Eastfield Et Cetera April 3, 2019

Literary and Fine Arts Festival returns to campus See pages 8 & 9 ➤ Eastfield College

Legislature wrestles over bills to reform marijuana laws See page 5 ➤

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Volume 50, Issue 11

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Vision statement draws criticism at town hall

By ANDREW WALTER Copy Editor @AndyWalterETC

The first draft of Eastfield’s new vision statement received a mixed response from attendees at President Eddie Tealer’s Town Hall on Friday.

Tealer, and several other college administrators, held the town hall to be more open with employees regarding campus goals and initiatives.

He also wanted to get feedback about the first draft of the new vision statement.

Much of the criticism of the draft was on the specific language used.

It reads: Eastfield College will become nationally known and respected for excellence in student success, innovative leadership in creating strong community and business partnerships, and exceptional customer service.

Kim Chandler, dean of planning, research and institutional effectiveness, said that she didn’t like having

OBITUARY

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President Eddie Tealer and Vice President Mike Walker discuss college goals and initiatives at the town hall on March 29.

the word excellence in the vision statement because she felt that the college overused it.

Eastfield’s mission statement is “to provide excellence in teaching and learning.” Tealer liked Chandler’s

idea and said that for the next draft, he would like to add language in the vision statement that would add measurable goals for student success, such as by improving enrollment by 5 percent.

“Excellence in student success would not only be a nice term that we could all remember and relate to, it would have distinct meaning that we would be measuring,” he said.

Another excerpt that Tealer said could be a measurable goal was “exceptional customer service.” He said that if the college really had exceptional customer service, that means Eastfield employees would be taking pride in who they are and what they were doing.

English professor Andrew Tolle and other attendees were concerned that the wording used would promote the idea that students would be seen as customers.

“If I go to the store and I buy something, it’s mine,” Tolle said. “But students are buying a spot in the

classroom and they still have to earn and work and, you know, they’re not buying the credit.”

Timothy McDuffie, director of transfer and completion, thought the customer service line was needed because, in a sense, students are consumers paying for a product.

“The reality is that not all of our customers are students,” McDuffie said. “I think sometimes in higher education, because we think of students as students and not as customers, we treat them as such. The services we should be providing them do not measure up to their standards.

I think when we get into the mindset of understanding that students are consumers … there’s a level of an expectation of everyone in this room to treat them as such.”

McDuffie said that when students aren’t treated as valued customers, they aren’t telling others how great their experience at Eastfield was.

“I think it’s very critical, that piece See Faculty, page 6 ➤

Rawlins remembered for love of family, students, knowledge

By JAMES HARTLEY Life & Arts Editor @ByJamesHartley

Electronics professor Clay Rawlins, a faculty member since 1972 remembered for his care for students, love of steam trains and Bob Dylan, died March 26 of complications from throat cancer. He was 70.

Rawlins, a Naval Air Force Reserves veteran, was a genius electrician, according to his best friend and co-worker Chuck Dale.

He and his son, Rusty Dale, still teach in Eastfield’s electronics and mechatronics program.

“Clay is who made this program what it is,” Chuck Dale said. “His focus wasn’t on higher education but on impacting lives. That’s all he cared about.”

Education was one tool Rawlins used to make that impact, Chuck Dale said, but the classroom wasn’t where his interest in students stopped.

“Our philosophy was to recruit, educate and place,” Chuck Dale said.

“We didn’t just stop when they left the classroom.”

Rawlins would keep up with his students for years after they graduated the program and help connect them with employers.

Students still return to Eastfield to

update Rawlins and Chuck Dale on their success after the program.

Rawlins was born to Robert E. Rawlins and Juanita Rawlins in Dallas June 25, 1948.

He graduated Richardson High School before getting a degree in electrical engineering at SMU and later a master’s in vocational education from Texas A&M-Commerce.

The family suggests donations to the American Cancer Society. In addition to teaching at Eastfield, Rawlins worked from 1974 to 1980 as a full-time faculty at Mountain View College.

He began full-time career at Eastfield in 1980.

Chuck Dale was the head of the program when he and Rawlins first met.

Rawlins came with his wife to tour the facilities when Eastfield opened in 1970, taking a break from his work helping make sure pavement on Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport runways were properly done.

Chuck Dale said he didn’t know when he met Rawlins that the two would become best friends.

Rusty Dale said his dad and Rawlins had absolute opposite personalities — Rawlins being quiet and reserved while Chuck Dale is more outspoken and a louder man — that’s one of the reasons they were such

COURTESY EASTFIELD COLLEGE

Clay Rawlins put off his retirement to continue teaching at Eastfield College.

good friends and worked so well together.

The thing that truly mattered was their shared devotion to students in their programs.

“When Clay was here, and even when he was at home, this is where he wanted to be,” Rusty Dale said.

“He could have retired years ago and walked away from this, but his entire purpose in life was to be here and be in front of a class and teach these kids.”

Arch Dye, a professor in the electronics and mechatronics program, said one of his favorite things about Rawlins was his excitement at learning anything new and how talented

he was at relaying that knowledge.

“He was taking a graduate math class and he came in and said, ‘Hey, can we talk about this?’ ” Dye said.

“It was just this little piece of paper that showed the way the metric system worked. … I can remember him, he was always like, ‘Here’s something I learned,’ and he was always excited about it.”

Chuck Dale said Rawlins was his go-to guy for information of any kind.

“People today have Google and Siri,” Chuck Dale said. “I could always go to Clay and say, ‘How do you do this? And how do you do that?’ ” At times when Rawlins didn’t know the answer to a question, he would go home and research it that night, coming back with the solution the next day.

Chuck Dale delivered the eulogy at Rawlins’ funeral, where those who knew Rawlins overflowed from the chapel at Restland Memorial Park into the cold, whistling wind March 30.

“I have lost the best friend I have ever had,” Chuck Dale said at the funeral, holding back tears. “He was a marvelous guy. I don’t think we ever had a cross word between us, we also enjoyed seeing each other. It was just an unbelievable friendship.”

Rusty and Chuck Dale both said

Rawlins’ love for family outweighed everything else in life.

Rusty Dale said the happiest he had seen Rawlins in a long time was when he announced a few weeks ago that his son, Tim Rawlins, was engaged to be married.

“I think that was the most excited I had seen him in I don’t know how long,” Rusty Dale said.

The Rev. James Cole, who delivered a sermon at Rawlins’ funeral, said his most important qualities were love for family and kindness toward others.

A quiet man most of the time, Rawlins’ true-to-life sense of humor was a surprise to some who had just met him. Cole said he had only known Rawlins about eight years, but he felt he knew him well.

In addition to his love for family, his passion for any work he did was a defining characteristic of Rawlins.

His textbook, “Basic AC Circuits,” is still used today across the nation, according to Chuck Dale.

