Tccd The Collegian April 5, 2023

New cafes open across district campuses

TCC has opened Caffe Noliz to the NE, NW, SE, South and TR East Campuses following the loss of vendor Genuine Foods.

After the sudden withdrawal of Genuine Foods, Mike Herndon, the executive director of procurement, set out to find a new food service option for students.

“ECI has been a previous vendor,” Herndon said. “They actually are the company that ran the TR Campus food service for many years.” Herndon explained that TCC had to find a new vendor after an issue with the previous company.

“So we ended up with a contract dispute with vendor Genuine Foods,” Herndon said. “Who had begun setting up back in the fall. We ended up having to hedge our bets and renegotiate a contract with ECI to take over operations.”

Caffe Noliz opened on NE, South and TR East the week before spring break. NW and SE followed, opening on March 27 and 29 respectively. TR Campus already has a food service by ECI Management group called Trinity Brews, which includes a full kitchen.

Caffe Noliz is a “We proudly serve Starbucks’ location. Each campus serves Starbucks drinks and a variety of grab and go food selections — such as sandwiches, salads and wraps. Caffe Noliz worker

Cathy Moore has seen many students utilize the service.

“We’ve had a lot,” Moore said.

“And we’ve had a lot of people go

‘It’s so wonderful you’re here,’ so yeah, they’re all excited.”

ECI Management manages and oversees all food service locations — including hiring and kitchens.

“They have a Chef who oversees all campuses and various level employees at each campus,” Herndon said. “ECI will hire directly. They have signs posted around each campus with instructions on how to

apply.” NE student Jo Mahoney first heard about Caffe Noliz the week after spring break and visited it for the first time recently. Mahoney saw the excitement from other students

TCC students discuss gun control, school shootings

The country is ablaze with the topic of school shootings, and with the most recent being a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, guns are once again back in the discussion.

2022 had 51 school shootings that resulted in injury or death, according to Education Week. In 2021, there were 35. Currently, 2023 is at 13.

NE student DeAngelo Lara grew up around guns. He said that his father taught that guns were tools and to respect them.

“Personally, that’s what I believe that, you know, guns are tools. And that they’re really good to have especially if you do need to defend yourself,” he said.

Lara said guns can be used for wrong, however, if they end up in

the wrong hands. “It’s really sad, you know, especially for the people who died,” he said. “The case with the first grader that shot his teacher was really shocking because you just wouldn’t expect that, especially for a young kid to just walk into school and shoot his teacher.”

Gun control has various steps for regulation, and Lara said there were many steps to take before actually receiving a gun and was unsure between stricter laws and rights.

“I feel like if they need to add more than that, I’m perfectly fine with that,” he said. “But I feel like they shouldn’t ban because that kind of also takes away part of our rights.”

NE student Kaylee Medrano did not have the same exposure to guns and that only her grandparents owned them. She said she was unsure about the system of gun control but that owning guns felt like

an extreme. “I feel like there needs to be tighter restrictions on obtaining it, but I don’t know enough about how that system works to say a lot,” she said. “But when you see how many school shootings we have compared to other countries, it feels like common sense.”

Medrano had a friend who experienced an active shooter at her school some time during her friend’s eighth grade year.

“Seeing all my friends trying to contact their parents, and like, they were legitimately fearing for their lives, there was more of an issue at that moment with the school,” she said. “The administrators were not being kind about them leaving.”

She said looking away from gun control and instead at school administration may prove helpful.

“We may not be able to change a lot of federal laws, but schools should be taking more precautions

See Shooting, page 2

about the new food option.

“I’ve overheard people [talking],” Mahoney said. Moore believes Caffe Noliz is a good option for students in between classes, and can see it being benefi-

cial to students long term.

“We’re going to be adding more food items — hopefully to the fall,” Moore said. “So we’re looking up.” In the future, Herndon hopes to See Food, page 2

TCC’s WebAdvisor has officially shut down and new systems are being employed for student workers.

According to the TCC’s WebAdvisor official website, the site will no longer be available after April 1.

“All services previously provided by this site have been successfully migrated to other systems,” the statement said. “Registration and student-related functionality will continue to be available through MyTCCTrack. Other WebAdvisor functionality has been migrated to Hello! TCC.”

This message had been available on WebAdvisor’s official site for quite some time, and having it shut down may not have come as a surprise to many students. Some students believe WebAdvisor has long since become outdated.

