CHRONICLE Richland
Vol. XLVIII Issue 2, September 7, 2021
Campus alive with students again Pg. 2 • Afghanistan’s evacuation ends • Afghanistan’s • A • A big anniversary for ‘Star Trek’ • Sports • Sports make a comeback RichlandStudentMedia.com
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2 CAMPUS/INTERNATIONAL
September 7, 2021
Campus thrives once more with in-person learning
Students walk around Dallas College Richland Campus once again.
Barbara Gandica Martinez
Interim Editor-in-Chief/Design Editor As the third week of classes begins, faculty and students are starting to get used to the new
Staff Photo Victor London
normal at Dallas College. This new semester has brought up challenges and significant changes to our campus. Not only is this the first in-person semester as “one college,” but we are coming back from what was a solely online environment.
“It was surreal since I haven’t been back in my office since March of 2020, since spring break,” said Professor Michelle Navarro from the history department. The mask mandate was a recruiting debate on the weeks leading to the start of the semester. “I was bit nervous, anxious about knowing if my students would be compliant or not with wearing masks,” said Professor Marian Ichaso Lefeld. Despite her worries, Lefeld said that she has “seen nothing but compliance in my classes. That has been my experience. Students have been great.” Navarro has seen a different attitude among students this semester. “I think students have a different purpose on being on campus,” she said. Navarro sees that students are more driven to achieve their academic goals because of all the changes they have gone through during the pandemic. “One of my students in my online class said that during the pandemic [she] had all of this extra time and that [she] thought that rather than wasting it by watching Netflix, thought ‘let me do something productive’ and take a class”, Navarro said. Lefeld has a similar outlook on students. “I am seeing great excitement, and I think people are overall happy to be present and connect to other people.” Lefeld is the sponsor of the
art club, and during the pandemic, they held meetings through Microsoft Teams but had low attendance. “Today we had our first art club meeting, and we had great attendance.” The pandemic forced faculty and students to adapt to a new online environment, and they are taking those new skills to in-person classes. “One thing that I started doing was doing more YouTube videos, more social mediabased (content),” said Navarro. During quarantine, she also used the Remind app to keep in contact with her students, and today she uses it to get feedback on reading assignments. Navarro is also known for her live check-ins on the ALAS club Instagram page. The check-ins were live streams where students could discuss their day-to-day life and learn about the traditions of various Latin American countries. Returning to campus has improved classes experiences. “I think what was missing when we were meeting virtually was how in person, we tend to feed off each other energies and energy levels and the nuances of communication that is practically impossible in a virtual setting,” said Lefeld. The pandemic is not yet over, but slowly students are getting back to a sense of normalcy. “Every morning when I come to class to teach, I feel like it is a gift,” said Navarro. “Yes, we are all down, but we are in this together.”
Evacuation in Afghanistan ends, leaves country with uncertain future Ryan Bingham Duff
RichlandStudentMedia.com
Online/Special Projects Just before midnight in Kabul on Aug. 30, the last U.S. Military personnel left Afghanistan. According to the Associated Press, the last aircraft to leave Afghan soil took off at 2:29 p.m. CST with Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army being the very last soldier to set foot on board, concluding America’s longest recorded war. Previously, it was Vietnam. The Taliban celebrated their victory with The U.S. exit. The AP reported that there were roughly 150,000 people evacuated, including U.S. citizens , and over 100 more Americans still remaining in Afghanistan, too in fear for their lives to go to the airport. President Joe Biden said he will still work on getting those out who were left behind. Several days ago, the airport in the nation’s capital city of Kabul was attacked, claiming the lives of 60 who were attempting to escape the tyranny of the war-torn country, along with 13 U.S. service personnel . The culprit was not the Taliban but their arch enemy identified as ISIS-K. The question that remains is where does Afghanistan go from here? Will they be prompted to invade other countries in an attempt to expand their empire? History professor at the Richland campus of Dallas College, Dr. Clive Siegle, remarked, “I doubt it.” He stated that Afghanistan itself is a “very complex country and it will be that way
Photo The Associated Press
Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue is the last man out as U.S. forces leave Afghanistan.
