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Basketball coach surpasses milestone, enables his players take flight beyond the court ➤
Eastfield College
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
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Volume 50, Issue 8
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Wednesday, February 6, 2019
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Hogg visits Brookhaven, encourages activism By JAMES HARTLEY Life & Arts Editor @ByJamesHartley
Gun control activist David Hogg said his fight for gun control has not been an easy journey. He has been called out by name, accused of being a paid crisis actor and had difficult conversations with Second Amendment advocates, he told an audience at Brookhaven College on Jan. 29. Hogg is one of the survivors of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where a lone gunman killed 17 students and employees. Following the shooting, Hogg took his experience in broadcast news classes and used it to help begin the March for Our Lives movement. The troubles for gun change come not only from the National Rifle Association, Hogg said, but also from a “racist media” institution that will not cover gun violence in minority communities the same as in white communities and politicians that “don’t care about our lives” as much as they care about being re-elected. Hogg said to fight the NRA and corporations, students should run for elected office without taking money from any special interests. “We have to go out there and run for office if we ever want to make our voice heard, if we ever want to survive the next 100 years,” Hogg said. Hogg, who said he sought out media attention following the shooting to raise awareness of gun violence, wants other young Americans to use their voices and their votes to effect change. Hogg said he does not want to take guns away from anyone who is not a domestic abuser, terrorist or a risk to themselves. But later, he said rifles are not necessary for self-defense. “If you’re shooting at someone who is several hundred feet away, you are not defending yourself,” Hogg said. “You are hunting that person.” Carson Collingwood, a business major at Brookhaven, challenged Hogg’s call for more gun laws by raising questions about social contribution to gun violence. Collingwood said that in 80 percent of illegal activity involving guns, the firearm was obtained illegally. Hogg disputed this claim, saying the statistics were falsified. The last government survey of this data was conducted in 2004. The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun
PHOTOS BY ANTHONY LAZON/THE ET CETERA
David Hogg, gun control activist and survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Florida last February, encourages the Brookhaven College community to get involved in activism, vote and run for office.
Policy and Research used this data and found that 31 percent of offenders who used a firearm in the commission of a crime could legally own a weapon. In the 13 states with the lightest gun ownership regulations at the time of the survey, 40 percent of guns used in a crime were obtained illegally, according to the study. Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, told Politifact that 60 percent of crimes involving a firearm were committed using an illegally obtained firearm in the other 37 states with stricter gun laws. Another 2004 study conducted by the U.S. Secret Service and the Education Department found that 68 percent of school shooters used guns they obtained from home or relatives’ homes. More recent statistics found that the United States was home to 37,200 firearm homicides in 2016, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. Collingwood believes that the key to curbing the number of violent crime incidents involving a gun is in fixing societal issues. She does agree that background checks are necessary but does not agree with Hogg’s hopes of banning some long rifles and certain “high capacity” magazines.
“I think just as much or more effort needs to go into the societal issues, because that’s where it stems from,” Collingwood said. “I think there’s been this been cultural shift, specifically in the last 15 to 20 years where the need for a strong familial background is just gone.” Hogg said that equally important to creating stricter gun laws is enforcing them. “Like any issue, it’s cultural,” Hogg said. “We can’t just make new gun laws and just not enforce them. We also can’t make new gun laws and solely expect people to constantly change.” Others, like mortuary science major Mickey McMillan, were inspired by Hogg’s speech. “It’s kind of hard to start something by yourself, so it’s crazy that you’ve come this far,” McMillan said. “We’re really proud of you to come this far, and with everything you’ve been through it’s really amazing that you’re standing up and saying this is not OK.” Hogg declined to take credit for the movement. “It’s not me that’s standing up, it’s us standing up,” Hogg said to applause. “Movements don’t attach themselves to sole individuals, they attach themselves to the source of evil. Martin Luther King [Jr.] talked about attacking the sources of evil
David Hogg told students at Brookhaven to stand up for what they believe in and suggests starting a March for Our Lives chapter.
and the people perpetrating it.” He suggested students at Brookhaven start a March for Our Lives chapter and emphasized the power of small groups of students fighting for what they believe in. Gabby Azzari, a Venezuelan international student at Brookhaven, asked how non-citizens can get involved in government. “We cannot vote, so what can we do to make change?” she asked Hogg. “To change the gun stuff and all the things in this country we don’t like.” Hogg again emphasized the importance of voting, telling international students to encourage their friends to vote.
“Participate in their protests,” Hogg said. “You may have to be an American citizen to vote, but you only have to be a human to care about an issue.” In addition to pushing for legislative change for guns, Hogg encouraged students to look to government to provide violence intervention in communities and at hospitals. Intervention could reduce the amount of gun violence by giving youth something to do other than get involved in criminal activity, he said. One example he used was a free recording studio that allowed young people to make music to express their feelings in a non-violent way.
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www.eastfieldnews.com
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
District narrows down on bond, master plan By DAVID SILVA and SAMUEL FARLEY Staff Writers @TheEtCetera
The DCCCD is set to hold a bond election of $1.102 billion for master plan related-projects and has been presented with details for Eastfield’s master plan. The Dallas County Community College District planned to vote on a date for the bond election at its Feb. 5 meeting, which was held after The Et Cetera’s press deadline. They hoped to confirm the election for May 4. Following the introduction of rudimentary master plan designs in April 2018, architects and advisers paired with each DCCCD college to develop specific plans. Initial plans called for $2 billion in financial needs, something the district could not afford to pay back without raising taxes above their desired 2 cents per $100 rate. As a result, the board shifted to strategic priorities for the district and its colleges, something it plans to revisit annually. About $535 million would go toward a complete redesign of El Centro College and the addition of Innovation, Administration and Business
Training Centers in downtown Dallas. About $332 million could be distributed to student-related needs, including keeping up with the increasing Early College High School program demands. The remaining money, $235 million, would be used to fund industry-aligned workforce projects that allow colleges to effectively prepare students for careers in allied health, advance manufacturing, early childhood development and more. The election allows voters to decide if the DCCCD can obtain the general obligation bonds, then the board could have the final say on how that money is used. At a Jan. 17 work session, board member Charletta Compton raised her concerns about how the bond sale could add to the district’s outstanding debt of $263.5 million. “This bond will take us to our maximum debt,” Compton said. “When do we ever say we’re completely debt free?” Despite Compton’s concerns, the district’s co-bond adviser Jeff Leuschel stated that other community colleges, such as Tarrant County College, have regretted not utilizing bonds to upgrade their campuses.
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“We have more needs than we have pocketbooks,” Leuschel said. “You can fund all of this stuff out of pocket, but that would be the least economic way to proceed.” While construction planning is underway, the district is still waiting on the bond election to provide the funding to cement the projects. At a Dec. 4 finance committee meeting, Eastfield’s master plan architect Paris Rutherford presented updated and detailed concepts, including a central plaza, housing, sports facilities, shops and an arts center. This “Gateway Concept” was also
Diocese releases decades-long list of priests accused of sexual abuse, 3 from local church The Catholic Diocese of Dallas released on Jan. 31 the names of 31 priests, including three from Good Shepherd church in Garland, with “credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors since 1950.” The list does not indicate guilt of the priests, only that the Diocese has found the allegations to be credible. The diocese named Jeremy Myers, suspended last year, Kenneth Roberts, who died last year, and Justin Lucio, who died in 2004, as the priests who were at one point assigned to Good Shepherd. The church is a 20-minute drive from Eastfield’s campus. Dallas Bishop Edward J. Burns defined credible allegation as “one that, after review of reasonably available, relevant information in consultation with the Diocesan Review Board or other professionals, there is reason to believe is true” in a letter released with the list.
