The Sun Vol. 60 Issue 1 by Southwestern College Sun Newspaper

A N AT I O N A L PA C E M A K E R AWA R D N E W S PA P E R

Volume 60, Issue 1

theswcsun.com

October 7, 2016

‘Now it’s happened here’

Interim president stepping in By Cristofer Garcia-Saldivar News Editor

Thomas Contant/Staff

STANDOFF IN THE SOUTH COUNTY —Peaceful demonstrators hold back a crowd of angry men who moved towards El Cajon police. Protests sparked after an El Cajon Police officer shot and killed an African-American man who pointed a vaping device at officers.

Protesters confront police in the streets of El Cajon after unarmed African-American man shot and killed by officer By Domonique Scott Campus Editor

EL CAJON—Southwestern College students and staff were among demonstrators who flocked to El Cajon to protest the shooting of an African-American man who pointed a vaping device at police officers. De a d a t t h e s c e n e w a s A l f re d Olango, 38, an Ugandan immigrant law enforcement officials said took a “shooting stance” and pointed an object at police. Olango’s sister, Lucy Peterson, called 911 three times for assistance for her brother, whom she said was “not acting like himself.” Peterson was distraught

when responding police killed her brother with three shots to the chest. “I told the police please don’t shoot him, he’s mentally sick,” Peterson said. “I did not call the officers to come and kill my brother right in front of me.” El Cajon police officers shot and killed Olango after he took a “shooting stance“ with what was later identified as a vaping device. Aaron Harvey was addressing SWC’s UMOJA Black Lives Matter gathering when he got the message that Olango had been killed. “I was speaking at the UMOJA Conference and I got called saying a brother had been shot by the police,” he said. “I think anytime an injustice

is going to happen to people of color, it is going to be our duty to show up and support.” Harvey said he joined a group of more than 100 people protesting for transparency, reform and justice. Standing with the mourners, police and news vans was Tai Dorch and her 2-year-old, son McCoy. “We came out here to support our community of beautiful black brothers and sisters,” she said. “My son is a prince and will grow up to be a warrior and no one will shoot him down.” Dorch said she had been sitting outside her apartment when she heard the gunshots. “The police don’t want this getting

out to the public,” she said. “They are telling us to keep quiet.” Wo rd s p r e a d o f t h e i n c i d e n t and protesters of many races lined up outside of the El Cajon Police Department demanding answers. They were infuriated when they realized a 10 p.m. news conference was not open to the public. El Cajon resident Mark Wallice was among the many who screamed for support from the crowd to force open the doors. “Y’all ain’t mad, you need to get mad!” he shouted. “Today it’s your brother getting shot, next month it’s your mama getting shot.” S WC s o c i o l o g y s t u d e n t Gr e g Larkin, 24, silently taped messages to the windows of the department please see El Cajon pg. A4

Food pantry quietly battles hunger on campus By Josh Navarro Assistant News Editor

Southwestern College students are hungry for knowledge. Thousands are just hungry. Patricia Bartow, director of Child Development, started to realize this when she taught evening classes. “I noticed that in class at night my students would be tired or not feeling so well,” she said. “In conversations with them, it was brought up that they hadn’t eaten that day.” Bartow said she surveyed 700 SWC students. About 80 percent reported some level of food insecurity. “I’m an unemployed single mom and I’m kind of ashamed to admit that I sometimes don’t have enough,” wrote one student. “I try to do what I can, but I pray that a pantry opens up soon.” Bartow, the Associated Student

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Organization and the Child Development Center created a food pantry. Jacobs and Cushman San Diego Food Bank have been contacted about support. Brett Robertson, SWC Director of Student Development, said he will work with Bartow and the ASO to develop an SWC food pantry. UCSD and San Diego City College already have food pantries, he said. “Food insecurity is a problem for more and more college students each day,” he said. “A big challenge for ASO was space. There was no place to put it. Patie had the space, so it all kind of came together. Now we can make this happen.” ASO President Mona Dibas said ASO senators and faculty visited pantries at other colleges. “Last spring, we went to City College please see Pantry pg. A3

CAMPUS A8

Thomas Contant/Staff

FOOD FOR THOUGHT —Director of Child Development Patricia Bartow said she was startled by a survey that indicated food insecurity in 4 out of 5 SWC students.

ARTS A10 Students, ASO speak out in support of Black Lives Matter.

VIEWPOINTS A6 After 30 years of solitude, an artist reveals his work.

Robert Deegan has risen to the very top of his profession, but still remembers the little boy whose family was on public assistance during a prolonged “rough patch.” He also remembers the young man who found his way in a community college. Deegan was named interim president of Southwestern College last month following the June 30 resignation of Dr. Melinda Nish. Deegan, the president of Palomar College for 10 years, came out of retirement at the request of the SWC Governing Board following his recommendation by a faculty member. He is scheduled to serve for six months. “I’m enjoying my time very, very much,” he said. “I’ve been to all the centers. I’ve met with all the schools, trying to get around to a lot of the services.” Deegan said he is working on a number of critical issues, the first and foremost of which is accreditation. SWC was placed on warning this spring with 15 sanctions, including some that remained unsolved from 2011. “I’m very impressed with the work that’s been done to date,” he said. “But there’s still a lot to do, so it’s working with our faculty, staﬀ and administration to get that report ready.” please see Deegan pg. A2

Tests continue after TB reported spring semester By Cristofer Garcia-Saldivar News Editor

A Southwestern College student diagnosed with active tuberculosis last spring prompted the college to offer free testing to his classmates and teachers exposed to the potentially-fatal disease. No new cases have been reported from those exposed, according to county health officials, though testing continues. SWC PIO Lillian Leopold said school and county health officials met last month to discuss protocol for notifying those exposed. College employees called faculty who had the infected student in their classes, and sent letters and emails to exposed students. County of San Diego health officials identified the exposure period as March 8- May 27.“We have been informed that you may have been in contact with an individual at Southwestern College who has tuberculosis,” read the letter. “TB is a serious disease that is spread through the air from person to person… Because you may have been exposed to TB, we recommend that you receive a TB test.”Five SWC classes were exposed. A total of 132 notices were sent out, said Leopold. Lorena Gonzalez-Fabiny, a supervising communicable disease investigator for the County of San Diego, said about a quarter of the students identified as exposed had submitted their test results by the end of August. Gonzalez-Fabiny is part of a small team please see Tuberculosis pg. A4

SPORTS

theswcsun.com Helicopter parents cause students to crash.

