the typical little kid who enjoyed playing every game and sport imaginable, but the freedom that golf provided made it stand out among all others,” said Kersting.

During his youth, Kersting competed in the Junior PGA

Throughout his college and professional career, Kersting had the opportunity to compete and learn from golf greats such as Jim Furyk, Phil

Mickelson, Justin Leonard, David Duval and even Tiger Woods. Kersting and the women’s golf team have plenty of obstacles to hurdle and newcomer jitters to get through, but Kersting is confident that his team will thrive: “Our program is going to be built with young ladies who are not only good student-athletes, but also have a passion to be role models in our community. As female college golfers, our team has been given a platform for molding their own futures, but also the futures of young girls with similar dreams. We will always have a team filled with tremendous character and high standards.” The Golden Eagle golfers will make their first debut Feb. 5 in San Diego at the Point Loma Reach golf tournament.

NOTICE OF PROPOSED STUDENT HEALTH CENTER FEE ADJUSTMENT The Student Health Center (SHC) will soon be asking the Student Fee Advisory Committee to recommend approval of an adjustment to the Student Health Services Fee. The proposed adjustment includes increasing the fee from $82.50 to $132.50 per semester effective Fall 2018 and tying the fee to the Milliman Medical Index to incrementally adjust for the increasing cost of healthcare in the future, if needed. The current state of the SHC budget presents a deficit of over $1.7 million. The deficit has been offset thus far by a reserve, which is now depleted and one-time temporary funding from the University. In the absence of these sources going forward, the SHC has no option but to increase its revenue by adjusting the fee. Failure to adopt this increase would result in dire budgetary circumstances, potentially resulting in substantial reduction of critical services to students including those of mental health care. Similar to other California State University student health services, the SHC is a self-supporting entity with its primary source of revenue being the Student Health Services Fee. As such, the Center is responsible for covering all operating costs, including personnel salaries and benefits, contractual services, supplies and equipment, pharmaceuticals, facility maintenance and care, custodial services, and other general operating costs. In recent years, the SHC has substantially increased mental health services in response to the growing need for such services. The fee adjustment is essential for the Student Health Center in order to maintain its operations at the current level and further respond to the increasing need for services, in particular, mental health care. The existing non-indexed fee has not changed since 2006 while the cost of healthcare has risen exponentially along with the demand for services. Given these factors, maintaining a stable budget has become increasingly difficult and impossible going forward. Our Student Health Center serves as a primary health care provider for many students whom otherwise do not have access to adequate healthcare, and it is important to note that despite this increase, the adjusted fee will still be among the lowest Health Services Fees in the CSU system. Furthermore, the cost of healthcare provided by the SHC is a value when compared to outsidewhere a visit to a clinician can easily cost $150-$500, and an emergency room visit substantially more. It is important to note, this proposed increase will be covered in most cases for eligible financial aid recipients. As I am sure you will agree, maintaining health services for students is essential in supporting student wellness and personal and academic success. We, at the Student Health Center, are passionate about providing high quality, convenient and affordable health services to students and need your support to enable us to continue our service! We welcome your comments and suggestions and encourage you to participate in our upcoming health services survey. Our email address is wecare@calstatela.edu. Additional information and a link to our upcoming survey will be available through the Student Health website, www.calstatela.edu/studenthealthcenter. Sincerely, Monica M. Jazzabi, M.D. Director and Medical Chief of Staff Student Health Center

University Times

February 5, 2018

CULTURE

Ballet Hispánico: Culture and Community Recently, Cal State LA has partnered with Ballet Hispánico to support and develop the community. Kyle Frizol Chief Copy Editor Cal State LA has recently partnered with Ballet Hispánico, the nation’s premier Latino dance organization.

The partnership is part of the new Community Arts Partnership LA that launches this year. Ballet Hispánico will perform annually at Cal State LA as part of its companyin-residence, as well as offer classes for the community, integration in public schools , interdisciplinary courses and workshops at the University. In 2016, Ballet Hispánico performed at the Luckman

UN I V E R S I T Y T IMES

Editor-in-Chief Erron Franklin

Staff Reporters Anthony Karambeles Mike Nelson

Managing Editor- Print J. Aaron Delgado Graphic Designer Kimberly Pena Managing Editor- Web Carlos Gomez Multimedia Journalist Production Manager Michael Griego Hector Cruz Photographers Chief Copy Editor Aileen Espita Kyle Frizol Thomas Rodas Joshua Mejia News Editor Camille Jessie Richard Molina Brian Delgado Allen Flores Photo Editor Cara Gonzales Contributing Writers Ashlee Navarec Advertising Yamani Wallace Representatives Melorie Cruz Alberto Perez Daisy Villalobos Newsroom Assistant Connie Garcia Faculty Adviser Pablo Baler Distribution Daisy Villalobos Investigative Reporter J. Aaron Delgado Ricky Rodas All opinions and letters in the University Times represent the opinion of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the UT or the university.

