TCC The Collegian October 5, 2022

Deadline to register to vote approaching

Register by Oct. 11 to vote in midterms

ALEX HOBEN editor-in-chief alexandra.hoben@my.tccd.edu

The deadline to register to vote in this year’s midterms is coming up and some TCC mem bers are encouraging students to register while others believe it’s more important to be informed.

To participate in the fall mid term elections, a person needs to register to vote by Oct. 11. There have been tables provided across the district that can help students fill out the paperwork necessary for the process, and on SE Campus they’re even planning a Voter Edu cation Week during Oct. 3-7.

“Throughout the month of September, Tarrant County Volun teer Deputy Registrars, Texas Ris ing and MOVE Texas programs have been on the SE Campus en couraging students to get regis tered to vote and educating them on voter registration and election deadlines,” SE Campus coordina tor of student activities Veronica Guzman said.

The voter education week will include activities such as meeting local officials, a mock election to show what submitting a ballot is like and a discussion of who will be on the ballot this year. Also, there will be tables available for students to register and learn about the voting process on SE.

According to howto.vote, someone can register in-person or

NORTHEAST

mail a filled-out form to a local election office. If someone is un sure of whether they are regis tered, it’s possible to check their status through the Texas Secretary of State’s website after providing some information.

South Campus instructor Car los Rovelo explains the impor tance of voting to his class every day.

“I’m very passionate about the future and when I present this topic to my students, it’s about your future. It’s not about mine, it’s about yours,” he said.

“

It is a no-brainer to register to vote, but where there is no will and responsibility, we just take it for granted.

Carlos Rovelo South Campus instructor

Rovelo said he wants his stu dents to realize the work it took to get America to the point where it’s easy to register and vote in elec tions. He also said it is important to realize that voting is starting a legacy that will continue for future generations.

“What you do will change who follows, in the sense you

NE theater prepares for prayer-filled production

XAVIER BOATNER campus editor xavier.boatner@my.tccd.edu

NE Campus theater crew will be telling the story of the battle of wills between a nun and priest in ‘60s America.

NE drama playhouse’s pro duction, “Doubt: A Parable,” will run Oct. 5-8 in the NFAB-1205 with performances at 7 p.m. each night and a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets are free for TCC stu dents, faculty and staff, $3 for nonTCC students and senior citizens, and $6 for the general public.

The cast spoke about the clash of ideals explored in the play and gave opinions on what side the au dience would align with.

“It’s a courtroom drama, so it’s very back and forth,” said NE

student and stagehand Austin Usel ton. “All of the scenes can be taken in so many different ways. I’ve had fun talking with the cast about their thoughts on their character or their thought on this scene and all of them don’t ever completely match up.”

The show is purposefully open-ended to allow the audience to have an opinion on the themes of the story and to encourage inter pretation and discussion, Uselton said.

“I see what people are talking about with each side,” he said. “In the story, the main takeaway and how you interpret it depends on if you think he did it or not.”

NE student Cal Graham, who plays Sister James, said her take away from the story was that See Drama, Page 2

don’t want your future generation to start where you are starting right now,” he said. “You want that the next generation will understand the im plications of vot ing, the benefits of education, and because you pro vided the foundation, they don’t have to start where you began.”

Rovelo also said that the district has been very proactive in its efforts to get students to register and he en courages them to make use of the easy way available.

“It is a no-brainer to register to vote, but where there is no will and responsibility, we just take it for granted,” he said.

Rovelo said everything re garding voting is for the better ment of the future and students should understand that it is up to them to vote on what they believe in.

“You gotta vote,” he said. “You got to engage, and don’t vote out of fear because that doesn’t work either. You need to vote out of the conviction of what we need. We need more diversity. Most of the people that are elected to high er office don’t represent the issues of our population.”

South Campus instructor Tim othy Matyjewicz believes it’s more important that students are wellinformed and self-motivated to go , Page 2

SOUTHEAST

Vanguard: How Black women broke equality barriers for all

OLLA MOKHTAR campus editor olla.mokhtar@my.tccd.edu

SE Campus hosted an event Sept. 28 to recognize and com memorate the progression of vot ing and other rights for Black women before and after the 19th Amendment.

