Eastfield Et Cetera February 19, 2020

Etera

Eastfield College

Riding the Campaign Trail see page 5 Bernie Sanders visits Mesquite Arena amid primary elections

Harvesters clinch

Region 5 championship See page 14 ➤ Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Volume 51, Issue 9

2

NEWS

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

@TheEtCetera

The Et Cetera

DACA opens door to education for staff member

By HARRIET RAMOS Copy Editor @HarrietRamosETC

At 27 years of age, Estefani Ramirez already owns her own home.

She holds a master’s degree and plans to pursue a doctorate in education next year. She is employed as a program coordinator in the STEM division at Eastfield. She is also a DACA recipient.

Ramirez was born in Guanajuato, Mexico, but was brought to the United States by her parents when she was 7.

Her family came legally with a visitor visa, but the visa expired, and they never returned to Mexico. Now Ramirez calls the United States home.

“I used to as a child say I was Mexican,” she said. “Then I got to say I was Mexican-American. But now I think it’s American-Mexican.”

Ramirez is one of about 700,000 young people who benefit from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. DACA allows them to live and work in the United States without fear of deportation, though it doesn’t provide a path to citizenship.

President Barack Obama established DACA as a stopgap measure in June 2012 after Congress failed to pass the Dream Act which would have provided legal status for undocumented immigrant minors.

Since DACA was created by an ex-

BAYLIE TUCKER/THE ET CETERA

Estefani Ramirez stands with her bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

ecutive order without the backing of Congress, the Trump administration says it is unconstitutional and is trying to end the program. The case went before the Supreme Court on Nov. 12, 2019. The justices are expected to issue a ruling by June.

There has been a lot of speculation about what will happen to DACA recipients if the Supreme Court rules against the program.

In an online statement Chancellor Joe May said the Dallas County Community College District will continue

to stand with them.

“We have a history of welcoming and encouraging DACA students to pursue their dreams and be a part of our higher education community,” May said. “As I’ve said previously, DCCCD stands ready to help our undocumented students … whether or not DACA continues.”

Monica Lira Bravo, an immigration attorney and a member of the DCCCD Board of Trustees, said in a phone interview she doubts DACA recipients will be deported due to the

large number of immigration cases already before the courts.

“We don’t know,” Bravo said. “Will they just be in a limbo status or go back to [the way] they were before?

It’s very hard to tell.”

Ramirez remembers what it was like for her before DACA. She was a junior in high school when she started to look into financial aid options to prepare for college.

She wanted to attend the University of North Texas, but as an undocumented immigrant she did not qualify for federal financial aid. Without work authorization, she couldn’t work her way through school either.

Then Ramirez learned about the Rising Star Program, a scholarship funded by the DCCCD Foundation.

She applied and was accepted. In 2013 she graduated from Eastfield with an Associate of Science. During her second year at Eastfield in 2012 she got DACA. “Then I started pursuing more and more education, because I knew that was the door to my success,” she said.

Her new DACA status gave Ramirez the freedom to work and earn money to pay for school.

In 2015, she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington.

In 2018, she graduated from UTA with a master’s degree in higher education-administration.

Ramirez married a U.S. citizen in 2019. She is now eligible to apply for legal permanent residency through her husband, but she still worries about others who will be affected if DACA is taken away.

“That’s one thing that I consistently think about because of my sister and because of a lot of other friends I have,” she said.

English professor Kassandra Ramirez-Buck said the difficulties immigrants and their families have to confront are not always understood by those who were born in this country.

On Feb. 7, she spoke at Eastfield’s Day of Action for Immigration about the history of immigration in the United States and some of the challenges and stereotypes that immigrants face.

“Some of the students that are not dealing with any of that may have a classmate right next to them that may be,” Ramirez-Buck said. “This is something that weighs heavy on the whole family.”

In the long run, Ramirez believes that the challenges she has faced as an immigrant have made her stronger.

“It’s an immigrant child’s story…,” she said. “It is through that unfortunate circumstance that you grow up with or that you’re born into that makes you, if you let it, a hardworking individual.”

ESOL courses no longer offered on campus

By ESON FELLERS News Editor @EsonFellersETC

Eastfield is discontinuing English Speakers of Other Languages credit courses due to their consistently declining enrollment rates over the past five years.

ESOL courses are developed with the intent to further international students’ grasp of the English language in speaking, reading, writing and grammar.

English as a Second Language non-credit courses are still available at Eastfield. ESL classes, comparatively, are non-credit courses primarily taken as part of a student’s workforce training. These courses offer basic communication skills needed in a professional environment.

In fall 2015, 545 students enrolled in ESOL courses with an 81.3 percent success rate. These numbers declined until they reached a low of 22 students in fall 2019 with a 63.6 percent suc-

cess rate.

ESOL enrollment was the lowest it had been since 2008, when Eastfield had no designated intake center and one ESOL adviser, according Eastfield records.

The current situation is that students are no longer attending ESOL courses, despite prominent success rates.

Rachel Wolf, associate vice president of academic affairs and student success, said students might be getting the instruction they need in developmental reading and writing courses and then not enrolling in ESOL. Developmental reading and writing courses are similar to ESOL in that they both teach basic levels of English literacy, but only ESL and ESOL courses are targeted towards non-English speakers.

Wolf also said students could be taking ESOL classes at Richland.

“Richland has an extremely robust, successful ESOL program that has targeted advising and very intentional student support services

surrounding it,” she said. “Unfortunately, I really don’t think it has anything to do with the faculty.”

Richland’s enrollment for ESOL courses in fall 2019 was 1,717 students.

Reem Soliman, a former ESOL professor who teaches economics, said at the peak of ESOL enrollment, she had up to 22 students in a class, when the maximum number of students was usually 17. She said she then went to having four or five students in a class.

“We were very creative in terms of linking classes wherever we could,” Soliman said. “If we had a level one writing class and a level one reading class, we’d schedule them at the same time, so we were still able to at least offer that class so those students could progress. But at a certain point, that’s just not viable.”

Yolanda Johnson, international student coordinator for the English Language Learning Advisement Center, says the loss of the courses could possibly erase job opportunities for ESOL professors.

“It’s not affecting graduation rates, really,” she said. “It’s more so affecting staff teaching those ESOL courses, but you have to have the students to create those courses.”

ESOL courses were part of the Intensive English Program.

This program would teach two simultaneous 16-week courses, while also teaching two separate eight-week courses of progressing levels, all in one semester.

Students could complete all required levels of study in one year.

English professor Nina Lambert, majored in English back in her native county of Russia. She said her gut instinct is to be against eliminating any classes, but recognizes that’s not an entirely logical option.

“I would like to not limit enrollment in a class at all, as people should always have access to learning as much as they want,” Lambert said. “I believe the school also needs to make decisions based on demographics, based on demand for those classes and based on budget.”

NEWS

3

The Et Cetera

eastfieldnews.com

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Hutchinson remembered for tenacity, creativity

By LINDSEY CRAFT Life&Arts Editor @LindseycraftETC

Jane Hutchinson, an Eastfield student for 20-plus years, was a lover of art, a breast cancer survivor, had sassy personality and a thirst for knowledge.

Hutchinson died Sunday, Jan. 5, from natural causes. She was 92.

Hutchinson was a stay-at-home mother for most of her children’s adolescent years until later taking a job as a seamstress at a dry cleaners. After retiring, Hutchinson took a variety of art classes at Eastfield but eventually focused solely on ceramics.

According to Hutchinson’s daughter, Susan Romero, before ceramics Hutchinson enjoyed gardening, oil painting and sewing. She was a part of the Dallas Gardening Club and hand-made her children’s clothes up until they went to high school.

She was also a part of an organization called Philanthropic Educational Organization Sisterhood that

PHOTO COURTESEY OF SUSAN ROMERO

Jane Hutchinson

celebrates, educates and empowers women to reach their fullest potential.

Ceramics professor Eric Eley said Hutchinson had been in his class every year since he started working at Eastfield four years ago.

“She didn’t come in and make the same thing over and over again,” Eley said. “She came here to learn and always set new goals for herself.”

Even after maxing out her free credit hours offered to seniors, Jane would petition to continue taking the same class because she enjoyed being able to create art.

She drove herself to school and brought all her materials up to Eley’s classroom every semester.

Hutchinson always wore clunky black leather boots. Eley said he could hear her coming down the hall.

“She was such a tiny lady,” he said.

“She had to be only 90 pounds soaking wet, but I always heard the thud of those boots and knew it was her coming to class.”

She would come to class, set up her materials and pull out her snack from Subway. She was a woman of routine and had her snack right when class started.

Janet Fulton, another long-time Eastfield student, met Hutchinson in spring 2008.

Hutchinson chose her friends carefully, so it took Fulton a while to get close to her, she said. But once they became friends it was all lunches and art shows.

“I’d pick her up and as soon as we’d step into the art show she’d know 90 percent of the people there,” Fulton said. “Everyone just loved her.”

One of Fulton’s fondest memories

of Hutchinson is when they ran into each other one afternoon at Target.

“I went to Target one day, and it was rainy and miserable outside,” she said. “I was just about to leave when I saw little Jane walk in with her head bobbin’ and a big smile on her face. I never knew what made that woman so happy on such a dreary day, but it still makes me giggle thinkin’ about it.”