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Cristofer Garcia-Saldivar, editor

NEWS

Oct. 7, 2016 — Vol. 60, Issue 1

Tel: (619) 482-6368 E-mail: news@theswcsun.com

New Canvas fires faculty creativity By Brelio Lozano Staff Writer

Thomas Contant/Staff

CALMING INFLUENCE —Interim President Robert Deegan led Palomar College for 10 years and is experienced with accreditation and enrollment managment, two areas SWC is working to address.

Deegan: Interim president called “a breath of fresh air” Continued from pg. A1

SWC was placed on warning status by the Accreditation Commission of Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJS) last spring and must submit a follow-up report in March 2017 to stay off probation. SWC was placed on probation in 2010 during the presidency of Raj K. Chopra and narrowly averted shutdown when the Chopra administration and a previous governing board failed to make the necessary progress on a list of sanctions. This time, the college was given 15 recommendations to ensure its accreditation is fully reaffirmed. Deegan said all 15 sanctions from ACCJC are being addressed. “Many have been completed,” he said. “A number are still in progress… We’re planning to bring a final draft of the report to the (governing) board in January and then have it ready to submit in March.” One sanction related to sloppy, late and missing staff and faculty evaluations. ACCJC discovered that many employees have gone

years without an evaluation.“Evaluation was one that was pointed out as of concern, so that’s one that I wanted to make sure that we addressed soon,” said Deegan. “I think there was a number of them that were late. And I think part of the problem was people weren’t aware that these were supposed to be done or that they hadn’t been done. I don’t think it’s a major problem and I think the majority of evaluations are complete and up to date, but the ones that aren’t we have to make sure that they are.” Deegan said there is a “plan in place to get those all done” and the college will try new software to help with future evaluations. “I’m very optimistic that we will have a report ready and that when the (accreditation) team returns that our accreditation will be fully aﬃrmed,” he said. During Deegan’s time at SWC the college will seek a $400 million construction bond measure. Deegan said he is optimistic that the community will support the bond and looks forward to the new buildings, including a new veteran center. Increasing in enrollment is also on the college’s to-do list. An enrollment management specialist, Deegan said he is trying to increase enrollment to ensure the college’s apportionment cap and receive full funding from the state. He said he is also

trying to increase the number of student transfers and degree recipients. The Sun reported last spring that Southwestern College first-time students take an average of six years to graduate or reach transfer levels. “When you look at the success of the college, it’s not the number of students who are enrolled but the number of students who succeed,” Deegan said. “It’s very important to me that when we’re bringing students in and I want to try increase eﬀorts to do that, that’s just the start. What we’ve got to do is ensure their success. And that’s with appropriate curriculum for students so they can get the classes they need to transfer or receive a certificate.” Deegan said he also wants the campus to be more inclusive and “work a lot on our campus climate,” which ACCJC has in the past described as “toxic.” He said students were already doing an outstanding job modeling inclusion and used the Associated Student Organization (ASO) as an example for its recent spoken word even focusing on the Black Lives Matter movement. “I was very impressed to see that our ASO is taking the lead with that and working with the rest of our students to ensure an awareness of things that are happening in the country,” he said. “What I want to do is work with our faculty and

staﬀ to create something similar so that everybody in this college feels welcomed and wanted.” Vice President of Financial Aﬀairs Tim Flood served as acting president following Nish’s resignation in June. He said Deegan is a “very good guy” with a “tremendous amount of experience.” “I was part of the committee that interviewed him,” said Flood. “I cannot tell you how fortunate we are to have him lead us during the next six months.” Deegan retired after 10 years as president of Palomar College and has more than 30 years of experience working in community colleges. SWC Governing Board member Humberto Peraza called Deegan a “breath of fresh air.” “The college needs somebody like Bob Deegan,” he said. Although Deegan said he plans to be here for “a short time just during a time of transition until the permanent president was hired,” he also said he is excited to be at SWC. “What I’m finding is Southwestern is a large comprehensive community college and there’s a lot of focus on the success of students,” he said. “That’s something where I can fit right in and keeping with my own philosophy.”

Following a semester of controversy, Blackboard is getting wiped and Canvas is emerging as the college’s new course management system (CMS). Early feedback has been favorable. Emily Morissette, director of paralegal program, said she volunteered to pilot Canvas. “At first, I didn’t want to transition to Canvas as I have used several different versions of Blackboard and felt it was meeting my students needs,” she said. “When I started in Canvas, it was a little difficult for me to get into the different ways Canvas does things from Blackboard. As I work more and more in Canvas, I’m liking it more and more.” Student feedback has been ov e r w h e l m i n g l y p o s i t i v e , s a i d Morissette. “When I asked the students if they wanted me to go back to Blackboard or stay with Canvas, only one student stated he preferred Blackboard,” she said. “The students let me know that they really like the Canvas format and that many of them are used to Canvas, either from high school or from another college. That, to me, makes the transition worth it.” Somer Meade, a sociology professor, agreed. “I’ve been teaching online at SWC for almost nine years,” she said. “I’ve also taught in other course management systems and Canvas is superior to them all.” Meade said the change was worthwhile. “I don’t think it’s possible to have a major transition like this without a hiccup or two, but by and large it has gone smoothly,” she said. “Probably the most important thing that I can do on Canvas that I really struggled with in Blackboard was make every single aspect of my course accessible with very little effort. Students don’t have to open file after file to get the course information, they just open the module and it’s all there.” Luis Sandoval, 20 and a sociology student of Meade, said he likes Canvas so far. “I find Canvas to be much better than Blackboard and also much more effective,” he said. “I have had problems with Blackboard in the past and to the present day I have yet to have any problems or issues with Canvas.” Tracy Schaelen, SWC’s distance education faculty coordinator, said she expects to be fully integrated and used exclusively by summer 2018.

