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Eastfield College
The future of Eastfield: What the college could look like in years to come See page 4➤ Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Volume 49, Issue 11
Piecing together a community College administration vows to establish resources for LGBTQ students, faculty, staff See page 2 ➤
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Campus re-evaluates LGBTQ needs, resources By ARIA JONES Reporter @AriaJonesETC
The recent vandalism of LGBTQ safe zone stickers on campus has prompted Eastfield College’s administration to take another look at its commitment to supporting LGBTQ students, faculty and staff. “Going forward, my goal is to establish an access and equity center, where there would be support for LGBTQ [people], for any appropriate resources that anybody might need to be successful in college,” said Associate Vice President Rachel Wolf, the college’s Title IX coordinator. In addition to federal Title IX regulations, the Dallas County Community College District has a policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. However, Wolf said she wants to create a physical, visible place for students to go on campus. Another resource she wants to make available is LGBTQ safe space training. Before spring break, LGBTQ support stickers on the doors of several
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A safe zone sticker bears smudge marks after being defaced with a black marker. It is uknown who vandalized the stickers.
faculty offices on the second level of the C building were defaced with a black marker. Some faculty members were hesitant to speak about the incident, because they were uncertain if the
stickers were allowed on campus. “[The safe zone stickers] started with the faculty wanting to be sure we had a way to indicate places that were, for lack of a better word, safe spaces for people of the LGBTQ
community to be able to have questions and get support if need be,” said Jean Conway, Eastfield College president. Conway said she’s supportive of the message and added that they were made in-house as part of a grassroots movement. “Showing support for something and having somebody deface it can be upsetting and demoralizing, but I also don’t think it means that we need to stop doing it or question it,” Wolf said. The only support for LGBTQ students on campus now is found in the counseling and health centers and this can be problematic, said Katy Launius, associate dean of the Office for Student Engagement and Retention. Launius, who identifies as queer, said there is a stigma and history behind relying on counseling and health services as a resource for LGBTQ people. Homosexuality was classified as a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association until 1987. Launius said it’s can be unsettling to an individual to hear that they require counseling to receive support.
“I’m not disordered,” she said. “The world around me is disordered, and I’m just having to navigate a world that’s hostile toward me.” Launius said people shouldn’t avoid counseling, but that using counseling as a primary resource can reinforce an idea that something is wrong with a person for being LGBTQ. Eastfield has other schools nearby that it can look to as examples. Richland and El Centro colleges have both participated in safe zone training from the Resource Center of Dallas, a non-profit that provides LGBTQfriendly counseling and healthcare. The Campus Pride Index, which evaluates how LGBTQ-inclusive a college is, recently gave the University of Texas at Dallas a 4.5 rating out of 5 stars. LGBTQ clubs have existed at Eastfield, but they are student-run and several faculty members have said the clubs are hard to maintain because Eastfield is a two-year commuter college. “When I came into OSER and began working with the student engagement team, it was an area where See Sticker, page 5 ➤
Transgender speaker highlights inadequate support By JOSUE HERNANDEZ Reporter @TheEtCetera
Tears flow uncontrollably from Leslie McMurray’s face, as she sits defeated on the ground at her house. Feeling unsafe and full of panic, Leslie finally has lost all hope. Leaning back against a gun-safe she holds a fully loaded .45 caliber handgun. The safety is off. According to The Trevor Project, 40 percent of transgender adults reported having attempted suicide. LGBT youth are five times as likely to have attempted suicide compared to heterosexual youth. Resource Center’s representatives Rafael McDonnell and McMurray spoke March 26 on mental health, substance abuse and current political issues facing LGBT community members. McMurray, who is the insurance assistance coordinator at the Resource Center, shared her personal experience as a transgender individual.
“I came very, very close to ending it,” she said. “I didn’t think there was any reason to live anymore.” McMurray felt “hidden” throughout her life. She began hormone therapy in 2013 and began the transition from male to female. Having worked for CBS as a radio host for over 30 years, she earned her way up to a sixfigure income, a 4,500 square foot home and a very comfortable life. But she was willing to give it all up to finally be who she says she had always been. McMurray’s life was turned upside down after initially announcing her transition. She recalls a period of about 90 days. “I lost a 33-year marriage,” she said. “I lost that really nice, safe house. I lost a job that I dearly loved.” And I learned very quickly that I also lost a career, because I was pretty much un-hireable.” This sudden life change and the unwelcoming societal behavior toward transgender people all led McMurray to that day, gun in hand.
McMurray now spends her time raising awareness, and is an avid advocate of LGBT rights. Since that day she has not come close to those dark thoughts again. “I don’t have a lot of money... but at least I have me,” she said. “I feel good about myself.” There are 89 school districts within the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Only five have any kind of LGBT affirmative or comprehensive anti-bullying policies, McDonnell said. “It is important to feel safe at school,” said Lauren Anderson, the activities coordinator at Eastfield. “Set expectations in that homophobic and transphobic behavior or words are not going to be something that you will idly let stand,” McDonnell said. Stacy Bailey, a teacher at Charlotte Anderson Elementary School in Arlington, was placed under administrative paid leave. Mansfield Independent School District says parents made complaints regarding her speaking to
their children about her sexual orientation. According to the district’s statement Bailey was suspended because she “insists that it is her right and that it is age appropriate for her to have ongoing discussions with elementary-aged students about her own sexual orientation.” Fully transitioning genders is not an expense every transgender person can easily afford. Typically a gender reassignment transformation can range anywhere from $20,000 to more than $100,000. Depending on the case, a patient can take multiple years before they are ready to move on to the surgery. After the hormone treatment, most doctors require patients to have a certain amount of therapy time, as the surgery is irreversible. McMurray is thankful she had the money to fully complete the change, although she had to dip into her retirement account. The current political and social climate for the LGBT community
does not allow for a comfortable or equal life. “There is really no safe place to be outside the home,” she said The federal protection of Title VII under the Civil Rights Act does not extend to her community. There is no housing or job protection. McMurray feels that all these conditions do not allow the LGBT community to be part of “polite society.” “The single biggest thing you can do is vote,” McMurray said. “Thinking that your vote doesn’t matter just allows other people to speak for you. Don’t do that.” She added that advocates of the LGBT community should be vocal in local government, as well as being involved in their schools and communities. Most importantly allies can be a “gentle listening ear.” “We really by and large just want to blend in,” McMurray said. “We don’t want anything special, we just want to assimilate and be who we are.”