Mickey Bruce, a former Eastfield student and studio technician, met Hutchinson shortly after she’d completed her chemotherapy treatments in 2003.“Her hair was really short, but she kept a braided rat tail,” he said. “It took her years to finally cut that thing off.”

Hutchinson would go see Bruce when he sold art pieces just to give him a hug.

They also often got together at Bruce’s home to talk about art and family.

“Jane was one of the people that I looked forward to seeing,” he said.

“She embodied qualities that I look up to such as the commitment to

learning, creativity, love and life.”

Romero said she thought her mother had more of a social life than her.

“I’d call and try to get ahold of her, but she was either out eating with a friend or at an art gallery,” Romero said. “She was always at a Mexican restaurant having enchiladas and a margarita on the rocks.”

Romero said Hutchinson saved just about every piece she made in ceramics class and gave some away to her grandchildren as birthday or Christmas presents.

“My mom really enjoyed going to Eastfield and taking those pottery classes,” she said. “She’d come home with all her work and want to explain every detail on how it was made.

Those classes are really what kept her young all those years.”

Hutchinson is the daughter of Thomas and Ruth Ross and was born in Montezuma, Iowa. She is survived by her three children, Joan Eyre, Donn and Susan Romero; four grandsons; and four great-grandsons.

Campus construction inches closer to completion

By HUNTER GARZA Social Media Editor @HunterTateEtc

With construction projects nearing completion, others such as the Performance Hall and the coffee shop have yet to begin.

The construction on campus has been going on for a while now. The portable and L Building are nearly done. Labs in S Building trail behind with unisex bathrooms located in F Building and renovations on the Performance Hall are set to begin in March.

Facilities director Michael Brantley says that the L Building construction is on schedule and is about 90 percent complete with an expected completion date of March 26th. A mechatronics lab is being added to this building along with a computer information technology lab.

All classrooms, offices and the community space are completed, and furniture was scheduled to move in last week. The only remaining thing is the glass in the main entrance, which is awaiting engineering specifications to ensure accuracy.

The portable building located in Parking Lot 6 has four classrooms, two computer labs and two offices. It will be referred to as “E Building”.

Brantley said that the building is furnished and should be ready for use during the second eight weeks.

The S Building is about 70 percent complete and Brantley attributes that to case work that is

still being done. Most of the work is being done on the third floor, but it has displaced some of the labs on the second floor as well.

“It’s a very sophisticated lab when you talk about infrastructure,” Brantley said. “It’s going to be great for the students.”

A chemistry lab will fill the space of a former classroom and administrative offices. Those offices were relocated throughout campus and the wall that connected them has been knocked down to make the space larger.

Technical director Lori Hunnicutt said that Performance Hall renovations have been a long time coming. Even though the construction will displace performances, the changes are necessary.

“It was a decision I made knowing that we would have to find places for our performances,” Honeycutt said. “But I didn’t want them to try and do everything in only a matter of two months.”

Changes to the Performance Hall involve both front of house and the stage side. All the chairs are being pulled out and replaced, lights are being installed under the chairs, center aisles are being added and the floors are being leveled to increase safety for those in the audience.

All electrical equipment is being replaced and motor assists are being added on the electric line sets. The rigging is being overhauled and redone because it hasn’t been updated since the early ‘90s, according to Honeycutt.

“This is all stuff that has to happen,” she said.

“I don’t know why it took so long, but we’re all ready to do it.”

The Performance Hall will close on March 13 and reopen in late August. Performances will be relocated which means the spring dance recital will be in the Hive and the 24-hour play festival at the Mesquite Community Theatre.

Outside of the Performance Hall unisex bathrooms are being built, which Brantley says are at 60 percent complete. The bathrooms will have four individual stalls, baby changing stations and sustainable hands-free fixtures.

“These bathrooms are definitely a way for Eastfield to be more inclusive,” Laramie Patton, 22-year-old marine biology major said. “I’m really excited about it.”

With the elevators being down, inclusivity is a problem for many students here at Eastfield.

Brantley said the college was receiving complaints nearly every day about the functionality of the elevators. He says they shut down the elevators because they weren’t safe.

“Our priority is the safety and concern of our community,” Brantley said. “We want them to have the confidence that the elevator will go to each floor without a problem.”

He said with the One College initiative, all the elevators will be repaired but the two in C Building that are currently out of service take precedence.

“We are not going to compromise the safety of our community just because it’s an inconve-

nience,” Brantley said.

The coffee shop that was previously reported to be completed by this semester is now back on track, Brantley said, after being off track for about a year. Last fall, it was reported that the shop would be done by spring 2020 and in spring 2019, administrators said it may be done by fall 2019.

Brantley said the design is now at 100 percent. The request to operate the shop and the bid for construction will be out to the public by April. Once the bids are in and the construction firm has been vetted, construction plans are set to begin as early as mid-June.

Tutoring services manager Anand Upadhyaya would prefer to wait until the end of the semester to begin construction so that students will be less impacted by the noise and distraction of building. Upadhyaya said that tutors along with the librarians petitioned for the delay and were told yes.

“Our main focus is the students,” Upadhyaya said. “We don’t want any construction anywhere on campus to impact their learning.”

Upadhyaya said that with the newly announced One College consolidation that these plans could have been delayed.

Despite this, Brantley assures that everything is on track.

“There are no delays on any of the projects,” Brantley said. “They are all pretty much on schedule and should be ready before fall, even summer.”

4

NEWS

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

@TheEtCetera

The Et Cetera

Alumnae leads lab, students to competition

By HUNTER GARZA Social Media Editor @HunterTateETC

Bees, bacteria and cosmetics are just a few of the subjects focused on in the research programs in C-250 created by learning laboratory specialist and former Eastfield student Jessica Gonzalez.

“I wanted to create special projects for students based on their interests and see what happens,” Gonzalez said. “What you see is they get into it and they want to do it and they want to be in here.”

Gonzalez returned to her Eastfield roots in 2019 to develop an undergraduate research program. Her goal was to give students something to be a part of, rather than just attending classes.

“If my door is open, they can come in, do work or learn how to use the microscopes. I try to make it a fun environment,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez asks the students what they are interested in and they work together to build a research program which the students then design and

BAYLIE TUCKER/THE ET CETERA

Mechatronics major Roderick Kines works in the microscopy lab.

develop on their own. The goal is for the students to create a research paper, poster and presentation they will take to the Texas Society for Microscopy Conference.

This year’s conference takes place from Feb. 20-23 at Texas A&M Uni-

Why Transfer to Texas Woman’s University •

Easy transfer process, and we help maximize transfer credits

•

Variety of online and face-to-face programs

•

Open to women and men

•

Financial Aid & Scholarships available for transfer students

•

Family housing available or live off campus if you’ve earned more than 60 credit hours

•

We know transfer students — nearly half of TWU’s undergraduate students are transfers

Learn more at TWU.edu/transfer or attend a recruiting event

versity in College Station. Gonzalez is taking three students who have prepared different presentations.

This experience will provide them with hands-on time in a lab and the possibility of a scholarship when they leave Eastfield.

One of the students, Monica Pinon, is conducting a research project on bacteria.

She has been growing bacteria since October and analyzing its changes. She is using a scanning electron microscope, also known as a SEM, which can see things invisible to the naked eye.

Another student, mechatronics major Roderick Kines, wanted to recreate Spiderman’s arm web shooter, so he is using the SEM to view spiders to replicate their spinner.

The final project is on chicken feathers. Isabella Carter feels that because chickens are such an important part of our food chain that we should know more about them.

She is doing her research by taking feathers under the SEM and breaking them into three different sections and analyzing those sections.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be good enough [for a research program] but [Gonzalez] really motivated me,” Pinon said.

Over the winter break, the three students and Gonzalez spent most of their time in the lab perfecting their

projects. Gonzalez would provide them with lunches of pizza, doughnuts and El Pollo Regio.

“Most of the time it doesn’t feel like work,” Pinon said.

Several teachers gave Gonzalez the positive encouragement that she now gives her students.

“I had never considered it,” Gonzalez said. “I just didn’t know what I was capable of.”

After a run-in with biology professor Carl Knight in 2002, Gonzalez flipped her career path from ballerina to biologist.

She recalls running down the hallway in search of a scantron when she met Knight. He gave her, a student he didn’t know, what she needed and sent her on her way.

Knight became her teacher, then her mentor and inspired her to change her dream of being a ballerina to a career in STEM, eventually taking over the lab that he created.

“Jessica is a leader,” Knight said.

“She has the ability to lead people and they just like and respect her.”

See Gonzalez, page 7 ➤

NEWS

5

The Et Cetera

eastfieldnews.com

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Mesquite feels the Bern at campaign rally

By SKYE SEIPP Editor in Chief @SkyeSeippETC

Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said he will win the Texas primary election at his rally in the Mesquite Arena Friday night.

He is leading in the state with 24 percent of self-identified Democrats claiming they would vote for Sanders, according to a poll released the day of his visit by the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Tribune. Texas has the second largest number of delegates in the country with 228 and will hold its primary election on March 3 with 15 other states for Super Tuesday, when a third of all delegates are awarded.