for a very long time,” when referring to nations that have invaded it before the U.S., such as, the Soviet Union throughout the 1980s. Their predecessors were the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century (1839-1842). The country has a centuries-long history of war. “Once we leave, and the Afghans are totally on their own, so-to-speak, there’ll be governments on the outside that will still try, somehow or other, to influence Afghanistan, including their neighbors.” When asked about Iran, Iraq and Pakistan, Siegle said, “Will the Taliban still be there? Probably not.” About the outcome of the Taliban’s regime, Siegle said, “I think to a certain extent their energies are going to be spent trying to an effect to solidify control of their country to start with.” “There are plenty people left inside Afghanistan who are not Taliban, so how they’re going to handle that would take a great deal
of their energy I would imagine.” He added, “But with Afghanistan as an imperial power? They’re surrounded by people way-way stronger than they are, so that’s probably never going to happen.” One question remains at the Richland campus; will there be an influx of new Afghani students joining the student body? “I hope so,” Siegle said. “We have people from Afghanistan now, we’re a diverse campus I certainly think that would be a good thing and they’ll have tales to tell as well.” He stated that Dallas itself has an attraction to refugees, “as a nation full of immigrants,” they [the refugees] will find their way like everyone else. I have every confidence that they probably will.” Richland government professor Patrick Moore said he fears for the remaining civilians in Afghanistan, especially the women and young girls, estimating that the number of Afghani refugees attending Richland campus
may be significantly lower than expected and may not grow for a while. Moore said, “If they are admitted as refugees, then there’s a long process that anyone who obtains refugee status has to go through.” He added “We, the U.S., may relax our rules about who gets to come to the U.S. of those who are evacuated Afghans.” Moore said now that the war has officially ended, there won’t be any noticeable changes in economy for the United States even if it was not being funneled into the war. “We’ve been spending $10 billion a year there, but that’s a tiny fraction of the U.S. budget.” According to Biden, the annual $10 billion spending has estimated to total up to $2 trillion during his speech on Aug 31. Moore added “That money will be redirected in other areas; for a long time we will be spending a bunch of money trying to deal with the people who have evacuated.” Moore, however, agrees with Siegle about the Taliban being unable to invade other countries. Both Richland faculty members agree about the initial reason the U.S. invaded Afghanistan; to thwart terrorists from taking refuge there and attacking the U.S. Both also agree with the evacuation. Moore said he wished that the evacuation was handled more thoroughly, such as not sharing it with the news media, creating a high risk that the Taliban would intercept and prevent the choppers from picking up the civilians that were trying to escape. Moore believes more people could have been evacuated.
September 7, 2021
CAMPUS 3
Students get involved
Staff Photos Yessi Lipscomb
RichlandStudentMedia.com
On September 1, students in El Paso Hall visited with representatives from campus organizations such as Student Government Association and the Office of Student Life at the Student Involvement and Resource Fair. Above: Students get information about voting. Top left: Students get free t-shirts and information about campus from Dara Eason. Bottom right: Students get information about Phi Theta Kappa.
4 ENTERTAINMENT
September 7, 2021
Original ‘Star Trek’ warps into 55th anniversary command of Star Trek’s first female captain (Catherine Janeway) played by Kate Mulgrew. Around the time that Voyager found its way home, a prequel series started. It was called “Enterprise.” It goes back to soon after warp drive was discovered, and the more advanced Vulcans made themselves known to earthlings. The three main characters were Capt. Jonathan Archer played by Scott Bakula, Cmdr. Trip Tucker portrayed by Connor Trinneer, and a female Vulcan T’Pol played by Jolene Blalock. There was a long delay before CBS decided to do “Star Trek” on a paid streaming service; CBS All Access. In 2017 “Star Trek Discovery” launched starring Sonequa Martin Green as the lead character. Since 2017 there have been three seasons of “Discovery.” CBS reprised Jean Luc Picard (Stewart) for a 10-episode first season titled “Picard,” which started last year. More episodes are expected soon.
Photo Courtesy Rotten Tomatoes
The crew of the Starfleet vessel USS Enterprise stand by on the bridge during the original 1966 television series “Star Trek.”
