EL CAMINO COLLEGE MARCH 22, 2018 Follow us at /ECCUnion
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SMOKING BAN ENFORCED OR IGNORED? Ryan Guitare
Photo Editor @ECCUnionRyan
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l Camino College banned the use of all tobacco products on campus back on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2015, including the parking lots and any facilities connected to EC. EC adopted Board Policy 3570, titled “Smoke and Tobacco Free Campus” back in Feb. 2015, which “prohibits the use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, snuff, snus, water pipes, pipes, hookahs, chew, and any other non-combustible tobacco product,” as stated in the policy. “We ask people not to smoke, and put up signs. If people are going to smoke on campus, they are going to smoke,” Brian Fahnestock, vice president of Administrative Services, said. Although EC is a smoke and tobacco free campus, students seem to still smoke all throughout campus. “I try to keep it away from populated areas, but I still do it anyways,” Alec Caceres, 22, business major, said. Although some students try to be in less populated areas of the campus when they smoke, there is still the factor of second hand smoke to students nearby which is harmful to others. “Second hand smoke is unhealthy for everyone,” Fahnestock said. “We wish people would be more considerate.”
El Camino encourages students to follow the rules by posting up no smoking signs all around campus, and advertise as a tobacco and smoke free campus. “We try to enforce the Board Policy,” said El Camino police chief Michael Trevis. “We are not giving tickets, but it is possible. We just ask that you go to just outside the perimeters of the campus.” The smoke free debate had been going on for years before EC decided to adopt a smoke free campus, with the debate of whether there should be designated smoking areas on campus. “I think there should be smoking sections on campus,” Ashley Mae Balbas, 20, nursing major said. “I don’t really think it’s a big deal.” According to Fahnestock, the problem with a smoking section on campus is that of people are already not complying with the smoke free and tobacco free policies of EC, which prevents them from not following the rules of a designated smoking zone on campus. Since there is no designated smoking area on campus, and smoking and other tobacco products are banned from being used on campus, law enforcement, faculty, and staff are encouraged to work together to enforce the ban to keep EC smoke free. “Enforcement will be primarily educational, with an emphasis on cessation resources,” the Smoke and Tobacco Free Campus Board Policy 3570 says.
Photo Illustration by Ryan Guitare/ Union
NEWS
MARCH 22, 2018
EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION 2
FREE COLLEGE TOURS Samuel Hill
Senior Staff Writer @ECCUnionSam
El Camino College has set up dates in which El Camino students can take part in campus tours of several different colleges and universities. “Looking at pictures isn’t the same as seeing the campus in person,” student ambassador Anam Khan said. “Your decision shouldn’t be made based on what you see but rather what you feel when you experience the campus first hand.” Students can sign up for the upcoming tours in the Transfer Center located on the first floor of the Student Services Center.
UPCOMING TOUR DATES •CSU Los Angles, Friday, March 23 •CSU Fullterton, Friday, April 6 •NorCal Tour, Spring Break, April 10 to April 13 •UC Santa Barbara, Saturday, April 14 •CSU Northridge, Friday, April 20 •UC Los Angeles, Friday, April 27
Corrections In the March 21 issue, The Union printed an incorrect story and byline under the article titled “Visionary” about a campus muralist. The story has since been reprinted in this issue. In the Warrior Food Pantry donation story, Herason Wong’s name was mispelled in a second reference within a quote. In the paintball shooting story, The Union must stress that the accused have not yet been sentenced, and that the “accomplises” have not yet been proven to be involved in the incident. The Union regrets these errors.
Miyung Kim/ Union Students walking past the Library Lawn on their way out of their classes as a form of protest against gun violence on Wednesday, March 14.