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Marching against guns
Thousands of local student activists, educators and parents took to the streets on March 24, joining the nationwide March for Our Lives protests. Survivors of the deadly shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school on Feb. 14 led hundreds of thousands in Washington, D.C., Boston, Los Angeles, Austin and other major cities. Demonstrators were advocating for gun control legislation, including a ban on assault weapons, waiting periods for purchases, magazine restrictions and universal background checks. It’s estimated that at least 5,000 people attended the march in downtown Dallas, including relatives of Parkland shooting victim Alex Schachter. — Compiled by David Silva
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Top left, students and teens weren’t the only protesters marching March 24 at Dallas City Hall. Bottom left, adults and seniors carried signs supporting the student activists’ demands for stricter gun laws. Top right, a protestor wears a graphic depiction of gun violence in American schools, using makeup to emulate a gunshot wound to the head. Top left, students lead the March for Our lives protest in Dallas.
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New buildings in phase 1
Arts and retail in “Eastfield Spring” New buildings in phases 2 and 3 Existing buildings New sport fields
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New plan to improve campus in board’s hands By JAMES HARTLEY Editor in Chief @JamesHartleyETC
Eastfield would demolish N, A and F Buildings and add a new retail and fine arts center and tournament-level sports facilities under a proposed master plan for the campus. The master plan, which started at Eastfield and became a Dallas County Community College District-wide initiative, aims to predict trends in education and future needs for district campuses and get ahead of the curve. Eastfield’s master plan calls for more than 15 new buildings over 20 years. New buildings will be built before old structures are demolished. The plan would also move the entrance of the college to face Interstate 30. At this point, the master plan is more like a dream plan, Vice President of Business Services Adrian Douglas said. No price estimates have been placed on the changes, and the master plan could be turned down or modified by the Board of Trustees. “We know what our plan is, which we feel really good about,” Douglas said. “So if we’re asked, we know if we need to prioritize things.” There’s no indication yet as to how long it
will take for the Board of Trustees to make any decisions on master plans. History professor Matt Hinckley, president of Eastfield’s Faculty Association, said he personally supports the master plan. “My first impression was just how ambitious it is,” he said. “What a good vision for the future of this college it is. The college is approaching 50 years old. A lot of our facilities are aging and in need of a lot of maintenance. Some of them are just out of date. Our infrastructure is woefully inadequate. When the college was built, most of the buildings didn’t even have elevators.” Hinckley said that inaccessible bathrooms, too few power outlets for computer labs and student power needs and poorly built foundations all mean Eastfield is in real need of new structures to replace those that will not last. Some structural issues, due to buildings on campus being built on a manmade hill, cannot be fixed, President Jean Conway said during a recent presentation to the Board of Trustees. Those buildings that are structurally unsalvageable — N, F and A — will be demolished if the plan is approved. The plan, which is broken down into fiveyear, 10-year and 20-year phases, also includes
forming a partnership with the city of Mesquite to create a retail and community space around a natural pond and the new fine arts center, dubbed Eastfield Springs. Eastfield Springs will occupy the current baseball field on campus. “It’s important for people to understand that everything is phased,” Conway said. “It’s not all going to happen at once. We’ve got plans for, ‘Well, you’re going to tear down this building, what are you going to do with us?’ So the plans are truly looking at that.” Hinckley said the new education buildings and new fine arts building sound like good ideas, as long as they are done right. “If they build a fine performing arts center, will it have the same number of classroom facilities and the same number of art studios and the same number of music practice rooms?” Hinckley asked. “Or an increased number to accommodate growing student demand in the new facility? I think they should, obviously. If they don’t that would be a problem, but let’s hope that they do.” Douglas said the whole master plan is designed to be flexible and that planners will continue to gather community input on designs and functionality, especially for classrooms in any new buildings.