J. Aaron Delgado

Ballet Hispanico performing at the Luckman Theater in Spring 2017.

"We appreciate Ballet Hispánico’s commitment to providing educational opportunities for our community. We look forward to a rewarding partnership.”

Fine Arts Complex at the University, which eventually led to meetings with educators at Cal State LA to bring the company back as part of a three year residency. Additional resources for students will be developed into the project each year. President Covino looks forward to the cultural effects that the project will have on the

University and surrounding Los Angeles community:

partnership with this renowned dance company.”

“We appreciate Ballet Hispánico’s commitment to providing educational opportunities for our community. This collaboration aligns with Cal State LA cradle-to-career initiatives that provide higher education pathways for our youth. We look forward to a rewarding

According to a Cal State LA press release, “The organization’s founder, National Medal of Arts recipient Tina Ramirez, sought to give voice to the Hispanic experience and break through stereotypes.”

Letters to the editor should include an address, telephone number and identification. Letters may be edited for grammar and length. University Times display and classified advertising should not be construed as the endorsement or investigation of commercial enterprises of ventures. University Times reserves the right to reject any advertising. University Times is published every Monday.

Para La Onda:

www.csulauniversitytimes.com calstatela.ut@gmail.com Calstatelaut facebook.com/CsulaUT Calstatelaut

Jefa de Redacción: Claudia Landeros Editores: Lissette Flores Eduardo Ramos

Consejero de la Facultad: Pablo Baler

Through Ramirez’s initial vision for the performing company, Ballet Hispánico has since developed into an organization that is focused on community involvement and inclusion of arts programs for high-risk populations such as the Latino community in Los Angeles. “Today, Ballet Hispánico is led by Eduardo Vilaro, an acclaimed choreographer and former member of the company, whose vision of social equity, cultural identity and quality arts education for all drives its programs,” the release read. Moving ahead, Cal State LA and Ballet Hispánico both have much to gain from their new partnership.

5 LOCAL NEWS University Times

February 5, 2018

Gruesome Homicide in Alhambra Last week, the corpse of a homicide victim was discovered in Alhambra. Melorie Cruz Contributing Writer On Jan. 25, 2018, an Asian man was found dead in the backyard of a house in Alhambra. The man was found by the authorities in a traumatic scene: face down with his head bloodied and covered up with a cardboard box. The homicide occurred in a house on 1200 South of Sierra Vista in Alhambra. The house was being rented to four residents of Chinese descent, those of which agreed to be taken to the Alhambra Police Department to be interviewed regarding the matter. After conducting interviews and investigating further, Lt. Corina of Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department announced on Friday that the killing was deemed a “domestic situation”.

Brian Delgado

Jinguo Jiang's driveway where their corpse and head's whereabouts were found by the LA County Sheriff.

According to Detectives, the suspect is a 51-year old man. He is suspected to have killed the victim in the backyard on the premise where the victim was having an affair with the suspect's wife. The suspect later intended to kill himself by driving off a hillside in Monterey Park, but survived the suicidal attempt

and was taken to the hospital immediately by investigators, where he is being treated for his injuries. Local neighbors were terrified by the event. A local woman was surprised to hear about the tragic event that occurred in the Sierra Vista neighborhood near the Chase

bank she frequently visits: “You should be more careful and aware, especially when you go out at night by yourself because you don’t know what could happen,” she said. As the Alhambra Police Department continue their investigation, the case it still

pending. A few days after the gruesome discovery, the suspect’s wife was interviewed and, according to detectives, seemed to be very upset. The authorities have not released the name of the suspect, but the victim was Jinguo Jiang, a 55-year-old Asian man who died after sustaining blunt force trauma in Alhambra.

Downtown Ups the Ante Pharmacy Technician. It is currently in its development stage for the launch of a BS in Hospitality program in Spring 2019.

Cal State LA’s Downtown campus offers new programs to help students graduate.

As the 2017-2018 academic year ends, students who are reaching the end of their programs at the campus are preparing to graduate. 20 students from the inaugural FEMBA program have submitted their 2018 Spring graduation applications while 26 students from the Master of Social Work – advanced standing (MSW-AS) program have applied for graduation this Spring. This would mark the 2nd group in MSW-AS to graduate from the downtown campus.