Students join nationwide protest to end gun violence
School shooting in Florida prompts campus-wide walkout to send message to Congress Quinn Buffandeau
Staff Writer @ECCUnionQuinn
El Camino College students participated in a nationwide protest today, Wednesday, March 14, in which students and faculty exited classes in an attempt to challenge inaction in Congress regarding gun violence following the Florida school shooting exactly one month prior. “(With) enough little people, enough students, enough kids, you can create something big, a movement that a lot of people can see, and if enough people are talking about it, change is gonna happen, it just takes persistence, a lot of dedication, and hard work,”
Matthew Cabrera, 19, philosophy major, said. Cabrera was found giving a speech to the crowd near the Art and Behavioral Science Building. “I was giving the reason for what the walkout was. (The) 17 minutes symbolize 17 kids that lost their lives, how every one of us has the power to go out and change something. They have the power to vote, they have the power to speak up,” Cabrera said. Students from across the campus gathered to support the cause, including 19-year-old accounting major Nestor Brizuela. “It’s almost our social responsibility to be here, there’s always a tragedy every other day. You know, you just always have to
Ballistics expert says handgun likely caused bullet holes Quinn Buffandeau
Staff Writer @ECCUnionQuinn
Two bullet holes were found late November 2017 in the window of Life Sciences Room 105. Officials from the El Camino Police Department claimed the holes came from a pellet gun, though a more in-depth investigation shows otherwise. “There’s no way that it was a pellet gun that did that. That’s completely impossible (that) that’s a pellet gun (hole),” Charles Calleja, 22, automotive tech major with a certificate in advanced ballistics and reloading, said. Responding to this, police chief Michael Trevis said, “I respect his opinion, and based on my observations and the discussions I had with my officers, it just happens to be my opinion that it could have been a cone shaped pellet. I say could have, anything is a possibility”. The bullet holes were found Wednesday, Nov. 22 on the Manhattan Beach Boulevard side of the building by Christie Killduff, a lab tech who stated that the bullet holes were approximately the size of a quarter, and that the glass around the entry holes had shattered. “Think of a BB, a little plastic BB, that’s generally what your entry hole will look like because those pellets are generally very small. It wouldn’t leave an entry hole the size of a quarter, that tells me it’s probably gonna be some small-to-mid-caliber handgun round,” Calleja said. Trevis said that police “found shattered bits of what looked like a sharp lead cone shaped pellet in and around the ceiling panel,” in an email. Trevis added, “I believe the shots came from a pellet gun or similar
Emma DiMaggio/ Union The two bullet holes on the upper edges of a window pane in Life Sciences Room 105. The bullets partially shattered the window and ripped apart the fabrics used to block sunlight in the classroom.
type weapon,” and that they currently believe the shots came from a sidewalk near businesses on the northwest corner of Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Crenshaw Boulevard, though businesses around the area said they did not see anything. “In something like a pellet gun, you’re just using compressed air. Now think about it, you’re crossing Manhattan Beach Boulevard, by the point that it makes impact, the pellet would be slowed down enough punching through plate glass (that) by the time that the pellet exits the other side of that glass, it’s likely slowed down to the point where the pellet will come out of the other side either deformed or fragmented in some way. It won’t make a clean hole going through a second barrier,” Calleja said. Calleja also added what this round could do to a person. “It would probably kill them, or at least seriously injure them. It would do some serious damage depending on where it would hit. Obviously if (they) get hit in the head or a vital organ (they)’re
going to have a very bad day, but again that’s all based on the type of bullet it was,” Calleja said. “If it were a high velocity rifle, they’d have a very, very bad day, but if it were a low velocity pistol round they could be seriously injured. They could be killed. You know, there’s a lot of circumstances that could play out just depending on the type of firearm and the type of bullet that it was.” In an interview, Trevis said that he did not believe students were in danger due to this situation, as police believe the shots occurred between 4 and 7:15 a.m., a time when “there aren’t any students in that area.” He added, “I want to assure this matter was investigated. We believe it was a vandalism, that it was targeted towards property,” and that “if anybody sees something suspicious, say something. We’ll respond right away and deal with this.” “It’s got to take some special kind of idiot or some special kind of psychopath to discharge a firearm at a school,” Calleja said about the incident.