The release of names is following through on a commitment made in October, according to the letter. “As we look back at the church’s history, our failure to protect our most vulnerable from abuse, and hold accountable those who preyed on them, fills me with both sorrow and shame,” Burns wrote. “Going forward, we must remain vigilant. I pledge to you that we will do our best to do what is right.” Burns wrote in his letter that the list was compiled by a group of state and federal law enforcement officers from outside the church who reviewed 2,424 priests’ files and submitted them to the Diocesan Review Board. The board then reviewed the files and released the names they found credible. None of the priests on the list are shown as still working in any ministry. The letter indicates that the
diocese has gone to great lengths to make the list exhaustive but recognizes that there could be more victims who have not reported abuse. The list included 16 dead priests, one priest who is incarcerated for unspecified crimes and one with a pending lawsuit claiming abuse of a minor. “As I look to the future, I am encouraged that an overwhelming majority of the priests in this diocese are, and have been, good and holy men, and I remain thankful for their witness,” Burns wrote. He also encourages any victims who have not come forward to report abuses to law enforcement or the Texas Abuse Hotline at 800-2525400. View the full letter and list at cathdal.org/list. More information about the investigation can be found at cathdal.org/response. — Compiled by James Hartley
presented to faculty and staff during Eastfield’s Jan. 17 convocation. “We want Eastfield to feel like an academic village,” Rutherford said. “That’s the vision for the master plan.” Rutherford showed a redesigned road system that would place the main entrance of the campus near the Motley Drive and Interstate 30 intersection, as opposed to the previously conceived entry connecting Eastfield to Interstate 30’s service road. The track that now occupies the fields across from P building would be transformed into a park with small ponds at the center.
Major construction of a new central plaza would rest where F building currently resides. Rutherford’s plans look to create a new structure in front of the Eastfield sign on the side of F building and implement a grand staircase that would allow students to travel from the street to the upper level. “We want to integrate nature into Eastfield’s environment to create a space that students are proud of,” Rutherford said. Housing will be available for lease as well. These units will be on the far side of campus next to Oates Drive. The cemetery will remain intact as the centerpiece of Eastfield’s new historic community park. The master plan will also have a newly created Harvester baseball sports complex on the school’s west side. The soccer fields that are there now will be expanded to include multiple new regional soccer fields. Specific student needs like a food pantry and bookstore would be mixed in with the commercial shops. “The ultimate goal is to formalize and make more dynamic the experience as both a student and faculty member,” Rutherford said. “When you come here, you feel proud of your campus.”
NEWS
Briefs Student IDs to be required Students will be required to visibly wear their student IDs at all times beginning April 1. Students can receive their first ID free. Replacement cards are $10. ID cards can be obtained in C-120E Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. —Aria Jones
Cattanach to run in 2020 Former Eastfield professor Joanna Cattanach is running for House District 108 for a second time. The educator and activist was narrowly defeated by Republican incumbent Morgan Meyer last November. Cattanach announced her 2020 intentions in a blog post Jan. 14, in which she wrote, “My decision to run again … is as much about finishing what we started as it is a testament to my own Texas upbringing.” District 108 represents parts of University Park,
Deep Ellum, Oak Lawn and downtown Dallas. —David Silva
Faculty elect new president History professor Liz Nichols has been elected the new president of the Faculty Association. Nichols is stepping in for former president Stacey Jurhree, who stepped down in December. Nichols has a master’s in history and government from Texas Woman’s University and has been teaching at Eastfield since 2013. Jurhree caused tension in the association after making controversial comments in an email to faculty across campus in which he related growing numbers of minority students to a “ghetto-fabulous” atmosphere. Jurhree said he stepped down following the comments to dedicate more time to his students. —James Hartley
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Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Go transfer to a brighter future. Begin a journey that will lead you to greater things at Texas Woman’s University. We work closely with you to easily transfer your credits. Learn to lead at TWU. Learn more at TWU.edu/transfer
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PUT IT ON YOUR
Calendar February Wed
6
Thu
7
STEMinar: Fusionetics, 12:30 p.m., S-100/101 Recital Series: Quincy Davis, 1 p.m., F-117 Mobile food pantry, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., outside Gbuilding Cuba study abroad information session, 7-8 p.m., G-129
Fri
8
SGA meeting 11 a.m., C-297
Mon
Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress workshop, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., C-237
Tue
Graduation workshop, 12:30-1:30 p.m., C-135
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Wed
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Blood drive, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., bus outside Sbuilding Graduation workshop, 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. C-135 Club Fundraising, 8 a.m.7 p.m., The Hive Recital Series: baritone Donnie Ray Albert, 1 p.m., F-117
Thu
14
Career coaching, 10 a.m.-noon, Pleasant Grove Club Fundraising, 8 a.m.7 p.m., The Hive
Fri
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Day of Action: Disability Justice, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., G-102
Mon
Preview Day, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Pleasant Grove
Tue
Dr. Drew Pinsky live broadcast, 6-7 p.m., S-100
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Transfer Tuesday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., The Hive
Wed
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Resume writing roundtable, 2-3:30 p.m., C-237 Et Cetera publication day
ABOUT THE COVER ANTHONY FLETCHER. PHOTO BY YESENIA ALVARADO. ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID SILVA.
www.eastfieldnews.com
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
DCCCD seeks more funding, no tax cap By DAVID SILVA Managing Editor @DavidSilvaETC
With no bathroom bill or sanctuary cities bill coming down the pipeline, Texas’ 86th legislative session is anticipated to be tamer than its predecessor. K-12 funding and property tax reform are the most highlighted items among state legislators. Despite less national attention, members of the Dallas County Community College District, including Chancellor Joe May and Vice Chancellor Justin Lonon, are in Austin lobbying, attending public hearings and serving on expert panels in an attempt to get bills passed that they believe will benefit DCCCD colleges and the communities they serve. Here’s a look at the DCCCD’s efforts at the Texas Capitol. Important bills The only thing that the state Legislature is required to do is pass a budget. This means determining how much is given to Medicaid, transportation, public education and higher education for the next two years. Despite about a 2.6 percent increase in 2017 for funds appropriated to DCCCD, the district and many community colleges in Texas have seen a gradual decrease in state funding since 2011. Eastfield history professor Matt Hinckley is following the legislative session and believes that an increase in funding for DCCCD schools is essential. “We have a lot of students with a lot of needs,” he said. “We do the best to serve them. We could serve them a lot better with more state dollars. I think that’s the biggest priority.” Another important issue for the district is challenging a property tax cap proposed by Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott has proposed a plan that would limit local governments from increasing property taxes above a 2.5 percent growth without voter approval, claiming Texans are “fed up with property taxes being raised with impunity.” This plan would reduce the ability of Dallas County, cities, school districts and the DCCCD to increase taxes for funding. Abbott’s proposal claims that a statewide increase in K-12 funding would offset school districts’ inability to increase taxes over the cap.