“We’re gonna win because we’re bringing our people together,” he said to cheers from the crowd, which spanned generations and nationalities. From people wearing ten-gallon hats to women in hijabs to babyboomers with Grateful Dead buttons standing near “Bern bros” dressed in “feel the Bern” apparel.

“Black and white and Latino, Native American, Asian American, gay or straight, we are all Americans,” Sanders continued. “We’re gonna stand together. We’re gonna beat, Trump. We’re gonna transform this country.”

Sanders opened by saying he had never been to a rodeo before, but that he hears “a lot of bullshit,” in Wash-

BAYLIE TUCKER/THE ET CETERA

Supporters of Bernie Sanders cheer during the rally at the Mesquite Arena on Feb. 14.

ington D.C. After going on a tirade about President Donald Trump, which included calling him a liar and racist, Sanders began explaining his campaign slogan: “Not me. Us.” He said the slogan has two meanings. One is that it’s about unity and

that people are better when they come together. The second is that he wants to enact change from the bottom up, not the other way around.

“We are going to defeat Donald Trump because we are putting together an unprecedented, multigenerational, multiracial grassroots

movement,” Sanders said. “All over this country, we have people who are knocking on doors, they’re making the phone calls, they are working hard to make sure that we have a government and an economy that represents all of us, not just the 1 percent.”

Over 5,300 people crowded into

the arena best known for holding the Mesquite Rodeo. Tutoring coordinator at Eastfield Anand Upadhyaya was one of them. He said Sanders coming to Mesquite seemed to fit his persona because he chose not to visit a better-known place.

Upadhyaya added that he doesn’t think any candidate is ideal, but he likes Sanders because of his consistency and bold stances on domestic and foreign issues. He said Sanders’ policies of “Medicare for All,” affordable and accessible education and livable wages are attainable goals that affect everyone. Upadhyaya added that Sanders’ views on Israel-Palestine are an example of a bold foreign policy stance he likes from Sanders.

Sanders is a supporter of a twostate solution for Israel and Palestine, and has said the U.S. should be “proPalestine” and “pro-Israel” at the Dec. 19 Democratic debate in Los Angeles.

“A lot of what he talks about sort of connects with some things MLK was talking about towards the end of his life in terms of massive systemic changes we need to address rather than this little one-off policy,” he said.

This systemic change is connected to the education system, Upadhyaya said, and includes a plethora of issues from racial justice to healthcare. He said all of these issues affect Eastfield students.

“We can’t just say, ‘Hey we’re gonna offer education.’ We need to offer See Bernie, page 16 ➤

8 Democrats angle for Super Tuesday delegates

By JORDAN LACKEY Staff Writer @TheEtCetera

Texas is gearing up for its primary elections on March 3, with eight top Democrats still in the race for the presidential nomination and a dozen vying to challenge Sen. John Cornyn.

Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, holds a narrow delegate lead, 23-21, over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders after the New Hampshire primary and the Iowa caucuses.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has eight delegates, followed by Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar with seven and former Vice President Joe Biden with six.

Philanthropist Tom Steyer and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard have yet to win a single delegate. Former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg was not on the ballot in the first two

states.

President Trump holds all but one of the Republican delegates so far, leaving little room for another Republican to steal the party’s nomination.

Rylie Deaton, art major, said she’s done a little research but remains undecided due to the large number of candidates.

“I try not to pay attention to it,” she said, “because my entire life it has been shoved down my throat.”

Government professor Marcene Royster said that it’s the responsibility of anyone over the age of 18 to cast a ballot, even in local and primary elections. She added people below the legal voting age can get involved by volunteering at polling stations and with political campaigns to become more educated on the process.

“If we are going to say that we’re a democracy, if we’re going to say it’s the will of the people, then the people need to speak up,” she said.

Texas and 13 other states will hold their primary elections on March 3, known as Super Tuesday because of the large number of delegates up for grabs. For the Democrats, it’s 1,338, with 228 from Texas.

Texas has open primaries, so voters can vote in either party’s election and do not have to register as party members. They can change their party or candidate allegiance in the November general election.

Early voting runs through Feb. 28. Eastfield is a Dallas County polling location for early voting and Election Day. In the 2016 presidential primaries, Texas saw a voter turnout of almost 59.4 percent of registered voters. An explosion of young and Latinos voters in 2018 has Democrats hopeful that Texas could turn from reliably red to purple or even blue.

Hipolito Reyes, a 63 year-old counseling major, said everyone in his family supports the

Democratic Party except for his 25-year-old son, who is a Trump supporter. He laughed when asked if his son’s political views have led to debates in his home.

“I like the Democratic Party because I think they care about the poor people,” he said. “And the Republican Party is all about the rich people. … I don’t know why [my son] likes Trump.”

Primaries and caucuses help to establish the basis for who will be nominated in the presidential election for each party. Pledged delegates are determined by voters, and a Democratic candidate has to receive 1,991 delegates to win the nomination.

The next primary will take place in Nevada on Feb. 22. The last of the primary elections will take place June 2.

The delegates from each party will gather at their conventions this summer to officially choose their presidential candidates for November.

6

NEWS

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

@TheEtCetera

The Et Cetera

meet the candidates: primary SAMPLE BALLOT U.S. Senator

Trying to ride the wakes leftover from the blue wave of 2018, 12 Democrats want to challenge Sen. John Cornyn (R). Four rogue Republican candidates are also vying for the seat, but Cornyn has the backing of the party. Cornyn is expected to win the Republican nomination outright, while the Democrats will likely be forced into a runoff. Democrats will have a struggle unseating Cornyn.

According to a poll by the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Tribune in October, 76 percent of voters didn’t know the name of U.S. Rep. Chris Bell (D), who was also shown to be the most recognizable.

John Cornyn Republican

Democrats Amanda K. Edwards, Houston City Council member since 2016 amandafortexas.com Royce West, state senator District 23 roycewest.com Victor Hugo Harris, served in the military for 34 years, victorfortexas.com Adrian Ocegueda, principal at Lonestar Investment Advisors texasreason.com Annie “Mamá” Garcia, immigration lawyer, runannierun.com Chris Bell, representative of District 25 from 2002-2004 electchrisbell.com

Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez, founded Jolt, an advocacy group for Latinos cristinafortexas.com Michael Cooper, pastor, ran for lieutenant governor in 2018 cooperforussenate.com D.R. Hunter, no information found Sema Hernandez, ran for senator in 2018, sema4texas.com Jack Daniel Foster Jr., ran for judge in Chambers County in 2018 votejackdaniel.com Mary “MJ” Hegar, joined the U.S. Air Force after graduating and then served three tours in Afghanistan mjfortexas.com/

Chris Bell Democrat

U.S. Representative, District 5

The District 5 race features Eastfield alumnus Don Hill challenging incumbent Lance Gooden to represent the Republican-controlled district that includes Kaufman, Van Zandt, Henderson, Anderson and Cherokee counties. Carolyn Salter, former mayor of Palestine, is the sole Democrat running.

Democrat Republicans Carolyn Salter, former mayor of Lance Gooden (I), former state reprePalestine sentative District 4, gooden.house.gov ballotpedia.org/Carolyn_Salter Don Hill, U.S. Army 1984-1993, founded Rowlett Hill Collins LLP in 2006 donhillforcongress.com

State Representative, District 108

Eastfield journalism professor Joanna Cattanach is running for office again after losing to Morgan Meyer in 2018 by 220 votes. Meyer is in his third term representing District 108

Democrats Tom Ervin, owner of EeTradeco LLC, tomervinfortexas.com Shawn D. Terry, co-founded banking investment firm shawnfortexas.com Joanna Cattanach, former Dallas

Joanna Cattanach Democrat

Morning News reporter, ran in 2018, joannafortexas.com

Republicans Morgan Meyer, representative since 2015 morganmeyerfortexas.com

Morgan Meyer Republican

John Cornyn (I), senator since 2002, attorney general 1999-2002, Texas supreme court 1990-1997, Bexar county district judge, 19841990, cornyn.senate.gov

Where, when to vote

Don Hill Republican

Lance Gooden Republican

Carolyn Salter Democrat

U.S. Representative, District 32

Five Republicans are vying to reclaim the seat Pete Sessions lost to Collin Allred in 2018. Allred is predicted to keep his seat, according to Politico. Sessions is now running for a seat in District 17.

Democrat Fire Department as a captain/paraColin Allred (I), football player for medic after 34 years Tennessee Titans, special assistant tokarforcongress.com/ for Department of Housing and Genevieve Collins, head of Urban Development, attorney for corporate strategy for education Perkins Coie, colinallred.com technology firm Istation gcforcongress.com/ Republicans Floyd McLendon, retired Navy Jon Hollis, television and film SEAL, mclendonforcongress.com producer for 20th Century Fox Mark Sackett, international engijonhollisforcongress.com/ neer for Hilti, Inc. Jeff Tokar, retired from Garland sackettforcongress.com/

Republicans John Anthony Castro, entrepreneur facebook.com/drjohnanthonycastro/ Virgil Bierschwale, served in the U.S. Navy from 1976-1982 bierschwaleforussenate.com Mark Yancey, chairman and CEO of Attaca International, voteformark.com Dwayne Stovall, owner of construction company Diamond K Equipment Inc. since 1996, texansforstovall.com

Early voting Locations across Dallas County include: Eastfield Pleasant Grove campus 802 S. Buckner Blvd., Dallas

Eastfield main campus 3737 Motley Drive, Mesquite Feb. 18-21, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Feb. 23, 1-6 p.m.