TCC is one of 25 libraries and institutions in the U.S. to get the “Let’s Talk About It” wom en’s suffrage grant. This allowed the SE Judith J. Carrier Library to do book discussions for five different books in the form of a program sponsored by the Ameri can Library Association and the National Endowment for the Hu manities.

“Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All” by Martha S. Jones is the last of the books that the program ad dressed. It was led by assistant director of library services Tracy Robinson and public services li brarian Anna Hithersay as well as various SE faculty from the history, government and English departments.

The event started with a presentation by History instruc tor Stephanie Hawkins about the importance of women’s history and why people don’t focus more on it. Afterward, a drawing gave the audience an opportunity to win a free book from the series, including Vanguard.

Robinson was one of the event’s organizers who believed it was important for students to learn about the history behind the book.

“I hope they learn more about the long history of strug gling for equal rights and equal representation,” Robinson said. “And it’s still not over. The book covers all the way up to the 2020 election and the work that [Geor gia gubernatorial candidate] Sta cey Abrams was doing to get peo ple to vote and to make sure that they had the right to vote.”

Robinson further explained how the fight for equal rights and representation is still ongoing.

“There are laws put in place

See Vanguard, Page 2

“Fate:

Road to women’s rights is hard Women all over are protesting the restriction of choice

Books should not be banned Banning books is dangerous to the freedom of speech

TCC Connect president TCC Connect president Carlos Morales shares roots

Alex Hoben/The Collegian

Tj Favela/The Collegian

NE students Cal Graham and Parker Pereira rehearse together for NE Campus play “Doubt: A Parable.”

Joel Solis/The Collegian

Instructor Stephanie Hawkins discusses the book “Vanguard” to students and faculty during the presentation.

Drama (continued from page 1)

people shouldn’t be so reliant on others for validation.

“The main overall thing is just perspec tive and how far you’re willing to go to jus tify yourself,” she said.

Given the story’s open-ended conclu sion, Graham predicts what the most popular interpretation of the story’s theme will be for the audience.

“I think we’re going to get a lot of open-ended interpretations of it and the big gest one is going to be to trust your gut as opposed to what other people tell you,” she said.

The cast seemed to come to the consen sus that the story’s reception would be split, and the themes explored in the play would require extra thought to nail down.

“Think very deeply about it,” NE stu dent and Father Flynn understudy Adam Sellors said. “Consider everything that hap pens. Consider all the small things. There are things that you will not immediately think about until you’re done watching it, and then things will connect.”

Sellors explained there are many under lying messages in the story that the audience will have to seek out.

“It’s not going to be black and white, so I think it’s definitely a play with two sides,” he said. “I think it’ll be very interesting when people watch it.”

NE associate drama professor and direc tor Jakie Cabe said his goal for the play was to split people’s opinions down the middle.

Vote (continued from page 1)

and vote for the candidates they have re searched.

“If you are not properly informed or gen uinely interested, then you will likely vote for whatever you think might benefit you in the short-term,” Matyjewicz said. “I want in formed voters, not sheer numbers. Signing up masses of uneducated voters is akin to sign ing up people for handgun permits.”

NE Campus student Ashley Mier said she believes it’s important for students to vote so they can have the ability to choose repre sentatives who would do good for their com munity. She also said that the local elections are incredibly important because those are the ones that will affect you directly.

“They’re working with you on local

“People are going to think ‘Oh, the priest did do what he was accused of,’ and the other half is going to go ‘Oh I don’t think he did it necessarily, she’s really push ing the envelope too far,’” he said. “That’s what I’m trying to get at.”

UNT student and Mrs. Muller actor Alyssa Meekins appreciated the story’s seri ous undertones and said that the goal of the play was to leave people feeling uncertain.

“If you walk away at the end of it feel ing happy, we did something wrong,” she joked. “We want people to walk away feel ing unsettled and having questions and re ally wrestling with that doubt and that uncer tainty. I think that’s kind of an unusual goal for a piece of theater, but I think it’s a really admirable one.”

terms. Whatever projects that they have, it’s going to affect your community,” she said.

Mier said that it’s important for students to understand and teach the next generation about the importance of voting because this will affect them in the future. She encourages students to register.