The 2019 Texas Legislature By the numbers
83
64
Republicans in the Texas
Democrats in the Texas
House of Representatives
20 19 7 5
House of Representatives
12
From Dallas
Representatives
Republicans in the
Democrats in the Texas State Senate
Texas State Senate
From Mesquite
Senators
Representatives
2
8
First day of the 2019 legislative session
May
27
Last day of the 2019 legislative session
$7,200 Salary per year for Texas legislators, plus per diem
Senators
SOURCES: BALLOTPEDIA, TEXAS LEGISLATURE
However, there’s no mention in his plan on how community colleges and other local government entities would make up funds without the ability to tax. DCCCD, despite being the second-cheapest tax in Dallas County at 12.4 cents per $100 of valuation, receives much of its funding from property taxes. “If we’re being responsible, we don’t think we need a cap,” said Isaac Faz, DCCCD’s chief legislative counsel of public and governmental affairs. “We think we can manage our own here.” Proposals to increase school funding while capping local tax growth were tried and failed during the 85th session and will likely meet challenges from legislators who favor local control. Other important issues for DCCCD include an increase in funding for small business development centers and reducing course transferability issues among students moving on to four-year universities. According to the Greater Texas Foundation, about $60 million is wasted each year on tuition payments for classes that ultimately don’t transfer. Lawmakers have tried to resolve this issue in the past but have found it difficult to regulate institutions that
January
operate within their own unique systems. Nonetheless, Lonon believes it’s important to dedicate efforts to fix this obstacle. “It’s something Dr. May has been passionate about,” he said. Their strategy Faz and Lonon said that DCCCD’s strategy begins with research on relevant topics and bills. Then, the team seeks to collaborate with other organizations to create coalitions around specific legislation. DCCCD often collaborates with community college organizations, community and industry groups, K-12 organizations and school districts. “So, legislators know the broad network of support behind that legislation,” Lonon said. “It isn’t just DCCCD.” During the last session, DCCCD proposed a bill that would allow the district to award bachelor’s degrees in early childhood education at one of its colleges. Eastfield was considered, but the district decided to place that program at Brookhaven College. DCCCD collaborated with organizations invested in early childhood education and higher education to get the bill passed.
JAMES HARTLEY/THE ET CETERA
Once the legislative session begins, the team facilitates one-on-one meetings with legislators. The chancellor meets with legislators and testifies at committee hearings. Faz said that their multi-pronged approach puts them in a good position to get desired results. “We always feel good,” he said. “We put the legwork before the first session starts.” Faz sends out a weekly email to employees to update them on what they’ve been up to in Austin and any major developments within the Legislature. He said he strives to make the email informative, but also provide a creative twist to engage everyone who reads it. “You have to capture an audience’s attention,” he said. “If you make it fun, maybe it won’t be so dry and bland, and maybe people will get more information out of the newsletter if they don’t know what’s happening at the capital.” In the email, Faz also provides an email and phone number for answering questions about bills, the legislative process and to connect people with legislative members, all to get employees involved in a process that may have a substantial impact on them and the students they serve.
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Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Sports The Et Cetera
Feb. 9 Feb. 13 Feb. 15 Feb. 16
Basketball vs. Mountain View Basketball vs. Richland Baseball vs. Kansas City College Baseball vs. Kansas City College
www.eastfieldnews.com
2 p.m. 7 p.m. Noon & 3 p.m. Noon & 3 p.m.
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Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Gearing up for conference play
Baseball looks to sophomores, transfers to bolster team’s roster By JAMES HARTLEY Life & Arts Editor @ByJamesHartley
PHOTOS BY YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA
Coach Michael Martin looks over pitching records from practice with some of the team’s pitchers. Throwing more strikes is one of Martin’s biggest focuses for the team going into conference play.
Infielder Nick Balley heads to third base in the first game of a doubleheader Feb. 2 against North Central Texas College. The Harvesters lost the first game 18-7 and won the second 13-3.
Harvesters freshman Jared Tipton, a transfer from North Central Texas College, dives back to first as the NCTC pitcher checks his lead in the first game of the Feb. 2 doubleheader.
Even before the 2019 Harvesters baseball season started, the competition was intense. They won three of their first four games in pre-conference play. “You’d better be working your butt off out there because we’ve got enough good players that we have options for each position,” Martin said. Despite 16 players leaving Eastfield, Martin is confident in his team. Six sophomore pitchers departed Eastfield at the end of the 2018 season. This year, the team has 15 sophomores to bolster its roster. Transfer students like right-handed pitcher Derek Potts, who came to the Harvesters from North Central Texas College, and freshman Jared Tipton, an infielder and righthanded pitcher who transferred from Louisiana State University Eunice, are expected to be key players this season. Potts said he decided to come to the Harvesters after he played against them last year. He was impressed by their performance last year when the Harvesters won with a walk-off home run. His focus this season is gelling better with his new team. “You need to know that in any given play, the person behind you has got your back and you can rely on them,” Potts said. Potts averaged 9.82 strikeouts per inning in conference play last year and was credited with three wins out of five conference games. While Martin said the team has talent, there’s still work to be done. Like last season, the Harvesters will be working on honing their pitching to stay ahead of hitters and will focus on improving defensive efforts before going into conference play. Tipton said he also wants to see the team improve is power hitting. “We hit a lot of groundballs,” Tipton said. “If we get rid of those, hit more home runs and pitch good, then we’re good.”
Those groundballs lead to a lot of easy outs, Tipton said. Sophomore catcher Trenton Dowley said his biggest focus is on improving his own hitting. “I spend a lot of time here in the cage, getting my swings down,” Dowley said. “And just relaxing and focusing at the plate.” Dowley shows up to free practice every day so he can get to work on his hitting. That gives him an extra hour to work on his swing. Martin said the goals, not only to win the championship but for improvement in specific areas, are similar year to year. “We’re always looking to throw more strikes,” he said. “We’re always trying to get ahead of hitters on the mound, trying to play better defense and that all changes from year to year, especially at the community college level because you only have these kids for two years.” He’s looking toward freshman right-hander Ryan Puyear to be an “impact guy” on the mound and is counting on sophomore right-hander Tyler Stone to come through this year. Stone pitched 59.2 innings last season with an ERA of 5.58. Last year, the Harvesters overcame a slump that left them with a .500 season in 2017. The Harvesters had a 38-14 overall record in 2018 but missed a shot at a national championship run in the District C tournament with back-toback losses against Brookhaven and Richland. Martin said it’s important not to underestimate other teams in the Dallas Athletic Conference. “Our conference is always tough,” he said. “There are two or three teams at the top usually battling it out: us or Brookhaven or North Lake or Richland. They’re all tough. It’s a tough baseball conference, so we don’t really concern ourselves a whole lot with what these other teams are doing. We know if we go out and play like we’re capable of playing, all of that is going to take care of itself.” For a roster and schedule, go to eastfieldcollege.edu/slifeefc/athletics/baseball.