speak up about it. This isn’t just for the Florida shooting, this is for every other shooting since and before,” Brizuela said. The protest on the El Camino campus and across the nation was meant to bring the national issue of gun violence into the spotlight. When speaking of Congress, Brizuela said, “It’s their responsibility to make things how we want them, and obviously we want them a certain way, and Congress should be looking to make them that way.” Other students also had comments directed towards Congress. “Think more about the kids than the money. It’s their future and their lives and they have dreams, this is a time for the kids now,”
Kiana Galvan, 23, political science major, said. Cabrera also had a statement for Congress, saying he wanted them “to listen to us, to listen to those who don’t have a voice. It seems like now they’re here to serve themselves, to serve the rich, the one percent. My ultimate goal is for the little guy to speak up and for Congress to listen.” Aside from the walkout today, survivors of the Florida shooting are organizing “March For Our Lives” in Washington D.C. The rally is meant to protest gun violence, and is expected to have as many as 500,000 people participating. This march will be accompanied by over 700 marches all around the world, the
closest being around 5 miles from El Camino on Manhattan Beach Boulevard. “Come out March 24 and march with us. You know, hand in hand, and give voice to something that is bigger than (your)selves,” Cabrera said. The walkout today was an indicator that many in our school are dissatisfied with our country’s current policies, and that those who are dissatisfied are making their dissatisfaction known, such as Brizuela, who had a message for EC students. “Have your voice heard,” Brizuela said. “We’re young. We’re like the new generation. We’re the future and we’re the people that are going to have to live on.”
NEWS PHOTO ESSAY
EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION 3
WITHOUT A
HOME
MARCH 22, 2018
Photos by Miyung Kim
One of the residents of the homeless encampment looks on at all the items removed from the Dominguez Channel and onto the sidewalk.
Homeless encampment under flood channel cleared by LA County Sheriff’s Department Jeremy Taylor
Staff Writer @ECCUnionJeremy
Homeless encampments are a common sight on the streets, channels and even along the freeways of California, from San Francisco to San Diego, and the city of Torrance is not immune to the growing epidemic. The homeless encampment along the Dominguez Channel, which separates Alondra Park from El Camino college, was cleared out Wednesday, March 14 with the help of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department Lawndale Division and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. According to FOX News, there are a half a million homeless in America and California has the largest homeless
population in the United States, accounting for nearly 25 percent of the total population. “This is a clean up of the people living in the channel, of course illegally and this was not proactive, this was by the demands of El Camino Village,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Lieutenant John Burcher said. The residents of the encampment were notified of the clearing before it occurred. “We’ve been coming out here the last 3 to 4 months outreaching to them because we knew this was going to happen,” Oleta Simmons, Homeless Engagement Team Member of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), said. Services offered from the LAHSA are shelter, meals, showers, clothing, identification vouchers, job leads and medical care. According to
Simmons, only two of the approximate 20 encampment residents accepted assistance. “A lot of them lack a knowledge of the resources available, and then some just don’t want the help,” Simmons said. After residents departed from the channel, Long Beach based Ocean Blue Environmental Services handled clean up and removal of trash and bodily waste. “As we go through the camp, we’re separating hazardous waste. We find a bunch of aerosols, paints, propane tanks. We’re separating everything and packaging everything accordingly,” Luis Valdez, Supervisor for Ocean Blue Environmental Services, said. No weapons were found and no arrests were made during the clearing, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
“A lot of them lack a knowledge of the resources available, and then some just don’t want the help.” Workers in protective suits clean up some of the debris leftover from the clearing of the homeless encampment along the Dominguez Channel.
—Oleta Simmons, Homeless Engagement Team Member
Representatives of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, were responsible for the homeless encampment clearing on Wednesday, March 14.
The dog of one of the homeless residents of the flood channel during their relocation during the morning of Wednesday, March 14.
EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION 4
FEATURES
MARCH 22, 2018
WOMEN
of
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Jack Kan/ Union The El Camino College Theatre Department performs Green Day’s “American Idiot” at the Campus Theatre on Saturday, March 17 for ninety action-packed minutes without intermission. Amber Vanbuskirk as Whatsername commands this scene.
Sitting down with castmembers of El Camino’s American Idiot Ernesto Sanchez Staff Writer
@ECCUnionNeto
The Union sat down with castmembers of El Camino’s production of American Idiot, which premiered Friday, March 16 in the Campus Theatre. Assistant director Rita Chavdarian and cast members Claire Griswold in the role of Heather, Amber Vanbuskirk in the role of Whatshername and Britney Acosta in the role of The Extraordinary Girl relate to the empowerment of women roles in this contemporary Rock-Opera. What should we expect from American Idiot? AMBER: Sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. BRITNEY: Loud music. In a nice way. It sounds good loud. Angst CLAIRE: Very timely sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. It really speaks to the current political situation. RITA: It’s a musical but also a live rock show that’s telling a story. I think that’s going to connect with a lot of students that we have here.