Debt can cripple students as they embark on life By Victoria Gonzalez Staff Writer

Student loan debt is a national scourge that is easy to accumulate and difficult to pay off. It is rarely forgiven and is nearly immune to bankruptcy. It can, however, pay for an education that will lead to well-paying careers and can be a good investment by students in themselves. Median student loan debt in the U.S. is about $13,000, according to a survey by Pew Research Center. Jonathan Lewis, 23, is already over that. He is enrolled in the culinary arts program at The Art Institute of California-San Diego for his associate degree and is $15,000 in debt. He has no scholarships because his grades were less than stellar in high school, he said. Lewis said earning a degree is a necessity because in the culinary profession it is easy to gain experience and move up. If you stay in the same restaurant, that is. “If you move to another place with no degree, you’re just a line cook with lots of experience,” he said. Lewis said his $15,000 student loan debt feels less like a kitchen knife and more like the Sword of Damocles. “Debt is in my mind kind of like a prison,” he said. “It is always stalking. It’s a shadow over your head.” Lewis works during the day and goes to school from 6 p.m. until midnight. He said his grueling schedule is taking a toll. “I’m already burned out,” he said. Even though Lewis has 10 years from the time he graduates to pay off his debt, he said, it weighs heavily on his mind.

He is considering dropping out of the Art Institute to take classes at SWC. “I’m starting to think it’s not worth the money,” he said. Lewis’ decision to go to a for-profit college was planted in his mind in high school on a class visit to the Art Institute. He said he now regrets the decision. “ ( Fo r - p r o f i t c o l l e g e s a re ) n o t necessarily bad, but consider your school options because that was a mistake I made,” he said. “I probably could have gone (to Southwestern) and got the same thing a lot cheaper.” A recent SWC graduate, Daniel Zavala, 23, previously a four-year university student, said SWC is a viable option to save money for the same quality of education. He said he was not sure what to do after high school, so he worked as a mechanic for two years, but spent everything he earned. He studied psychology at SDSU while still working as a mechanic. “I was out of my parents’ house and I wasn’t about to ask them to help me pay for school,” he said. When Zavala started taking upper division classes, he said, juggling college and work became too diﬃcult, so he quit his job and got a student loan. He soon realized psychology was not a good fit, but he finished an associate degree. He decided to move on to the real estate program at SWC. “I dropped out (of SDSU) because I didn’t see the point in taking it at a university and wasting more money when I would get the same education at a community college and pay a lot less,” he said. He got another job to pay off the debt from SDSU, he said, but the process

was slow going. Zavala said students should avoid loans, if possible. “I would definitely recommend that they don’t do it unless it is a last resort and they really have no other way to pay for it,” he said. “I owe money for a degree that I’m not even gonna use.” Some students are able to pay debt off quickly or avoid it entirely. SWC Professor of Anthropology Dr. Erin Browder managed to avoid large student loan debt while earning her doctorate at UC Berkley. She said she is wary of for-profit institutions like the Art Institute. They are called “forprofit” for a reason, she said. “I am personally surprised at the amount that some people will pay forprofit organizations,” she said. Browder said when she was a student at UC Berkeley in the early 1980s she racked up $6,000 in student loan debt which, adjusted for inflation, would be about $15,000 today, similar to Lewis’ debt load. She said she was able to pay Victoria Gonzalez/Staff it off in about five years. At that point in her life she was SACRIFICE REQUIRED — Professor of Anthropology Dr. Erin Browder said she completely independent of her parents. chose poverty instead of debt while studying for her doctorate. “I was legally emancipated so they didn’t really give my anything,” she “Money was for staying alive, not who cry poverty often have cell said. getting stuff,” she said. “It was not phones, cars and trendy clothes. Browder said paying off her debt embarrassing to be super poor.” “They obviously feel a tremendous required commitment. Browder’s frugal lifestyle allowed pressure right now for cosmetics and “I never borrowed any student her to earn a doctorate before she fashions and electronics and being seen loan money for living expenses,” she owned a TV or a car with power at the right places,” she said. said. “I was super frugal to the point windows and air conditioning. After Browder said that sometimes getting of actually being homeless. I didn’t graduating she worked a series of part- a degree that comes with debt is the borrow money to eat or pay any other time teaching and research jobs. She best way to land higher paying jobs kind of bills. I was as poor as the state was able to do that because she worked and solid careers. thought I was.” all throughout college, she said. “It’s the only money you can borrow Saving money became habitual, she Many of today’s students have poor that is going to allow you to make said. spending habits, she said. Students money,” she said.