“I think I’ve known about the shutdown for a good while now,” NW Campus student Robert Flores said. “WebAdvisor looks extremely dated, so I think that they’re shutting it down because all of its features are available through the TCC home website.”

On the flip side, there are some students who believe the shutdown will lead to confusion and won’t be helpful for certain people going forward.

“Students nowadays love fast results and without this in place, I think it will create frustration and confusion with students and staff,” NE Campus student Margarette Meyers said. “In 2023, we do not need any more hardships, especially with the teacher shortages and everything else that is happening in the world. Going to college needs to be as easy and accessible as possible.”

Despite not many campusgoers being affected by WebAdvisor’s absence, there are still a select number of people on campus who have been impacted by the change. The end of WebAdvisor has made it so student workers and TCC staff will need to rely on systems unfamiliar to TCC heading into the future.

Among these systems is the implementation of TimeClock

Plus, an automated cloud-based system designed to streamline the time management process for supervisors and student workers.

During a virtual training session held March 28, “TimeClock Plus will be what student, part-time and full-time, non-exempt employees will use to manage their time,” Ronnie Watkins, the TR executive director of finance and administrative services said. “Any student who does not work for TCCD will not use TimeClock Plus.”

This system offers automated employee time tracking and scheduling, leave and absence management, document management, reporting and analytics. All of which are available on mobile.

“We needed to update our tools,” Watkins said. “We needed a more reliable tool for our time management and our lead management.”

Watkins said the change to TimeClock will help simplify the process of entering time information for student workers.

“For the students, it should be a very easy piece of software,” Watkins said. “You log in, and you clock in. You log in, and you clock out. That’s really all they need to know.”

A shift towards these newer systems could inspire a change in the “culture” of student workers and supervisors, and help encourage them to better manage their time, Watkins said.

“We’re looking to change the culture,” Watkins said.

Watkins said one of the reasons for wanting to “change the culture” was to make sure employees practiced better work ethics.

“Some supervisors get in the habit, even with these timecards, where they forget or don’t approve time,” Watkins said. “Even today, we’re manually sending emails out every week to our supervisors saying ‘Don’t forget to turn in your time,’ ‘Don’t forget to approve the time on the timecards,’”

Taking responsibility is one of the primary lessons Watkins hoped student workers and supervisors will took away from the change to the new TimeClock system.

“It’s all about accountability,” Watkins said. “That’s a great thing to learn in college, and that’s why we’re trying to change the culture here.

KJ Means/The Collegian NE student Samuel Husted checks out of the Caffe Noliz location found in NSTU. Locations can be found across the district. The cafe offers grab-and-go food options as well as drinks.

Hannah Seese/The Collegian

This infographic is based on information from “The Washington Post: Democracy Dies in Darkness” list posted on their website regarding school shootings.

Students are concerned to file taxes this season

KEYLA HOLMES campus editor keyla.holmes@my.tccd.edu

With tax season in full swing, students are doing what they can to make sure they file on time. For some, the process isn’t smooth sailing due to students having varying levels of understanding about filing taxes.

Knowing what one needs to file and why filing is important in the first place, is information some students aren’t aware of.

South student Kayla Blanco said that knowing what filing your taxes means is important.

“I think I was trying to get my W-2 from

my job and I just remember thinking ‘wait why do I need this,’” she said.

The deadline to file federal tax returns is April 18, and Blanco said that she’s nervous about doing everything in time.

“I’m just so scared of like - what if I don’t get it done in time,” she said.

Blanco said that she didn’t receive much education on filing taxes in high school. She gives the information needed to file to her dad, and he takes care of the rest.

“They don’t really teach about it in school, so the only information I’ve gotten is from my parents,” she said.

South student Margarita Valdez said that she thinks filing is confusing and also doesn’t

Shooting (continued from page 1)

to protect their students because some schools just don’t seem to be as caring as others,” she said.

For Lara, he said his little cousin had an instance in his middle school where a student was found with a gun in his bag.

“They caught him early, so he wasn’t actually able to do anything,” he said. “But still, it’s just the fact that it happened and still kind of terrifying. Just kind of knowing that maybe if things had actually happened, you could have lost someone.”

TCC police assistant chief Chanissa Dietrich said officers are trained consistently to respond to an active shooter situation on campus.