How does it feel to take such a powerful role? CLAIRE: I’ve [never had] to be this strong on stage. I’ve never been encouraged to be that strong... I really love this show that [the] ladies refuse to be abused. Like “Uh huh, if you don’t treat me right, I’m out.” It’s really refreshing. AMBER: For Whatsername in “21 Guns” there’s a vulnerability that I get to tap into. I turn around and be like “Hey, F U” in the next song. There is strength and vulnerability in being honest and asking someone to love you as well. All of these women [are] like, “Love me. Oh, you’re not going to. I’m not going to wait around but I’m going to offer it to you.” And I think there’s strength in that too. RITA: We have some kickass women in the show. There’s no woman who’s not kick-ass in this musical. And that’s not a common thing. You guys are all like fireballs [with] such great roles. I am so proud of the women of this show. I compared them to a Fireball because the energy [they] bring is something that’s not represented all the time. Women, a lot of the time are given soft spoken [roles]. I’m so happy to see you women taking the stage, going full force. [In the movie] “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” they say, “ The men are the head but the women are the neck, and the neck controls where the head turns.” And definitely with these women, they’re the pathways to these men.
CLAIRE: That’s why I auditioned. [When] Kyle sent me “Last Night On Earth” and “21 Guns” I was like “Oh..that’s some cool shit for women in this show.” AMBER: I came in singing for “St. Jimmy.” I didn’t know Whatsherface at all. I knew nothing about her and then they had me sing her for call backs. And now she’s become one of my favorite characters I’ve ever played. Like she’s very close to my heart. BRITNEY: We’re very diverse in the sense that we’re not all following the same path. I’ve never in my life played a seductive character. I have a song where my only purpose is to seduce him and then immediately followed by a song of me being compassionate and caring like, “Oh, I’m here for you, I’m not what you wanted but I’m here for you.” There is always something you can get.
WATCH AMERICAN IDIOT AT THE CAMPUS THEATRE MARCH 22 AT 3 p.m. MARCH 23, 24, 30, 31 AT 8 p.m. MARCH 25 AT 3 p.m.
FEATURES
MARCH 22, 2018
EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION 5
EL CAMINO
EC counselor named Full-Time Faculty Member of the Year Samuel Hill Staff Writer
@ECCUnionSam
El Camino faculty member Cynthia Mosqueda has recently been named the Full-Time Faculty of the Year award by the Faculty Association of Community Colleges (FACCC). “It’s a very humbling experience,” Mosqueda said about winning the award. “It’s nice to be recognized by your colleagues, peers, and friends.” As faculty coordinator for the First Year Experience Program (FYE), Mosqueda has been an important part of a program that has received past accolades and recognition for exemplary program status through the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges and by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office.
“It’s been an honor serving with her,” associate dean of counseling Cesar Jimenez said. “She demonstrated a phenomenal amount of time and dedication to her colleagues and students and takes the time to work tirelessly to assist the students. She has a natural ability to establish rapport and make meaningful change.” Despite this being the first time Mosqueda has won this particular award, she has been individually recognized in the past, being named National Advocate of the Year in 2014 by the University of South Carolina’s National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. “There’s a number of things that keep me inspired,” Mosqueda said. “I’m fortunate that I get to work with first-year students every year through the First Year Experience Program.” A former student of EC, Cal State Dominguez Hills and UCLA, Mosqueda joined the staff of El Camino
College as a First Year Experience/Learning Communities Counselor in 2001 and was named a “Woman of Distinction” in 2005 by the El Camino College Women of History Committee in recognition of her community service. “It’s been an honor to work with someone who has been such a pioneer in the student services field,” student services adviser Jaime Gallegos said. “She is constantly trying to push for new initiatives and finding new ways to serve our students.” A strong advocate for community college issues, Mosqueda has served two terms as a board member for the FACCC, as well as a facilitator for the National Great Teacher Seminar. Her most recent award was presented at the FACCC’s 2018 Advocacy & Policy Conference, on Saturday, March 4 and Sunday, March 5 in Sacramento, California. “I’m really excited as we start to see a new wave of students coming into academia, as well as all the new initiatives hitting the community colleges,” Mosqueda said. “I like change and especially if its going to help a student in the end.”