“There may be teaching methodology that we are not even anticipating,” Conway said. “If we, in our plan, make it so that spaces are flexible, then it will let the teaching process and the learning process evolve.” Conway and Douglas said adequate space is one of the primary concerns around the master plan. Some details, such as what faculty offices will look like, are still under consideration. “I think where we will look at going is offices that can be modular, that can be also flexible spaces so that we’re able to adjust and accommodate staff and needs as we see fit or as we deem necessary,” Douglas said. “It could be that there could be fewer offices, more open spaces with cubicles, we don’t know. But it needs to be something that can be flexible, and right now with office spaces and doors, with everyone right there, it’s not very flexible.” Conway stressed that faculty and staff input will be an important part of the process throughout the execution of the master plan, especially when it comes to details that directly impact them as users, such as office space. “We will present, ‘Here’s the challenge, help us solve this,’ ” Conway said. “It’s important that See Master plan, page 12 ➤
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PUT IT ON YOUR
Calendar April
Wed
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Recital series: Early Brass Ensemble, 12:30 p.m., F-117 Workout Wednesday: kickboxing, 12:30-1:30 p.m., Lower Courtyard Classic guitarist Emma Rush, 8 p.m., F-117
Fri
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Fun Friday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., the Hive
Mon
Student Veterans of America club fundraiser, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., the Hive
Tue
Faculty/Student Game Show, 12:30-1:45 p.m., the Hive
Wed
Communication Club fundraiser, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., the Hive
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Science Club fundraiser, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., the Hive, also April 12 and 13 STEMinar: Small Hidden Treasures, a Primer on Micropeptides, noon, S-100 Workshop: Create a Student-Friendly Budget, 11 a.m., C-237 Recital series: Keyboard Department, 12:30 p.m., F-117
Tue
Last day to withdraw
Fri
Student Government Association, noon, C-297
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Recital series; Guitar Department, 12:30 p.m., F-117
Mon
Financial literacy event, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., the Hive
Wed
MALES club fundraiser, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., the Hive
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Speaker: Quitting Tobacco, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., G-101 Recital series; Texas Guitar Quartet, 12:30 p.m., F-117 Workout Wednesday: dance, 12:30-1:30 p.m., Lower Courtyard
ABOUT THE COVER DESIGN BY MANUEL GUAPO
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Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Sticker defacement worries faculty Continued from page 2 I saw a gap in programming and services,” Launius said, who has a background in diversity education and has facilitated safe zone trainings. Launius said that it’s important that the institution uphold and support programs for LGBTQ students so that the programs don’t die when students and staff move on. “I can step in and say, ‘Oh, I see a gap.’ I’m gonna offer some trainings. But it’s not in my dedicated job description, so if I leave that’s just something I was doing as a passion project.” Launius said OSER has plans to celebrate LGBT history month in October, which is also the same month as National Coming Out Day. According to the Campus Climate Report produced by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 20 percent of students, faculty and staff at colleges across the country reported fearing for their physical safety because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Over half of the people surveyed said they concealed their sexual orientation or gender identity to avoid intimidation. The report says victims of anti-LGBTQ violence may suffer from chronic stress, depression, low self-esteem and other negative effects. Leslie McMurray and Rafael McDonnell from the Resource Center visited Eastfield on March 26 and spoke about issues affecting the
LGBTQ community. As a transgender woman, McMurray was able to share her experiences and explain the barriers she says she faces in society. “You look at the inability to use a bathroom outside the home, no housing protection, no job protection, access to healthcare, and serving in the military,” she said. “When you pull away hope, people can start thinking bad things. You get desperate.” A comprehensive anti-bullying policy is important for schools to emphasize, McMurray said. “You can’t learn if you’re scared to death, or if you don’t feel welcome,” she said. The safe zone stickers around campus provide visibility of LBGTQ support for students, but there are more steps colleges can take, McDonnell said, who serves at the Resource Center’s communications and advocacy manager. “It’s good to have stickers, but I think you’ve got to have the training that goes with it.” he said. “[Colleges should] encourage people to go through the training to get the stickers.” More training on how to better support LGBTQ students is an idea several faculty and staff are behind. “Most of it is actually having a safe training for our staff members and our faculty to make sure that we are servicing our students and our colleagues and making sure that we
are a safe space and not just giving it lip service,” said Courtney Pickens, the Providing Hope, Awareness, & Suicide Education Project Program Coordinator. Launius said training plays an important role in creating an environment that is supportive of LGBTQ students. “Training creates visibility,” she said. “So it’s important for there to be visibility around the diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity because I think that there are real gaps here on campus in the services that we’re providing to students, in the support and even just in knowledge.” Knowledge of the LGBTQ community is what can help create a better environment on campus, said Niko Robbins, a medical engineering student. “I think a lot of the time the problem is not that people are transphobic, but sometimes they just don’t have the information they need,” Robbins said. The administration’s response when attention was called to LGBTQ support on campus has given David Willburn, an art instructor, hope that progress is being made. “I feel encouraged by the fact that, prompted by faculty, the administration is recognizing their role,” he said. “And in cases of creating this sense of institutional equity and equality, it has to start at the top. It has to come from the administration.”
Willburn said Eastfield could be the leader for putting DCCCD’s antidiscrimination policies into practice, and Eastfield has the right administration to do it. He said the messages that student media, the administration and Eastfield send need to be considered to create a space where students can seek support. When a recent opinion piece was published in the Et Cetera about sexuality being a choice, Willburn said there was a larger, far-reaching social impact. “It felt like it was just not a First Amendment issue,” Willburn said. “Does the Et Cetera have a higher standard to say… ‘We’re not going to shine a light on things that are just meant to cause harm for the sake of causing harm?’” Willburn said the opinion piece was reflective of old ideas. McMurray said there are steps that students, faculty and staff can take themselves that don’t require a club or a program provided by the administration. “Be a gentle listening ear if someone wants to come out to you,” she said. “For me, coming out was very difficult. It was a secret I’d held my whole life. I didn’t feel safe telling it to anybody. If you’re the type of person that someone feels safe talking to, you’re worth your weight in gold, and you don’t have to do anything other than just listen and make it a safe space.”