“The TCC Police Department works with the Department of Safety and Emergency Management to train and prepare for situations requiring evacuation, lock down and shelter in place,” she said. “Drills are conducted each semester, at every campus location, to assist in preparing the students, faculty and staff to respond appropriately.”

She emphasized that TCC police officers must be prepared for a variety of situations, including active shooters, and that the training members receive is up to date so they can best respond to any “critical incident, emergency or

Food (continued from page 1)

be able to expand the food selection on campuses eventually.

“That all depends on if the sales will support it,” Herndon said. “ECI Management group is interested in expanding service at all locations but it will likely be later this fall before we can determine if that expansion is financially sustainable.”

Herndon is glad TCC can provide a new food option to students.

call for service.”

In addition, Dietrich also said education videos for active shooter situations are available on the TCC website for students, faculty and staff.

The case with the first grader that shot his teacher was really shocking because you just wouldn’t expect that,

DeAngelo Lara NE student

“Most importantly, never hesitate to contact our communications center if assistance is needed,” she said. “Officers are approachable and ready to help, answer a question or provide direction when needed.”

“I’m ecstatic that we were able to do this as quickly as we were,” Herndon said. “We did not find out we were not going to be able to continue with our previous vendor until three days before winter break. So it may sound like a long time for students, but three months is a very quick turn around for what we ended up having to do. I’m proud we were able to pull it off right after spring break.”

TO CONCERTS FROM CAMPUS

FOR FREE

feel confident about what she was taught in high school.

“In high school I took a class about it, but I feel like it didn’t really help,” Valdez said. While some students may not feel knowledgeable on doing their taxes, there are resources that can help.

TCC doesn’t offer any services themselves, but for those in need of tax assistance the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program offers services on South and SE campuses through April 15.

South student Samaya Niraula has already filed his taxes, and said that it was easy and that he didn’t have any issues. He offers

DISTRICT

some advice for those who may be new or nervous about doing their taxes.

“For students who are filing for the first time and have no idea where to go, a good resource is the internet or Youtube,” he said. “There are videos of people who guide you on how to file taxes, so that’s really good.”

Niraula also advises students to talk to friends and family who have been filing for years. While he said the process is a smooth one for most, he encourages new filers to be wary of who they go to for help.

“I think it’d be good for students to also just be careful about who they’re giving their information to,” he said.

TIPA inducts former TCC

You can work as hard as you want, and I work as hard as I can. But I’m never going to be completely sure I’m going to get something, especially when there are so many good journalists in Texas.

Alex Hoben Editor-in-chief of The Collegian

Like

Alex Hoben/The Collegian

Eddye Gallagher laughs as she gives her acceptance speech at the TIPA 2023 convention. Gallagher was inducted into the TIPA Hall of Fame.

TCC’s honor society, Phi Theta Kappa, recognizes students with exemplary academic performance and in turn students conduct community service and research projects for their community.

Phi Theta Kappa, or PTK, is established in over 1300 community college campuses and TCC is one of them. Each campus has their own chapter, including Beta Sigma Mu at TR whose HIA, or Honors in Action, project included an educational resource website on the status of the Trinity River project and how it might affect the campus environment.

Currently Beta Sigma Mu is working on a HIA project about the social and emotional benefits video games provide during periods of isolation or distance, providing community and support through a shared love of the medium.

TR PTK president Mary Maturo said that the organization garnered a sense of camaraderie after much of her high school experience was spent in a hospital and expanded more on her experience.

“If I had never accepted my invitation, I fear I would not be the person I am today,” she said. “PTK was one part of a myriad of inspirations that led to my involvement on campus and transformed me from a quiet introvert into an outspoken campus leader.”

She plans to transfer into SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design, an art school known for being formidable in its expectations. She attributes her lack of hesitation moving forward to her involvement in PTK.

“This does not scare me however, I have reached the zenith of what I thought I could achieve long ago, and PTK encouraged me to climb higher,” she said.

Maturo expressed her adoration for the PTK community and said that the TR chapter has sister chapters across the region, the state, the country and the world providing them with love and support beyond their familiar surroundings.

One of the sister chapters at TCC is NW’s chapter Alpha Delta Delta.Their College project, another PTK initiative, opened a panel for women in male-dominated career fields. This included alumni from the Aviation program and Fire Academy, as well as a government professor at the NW Campus.