Feb. 24-28, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

Colin Allred Democrat

Jon Hollis Republican

Jeff Tokar Republican

Election Day: March 3 Polls open 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

Dallas County Cast your ballot at any voting center in the county.

Genevieve Collins Republican

Floyd McLendon Republican

Mark Sackett Republican

Other Races

State Representative, District 100 Democrats James Armstrong III Jasmine Felicia Crockett Sandra Jonelle Crenshaw Lorraine Birabil (I) Paul K. Stafford Daniel Davis Clayton

U.S. Representative, District 30 Democrats Eddie Bernice Johnson Shenita “Shae” Cleveland Barbara Mallory Caraway Hasani Burton

State Representative, District 113 Republican Will Douglas Democrats Rhetta Andrews Bowers Sheriff Democrats Marian Brown (I) Roy Williams Jr. Sam Mohamad Races with one or fewer candidates are not listed.

For precinct locations, sample ballots and other information, visit your county’s voter website.

Dallas County dallascountyvotes.org Rockwall County rockwallvotes.com Kaufman County kaufmancounty.net/ elections Collin County collincountytx.gov/ elections Ellis County co.ellis.tx.us/629/ Upcoming-Elections Research by Skye Seipp

NEWS

7

The Et Cetera

eastfieldnews.com

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

THE HOT TOPIC What is the most important political issue to you?

“Gun control. With enough free time, anybody can decide to just go get any type of weapon, and I really don’t think that’s safe for our communities as a whole. There are too many times when people turn on the TV, and they find out that some people with problems going on at home just picked up a gun, and took that out on innocent people. That’s not okay.”

Gerald Brown, Graphic Design Major

Jessica Gonzalez, right, goes over lab instruction with Monica Pinon.

BAYLIE TUCKER/THE ET CETERA

Gonzalez hopes to follow in footsteps of Eastfield mentor Continued from page 4 Kines said Gonzalez is helping him turn his dream of working on a research program into a reality.

“She motivates me in a way no other teacher has,” Kines said.

“This is a $1.4 million microscope we have here, and we got it for free,” Gonzalez said. “I try to show students how cool it is and try to get them involved.”

As a recent graduate, Gonzalez says she understands that school can sometimes be tedious and repetitive.

For that reason, she aims to keep her program fun, different and fresh.

From graduating from Eastfield in 2004, graduating from Southern Methodist University in 2007 and earning her master’s from California State University in Long Beach in 2018, Gonzalez never thought she’d be where she is today.

“Being a kid from Pleasant Grove, with no family history of going to college, that was a big deal,” Gonzalez said.

She didn’t plan on attending Eastfield but was persuaded to enroll by a friend.

Gonzalez signed up for every dance class possible but was still

taking the basic math and science classes. Her professors in those classes gave her the encouragement to switch majors.

Her supportive and encouraging teachers here is where she credits her love of teaching and her eventual return to Eastfield.

“Even when I felt like I wasn’t doing well or I couldn’t do it they always reassured and told me, ‘you can do it,’” Gonzalez said.

Her colleague Christien Carter said she likes to “immerse herself ” into her students’ projects. This allows her to answer any questions the students might have about the project.

After graduating from Eastfield in 2004, Gonzalez applied to SMU with guidance from Knight. She recalls filling out her application and that being the moment she officially became a biology major.

“I remember scrolling down to the part where you select your major and, well B [Biology] comes before D [Dance],” Gonzalez said through laughter.

When she finished her time at SMU, she began teaching elementary school. She loved teaching that age group, but she yearned for

something more.

After expressing her desire to Knight, he said, “you should come apply for a job here at Eastfield.”

This led to her first job at Eastfield in 2008 as a STEM tutor and eventually to the position of supervisor of the microscopy lab.

During her time as lab supervisor, she began helping and motivating students to transfer, and in turn, they inspired her.

Those feelings and interactions coupled with her realization that she had never been out of Texas before led her to her next chapter: moving to California to pursue a master’s degree.

Upon finishing her master’s degree in 2018, Gonzalez again gave her mentor a call. Knight replied in the same way he had before. “A position is open at Eastfield,” he told her.

She applied here for two jobs, a faculty member of mathematics and a learning laboratory specialist. She was offered the latter position and began in spring 2019.

“Eastfield is home,” Gonzalez said. “Right now, this is my life, and I love it. I want to continue Dr. Knight’s legacy and be here for 50 years.”

“Just in general, equal rights for everyone. For women and LGBT people especially, because they’re seen as subpar in society. That’s not how it should be. Everybody deserves to get paid the same, everybody deserves to love who they love and who they are. Women especially don’t deserve to be knocked down for being women. You’re no different.”

Jackson Mansell, Marketing Major “For me, being a minority, Latino civil rights.

There’s not really an easy way for a lot of people to become citizens. I feel like there should be an open window for that. A lot of people are separated from their families, especially children.”

Eduardo Covarrubias, Psychology Major

“The most important thing to me is people. I think just to ensure human rights and that people are treated equally would be top for me. Above things like the economy, it’s important, but I just think fair treatment and human rights.”

Ashley Martinez, Math Faculty

“Fracking. Basically, corporations are using chemicals and groundwater to drill through solid rock in order to extract fossil fuels and natural gasses. When they’re finished with it, they just dump [the groundwater] right back into the ground, which contaminates people’s drinking water. On top of that, corporations do not disclose what chemicals they use to drill. This also affects some of the workers who help with fracking, in some cases causing cancer.”

Brandon Thomas, Undecided Major

8

NEWS

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

@TheEtCetera

The Et Cetera

Michael Bloomberg

Media executive and former mayor of New York lives in New York City, 78 Education: bachelor’s from Johns Hopkins; MBA from Harvard Experience: three-term mayor of New York City, founder of Bloomberg L.P., a financial news and information company; U.N. special envoy on cities and climate change Fun Fact: Became an Eagle Scout at age 12 Education: Expand charter schools nationwide; enact program that allows lower-income high school students to get free college counseling; promote vocational training.

Immigration: Path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented people in U.S; protect DACA and Temporary Protected Status; end travel bans; stop family separations and border wall.

Environment: Zero carbon emissions from construction, transportation and appliances; rejoin Paris Climate Agreement; phase out carbon emissions from electricity production by 100 percent; all new cars are electric by 2035.

Gun Control: Extreme-risk screenings before gun purchases; point-of-sale background checks for all gun sales; ban assault weapons; require every gun owner to have a permit.

Health Care: Restrict the sale of health plans that don’t meet Affordable Care Act standards; Medicare-like public insurance option; cap health care prices, lower drug costs, expand access to dental, hearing and vision coverage

Bernie S

Amy Klobuchar

Senior U.S. senator from Minnesota lives in Plymouth, 59 Education: bachelor’s from Yale; law degree from University of Chicago Experience: senator since 2006;. lawyer at two Minnesota law firms elected as Hennepin County attorney. 1999-2006 Fun fact: First female elected senator in Minnesota.

Education Expand Pell Grant opportunities; free community college.

Immigration Legal status and a pathway to citizenship for immigrants; reform U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Environment Restore environmental standards from Obama Administration; introduce legislation to reach 100% net-zero emissions by 2050; reduce power plant emissions; $1 trillion energy infrastructure package; encourage clean energy through grants, tax credits and building codes.

Health care Expand Affordable Care Act to lower cost to consumers; government negotiation of prescription drug prices to reduce costs.

Joe Biden

Former U.S. vice president lives in Wilmington, Delaware, 77 Education: bachelor’s from University of Delaware; law degree from Syracuse Experience: public defender; county council member; senator 1972-2009; U.S. vice president, 2009-2017 Fun Fact: Referred to as Amtrak Joe because of his use of the public transit system Education Increase pay for educators and school health staff; free community college for working students.

Immigration Welcome refugees and asylum-seeking immigrants; modernize immigration screening.

Environment Stand up to those who abuse marginalized communities by polluting their environment, such as big fossil fuel companies.

Health Care Restore and expand Affordable Health Care Act. Gun Control Require background checks and mental health evaluations.

Information by: Jordan Lackey, Monica Figueroa, Sydney Williams, Natalia Montoya Graphics by: Anthony Lazon, Jessica Martinez, Jessica Carrillo, Mattheau Faught, Margaret Tamez, Mario Medrano

U.S. senator from Ver lives in Burlington, V Education: bachelor’s Chicago Experience: Mayor of mont, 1981-1989; Ver 1991-2007, senator si Fun Fact: He was inv rights movement and on Washington.

Education Cancel all student deb education free and ac Immigration Temporarily prohibit immigrants; expand D Immigration Custom agency.

Environment Green New Deal; inve switch to 100% renew create over 20 million Health Care Create a single-payer, Medicare for All prog ums, deductibles and Gun Control Eliminate gun show lo background checks; e weapons.