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STEM week examines life By ANDREW WALTER Staff Writer @TheEtCetera
With topics ranging from fetal pig dissections to learning how to repair stroke damage in mice, Eastfield’s STEM week showcased current science-related research. The week, which was held March 5-9 and sponsored by the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Division, featured games and activities along with opportunities to participate in creative learning. The week kicked off with a STEMinar presented by a post-doctoral fellow at University of Texas Southwestern Sterling Ortega. Ortega told students about studies surrounding the immune system of a mouse and its part in stroke recovery. In Ortega’s lab, the research on mice focuses on observing a stroke and the effects it has in the mice with hopes of finding better stroke rehabilitation methods for humans. “How do we help [stroke patients] recover?” Ortega asked. “Most people would say, ‘Well, it’s a brain disease, let’s help the brain. The neurons that got damaged or killed, let’s replace them.’ We do that, but we don’t go directly to the neuron, we use the immune system… the white blood cells in your blood.” Architecture major Abednego Leal said that he was glad he attended the STEMinar even though he went on a whim. “I always knew about lab mice being used to research medical science, but I had no idea that the immune system could play such a pivotal role in rehabilitation for strokes,” he said. “Learning about that made the presentation go from mildly interesting to truly fascinating.” Other events included a solar observation and a demonstration in the chemistry lab. Attendees to the solar observation had the opportunity to look through a telescope and observe a solar minimum, a period where the sun displays little to no sunspots. This occurs in a cycle every 11 to 12 years. In the chemistry lab, facilitators demonstrated the use of a variety of chemical mixtures to change the color of flames to vibrant reds, bluegreens and purples. Other experiments included a chemical reaction that spouted a rainbow of foam, milk that appeared to move on its own thanks to an add-
SOURCES: PEW RESEARCH, FORBES
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By JAMES EYRE Reporter @TheEtCetera
to school and making sure that I get my degree. He would tell me ‘don’t forget where you came from. Make sure you give back and treat people right.’” Neave has made proposals to make Eastfield a polling place due to its diverse population of more than 14,000 students, and to make a college ID an appropriate form of voter ID. She said many college students do not possess the current types of acceptable Voter ID. She believes that both of her proposals, should they be enacted, will make college students not only more able to vote, but also more motivated to vote. “There are a lot of people who don’t want you to vote,” she argued. “They want you to stay home… just go to class.” Neave’s words touched the students in attendance.“I really like that Rep. Neave came out and spoke with us,” SGA Representative Lillian Vazquez said. “That really shows how much she is dedicated to the students and her community. It was really great that she was promoting young people in college to go out and vote more,” Vazques said. SGA President Yazmin Lopez was also moved by the presentation. She was drawn to Neave’s proposal to make Eastfield a polling place, and was quick to explore the benefits. “We need people, a new generation of young people to come to the polls and vote,” she said. “If they bring a polling place to Eastfield, that means young people are able to vote… That’s one of the things with SGA I try to promote.” The next voting cycle will begin May 14, for the Primaries runoff. The General Election will be Nov. 6.
Millennial political participation increasing
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Vanessa Sosa holds a tube with DNA extracted from a strawberry.
ed drop of dish soap, and the magic of a reigniting candle. Wednesday featured a not for the faint of heart fetal pig dissection hosted by biology professors Pebble Barbero and Danita Bradshaw-Ward. Participants donned latex gloves to poke and prod the organ structure. “We chose to dissect a pig because it is most like a human, and just to kind of give the students an idea of what it looks like inside them,” Barbero said. When students asked about what are the differences between a pig and human organ structure, BradshawWard explained how the reproductive systems differ, such as humans having pear-shaped ovaries and pigs having oval-shaped ovaries. “Female pigs can have litters, and we are not necessarily designed to have litters,” she said. “We have multiple babies, but usually over three is rare, and it’s quite difficult for a human female to carry that many children.” Students had the opportunity to learn how easy it can be to extract DNA from strawberries as well as from themselves on Thursday. The ingredients needed for the extraction were items found in almost
any home: dish soap, a meat tenderizer and cold 70-percent alcohol. Students stored the DNA they extracted from strawberries or their cheeks in small vials and made them into necklaces to take home as gifts. On the last day of STEM week, a trivia contest was held testing students’ knowledge of leading female figures who were unparalleled pioneers of their time. Contestants were tasked with identifying the person’s name given only a brief description of some of their work and accomplishments. Once the contest was over, three winners were given a coupon for a free Subway sandwich. “Our main goal, as always, is to expose the students, staff and other faculty members to the wide variety of topics that occupy STEM,” said Amy Vance, interim executive dean of the STEM Division. When asked what topics she might want to see presented next year, Vance commented on how well Eastfield’s sports teams have been doing and how she wanted to see something that would tie in with them. “I would like to see something related to the physics of sport or food chemistry.”
Research by pollsters has consistently found voter turnout among millennials has been dwindling the past several years. The issue was a hot topic when State Representative Victoria Neave visited Eastfield on Feb. 28 as part of the Student Government Association’s Voter Registration Forum. A poll conducted by Forbes in 2016 estimated that in primary elections, fewer than 20% of millennials who are eligible to vote actually do, and that number has never exceeded 50% in the poll’s history. Last year, the University of Michigan launched a similar study with a similar outcome, finding that at last midterm, the number was 14%.SGA Vice-President Celeste Canales, a psychology major, found the statistics disheartening. “Our city, state and country hurt because very few people become the change they want to see,” she said. However, Neave is optimistic that the number will rise. “I think these times we are in right now are very exciting,” she said. “We are starting to see an increase in the voter turnout of populations that hadn’t voted in significant numbers in the past.”She said her own campaign involved several millennials who were determined to help other millennials vote. A first generation Mexican-American, Neave has been heavily inspired by her immigrant father. “He came with a sixth-grade education, but he also came with a dream,” she said. “My parents emphasized to me over and over the importance of an education and going
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The Kwinton Gray Project, fronted by Eastfield graduate Kwinton Gray, far left, performs on campus during Black History Month. His brother, KJ Gray, is also a former Eastfield student.