“He was especially proud when they laid the runways at DFW,” Cole said. “They’ll be there for many decades, many years, longer than any of us. There will always be a little bit of Clayton with all those people flying in and out of DFW airport. But the thing he will be most remembered for is his love for family.”

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Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Faculty workload, 8-week terms face scrutiny

By JAMES HARTLEY Life & Arts Editor @ByJamesHartley

Dallas County Community College District Chancellor Joe May addressed concerns about faculty workload, lab pay for professors and hiring Boston Consulting Group during livestreamed discussions March 28 and April 1.

The initiatives, part of the studentcentric transformation, are being designed to help the DCCCD manage its growth and meet demands from the community, starting with addressing employee policies that May wants to take to the Board of Trustees.

May said other non-policy initiatives, such as the DCCCD master plan to renovate campuses, also fall under the student-centric transformation.

May and the Boston Consulting Group’s J. Puckett responded to questions and comments from previous campus events during the livestream.

While these events were called town halls, Eastfield President Eddie Tealer said it was more of a “listening town hall” as the audience did not receive real-time responses.

Extra-service contracts, eightweek class terms and the inclusion of the Boston Consulting Group in the transformation process were major points of concern for Eastfield employees at their March 22 town hall.

Extra-service contracts History professor Matt Hinckley expressed concerns about the possibility of reducing or changing policies for extra-service contracts that could make it harder to staff certain classes.

May said in the March 28 livestream that extra-service contract workload limits would not be changed despite recommendations for change from the Boston Consulting Group.

“We’re in growth mode,” May said.

Because of that, May said extraservice contract limits do not make sense and the district is looking into hiring more full-time faculty.

Extra-service contracts allow employees of the district to take on teaching jobs outside their regular duties.

“Without offsetting increases in base salaries, reducing extra-service teaching opportunities may hurt all of our high demand programs as well as hurt our ability to retain what

diversity we do have in our faculty ranks,” Hinckley read from his prepared remarks.

Lack of compensation adjustments to account for the experience of faculty could lead them to seek work outside the district, according to the 2017 Faculty Association climate survey. The same survey found that faculty rely on extra-service contracts over work outside the district to help fulfill their financial needs.

May also wants to pay professors teaching labs the same per-credithour rate as those teaching lectures.

That will help make increase equitability for faculty, he said.

Release time, where faculty get time away from class to work on other projects, committees or duties, was another inequity found in the district. Not all campuses treated release time the same, and May said it will be important to create clearer guidelines and policies on how release time will work.

Eight-week terms Mutiple employees in the audience expressed frustrations with eight-week terms.

Eight-week terms was not one of the topics intended to be discussed at the forum, but some employees expressed worry that the student-centric transformation may lead to other campuses embarking on eight-week initiatives.

English professor Sabine Winter compared what it takes to learn in a class to advertising, one of the fields in which she teaches.

“We know from advertising that repeating messages and sending them over and over works really well,” Winter said. “We’ve set up a really difficult situation when we only offer eight-week courses for students who really do need to hear that message more often because we can’t do that any more.”

English professor Kassi Buck said eight weeks can also cause problems in student engagement.

The Rotaract Club at Eastfield, which she advises, has seen a drop in activity because students are feeling pressure from eight-week classes.

May said in the April 1 livestream the data he has seen shows success in eight-week terms, but it doesn’t work in every case. He said it’s still been cited as one of the best practices on a national scale.

“There’s good data, and it’s even our data, that indicates that students do better … in six, seven, eight, nine

Philip J. Ritter were not present for the vote. The Boston Consulting Group has worked with the district on other projects, including 2016 consulting on the Dallas Promise, Vice Chancellor Justin Lonon said.

The Dallas Promise provides lastdollar financial aid for students from participating high schools at no cost to taxpayers.

The Boston Consulting Group also has experience with other higher education work, including helping establish the first independent, nonprofit liberal arts university in Vietnam.

May said during the livestream that he values the opinion of the Boston Consulting Group.

Their local connection to Dallas, with an office based in the city, was another reason May said they are qualified to consult: They know the area and its needs.

Other topics

COURTESY LILIANA RODRIGUEZ/EASTFIELD COLLEGE

Eastfield President Eddie Tealer opens the student-centric town hall at Eastfield March 22. The event did not include immediate responses from members of the transformation team.

week courses,” May said. “That’s not to say it’s the best for every student.

It’s not to say that’s the best for every program or course. We know there are some courses that this really just doesn’t make any sense for.”

Limiting the number of courses students take is important to their success, May said.

Boston Consulting Group Speech professor Nick Vera said he was concerned with the use of taxpayer dollars to pay for the Boston Consulting Group.

The district is spending $1.5 million to hire the group, according to the contract approved by the Board of Trustees Dec. 4.

“We seem like we have in-house consulting that could also help with this,” Vera said.

DCCCD trustee Dorothy Zimmermann, an advocate for reduced spending, was also concerned with the price tag and said in the Dec. 4 meeting that she worried using an outside consulting group instead of in-house talent could change the culture of the DCCCD too much.

“There are things here that talk

about what would be looked at and what we’re trying to do, but to me it seems like if we have in-house talent doing this, we could move in perhaps a more cohesive manner,” Zimmermann said. “It seems as if there is concern, and if the faculty themselves are concerned then I’m concerned too.”

Trustee Diana Flores said she supported the contract because the DCCCD needs better ranking among two-year institutions. Trustees Wesley Jameson and Monica Lira Bravo also supported the contract.

“It takes an outside group or someone who is not involved in the day-to-day to understand where the changes need to be made,” Jameson said. “I’m sure we have people who work for the district who are qualified to make recommendations and offer changes. But this is a huge district. This is not something where you can put together a task force of 20 people and say, ‘Let’s come up with an idea and make it work.’ ” The contract was approved 3-2, with Charletta Rogers Compton joining Zimmermann in voting no.

Trustees JL Sonny Williams and

May touched on other subjects not approached by Eastfield employees during the event on campus.

At the end of the March 28 livestream, May said he did not know yet what the term high-performing faculty means or how it will impact the district.

This has been a hot topic among faculty that worry the DCCCD will begin pushing faculty for quantity over quality.

The term “high-performing faculty” has caused tension at previous meetings between May and Eastfield faculty who are concerned that success rates will be the measurement of performance.

It has led to worries that faculty will be encouraged to lower the rigor of their classes to push students through.

May also said class sizes and faculty compensation for classes are an important topic he is reviewing.

Professors teaching larger groups of students in a single class deserve to be compensated for their extra work while faculty that teach classes in smaller programs should not be penalized for their lower enrollment, he said.

In some cases, these smaller classes are below the minimum enrollment but are necessary for students in certain fields of study to graduate.

In many cases, professors who take on these classes get lower pay.