NEWS

The Southwestern College Sun

Oct. 7, 2016 — Vol. 60, Issue 1

National City HEC campus to expand science labs

By Alejandro Anguiano Staff Writer

NATIONAL CITY – This community’s hub of higher education used to be a hub of criminal activity. Less Wharton and more The Wire. Dean Christine Perri recalled the days when “walking” more often meant prostitution than graduation. “We used to be located across the street,” she said. “I remember in the parking structure everybody was always on alert. You had to worry about possibly getting mugged, or your car being broken into or stolen. We literally had prostitution right in front of our building. Students would be walking into class and there would be prostitutes walking right here, along National City Boulevard.” Perri, dean of the NC HEC and Crown Cove Aquatic Center, said NC HEC helped to transform the community. “In the 15 years that I’ve been here I’ve actually seen it get a little bit better,” she said. “I do think we’ve pushed out some of the negative stuﬀ that used to occur here.” Perri said an expansion of the HEC will continue the community’s Renaissance in what used to be known as “The Mile of Bars.” A $22.5 million Proposition R expansion will add an estimated 400 seats in a new two-story facility that will be constructed adjacent to the current HEC on National City Boulevard. It will feature classrooms, a lecture hall, four laboratories and a medical clinic. A new outdoor courtyard will include a small lawn. Interim President Robert Deegan said the new space will be a boon to science students. “For a lot of the programs here (students) need to take anatomy, physiology and microbiology,” Deegan said. “Now they’re going to be able to take all of those courses right here and not have to travel to the Chula Vista campus.” Deegan said the new facility will include four laboratories. Perri said the limited availability of prerequisite courses in the HEC’s only

Maribel Salcido/Staff

MAD ABOUT SCIENCE— SWC’s Higher Education Center at National City will add modern science labs and a small community health clinic using Proposition R funds.

laboratory held back students. “What we heard from the students is that there’s a real bottleneck,” she said. “Students find it challenging to get all their science prerequisites. That really led us to getting a science building.” National City Mayor Ron Morrison, an SWC alumnus, said the NC HEC was always much too small. “Five months passed and they said we are maxed out,” he said. “We have no room. We

have people wanting to come in. We’ve got to do something about it.” Morrison said the idea that a few rooms would meet the educational needs of lowincome National City was misguided. “What caused all of this was an underestimation, an undervaluement of what education meant for the area,” he said. Morrison pledged a strong partnership with SWC. “The idea of putting a college in the middle

of your downtown is something diﬀerent,” he said. “But that is the commitment that this city has and that is the commitment that we will continue to have with Southwestern College.” Perri said the dental hygiene program at NC HEC is a benefit to the community. “One of the successes with the dental hygiene program is that the students need practical experience and in order to gain that they need patients, so we provided

(services for) over 3,000 patients a year, free of charge,” she said. Perri said community service is a focus of the new building, which will feature a community room and a small clinic. “We wanted to mirror what we have for the dental hygiene program with the medical assisting program,” she said. “So (we plan to) give (students) a fully-functioning clinic, one in which they can invite the community in.”

College developing “safe zone” to promote comfort, tolerance By Elibeth Esquivel and Chelsea Pelayo Staff Writers

A n g e l i n a St u a r t h a s l e d t h e Academic Senate and led the college off of probation five years ago. Today she may be leading her biggest quest yet. Stuart is at the vanguard of a burgeoning effort to make Southwestern College safer for LGBTQ students and employees. Though Americans have made great progress in the past five years, Stuart said, much work needs to be done to codify and defend the rights of the gay community at SWC. Stuart Safe Zone training for staff is a key first step, she said. “At our campus we want to use Safe Zone to open up the dialogue,” she said. “It’s not just about LGBTQ, but also gender, race, ethnicity, class and disabilities.” Some students pointed to a recent example of what they called insensitivity by a professor. A printout on the professor’s office window displayed a diagram of the male and female brain. At the center of the females brain was a large space for “Changing the Color of Hair.” Dominating the male brain was “Sex Now!” Stuart said the professor probably meant no harm, but the picture could be misconstrued. “It’s kind of similar to a Polish joke,” she said. “It’s unfortunate stereotypes. It’s for a laugh, but a lot of people can take offense to it.” Staff Development Coordinator Janelle Williams organized the college’s first four-hour Safe Zone seminar this month. A small group of employees attended the workshop facilitated by Stuart, but Williams said it is a good start. “Increased awareness is great for the LGBT community, but really it’s great for all of us,” she said. “By becoming aware of what the needs are of one group, it means that we become more aware of what the needs are as a collective. If one of the groups fails, we all fail.”

Stuart said 28 facilitators have gone through a more extensive fullday seminar in order to be able to better understand and communicate with students as well as any other members of the community who might have questions about LGBT issues. Facilitators are encouraged to post signs that identify that they have gone through the training and that their office or workplace is a safe, no-judgment zone. Faculty and classified employees can receive flex credit for attending the Safe Zone training toward fulfillment of their annual self-improvement training requirements. Stuart said Safe Zone training is also a safe zone. “In the workshop we’re not asking people to change their opinions,” she said. “We’re advocating for working with people, being with people in the community that are different than you. (We want employees to) treat people like people.” SWC Campus Police Chief Michael Cash said his officers will attend Safe Zone training this year. Some SWCPD officers have in recent years been accused of insensitivity toward sexual assault victims. Communications instructor Thuy Do attended the Safe Zone workshop and said it was well-run and very beneficial. “Before you can properly communicate with your student, you have to yourself be aware and so I wanted to walk out of here with the awareness, the attitude and the understanding that it’s a learning process for everyone,” he said. “And because getting to know any culture takes time, I don’t want to have assumptions that I know something, especially because people are so different.” Stuart said the differences of the campus community are also its strengths and that equal treatment is key if a society is to flourish. “I think the most important lesson for me is that as humans we tend to label one another,” she said. “And when you have labels you don’t see the fact that we all bleed the same color, we all have hurt, we all have successes, we all have gifts that we can share with each other. We’ve all had journeys that are unique. I think recognizing that journey is part of really accepting one another and building a strong community.”