NEWS

9

The Et Cetera

Sanders

rmont Vermont, 78 s from University of

of Burlington, Verrmont representative, ince 2007 volved with the civil d attended the March

bt and make higher ccessible to all.

the deportation of DACA; break up the ms and Enforcement

est $16.3 trillion to wable resources and n jobs.

, government funded gram without premid copays.

oopholes; expand end the sale of assault

eastfieldnews.com

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Elizabeth Warren

Pete Buttigieg

Twice-elected mayor of South Bend, Indiana, 38 lives in South Bend Education: bachelor’s from Harvard; Oxford Rhodes Scholar; master’s from Pembroke College, Oxford Experience: Policy and research analyst for John Kerry’s presidential campaign; consultant for McKinsey & Co.; U.S. Navy Reserves, deployed in Afghanistan in 2014 Fun fact: Fluent in seven languages: Italian, Maltese, Spanish, Dari Persian, Arabic, French and Norwegian.

Education Add $120 billion to the Pell grant program; free public tuition for 80% of Americans.

Immigration Modernize the immigration system; promote belonging in American society.

Environment Net-zero emissions no later than 2050 by putting a price on carbon and investing in clean energy.

Health Care “Opt in” Medicare for All option that allows people to keep private insurance.

Gun Control Expanded background checks; nationwide licensing system.

Tom Steyer

Environmental activist and philanthropist, 62 lives in San Francisco Education: bachelor’s from Yale; MBA from Stanford Experience: Former hedge-fund investor and director of Farallon Capital Fun Fact: Father served on legal team that prosecuted Nazi war criminals at the Nuremberg Trials.

Education Free community college; alleviate student loan debt through refinancing; forgive certain types of loan debt.

Immigration Make path to citizenship easier and reinstate DACA program.

Environment Five step “justice-centered” climate action plan, which calls for 100% clean energy economy and eliminating all global warming pollutants by 2045.

Health Care Expand the Affordable Care Act; government negotiates drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.

Gun Control Universal background checks; gun licensing; assault weapons ban; red-flag laws.

Senior senator from Massachusetts lives in Cambridge, 70 Education: bachelor’s degree from University of Houston; law degree from Rutgers Experience: Harvard law professor; helped build the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and served as interim director; senator since 2013 Fun Fact: Was a state high school champion in debate and before mid-1990s was a registered Republican Education Forgive student debt; free college; ban for-profit colleges from receiving federal aid; free technical training.

Immigration Hold immigration enforcement to the same due process standards as other law enforcement agencies; form a Justice Department task force to investigate the medical neglect, physical abuse and sexual assaults of detained immigrants.

Environment Zero emission energy by 2035 and zero carbon building standards by 2023; replace fuel-inefficient cars; hold corporate polluters accountable; end use of fossil fuels.

Health Care Universal Medicare; tax giant corporations and richest 1% of Americans to pay for free health care.

Gun Control Universal background checks; revoke licenses for gun dealers who break the law; create a federal licensing system; raise gun buying age to 21.

Life &Arts The Et Cetera

10

eastfieldnews.com

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Hunsinger finds inner peace outside philosophy Philosophy professor Kristina Hunsinger moved to Dallas to pursue a doctorate four years ago. She’s originally from Connecticut but has moved around the country for her education.

She’s also a certified yoga instructor and has travelled to India multiple times. She sat down with The Et Cetera reporter Eson Fellers to delve deep into interests, such as Socrates and her yoga filled trips to India.

Q A

grams that I have done, you have to get so many hours to get a certification, and you only have one month, so I cram it in. I got married last summer. Then soon after I got married, I had planned to go to India. My husband decided to join me at the tail end of my teacher training.

That’s when we really traveled quite a lot, and traveling in India can be really difficult.

Q A

What drove your decision to focus on ethics and religion?

Q A

I teach ethics, introduction to philosophy and world religions. I don’t think that I was focused on world religion in my academic path, but the opportunity to teach it came up at the college. Ethics, I think, is one of the few practical areas of philosophy, but the reason why I’m into any of it is really owed to having great instructors.

Q A

Q A

Who is your favorite philosopher?

Q A

You took a trip to India at one point. Is that what influenced your focus on yoga?

Yoga is what influenced my trip to India. I started practicing here at the Dallas Yoga Center in 2015.

So, Jan. 1 in 2015 is when I took my first yoga class. I wanted to do a teacher training, so that’s why I went to India for the first time.

Q A

How many times have you been?

Two. The first time was during the winter of 2016 into 2017, so I was there for New Year’s Day and Christmas. I was doing my 200-hour yoga training certification, and then I went back to tack on 300 hours. I did that the summer of 2018.

I was actually going to ask if you’ve ever read “Be Here Now.”

I would’ve never guessed that.

Yeah, I used to really like Nirvana. As a punishment, like being grounded, my mom decidedthis is how obsessive I was about this band- she said, “no more Nirvana.”

She took away all my CDs, all my shirts, anything that had Nirvana on it. I just started to draw things instead because you can’t take that away.

Who are you outside of school? What are your interests?

This is my life. I’m very consistent. I’m still the same person. In my personal life, I still love philosophical dialogue, all that. I love to read. I also practice yoga. It’s a big part of my life.

I like that stuff, but I’m pretty flexible with the kind of music I listen to. I like a lot of spiritual talks.

Lots of talks by Ram Dass.

I love that book. It’s so important. I find him very inspirational too. For music, I grew up with a lot of 90s grunge, and I like to still listen to that. If I’m listening to music, that’s probably what I’m listening to, but I have very flexible tastes.

I enjoy Socrates. I see him as the mascot for philosophy. The first person who got me into philosophy, who I owe a lot of credit to, is Dr. Nalin Ranasinghe. He’s a Plato scholar and he’s brilliant. He really understands Plato. I think because I studied under him, he really animated who Socrates was. It will always be important to me.

Q A

Do you listen to a lot of classical music for meditation?

BAYLIE TUCKER/THE ET CETERA

Q A

What was your favorite experience there?

Where I go to is called Rishikesh, in northern India. It is known as the birthplace of yoga.

That may not be true, but if you talk to people from Rishikesh, they will tell you it’s true. It is on the river Ganges, and it’s beautiful. It is a place of spiritual pilgrimage for a lot of Hindus. There are three brothers there who I go to study under, the Gushang brothers. I feel like I have people there. I have this community I can go visit.

When I went there for the first time I just fell in love with it. I like that when I go there, it’s a retreat. It’s like everything else disappears, and I can be fully immersed in this experience.

Q A

So, you don’t do a lot of touristy things when you go there? Your main focus is yoga?

There are little adventures into the city when you have free time. With the teacher training pro-

Q A

Did you continue drawing at all?

I love creativity and self-expression. I tried to draw. It’s nothing I’ve ever been good at. I used to play guitar as a kid.

Q

Going back to yoga, do you feel that you’ve not only advanced spiritually, but physically?

Can you put your foot behind your head?

A

Yes, I can. When I first started, I couldn’t touch my toes. One of the wonderful things about the practice is there’s such a depth to it.

Q A

In your personal life, what has been your greatest challenge, or your biggest success?

Going through a divorce and everything, obviously that was awful. Nowadays I really appreciate that relationship in its context, and really understanding what that was. That transition, as difficult as it was, now that I’ve found that person that’s really right for me, it’s the happiest thing.

Editor’s note: This interview was edited for style and brevity.

11

LIFE&ARTS The Et Cetera

eastfieldnews.com

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

HBCU transfer fair brings culture to Eastfield

By HARRIET RAMOS Copy Editor @HarrietRamosETC

When it came time for Larissa Pierce to choose a college, she faced a dilemma. Her first choice, Colorado State University, required a large down payment in order to hold a dorm room, and Pierce did not have that kind of money.

Even though Pierce is African American, she had not seriously considered attending Grambling State University, a historically black university in her home state of Louisiana. When her best friend suggested she apply to Grambling, Pierce agreed, but only because there was no required down payment. She still hoped to go to CSU by her second semester.

Once at Grambling, she felt comfortable.

Several of her high school classmates were there, and Pierce liked the rural setting. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English education, Pierce went back to get her master’s degree in literature.

Pierce, an English professor at Eastfield, said Grambling’s teacher education program prepared her to work in the classroom.

“I cannot deny my experience at Grambling,” she said. “I can’t tell you what it would have been like at Colorado State, but … it was just happenstance that things didn’t work out monetarily but yet they worked out here [Grambling].”

Eastfield kicked off its celebration of Black History Month on Feb. 4 with a Historically Black College and University Transfer Fair.

Representatives from eight HBCUs, including Texas Southern University and Jarvis Christian College, set up information tables around the perimeter of the Hive. Eastfield faculty and staff who attended HBCUs sported the colors of their fraternities or sororities. Music from the Lancaster High School marching band sent

BAYLIE TUCKER/THE ET CETERA

Director of completion and transfer, Timothy McDuffie gives a shout out to his fraternity from during the HBCU transfer fair on Feb. 4.

BAYLIE TUCKER/THE ET CETERA

The Lancaster High School marching band performs for students in the Hive at the HBCU transfer fair on Feb. 4.

a jolt of energy through the onlookers.