Kwinton Gray strives to tell stories through music By JOSUE HERNANDEZ Staff Writer @JHernandezETC
Kwinton Gray sits relaxed between his Nord Stage 2 EX keyboard and a grand piano, gazing out into a room where he once sat and watched other musicians play. His large frame sits tall on the piano bench as he begins running his hands from one end of the keys to the other. The 23-year-old musician wears his jeans cuffed to reveal an array of colors on his feet. His lively Adidas floral print high-tops contrast against the golden piano pedals. Gray moves his eyes onto the rest of the band, and with one final nod, they know it’s time to shine. Gray and his brother KJ, 25, who are both former Eastfield music students, recently returned to campus with their band The Kwinton Gray Project to perform for the Wednesday Recital Series. It was only a few years ago that they were fine-tuning their musical talents under the direction of professors Oscar Passley, Kent Ellingson, Eddie Healy, Pierrette Mouledous and others. “It was somewhat of a homecoming,” Passley said. “A lot of times when you teach somebody you don’t really know if you made a difference until way later, but I’ve been teaching
long enough to know that way later is now. It’s cool to start seeing the fruits of your teaching.” Passley recalls how KJ initially wanted to be an engineer, while Kwinton wanted to go into real estate. “It took me about a year to help [Kwinton] realize that he probably should do music,” Passley said. “I knew he should be doing music before he did.” Awarded “best keyboardist” in 2017 by the Dallas Observer, Kwinton has made a big splash early in his career. He has already had the opportunity to play alongside many recognizable names in the music scene, such as Kenny Garret, Darryl Jones, fellow Eastfield alum Bobby Sparks, Derek Winkley, and Larry Dunn, keyboardist from the group Earth, Wind and Fire. Kwinton has also performed in several musicals at the Dallas Theatre Center. His most recent was “Hood: The Robin Hood Musical.” He also performed at the “A’la Villette Jazz Festival” in Paris. “Kwinton is really talented. He wrote all the songs. He’s the mastermind,” said Jonathan Mones, who plays the flute in addition to the saxophone and has been with the Kwinton Gray Project for about three years. “Without him, there wouldn’t
be this band.” As full-time musicians, Kwinton and KJ stay busy. Both belong to other bands, including Friday’s Foolery, a more pop-oriented group that plays every Tuesday night at Three Links in Deep Ellum. “I’ve taught long enough to see plenty of kids that are talented, but then they don’t work hard,” Passley said. “Both of them worked hard.” Kwinton is currently preparing to tour with Dallas-based jazz group “The Funky Knuckles” later this year, but he enjoys all types of music. He even played in a Texas country band early in his career. “I don’t really consider myself a jazz musician,” he said. “I don’t know what that is. I just consider myself a musician. My favorite artist of all time is Stevie Wonder. Everything he did was not theory based, it was feeling based. It was a true expression of inner self through music.” The Grays also have an older sister, Kierra, who is a full-time musician. Kwinton attributes the siblings’ musical talents and interest in music to their father, even though he never played an instrument. “I was very fortunate that my dad loves music,” Kwinton said. “He never played anything, but he loves music, so he probably has more music on his computer than I do.”
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KJ Gray, of the Kwinton Gray Project, performs at a recent concert on campus.
The band played four original compositions, starting with “Leap of Faith,” a tune written by Kwinton featuring KJ plucking a jazz bassline that keeps the rhythm moving forward. The composition shifts into an upbeat saxophone melody by Mones, then a drum and percussion solo. Jackie Whitmill on drums and Nicholas Rothouse on percussion engage in a synchronized battle, with drumsticks and hands as weapons and their rhythm as ammunition. “It’s the first song I ever wrote for this group, and that’s going to be the name of my album.” Kwinton said. “When I [made my] leap of faith it was a relief for me — starting my own band instead of being a musician for somebody, and making that transition from just a musician to now an artist.” The group then played originals
“For Lease,” “Bamboo” and “Pure Tamir,” a song that Kwinton said he wrote about “the pureness and innocence” of Tamir Rice, a 12-yearold boy killed by police in Cleveland, Ohio, in November 2014. The number began with a somber intro, as only Kwinton’s keyboard could be heard. Then the rest of the band slowly joined in, adding conflict as the piece progressed into a violent mesh of war between instruments. “The beautiful thing about being a musician is being able to tell a story,” said Kwinton, who penned the following lines under his YouTube performance of the song: “I wrote this song about a 12 year-old king. I imagined all the things that he dreamed, and could’ve seen. This year he would’ve been 16.” Music student Michael Ver Steeg See Graduate, page 12 ➤
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Women’s panel examines where #MeToo is today By SAMUEL FARLEY Reporter @TheEtCetera
The #MeToo movement has encouraged thousands of women to speak up about their stories of sexual assault and discrimination in society today. Women like Judith Dumont, who told students about her own story of sexual assault during a panel discussion March 22. “I was date raped at 16, and I didn’t speak up about it until I was 24,” she said. Dumont said that after attending the women’s march on Washington she was, “glad that I shared my story and I’m going to keep talking about it.” Dumont, the executive dean of Workforce, Corporate and Continuing Education, was one of five women who sat on the women’s panel. Although most Americans now know about the #MeToo movement, the truth is that it started long before any of the recent stories involving celebrities surfaced. Fellow panelist India Stewart, a sociology professor, pointed out that people might not know it, but this movement did not start with Harvey Weinstein. “#MeToo as a movement was started by a woman of color,” she said, “We don’t necessarily acknowledge the work that Tarana Burke has been doing for a very long time.” Burke, an African-American civil rights activist, started the #MeToo movement back in 2006 on MySpace. While the lawsuits against Harvey Weinstein and other high profile men has brought major attention to the #MeToo movement, they are only a piece of the ongoing story. For Dumont, the #MeToo movement is about empowerment. “The legacy I want to provide for future generations is that you don’t speak up after it happens, you speak up as it’s happening” Dumont said. Aley Salcedo, a former Eastfield student leader of the year, spoke about having an active voice in local government. “How many of you live in Mesquite?” Salcedo asked students. A few hands rose up across the room. “I will tell you right now, I have never seen you guys at a town hall meeting.” Salcedo shared her experience about speaking up to the Mesquite city council and why she voices her opinion on issues such as bathrooms for transgender citizens. “When they started the bathroom bill, I was on it, because if someone is doing everything right and yet they can’t go to the bathroom of their choice because of how they identify. That’s wrong, and it makes no sense,” Salcedo said. “We have come across this idea today that if you vote it doesn’t really matter, bologna, it does matter and you really can make a difference.” Joanna Cattanach, Democratic nominee for Texas House District 108, spoke about being a women in politics and the harassment she has
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Judith Dumont shares her #MeToo story.
