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.” call for service.”

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

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.”