“We tried to re-create the element of what it’s like to be on an HBCU campus in the quad…,” said Timothy McDuffie, Eastfield’s director of completion and transfer. “It’s just a feeling, it’s just an energy that sometimes you don’t get at other institutions.”McDuffie, a graduate of Norfolk State University in Virginia, said he chose an HBCU to feel more connected to his culture.

“It helped me to build community,” he said.

“It also helped me get prepared for the workplace and what that looks like through the lens of an African American male … and what are some of those biases that you are going to need to navigate through to be successful in your career. I don’t know if I would have gotten that training had I went to another school.”

The first HBCU, now known as Cheyney

University of Pennsylvania, opened its doors in 1837.

Other African American institutions of higher learning such as Howard, Morehouse and Tuskegee followed soon after. HBCUs were the only option for education that most African Americans had until the end of segregation in the 1960s, and continue to play an important role in the 21st century.

According to statistics compiled by the Black Student Achievement Program, HBCUs make up less than 3 percent of all institutions of higher learning in the United States, but they produce 23 percent of all African American graduates.

Fifty percent of African American teachers graduate from HBCUs. Some HBCUs have struggled financially, but Brian Armstrong, ex-

ecutive director of outreach services at Texas Southern University, said he has seen an increase in funding during his 18 years at TSU, which has allowed for the addition new majors.

“We have an engineering program that we didn’t have five years ago,” he said. “… I think we’re going to be well-positioned over the next couple of years to better serve not just African American students, but students in general.”

The demographics of HBCUs have changed quite a bit over the years. Armstrong said that 80 percent of undergraduates at TSU are African American, but whites and Hispanics attend there as well.

To McDuffie, that is the beauty of HBCUs. “When I go back to Norfolk State, it’s just a melting pot now,” he said. “You have everyone there now, black, white … But everyone gets that we are one. Even though it’s a historically black college, everyone is there for education, they’re there for cultural development and sensitivity, learning how to blend all cultures.”

District faculty member recalls segregation era

By LINDSEY CRAFT Life&Arts Editor @LindseycraftETC

One of Janice Franklin’s most vivid memories is the smell of burning flesh.

She was just a child living in east Texas in the 1950s when Ku Klux Klan members set fire to her neighbor’s home in the middle of the night.

Her father grabbed his gun to protect Franklin and her mother as they sat watching the house burn down, listening to the voices of the people inside as they were burned alive.

“It’s a smell that you cannot forget,” Franklin said. “We should be able to live and die without ever

smelling that.”

It was a regular occurrence in the Jim Crow South for Klan members to burn people’s houses down.

“It is not normal for a 5-year-old child to have seen that,” Franklin said. “Except, it is when you were living in the South as a black person.”

Franklin, who has been a full-time Dallas County Community College District faculty member since 1993, presented “Shotguns, Sheep and Sheets” on Feb. 13, as part of the college’s Black History Month celebration.

“The sheep are the Ku Klux Klan members riding around at night setting fire to people’s houses,” she said.

She calls them sheep because they

followed others into those actions but did not want to be considered responsible because they weren’t the ones who initiated it.

Franklin said parents who went to sleep at night anticipating that someone might attack them often slept with a shotgun nearby.

“The attitude was, ‘Yeah you burned my house down, but you know what? You’re not going to live to see another day so we’ll both be dead tonight,’” she said.

In July 2018, Franklin and Eastfield history professor Liz Nichols went on a journey to see the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.

It is the nation’s first memorial

dedicated to the legacy of enslaved black people, people terrorized by lynching, segregation and much more.

Franklin and Nichols visited the memorial to gain as much knowledge as possible about America’s black holocaust. During their trip they hired a docent to provide support and additional context while going through the museum.

“Before this memorial, aside from what some cities and counties may have, there is no remembrance of these people,” Franklin said. “This shows what we as people think is important.”

Nichols described her experience on this trip as life-changing.

“The unplanned organic encounters I had with strangers is something I’ll never forget,” she said. “We talked to people that knew women who are related to Rosa Parks, listened to people sing in the museum and so much more and none of it was planned.”

During their pilgrimage to Alabama, Franklin and Nichols visited other places as well, such as the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, the church Martin Luther King Jr. was a pastor at and The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration. The two also walked on a cobblestone road that had been laid by slaves.

See Franklin page 16 ➤

12

LIFE&ARTS

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

@TheEtCetera

The Et Cetera

Follow these tips to stay safe in the swiping game In the era of catfishing and online dating disasters, it’s important to know who you are meeting up with and to stay safe while searching for companionship in a pool of strangers.

I’ve been in the online dating game for a while now and have learned a few lessons along the way. Here are some tips to stay safe while you swipe.

—Lindsey Craft

Know who you’re talking to

Be sure to meet in a public setting with plenty of people around, preferably in daylight. It’s safer to meet for coffee or lunch rather than dinner for the first time. Dinner usually includes drinks, and drinks impair your judgment. Other places you could go for your first meet-up are the museum, arboretum, aquarium or zoo.

Tylerbr Maggies Cuisine

Restaurant

Liked by cheetios_lol and 46 others

rbr

Tylerbr Date Night /(uwu)/

Tyle

On apps like Tinder and Bumble you only get a person’s first name. Get their full name and do your research. Make sure they are who they say they are.

If what you find online doesn’t add up to what their profile says or what they’ve told you, chances are they’re a fraud.

Over the years I’ve run into creeps like this. One still haunts me to this day.

I had agreed to meet this guy out on the Katy Trail one day a few summers back.

Before meeting he told me over and over how he didn’t have social media and refused to tell me his last name. I looked past the red flags and met him anyway.

Once we were on the trail, he pulled out his phone and started taking a video of me.

I found this odd since he had no social media, so I asked

Meet in public

what the video was for. He answered by telling me he wanted to show his friend how good I looked. My mind immediately started racing and every hair on my body stood up. I’d heard stories like this from women who’d been trafficked before.

I cut the date short and got away from him safely, but I always wonder what might’ve happened had I went farther

down the trail with him.

Then I began seeing his face on multiple profiles, each one with a different name. First it was Leo. Then it was Alex.

Then Jonathan.

I reported and blocked him several times and put out a warning on social media for other women to steer clear of him, but who knows who else he’s tricked into meeting him.

Share your location Tell your friends where you are going and what time you will be there. You can also share your location with your friends or a family member so they can regularly check up on you.

I personally share my location with a handful of my closest friends just in case

anything was to ever happen to me.

An easy way to do this is to go into your messages with whoever you want to share location with, hit the info button, and then choose share my location. When you select this, you have the option to share your location for an hour, a day or indefinitely.

Listen to your gut Always trust your instincts. If at any point someone makes you feel uncomfortable, get out of there. It’s always important to trust your gut feeling especially if someone makes you feel uneasy, is being pushy or acts downright strange. I’ve been out with someone who’d had too much to drink and became extremely pushy and handsy. This made me uncomfortable and I didn’t want the situation to escalate, so I called myself an Uber and left.

Do not ignore red flags and know your boundaries. Safety should always be your top priority when meeting with a stranger. Keep these tips in mind on your search in finding that special someone.

Take your own transportation

If someone insists on picking you up, decline. It is safer to drive yourself to a date or have a Lyft or Uber take you. If you let this mystery date pick you up, then they will have your address. If the date goes sour, you don’t want to have to look over your shoulder every time you come home. Using your own gas or spending a couple of dollars on transportation will save you the stress and paranoia of your date possibly coming back by your home unannounced.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY JACKIE RUIZ AND NATALIE MURILLO

13

LIFE&ARTS The Et Cetera @TheEtCetera

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Broken hearts lead to funny, traumatic experiences actually my boss at an old job. We went out once and that was it.

We were joined at the hip thereafter.

We weren’t exactly the most compatible people, but in some weird way, we were comfortable around each other.

I’d read novels and she’d work on her book of crosswords. It was probably the calmest period of my life and I didn’t want to give that up.

After six-months we went out of town to attend a friend’s wedding.

Later that night as she slept in the hotel bed, an app on her phone kept going off and I couldn’t sleep.

I’m ashamed to say it, but I looked at her phone. What I found was obvious.

She’d been unfaithful, and this dude had been messaging her the entire day. I felt like a complete and total idiot.

As we fought I could feel my heart dancing in my stomach while my lungs struggled to take in air. In the end, we decided to stay together.

For the next two and a half years I couldn’t trust a single word she said. I turned into the type of person I hate. I was controlling, jealous and even spiteful at times. I lost who I was due to my own trust issues.

We were doomed after that night and we should have ended it.

After that, we simply wasted each other’s time.

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing some extremely interesting, yet unstable people. Some made me laugh, some made me cry, some even made me bleed. From the unusual combination of snapchat models, bartenders and church girls, I’ve acquired an eclectic education when it comes to all things kooky and downright weird. We don’t choose the memories that stay with us. These are a few of the lessons I never expected to learn.

—Jordan Lackey The Squatty Potty Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce: the Squatty Potty. I was introduced to this basic yet weird little contraption upon first entering an ex’s apartment.

I must have stared at this weird little stool in front of the toilet for a solid 3 minutes the first time I used her bathroom. I simply couldn’t understand what it was, and my curiosity was getting the better of me. I had to ask, although I wish I hadn’t.

According to the official twitter page, “Squatty Potty is the original toilet stool designed and made in the USA to give you the perfect posture for optimal elimination.”