“If you’re hesitant to vote, if it’s because you just don’t know then I think you should try to educate yourself on it,” Mier said. “It’s not necessarily that you’re not good at it, it’s just informing yourself because this is going to affect you, it may not affect you now but it will affect you later and by the time you real ize it affects you there’s not much you can do about it.”

to limit voting,” Robinson said. “You see this with the coronavirus when people are trying to do mail-in voting and when districts are being changed and redrawn. They’re trying to change the makeup of the people who are voting.”

For non-Black people, Robinson rec ognized the importance of them listening to the presentation.

“The women who are given voices in this book are so very important,” Rob inson said. “They have done a lot for this country, and I think that they can be a role model for anybody.”

Hawkins said women are not recog nized as much as they need to be in the country.

“I think a lot of people only know basic American history and have no idea how much women have contributed to the creation of this country,” she said.

For Hawkins, her presentation had a specific purpose to the public as well as some personal relations to it as a Black woman.

“The most important thing was to put a spotlight on Black women who have paved the way for voting rights in this country,” she said. “I related to the fact that

every group needs to have their own space where they can be themselves without hav ing to deal with invalidation or their expe riences being disregarded.”

SE student Miranda Brown also re lated her experience with invalidation and how it affected her as well.

“I related to being silenced and want ing my rights to be legally acknowledged,” Brown said. “Everyone has an agenda. As soon as white women were denied voting rights over black men, they spouted the same rhetoric that was supposed to keep power out of women’s hands.”

As a person that is not from the Black community, associate professor of English Monica Marchi defines attending these events as a learning opportunity.

“We do not live in a bubble and learn ing about history and other people’s expe riences and struggles is essential for our personal growth,” Marchi said. “History offers valuable lessons that, unfortunately, sometimes we forget to heed. Constantly refreshing our knowledge, learning for the sake of learning and questioning the status quo should be what drives us to become better citizens and human beings.”

It’s not going to be black and white, so I think it’s definitely a play with two sides.

Adam Sellors NE student

“

Alex Hoben/The Collegian

Alex Hoben/The Collegian

Joel Solis/The Collegian

NE student Parker Pereira rehearses his lines on the podium for the upcoming play “Doubt: A Parable.”

SE students Jerry Herrera and Teralyn Siller visit registration booth at SE Campus.

Instructor Stephanie Hawkins shows the book “Vanguard.” The event was held in the library at SE Campus.

Vanguard (continued from page 1)

NW Campus holds Hispanic cultural event with food and activities

Churros, tacos and paletas! Students made their way through a delicious celebration of Hispanic cultural heritage on NW Campus.

NW Student Activities partnered with the Intercultural Network, the Spanish department and Walsh Library to host Fiesta NW on Sept. 29. The event was held as part of the celebration of Hispanic Heritage month.

The downstairs lobby of the WTLO building was bustling with activity at every table. Students lined up to get a taste of some of the most popular treats Hispanic culture has to offer.

The event would not have been complete without celebrating the taco. This delicacy is a staple in many Hispanic communities. Every culture does it a bit differently and it was

available with beef in a corn tortilla for this event.

The ALAS club, which is the Association of Latin American Students, was there to inform students about the organization and offer dessert. They had churros, which are deep-fried dough coated in cinnamon sugar.

For those that like the sweet and spicy combo there were mango lollipops coated in chili powder.

There was also a paletero cart where staff was handing out ice creams or paletas to a long line of students.

For the crafty student there was a pinata station. The pinata is a colorful papier-mache container usually filled with candy for parties.

There was bright colored tissue paper laid out on the table. Students could help glue strips or make a flower to add to the pinata.

A table showcasing different flags of Latin American countries was set out for students to color. The

Colombian flag as well as Uruguay and Nicaragua were just a few.

NW Spanish associate professor Alejandro Garza was looking up the appropriate colors of different flags for students who had never seen them before.

Garza wanted to show students, faculty members and staff members that Hispanic Heritage month is not only about Mexico, it’s about every country that speaks Spanish.

The event was also an opportunity for Hispanic students to feel closer to their culture, and NW student Omar Ortega was there to do just that.

“All my teachers only spoke English so I grew up on American soil with a Mexican family,” Ortega said.

Ortega says because of this, even though he grew up with a Spanish family he was only able to speak English.