“That’s putting an unfair burden on them [professors] in the process,” May said.

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Resource pantry opens, college prepares new staff

By DAVID SILVA Managing Editor @DavidSilvaETC

The Eastfield resource pantry had its soft opening on March 28 and 29, providing eligible students with a variety of meal options and hygienic products.

The pantry is located in front of C-104 and will be open every Tuesday from noon to 2 p.m. and every Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m.

The pantry holds a variety of food items bought from the North Texas Food Bank and care packages with canned goods and hygienic products raised by student groups.

The initiative is headed by the college’s Center for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity.

The pantry is part of a districtwide effort to combat food insecurity among college students and was slated for its March opening after previous delays.

Following the finalization of contract negotiations between the Dallas County Community College District and the food bank made the organization the primary provider for Eastfield’s pantry items, the college

YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA

Qualifying students can visit the food pantry Tuesdays from noon to 2 p.m. and Wednesdays 4 to 6 p.m.

was tasked with detailing the roles of pantry employees and volunteers and hiring a program coordinator.

Danae Bass, who was previously the academic enrichment coordinator in the Office of Student Engagement and Retention, was made the pantry’s coordinator.

Ashmi Patel, director of the Center for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity, said she’s excited to have such an

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important role filled.

“We think that Danae will be a really good asset,” she said. “She’ll be able to create the community that we’re hoping to create around the food pantry.”

Bass said that the soft opening was a good opportunity to inform students of the pantry’s sign-up process and allow them to get familiar with her as the face of the pantry.

“What was very hopeful was that

we did have students stop by with questions,” she said. “We were able to go through and explain income eligibility and some of the forms that need to be completed … which I think will help us in the future.”

The pantry requires students to fill out an annual form to determine eligibility.

Students who already receive food assistance, fall below the household poverty line or qualify for household

crisis eligibility will be able to receive items from the pantry.

Phi Theta Kappa President Roxanna Martinez said that her PTK members were anticipating the food pantry’s opening and had taken an active approach in helping stock it.

“We put out boxes for people to come and put resources, hygiene products and canned goods,” she said. “We had our members put them in little zip lock baggies and put those in the pantry.”

Patel said now that the pantry is open, their focus is to get more information out to the community and possibly shift the pantry hours depending on student needs.

“Now that we have a soft opening, we’re going to work on getting the word out, doing some more work on making students more aware on how they can use the resource pantry,” she said.

Martinez said that PTK members plan to continue volunteering to help stock the pantry, and Patel anticipates multiple volunteer opportunities for students.

Campus employees can also fund items from the NTFB by donating from their payroll.

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Blazing toward reform

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Texas Legislature considers 4 bills aimed at changing marijuana laws

By SKYE SEIPP News Editor @SeippETC

Texas legislators are burning with reefer madness as 63 cannabis reform bills have been submitted for the 86th legislative session.

The topics range from reduced sentences for possession charges to the legalization of medical marijuana.

Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, has been advocating for marijuana reform in Texas since 2014.

Since then Texas has taken baby steps at marijuana reform, but medical access is still limited to patients suffering from intractable epilepsy, which affects roughly one-third of epilepsy patients, according to Stanford Health Care.

“It’s really difficult for me to wrap my brain around how and why people would oppose others accessing medicine when they’re clearly sick and need relief,” Fazio said. “It’s almost baffling.”

Being caught with small quantities of the plant could land a person in jail for up to six months, which is another issue lawmakers are hoping to change during this legislative session.

So far, the issue has gained traction on both sides of the political aisle, but advocates still face opposition from law enforcement agencies.

“Public safety issues being experienced by law enforcement officials in states where marijuana has been legalized, reinforce our belief that the further legalization of marijuana in Texas is not appropriate,” Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner said.

According to Eastfield sociology professor India Stewart, the further legalization of marijuana in Texas is not something that people should be alarmed about.

“Culturally, I don’t think it’s going to have an impact on things like productivity, we’re not going to fall behind other countries or other states,” Stewart said. “I don’t necessarily understand what all the big hoopla is about.”

Current laws Texas law currently allows for the use of low-THC cannabis for patients suffering from intractable epilepsy,

ALDAHIR SEGOVIA/THE ET CETERA

a serious type of epilepsy where medication does little or nothing to control the seizures.

Known as the Compassionate Use Act, the bill was proposed by Rep. Stephanie Klick (R — Fort Worth) in 2015 and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott.

The bill limits cannabis to a THC content of no greater than 0.5 percent and a cannabidiol content of no less than 10 percent.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the average THC level of marijuana was around 12 percent in 2014.

The bill also required the Texas Department of Public Safety to create a registry for physicians treating epilepsy and required the department to license three distribution sites in Texas by Sept. 1, 2017.

One of those three sites is Compassionate Cultivation in Manchaca. Dispensary manager Kelsey Richards said that even with the tight-grip regulations, she believes it is the smartest way for Texas to regulate marijuana.

“I think it is pretty strict to limit it to just one very, very specific condition,” she said. “But I think in terms of the regulation it’s a good way to do it, because then you’re

really sure of every product that you’re receiving, and it’s a lot more transparent that way.”

Thirty-three states have laws that allow citizens access to medical marijuana, but Texas is one of 12 that only grants access to low-THC content cannabis.

Tetrahydrocannabinol, better known as THC, is the psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana that produces the high that users experience.

Marijuana is still a Schedule 1 drug under federal law, meaning the federal government does not recognize any potential for medical purposes.

However, the passing of the Farm Bill in 2018 by President Trump made hemp (containing no more than 0.3 percent THC) legal across the United States.

Since then, various shops around the Dallas-Fort Worth region have begun selling CBD oil.

While hemp was made legal federally, Texas law states it can only be prescribed to intractable epilepsy patients, so anyone who purchases CBD oil from a shop or online without a prescription is breaking the law.

“Those products are not

operating within the laws of Texas,” Richards said. “They often times are mislabeled, based on testing results that we’ve received from a thirdparty testing facility.”

Anyone in Texas who is caught with 2 ounces or less of marijuana can be charged with a Class B misdemeanor, which could result in up to 180 days in jail, a $2,000 fine and a driver’s license suspension for 180 days.

Some municipalities, including Dallas, have passed laws that issue a citation for anyone in possession of certain amounts of marijuana.

Beginning in October 2017, Dallas police officers were given the choice to write a citation for anyone caught with less than 4 ounces of marijuana.

The law would still require the person to show up to court, but would not require the officer to arrest the person on the spot.

The law does not apply to students at Eastfield, though, since the campus is located outside of the city of Dallas.

86th legislation Fazio, the advocate for fewer restrictions on marijuana, and her group are working diligently to get the ball rolling on cannabis reform

before the legislative session ends May 27.