Cy Boysen/ Union Sociology professor Melissa Fujiwara stands beside an extensive collection of textbooks in her office. “I love being able to teach about these concepts, because I feel like it helps to put a name to these really seemingly personal experiences,” she said.
Women’s studies professor inspires students Cy Boysen
Staff Writer
@ECCUnionCy
March is Women’s History Month, and Dr. Melissa Fujiwara, a women’s studies professor at El Camino College, wants her students to know that women’s studies is not just for women. “We live in a society that envisions something like women’s studies as being something that’s just focused on women,” Fujiwara said. “Really it’s about gender; it’s about the gender order, it’s about how we reproduce the gender order, (and) how we contest the
gender order.” She added that having a class centered around deconstructing and analyzing gender can be very empowering for both women and men. “It’s kind of exciting to see students realize, ok, it’s not me, but this is sort of how our society is structured,” Fujiwara said. “You can see and sense that feeling of empowerment.” 21-year-old physical therapy major Ruby Ortega said that taking Fujiwara’s women’s studies class has bettered her understanding of how parents teach their children gender.
“I never noticed how parents have a big impact on us when we’re younger, in regards to gender roles,” she said. Ortega added that while she has always felt the effect of gender inequality, men could stand to gain some perspective via women’s studies. “I think it’s extremely important for men take women’s studies. Mainly because of masculinity; I feel like some men are blinded by it,” Ortega said. “When a guy takes women’s studies, he thinks just as much as we do in regards to gender.” Professor Stacey Allen also
teaches women’s studies at El Camino College, and says that the field wasn’t always as focused on masculinity as it is today. “Initially it was called women’s studies for a reason, because it was truly focused on women’s experiences,” Allen said. “But we’re at this cultural moment examining masculinity because of women’s studies,” Allen said. “Looking at masculinity now and examining toxic masculinity and its impact on people who identify as men, perpetuation of patriarchy and everything else; that wouldn’t have happened without women’s studies.”
To Fujiwara, seeing her students become more aware of the institutional nature of gender is inspiring “I love being able to teach about these concepts, because I feel like it helps to put a name to these really seemingly personal experiences,” Fujiwara said. Fujiwara said that Women’s History Month highlights the experiences and accomplishments of women, but that she hopes it also puts the spotlight on the work that needs to be done every day to achieve social equality. “It’s very important that we do it in a way that doesn’t falsely universalize women’s issues,” she said, “but that we draw attention to the multiplicity and intersectional needs and issues and experiences of all women.”
EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION 6
ARTS FEATURES
MARCH 22, 2018
VISIONARY l Tokyo-originating fine arts major chosen to paint mural in Student Activities Center Cy Boysen
Staff Writer
@ECCUnionCy
Haruka Kanemura stands in pensive silence watching her two assistants paint, right hand cupping her chin, a drawing held outstretched in her left. Her eyes are intense, and flick between the penciled sketch and the half-completed mural beyond it. The mural depicts a symphony of hands, intertwined and bathed in colorful auras, grasping the El Camino bell at center. Today’s focus is the rightmost pair of hands, which symbolizes students rising together in excellence. With the support of her team, Kanemura is doing just that. The 19-year-old studio arts major
began painting in the East Lounge of the Student Activities Center in December after her design was chosen by the Student Development Office (SDO) for the project. Her application included a budget proposal and a write-up that detailed how her art reflected the core values of the college. “The middle three hands represent a diversity, but at the same time, a unity,” Kanemura said. “With compassion and support, students strive for excellence.” Kanemura grew up in Tokyo, but she moved to Torrance at the age of 10. She had always drawn as a hobby, but found a passion in art after taking classes at El Camino. When she learned that the SDO was looking for a muralist, she lept at the opportunity. “In September, I saw a flyer on the arts building saying ‘call for artists,’” Kanemura said. “I decided to take this opportunity, because, well, it’s a really rare opportunity to paint a mural!” The project is the brainchild of
Rudi Lopez, Administrative Assistant at the SDO, who said that Kanemura’s design was exactly what they were looking for. “Haruka was right on point from delivering a professional proposal, a budget that was very presentable, and a very good articulating of her vision,” Lopez said. “We want to make it so they’re project leader, recruiting other students to help them. This is a way to showcase the real talent that we have on campus, and they’re manifesting the great teaching that they’re getting from their instructors in the classroom.” Andrea Micallef, who taught Kanemura’s 2D design class, said that it’s important for art students to get real world experience in projects like this. “I come from industry, not academia,” Micallef said. “I think that students think that getting that degree is 100 percent of the major, but it’s just one piece of the puzzle of success.” Kanemura said she’s grateful for the experience she’s gained from this project. “Like Rudi said, with this one I have to be in charge; I’m like the director of this whole mural,” Kanemura said. “I need more of these experiences, like how do I handle this, how do I solve conflicts. If I didn’t get this mural opportunity then I feel like I wouldn’t have challenged myself.”