Thomas Contant/Staff

PANTRY OF HOPE — (l-r) Chula Vista Mayor Mary Salas, Director of Student Activities Brett Robertson, ASO VP Raven Espina and ASO President Mona Dibas celebrate the opening of the “Jag Kitchen” food pantry.

Pantry: New food bank opens at SWC to address hunger Continued from pg. A1

and got to see their food pantry,” she said. “They also have free clothing. If you had an interview, they would have suits and ties for $10 only. They do haircuts. They do makeup. They give you the whole package to get you started with your life.” Jade Espina, ASO Vice President of Outreach, said she aimed to provide similar services to SWC students. “We noticed that a lot of other schools were doing it,” said Espina. “So we were wondering why SWC wasn’t doing it since we are the last campus before Mexico and the center of a lot of things here.”

A ribbon cutting event officially unveiled the food pantry as the “Jag Kitchen” in room 554. Interim President Robert Deegan spoke at the event, thanking Bartow and the ASO for bringing awareness to food insecurity. “I’ve been so impressed with the strong commitment that people have made to our students,” he said. “Almost 80 percent of our students receive BOG waivers, so it’s not surprising that many find themselves experiencing food insecurity.” Dibas said fighting food insecurity is top priority. “I hope we can do other things, but food is a basic human right,” she said. “No one should have to question that. When I go back to Palestine, they are literally scavenging for food and water. To know what it feels like to see children starve and to die from not having

enough food, that’s not something we should accept.” Espina agreed. “(Food security) is so taboo that no one talks about it,” she said. “It’s like talking to a depressed person and saying ‘get over it.’ It’s very diﬃcult to concentrate in school when you’re hungry.” Bartow said she knows how it feels to struggle with nutrition. “Food insecurity is not knowing when your next meal is,” she said. “For me, it was always choosing. Maybe I could aﬀord the burrito, but not the drink. I was living in a motel at the time. Putting myself in that position, I know how hard it is for students. We focus so much about the academic part, we forget about their primary needs. We can have have a ton of programs, but if their needs aren’t being taken care of, they can’t be successful.”

Cristofer Garcia-Saldivar, editor

NEWS

Oct. 7, 2016 — Vol. 60, Issue 1

Tel: (619) 482-6368 E-mail: news@theswcsun.com

Thomas Contant/Staff

Cristofer Garcia-Saldivar/Staff

El Cajon: Protesters demanded reform after shooting of black man Continued from pg. A1

Thomas Contant/Staff

FLASHPOINT IN EL CAJON — Protesters from around Southern California gathered on the streets of El Cajon to protest the police killing of Alfred Olango, 38, a Ugandan immigrant. Witnesses and at least two videos show Olango assuming what El Cajon police officials described as a “shooting stance” before he was shot.

Tuberculosis: Testing continues for about 130 exposed students Continued from pg. A1

of investigators who cover tuberculosis cases across the county. Claudia Souza-Luna is a colleague. “We are six employee investigators with the whole San Diego County, from the border to Fallbrook,” she said. Gonzalez-Fabiny said the team handles hundreds of cases annually, though they have seen fewer in the recent years. “We are seeing a little decrease from our highest peak when we were in the 400s a couple of years ago,” she said. “But 230 or 240 (cases) is still a pretty challenging number for us.” Souza-Luna said despite the case load, investigators work hard to ensure that people treated for tuberculosis are looked after. “Everybody that’s been diagnosed with tuberculosis, it doesn’t matter who you are, you’re going to have a public health nurse, an investigator, which is like us,” she said. “So you have a team of people that want to make sure that you’re fine.” Gonzalez-Fabiny said that the county makes sure everyone known to be exposed to TB is tested. Were a student to refuse, the county would notify SWC officials. “We continue working with the individuals until they get tested,” she said. “We’d try to give them the proper education to see why is it that they’re refusing and a lot of the time it’s just a lack of understanding.” Students who were exposed and have not been tested will be urged by SWC and county health officials to submit. Testing was not mandatory for those exposed students to return this semester, Leopold said, but that might change next semester. “There is some discussion that if they were on that (exposure) list and are here this semester and they haven’t been tested after the second notice goes out that there could be a hold put on their record,” said Leopold. “So they wouldn’t be able to register for new classes.” Because it has been more than eight weeks since the exposure period, any student who tests negative for tuberculosis is considered to be cleared and would not require any further testing, according to Gonzalez-Fabiny. County officials strongly recommend that those exposed students get tested and advise residents to be aware of tuberculosis symptoms such as lingering cough, sudden weight loss, night sweats and fever. Individuals seeking more information or testing should contact the county health department or the school’s nurse’s office.

building that read, “We Want Reform.” “It’s time for change within the police departments,” he said. “Shooting is not the answer and they have become reliant on these weapons during their arrests. Policemen are scared of black people. They’ve built this racism. Whether it be

apparent to them or not, it’s there and it’s what they are acting on.” Protests continued into the weekend and became a national story covered by CNN, ABC, CBS, KNX, the Los Angeles Times and other state and national media organizations. Annette Gaines, 58, held a red candlestick in her hand as she stood on the nighttime street with the other protesters. “This candle here stands for the light in this darkness,” she said. “I just want peace to come from all this.”