While her organization supports many of the proposed bills, Fazio said the group is putting the bulk of its resources into four bills: House Bill 63, House Bill 1365, Senate Bill 90 and Senate Bill 156.

Of the four bills, House Bill 63 and Senate Bill 156 are both aimed at sentence reduction for small amounts of cannabis and related drug paraphernalia.

House Bill 1365 and Senate Bill 90 are pushing for the further legalization of medical marijuana.

All four are supported across the political spectrum, Fazio said.

“We have seen firm bipartisan support for medical cannabis,” Fazio said. “And looking at the political party positions, the Republican Party of Texas includes that in their platform.”

Marijuana reform in the 86th Legislature of Texas has brought groups like Texas Young Republicans together with those that are typically more liberal, such as Progress Texas.

Jason Vaughn, policy director for Texas Young Republicans, is not as hopeful that some of the bills will pass, including Senate Bill 90, because the bill allows for marijuana to be smoked rather than administered in other ways.

He is confident however, that legislators will pass bills to reform civil penalties, industrial hemp and medical marijuana.

“I think we’ll get all three in some form,” Vaughn said. “I don’t know if we’ll get everything we want in them, but I think we have a good chance of moving forward this session. But we need sane activists working on it.”

While people like Fazio and Vaughn are trying to stay positive, Eastfield government professor Cindy Castañeda is more pessimistic about seeing any real change this legislative session.

“Although many bills have been introduced, the final outcome for this legislative session will be the same as it has been for past legislative sessions,” Castañeda said. “Bills are introduced, but then they die.”

Opposition While lawmakers may hold bipartisan support for marijuana See Marijuana, page 6 ➤

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Tuition, textbook proposal delayed

By ARIA JONES Editor in Chief @AriaJonesETC

The launch of a districtwide plan to raise the cost of tuition by $20 per credit hour to cover the cost of textbooks and class materials has been postponed a year.

Faculty Association President Liz Nichols said she has sat in several district meetings where faculty concerns about the initiative have been discussed. She said the concerns brought forward caused the timeline to change.

“I’m glad that it’s pushed back,” she said. “There’s still going to be a pilot and we have another year to do more research and ensure that we have everything in place so that there’s minimal disruption for student learning.”

The tuition changes were originally planned to be fully implemented across all Dallas County Community College District campuses by fall 2019 with a pilot this summer.

The pilot is now expected to begin in summer 2020 with full implementation beginning in fall 2020, said District Chief Financial Officer John Robertson.

The new initiative would have students pay the increased tuition and then get digital access to the textbook without an extra charge. Students would also be able to request print copies of books for a nominal fee around $25.

Robertson said he’s relieved that the initiative has been pushed back.

“Our timeline was really too aggressive to begin with,” he said. “Part of that is, we started doing our investigation … and listening to the steering committee and the faculty repre-

sentatives we have, we realized there was more work to do than what we originally planned.”

Robertson said this will give him time to enlist faculty to help with the planning.

“I have to have faculty involved in this because they’re the ones that can make this successful, not me,” he said.

Robertson said the art department told him that Follett doesn’t supply any class materials, students go out and buy their supplies themselves.

Now he is working with the company to see how they can supply something like a kit that would give students the materials they need.

Nichols said there were also questions about faculty who use opensource books that are free of charge, and how faculty and students may be impacted by this initiative.

“There’s nothing really that can be done about that,” she said. “So faculty can continue using open-source materials but students are still going to be charged the additional tuition per credit hour.”

The belief, Nichols said, is that the cost of textbooks will even out, and students will save money because some books are more expensive than others, but there is no way to adjust the tuition for materials faculty use.

“The important thing here is that so often times students do not have the funds to purchase the materials that are necessary to be successful in the course,” she said.

Nichols said this becomes more crucial with more eight-week courses being introduced to students, which are half a semester long.

“I recognize that students are very resourceful, and they are very cognizant of their money and their want-

ing to get the materials they need for the lowest cost and I’m not one to put up roadblocks for that,” she said.

Alan Stratman, a vice president of marketing at Follett, said the company has similar operations at about 200 other campuses.

“Some districts have kind of started this on their own and we’ve kind of just helped support it,” he said.

Stratman said that something agreed upon early on during talks with the DCCCD is that they didn’t want to force the kind of format class materials are presented in.

“It really comes down to kind of learning preference and learning style for a lot of us,” he said.

He said that some students absorb digital content well, while others are more tactile and don’t learn effectively with digital content.

“What we’re doing at Follett, the mode that we’re in, is we’re maintaining a mode of being kind of everything to everybody,” he said.

Stratman said Follett is ready to launch the initiative but wants ev-

eryone in the district to be prepared before they set out.

“It’s a big swing to get thousands of faculty members kind of thinking a little bit differently, and not asking them to necessarily adopt too much differently than what they’re doing today,” he said. “But there is a lot of planning that goes into it, a lot of messaging that has to be done.”

Robertson said there would be training, workshops and town halls over the next year.

“We just found ourselves in this situation that we just moved too fast on this,” Robertson said. “We want it to be totally successful when we turn it on, on day one.”

He said the extended timeline would give the district the opportunity to address unique situations in specific programs, provide training on digital materials and get the overall cost of textbooks down.

“We really just think it’s better to take a structured approach to this over time and not just push it down people’s throats.”

The Et Cetera

Faculty, staff discuss future plans for EFC Continued from page 2 right there, I wouldn’t take it out and I would leave it there because that challenges everyone in this room to understand that our students are here, but yet, we’re here because of the students,” he said. “Because if we don’t have students, we don’t have jobs. That is definitely needed.”

Sociology professor India Stewart said that in more than five years of working at Eastfield, she’s never spoken out at a public forum. At the town hall, however, she expressed concerns about the last words of the vision statement draft.

“I feel quite strongly about this idea of students as customers,” Stewart said. “That model is more than problematic and if we continue this consumerist approach, we’re going to have some additional … human resources concerns with attracting them and quality of faculty that you would have at an educational institution that reaches your other goals, no matter what measures you’d use for that.”

Stewart agreed with Tolle’s thoughts about students not coming to college to pay for a degree. Instead, they pay for the right to sit in a class to earn a degree.

“I would be very, very mindful at this point of the increased adoption of this consumerist approach,” she said. “Because there are people who are very much involved in service, we’re all here, I imagine, because we wish to serve our community.”

Tealer said the executive leadership team would work on a second draft of the statement to present to employees.

Marijuana reform laws face slim odds in Legislature Continued from page 5 reform, law enforcement groups like the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas have a different viewpoint.

Skinner, who is director of the Sheriffs’ Association, said the group is opposed to the further legalization of marijuana in the state.

“In our efforts to keep the peace, deputy sheriffs routinely encounter persons who appear highly intoxicated on marijuana or marijuana-edible products,” Skinner said.