Ryan Guitare/ Union
Haruka Kanemura, 19, studio art major, moved from Japan at age 10 and has always had a passion for art. She is curently working on a mural in the East Lounge of the Student Activities Center that respresents the diversity of the El Camino College campus.
MARCH 22, 2018
OPINION/EDITORIAL
EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION 7
Jose Tobar/ Union
Editorial: Art can bring Instagram culture to campus
Community art should be installed at El Camino to boost campus morale and create a more lively atmosphere
With construction underway throughout the El Camino campus, one aspect seems to be absent: art. Despite the effort to update the campus through modern industrial buildings, new structures such as the Humanities, ITEC and MBA buildings lack the creativity that the students and faculty of El Camino bring to the community. With an extensive art department and hundreds of art students, El Camino has more than enough resources to commission more
public art on campus. With new buildings slowly being finished, new blank canvases are becoming available as well. The school has seen murals commissioned before, most recently the one currently being painted in the East Lounge of the Student Activities Center. Art creates a more inclusionary atmosphere on campus. Overall, morale is boosted when the campus is more attractive and art students feel more confident that their art is displayed and that their
school is investing in art. In an article published by Atlantic entitled “Why Do Colleges Have So Much Art?” art reporter Jacoba Urist claims that campus museums and art exhibits have become “art-tourist” destinations. In today’s social media-centric culture, murals have become a destination for photo-ops around the world. The “Pink Wall,” a wall on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood on the side of a clothing store that is merely painted a bright shade of
pink attracts thousands of tourists every year. The famous angel wings that are rampant throughout major cities also attract thousands of people wanting to transform into celestial beings for a quick Instagram photo. EC could, in theory, kill two birds with one stone. With extensive planning and work with the various artists on campus, EC could beautify the campus and attract new enrollment through students posting photos of
themselves in front of the new art. The campus and library art galleries display a great amount of talented students’ art, however, the campus is in desperate need of publicly visible art. With the correct alotment of funding, EC has the opportunity of being one of most attractive campuses in the area, instead of filling the school with gray walls. It is time for EC to utilize its resources and embrace the creative community that is on campus everyday.
Up for Debate:
Sam Hill
Kaili Davison
Staff Writer @ECCUnionSam
Staff Writer @ECCUnionKailiD
Snapchat is alive and well The past couple of months have been really rough on Snapchat with the community backlash received after the company updated its app’s redesign, which has hit the company hard. Thanks to celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Rihanna bashing the app as well, Snapchat has lost millions of dollars in revenue and seems to be falling on the stock market. But better days are ahead. According to a report by DMR, there are 301 million monthly active users on Snapchat (last
updates 2016), with 187 million active users daily (2018). Add in the fact that Snap Inc.’s is worth upwards of $25 billion dollars and it’s easier to see that Snapchat is here to stay. Snapchat may have made some mistakes in the past with uncensored ads and unnecessary changes, but that doesn’t mean they still don’t have an audience. Full service brokerage and investing firm Stifel’s social media usage tracker indicates Snapchat’s audience reach dropped by only about 0.1 percent in February
and lost on 90 thousand of its 187 million daily active users, according to an article by U.S. News. Thanks to its uber-popularity and easy-to-use format, Snapchat will always be growing in users, who will fill in for the few people who turned their backs on the application completely. Talk about its bumps and blemishes all you want, but you will still be using Snapchat regardless, who will be laughing all the way to the bank.