College Estates parking district in effect By Domonique Scott Campus Editor

Chula Vista’s new College Estates parking district is in full effect and Southwestern College students who try to leave their cars in the neighborhood face a $47.50 fine. Some SWC students said they did not know it is now illegal to park in College Estates, the 50-year-old subdivision across Otay Lakes Road. Gloria Jimenez said on her first day of school she was told by a College Estates resident that she would be fined if she parked in front of the resident’s home. “I had heard from my friends that the only way to park for free was to park across the street and just walk to my classes,” said Jimenez. “It seemed cheap and easy, so I parked there. When I got out my car this lady ran across her lawn and yelled at me that she was going to call the cops on me if I didn’t move my car. I parked on campus after and thank God it was free. It was all really crazy for a first day.” Chula Vista city officials established the parking district in February after years of complaints from College Estates homeowners about congestion, noise, profanity and public urination by SWC students. It is now illegal to park without a special permit among the 250 houses running through the 1600 block of Columbia, Gotham, Yale and Elmhurst Street to the eastern boundary of Vassar Avenue. Forham, Xavier and Wayne along with the 1600 block of Harvard Street and Ithaca Street are included. Permitted times run Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Owners of cars without the sticker permits on their dashboards will be cited and fined. Bill Valle, Chula Vista Assistant Director of Engineering, said the first week of school would be rowdier and would need a “greater presence” from both the campus and city police departments. Citations were not issued until August 23. August 22, the first day pf fall

Cristofer Garcia-Saldivar/Staff

“PEACE ON THE STREETS” — College Estates residents expressed relief that a new city parking district has eliminated student parking in the neigborhood.

classes, was a grace period, said Valle. College Estates homeowner Bob Muff said he was happy with the support of SWC’s campus police for bringing “peace on the streets.” “There wasn’t any enforcement on Monday, the first day, it was like nothing had ever been posted,” he said. “I made a few phone calls to the city and they started enforcing on Tuesday and gave out 60 to 75 citations. A lot were written the rest of that week. It’s been pretty good there are a couple of renegades around here every day, but for the most part it’s clear. There is not as much trash and it’s quieter. We finally have our streets back.” SWCPD Sergeant Jorge Sanchez said campus police sent emails to students about the parking district prior to fall classes. He said SWCPD extended a two-week grace period that allowed free parking on campus to give students time to purchase a

school permit. Sanchez said the campus police would help out with enforcement in College Estates, but primar y responsibility rests with the city of Chula Vista. “We will assist in citing folks if the time permits us to go across the street,” he said, “but our primary responsibility is to the college before anything else.” Sanchez said money from fines for citations issued by SWC campus police comes back to the college, not the city of Chula Vista. SWC administration allows students receiving the Board of Governors Fee Waiver to buy the $40 permits for $20. Sanchez said that may be temporary. “There is some discussion going on that we are limited with parking,” he said. “We are trying to accommodate folks, but people have to understand that times are changing and and they may have to pay a little bit more than

what they normally do, but they are not going to pay anymore than they would have if they would go to another institution.” Sanchez said the construction of the new Wellness and Aquatics Complex may force the college to build a parking garage on campus. “I think the governing board, the faculty and the ASO really need to prioritize what we need to accommodate the amount of students that are coming here,” he said. “Otherwise we are going to have problems. You don’t want to drive around 20 or 30 minutes looking for a spot just because of all this construction going on. Now you’re late for class and you got to deal with your instructor. You know it’s not a good way to start a semester. People need to get serious about how we are going to fund this parkade, if in fact that’s the route we want to go. I truly believe we need one.”

October 7, 2016— Volume 60, Issue 1

VIEWPOINTS

The Southwestern College Sun

Editorials, Opinions and Letters to the Editor

The mission of the Southwestern College Sun is to serve its campuses and their communities by providing information, insights and stimulating discussions of news, activities and topics relevant to our readers. The staff strives to produce a newspaper that is timely, accurate, fair, interesting, visual and accessible to readers. Though the “Sun” is a student publication, staff members ascribe to the ethical and moral guidelines of professional journalists. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ALYSSA PAJARILLO

Mirella Lopez

Millenials are using condoms less often than they should

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Jaime Pronoble NEWS

Cristopher Garcia, editor Josh Navarro, assistant CAMPUS

Domonique Scott, editor Carolina Rubio Ruiz, assistant Veronica Cruz, assistant VIEWPOINTS

Alyssa Pajarillo, editor Katy Stegall, assistant ARTS

Jeanette Sandoval, editor Chelsea Pelayo, assistant SPORTS

ONLINE

Chariti Nicole, editor PHOTOGRAPHY

Natalie Mosqueda, editor SENIOR STAFF

Nicholas Baltz Andrew Dyer COPY EDITOR

Brian del Carmen

Michelle Phillips/staff

editorial

Chariti Nicole, editor

The Issue: Former Palomar College leader Robert Deegan has agreed to serve as SWC’s interim president.

Our Position: We appreciate Mr. Deegan’s service and wish him strength as he addresses serious campus problems.

Open letter to our Interim President Dear Mr. Deegan,

STAFF WRITERS

Darcy Aguayo

Victoria Gonzalez

Alejandro Anguiano

Elena Hernandez

JoseLuis Baylon

Marty Loftin

Thomas Contant

Brelio Lozano

Tayler Costello

Maya May

Sergio Esparza

Michael McDonald

Elibeth Esquivel

Maryana Meza

Elizabeth Farin

Luis Rulvalcaba

Jesse Garibay

Armando Sanchez

Henry Gentile

Netzai Sanchez

Viandy Gonzalez

Thomas Solis

PHOTOGRAPHERS

CARTOONISTS

William Bird

Michelle Phillips

Maribel Salcido

Dan Cordero

Nanzi Muro ADVISOR

Dr. Max Branscomb

AWARDS/HONORS Student Press Law Center National College Press Freedom Award, 2011 National Newspaper Association National College Newspaper of the Year, 2004-16 Associated Collegiate Press National College Newspaper of the Year National Newspaper Pacemaker Award, 2003-06, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012-2015 General Excellence Awards, 2001-16 Best of Show Awards, 2003-16 Columbia University Scholastic Press Association Gold Medal for Journalism Excellence, 2001-16 California Newspaper Publishers Assoc. California College Newspaper of the Year, 2013, 2015 Student Newspaper General Excellence, 2002-16 San Diego County Multicultural Heritage Award