The Intercultural Network was hosting a game of lotería. One of these students was Samantha

Ramirez of NW Campus who wanted to share her culture with other students.

“I have friends here that they don’t know what lotería is and I find it cool that I get to share that type of experience with them,” she said.

Ramirez showed her friends how to play as some of them had never heard of the game before. “I find it very exciting to be able to share my culture with other people,” she said.

Taha Akif, a NW student from Morocco, did not have any experience in playing the game before. He is part of the Intercultural Network and is trying to get to know more about other cultures. Akif says the event has exposed him to “new stuff that I didn’t really know about.”

The fiesta offered many ways to engage in Hispanic culture for every student. Those wanting to share their culture with others and those wanting to learn.

IRENE DOMINGUEZ campus editor irene.dominguez370@my.tccd.edu

NW student and ALAS member Bertha Martinez plays her guitar “Luna” onstage during the Fiesta event.

NW student Serenity Trevino receives a paleta at Fiesta NW in the WTLO building on NW Campus.

NW student Bryan Salas grabs food at the event. There was tacos and churros offered.

Photos by Ariel Desantiago/The Collegian NW students decorate guitar made of cardboard with colorful flowers made of tissue paper to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month at NW Fiesta.

OLLA MOKHTAR campus editor olla.mokhtar@my.tccd.edu

As some of us know, The Winx Club Saga was a cartoon, but now, Netflix has made a live action series and recently re leased season 2 of Fate: The Winx Saga.

Since 2019, this series has been in pro duction and released the first season in Janu ary 2021. The series follows the protagonist Bloom Peters, a fire fairy that grew up with human parents and has believed her whole life that she was human as well. That is, until she accidentally burns her childhood home in a fit of rage.

She then meets Farah Dowling, a power ful fairy but also the Headmistress of Alfea College, a school for fairies and specialists. Season 1 explores her experience in her new found home with the fairies and specialists. It also explores the school’s encounters with creatures named “The Burned Ones” as well as Peters’ acquaintance with the former head mistress Rosalind Hale. Hale was put under stasis, but the stasis was undone by Peters. As a result, Hale took over the school and murdered Dowling in cold blood because she believed she was best to rule over Alfea.

Before Rosalind was put into stasis, she was the headmistress of Alfea, but she en countered a village named Aster Dell. This is where Bloom is from and where she was cap tured from as a baby. “The Burned Ones” had infiltrated the city and since Rosalind didn’t think the citizens were worth the trouble of saving, she ordered her star pupils. They were Saul Silva, Ben Harvey, and Farah Dowling.

After Silva and Farah understand what is happening, they decide to defy Rosalind’s order and stop Ben from following Rosalind’s order, accidentally killing him in the process. Farah and Silva then put Rosalind in stasis for 16 years.

Season 2 explores another setback as creatures named scrapers drain fairies of their magic and transfer them to whomever sum moned them, Sebastian Valtor. Here begins the real fight of Rosalind, Bloom and the school versus Sebastian, a bloodwitch.

To begin, the series felt like a knockoff version of Divergent, Riverdale and the car toon version all combined into one. It was obvious that they tried to make it into a series that the generation that watched it, who are now teenagers, could watch for entertain ment. However, they failed to realize that the cartoon created a staple for me, and I expect ed more resemblance to it.

They also made everyone from the “other world” have a British accent except for

Bloom since she wasn’t raised in the realm. It was confusing since The Winx Club was an American show, but I digress.

The cartoon featured more PG-13 con tent while the Netflix version featured more explicit content. When I first heard of it com ing out, I expected it to have the majority of the content focused on fantasy and magic but it had more romance than was expected. Why is it that there is a throuple when my 6-yearold self expected wings, and they didn’t even give us that. They also cursed every two sec onds, which was weird and slightly annoying.

Bloom had only attended Alfea for a year and probably less, so it was confusing when she said “I just want Alfea back to the way it was.” It was hilarious as well because I knew she didn’t have the connection that her best friends had to Alfea. Regardless, she still called it “home” despite the year of fighting off weird monsters, fighting over her boy friend that was her suitmate and best friend Stella’s boyfriend, and the staring because she was from the “First World.”

Even though the character of Bloom was a bit unsettling and disappointing, the plot of the series itself, the events that took place and what actually happened was surprisingly good.