“These individuals are generally a danger to themselves, and when driving, they are clearly

a danger to others.”

Skinner also said there have been issues with law enforcement in states that have begun legalization, which is another reason the association is against any further changes to cannabis laws in Texas.

Stewart doesn’t see the justification in using public health concerns as an excuse, when things like alcohol and driving cars are also a hazard to the public.

“Life is dangerous,” Stewart said. “But laws can be sometimes very intractable and old ideas die hard.”

Fazio, on the other hand, believes the

opposition from the Sheriffs’ Association is fear of marijuana becoming legalized, but none of the proposed bills in Texas are calling for open legalization.

“All [HB 63] does is simply change the penalties,” Fazio said. “So we saw them really demonstrating that they seem to be having a different conversation than what is actually on the table here in Texas.”

While Fazio said the Sheriffs’ Association may have a clouded understanding of what is currently trying to be passed in Texas, Vaughn said what’s not clouded is their relationship with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott.

“The lt. governor and the governor will often side with the Sheriffs’ Association,” Vaughn said.

While Abbott in recent years has supported decriminalizing charges against possession of marijuana, Patrick has spoken out against reform and has the power to block any of the proposed bills coming out of the Senate from reaching the governor’s desk.

“Even if they were lucky enough to get something out of the Senate, which I don’t think that they will, it would be 100 percent likely to be vetoed by the governor,” Castañeda said.

Life &Arts The Et Cetera

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www.eastfieldnews.com

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Nichols overcomes prejudice, finds purpose

By ARIA JONES and DEZIREE ORTEGA Staff Writers @TheEtCetera

Professor Liz Nichols remembers her first day at a new school. Her family left New York when she was 11 years old because her dad took a job in Westminster, California.

She was enrolled in a public school for seventh grade, a contrast to the private Catholic schools she attended in New York.

It didn’t take her long to realize she had been placed in remedial classes.

“I was upset,” she said. “Each class I went to, I could feel the anxiety welling up in me because I knew that I was smart. I got all A’s and B’s in my school in New York.“ She worked the whole day trying to fight back tears. She felt embarrassed.

When she got home, she said her mother asked her a simple question, “How was your day?”

All of the emotion Nichols had been holding back erupted. She burst into tears.

When Nichols told her mother what happened, she was assured that it would be taken care of. The very next morning, her mother was at the school to meet with the principal.

The principal asked Nichols to come around his desk and read a list of words that contained more than two syllables. Nichols did so easily.

“He looked really surprised that I could read the words,” Nichols said.

“He never asked me if I knew what the words meant.”

Afterward the principal enrolled her in regular courses. Nichols is 55 years old and still hasn’t forgotten that principal’s name or how it felt when her mother stood up for her.

“When she advocated for me, that was a turning point for me in how important education was and also how fierce my mother could be for what she knew was right for her kids,” Nichols said.

Her mother, Myrna Rosario Jones, moved to Brooklyn, New York, from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, when she was 10 years old. She didn’t know any English and struggled to learn the language.

When Nichols’ mother became pregnant with her at age 17, she

YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA

Liz Nichols assists criminal justice major Yonathan Mejia after African American studies class.

wasn’t able to finish high school.

She made sure her children could write their names and read Dick and Jane books before they started kindergarten. She didn’t teach her or her siblings Spanish despite their heritage because she wanted them to have a good command of English.

It wasn’t until Nichols and her two siblings were in school that her mother went back to get her GED certificate. Nichols said her mother put her and her siblings’ education above all else.

Nichols now teaches history at Eastfield. She graduated from Texas Woman’s University with a master’s degree in history and has been teaching since 1997.

When she first attended college, she went to Bauder Fashion College and received an Associate of Applied Arts in fashion merchandising in 1983.

After she graduated, she worked in store management. Her favorite part of work was training new employees, but the hours were hard to balance. During the holidays she was working 80 or more hours a week After she had children, she wanted to spend more time with them. So

she quit and started volunteering at her son’s school.

“I really felt like there was something missing and I really feel like I was a better parent when I worked,” she said.

Her son’s teacher suggested she become certified as a teacher. Nichols realized how her favorite part of work and teaching connected. So she went back to school to earn her bachelor’s degree.

She attended Mountain View College, then after she transferred to TWU in 1995, her mentor and history professor Ingrid Scobie suggested she stay and get her master’s degree to become a professor.

She started working with the Dallas County Community College District as an adjunct professor in 2000 and became full-time in 2005.

Because she was a nontraditional student, she had to juggle being a parent and working a part-time job while earning her degree.

“I know what it’s like to have a lot on your plate and still have this educational goal,” she said. “I try to share my story with students so that they know I can empathize, but in that empathy to understand that I never

emailed my instructors and made excuses for not being able to turn in work.”

Nichols has four children, two sons, Tyrone, 33, Evan, 14, and two daughters Tayler, 28, and Alyssa, 26.

“What matters the most to me is that my kids are healthy and happy, that they have the tools and the opportunity to make the most out of their lives in whatever way they choose,” she said. “A close second is social justice. Nothing infuriates me more than to see any people, anybody, any person being dehumanized or discriminated against.”

One of the classes Nichols teaches focuses on history and the African American experience after the Civil War. “I knew that there was a need for students to have different perspectives of history,” she said. “We don’t do a very good job nationally of teaching other perspectives of history. It tends to be about old, dead, white men and it’s through a very narrow lens.”

She believes part of the reason there is racial discord is because not enough people know about history through the African American expe-

rience. She has also taught Mexican American history.

One of the reasons she has interest in the subject is because her exhusband is African American and her children are biracial.

“That was kind of the impetus to find out more because they needed to know more,” she said. “So a lot of it has been self-taught, and I did some directed studies at TCU. I love teaching that course.”

Daniela Hernandez, an Eastfield graduate who took African American history with Nichols, said she enjoyed the class because it opened her eyes to other people’s perspectives and showed her how things haven’t changed.

“I like that she didn’t judge anything you said and gave everyone a chance to talk,” she said.

Nichols said that people assume her class would be all black students but it tends to be very diverse.

She said that it’s one of her favorite classes to teach because she finds that students know so little and are always surprised by the information, like how slavery worked or that there was a lynching in Dallas in the 20th century.

“So they tend to be very upset,” she said. “They feel shortchanged that they didn’t know more about that kind of experience. I think it helps them be more empathetic toward the struggle of other people.”

Courtney Carter Harbour, dean of Arts and Communication, said Nichols cares deeply about making history relatable to her students.

“She’s tough,” she said. “But I see that as a matter of tough love and really wanting students to learn and really wanting students to connect to the material and see history as more than just a series of events – that it is something that is more like a living history, that we are products of that history, that we can contribute to that history.”