NW PTK president Patricia James said that she was proud of this ongoing series and that she had admiration for the women who spoke as she is going into a male-dominated career herself.

She said that one of the skills she obtained were conflict management and the appropriate way of talking to others, including administration and peers.

“I regularly interact with our campus administration and all of it is great preparation for

life outside of TCC,” she said. “Learning how to interface with people who may be on a different status level is something I have grown a lot in.”

Conflict with restructuring the chapter, lining up schedules or meetings, technology difficulties and spontaneous issues is what she, as the leader of Alpha Delta Delta, said that the chapter is stronger and more resilient for.

Along with her personal growth she said that the chapter has grown in learning to navigate conflict with restructuring the chapter, lining up schedules or meetings, technological difficulties and spontaneous issues.

The HIA project for NE’s chapter Phi Tau is the economics of Art and Science of Play, a theme given by the organization, demonstrates that the financial situation of a family should not hinder a child’s ability to play. This was done through an obstacle course, something inexpensive but also enjoyable.

Tomy Huynh, the NE VP of Fellowship also enjoyed the benefit of PTK academically and with extra curricular activities.

Patricia James NW PTK president

“I genuinely believe that PTK has made me a better student not just academically but overall,” he said. “PTK allowed me to go join so many other clubs and help the community out including being the social director for CompSci Club and treasurer for Student Government Association.”

To James, being involved has made her a better person in her personal life as well.

“Being a part of PTK has given me endless opportunities to talk to people and look at people and see the beauty that’s existing and that is something that’s invaluable,” she said. “The broad scope of PTK and the reach that it has allowed me to do that on a much larger scale than I could ever do on my own. It makes you into a better person that’s more compassionate and quicker to listen than to talk or respond.”

For more information on PTK visit the TCC website or the official Phi Theta Kappa website.

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

It makes you into a better person that’s more compassionate and quicker to listen to than to talk or respond.

Photo courtesy of Matthew Jewell

Phi Theta Kappa chapters across the district pose for a selfie after attending a learning program held on South Campus on Aug. 26, 2022.

Photo courtesy of Matthew Jewell PTK chapters around Texas from District 2 visit the Denison Ice Rink as apart of their sponsored fellowship on Dec. 3, 2022.

Photo courtesy of Tomy Huynh Attending the PTK regional conference, NE’s PTK chapter Phi Tau won multiple awards. They were also among those who were named one of the best chapters in Texas.

Photo courtesy of Matthew Jewell SE Campus’ PTK Beta Delta Omicron at the Texas Leadership Conference held in downtown Houston.

Phi Theta Kappa: students contribute to their communities through program-sponsored community service

‘Love is Blind’ but character is important For the fourth time 30 men and women speed date toward altar

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

“Is love truly blind?” Is being asked yet again for the fourth season of Netflix’s hit show “Love is Blind,” and the drama could not have given 2023 a better show.

Roses scattered on an aisle, loved ones beaming with happiness, and an “I do” is what each cohort of participants is chasing, and this one is no different.

Like the other seasons, it introduces the male and female participants and how their dates in the pods go as they court one another in an untraditional way–through a wall. However, with the release of the first five episodes this cohort proves to be slightly different than the rest.

This is particularly seen when one of the male participants, Zack, jokingly says that he is a stripper that goes by the name “Zack Attack.” The female participant responds with an “ew” subsequently attacking the entire premise of the show, which is to not judge others and only judge their true character. Even though his true occupation is being a criminal defense attorney, showing disgust toward his fake one showed viewers what kind of character the female participant had.

In fact, many of the female participants were rude and “Regina George-y” towards the others because of insecurities and their interest in the same person.

One that is worth highlighting is Micah and Irina’s friendship and how they were rude to Amber since she was interested in the same person Micah was. In one particular instance, Micah and Irina mocked Amber and Paul and said “That seems like something they would do,” and even called her a “loser” behind her back.

Admittedly it made the entire show more entertaining to watch because that was just the beginning of the series of petty behaviors to come.

All of the participants who made connections also had moments where they realized that the person they listed first on their attraction list

VIDEO GAME REVIEW

was not as attracted or as dedicated to them and had other people they liked more. The fact that someone was in a conundrum about choosing one person while that same person did as well was ironic, hilarious and hypocritical of them all. How is it fair to any person to reserve their feelings when they only have a set deadline to choose who their next spouse is?