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Wednesday, February 6, 2019
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The Et Cetera
isn’t everything Fletcher’s goal is for the team to win at life By ARIA JONES Editor in Chief @AriaJonesETC
In the summer of 1998, 21-year-old Anthony Fletcher knew he was going to get cut from his college basketball team. Angelo State University had hired a new head coach, Joe Esposito, to rebuild a program that hadn’t won many games. Esposito met with each of the players. Many came out of his office crying after being told they wouldn’t be on the team anymore. Fletcher knew his fate before entering Esposito’s office. He would be entering his senior year without playing basketball. He couldn’t do that. He’d have to transfer to stay involved with college basketball. “Can I work for you?” he said to Esposito, insistent about remaining with the program. “Can I be a manager? I’ll wash uniforms.” Esposito wasn’t sure about it at first, but Fletcher wasn’t ready to give up. He spoke with the assistant coach and Esposito accepted. Fletcher worked for free as a student manager his senior year and was hired as a graduate assistant coach the next. He worked 60-80 hours a week, sweeping the floor, helping with practice, speaking to recruits, recording the games, doing laundry and whatever else was asked of him as long as he could be part of the team. He also taught a physical education class. He made only $8,000 a year. And he loved it. “I knew that I wanted to use the game of basketball
to be able to provide for my family one day, and I knew that going in and doing everything the coach asked me to do,” he said. “Whatever they needed to help them I wanted to do, because I wanted to be them one day.” On Jan. 26, in his 20th season as a basketball coach, Fletcher earned his 300th career win. The Harvesters defeated the Cedar Valley Suns in a 112-76 blowout. The team won by 36 points, but in the beginning, Fletcher didn’t know how the game would play out. The Harvesters had suffered two consecutive losses in away games, one against Mountain View College and the other against Richland College. Then, a day before the game, team captain and starter Scott Garriga had a minor ankle sprain that took him out of the game. The Harvesters came onto their home court with a crowd. Players from the volleyball team, students, employees and high school students cheered for the team from the stands. The Harvesters pulled ahead early, and with less than five minutes left in the first half, the team had an 18-point lead. Fletcher yells a sophomore’s name across the court. “Haywood!” The player didn’t go into the free throw line; he knows one of his teammates can get the rebound. Fletcher sends another Har-
vester in to get him off the court. “He has got to stop,” Fletcher says. As Fletcher walks toward him, he begins to stand. “Sit down,” he says to the player. Haywood tries to explain himself. “No. Let me talk to you.” Fletcher walks the player away from the bench and sets his focus on the conversation. Haywood getting the rebound is a non-negotiable for Fletcher. Scholarships are the most important thing to Fletcher, and good stats help his players have a better chance of recruitment. Haywood is “big and strong,” and because of that, Fletcher knows the best chance of him getting scholarships is having as many rebounds and double doubles as possible. This means being in the free throw line to get rebounds. “At the end of the day, I have to promote,” he said. “I’ve got to have them being marketable because I bust my butt to get them scholarships to the next level. If every rebound is important, he may not have that big picture, but I do.” After games, Fletcher posts his players’ stats on social media for four-year coaches to see. When the team plays well, he knows he has more material for the highlight video he will make at the end of the season. He keeps a detailed list of how many of his students have gone on to four-year colleges, what degrees they earned and their athletic and
Clockwise from left, forwards Demauria Hay Anthony Fletcher to celebrate his career mile out against Cedar Valley. Associate STEM De
academic accomplishments. So far, 121 players have moved on to the next level, securing more than $2 million in scholarships, and 108 have earned degrees. Four have been awarded master’s degrees. Kevin Harvey was a shooting guard for the Harvesters from 2009 to 2011. Harvey transferred to the University of Saint Mary and returned to coach and earn his master’s there in 2017. Now he is an assistant coach for their women’s basketball team and expects to earn his degree in May. “[Fletcher] set a good example for me because of how he ran a program and how to help kids,”
Harvey said. “ the kids instea es.” Harvey said much Fletcher get a degree an He remember his highlight t knew and coac “He was j lessly for not teammates as w To Fletche achievement i his players. He about how hi can help him m year colleges. “I’m happy
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The Et Cetera
coach other kids growing up. “You go there! You go here!” he would holler at the other kids. He first visited Eastfield in 1987 as a seventh grader for a summer basketball camp hosted by former Dallas Maverick Rolando Blackman. Coach Robert Flickner, the former athletic director and head basketball coach, remembers Fletcher from back then. “He was just a delightful little kid at that time,” he said. Fletcher played on the junior varsity team at Poteet High School. His sophomore year, his future with basketball became uncertain when he was injured during Christmas break. While playing a game of pickup ball, his friend went for a dunk and Fletcher tried to block him. When they collided, the force was so great it knocked his shoulder clean out of the socket. The dislocation took him off the court for the rest of the school year.
PHOTOS BY YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA
ywood and Scott Garriga dump water on coach estone. Haywood dunks during the 112-76 blowean Amy Vance and Fletcher celebrate on Jan. 26.
“It’s doing more for ad of wins and loss-
d he remembers how r wanted players to nd better their lives. rs Fletcher sending tapes to coaches he ches he didn’t know. just working endt only me but my well,” he said. er, the 300 wins isn’t for him. It’s for e is already thinking is career milestone market them to four-
y for them,” he said.