Want to submit a letter to the editor? Letters to the editor can be sent to The Union’s email at eccunion@gmail.com with the subject “Letter to the editor”. A full letter to the editor policy can be found online at eccunion.com.
THE UNION Vol. 73, No. 2 March 22, 2018
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Editor-in-Chief �������������������������������������������������������������������� Emma DiMaggio News Editor ������������������������������������������������������������������������� Emma DiMaggio Opinion/Editorial Editor ���������������������������������������������������������������Faith Petrie Arts Editor................................................................................. Zach Hatakeyama Sports Editor ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������Faith Petrie Photo Editor ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������Ryan Guitare Features Editor ������������������������������������������������������������������� Zach Hatakeyama Social Media Manager..............................................................Emma DiMaggio Advertising Manager ������������������������������������������������������������������� Jack Mulkey Adviser ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Stefanie Frith Photo Adviser...................................................................................Gary Kohatsu
Mistakes threaten Snapchat reputation Snapchat is dying and has pushed most of it’s faithful users to Instagram. Soon after Snapchat’s newly redesigned app, they received major backlash that they did not expect. Most users found the new update difficult to navigate and wanted the old Snapchat back. More than 800,00 people have signed a petition to reverse the update. But that did not make them change their mind. the negative criticism is that “Updates as big as this one can take a little getting use to, but we
hope the community will enjoy it once they settle in.” Snapchat took another huge blow, when social media influencer Kylie Jenner tweeted, “so does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore? Or is it just me...ugh this so sad.” Snapchat’s stock was at $19.02 before Jenner tweeted. It immediately began to fall soon after she declared she was done with Snapchat. Their stock has continued to drop by over 6 percent and still continues to drop. That adds up to a
roughly $1.5 billion loss in market value for Snap. On Thursday, March 15, Snapchat’s stock dropped another 5 percent after artist Rihanna called them out for creating an ad that mocked her domestic violence incident with then-boyfriend Chris Brown back in 2009. There’s no doubt that some of the most influential women in social media, like Kylie Jenner and Rihanna have made an impact on the life of Snapchat. This will not be the only error Snapchat will make in the near future.
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SPORTS
EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION 8
MARCH 22, 2018
Taking basketball to new
HEIGHTS Ryan Guitare / Union Sophomore Kayla Bibb, 21, film major has played foreward for EC women’s basketball for two seasons, gathering multiple trophies and awards including SCC Player of the Year.
Two season player Kayla Bibb ends her career with not only offers from multiple colleges, but life lessons learned Faith Petrie
Opinion and Sports Editor @ECCUnionFaith
A
lone player’s sneakers squeak in the North Gym. Sophomore Kayla Bibb, 21, sits on a chair nearby brandishing the words “EC Warriors.” Bibb is decked in EC Warriors basketball gear from head-to-toe, a testament to her dedication to the team. “Before I started playing (at El Camino), I kind of lost my passion for the game,” Bibb said. “I’ll always remember this, my old coach at Serra (High School) was like, ‘Go see the Wizard to get a heart,’ so I used to take the game so serious (that) I kind of shut my heart off.” Bibb began playing basketball as early as the age of 5 years old with her father influencing how she viewed the game.
“There’s one famous picture the two seasons that she has been of me holding a basketball and a under his guidance. “Last year she was an outstanding popsicle in the other hand and I think I’m barely three,” Bibb said. performer for us, but we had a Bibb’s career as a player at couple of other players that were women’s basketball player started maybe the key players, for the in 2016 during her freshman year lack of a better word,” Shaw said. at El Camino. “From the first month of the year “My first season I got Freshman to the end of our season she was playing just of the Year, out st a nd i ng but I was basketball. kind of more reserved and laid back “ S h a w added that a little bit she improved more,” Bibb on the court said. “This during this season I took ” recent season. it to a whole —Kayla Bibb, Warrior’s foreward “ S h e other level.” increased her T h e stats in every “other level” aided her in being named to the category during that phase of the California Community College year and that was the time of the All-State First Team and awarded year we were playing our most the South Coast Conference Player important games,” Shaw said. According to Bibb, the best of the Year. Head coach Steve Shaw attested part of being on the Warriors is to Bibb’s growth as a player over building connections beyond just
This team is a family, it’s not just a team experience. It’s a family.