It’s not.

The fact is that people are having multiple connections and have to decide if that’s the person they want to marry in four weeks. The dating would only last for a little more than a week and more than one couple was acting childish about this “new” fact, when in reality they

weren’t being realistic with themselves.

After five couples advanced to being engaged, the couples met the other couples face to face. And the participants started becoming even more shallow and mean, compared to the previous graduates of the show. Sure, there were moments where the previous cohorts expressed their opinions on others but this was a step further than the behaviors exhibited by Sharpay and Regina George. For instance, Irina and Zack had trouble with intimacy and light touching in both public and private because Irina couldn’t find the courage to say that she didn’t find him physically attractive even after connecting with him emo-

CROSSWORD

Cereza ventures into Avalon Forest to look for her lost mother.

’Bayonetta Origins’ expands on the ‘Bayonetta’ legacy

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

PlatinumGames has continued to ride the momentum of its “Bayonetta” series with its latest release.

The climax of the now-iconic Bayonetta trilogy, “Bayonetta 3” released Oct. 28, 2022, to critical acclaim. The game was a hit with critics and fans, becoming the bestselling game in the series to that point.

During last year’s Game Awards, an annual video game award ceremony, developer PlatinumGames announced a brand-new Bayonetta game for Nintendo Switch called “Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon,” set to unveil the wicked backstory of the leading witch. Fast forward to March 8 and “Bayonetta Origins” has been released into the world.

In the game, players take control of Cereza, a young Bayonetta-in-training, and Cheshire, a demon in a stuffed animal’s body, to solve a variety of perplexing puzzles, battle in small combat challenges and pave a path through the eerie Avalon Forest in search of Cereza’s mother.

Before diving into the puzzles and combat, it’s best to address the elephant in the room. Right out of the gate, the game looks phenomenal. Similar to Tango Gameworks’ “Hi-Fi Rush” released earlier this year, the world of “Cereza and the Lost Demon” opts to forego the grizzled realism of most AAA games on the market, and instead aims to bring its enchanted world to life with a soft, watercolor-like palette.

The game’s overall aesthetic and presentation evoke that of a children’s storybook, with pages being turned in place of menus and character dialogue being structured like paragraphs in a picture book. Even better, the dialogue has a narrator that gives off a similar vibe to a parent reading their kid a bedtime story. It’s a welcome and

wholesome touch that absolutely sells the storybook style.

The characters’ personalities are charming and their designs are nice, if not a little doll-like in a sense. Some characters can appear a bit uncanny, even Cereza from time to time, but the charm seldom dwindles. The highlight was definitely Cereza and Cheshire’s relationship. The dynamic the two share is always fun and made playing through a breeze.

Speaking of dynamics, the way players control Cereza and Cheshire is what sets this game apart from others. This is a cooperative, single-player game. The left stick controls Cereza’s movements and the right stick controls Cheshire’s movements. The gimmick is controlling both in tandem to progress through the game.

This opens up many possibilities for puzzle design, and they do not disappoint. The puzzles are clever and tightly designed. They manage to strike the perfect balance between challenging and fair, allowing players of a wide skill level to play through the game, and leaving enough to chew on for those who wish to master it.

This setup also does wonders for combat. Cereza uses spells to stun, bind and distract enemies, while Cheshire is used to demolish them. It’s a cathartic marriage of creative mechanics that is mostly satisfying.

The novelty of controlling two characters simultaneously is endearing and fun for sure, but the magic begins to wear a bit thin near the end game.

However, with that being said, the game is still a treat. It’s unique, whimsical, mechanically rich, heartfelt and challenging. It’s the perfect storm, and it is most certainly a worthy addition to the ever-expanding “Bayonetta” lineup.

Across

1. There are education _____ on TCC’s website for active shooter situations.

3. A head covering worn by some Muslim women.

5. The city in Massachusetts where the witch trials took place.

8. A full understanding of a situation or person.

9. Caffe ____. Name of the food service on TCC campuses.

10. Acronym meaning volunteer income tax assistance.

11. Changing from one faith to another.

14. “TCC’s WebAdvisor has officially shut down and new systems are being ____ for student workers.”

15. Name of the management group managing the new food services on the campuses.

18. The belief and worship of a God or Gods.

19. “Watkins said one of the reasons for wanting to ‘change the ______’ was to make sure employees practiced better work ethics.”