Nichols has taught at universities like TWU and TCU, but she found her home at two-year colleges. She said students tend to have more challenges at a community college and she wants to be able to help.

“Had I not quit without any safety net or plan, I wouldn’t have figured out that teaching brings me the most joy,” Nichols said.

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LIFE & ARTS

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

@TheEtCetera

The Et Cetera

The Literary & Fine Arts Festival will kick off April 3 and continue throughout the month of April, celebrating music, fine arts, literature and communications across campus.

This year, the festival includes a dance performance, the annual Jazz Under the Stars recital and a variety of artist lectures, among other events.

ET CETERA FILE PHOTOS

Top, music education major Nick Godina performs at the Jazz Under the Stars recital. Bottom, Daniel Martinez and Desmond Davis weave the landscape visible outside the window of the ViBee lounge.

DESIGN BY MANUEL GU

LIFE & ARTS

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The Et Cetera

UAPO AND ARIA JONES/THE ET CETERA

www.eastfieldnews.com

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

The Spring Dance Concert showcases students’ end-of-the-year performances.

ET CETERA FILE PHOTO

Ongoing Events April 1 - 23 Sequential Self: Female, Non-Binary, Trans, and Queer Voices in Comics and Zines On view in Gallery 219 (F-219) • Free Opening Reception: Monday, April 1 • Noon – 1 p.m.

April 30 - May 10 ET CETERA FILE PHOTO

Theater students Julissa Hernandez and Giavanna Ramos perform “Anna in the Tropics” at the 2018 festival.

Visual Art Student Exhibition On view in Gallery 219 (F-219) • Free Reception: Tuesday, April 30 • 11 a.m. – noon

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LIFE&ARTS

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

@TheEtCetera

The Et Cetera

ANTHONY LAZON/THE ET CETERA

Automotive student Kathryn Jaeger said her passion for cars and fixing them started when she wanted to know what was going when she had car issues, now she’s a part of Eastfield’s automotive program.

Car doctor: student leaps across disciplines

Second-year automotive program student Kathryn Jaeger sat down with reporter Daniel Durrett. She was a certified nurse assistant when she enrolled in Eastfield’s automotive program. Her lack of trust in mechanics was her primary reason for enrolling. After two years, she now has a job as a technician at Trophy Nissan in Mesquite.

Q

What first interested you about automotive studies?

I had a Nissan Maxima, and I had issues with the car, like service warnings and a check engine light that would not turn off. I kept having to bring it back to the mechanic. I wanted to make sure the mechanic was doing the job right. I just did not like the concept of me not knowing.

A

Q A

Were you able to fix your own car?

Yes, I have repaired several sensors, rear rotors, brakes and shocks and different components like filters. I feel way more comfortable working on my own car.

Now that I can work on other cars,

especially Nissan cars, I have a better concept of the whole repair process.

Q A

Do you still have that same Nissan Maxima?

I do, and no check engine light. It’s good, too, for my family or friends.

If they ever have a problem, I can make sure the mechanic won’t rip them off. Or if it’s a simple fix I can go ahead and help them since everyone has cars.

It’s a good program [at Eastfield].

Q A

What is the most surprising thing you have learned at Eastfield?

That auto repair is more simplistic than you would think. People look at a car and open the hood and see all the hoses and connections, and maybe think, “I am never going to figure this out.”

However, then you learn the basic concepts and how the cooling system works, and how these concepts can be applied to not only a car but a refrigerator or a lawnmower. It’s the same concept. It is way easier than I had originally thought.

Q A

What are you hoping to take away from the automotive program?

To become more knowledgeable about other cars. I know Nissans

very well because of my work at the dealership. But now I want to be able to grab a Jeep and figure it out.

Cars are set up in different ways, depending on the maker. Some are more compact than others, but the basic way they work is the same. I want to understand all the different types of cars.

Q

Do you find it difficult being a woman in such a maledominated field?

A

There is definitely a perception when you are a woman mechanic. I find that men will ask you questions that they already know the answer to, just to test your knowledge. But over time, I feel like you become part of the team and then you’re just one of the guys.

Q A

What is your favorite part of a car to work on?

The AC unit because it is a complete system all on its own. It does not even need the car to run.

Sometimes they even remove it to make some cars lighter so they can run faster for racing.

Q A

Are you a fan of auto sports, like NASCAR or Formula One? I had no idea about racing or drifting until I began studying

automotive here. I have learned about boosters, nitrous and turbo systems.

I’ve been to car shows and other events which were nice to experience.

Automotive studies are not really my passion. It’s just a branch of my engineering passion.

I’m not crazy into cars and racing like some people are, but it’s fun to experience.

Q A

What would you like to accomplish next, once you graduate?

This May I would like to study abroad. I’m thinking about going to Germany for at least a year to study engineering.

Q A

Would you like to take what you have learned on to a four-year program?

Yes, because you don’t really get a master’s in automotive mechanics. You can become a master tech, but there would not be much I could do beyond that certification. You would know all the systems but there would not be much after that. And I want to keep going on to something higher after that process, possibly on to the medical field, combining mechanical engineering with my medical training, into the field of biomedical engineering.

LIFE&ARTS

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The Et Cetera

www.eastfieldnews.com

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

HIDDEN GEM

Porch Swing offers homegrown comfortability

By SARAH IVY Reporter @TheEtCetera

An abandoned building, killer fried chicken and a porch swing are three elements Antonio Swad used to create Mesquite’s newest hotspot.

Swad founded both Wingstop and Pizza Patron but went in a new direction when he opened Porch Swing on Feb. 18.

Unlike his other restaurants, Porch Swing boasts a local restaurant aesthetic.

Located near I-635 and I-30 in the old Spaghetti Warehouse location, which sat empty for nine years, Swad hopes Porch Swing will attract patrons from surrounding Rockwall, Sunnyvale, Forney and Richardson.

The interior is completely different from that which housed the Spaghetti Warehouse. The combination of warm Edison lights and cultured woodwork walls are complemented by black and white framed photos.

An eye line of exposed brick ties in the vast fireplace on the patio, which is visible through the transparent ga-

YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA

Server Jonine Hicks, 30, has been working at Porch Swing for one month. It opened Feb. 18, in a location that sat empty for nine years.

rage doors, and the affectionate seating spaces placed throughout.

“The only thing that stayed the same is the address,” Swad said.

Swad worked with Mark Risser and MJ Moreau from Studio B De-

sign to reimagine the space.

This creative trio delivered a sleek, simple, inviting environment in a nearly farmhouse space with touches of modern detail at every turn.

Swad said he has a passion for

hospitality and creating an environment that enhances a person’s life enjoyment as well as providing comforting and high-quality food.

The modest but balanced menu is comprised of eight entrees: two chicken, two beef, two pork and two fish. The team cuts their own meat and prepares all 55 items needed for their dishes in house.