Society of Professional Journalists National Mark of Excellence, 2001-16 First Amendment Award, 2002, 2005 San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards 1999-2016 Directors Award for Defense of Free Speech, 2012 Journalism Association of Community Colleges Pacesetter Award 2001-16 General Excellence Awards, 2000-16 American Scholastic Press Association Community College Newspaper of the Year San Diego County Fair Media Competition Best of Show 2001-03, 20052015

Employees should be taught to be respectful and professional to each other, and to students. Rudeness Congratulations on your appointment as our interim precedes racism and disrespect precedes destructive president and welcome to Southwestern College! We are behavior. We have suffered rude, disrespectful and glad you are here. You are now part of one of the most unprofessional behavior from our former dean of vibrant and diverse institutions in the country. SWC has student services, our police chief, our Information many gifts, but also myriad challenges overlooked or Technology director, some (not all) fiscal services caused by previous administrations. It is our hope you employees and some financial aid staff. Too many Chopra will demonstrate altruistic leadership and finally address and Nish hires think their positions excuse antisocial, persistent deficiencies. disrespectful behavior. We have weeded out a few, but SWC was sanctioned, again, after its 2015 more gardening remains. accreditation inspection. Politics aside, there are relevant As candidates, all of our current board members issues pointed out by the accreditation board. These promised transparency. Not all of our employees have sanctions added to the long list of issues that SWC gotten the message. The Sun has had trouble with the administrators have mishandled or allowed to fester. district being hostile and non-compliant with public Safety is a serious problem here. SWC Chief of records requests submitted under the California Public Police Michael Cash is more adept at grandstanding in Records Act. We tested our college and it failed. There front of local news cameras than keeping us safe. This are records requests from April 2016 that still have not college botched an Ebola scare, ignores sexual assaults been produced. We are still waiting for the release of a and falsifies federal required crime records. 2014 investigation into Cash firing his gun in campus SWC police conducted a mass-shooting drill in 2015 police headquarters, narrowly missing three employees that was a fiasco. Students did not know what to do, (two retired because of the incident). most were unaware a drill was taking place. Activity was One of SWC’s worst problems is its blundering IT limited to one corner of campus, the one with TV news department. Like the police department, IT employees vans and reporters. Students reacted with indifference, are competent, professional and hard working, but they amusement and befuddlement while Cash puffed his suffer under a leadership vacuum. The insufferably chest for the cameras. Security flaws revealed during arrogant IT Director Daniel Borges has been a complete the drill have not been effectively addressed. We cannot flop. Under his watch he has alienated campus employees, even get Columbine doors in all classrooms. presided over an epic technology meltdown that Sexual assault is an even more serious issue on destroyed years of records and fiddled while WebAdvisor our campus. Blue poles have delayed campus police burned. How he manages to keep pulling down his huge response times rather than cut them. A rape victim salary is a mystery and a disgrace. pounded on the SWCPD door following her assault, but Our Academic Senate correctly converted from police staff refused to open the door because they were Blackboard to Canvas, but the changeover is expected to “closed.” An officer told a sexual battery victim that take another two years. An entire SWC student cohort the length of her shorts were to blame for her assault. will pass through while our school crawls into the Cleary Act Records and crime logs are inaccurate—a upgrade. federal violation. Worse, there are still classrooms without Smart Our police department took a positive step when it Room technology. Heck, there are still classrooms finally hired a female cop, but more sensitivity training is with chalkboards. Ensuring that all classrooms have needed. Most SWCPD officers are good guys who work whiteboards, projectors and ELMOs will improve the hard and care about students, but they are poorly led. learning environment significantly and must be a priority. Racial tension among campus employees is a major We do not mean to scare you, Mr. Deegan, but the problem. Black vs. Brown issues roiled the campus this recent past at Southwestern College has been tough. We spring and hastened Nish’s departure. The NAACP is have watched in frustration as weak and uncivil “leaders” involved. CSEA President Andre Harris wrote a letter have further degraded our once-wonderful college. We to The Sun about the incident and received a death know no one can fix all of this in six months, but by threat. A dean had her computer removed in the dark modeling professionalism, integrity and service leadership of night, was suspended, then retired suddenly. you can give us a push in the right direction. Thank you A Latina hired to head a new department of Equity, for signing on to help us. We wish you health, strength, Diversity and Inclusion was pilloried by angry campus happiness and resolve. employees. Nish was rightly criticized for trying to sweep the problems under the rug, then mishandling Respectfully, the burgeoning crisis. The Editorial Board of the Southwestern College Sun

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In this strangest of election seasons, California voters are being asked to consider adult films stars as role models. Don’t laugh. Next month, Californians will vote on Proposition 60, a ballot initiative that would require the producers of pornography to pay for health and check up requirements for adult film actors. Proposition 60 will also require actors to wear condoms and take other protective measures while filming. Proponents and opponents of Proposition 60 have valid points. Those who oppose argue that the performers could opt out of the law so long as they do not have financial gain and are not producing the films, and that it could potentially cost the state several millions in tax revenue per year. It would take at least $1 million a year just to implement and police the law, according to Businesswire.com. Tax and pornography preferences aside, condom representation in adult films is important. Many people, especially youth and young adults, mimic what they see depicted in pornography in their own sex lives. Youth and young adults are often exposed to pornography before their first sexual encounter. If more pornography is filmed with the actors wearing condoms, it could lead to a rise in youth condom use. Most students know that condoms prevent sexually-transmitted diseases. Condoms can protect against unwanted pregnancy and diseases like HIV and gonorrhea. Young people may have the knowledge about condoms, but they are not putting it into practice. Condom use has declined among 13 – 24 year olds, the Center for Disease Control reported. CDC officials also reported a 20 percent decrease in condom use from 2003 to 2015. Millennials also are having less sex with condoms while exchanging relationships and dating for casual hookups. San Diego State University published new research showing that 25 to 28 percent of Americans ages 18 to 29 have engaged in casual sex. Millenials are having more non-monogamous sex than previous generations Millennials are having more one-night stands, without discussing condoms and sexually transmitted diseases beforehand. This has been a recipe for a rise in sexually transmitted diseases. Avert, a sexual health website, reports that the number of clyamida infections has skyrocketed from 500,000 in 1997 to 1.25 million in 2015. While Millinnials may be more sex positive, condoms are still critical to protection against sexually-transmitted diseases.