20. The most recent school shooting was in ______, Tennessee.

24. A pattern.

27. The fact of being held accountable is called…?

28. The environment surrounding research, scholarship and education.

30. An evil spirit, devil or malevolent supernatural entity.

31. Eddye Gallagher was ______ into TIPA hall of fame.

33. “2022 had 51 school _______ that resulted in injury or death, according to Education Week. In 2021, there were 35. Currently, 2023 is at 13.”

35. The last name of the Spanish-American philosopher that said “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

37. Evoking passion or liking someone or something.

38. squad Method of execution in which an individual is shot by several people.

39. A magical person known for flying around on broomsticks and using spells.

tionally, the other participants did not respond kindly.

In hindsight, if one is only looking for a reality tv show filled with drama and suspense, then this is the perfect place for that but it seems like the participants want to be appreciated, which is a universal theme most can relate to. It is why many, including myself, love the show and hope that the next eight episodes give us even more drama than the first five.

Down

2. An exciting or unexpected series of events.

4. TCC’s services on this site shut down on April 1st.

6. Dealing with or controlling things or people.

7. An online video sharing and social media platform.

12. A chance that makes it possible to do other things.

13. Assistance given to people.

16. A book of stories usually meant to be read by or to children.

17. An ABC sitcom about a witch who marries a human.

21. Last name of the executive director of procurement at TCC.

22. For Gallagher, she was _____ when she received an email a week before telling her of her induction.”

23. “The TCC Police Department works with the ______ of Safety and Emergency Management to train and prepare for situations requiring evacuation, lock down and shelter in place,”

25. In taxes, this needs to be submitted to be placed on record.

26. The modern form of the pagan religion.

28. “Pave a path through the eerie ____ Forest in search of Cereza’s mother.”

29. “We needed to _____ our tools,” TR executive director of finance and administrative services Ronnie Watkins said.

32. Lack of confidence

34. “Platinum Games announced a brand-new Bayonetta game for Nintendo Switch called ‘Bayonetta _____: Cereza and the Lost Demon.’“

36. TIPA stands for Texas Intercollegiate Press _________.

Photo courtesy Nintendo

Photo courtesy Netflix

With participants chasing venue choices and exploring two week “connections”, comes a longing for an “I do” and a wedding.

We are bystanders in America’s regression

America is headed for a swift decline and we’re all paying the price.

Trends have a penchant of repeating every twenty years. The 1990s grunge made a return in the 2010s with flannels and chokers adorning the racks and shelves in department stores.

The 2020s, however, have taken inspiration from several different decades; Farrah Fawcett’s hair from the 1980s, low rise jeans from the 2000s and even firing squads from the 1960s.

It seems that old legislation is also making a comeback — in addition to leg warmers. On March 24, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a bill that would permit execution by firing squad.

Though death by firing squad is constitutional, state courts have ruled the method as unconstitutional and only four states authorize it. Execution by firing squad has only been performed four times since the 1960s.

Many pharmaceutical companies no longer sell the drugs for lethal injection because they are used for executions.

If pharmaceutical companies no longer want to participate in the often flawed system of capital punishment, resorting to excessive force seems like a temporary and violent solution.

And yet, this is only one of the many pieces of legislature that has set our country back a decade — or six.

VIEWPOINTS

White Mississippi lawmakers have made efforts to make appointed courts in a Black-majority community, and are now being deemed as

“Jim Crow 2.0.” As in the laws that justified the segregation of Ameri -

cans a mere 60 years ago.

Fashion is used as a tool for many to express or costume themselves. What you do — or do not — wear can communicate to the world. So fear not Republican legislators,

Markus Meneses/The Collegian

you can still be a racist without a klan robe.

Some of these steps backwards don’t even require the creation of new legislature at all.

After Roe. v. Wade was over-

turned, it brought a magnifying glass to issues that we thought were already resolved. Now same-sex marriage and interracial marriage are potentially on the chopping block once again.

Here we have three issues that affect all American people in some capacity, that have been sanctioned and made into a right that has to now be debated once more.

America is regressing. And rather than focusing on issues that are actually affecting our citizens, we create problems out of thin air to solve instead of the ones right in our faces.