Porch Swing also boasts fruit, nut, cream and seasonal scratch pies. Pies become their own genus of food, not just a dessert, with these no-extract, fresh ingredient options.

Swad worked with chef Andy Revella to develop dishes that are familiar by name yet bold in flavor.

Swad said his food would find an audience that will appreciate the time and money it takes to source ingredients, develop recipes and present well-rounded dishes.

At any given time, pop music can be heard over the flatware from the kitchen. Swad’s favorite thing about this space is the vibe on Friday nights, around 8 p.m., when the lighting is just right, his audience is seated with their meals and a band is

taking the stage.

Quality of sound was top priority when selecting the 32,000-watt and 32 channel board that evenly distributes sound from the restaurant to the porch. The modest stage is set up for a 10-minute plug-and-play experience for the musicians and personal interaction with the audience.

Ryan Berg and the Velvet Ears from East Dallas have already graced the stage, and John Tipton and Corey Breedlove are lined up for future performances. Swad’s dream booking is John Mayer because of his underrated guitar skills.

Swad spent two years focusing all his energy into this project and finding the perfect location.

“When someone chooses to bring the brand home, they transform from a customer to an advocate,” he said. “Genuine success occurs when a community is seeded with advocates.”

Swad admits the specially designed, dual-sided porch swings that sit near the entrance are a personal touch and reminds us all, “you can’t be mad sitting on a porch swing.”

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LIFE&ARTS

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

h g i H e h T

@TheEtCetera

The Et Cetera

Vegan cuisine to meet your leafy needs As a long-term vegan, worrying about finding decent places to eat alongside friends and family has become a thing of the past. Local restaurants are swiftly jumping on the plant-based bandwagon and offering not only affordable, but also delicious, well-thought-out meals. Consider stopping by one of these five local picks for a thoroughly satisfying experience of plant-based delight.

Cosmic Cafe — Buddhas Delight

➤

2912 Oak Lawn Ave. This cozy vegetarian Indian cafe offers an array of dishes that fuse the most common flavors from India and presents them in a friendly American-influenced eating experience.

Most of the dishes available at Cosmic Cafe are vegetarian, although everything can be requested without cheese.

The “Buddhas Delight” is by far the best dish on the menu, and it’s vegan.

This dish includes the curried vegetables of the day, dahl (which is a spicy Indian lentil soup), pappadam (thin spiced crisp), samosa, rice, and nan, a combination worthy of adoration.

Story and Photos by Anthony Lazon Lalibela — Vegetarian Combo ➤ 9191 Forest Lane Lalibela Ethiopian restaurant should be on every veggie lover’s bucket list.

The vegetarian combo offered at Lalibela is a spread of six different vegetarian stews spread on a large piece of injera, a sourdough-risen flatbread, which is used to scoop up the different varieties of stews laid out on this dish.

The rich spices used in Ethiopian cuisine, such as berbere chili sauce and turmeric, alongside a base of garlic, ginger and onions make for a dish your palate will not soon forget.

Pizza Lounge — Spicy Muchacho Pie 841 Exposition Ave. Located across from Fair Park and the DART train stop, Pizza Lounge has become a hotspot for a late-night pizza.

What’s even better, they have a full vegan pizza menu. The vegan spicy muchacho, loaded with vegan mozzarella cheese, chipotle vegan sausage, jalapeños, habaneros, bell peppers and banana peppers, will leave you feeling muy caliente.

Like every good pizza, the dough is extremely important. The dough at Pizza Lounge is baked to an even crisp on the outside, while leaving just enough to chew on the inside, both characteristics of a well-made dough.

With its hip location and down-to-earth vibe, Pizza Lounge has consistently delivered great quality pizzas. ➤

Mais — Tofu Clay Pot No. 66

➤

Spiral Diner — Nachos Supremo 1101 N. Beckley Ave. With its roots set deep in Texas, this all-vegan diner and bakery is a staple around town.

The variety of comfort foods offered at Spiral Diner will have the child in you wanting to come back for more.

Alongside burgers, soups, wraps and a delicious selection of brunch items is their nachos supremo.

Filled with cashew-based cheese, quinoa, black beans, guacamole and jalapeños, the nachos supremo is a must-have item when checking out this local gem.

4812 Bryan St. There are only a few dishes that could ever bring the joy that Mais Tofu Clay Pot can offer.

With its charred rice cooked at the bottom of a hot clay pot, mushrooms mixed with glass noodles, herbs and a measurable amount of

spicy sauce, this dish is unpretentious yet utterly satisfying.

It is a great example of what Mais restaurant represents in the Old East Dallas neighborhood: consistently fresh food, homey and just a touch of the good old Dallas hospitality.

SPORTS The Et Cetera

13 www.eastfieldnews.com

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

opinion

14 www.eastfieldnews.com

Etera

Eastfield adviser made transition into college a delightful experience

Award-winning member of: • Texas Intercollegiate Press Association • Texas Community College Journalism Association • Associated Collegiate Press • College Media Association

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 News Editor Skye Seipp Web Editor Anthony Lazon Senior Graphic Designer Manuel Guapo Staff Writers Alexis Rodriguez

Aji Mariam

Photographers Rory Moore

Saralyn Corey

Videographers Esteban Andrade

Marisol Ramirez

Reporters Adolfo Resendiz Olguin Ashleigh Amburgey Francisco Longoria Kaitlyn Moore Contributors Sarah Ivy

Lauryn Sierra

Graphic Artists Abednego Leal Roxana Santillan Julie Cordova

Aldahir Segovia Jesus Madrid Mateo Corey

Editorial Assistant Marie Garcia Tambresha Anderson

Daniel R. Durrett

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 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.

ABOUT THE COVER COVER ILLUSTRATION AND DESIGN BY ANTHONY LAZON

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

OUR VIEW

ANTHONY LAZON/THE ET CETERA

Legislators shouldn’t just smoke promising pot bills Public perception of marijuana is changing fast, and it’s about time for Texas to keep up.

With the 86th Legislative Session ending in less than two months, bills that would push cannabis closer to decriminalization, such as Senate Bill 90 or House Bill 63, should be carefully watched by all Texans.

Texas Senate Bill 90 would allow medical marijuana usage for illnesses such as posttraumatic stress disorder, cancer and autism.

Under Texas House Bill 63, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana would be decriminalized, instead becoming a civil offense.

From its not-so-humble beginnings in the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 to the more recent Controlled Substances Act of 1970, criminalization of marijuana has nearly run its course.

A record 61 percent of Americans now support legalization, according to the 2018 General Social Survey.