faced from both men and women. “I know what it’s like to experience sexual harassment in the workplace and I know what it’s like to not report it,” She said. Cattanach also said women in the #MeToo movement have had an impact on politics. “Until last year, the Texas state legislature didn’t have a sexual harassment policy,” she said, “there was no punishment for it because there wasn’t a policy against it. The #MeToo movement helped bring that to light. It’s not just the men. Women are vicious to each other and when we take part in dehumanizing terms we are all lowering the level of conversation.” Tracy Everbach, a professor of journalism at the University of North Texas and co-author of “Mediating Misogyny,” picked up on the issue of harassment on the internet, but said that social media is not all bad. “The women’s march came to fruition because of social media,” she said, “Someone had an idea the day after the election and began sending messages out via Facebook and Twitter and the whole thing came together.” She pointed out that although the #MeToo movement has been good, there are consequences to social media. “The book that we recently came out with discusses this problem of women getting harassed on social media by rape and death threats simply because they are willing to speak out,” Everbach said. She also talked about holding social media providers accountable for the content they allow on their platforms. “Social media companies are going to have to start taking responsibility for these types of comments because social media is no longer just a place where we go to share photos of our families,” she said. During the audience questions segment, Dumont said knowing when someone is okay with how you are acting towards them is critical to making sure you have their consent. “Consent is always about if it can happen, when it can happen, and how it can happen,” Dumont said. “And when those three things are taken away from you, that is when it becomes dangerous.”
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LIFE&ARTS
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LIT & FINE ARTS FESTIVAL CALENDAR April 4 Haiku Workshop, 10:10-11:05 a.m., G-101 Pop Culture and Classical Literature Presentation, 10:10 a.m., Pleasant Grove campus, 2 p.m., room TBA April 5 Pop Culture and Classical Literature Exhibition, 11 a.m.12:20 p.m., Pleasant Grove campus, exhibit continues through April 12 Jazz Under the Stars, 5-7 p.m., Lower Courtyard April 10 Eastfield’s Got Talent Auditions, 2-6 p.m., C-135, sign-up at eastfieldcollege. edu/gottalent April 11 Dance and Snack , 12:30 p.m., Lower Courtyard The Et Cetera’s Poetry Slam, 5:30 p.m., G-101 April 12 Digital Media Workshop, 11:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m., L-116 Tierra Firme Workshop, noon2 p.m., Vibe Lounge Gallery show: H. Schenck, opening reception 6-8:30 p.m., gallery talk 6:45 p.m., H Gallery, show open through May 11 April 16 Lecture: Photojournalist Kael Alford, 12:30 p.m., G-101 April 19 Tierra Firme Workshop, noon2 p.m., Vibe Lounge Play: Anna in the Tropics, 7:30 p.m., Performance Hall April 20 Play: Anna in the Tropics, 11:15 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., Performance Hall April 23 Lecture: Digital Scholarship, Cody Jackson of TWU, 11:15 a.m., G-101 April 24 Communications Career Day, 11 a.m., G-101 April 25 Spring Juried Student Art Exhibition, reception 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. , Gallery 219, show open through May 4 April 26 Tierra Firme Workshop, noon2 p.m., Vibe Lounge Spring Dance Concert, 7:30 p.m., Performance Hall April 27 Spring Dance Concert, 7:30 p.m., Performance Hall May 1 Eastfield’s Got Talent Show, 6 p.m., Performance Hall
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Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Celebrating Artistry The Literary & Fine Arts Festival kicked off April 3 with a League of Innovation award ceremony, the reveal of new Alternative cover and a party in a makeshift speakeasy in the Pit. Tierra Firme returned to campus April 3 as a part of the kickoff, beginning work on a land loom piece, an interactive exhibit in the Vibe Lounge, above the pit. The festival lasts throughout April and ends May 1 with the Eastfield’s got Talent show. See the Literary & Fine Arts Festival calendar for more events and details. — Compiled by James Hartley
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Above, student Durene Tezock, left, and Saita Westrup of Tierra Firme weave the start of a land loom, a loom image of a landscape. Tierra Firme will return to campus April 5 to continue work on the loom, currently in the Vibe Lounge. Middle, the Literary & Fine Arts Festival kicked off April 3 with an award ceremony for League for Innovation award winners and a speakeasy with non-alcoholic beverages, “The Alternative” and “The Bee’s Knees.” Bottom left, Bethany Dunn reads from her poem “Unexpected,” which placed second in the League for Innovation. Bottom right, Students, faculty and staff had to whisper “The cat’s meow” to get into the speak easy April 3. The Office of Student Engagement and Retention offered free drinks and snacks to students who came into the ‘20s-themed lounge in the Hive. ANTHONY LAZON/THE ET CETERA
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Wednesday, April 4, 2018
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Musicians share stories of tragedy, finding hope By COLIN TAYLOR Reporter @TheEtCetera
Suicide survivor and musician Jennifer Sturgis spoke on campus about the suicide prevention group Foundation 45 and breaking the stigma of depression being an exclusively internal battle. During the “Unplugged: Breaking Stigma Through Music” event on March 29, Sturgis talked about the resources and history behind the group. Member and artist Michael Posival also performed eight original songs, ranging from melodic and dark to bright and goofy. Foundation 45, a volunteer-run organization geared to help musicians and artists battle mental health issues, was founded by Anthony Delabano following the deaths of his Spector 45 bandmates Frankie Campagna and Adam Carter. Sturgis spoke on how Foundation 45 offers a different platform than other counseling services. They do not charge for their services and do not require those in need to set up appointments. They have three groups that meet weekly with licensed trained professionals to voice
their issues. “We do it in a way that works for people who necessarily don’t have health insurance or don’t want to go to a church and need to pray and do those types of things to find a solution to their problem,” Sturgis said. “It’s a place where you can come as you are, say exactly what you need to say and receive support from people you never knew. For me it’s therapy. For so many of us it’s therapy.” She said creating music can also give someone a voice they are not comfortable utilizing in a conversational setting. “[Music] is a place where I can share those emotions that otherwise would make me look crazy,” she said. Posival’s performance included a variety of original tunes with his acoustic guitar, a microphone and his lyric sheets. The songs discussed failing or failed relationships, alcoholic issues and succumbing to depression. Posival talked about how the lyrics drive the creative process for his music. Each song was met with resounding applause. Mike Middleton, a music major and saxophone player for the Eastfield Jazz Ensemble, shared how music gave him a voice when he didn’t
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Michael Posival, a member of Foundation 45 preformed eight original songs during the “Unplugged: Breaking Stigma Through Music” event on March 29.