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“At the end of the day, it’s all for them.” Courtney Fletcher, his wife, said that many of his players get scholarships to multiple colleges, but he does research on the colleges and their coaches to find the best fit for his players. “That’s his passion, to get these boys not just winning at Eastfield, but really winning at life,” she said. “Get them on to a four-year school where they’re going to be successful.” The road to coaching Fletcher has had a lifelong love of basketball. He grew up with a basketball net in his backyard in Mesquite. He remembers trying to
As a junior, he didn’t make varsity. Despite his disappointment, he kept playing anyway. “Most guys look at it as, ‘JV as a junior? No way, man. That’s embarrassing,’” he said. “I didn’t care. I just wanted to play basketball.” After he graduated, he ended up at Angelo State University, but after not playing his senior year, he wasn’t a part of their basketball team. As a college sophomore, he saw a player practicing in the gym and wasn’t impressed. He thought to himself, “If he can play, I can play.” Fletcher had been off the court for two years, but from that moment forward, he did whatever was needed to become a part of the basketball program. He signed up for classes he didn’t need to take, like bowling, to make sure the coaches remembered his name and face, and eventually he earned his spot on the team as a walk-on. He played for the team until Esposito was hired. As an assistant coach, he would often drive four hours across Texas to watch a game and four hours back to the college, working 12 hours before he even sat down to do paperwork. But he was learning, preparing for a time when he would get to lead his own program. After games, he and the other assistant coaches would head to
Esposito’s house. With a big bucket of Popeye’s chicken in tow, they would sit on the blue, pinstripe couch in his living room and pop in the VHS tape of that night’s game. After each play, Esposito would stop and rewind the tape, over and over again to break down each play. He wasn’t going to stop until every play was reviewed, even if it meant staying up until 3 a.m. When Esposito left the room, one of the coaches would fast forward the tape by 10 minutes or so, hoping he wouldn’t notice, but he always did. This helped Fletcher understand good and bad plays
Wednesday, February 6, 2019 and taught him the work ethic he has today. “There’s no excuses. There are no sick days,” Fletcher said. “You’ve got to get it done. That’s just part of being a coach.” Two years after being cut, Fletcher, under Esposito’s leadership, would help take the team to a Lonestar Conference Championship win with a record of 11-1. Education and family While the Harvesters were earning Fletcher his 300th win, his mother, Olga Fletcher, watched from behind the bench. The team had returned to the court after halftime. In the first five minutes, the team extended their lead to 30. “Rebound! Come on! Rebound!” she yells at the team. Fletcher is following the game closely. He throws his hands in the air and yells before he crosses his arms and paces away from the team. Olga chuckles. He reminds her of what she would have done when she played recreational basketball as a kid. She has always loved the game. “From an educational
standpoint, he has a vested interest in seeing all his students do the best they can,” she said. In Fletcher’s family, education has always been viewed as the key to success. “It’s something that I’ve always believed in,” she said. “You have to have education to be able to take care of yourself.” Olga Fletcher grew up in public housing in Louisville, Kentucky, and left her parent’s home when she was 18 to pursue her degree at Kentucky State University and earn her bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in biology and her master’s in public affairs. Her first semester of graduate school she had Fletcher. When she earned her master’s degree a year later, she saw more opportunity for work in Dallas. Olga started her professional career in the healthcare industry, one she has now had for 40 years. Fletcher was 3 years old when they moved, and she always reminded him that she got her degree. When he acted like he was the smartest person in the room, she would say, “Well, I got my degree.” He hoped one day he would be able to say that back to her. Fletcher saw this as a challenge, he knew from a young age that he was going to get his degree. “I knew that he was motivated, and it was something he would do,” she said. “He was always the See Coach, page 10 ➤
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Coach helps students shoot for future goals Continued from page 9 quiet child. He was always responsible. He took care of what he was going to do. I had no doubts he would get that degree.” He got his master’s degree in science, kinesiology and exercise science from Angelo State in 2001. Fletcher met Courtney when she was playing basketball on scholarship at Collin College in 2003. But Courtney, being young, from a small town, and the first in her family to earn a degree would eventually burn out and drop out of college. “I wasn’t quite ready that first go around,” she said. Courtney began driving from Arlington to Waco, where Fletcher worked at McLennan Community College, to see him every week. They would eventually get married and start a family, but Courtney still didn’t have her degree. That’s when she started taking weekend and night classes at Eastfield to show their family the importance of having an education. Fletcher would work all day and go home to watch the kids so she could go to school. “I think I just wanted to be better for him,” she said. “Because that’s what he does for a living, he just makes people better. You just want to be better.” Courtney was pregnant with their third child when she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in education, becoming the first in her family to earn a degree. She later earned her master’s degree in teacher leadership and now teaches third grade at Range Elementary School, a five-minute drive from Eastfield College. “He was just there pushing me and helping me along the way,” she said. “He has been one of the greatest motivators that I could have to follow through and finish it.” The team Beyond wins, beyond statistics, even beyond championships, Fletcher is known to his players as someone who will listen to their day-to-day issues. Fletcher knows that some of the challenges his players face come from outside the realm of basketball. He wants to get to the bottom of what’s bothering them. “You know when people act differently,” he said. “If they’re hurting or sad, you can tell there’s something going on with them.”
PHOTOS BY YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA
Clockwise from top: Harvesters head coach Anthony Fletcher talks to his team during a break in play during a Jan. 23 game. Fletcher watches the Harvesters play from the sidelines. Fletcher tries to motivate the team during their game Jan. 23 against Richland College. They lost the game 82-74.
Freshman Desmond Edwards said he feels like he can tell Fletcher anything. “The first thing he’d want us to do is to talk to him,” he said. “He’s very open-minded, so he would tell us to
talk to him to see what’s on our mind and why we’re acting the way that we are. Then, after that, if he feels like he needs to take disciplinary action, he will.” Josh Shockley played from 2012-
2014 as a shooting guard. “That was the awesome thing about coach Fletcher, that he always made it a point to be available to all of his players,” he said. “If you ever needed anything, if you needed to
talk he always had an open door to his office. You could always stop in to talk with him.” Shockley got a scholarship and signed to Our Lady of the Lake University. But while he was at Eastfield, he was also interning for a church. His pastor called and said he was looking for a student pastor. Shockley turned down the scholarship. When he called Fletcher with the decision he made, Fletcher was encouraging. “He always knew that faith was a big part of my life,” he said. “When he found out that I was going to take the job as a pastor he was really excited and supportive of it.” Shockley is now a location pastor of Fellowship Church in Fort Worth. “What I love about Fletcher is that he texts me,” he said. “He’ll text occasionally about different things, but he always makes it a point to text with every holiday. He does a great job of keeping tabs on all of his former players as well.” Shockley says if it weren’t for Fletcher keeping a relationship with his former players, he wouldn’t have ended up at Eastfield. It was a former player that played a pickup game with him at the gym and gave him Fletcher’s number while he was in high school. Courtney says Fletcher loves building long-lasting relationships with the players. He often receives calls from players years after they’ve left the team. They call to ask him questions, see how he’s doing or tell him about their new jobs and families. Fletcher says when he talks about being a family, some of the guys don’t always take him seriously. “Seriously, we are,” he said. “I’ve got guys that sometimes say, ‘Coach, I’m in a bad situation, can you loan me so and so?’ At the end of the day, we’re a family so I do what I can when I can. I’m not saying I always do but I want to be realistic about that and being a part of a family, understanding that. It’s really big for me.” Fletcher says he wants to attribute each one of his 300 wins to a player or coach who helped him win the game. “He’s just so passionate about family,” Courtney said. “He’s passionate about kids at school. It goes way beyond basketball. That’s just a fun thing that he gets to do. He really does try to make those young boys turn into men.”
Life &Arts The Et Cetera
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Artist work questions true nature of borders By ANDREW WALTER Copy Editor @AndyWalterETC
PHOTOS BY YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA
Clockwise from left, head cook Efren Cohuo has been working at the classic burger joint for six years. For 41 years, Mesquite resident Cheryle Terry has gone to the inexpensive burger joint with her family every Saturday. Terry’s order hasn’t changed: a hamburger, fries, onion rings, a root beer and a corn dog to share with Shanae Terry, one of her children.