First, Bloom loses control over her pow ers when she is at the height of her emotions. It was bound to happen. Not only did she have enemies, but she also had a once in a lifetime power named “The Dragon Flame”.. How well did anyone really think her life was going to be?

Secondly, some of Bloom’s “squad,” Stella, Aisha and Terra “transform,” finally which is the ancient magical ability to gain wings. Although the wings came later in the series, seeing them transform was magical, no pun intended. The graphics and animation team did a great job in visualizing and bring ing the wings to life. They also had their eyes glow every time they used their powers, so it was nice to watch.

Overall, the characters were annoying and cursed every time they got annoyed. Net flix tried to create it into another Riverdalelike series and failed because the standard was set for me when I was a child for it to be a children’s show. I must say though, their editing and creative team did a great job with depicting their transformations but did a hor rible job at reading the room.

“Don’t Worry Darling,” it’s wasn’t that terrible

RABBIA MOLAI managing editor rabbia.molai@my.tccd.edu

Olivia Wilde’s attempt at making it into the big leagues of Hollywood directors doesn’t make the impact she hoped.

“Don’t Worry Darling,” a psychologi cal thriller, was meant to depict the lives of a couple living in a “perfect society” when all of a sudden the wife begins to notice some startling inconsistencies.

The main couple in the movie, Jack and Alice, are played by Harry Styles and Flor ence Pugh. Wilde had originally chosen Shia LeBeouf to play Jack. However, much like the rest of this film, LeBeouf’s departure from the project was surrounded in contro versy.

From Wilde being served divorce papers on stage at a press event to rumors about her getting into tiffs with Pugh on set, by the time the movie was released the buildup to see the product of such interesting circumstances was borderline overflowing.

The visuals and costumes were beautiful ly done as well as the set. The whole produc tion had a fitting ‘50s-type vibe that played well into the story. However, the beginning and buildup of the major plot twist seemed to be lacking.

The first thought that came to mind as Pugh’s character Alice began to make her discoveries was, “What the hell is going on?” The direction of the first half of the film was incredibly choppy and led to it being a little hard to follow.

The acting was actually quite well done on all accounts. With this being Styles’ third film on the big screen, there was a lot of in terest to see how he would handle his charac ter, and other than one cringy crying montage he did quite a phenomenal job.

For Pugh, on the other hand, this was meant to be another stepping stone in an al

ready well-established career, and as always she did an amazing job. Her portrayal of Alice and the conflicting emotions she felt as the story progressed was the shining moment of the film.

The chemistry between Pugh and Styles was blazing hot, but even more so the com fort in simple scenes that they had with each other lent itself to a really beautiful on-screen connection.

Shelley Don’t Worry Darling

During the film’s second half, the di rection seemed more consistent. The scenes seemed more put together as well as the sto ryline finally came to fruition. Although the twist at the end was quite predictable, the subtle nuances in the way it was discovered were actually pretty interesting.

Although at first glance the project had an eerily similar feel to The Stepford Wives, the intensity in the actors’ performances and the interesting camera angles gave a pleasing performance.

Overall, the concept was interesting and although seen before was not unlikable to see. The main issue with this film was the fact that the first half could have been 30 minutes rath er than an hour. Other than that, the way the ending was wrapped up and the performances of the actors gave the movie a good feeling. Well, good enough.

Photo courtesy of Netflix

Photo courtesy of Netflix

Flora uses her chlorokinesis, the ability to manipulate plant life, to grow vines on her hands.

The show’s protagonist Bloom Peters learning to use the Dragon Flame.

Photo Courtesy of New Line Cinema

Photo Courtesy of New Line Cinema

The couples living in the Victory Project gather at Frank’s house for a party.

Jack (Harry Styles) and Alice (Florence Pugh) kiss goodbye as Jack leaves for work.

MOVIE

MOVIE REVIEW

We’re all here because we believe in the mission.

“

“Fate: The Winx Saga,” there were no fairy wings in sight

Road to women’s rights proving difficult

Living in the U.S., we can sometimes forget the struggles people in other countries go through to gain basic human rights.

Recently, protests in Iran to end modesty laws have gained traction on social media, particularly on TikTok. The protests began after the death of Mahsa Amani, who was arrested for allegedly breaking the modesty laws around wearing a hijab and taken into custody by the morality police.