have one. “I was born with a speech impediment, so I couldn’t really speak that well,” he said. “When I got an instru-
ment, that’s the way I was able to convey how I felt when I really couldn’t.” Middleton didn’t allow his impediment to control his life, getting
the help he needed through speech therapy classes. He still keeps the saxophone around, however. “It’s always been a part of my life,” he said. “I picked up guitar and then I picked up sax a year later and now I’m here.” Christopher Hogg, criminal justice major, said that music offers a connection to others who are struggling as a way to relay information to an audience that not only can hear the words but feel the emotions. “Music that appeals to me are the ones that are relatable,” he said. “Once you hear that music you think to yourself that somebody else has been through or going through whatever you’re going through. It’s kinda nice knowing you aren’t going through that alone.” Sturgis echoed the sentiment of not being alone during an emotional closing anecdote on dispelling that admittance and seeking help is for the weak. “To be able to own the emotions that you have and share them in a way to allow you to figure out a way to express it, to get it out there to find a solution, its power,” she said. “And the more you do it, the more powerful you become.”
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Eastfield College 3737 Motley Drive Mesquite, TX 75150 Phone: 972-860-7130 Fax: 972-860-7646 Email: etc4640@dcccd.edu Editor in Chief James Hartley Digital Managing Editor David Silva Managing Editor Bryan Perez Life & Arts Editor Caroline Ceolin Design Editor Manuel Guapo Photo Editors Yesenia Alvarado
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Advertising & Marketing Keturah Hill Student Publications Adviser Elizabeth Langton Digital Media Adviser Sarah Sheldon Faculty Adviser Lori Dann Editorial Policy 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. 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. Deliver letters to Room N-240 or send to etc4640@dcccd.edu.
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Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Drink to your health: the benefits of beer Studies show that beer will actually keep you healthy. No, you did not misread that. The idea of beer being healthy, to me at least, feels almost wrong to type out. It feels like I’d have to follow that statement with something equally absurd like, “Eating four steaks in sequence promotes luxurious hair,” or, “Man sticks hand in active beehive to exfoliate skin, now silky smooth.” In fact, mentioning beer seems to push the “unhealthy” button in almost anyone’s subconscious. Thoughts usually come to mind of middle-aged men who greet a room with their stomachs long before their faces do, and images of all-night benders, heinous hangovers, and regrettable decisions tend to follow shortly after. However, I think with these new findings, beer can drop almost all this negative stigma and be per-
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ceived as genuinely beneficial and not just another method of getting smashed. Enter Keiji Kondo, he is a member of the Research and Development Department of the Kirin Brewery Company. He is one of the researchers whose studies have brought this strange news to light. In one of his reports, he states that, “the light-to-moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages is associated with significant reductions in all-cause mortality, particularly cardiovascular.” Basically, this means that beer will help your heart not give out from a Death Note-style cardiac arrest. The article goes on to mention and detail how certain
chemicals and a high silica content found in hops, a main component in brewing beer, may help prevent the onset of some nasty ailments. Things like osteoporosis, type II diabetes, and even formation of certain cancer cells are on the shortlist of things that beer keeps at bay. In a Newsweek Global article published in 2015, it was also mentioned that beer actually helps decrease obesity, instead of increasing it. This means that the aforementioned “beer gut” is usually caused by the food that’s eaten with beer rather than beer itself. These findings mean that beer not only makes you feel like the crowned king of socializers whilst you’re “impressing” that one girl from English 1301 with your Halo LAN party stories (“Dude, you just had to be there”), but it also makes your body quite a bit healthier doing so. Even with all its benefits, however, it’s still an alcoholic beverage.