It certainly helped me eliminate myself from the apartment.

How to Abandon Trust It all started when an ex called me up after we hadn’t spoken in almost six months. Within 15 minutes of her stepping foot in my home, she proceeds to tell me that she’s pregnant and that it’s mine.

I should have immediately jumped in the car and gone to buy a pregnancy test, but my head was swimming with questions. My gut told me she was lying, but I couldn’t think clearly. I’d always wanted to be a father, but not like this and certainly not with her.

What followed was the two-month process of having my heart put through a meat grinder. I’d make doctors’ appointments only to have her cancel 20 minutes prior. She would lie and say that she’d gone to appointments without me. She’d even give me due-dates that she made up herself. When I finally got her in for a sonogram, her story fell apart.

As the nurse pointed to the empty sonogram images, she wouldn’t even look at me. She completely ignored the sound of my heart breaking in the corner.

During that long drive home, I learned how to crumple my trust into a little ball as I threw it out the car window.

After that simple act of metaphorical littering, I still don’t trust anyone.

Unicorns Are Real Once upon a time, I thoroughly believed in monogamy. I would spend sleepless nights holding my chest while my anxiety made me question my faith in my partner.

That was before someone showed me a different

ILLUSTRATION BY ESMERALDA RODRIGUEZ/THE ET CETERA

Snow Cones and Vodka

It was a summer day, Bahama Bucks was calling our names as we sat around a friend’s house and wondered what to do with this cheap bottle of vodka we’d gotten our hands on.

Then an idea was whispered from the tobacco stained lips of an underage smoker. “Mix the booze with the Bucks,” said my ex.

Dear lord, I’m happy that we did. The pure sugar removed the burn of the cheap booze to the point that we couldn’t even taste it.

Drunk and in love, what a wonderful way to spend a hot summer’s afternoon.

Enjoying responsibly and within legal age, of course.

I learned this little trick during my misspent youth. I was 17 and in love for the first time. This was just the tip of the snow cone when it comes to the stupid things we did together.

One of my longest relationships should have ended in less than six months, but I was an idiot with a weakness for a slim-waisted blonde. When first we met, she was

How to Know When to Walk Away

way.

When I met her, she announced herself as a unicorn and I thought she was making a joke.

I later learned that unicorn is a slang term for a single person that’s infiltrated a Lifestyle community, which is essentially a swinger’s community.

Many people have a lot of misconceptions about this way of living.

There is actually a great deal of trust and compersion involved.

As I’ve said, I have major trust issues, but I realized that my problem wasn’t the physical betrayal, it was the emotional one.

The beautiful thing about a LS dynamic is that neither party has any reason to lie to one another.

To offer your partner complete freedom in return for total honesty was a deal I was willing to make.

She was one of the only people I’ve ever met that I’m almost certain never lied to me.

She had her flaws, but she was honest. I have to thank her for that much.

Sports The Et Cetera

Feb.19 Baseball vs. Cedar Valley Feb. 20 Basketball in DAC tournament Feb. 28 Baseball vs. Brookhaven Feb. 29 Baseball vs. Brookhaven

eastfieldnews.com

2 p.m.

8 p.m.

2 p.m. noon

14

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Harvesters clinch No. 1 seed heading into playoffs

By SAZOUN GRAYER Sports Editor @sazoungrayerETC

With their final regular season win over North Lake last week, and some help from a loss by Richland, the Harvesters are the 2020 Region V co-champions.

They have secured the No. 1 seed, a first-round bye and the right to host the first round of the district tournament. With the regular season now in the books, the Harvesters’ attention shifts toward the postseason tournament and chance for a national title.

It’s been four years since Eastfield’s last appearance in the NJCAA Division III national tournament, but the Harvesters have been winning all season and they believe this could be their year. Coach Anthony Fletcher is excited about the team’s success this season.

“It does mean a lot to us,” Fletcher said. “Not just the program, not just the [team], not just me, not just my family, not just these kids’ families. It could be life-changing, this game of basketball … I’m really excited for those guys and super proud of them.”

To get back to the national tournament, the Harvesters have two paths. Either they can win the district tournament this week and get an automatic spot, or they could claim one of the at-large bids being awarded by the NJCAA this year.

The NJCAA is doing the postseason tournament a little differently. The district tournament began Tuesday and will conclude on Saturday. It features Regions 2 and 5 with the winner advancing to Rochester, Minnesota and the national tournament. Now, there will be four extra teams included, making 12 teams instead of the previous eight at nationals. Besides the conference winners, four at-large bids will be awarded by the NJCAA to the most deserving teams based on national rank and strength of record.

Due to the NJCAA giving out those bids to the tournament, the Harvesters could be in great shape to claim one of them because of their record and their ranking in the national poll, despite what may happen in the conference tournament this week.

“With the bid system now, if you don’t win the conference tournament you can still have a chance to get to the national tournament,” Fletcher said. “That means every game counts. Every game is almost the same.”

The first thing they’re going to look at is win-loss record, then they’ll look at how you did against really good teams and things like that. Every game is basically for your resume to get to the national tournament.”

The Harvesters head into the playoffs on a high note, having won their last two games against conference opponents Mountain View and North Lake and finished with a record of 24-6. Last Saturday against North Lake, the Harvesters got it done on the road to cap the regular season. It was a tough, physical matchup but the Harvesters led for most of the contest and they hung on to win 75-67.

The Harvesters won without starting point guard DuJuan Ridgeway, who was ejected in the previous game. Without Ridgeway, other players had a chance to make an impact including freshmen Kyree Rogers and Ezekiel Fields. Even with all the hard fouls and charge calls during the game, 38 team fouls in total, Fields sees the challenge as just another day at the gym.

“We go hard at practice,” he said. “So, if we bang hard at practice, we’re going to bang hard out here in the real game.”

Rogers knows how important that last win was not just for Eastfield’s confidence but for playoff implications as well.

“This might punch our ticket to the national tournament,” he said. “We’ve got to get better. Other teams are getting better. We’ve got to get better [too].”

The Harvesters will play at home Thursday night against the lowest remaining seed from the opening round which will be #4 Cedar Valley, #5 Mountain View or #6 Brookhaven College.

PHOTOS BY RORY MOORE/THE ET CETERA

Clockwise from top, Head coach Anthony Fletcher speaks to his team on the bench during a break. Forward D’Angelo Smith attempts a free throw against North Lake on Feb 15. Guard TaMarcus Butler brings the ball up the court in a 75-67 win against the Blazers.

Visit eastfieldnews.com for exclusive online content about the three starters from Houston that have led the Harvesters this season.

opinion Etera 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 Skye Seipp Creative Director Anthony Lazon News Editor Eson Fellers Social Media Editor Hunter Garza Life & Arts Editor Lindsey Craft Multimedia Editor Marisol Ramirez Photo Editor Baylie Tucker Sports Editor Sazoun Grayer Copy Editor Harriet Ramos

Senior Photographer Rory Moore Staff Writer Jordan Lackey Graphic Artists Margaret Tamez Jessica Martinez Cartoonists Eric Santos Jesus Madrid Photographer Sirgio Ruvalcaba Editorial Assistants Marie Garcia Publication Adviser Elizabeth Langton Student Media Manager Sarah Sheldon Digital Media Adviser Sandra Evans 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. Letters should be no longer than 250 words.

ABOUT THE COVER

Bernie Sanders holds a rally Feb. 14 at the Mesquite Arena.

Photo by Baylie Tucker

15 eastfieldnews.com

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

OUR VIEW

Not voting has dire consequences People of Eastfield, it’s time to get out and vote.

There’s a polling station located near the business office in the C Building for Dallas County residents, so most of you do not have any excuses not to vote if you’re on campus a couple of days a week.

While it’s not the general election, the primaries are just as important for your preferred candidate to have a chance at being the nominee.

In 2016 voter turnout in Texas was a whopping 21 percent of people aged 18 or older, according to the Texas Tribune. That’s not a sign of a thriving democracy. Until the 1970s presidential nominees were not selected by vote. Now that we have the choice, we’re not using it.

The definition of democracy is, “[a] government by the people; especially: rule of the majority,” according to the Merriam Webster dictionary.

For those of you who struggle with math, 21 percent isn’t close to a majority.

Our laziness is allowing for an oligarchy to ensue, which is defined as a “government by the few.”

We don’t have to live in an oligarchy. Most of you have the right to vote. Gerrymandering, voter ID laws and other suppression tactics are at work to keep groups, mainly minorities, from voting. It will never change if you don’t fight it.

People have fought, suffered and died for all Americans to have the right to vote. Not participating is a slap in the face to these crusaders like life-long Dallas activist Peter Johnson who visited campus last week.

Unless you’re OK with women’s reproductive rights being overturned, environmental protection regulations being cut and kids being ripped away from their families and thrown in cages, go vote. We’re not saying you need to become a political junkie and spend every waking second engrossed in the shady dealings of our representa-

tives on Capitol Hill. But if everyone followed a different news source for every meme page you liked, staying informed wouldn’t be so hard.

Just like a steady diet of sugar and greasy fast food will destroy your health, a populace disengaged from local, state and national politics will corrode our democracy.