J. Aaron Delgado Managing Editor - Print As the Cal State LA Downtown campus moves forward with new programs and opportunities, transfer students and working professionals are provided with additional options for pursuing their degrees. The Downtown campus began offering a two-year program for 20 students of the Masters of Science in Nursing. Specifically, the campus was contracted by the L.A. County Department of Health Services to prepare current registered nurses that hold a Bachelors of Science (BS) in Nursing and educate them to become family nurse practitioners. The accelerated program provides the skills to manage the health of urban families. The Psychology program Downtown is tailored for prospective students who are interested in seeking career opportunities; including Social Work, Human Resources, Probation and Corrections, Recreational Therapy, Caregiving for the

PaGE

Evaon Wong-Kim, Ph.D., (left), and Siyon Rhee, Ph.D. (right), congratulate a Master of Social Work-Advanced Standing graduate at Cal State LA Downtown.

elderly and children and Professional at-home aid. The Downtown campus has been developing their Psychology program due to a growing interest among a large population of students. The campus has now offers a classroom environment that allows both students early in the program and graduating seniors to take the same courses. “We typically had one cohort of Psychology students but now we have two concurrently running courses where

students that are lower division can join the seniors in their classes with Psychology,” said Jessica Salazar, Assistant to the Associate Dean. The campus has received applications for various programs that are offered, notably the Masters of Public Health and the Fully Employed MBA (FEMBA) program. It has also received applications for the BS in Business Administration – Management Option and the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Liberal Studies – Professional Option programs.

In Fall 2018, the first students of the Masters of Public Health, as well as the third group for the FEMBA program, will begin classes Downtown. New students will also begin undergraduate programs for the BS in Business Administration – Management Option and the BA in Liberal Studies – Professional Option. The Downtown campus also offers Certificate and Professional Training Programs in Paralegal Studies, Project Management and

Approximately 20 students from undergraduate programs, such as BA in Liberal Studies, BA in Psychology, and BS in Business Administration, have also applied for Graduation this Summer. “Overall, Cal State LA Downtown is growing at a fast pace as people, especially those living and working in downtown L.A., discover the new campus,” said Eric A. Bullard, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Professional and Global Education. “Students, faculty and staff have merged together to create a positive and productive academic environment to realize academic pursuits and achievements.”

February 5, 2018

University Times

INMIGRACIÓN

Enriquecimiento ilícito de organizaciones de contrabando humano NOTAS BREVES

Reconocimiento a Elena Poniatowska por su activismo feminista

Por Eduardo Ramos El Instituto Nacional de Estudios Históricos de las Revoluciones de México (INEHRM) cada año convoca al premio Clementina Díaz y de Ovando. Este se otorga a historiadores e investigadores, cuya obra y trayectoria representa un legado para el estudio de la historia social, cultural o de género en especial de los periodos de las Revoluciones de México.

El pasado 26 de enero la escritora Elena Poniatowska recibió el premio “Clementina Díaz y de Ovando”, por su activismo feminista y por la lucha que ha mantenido a lo largo de su vida en defensa de los derechos de las

Elena Poniatowska. Crédito de fotografía: Pedro Bautista

mujeres. Durante su discurso, la escritora recordó el valor histórico de Clementina Díaz y de Ovando; asímismo, agradeció la presea otorgada e hizo un breve recorrido por la historia del feminismo. “Agradezco el honor que se me hace al entregarme el premio. Me llena de gratitud por haber nacido mujer.” Reconoció la labor de las mexicanas Amalia Caballero del Castillo Ledón y Adelina Zendejas, y subrayó la importancia de las mujeres en la política. Señaló que “En general, las mexicanas han participado muchísimo en las elecciones y en la Revolución Mexicana; siempre rescato a las soldaderas, porque siempre pienso que, sin ellas, no hubiera Revolución”.

Contáctanos en:

UT CSULA La Onda

Por Claudia Landeros Todos los días inmigrantes indocumentados intentan cruzar la frontera y llegar a Estados Unidos. Es casi siempre una peregrinación muy dolorosa, pero no por eso dejan de arriesgar sus vidas en el intento. El pasado 31 de enero, un nuevo cargamento de inmigrantes indocumentados fue interceptado en las cercanías de San Diego, a tan solo 8 kilómetros de la línea fronteriza con México. Un camión de paquetería UPS, que coincidía en todo con el diseño de la empresa, resultó ser un vehículo disfrazado que trasportaba a 77 inmigrantes mexicanos. Entre ellos estaban cinco menores de edad. El oficial de caminos de California, según reportes, notó que el camión no tenía placas y zigzagueaba, y cuando lo paró se dio cuenta que la presión de las llantas estaba muy baja, además percibió un olor corporal muy fuerte que provenía del interior del camión.