Students deserve a prettier campus Walking around, photographing Eastfield’s campus on the first day of spring, I could not get a good composition without something ruining my shot. Whether it was dead plants or the drabby, run-down paint from the buildings, there was something that made my photographs less appealing. The campus has seen some renovations as of late. Bathrooms and staircases are being updated, easle displays for on-campus marketing have been replaced with sleek towers of posters and the exterior is getting a face lift in the form of a paint job. But in the efforts to update and revitalize the campus, Eastfield has had a run for its money. Its infrastructure is worn, plants are dying and the interior of core buildings is not looking its best. The campus looks the same as it did in the 1970s, but a little worse. It has a few eye catching places, such as the giant silver ball in the upper courtyard that is impressive at first, but then gets dull with each passing. The G-building is one of the only places on campus with an attractive interior and exterior. The outside walls of Eastfield look as if they have not been painted
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since the campus opened, although that is currently changing. The campus is being coated in three new colors making it pop out, excluding buildings T, W and K. The upper courtyard is also being revived with the removal of most of the dead plants. Those plants are being replaced with new ones. There has also been a new addition of flowers throughout campus, giving it more color. All of these changes are improvements on the way the campus looked before, but the interior still looks bland with its ugly carpet and tacky seats that have no back support. They are literally cubes and rectangles just scattered around the buildings. Do not get me wrong. I am not the best dressed, but I at least know what colors to mix and match. It is not all bad, though. Some buildings have seen improvements. The C Building’s Welcome Center
went through improvements over spring break with a fresh set of paint, seating and computers for orientation. Other interior improvements have been bathrooms in C and N, two of the worst bathrooms on campus. Eastfield is the second oldest Dallas County Community College District campus. In many ways it feels like we’re stuck in the 1970s. If Eastfield wants to compete with other DCCCD campuses such as Brookhaven, which has water fountains, modern designs and great student lounging areas, Eastfield needs to get with the times and get its infrastructure and interior design in check to appeal to the youth. Nobody wants to go to a bland looking college. Adminstators have big plans for Eastfield’s long-term improvement, but it will be years before those plans become reality – if they even get approved by the district. Most current students will be long gone by then. In the meantime, I welcome the minor changes that improve the campus environment. — Jesus Ayala is a photo editor and a journalism major.
Don’t get too eager to become the healthiest guy, gal, or non-binary pal on campus and go out doing kegstands with that Thaddeus Chinstrap fellow you met in G building. — This is all in terms of 1 beer a day. Not to mention that if you do follow through with that wicked keg-stand, you’ll end up offsetting the numerous health benefits by either, A: giving you a massive hangover, or B: having all that healthy beer pumped out of your stomach by some doctor who’s going to make jokes about your “health cleanse” to Sharon at the receptionist’s desk. Don’t make Sharon disappointed in you; keep it classy people. As long as you do keep it in moderation, you’ll be rewarded with a healthier body, a happy conscience, and a great excuse to invite your buddies over for a cold one. (For health purposes, of course!) — Gary Magenheimer is a contributor and engineering major.
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WRAP UP
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
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Graduates inspire Master plan adds needed space music students Continued from page 4
Continued from page 7 said this recital had a different feel than others he has attended. “Others really use a lot of classical pieces and basically, they do covers,” he said. “It was nice how they shared original pieces and how they related some of it to real-life events. It’s inspirational. I hope to do that one day.” Before the band ended the set with a cover of Joe Henderson’s “Black Narcissus,” Passley gave an inspiring message to the younger musicians in the audience. “For the students feeling overwhelmed and feeling like giving up, you see, like KJ you can start late and still learn your craft,” he said. “Don’t let not knowing how to read music stop you from doing what you love.” At the end of the performance students, faculty and staff showed their appreciation for Kwinton and company. The band will be releasing their first full album this month. “I don’t want to discredit any of the other recitals, but this one has been
my favorite so far,” voice major Vanessa Kincheloe said. Fellow music student Irene Recendez agreed, saying it was Kwinton Gray inspiring for students to see performers that they can relate to. “It was such a new vibe,” she said. “Usually, the performances we get are older classical or jazz styles, but this was so fresh because the performers were so young.” Afterward, the students got a chance to ask the Kwinton Gray Project band members questions and get their advice. “The performance was amazing,” music education major Jazmine Gonzales said. “It really inspired me to work harder, to do more than I’ve been doing.” — Julio Vega and Keaira English contributed to this report
the users of those spaces help us with the solution.” The first master plan forum since the board heard the proposal will be held on April 22 at 2 p.m. in room S-100. Hinckley said that faculty might not be supportive of modular offices from a safety standpoint. “Most faculty opted to have their windows frosted,” he said. “I think that they want to feel secure in their office, so a cubicle kind of office where you don’t even have a door would certainly become a security concern for a lot of our faculty.” Hinckley also stressed that classroom flexibility should include the ability for any classroom to become a computer lab when needed. He suggested offering laptop carts to classrooms so that professors can pull them out or leave them in the cart, depending on their needs. Eastfield also hopes to see national sports tournaments come to campus. This would require building a new baseball field and four new soccer fields. Currently, every sport at Eastfield goes out of state for national tourna-
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ments, and baseball and soccer go out of the district for regionals or tournaments. “We don’t have anywhere for those tournaments in the district,” Conway said. “They’re revenue producing.” The sports complex is not the only renovation aimed at increasing revenue. With the Eastfield Springs idea, Conway said the college hopes to better the local economy through a partnership with the city of Mesquite. If the plan moves forward, Mesquite and Eastfield would like to have retail and restaurants in the Eastfield Springs area, with the focal point being the natural pond on campus and the planned new performance arts center. Douglas said that would also increase the aesthetic appeal of the campus. “Students want to be in a beautiful, inviting place,” Douglas said. “It’s what draws them here. It’s the first thing they see when they come to our campus. They don’t see a class. They see grounds.” Planners want to see more green, park-like space on campus, where
students feel comfortable spending time outside. Patios and “sticky spaces,” areas where students gather outside of class to study, hang out with friends and meet for group projects, are a big part of the design. “We can have just different inviting spaces for students because we want our students to be on campus as much as they want to be and need to be,” Douglas said. Other aspects that planners have taken into consideration are sustainability (Douglas said she expects the buildings to be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards) and safety, as well as addressing the need for a new maintenance and facilities space that is closer to what will become the campus center. The Pleasant Grove campus will also undergo some renovations under this plan, which may require some community partners such as chambers of commerce to relocate off campus. This would allow the campus to offer more courses that Conway said some leaders at the campus have been requesting.