teammates. “This team is a family, it’s not just a team experience, it’s a family,” Bibb said. “Car trips are the best trips actually because of the music right before the games and then we fall asleep after the games.” Bibb’s blood-family, her father, Corwin “Cory” Bibb, praised the way Bibb approaches not only how she plays basketball but also her sportsmanship off of the court. “She’s never been a selfish player,” Cory Bibb said. “I guess I’m biased but she’s always been a great kid.” As Bibb closes this chapter of her life and looks towards transferring, she still hopes that she can progress as a player and a person. “I hope my personality and basketball mix can help my personality grow better,” Bibb said. “Because it really has an impact on my life.”
Steve Shaw South Coast Conference Coach of the Year Opinion and Sports Editor @ECCUnionFaith
Ryan Guitare / Union Steve Shaw, head coach for EC Warriors women’s basketball has been coaching for 20 seasons at El Camino .
Head coach Steve Shaw has coached the women’s basketball team for 20 seasons and was recently awarded his second consecutive South Coast Conference (SCC) Coach of the Year award after coaching the Warriors through a 21-7 record and an 8-0 conference play. “It’s really satisfying, you play games because you want to win so it really is the icing on the cake of going through the processes if you can win also,” Shaw said. Shaw expressed his pride in his team for the way it played this season despite high competition. “To have that kind of a record against the kind of competition we played against, playing against all of the best teams in Southern Cali-
Points per game: 16.4 Rebounds per game: 10.3 3PT%: 46.2 Field Goal%: 51.5
Ryan Guitare / Union
Coach of the week:
Faith Petrie
Bibb’s Stats
fornia throughout the year, that’s impressive,” Shaw said. Shaw stated one of his favorite parts of coaching is being able to watch the growth of his team throughout the season. “I love going through that process and seeing where our teams end up from the place where we start,” Shaw said. While the SCC Coach of the Year award was awarded due to his coaching abilities, Shaw noted that he owes his success to the team’s efforts. “Even when I tell my players, when they receive individual recognition, is the individual recognition comes from a result of team success,” Shaw said. “Not always, but typically the coach that wins the conference is coach of the year so because my team was a good team, and they did what they were supposed to do, I get recognition.”
NEXT UP... BASEBALL: AT EL CAMINO V. CERRITOS SATURDAY, MARCH 24 @ 12 P.M. WOMEN’S BEACH VOLLEYBALL: AT GRANADA BEACH V. LBCC FRIDAY, MARCH 23 @ 10 A.M. MEN’S VOLLEYBALL: AT LA TRADE TECH FRIDAY, MARCH 23 @ 6 P.M. SWIMMING AND DIVING: AT EL CAMINO V. CERRITOS AND RIO HONDO FRIDAY, MARCH 23 @ 12:30 P.M. WOMEN’S TENNIS: AT EL CAMINO COLLEGE V. CERRITOS TUESDAY, MARCH 27 @ 2 P.M. MEN’S TENNIS: AT OCC TUESDAY, MARCH 26 @ 2 P.M. MEN’S GOLF: PCAC NO. 4 AT EL DORADO PARK GOLF COURSE, LONG BEACH, CA MONDAY, MARCH 26 @ 10:20 A.M. SOFTBALL: DOUBLE HEADERAT EL CAMINO SATURDAY, MARCH 24 @ 12 P.M.
SCOREBOARD BASEBALL vs Cerritos Win, 2-1 WOMEN’S BEACH VOLLEY BALL vs Rio Hondo Win, 4-1 MEN’S VOLLEYBALL vs Santa Monica Win, 3-2 WOMEN’S TENNIS vs Lake Forest Loss, 6-3 MEN’S TENNIS vs Glendale Loss, 5-4 SOFTBALL vs Pasadena City Loss, 4-3 BADMINTON vs Compton Win, 18-3
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