There are eight Democratic candidates to choose from at this time. Odds are you won’t like all of their policies or personalities, because politicians are people and like most people, some are better than others and most will disappoint you at some point. But any one of these candidates will do a better job running our country than the current administration.

Now, if you’re a Dallas County resident go down to the C Building with an ID card and do your due diligence. If you are not a resident of Dallas, see Page 6 for information about your county’s election.

Addiction is not a weakness, it’s a disease In 2009 the Drug Policy Alliance released a brief stating that thousands of veterans were addicted to prescription medications. Little did I know that I was one of them.

As a soldier, part of my warrior ethos was to never accept defeat.

Treating addiction required me to accept defeat against my biggest enemy, my own ego. Like so many, I believed addiction was a form of weakness. Then I learned the hard way that addiction is a disease, not a weakness.

Most people can drink and know their limits. For someone like me, that is not an option. My body reacts to alcohol differently than the average person, yet my disease is still seen as a sign of weakness.

I am not weak. I am an addict, and I have a biological disease.

Living in recovery is a bumpy road. There is no graduating from the disease of addiction or any remission period. Each day of sobriety requires me to live in the moment, one day at a time. Like a diabetic craving sugar, I have to fight my own brain.

I wasn’t always an addict. Most of my life I have been a maternal figure, and I dedicated six years of my life to serving my country. Drinking

Natalia Montoya @TheEtCetera

became second nature while I was in the Army, but I knew when to stop.

Never in my life did I think addiction would get me in its tumultuous grip, but it did.

In fact, my problems did not start until I was in my 30s. After I left the Army, I waited many years before I got help from the Department of Veterans Affairs for post-traumatic stress disorder. I served from 19992006. I was 25 when I was honorably discharged. I was a single mother and the transition from soldier to civilian required me to be strong and tenacious.

I had a hard time finding a job that paid well so I had to work two jobs for many years. After the recession hit in 2008 things got harder financially. Anxiety attacks would hit me hard whenever I had down time to relax.

Everything that I went through as a soldier would wash over me like a deep dark secret creeping out for the world to see. Finally, in 2008 I swal-

lowed my pride.

Doctors put me on several different cocktails of prescriptions that I became chemically dependent on.

Then I mixed them with booze.

Eventually I found myself never wanting to leave my house to visit friends. I missed appointments and thought everything was OK because I paid my bills, took care of my family and there was always food on the table.

I started taking the prescriptions to alleviate severe panic attacks, then I was having them almost daily because I became tolerant and needed something stronger.

The first step is admitting there is a problem. When I did, I was met with the worst attitudes and criticisms. I was told I was weak.

Doctors and nurses would act like I was a burden when I said I needed help. They are medical professionals and know addiction is a disease, but many are so overwhelmed the last thing they want to deal with is a person going through detox. I had to stay firm in my resolve to get off the pills.

No rehab would take me because I had no insurance. The facilities that were state run were full and told me I had to wait for an opening.

So, I went to the VA hospital for a 72-hour detox. Detoxing is akin to visiting the ninth gate of hell, but I did it.

I learned by talking to chemical dependency counselors that addiction is a disease of the mind, body and spirit. In recovery I learned I am biologically different. The reward system in my brain is wired differently. That is the part of my disease that many don’t understand. I found a 12-step meeting.

Through helping other addicts, I was able to get out of my own head and start thinking about others before fixating on my own withdrawals. Working with a sponsor helped me realize my addiction is just that, mine. Only I can keep myself sober, even if others believe I am weak.

Each day I can choose to have a good day, no matter how I feel physically. Each day I can choose not to feed my ugly addiction. Each day I can stop worrying about how others view my recovery and work on being a better me.

It is time to remove the stigma that addiction is a moral weakness.

If this stigma is not lifted, more will fall into the trap of addiction.

—Natalia Montoya is a contributor and an English major

16 Wednesday, February 19, 2020

WRAP-UP

eastfieldnews.com

Oddball Scribbles By Eric Santos

The Et Cetera

Franklin reflects on racism

Continued from page 10

NEWS

Briefs Food pantry to get bigger space The Honeycomb Cupboard is expanding and will move from C-104 to C-105 in July.

Additions will include a refrigerator and more shelving. The pantry is expected to open in its new location July 20.

The deadline to submit graduation applications is March 4. Students must have met or be in the process of completing all Texas Success Initiative degree or certificate requirements.

Students must complete 25 percent of total credit hours at Eastfield to receive a degree or certificate from the college. The commencement ceremony will be held on May 2 at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland.

The lessons learned and information gathered on their pilgrimage and Franklin’s own personal memories from her childhood are what helped her put together her presentation.

She talked about lynching, hate groups that still live today and the terror that African Americans lived with.

“The population “otherized” African Americans,” she said. “They weren’t even considered fully human. They were called creatures and beasts.”

The Hanging Tree in Center, Texas is a historical tree that was used for hangings and spectacle lynching. In Texas, court ordered hangings occurred between 1836 and 1924 and were administered by the county sheriff.

Spectacle lynching was when someone would take a photo of the lynching site and send invitations to people so a crowd would show up. The purpose was to humiliate and torture those being lynched.

Gavels were made from the wood of the hanging tree and are still being used in Center courtrooms today.

America’s first spectacle lynching was in Paris, Texas on Feb 1, 1893, when 10,000 spectators showed up which Franklin said meant the whole county was attending. The victim was Henry Smith, a 17-year old mentally challenged man accused of the assault and murder of a 3-year-old white child. He was tied to a stake, had his eyes burned out, had a hot iron stuck down his throat cooking his tongue and was set on fire, all while the crowd cheered.

“Do not think that lynching has ended,” Franklin said. “We are going back in the past to the genesis of it, but this continues to this day.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit legal advocacy organiza-

dent for over 30 years, said the first two contests are not well representative of the diversity in the United States since both states have white majority populations.

“It’s probably not a good indication of who the entire country is going to support,” she said.

Otokiti said she has not picked a candidate to support yet, but added that most Democratic candidates will be champions for all races.

Juan Flores, a service technician with a gas company in Fort Worth, said he’s heard a lot of support lately for Sanders in the Hispanic communities he visits. He said this is a switch from just a few months ago when many of his Spanish-speaking customers didn’t know who Sanders was.

“They can trust him more than a politician in Mexico or in South America,” Flores said.

“Especially when you start telling them about his history. They really like him [and say], ‘Oh yeah, he’s one of us. … He’s sticking up for us.’”

During his speech, Sanders outlined his immigration policies, which include passing bipartisan reform to the path for citizenship for undocumented people. He added that on day one as president he would reinstate the legal status of the 1.8 million Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients and their parents and end family separations at the border.

He also said he would legalize marijuana on day one if elected to office.

As his rally was coming to an end, Sanders said the establishment, meaning the Democratic Party, is getting nervous with his success and added that his campaign is taking on this establishment alongside Trump and other Republicans. Sanders said as a senator he’s seen the power of the 1 percent to buy elections, and added that it is happening right now.

“At the end of the day, the 1 percent is 1 percent,” he said. “If we stand together and keep our eyes on the prize, which is creating a gov-

Apply for spring graduation

BAYLIE TUCKER// THE ET CETERA

Long-time district faculty member, Janice Franklin speaks in C-297 on Feb. 13.

tion specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama.

Its website includes a “hate map” showing where hate groups and their headquarters are located in the United States. The site also includes how many groups are in each state and the names of each group.

As of 2018, 1,020 hate groups have been tracked across the U.S., 73 of them in Texas and 13 in the DFW area.

“We are swimming in a sea of headquarters of hate groups in this part of Texas,” Franklin said.

Early childhood education major Merari Rojas was moved by the vivid photos and videos shown during the presentation.

“I feel like I understand more now that I’ve learned about the history of lynching,” she said.

“It’s incredible and sad. As human beings we have to understand the history of people who aren’t the same as us and be more respectful to what they’ve gone through or are still going through.”

Bernie vows to legalize marijuana when elected Continued from page 5 everything holistically that a human being needs to be successful in education,” he said. “I think [Sanders] speaks best to that compared to the other candidates.”

Sanders trails 22-21 in delegates earned to Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, after the first two primary elections. A candidate must secure 1,991 delegates to be nominated for president at the Democratic National Convention in July. A win in Texas would be big for the Sanders campaign.

Behind Sanders is Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (8), Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar (7) and former Vice President Joe Biden (6). Billionaire and former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and environmental activist and billionaire Tom Steyer haven’t received any delegates.

Marie Otokiti, a retiree and Mesquite resi-

ernment and economy that works for all of us, no matter how powerful and how wealthy the 1 percent is, we will defeat them.”

After disclosing 10 years of tax returns last April, it was discovered that Sanders had gained over $1 million after his presidential run in 2016, a lot of it from selling books. This put him into the top 1 percent of taxpayers.

In the years since his 2016 presidential run, Sanders has released three books, which have boosted his net worth to about $2.5 million, according to a report by Forbes last April.

Flores said Sanders’ recent gain in earnings isn’t a good argument against his character and added that as a multimillionaire Sanders stays true to his message.

“Bernie’s a millionaire because he had a book that sold a million copies,” Flores said. “He voted against the tax cuts. That shows more about him than anybody else. … I don’t care that he’s a millionaire.”