Mike Sokolski
RichlandStudentMedia.com
Staff Writer ‘Star Trek:’ Inauspicious beginnings The “Star Trek” saga began two years before the debut telecast on Sept. 8, 1966. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of “Star Trek” produced a pilot titled “The Cage.” It portrayed Capt. Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) being held by the Telosians, who wanted to revitalize their civilization by creating a community of humans. They used enhanced telepathy to get Pike and a previous crash survivor named Vena (Susan Oliver) to fall in love and procreate. Roddenberry had promised the network a wagon train to the stars and had this to say about the rejection of “The Cage:” “They felt that I had double-crossed them. I had written them this thing about where the mind went in certain ways. They wanted someone with bare knuckles and a first fight.” A year later Roddenberry got an unheard of second chance at a pilot and produced the episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”
Here Kirk (William Shatner) indeed has a fist fight with Gary Lockwood. This pilot was accepted, and an edited version was the third episode broadcast in the first season of “Star Trek.” The only cast member to make the transition from the “The Cage” to what is known as the original series was Leonard Nimoy. “Star Trek” always suffered low ratings and was in jeopardy of cancellation. Letter writing campaigns saved it from cancellation until the third season. The last network broadcast was on June 9,1969. In the early ‘70s, “Star Trek” became more popular in syndication than it was during its initial run. New fans were added to those who watched and had clamored for more seasons of “Star Trek.” The ratings were amazing. Another factor that pushed “Star Trek” forward was the fan conventions. The first convention, in 1972 in New York City, attracted over 3,000 fans Nimoy described it this way: “There was hardly a chance to speak,
“F9: The Fast Saga” – This one is ludicrous, preposterous and zany, but it sure was entertaining. This entry into the series, the audience learn that Dom (Vin Diesel) has a younger brother, Jakob (John Cena). He is just a couple of years younger than him.
B
every word created a roar. We were all taken aback there with tremendous affection.” Twenty years into the future and beyond In 1987 “Star Trek the Next Generation” began its seven-year run with Patrick Stewart as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and Jonathan Frakes as Cmdr. William T. Riker, the executive officer of the Enterprise. “I think there was a rampant skepticism throughout fans and media … when they realized that we weren’t trying to recreate Kirk and Spock,” Frakes said. In January 1993 a new show called “Deep Space Nine” began a seven-year run. It starred Avery Brooks as Capt. Benjamin Sisko. He was the first Black captain. This show was a change from the usual format of space exploration by starship. The station was awash with intrigue among various alien races. In 1995 “Voyager” began its space journey by accidently getting itself transported to the Delta quadrant. Voyager was under the
“The Suicide Squad”– James Gunn enters the director’s chair-- for this one, taking the reins from David Ayer, who steered the 2017 version toward an Oscar win for makeup. The team is assembled again with Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn in the driver’s seat on this tale.
B
“Black Widow” – This prequel takes place in the Marvel universe before the events that occurred in the last chapter a couple of years back. This engaging flick also stars David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, Florence Pugh, William Hurt and Ray Winstone. On Disney +.
B+
Why is “Star Trek” so popular? There are many answers to the question. The simplest is that people really like a good adventure. Others say that the ideas show a positive future for mankind. Another answer may be the creative way it explores social issues There is an episode from the original series that dramatically portrays racism. “Let that be your last battlefield” demonstrates how hatred based on skin color is destructive. Two aliens, one with white on the right side and black on the left side of the face, the other with black on the right side and white on the right side, battle it out abord the Enterprise. They force the ship to return them to their home planet, which is destroyed. The images at the end of the episode are so reminiscent of the aftermath of the race riots that plagued the nation in the mid and late sixties. It was very creative how they managed to make the point without referring to humanity directly. So, will “Star Trek” continue? Thus far there have been 13 movies and a possibility of more to come soon. As Roddenberry said in referring to the future of “Star Trek,“ “It will go on without any of us and get better and better and better because that really is the human condition to improve and improve.” Let us hope that his sentiments become reality. Happy 55th birthday “Star Trek”!
“Tom and Jerry” – Director Tim Story combines animation with real life antics and shenanigans that take place in an upscale New York City hotel. Very juvenile, but I laughed a couple of times, hence the somewhat positive grade.