Recibe el premio “Clementina Díaz y de Ovando”

Clementina Díaz y de Ovando fue una historiadora, investigadora y académica mexicana. Dedicó su vida a escribir la historia del siglo XIX mexicano. Se especializó en las investigaciones de la arquitectura y arte de la Nueva España y en la pedagogía jesuítica de la época. Sobresalió por ser la primera mujer en ingresar en la Academia Mexicana de la Historia en 1974. Esto, entre otros muchos logros más

Los inmigrantes indocumentados son tratados como mera mercancía

laonda.newspaper@gmail.com LAONDACSULA

El conductor del vehículo, Shawn Lee Seiler, ciudadano estadounidense y otros dos hombres que ya habían sido deportados anteriormente, se declararon culpables. A todos se les levantaron cargos y fueron remitidos a las autoridades correspondientes. Los inmigrantes aceptaron haber entrado ilegalmente al país y todos se encuentran bien de salud. Lamentablemente no es un caso aislado, “los polleros”

Indocumentados intentando cruzar por Texas. Crédito de fotografía: flckr.com

no se ha frenado ante las duras políticas de Trump. Su negocio es traficar humanos sin importar si estos llegan en buenas o en malas condiciones de salud. Ya muchos han muerto en el intento. Es un problema que ataca en ambos lados de la frontera, a veces los cargamentos son interceptados en México y otras veces de este lado.

Honduras. En el grupo había, adultos mayores, hombres, mujeres y veinte menores de edad que viajaban solos. Estos venían apretados en el compartimento de paquetería de un autobús, escondidos detrás de las maletas. Cuando los rescataron, presentaban severos signos de deshidratación, debilidad y cansancio.

La semana anterior a este último hallazgo, por ejemplo, otro camión de carga fue encontrado en el norte de Laredo, Texas, con 76 inmigrantes de México y Centroamérica. Entre ellos estaban 13 menores de edad.

Tristemente este no es un tema nuevo, pasa casi todos los días. Los paisanos mexicanos y centroamericanos, principalmente, seguirán sorteando obstáculos y saltando muros si es necesario para buscar una mejor calidad de vida para ellos y sus familias, cosa que sus gobiernos no les ofrecen. Los contrabandistas sin escrúpulos seguirán enriqueciéndose y buscando nuevos modos de introducir gente indocumentada al país y el gobierno de Trump seguirá en lucha sin cuartel contra ellos.

En México por su parte, en los estados de Tamaulipas y Coahuila, fueron encontrados por los mismos días del evento ocurrido en San Diego, un cargamento de inmigrantes de 109 y otro de 65, respectivamente. Provenientes todos de El Salvador y

POLÍTICA

Kim Jong-un ataca al gobierno de Trump El líder de Corea del Norte llama al gobierno de Trump racista Por Yeraldín Estrada Este miércoles 31 de enero el mandatario del país de Corea del Norte llamó a la administración de Donald Trump “racista.” No solo calificó a los gobernantes del país estadounidense como “racistas” sino que también se atrevió a decir que eran un club de multimillonarios que llevaba una política de

discriminación. A su vez, el líder manifestó que Estados Unidos niega la libertad de prensa y la cobertura de salud a sus ciudadanos. Agregó que la discriminación en los Estados Unidos era un problema que se había agravado desde que Trump tomó la presidencia el año pasado. Después de que Kim Jongun hablara de Estados Unidos y de su gobierno, la prensa norcoreana publicó que la “verdadera” liberad de prensa y expresión no existía en Estados Unidos y que cada vez había más desempleo en el país. Kim Jong-un no atacó a

Trump debido a los problemas que tienen sobre los programas nucleares y de misiles de Pyonyang sino porque el presidente Trump, en su discurso del pasado martes 30 de enero, calificó como “depravado” el liderazgo de éste. Además de utilizar este adjetivo contra el líder coreano, Trump aseguró que no permitiría que el país coreano amenazara Estados Unidos y prometió una campaña para trabajar en ello. Tanto Trump como Kim Jong-un se encuentran en una lucha de palabras que se espera que no llegue a ser un problema en el futuro de ambos países.

February 5, 2018

7 NATIONAL NEWS University Times

State of Trump’s Union The President’s Address Spreads Facts, Many of Them False. Anthony Karambelas Staff Reporter

"Americans are dreamers, sure, but do they face the same challenges, and uncertain futures as they try to figure out how to provide for their families?"