Dairy-Ette offers cheap eats By MACKS PREWITT Staff Writer @TheEtCetera
There are few things in life more precious than a great burger, and you are more likely to spot a unicorn than get a bite for less than $6. But at the Dairy-Ette in Dallas, all it takes is a four-minute drive from campus and $4 to sink your teeth into the best bite for your buck. Driving by the Dairy-Ette you would probably think it was abandoned, or you may miss it entirely. The outside is underwhelming, with nothing showy to invite you inside. It’s all old brick and chipped paint. Its signs are faded, and the parking lot is rough asphalt that has not been repaired in years. However, when you walk in, there’s some kind of magic there. The old-style dining booths look like they have been preserved from some movie made in the ‘50s. The counter, with its swivel stools, bring to mind a clean Waffle House. The
gumball machines in the corner and the decorative Coca-Cola clock make the Dairy-Ette feel like your long-lost home. Unfortunately, aesthetics can’t feed me, so how good is the food? Their burgers are unphotogenic and, exactly like the exterior of the restaurant, kind of bland and bordering on sketchy. They sort of look like something you can make at home and maybe make the one at home look better. But the second you take a bite, you realize it’s worth so much more than the four bucks you dished out and you couldn’t do it this well in your own kitchen. The burger is simple, yet delicious. Its simplicity is paired with careful consideration. Everything is done right and it all works together to taste great. What makes it even better is when you wash it all down with a frosted mug of root beer, or even better, when you wash it down with their amazing homemade root beer floats. The Dairy-Ette was established in
1956 and since then has been a staple to the local community. “I started working here when I was at least 13 in 1994, my grandfather wanted something a little bit more stable and him and my uncle Rudy started this,” Bob Prikryl, owner of Dairy-Ette, said. Not only has it served as a family diner, like with Prikryl, it has also been the first job of many of the high schoolers of Bishop Lynch. Most everyone is on the hunt for the cutest little restaurant with an Instagram-ready meal, and little restaurants are popping up daily to provide that at an extravagant price. But, right here in the neighborhood, the Dairy-Ette is doing what it’s always done: prove that great food can cost less, come out of seemingly hidden places and be more authentic and better for it. I don’t know about you, but when money is tight, and finals roll around, I’ll be at the Dairy-Ette with a burger and root beer float for less than $10 eating away my stress.
Using mundane objects such as traffic cones and highway barriers, Tesa Morin presents unique perspectives on everyday boundaries in the new gallery, “Borderlands.” “Borderlands” opened to the public Jan. 24 with a brief lecture about Morin’s work. “Borderlands” will be on display until Feb. 22 in F-219C. Gallery manager Iris Bechtol said she chose to feature Morin’s latest work because she likes how Morin makes her audience think about all kinds of barriers and borders. “In our current sociopolitical climate, our awareness has been heightened,” Bechtol said. “We’re kind of hyperaware of things around us, of things being said, things that we see and they affect us in different ways than before.” President Donald Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border had a big influence on the creation of “Borderlands,” said Morin at the gallery opening. She wanted her viewers to think about the theme as not only national border walls but also simple boundaries like barbed wire or emotional boundaries that people put up. During her lecture, Morin explained that she was inspired to create “Borderlands” because of her experience as a legal assistant dealing with eminent domain and land use in Texas. Many of the pieces in “Borderlands” are named after Texas locations, such as “Plano,” “Gulf of Mexico” and “McKinney.” Morin said that while “Borderlands” only features paintings of land and water, she is fascinated by the human component her work presents. “I like for the viewer to be the person in the scene and for it to not be so literal,” she said. “That feeling you get when you’re the subject, it’s about the viewer being cut off from that part of the land or ocean.” At the back of the gallery are several dozen photographs that inspired the paintings of “Borderlands.” Whether the paintings were made
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Artist Tesa Morin shows her iPad design app to arts major Erin Barker during the gallery lecture Jan. 24. “Borderlands” will be on display until Feb. 22 in F-219C.
from direct or indirect inspiration of the photographs, Morin was quick to point out quirky details and inside jokes within each photo. Social work major Bonnie Gibson said she’s never been interested in art, doesn’t understand art and didn’t enjoy viewing the gallery, but she still enjoyed learning about Morin’s perception of boundaries. Gibson cited “Plano” and “Padre” as her favorite works of “Borderlands.” “I think it helped me get a feel of how to entreat people,” Gibson said. Art major Michael Camp came to the gallery opening with some classmates. He said the piece “Plano” was his favorite because of the contrasting colors of gray and sky blue. “I’m going through these very hard times right now and just seeing that abstract representation of emotion, something about that just really got to me,” he said. “I just think it’s beautiful.” Morin’s work with painting and photography can be viewed on her Instagram profile, @tesamorin.
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1999: a radical retrospective The 1990s were either the greatest or worst decade of all time. Culturally, ‘99 was in a weird spot. Pretty far removed from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s but not yet exposed to the glory of early 2000s culture. Imagine a world where Smash Mouth’s magnum opus, “All Star” exists but isn’t paired with the cinematic masterpiece that is
“Shrek.” That’s what ‘99 is. The following specimen is basically what I assume I would look like in ‘99 had I been born like 20 years earlier than I was. Thankfully, I never actually had to go through this. — Compiled by Alexis Rodriguez
Bleached blond bombshell please be kind, rewind Some of the most iconic films of the ‘90s came out in ‘99. Among “Fight Club,” “The Matrix” and “Toy Story 2,” ‘99 also served up some hot garbage like “Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.” VHS was also somehow still a viable option for viewing film.
Having bleached blond hair in the ‘90s, according to anonymous sources, was actually pretty normal. However, going the full nine yards and spiking it was truly horrific, which makes it a perfect choice for me. The spiked blond hair was a nod at a more punk look, but everyone really just looked like a bad Guy Fieri impressionist.
ding, ding, dings Get n or get out In ‘99, there were few options for game consoles. You could’ve been a rational human being and play the Nintendo 64. I mean come on, “Super Smash Bros.” and “Mario Party” came out. The N64 controller really serves as half controller and half weapon because you can beat the crap out of your brother after you lose.
Hey now, you’re an all star 1999 was in a weird place musically. Stuck in between the early ‘90s grunge and early 2000s garage rock revival, what did ‘99 have for us? Nu metal. The general public decided they wanted to hear this dude named Fred drop the worst bars since Vanilla Ice.
Illustrations by Aldahir Segovia
In the ‘90s, cool and wrestling were interchangeable. While in 2019 watching oiled up meat towers in a slightly homoerotic competition is not the craze, in ‘99 everyone was watching these staged, overly dramatic fighting events.
one step closer to the edge
A weird part of the late ‘90s was the wider adoption of the straight edge lifestyle that popped up in the late ‘80s as a sort of counterculture to the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. I’m sure I would’ve absolutely joined in on this until I realized that, yeah, it’s way more fun to be in a mosh pit while being not totally sober.
still better than jorts There’s not much to say about baggy jeans other than the fact that they are truly the worst thing to come out of the ‘90s, and I’m including nu metal in that.
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Awkward Avocado By Abednego Leal
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Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Celebrating Heritage
Madpuffy Comic By Jesus Madrid WILLIE R. COLE/THE ET CETERA
Sociology professor Jamal Rasheed, kicks off Black History Month in 2018. Black History Month 2019 Events
Speaker: Anga Sanders, one of SMU’s first black students: Feb. 7, 11 a.m. to noon, S-100 Panel: Sexual Assault and the Black Community Feb. 12, 11 a.m. to 12:20 p.m, C-135 Fun Friday: Culture Through the Decades Feb. 15, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m, the Hive Dialogues on Diversity: Black-Jew Dialogues Feb. 21, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m, S-100 Read-in Feb. 26, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m, TBA
Eastfield to host community college theater competition The Texas Community College Speech & Theatre Association’s 2018-2019 State Play Festival will be hosted by Eastfield College for the first time Feb. 20-23. Anticipated participating colleges include Blinn College-Brenham, Eastfield College, Houston Community College, Howard College, Lamar State College-Port Arthur, Lee College, Lone Star College-Kingwood, Panola College and Wharton County Junior College. For more information regarding the festival, contact play festival liaison Dusty Reasons Thomas at DReasons@dcccd.edu. —Compiled by Andrew Walter
ET CETERA FILE PHOTO
The Harvester Theatre Company performed “And Then They Came for Me” for its fall 2018 production. YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA
The Harvester Theatre Company performs “Northside Hallow” in November 2017. The play was inspired by the 2017 common book, “Deep Down Dark.”
YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA
Left, Karen Fanka as Evie Malone, the female lead, rehearsing a scene for “In Love and Warcraft” with Quynesha Pierce and Vashti Moffett. The play will be performed at TCCSTA.
opinion
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Eastfield has empowered me to succeed in spite of my disabilities, struggles
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Eastfield College 3737 Motley Drive Mesquite, TX 75150 Phone: 972-860-7130 Email: etc4640@dcccd.edu Editor in Chief Aria Jones Managing Editor David Silva Visual Arts Editor Yesenia Alvarado Copy Editor Andrew Walter Life & Arts Editor James Hartley Graphic Design Editor Mateo Corey Web Editor Anthony Lazon Senior Graphic Designer Manuel Guapo Staff Writers Macks Prewitt Alexis Rodriguez Samuel Farley
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Reporter Adolfo Olguin Contributor Skye Seipp Graphic Artists Abednego Leal Daisy Araujo Jesus Madrid Editorial Assistant Marie Garcia
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Student Media Manager Sarah Sheldon Publication Adviser Elizabeth Langton Faculty Adviser Lori Dann The views expressed on the opinion pages and other opinion pieces and cartoons in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of The Et Cetera, Eastfield College or the Dallas County Community College District. The Et Cetera is published every two weeks—except December, January and summer months—by a student staff. Each member of the college community is entitled to one free copy of The Et Cetera. First Amendment Right Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Letters to the Editor Letters must be typed, signed and include a phone number. Letters will be edited for profanity and vulgarity, Associated Press style, grammar, libel and space when needed. The content will remain that of the author. Letters considered for publication must be 250 words or fewer. Letters may be delivered to Room N-240 or sent to etc4640@dcccd. edu.
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
OUR VIEW
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Eastfield should bring food trucks to campus Eastfield has doubled down on becoming the Subway conglomerate we all want it to be. On Jan. 22, Mama DeLuca’s Pizza opened next to the Subway in the Hive. Students thundered with applause as there was finally somewhere besides Subway to eat on campus. Granted, both Subway and Mama DeLuca’s Pizza are owned by the same company. So if you think about it, are you really going to a different place to eat? I guess we’ll take what we can get, even if the Mama DeLuca employees are rocking their Subway gear while making our pizzas. In all seriousness (yes, this is where we get serious now), with Eastfield’s master plan pushing along the process, it’s very clear that the college and the Dallas County Community College District have no issue with giving students more food options. We commend the collge for improvements that have been made. Mama Deluca’s does give students more options. And they did knock down that one wall (you know the one, Mike Walker). But we can still take steps to further improve. Why wait until massive construction of a commercial plaza to give students this chance? Food trucks are always an option.
Why wait 10 years to promote student sticky spaces? The VIBee lounge’s VHS-playing TV was a huge hit and still hasn’t returned (The Et Cetera staff will gladly donate $10 so we can buy two of them). Speaking of sticky spaces, have you heard about the new coffee shop possibly opening at the intersection of the G, L and F buildings? While the specific vendor is still up in the air, the coffee shop would take over some space in the library and likely open in the fall 2019 semester. The library’s rule of not allowing food changed several years ago to encourage more students to visit. The strategy has paid off so well that a phase two of some kind of crazy, libraryfocused master plan is being pulled off. Once again, Eastfield knows that if you want students to attend an event or visit some area on campus, just have food present. And if administration desperately wants the Subway empire to expand as much as we think they do, it would only make sense for the mystery coffee shop to be a Seattle’s Best Coffee. Why? Because Seattle’s Best Coffee has partnered with Subway locations since 2009.
As I am getting ready for another Daisy day of school, I start Araujo getting anxious @TheEtCetera thinking about my new classmates and new teacher. With my anxiety, I still remember to take my medicine, fix myself breakfast, get all the things that I need for that day and then I am ready for school. For me getting ready and getting through the day is different from other students. Although my chronic conditions (epilepsy, Turner syndrome and social anxiety) don’t hold me back on most days, on the days when it does, I feel insecure and exhausted. I struggled when I first started at Eastfield. My GPA fell below a 2.0 and I could no longer get help from FAFSA. Four classes were too much for me to take at that time, and sometimes the work was too hard. My grades were affected because of not turning in work on deadline. One of the hardest parts is that these conditions can’t be seen from the outside. Unless I tell someone that I have a condition, most people wouldn’t know. Being a shyer person than other students often prevents me from asking for help. Except for my Turner syndrome, which affects my height, no one would know there is something wrong with me. But the truth is I have to take medicine every day. My epilepsy has affected me the most. After my first seizures I started having more and more headaches. Thankfully the medicine I take controls my seizures. Even though there are days that I think college might not be for me and that I should quit, it takes only a few minutes to remember how it has helped me. I feel that college has helped me find what I really want to do, which is a big deal for me. It has also helped my social anxiety by just putting me around new people every day and being able to socialize. By joining different clubs, I saw what I was interested in. At Eastfield, clubs and organizations I have joined that I feel have helped me throughout my college years are The Et Cetera and the Digital Media Club. There are plenty of services and resources in college available to students. Counseling is one of the services that helped me when I felt more frustrated than usual. There were times that I needed more time for tests; Disability Services were able to help me through that. When I wasn’t able to attend Eastfield, I attended Richland’s Garland campus and earned my administrative office certificate. There are many reasons why I keep going to college, but the main reason is to get a digital media certificate and make my family proud. I know going to college will help me later in the future just like it’s helping right now in the present. Asking for help can sometimes be difficult, but no one has ever gotten far on their own. Everyone has their abilities and disabilities. Like Martina Navratilova once said, “Disability is a matter of perception. If you can do just one thing well, you’re needed by someone.” — Daisy Araujo is a digital media major and an Et Cetera graphics artist
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Trump’s wall demand demonstrates totalitarianism The proposed border wall and immigration policies of President Donald Trump are about as un-American as taxation without representation. Since the 2016 election we have heard him tout that a wall must be built along the southern U.S.-Mexico border. Trump’s demand for a wall has now kept the government shut down for more than a month, while his immigration policies are keeping thousands of families seeking asylum out of the country. According to Pew Research, roughly 467,000 apprehensions were made at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2018. Of that total, 163,000 of the apprehensions were families. While family apprehensions only made up a third of the total number, the months of September through December saw a sharp increase in the number of families being apprehended, December 2018 now holds the record for family member apprehensions since 2012 at 27,000. Of the 27,000 families apprehended in December, 95 percent of them hail from the Northern Triangle of Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras). All three of these countries had some of the highest murder rates in the world in 2016. El Salvador was the highest worldwide, with a rate of 82.8 homi-