Amani’s family, as well as many other people in the country, believe she was tortured and killed by the authorities.

Her death sparked protests all over the country with women demanding the right to dress as they please, going as far as even burning their hijabs in the streets.

Iran’s government has responded brutally to these protests, and many people have been injured and even killed.

While women in Iran are fighting for their right to remove the hijab, the women in India are fighting for their right to keep it.

India’s government has made it very clear that its dislike of Muslims outweighs the care it may have for its own people. The discrimination Muslims face on a day-to-day basis is one thing, but now women and girls are being denied entry to work and school if they choose to wear a hijab.

Similar to the Iranian protests, many Indians — Muslims and nonMuslims alike — were outraged by this, which began another set of protests.

Although these women seem to have opposite causes, their main goal

is the same. They each want the right to live their lives and dress the way they want.

The U.S. is a country that has the concept of division between church and state, and it’s easy to forget the choices that are in the

hands of the people because of it. It is a luxury that not many get to experience.

For women in countries like Iran and India, the political influence and twisted religious laws created by their governments have an effect on every

Banning books: a bad idea, but a worse reality to face

a little different, wouldn’t it? “The Jungle,” by Upton Sinclair, was a heavily descriptive book. Heavily describing the working conditions, the sanitation, the meat. If it had been censored right there on the spot, I would get a little nauseous thinking about the whole 180-degree turn history would make for the worst.

But they are willing to challenge books on race inequality, on queer identity, on whistling women wielding bows and arrows? Yes, it appears.

Where do we go as a society once we’ve censored all that we can out of literature, out of books?

The term being used is “challenged,” but really the books are being censored.

Those who challenge these books would argue that it’s not so wrong. Books with sexually explicit content, books with profanity, books upon books of violence. Why shouldn’t they, when it’s right there?

So they challenge them. They challenge “The Bluest Eye” because it is sexually explicit, because it views racial oppression.

“Lawn Boy’’ must be as well. It also deals in the sexual explicity of the LGBTQ variety. Oh, challenge “The Hunger Games” to drive it all home, too.

Death row is so close for literature that focuses on topics deeper than what some of us are going to deem acceptable. It is impossible to please us all because we are all afraid.

These challenged books provide so much more than their tagged red flags. The point of these stories is to make people aware. An educated country relies on awareness.

Imagine where America would be without it.

The meat packing industry would look

When these censors who are playing God are done on the seventh day, will they rest?

This isn’t even an old story. In a Ray Bradbury, “Fahrenheit 451”-esque way, we are inching so much closer to Guy Montag’s world. In my sophomore year of high school, I remember reading that book. I remember thinking about how extreme circumstances would need to be where things would be in Fahrenheit’s world, where books were completely, entirely banned. I also remember my teacher telling the class that exact book was banned in a school or two.

Ray Bradbury, if not rolling in his grave, was at the very least back flipping.

So I ask again where we go as a society.

Because where I see it, we are too scared to really see the necessity, the definite need for books that look at the hidden, oppressed, the shameful parts and the brashness of humanity. Under a country that follows an amendment as number one, the amendment that allows for us to reach out and give serious messages, we move a step forward each time.

And if we’ve got the right to use free speech, why not make it a book?

Tj Favela/The Collegian

aspect of their lives.

Many have questioned what the reasoning behind the government’s interest in the non-issue of how women choose to dress is really about.

There are hundreds if not

thousands of other issues that should be the focus of government officials, and yet they choose to go after a piece of clothing. Why? Control. The answer always seems to be a need for control over women.

It’s as if they believe that not allowing a hijab, or on the other end forcing it on, will somehow break the spirit of these women into submission. But the courage of these women and the men who come out to support them just goes to show how wrong that belief system is.

The term “live and let live” cannot be a mantra for these government officials because one side of this issue refuses to give religious freedom by stripping it away completely and the other creates random rules that make no sense and slaps a religious label on them and calls it a day.

At the end of the day, everyone deserves to have bodily autonomy, and that begins with having the right to dress as you please. That goes for both sides of the argument.

Wearing a hijab is a decision that is incredibly personal and cannot be forced or taken from anyone. It’s sad to say that even in the 21st century, women all over the world are still losing their lives over these frivolous debates that have nothing to do with the governments that are sparking them.