Even people 65 and older — a population of Americans that almost no one would expect to support legalization — are now the fastest-growing demographic of marijuana users, said Gary Small, professor of psychiatry and aging at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The list of groups you’d least expect to support legalization doesn’t end there. Just last year, the Republican Party of Texas

supported decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of wacky tobacky. As recently as October 2018, Gov. Greg Abbott said he’d be “open” to reducing criminal penalties for minor pot possession, according to the Texas Observer.

Of course, when it comes to both sides of the political aisle, Republicans and Democrats differ on the idea of legalizing recreational marijuana. But both are adopting similar views on medical marijuana usage.

Marijuana is no longer just that one drug you tried at your friends’ parties in your late teens and early 20s. It’s becoming the possible solution to the American opioid addiction epidemic.

According to a report from JAMA Internal Medicine published in May 2018, researchers found that patients with chronic pain who lived in states with easy access to medical marijuana were less likely to obtain prescription opioids.

We hope the current legislative session will do more to not only legalize more uses for marijuana, but to also get creative when it comes to taxing the jolly green giant.

So, Texas politicians, what will you do?

Will you help shrink our overgrown prison population and boost our state’s already strong economy? Or will you keep us lagging behind other states, waiting another five, 10 or (hopefully not) 20 years for legalization?

First-generation college students, you Lauryn are not alone.

Sierra Who knew one @TheEtCetera of the most exciting times in my life would also be the most difficult and terrifying?

For most students, the transition from high school to college is a dream, but that’s not always true for a firstgeneration college student.

I graduated from a performing arts high school last spring and started college in the fall. Although no one in my family had been to college, that was the only option I knew I had, along with working a part-time job.

As a high school senior, I applied to five out-of-state and four in-state universities but was unable to afford to attend any of them. I wanted so badly to have someone to blame for this, but there was no one at fault.

To be quite honest, I was ashamed of having no choice but to go to a community college. I had lost some of my motivation.

For a while, I thought about not even going to college and just getting a full-time job. I did everything I was supposed to do, and did it right, so why didn’t I belong at a university?

Come to find out, attending a community college was one of the greatest things to ever happen to me.

But it wasn’t a successful endeavor right off the bat. I began going to school at Richland College, where I had hoped to get abundant advice, guidance, tips and tricks; I was wrong.

I was given a single sheet of paper and told, “You’ll figure it out.”

That was such a discouraging moment for me. I expected more, and I still had no idea of the tools I required to be successful.

Thankfully, I survived my first semester and passed all my classes. I decided for my second semester that I would attend Eastfield College because it was closer to home.

Here, I was given the assistance I had been longing for by an adviser named Lamont Blackman.

He took the time to provide an in-depth explanation of everything I needed to do and also told me why I needed to do it.

After our discussion, I felt like a weight had been lifted from my body. My entire outlook instantly changed. I knew now I had the knowledge and confidence to achieve anything.

Blackman is precisely the type of adviser every firstgeneration college student needs.

I hope advisers at community colleges, as well as universities, will start to realize how much help firstgeneration college students actually do need.

Hopefully, they will go that extra mile in ensuring that they get that help.

Having the opportunity to attend college is a blessing in itself, and we must make sure these students do not slip through the cracks.

— Lauryn Sierra is an arts major and a contributor

Wrapup The Et Cetera

15 www.eastfieldnews.com

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Song, dance abound in spring Dancers from across the DFW area performed pieces choreographed by Eastfield professors during the annual Faculty Dance Concert on March 22 in the Performance Hall. Their performance, paired with weekly Wednesday Recital Series, is a preview for what’s in store in the upcoming Literary and Fine Arts Festival. ­— Staff reports

YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA

YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA

From left to right, William Acker and Elaina Alspach perform Danielle Georgiou’s piece “Without a Body.” Acker performs in “Without a Body.” Cindy Horstman plays the harp at a recital held on March 20.

SARALYN COREY/THE ET CETERA

16

WRAP-UP

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

www.eastfieldnews.com

The Et Cetera

Madpuffy Comics By Jesus Madrid

Awkward Avocado By Abednego Leal

YESENIA ALVARADO/THE ET CETERA

Students can have their IDs made at the Harvester Hub, located on the second floor of the Hive in room C-217.

New student-centric office leads college’s engagement efforts

By DANIEL R. DURRETT Editorial Assistant @EtcDanD

NEWS

Briefs The Et Cetera wins awards at TIPA The Et Cetera staff earned 36 awards at the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association convention in Corpus Christi on March 16. First place awards include Multimedia Sports, Overall Excellence for Website, Breaking News for Social Media, Cartoon, Breaking News Photo, Headline Writing, Feature Story, Critical Review, Editorial and Sports Game Story and Live Contest Copy Editing.

Phi Theta Kappa awards Eastfield’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter won numerous awards at the PTK Regional Convention in Houston on

March 9. The chapter was recognized as a Five Star Chapter, won first place in yearbook competition, received the Merit of Distinction for College Project for the food and resource pantry and more. The chapter heads to the international convention in Orlando, Florida on April 3.

Student ID policy A policy that requires all students and employees to wear Eastfield IDs has gone into effect. The change does not change Eastfield’s open campus status. Students can get their first ID for free at advising in C-120. Employees should pick up their IDs in human resources, C-215.

— Compiled by David Silva

The Harvester Hub office opened March 27, offering students a more direct way to get involved in campus clubs and activities.

The new Office of Student Engagement and Retention space is located in C-217, just above the Hive in the center of campus.

“We are here to expose, teach and enhance the college experience,” said Jide Carew, OSER’s student program development coordinator. “We love this job because we are able to help students grow.”

OSER Associate Dean Alex Snowden said the Harvester Hub serves as a home base for student clubs and campus activities.

OSER staff members who oversee activities such as the common book and intercultural engagement will also be based there.

“There will be a space for clubs to hold meetings and eventually we will have a place to do presentations,” Snowden said. “In addition, we will display slides of club events and other campus activities.”

Snowden said the centralized location gives students quicker access to information about clubs and organizations on campus, which could help increase membership and awareness.

“The ability to access OSER advisers will be a huge benefit to our club,” said Ruben Ingram, president of the Human Services Club. “One of the most difficult tasks for our club is to get information out to the student body.”

With 26 active clubs this semester, there are a plethora of opportunities for students to be involved.

“Most students don’t know our club even exists,” said Science Club President Victoria Meeks, who worked in the old OSER office as a student.

In addition to club oversight, the new office will also be a secondary site for acquiring student IDs. Starting April 1, all students are required to wear their student ID while on campus.

“When new students get their IDs, they can be introduced to the whole engagement side of Eastfield,” student development staff member Cindy Fabela said.

Snowden said the primary OSER office, still located in C-237, will now be solely focused on career services and expanded academic advising.

“There is more to college than classes. There is a bigger sense of finding yourself,” Carew said. “If you’re leaving here 60 credits into your college career and you don’t know who you are, I feel like we have failed.”