According to the Gun Violence, We have already surpassed 100 mass shootings in 2023, and we aren’t even a quarter of the way into the year. But instead of creating legislation to stop the preventable murders of children, legislators are more concerned about whether drag queens at libraries are damaging the youth. Luckily for them, there might not be any more youth to worry about.

No matter how many innocent people are killed, calls to representatives or how many times you revisit the names of those taken away far too soon, our efforts never are enough to elicit change.

Until we can identify the actual issues that plague Americans, we will never be able to move forward. The only thing we should be seeing from the 1950s is a poodle skirt, not the barbaric ways that they treated Americans.

The future of this country’s democracy has been turned into a farce due to the first ever criminal indictment of a former president.

With former President Donald Trump’s indictment on March 30, there is now the question of whether he will be eligible to be the nominee for the Republican candidacy, or if he will be behind bars.

If this were to happen, who would take his place? What is the current landscape of the 2024 election? There doesn’t seem to be an end to the questions about the country’s future. As for the Democrats there have only been two candidates who have declared they are running, including President Joe Biden.

It feels as if the political theater that the American people are being treated to right now is such a farce that it’s no wonder why, according to Pew Research Center, public trust in the government is at a historic low.

A former president was indicted in a case of providing hush money to an adult film actress. That’s a true sentence. That’s the foolishness that is playing out in front of our very eyes across every social media platform and every news outlet.

The man that reigned terror over America for four years but somehow felt like a decade, is now getting indicted on probably his smallest offense. It’s almost insulting to those who have had to keep up with his journey from

Letter Policy

his initial campaign to now.

It’s like if there is a five-car pileup, and the one who caused it gets brought in because they forgot to use their turn signal. Yes, it’s a problem, but can we focus on the heaps of wreckage that was left behind as well?

This is an insane time to be living in. What’s even worse is that even this indictment doesn’t look like it’s going to stop the Republican base from possibly nominating him. Trump was able to twist a being indicted on more than 30 charges of business fraud into what he called a “witch hunt.”

The worst part is that it worked. In the YouTube comments of the initial reports of Trump’s indictment, there were many people saying that they didn’t believe the jury was acting fairly. One commenter even emphasized that nowhere in the constitution does it say that having a criminal charge makes you ineligible for being the U.S. president, and isn’t that just a scary thought?

Trump’s base still believes he is worthy of being elected the president of the free world again. America is in a precarious situation and for some reason an indicted man is a candidate for presidency.

And if, by some miracle, Trump isn’t nominated as the Republican candidate, what will happen then? Many Republicans are hopeful that Republican Sen. Ron DeSantis will put his hat into the ring. Yes, DeSantis, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill supporter and the politician who is constantly at odds with “Disney” due to their “wokeness.”

If either of these candidates are elected, the future of the American people is incredibly dismal. These men don’t have what’s best for America at heart. They only believe in protecting themselves and their careers, and will do whatever it takes to keep their images as spotless as possible. Like paying hush money to an adult film actress to cover an affair.

“Now bow your heads in prayer.”

A paradigm in schools, sports games and conferences across the very nation that preaches the separation of church and state.

In the historic Christian society that we currently have, it is very normal to encounter dozens of denominational churches and places of worship, in fact according to Pew Research Center just over 70% of people are of a Christian faith.

The fact that the overwhelming majority of the U.S. is Christian is not surprising. The majority of my friends and the surrounding community are. But, what is not only surprising and hypocritical is the usage of the phrase “separation of church and state” while having prayers in sports games, national anthems and award banquets.

It seems that it’s okay as long as it’s the Bible we’re talking about.

Because let’s be honest with ourselves, if any other religious minority were to pray in public and as frequently as Christian prayers are, then hate crimes would be more rampant then they already are. However, we live in a society whose “norm” is Christian values, one religion should not have precedence over another even in social settings.

The U.S. can do better and so can the American people.

As a woman who wears a hijab, I am

constantly bombarded by people that want to “pray over me” and give me a complementary Bible. I’m not blind, I know they have an agenda in mind but why isn’t the same concept of “separation of church in state” implied in the Establishment clause acted upon in public?

The experience was and will always be one of the funniest things I had to go through as a minority but it needs to stop. Unless I explicitly ask someone about their religious beliefs, respectfully, keep it to yourself as I keep mine to me.

Having to constantly say “No, I’m okay” to people that give me Bibles was a part of being a Muslim American I did not expect to see.