In many ways, Trump’s State of the Union (SOU) address was a retrospective speech, highlighting each of the administration’s past achievements and pausing for applause at multiple points. But the speech did little to provide any sort of substantive legislative agenda for the coming year. “Most presidents use the SOU to present new policy proposals. Trump didn’t, he just reiterated the same ideas, and called for compromise. He touted the tax plan, urged Democrats to accept his immigration plan, and stressed the need for infrastructural improvements. Although all presidents use stooges in the audience, I found it even more

Olivier Douliery

President Donald Trump delivers his first State of the Union address.

distasteful than usual,” said Dr. Martin Adamian, Associate Professor of Political Science at Cal State LA. However, not all SOU attendees took the bait. When Trump tried to claim responsibility for the lowest recorded black American unemployment rate, the Congressional Black Caucus stayed seated and silent. What Trump failed to mention about this statistic was that black unemployment has been on the decline since the Great Recession, and is therefore in no way attributable to his actions as president. In fact, Trump’s address was littered with questionable “facts” such as these. In the wake of his speech, fact checkers have ripped it apart. NowThis Politics reports that Trump delivered an average of one false statement every four and a half minutes. Considering that his speech was the third-longest in the (Continued to Page 8)

University Times

(Continued from Page 2) "Calling the CSU Out" contractor get paid and leave, and the very next week we’re there fixing what they just did because it doesn’t meet our specifications and quality standards,” said Rooney. Rooney also addressed the major $2 billion deferred maintenance issue that the CSU is dealing with, speaking specifically on how California State University, Northridge (CSUN) workers have been unable to keep up the workload. “On our campus, there’s so much deferred maintenance that we’re handling and we have guys that are out injured because we don’t have enough staff, so we got guys doing the jobs of three to four guys.” Dennis Sotomayor, Cal State LA maintenance mechanic, highlighted unfair wages as a significant problem: “After 17 years, I’m at the bottom of my pay scale, so we’re stagnant in wages, we’re not moving through the range,” said Sotomayor. “At 1720 years, most of these trades workers should be at the top of their pay range, and that’s not the case for most of us.” After their demonstration, the workers sat in the CSU Board of Trustees’ meeting and addressed their grievances during the public forum. Multiple workers spoke one after another, each bringing up the issues previously

February 5, 2018

SCORE

mentioned. When the workers’ speech concluded, they marched out of the conference room chanting “Safe Campus, Fair pay”. Elizabeth Chapin, CSU spokesperson, issued a statement to the UT regarding the workers’ declarations during the public forum portion of the board of trustees’ meeting. “We are currently engaged in bargaining with Teamsters 2010 over salaries and benefits. It is our hope that this will lead toward a negotiated settlement of the issues on the table.” According to Twedell, Cal State LA Facilities director, the Physical Sciences building is being completely renovated, several elevators will be modernized this year, new housing and dining facilities will be built, have replaced numerous heating boilers across campus, and much more. Mark Greenwald, Chico State electrician, advocated for a message of unity between the CSU administration and its workers: “We can show what we can do here, and we can send a powerful message, but we need to send a collective message,” said Greenwald. “I encourage all the trustees, all the presidents to come together with us and let’s go to Sacramento and have our voice heard at the state legislature.”

(Continued from Page 7) "State of Trump's Union" past fifty years—at one hours and twenty minutes—this is especially noteworthy. That is not to say everything the President said was false. At one point, he boasted how 2.4 million new jobs have been created since his election. What he neglected to mention was that this is the slowest climb since 2010. But what is a Trump speech without an unsolicited attack on minorities? Perhaps the most controversial element of his address was his proclamation that “Americans are dreamers, too.” Many on Twitter, such as WNYC’s Todd Zwillich, shot back, pointing out how Trump’s comment could easily become the All Lives Matter of the immigration debate. While Americans may be looking for the American Dream, too, invalidating the struggle of immigrants who come to the country for a better life is a dangerous thought to follow, especially as President. “The comment about Americans being dreamers too, in my opinion reflects a disjunction between who he represents and the American people. It also reflects a lack of understanding or appreciation for the circumstances faced by

immigrants and the children of immigrant families. Americans are dreamers, sure, but do they face the same challenges, and uncertain futures as they try to figure out how to provide for their families? So what are these American dreams? Living in a country surrounded by a wall that excludes people of other races and religions based on generalizations, misrepresentations, and accusations?” said Zwillich. Trump pulled another verbal attack on North Korea, using the tragic story of North

Korean defector Ji Seong-ho to depict the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as the “enemy,” similar to Bush’s “axis of evil” speech in 2002. Many Americans chose to boycott the speech, both government officials and citizens alike. A University Times poll on the Cal State LA Book Exchange showed that forty-five students were not watching the speech because they found it to be “not worth their time” as opposed to the twenty-one who responded they would be watching.

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