The job of a government is to create policies and laws that protect the people of their country while upholding the standards of living they require. Banning a hijab or creating an entire police force to determine if it’s being worn “properly” doesn’t fit into that category.

Why is there an absence of Latino presence at the polls?

the household is a necessity for Latinos. We can’t shy away from these issues that affect us.

Another thing we don’t see enough is candidates that look like us, leaving us wondering if these politicians really understand our issues.

Disillusionment with the government we have in place is also a factor. Politicians can seem sketchy and their motives are never clear.

Latinos are the largest minority voting group, but you won’t see that reflected at the polls.

As a first generation Mexican-American this bothers me. Texas has a very large Latino population but our vote is lagging. Not becoming engaged in politics means we are letting other people make decisions for our communities.

Low voter turnout from the Latino population leads to policy being created that does not serve us.

There are unique barriers we need to overcome to improve turnout at the polls. Until then, we will remain under served by these politicians.

For first-time voters the process can seem confusing and scary. Understanding what leads us to disengagement is perhaps the first step.

Becoming a citizen is a lengthy process, leaving a lot of Latinos without the ability to vote. This was the reality for a lot of our parents or grandparents.

This causes Latino children to grow up in a household where voting doesn’t exist. Without an example of that civic engagement, it can be difficult to know where to start.

Having more political conversations in

We already feel so neglected by the system. This has caused serious trust issues. It can make voting seem like a hopeless act.

Latinos are purposefully alienated by the system. It is hard to take up space in places that have not been historically welcome to Latinos.

Mexican immigrants have been singled out specifically by a certain former president and this has affected Latino views on engaging in politics.

I still shudder when I hear someone talk about building a wall. Or when I see immigrants being shuttled around and used as political pawns.

For those of us who have undocumented family members we should be aware of any laws being passed that might affect them. Immigration is a hot topic all over the world, but these issues can hit home for Latinos.

There is definitely not always a solution for every problem affecting our community. That being said, by voting we can do our best to take care of our families.

We don’t have to accept things the way they are. There is so much power in democracy. Take ownership of the Latino vote. Every vote is a win.

The window to get registered is closing and I want us all to make it. Let’s pretend it’s a Bad Bunny concert and swarm the polls!

The Collegian is a weekly student publication serving the Tarrant County College District. Editorial state ments and advertisements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the TCC administration.

Letters to the paper should be 150 words or less, free from libel and poor taste and include the writer’s Col league ID or telephone number (the numbers will not be published). Letters may be brought to The Collegian of

fice (NCAB 1124A, NE Campus),or mailed to:

The Collegian 828 Harwood Road Hurst, TX 76054

Office: 817-515-6391 email: collegian.editor@tccd.edu

ILLUSTRATORS

Smith

• collegian.tccd.edu

TCC is an equal opportunity institution that provides edu cational and employment opportunities on the basis of merit and without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status or dis ability.

PHOTO

HOPE SMITH campus editor hope.smith393@my.tccd.edu

IRENE DOMINGUEZ campus editor irene.dominguez370@my.tccd.edu

In the Sept. 28 issue, the opening date of the SE Campus production “A Piece of My Heart” was incorrectly identified. It opens on Oct. 5. Also the campus on the headline for Faculty Biennial feature was incorrectly identified. It is SE Campus.

TCC Connect Campus president shares roots

Morales dives into heritage and importance of education

Gaining knowledge and pursuing education has been a constant in TCC Connect Campus president Carlos Morales’ life, and now he is helping students pursue it as well.

Morales has had the importance of education ingrained in him since he was a child. Growing up in Aguada, a town in western Puerto Rico, he said the community would rally around the children’s education. Due to this, he had good examples of pursuing education.

“In my immediate area, I would say 90% of my friends went to

college in one way or another, and their parents also attended college, ” Morales said. “So we were surrounded by teachers, nurses, engineers, lawyers and doctors. And we were not rich. We were what we would say, middle class.”

This community shaped him into seeing education as vitally important and something that is a necessity for everyone, he said. Even when he goes back and visits the community now, he can still see this tradition continue.