The climate since religious persecution has become tremendously calmer but I would expect the same sympathy given to them to be given to me when I’m just going about my day, to be left alone. Especially as the Constitution makes an effort to be independent of a religion, maybe not try to convert me?

Despite this, I know that not everyone thinks with no consideration of people who aren’t Christian. Most people are very tolerant and don’t care about what someone wears or follows. But to the ones that feel the need to ask forgiveness for me, I promise I love Jesus as much as you do and you don’t need to prove it to me.

On another note, I am very thankful, as a college student, to have the overextended Christmas break. A month full of nothing but staying indoors and roaming the streets finding beautiful house decorations is a part of my childhood.

Considering my bias towards more free time and living in a Christian society, I think being given more time to rest during the weekends, Christmas themed lattes and drinks and cute house lights is a good start into being more inclined towards a community without the inkling to assign a religion to me.

Woman as Witch

SE English faculty discusses Salem witch trials during Women’s History Month

“I have always been interested in Wicca, paganism, witches, all of that,” Reaume said.

Perched behind a decorative book of spells, English instructor Yvonne Jocks gestured to the screen behind her and recounted the lives of those accused in the Salem witch trials.

SE English faculty members hosted an event entitled “The (Mostly) Women of the Salem Witch Trials” on Mar. 28.

Jocks organized the event with the intention of dispelling the myths about the Salem witch trials, as well as pointing out the disparities women face today. The event’s occurrence during Women’s History Month was no coincidence.

“We chose Women’s History Month,” Jocks said. “We thought if we were going to do it for fall semester, we would do it in Oct. for Halloween.”

Jocks has always had an interest in witches, citing her earliest memories of witchcraft watching episodes of “Bewitched” during childhood.

“I’ve been interested in witchy stuff since I was a child,” Jocks said. Students and teachers alike gathered to listen to the speakers. In the audience was Dawn Reaume, the daughter of speaker and assistant professor of English Erin Boggs.

Both Jocks and Boggs are descendants of key figures during the Salem witch trials. Jocks’ mother is related to the Wilkins family, who were prominent figures in the trials.

“I used Ancestry.com to follow back and see if I was connected,” Jocks said. “There were about 60 Wilkins — blood Wilkins, not just the in-laws. Considering how many of them there were in Salem village, I’m kinda relieved that not more of them got involved in the witch trials.”

Reaume acknowledged the several misconceptions of the Salem witch trials.

“A lot of people when they hear witches, they think “oh my god, they burn the witches,”” Reaume said. “Well in Salem, they did not burn the witches. While that was an idea that was kind of within it, that is actually from Europe and was most popular from the 1300s to the 1500s. So to say it happened in Salem is quite wrong. And some people attribute witch burnings and the idea of a witch to Salem, but witches — and the idea of witches — has existed for a long, long time.”

The presentation concluded with a series of statistics demonstrating the ever-present suppression of women’s voices. 80% of the accused

during the trials were women. During the presentation, Jocks discussed the distrust toward women during this time.

“They went against legal precedents during the Salem witch trials, and none of those were decisions that these girls could have made,” Jocks said.

Boggs discussed the idea of “women as witch” and its consequences in society during the presentation.

“Women who exercise outspokenness, power are still often criticized and censored in society today,” Boggs said.

As she further explains this idea, she references pictures of significant women on the screen behind her.

“Of course Yoko Ono, who destroyed the Beatles didn’t she?” Boggs chuckled.

Reaume believed that we should be having more conversations about the impact of the Salem witch trials.

“I definitely feel like more conversations should be had because it was an integral moment of history to really learn,” Reaume said. “With women’s history, it’s just really important to realize what actually happened in those days. So you can learn how to tell — just like where we are today and where we come from.”

SE student Nana Boakye listens to the presentation in the J. Ardis Bell library.

TCC faculty Yvonne Jocks, Madison Durapau and Erin Boggs gave a presentation on the Salem witch trials. They collectively gave the presentation and answered questions after the event.

Students and staff gather in the SE library to watch a presentation on the Salem witch trials presented at the SE library. The presentation was called “The (Mostly) Women of the Salem Witch Trials.”

A book of spells used as decoration during the event on March 28.

NINA BANKS campus editor nina.banks@my.tccd.edu

Photos by Joel Solis/The Collegian