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cides per 10,000 people. Honduras was second in the world with a rate of 56.5 and Guatemala was 10th at 27.3. While extremely high rates of homicide could be enough to drive people out of their homes, many of the countries in the Northern Triangle are also plagued with high numbers of people living under $2 a day (international poverty line is $1.90). Out of all of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Honduras has the second highest percent of people living below the poverty line, at 16 percent of the population. Guatemala is fourth in the region with 9 percent and in El Salvador 2 percent of people live on less than $2 a day. 2018 also saw a decrease in the number of unaccompanied child apprehensions (54,000 in total). With less unaccompanied children coming to the border and an increase in families, it could be theorized that many of the migrants are simply families fleeing terrible living conditions and seeking better opportuni-
ties for themselves and their kids. Imagine you’re an immigrant from Europe coming to America in the late 19th-early 20th century. After the long, grueling trip overseas you finally arrive at your destination, America. The first thing you gaze upon as you enter the New York Harbor is the towering statue of a woman, clenching a torch in her hand. The statue symbolizes the freedom and opportunity that awaits you in the New World, and Ellis Island becomes the first time you touch American soil. America was founded and built by migrants fleeing persecution and seeking a better life. We have no right in denying the opportunity of our forefathers to anyone else. How can our country claim to be the land of liberty, as we separate children from their families? Has the Statue of Liberty become a meaningless symbol of our country, as immigrants are now met with tear gas as opposed to open arms? The wall stands in direct contrast with the ideology and morals that have shaped this country. The American populace used to view walls as a sign of totalitarianism. Take the Berlin Wall for example, which was used to separate the communist half of Berlin from the
democratic half of the city. When the Berlin Wall finally came tumbling down in 1989, the free world rejoiced. There was now hope that freedom, democracy, peace and prosperity would come to not only all of Berlin, but all of Eastern Europe. But now, members of the Republican Party can be heard chanting, “Build the wall,” claiming that a concrete or steel slat border wall will stop the flow of illegal drugs and terrorists from entering America. With the current trial of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, new information has come to light as to how drugs are smuggled in to the United States. News flash, it’s not through any part of the unprotected border. All drugs entering this country are making their way through by boats, trains, tractor trailers or cars through legal ports of entry. What good is a wall if they are not even using that part of the border for smuggling drugs? While it is apparent that a wall would offer little to no help in the efforts to keep illegal drugs out of America, what about the threat of foreign terrorists leaking into America through our borders? According to bipartisan think tank New America, which has the records of all 455 individuals who
Make your new year great by being mindful New classes, familiar stresses, late nights, family obligations, long hours spent at work — it all gets a little crazy, doesn’t it? We always have so much on our plates that most days we don’t even get to admire the fine china we’re dining out on. Our appetite for life is snuffed, and it feels like every dish we have is moving too fast to be enjoyed. Too many days we forget to stop long enough to relish in the journey that we’re on. How would our lives be different if we learned to admire the little things? Instead of making big resolutions that we won’t keep anyway, why not try something smaller but more effective? This is where mindfulness comes in, and why it should be on your New Year’s resolution list. When you hear the term mindfulness, you probably think about monks levitating in high temples on distant peaks.
Kaitlyn Moore @TheEtCetera
Or maybe you think of a limber yoga instructor who’s intently focused on perfecting her tree pose. But the truth is, mindfulness is not exclusive to people based on occupation, location, religion or anything else. You don’t have to be a master in martial arts or an old samurai to practice it in your life. If you are one of those things, please contact me because I have questions. If you’re not, then you should keep reading. Mindfulness is about being aware of the world around you in the present moment. It’s not about tomorrow or yesterday, but this exact second, as your eyes travel along this paper and your mind-sponge absorbs these eloquent words.
It’s about learning to enjoy the exact second that you’re in and finding beauty in the smallest things. We often take for granted the people and places around us, too absorbed in our thoughts to give them the attention we deserve.Think about someone you care about. If they disappeared at this moment, what would be the last thing you said to them? Would it truly articulate how much they meant to you? Probably not. Being mindful in the tiny moments throughout our day can help us reach our big goals or mighty New Year’s resolutions. Instead of saying, “I will no longer eat sugar, ever!” we can be realistic and say, “Whenever I have sugar, I will truly taste and enjoy it. I’ll be mindful of what I am putting into my body.” Practice mindfulness this year and make it a priority. Let people remember more about
you than a phone in your hand or the top of your head. Take the small moments and enjoy them for what they are. Walk to class without headphones in, just listening to the birds and being thankful for the air in your lungs. Hug your friends closer, pay attention more, tell people how you feel, blast your music and do all the things that others consider a small moment. Don’t miss these moments, because in the end that is what makes up our lives. Kent Nerburn says it best: “We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware — beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.” So, go into 2019, live in these moments, and enjoy every second of it. — Kaitlyn Moore is a political science major and contributor
have been found guilty of jihadist terrorism against America since September 12, 2001, of the 455 convicted, 84 percent of them are either U.S. citizens or legal residents. The current terrorist threat against America is not coming from the southern border. The real threat is from within our own country. Building a barrier will offer little to no aid in the war on terrorism. A wall will do nothing but offer a false sense of security. It will not help ensure America remains a free country; it will only promote the oppression of thousands of families struggling to find a better life. Instead of closing our doors, we should be opening a new Ellis Island along the southern border, where immigrants can easily be checked, and become citizens of America. Over the past century America has gone through drastic changes regarding who is allowed the right to vote, work, hold public office and get married. We cannot begin to backpedal now. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence and should not be refused to the masses that desperately seek it. — Skye Seipp is an undecided major and contributor
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WRAP-UP
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
The spring semester kicked off with two weeks full of campus events. Welcome Week started the spring 2019 semester with doughnuts, transfer resources, a Fun Friday and more. The week also included the opening of the “Borderlands” art gallery, and the North Texas Food Bank was on campus giving away produce. From minute-to-win-it games to “What’s the Tea with Tealer,” where students and employees had the chance to meet the new Eastfield president, there was no shortage of activities for students. Clubs set up in the Hive Jan. 24 and universities visited to recruit transfer students Jan. 22. The Harvesters also kicked off their baseball season, and Anthony Fletcher won his 300th game as a basketball coach. —Compiled by James Hartley
www.eastfieldnews.com
The Et Cetera
YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA
Nursing major Maurilia Vargas, 18, slings a rubber band to target a roll of toilet paper. Students played a variety of games at the Minute to Win It event in the Hive on Jan. 25.
YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA
Early college high school student and architecture major Juan Miranda unwraps a saran wrap ball. The game was at one of the stations at the Minute to Win It event Jan. 25.
YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA
Eddie Tealer, Eastfield’s new president, mingles with students Jan. 31 ahead of “Tea with Tealer,” a Q&A where students got to meet and learn about the college’s new leader.
ANTHONY LAZON/THE ET CETERA
Theater instructor Dusty Reasons Thomas recruits for the Harvester Theatre Company during the Involvement Fair Jan. 24.