“So that created a model for many of us to follow,” Morales said. “I was there like a month ago, and it was very interesting to see how the neighborhood has transformed in terms of now the sons of my friends are coming up in a similar fashion.”

He also said how his parents encouraged him to get an education and told him there were no excuses for him to not go to college.

“Education is the only thing, or one of the few things that provide for social mobility, and it’s the greatest equalizer,” Morales said. “My parents always told me that the only thing that nobody can take away from me is my education. That is mine. A car can be taken away, a house can be taken away. But not your education.”

He said how the more a person can pursue, the more that can be attained and how that will lead to being prepared for decision-making in the future. With that, more opportunities will be presented.

There are even more resources provided now since when he went to college including Pell Grants, financial aid and scholarships he said so there is no reason not to pursue a higher education.

“At this stage, I also inculcated that to my kids and friends and nieces and nephews that there are no excuses at this time because of all those things that I mentioned,” Morales said.

Morales came to TCC in 2013 when he was hired as the president of the Connect Campus, which opened in 2014. He said what appealed to him the most about the job was how he would be building an online campus from the ground up.

“I have been, what I would say, a builder in other facets of my life because I have built centers for training and technological innovation,” Morales said. “I have built operations where you combine departments, all of that in instructional technology and distance education and different ways of teaching and learning.”

What was unique about working here is how it was completely online and completely digital, he said. The main goal was to reach as many people as possible through the digital landscape.

Morales said he has only worked in the field of education, whether that be teaching, advising or even managing as he does now.

“This is the only thing that I have done, which then allowed me to provide for others to learn and is very rewarding when you see people progressing,” he said.

He expressed how he progressed from just teaching the sciences in Puerto Rico to training the faculty about the technology available and about distance learning. This led to him getting a position as an instructional designer in a center in New Jersey, and that’s how he got into the field.

Morales also spoke about how media coverage in Puerto Rico has fluctuated over the past five to seven years and has mainly been focused on the economy as well as the slow recovery on the island from Hurricane Maria in 2017. He said this attention has impacted the lives

of the people who live there still and not always in the best of ways.

“But on the other hand, there is a lot of potential in the island,” he said. “You know, the aspect of having at least 120 universities in a small area that produce over 15,000 or 20,000 graduates every year.”

Morales also mentioned that in the ‘80s and ‘90s Puerto Rico was the center of manufacturing for the top 10 drugs in the U.S. and in the world.

“So again, the willingness, the drive, the potential of people is always there, we would like to see that highlighted more than the negative things,” said Morales.

SE assistant professor of Math Brunilda Santiago said that she has known him since his first few weeks and was able to learn about their shared birthplace.

“I learned that we are both from the beautiful island of Puerto Rico,” she said. “He loves to visit the island sometimes more than once a year.”

Santiago has seen the work he does for the TCC community through attending panel discussions and online seminars during the pandemic.

“He proudly represented TCC Connect by facilitating sessions and providing instant translation of Webinars in English and Spanish,” Santiago said. “He stays relevant in his field by always looking for opportunities to elevate the Connect Campus in the local, national and international community.”’

Morales said that Connect Campus wasn’t heavily affected by the pandemic due to the classes not being in-person to begin with. But because the campus had laid the groundwork for online-only learning, they were able to help the rest of the district when it became a necessity.

“The aspect that was very rewarding at the same time was that the processes that we had put together from not only the courses, the course design, the way the faculty teach and the faculty use technology for online,” Morales said. “We were approached to share that with the rest of the college.”

He also said that even after coming back in-person, the campus is going strong with enrollment rates due to students realizing the flexibility that the online courses can give to them if they need.

But no matter what form, Morales encourages all students to pursue an education because of how it will give them the tools to be informed and prepared citizens for whatever the future may bring.

“So I will encourage you to pursue your education. Whatever form and whatever length and in whatever modality that could be, of course,” said Morales. “We are here to work with students in the best way possible to ensure that they are in the right path.”

Photos by Alex Hoben/The Collegian

TCC Connect Campus president Carlos Morales stands in front of the sign leading into the Connect Campus’ building. It can be found on TR Campus.

ALEX HOBEN editor-in-chief alexandra.hoben@my.tccd.edu

Morales was first hired in 2013 as the president of the Connect Campus, which opened in 2014 for enrollment.