C+
“Free Guy” – Ryan Reynolds is a bank clerk who finds out his whole life is nothing more than a program that runs on a routine and fixed system. Somewhat reminiscent of Peter Weir’s Jim Carrey headliner “The Truman Show.” (1998). -Ricky Miller
B
September 7, 2021
STUDENT MEDIA LEADERS
Interim Editor-in-Chief Interim Managing Editor Design Editor Entertainment Editor Online/Special Projects Online/Special Projects
Barbara Gandica Martinez Alex Ortuno Barbara Gandica Martinez Ricky Miller Ryan Bingham Duff Damon Craig
ON THE COVER Staff Photo: Victor London
BACK COVER Staff Illustration: Barbara Gandica Martinez
COVER AND FONTS Certain cover fonts are provided by the following www.nymfont.com – www.bvfonts.com
STUDENT MEDIA STAFF Meshack Mashua Fiona Forney Mike Sokolski Beth Swider Davis Oyola Riley Cook Victor London
Ryan Bingham Duff Damon Craig Alexis Rodriguez Yessi Lipscomb Barbara Gandica Martinez Alex Ortuno
STUDENT MEDIA ADVISERS Erica Edwards
Tim Jones
Jack Fletcher
Larry Ratliff
ISSUE DATES September 21
November 2
October 5
November 16
October 19
November 30 December 7
STUDENT MEDIA AWARDS Student Organization Community Service Award, 2019 Student Organization of the Year, 2019 CMA Pinnacle Two-Year TV Station Award, 2018 CMA Two-Year Radio Station Award, 2018 ACP Newspaper Pacemaker Winner Award, 2016 ACP Best of Show Award, 2015 ACP Photo Excellence Award, 2015 CMA Newspaper of the Year Finalist, 2014 1st Place – TCCJA Overall General Excellence, 2014 2nd Place – Pinnacle College Media Award, 2014 1st Place – TIPA Sweepstakes, 2005 3rd Place – TIPA Online, 2005 & 2006 Over 270 Texas college journalism awards since 2000
‘The Green Knight’: Old tale revisited Davis Oyola Staff Writer
Based on the 14th-century Arthurian tale, director David Lowry’s “The Green Knight” follows Sir Gawain (Dev Patel), King Arthur’s nephew, who takes on a challenge presented by the Green Knight, as he seeks to prove his worth to himself and those around him. At first glance, “The Green Knight” looks like a story that’s been told many a time, especially in the last 20 years, but it takes a different approach to its interpretation of the famous tale, most notably with the casting of Patel in a tale set in medieval Europe. The supporting cast that includes notable names. Alicia Vikander (Essel) delivers an and incredible monologue in the film. Sean Harris (King Arthur) and Joel Edgerton (The Lord) also deliver excellent performances. For a film with fantastical elements, the world of “The Green Knight,” is surprisingly grounded, leaning into the grit and grime of 14th century England. Cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo brilliantly balances moments of intimacy with scale and spectacle, he gives each character and setting a unique visual style, elevating each encounter the protagonist and the audience come across. The large set pieces don’t drown out smaller emotional moments, which are equally as important to the story. Besides a snippet from promotional material, “The Green Knight” does not act as a courier for those who have no knowledge of the tale, That can be both refreshing and
Photo Courtesy Rotten Tomatoes
Dev Patel stars as King Arthur’s nephew Gawain in “The Green Knight”
potentially off-putting to viewers who like to have story plots laid out for them, especially since the film prefers visuals over dialogue and exposition. Overall, “The Green Knight” is an excellent addition to the many interpretations
of Arthurian mythology in film. The direction, cinematography and onscreen talent come together to deliver a refreshing adventure worth seeing. Grade: B
Richland sports return to action during a pandemic Davis Oyala
CONTACT INFORMATION El Paso Hall, Room E020, 12800 Abrams Rd., Dallas 75243 Newsroom: 972-238-6079; richlandchronicle@gmail.com Advertising: 972-238-6068 Email: Advertise@dcccd.edu Staff meetings: Monday and Wednesday at 2 p.m. in E020 Letter Policy Letters to the editor may be edited for space. They will be edited for spelling, grammar and malicious or libelous statements. Letters must be the work of the writer and must be signed. For identification and verification purposes, letters also must include the writer’s classification (grade level), full name, address and telephone number, although address and telephone number will not be published. Editorial Policy The Chronicle is the official student-produced newspaper of Richland College. Editorials, cartoons, columns and letters are the opinions of individual students and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other individual student writers, editors, advisers or the college administration. © Richland Chronicle 2021 File Photo
Richland Basketball player Brad Millorn defends the ball from a Garrett College player.
Staff Writer The return of in-person classes at Dallas College has allowed sports to return, as the heads of different sports teams prepare their teams for the long season ahead. Here at the Richland campus, volleyball, soccer and basketball teams all resumed training this season. According to head soccer coach Paul Shaver, the standard 26-man squad that a team uses throughout the season has been trimmed down to 15, excluding reserve players, to reduce the risk of an outbreak of COVID-19. All players who were registered for this season’s squad were vaccinated against COVID-19 twice. Shaver said he felt positive the team could stay COVID-19 free this season, since all the players have been vaccinated and training for soccer takes place outdoors. Most of the indoor sport facilities at Richland that include a gymnasium (basketball/volleyball court, gym and locker rooms) are located on campus in Guadalupe Hall, which could be a cause for concern for indoor sports, especially when spectators are involved. Sanitary measures are being taken by faculty in each facility that is in use.
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CHRONICLE Richland
ENTERTAINMENT/CAMPUS 5
6
September 7, 2021
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mythology, spooky stories and folk lore
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