Alyssa may be reached at sexandthesun@theswcsun.com

Oct 7, 2016 — Vol. 60, Issue 1

Alyssa Pajarillo, editor

VIEWPOINTS

Tel: (619) 482-6368 E-mail: viewpoints@theswcsun.com

High college cost forcing bad decisions

? Out

By Martin Loftin A perspective

College used to be different. Students could afford to take their time and figure out what course of study they wanted to pursue, even if it meant changing majors a few times. Not any more. Now it is too expensive for most students to experiment with their education. High school teachers and counselors herd students towards STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) and actively discourage them from trying other majors, especially the arts and humanities. New STEM graduates will be earning the highest starting salaries of 2016, according to a report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Students who want to study something else are often told their choice is either low pay or bereft of opportunities and they should pick something else, like a STEM major. What the teachers and counselors fail to tell their impressionable students is that there is a good chance they will end up changing majors no matter what they decide when they first enroll in college. Many freshmen are led to believe college is going to be a straight shot to a career, but soon learn that the road to graduation twists and turns a lot more than they thought. Science majors are touted to be the most highly-prized majors in the academic world. But the viability of post-graduate opportunities is inflated by an education system that pushes its students toward the sciences while neglecting other fields. “STEM crisis or STEM surplus?” asks an article in Market Labor Review. “Yes and yes.” The number of students going into STEM majors has decreased, which suggests a looming crisis, but only half of current STEM graduates go on to find a job related to their degree. Although STEM majors continue to

Thinking

Loud

How do you think the new food pantry at SWC will help students?

“If they see their college reaching out it’ll make them want to give back to the college as well.” Marlon Cort, 23, Liberal arts

Michelle Phillips/staff

be advertised to high school students as being high pay and in-demand, the reality is that across the board college graduates are underemployed. The New York Fed examined those that graduated between 2009 and 2013 and found that 45 percent of college grads work in “non-college” jobs that are defined as positions in which less than 50 percent of the workers in that job need a bachelor’s degree. Of that 45 percent, 25.2 percent held office or administrative positions paying an average of $37,207, and 11.4 percent that were in information processing and business support were earning an average of $59,059. This is below the average of $78,500 for a job that requires a college degree. An article titled “Is It Where You Go or What You Study? The Relative Influence of College Selectivity and College Major on Earnings” found

that for STEM graduates it does not matter much where you went to college. Only business majors see a significant economic advantage from attending a prestigious university, according to the article. College can be an incredibly expensive endeavor. Not all students have the benefit of grants, scholarships or wealthy parents, but even though most college students change their major at least once, many students eventually reach a point of no return where they feel stuck in a major that does not make them happy. Possible solutions include changing majors, but given the cost of education dropping out is often considered a more desirable path than starting over their academic career from scratch while continuing to go into further debt. There are far more opportunities for other majors than what students are

taught in school, but there is a greater need for those interested in the arts, humanities and other fields than society is willing to admit. Instead of allowing lawyers to continue to run the country, there needs to be more philosophers, historians and scientists in positions of leadership. Big businesses want to continue to be the gatekeepers of employment, but the Internet has become a great equalizer. Crowdfunding websites like Patreon, Indiegogo and Kickstarter allow any kind of project to have an equal chance to succeed without a corporations judges killing it because it does not initially seem profitable. The Internet allows for individual content creators to claim their own niche. Despite the big business side of the media attempting to make the most money by seeking the largest audience possible.

Helicopter parents cause students to crash

“I feel like there aren’t many food pantries around this area, they’re more in the downtown area. So this is a great thing that the school is doing.” Ariana Delucchi, 18, Nursing

“I think that’s a great idea. We should be helping out our community as much as we’re learning here.” Jackson Barackman, 20, Mechanical Engineering

“It will bring more awareness about the cause and maybe we will get more people involved to solve the problem.” Megan Urias, 18, Undeclared

“Students here come from backgrounds where they can’t afford food. So I think it’s an excellent idea.”

Michelle Phillips/staff

By Katy Stegall A perspective

Children are a horrible investment. A college education should not be seen as a gift from parent to child, but as an investment opportunity. Parents, acting as personal financial sponsors, want to see that their money is not being wasted on years of schooling. Some parents are becoming so concerned that they are trying to dictate what students are learning in the classroom. Their actions have been called over-parenting, or “helicoptering.” In 2015 SWC distributed more financial aid than any other college in San Diego County, according to Southwestern College’s Annual Report. With more than 70 percent of SWC student’s qualifying as low income, the dream of a higher education can seem unobtainable without assistance of some sort. When students are unable to fork up the cash on their own, many turn to their parents for help. This is not always a good thing.

Children in many cultures are taught from a young age that “mother knows best” and to attentively listen to the range of advice given. This includes what to study in school. Although the umbilical cord was physically cut years ago, some parents are using their guiding hand to their child towards the career path they want. Students desires are being held in little regard. Excessively active parenting can prove detrimental to the child’s mental development, according to Jill C. BradleyGeist and Julie B. Olson-Buchanan, researchers who co-wrote a study on helicopter parenting. Their research shows this behavior can stunt self-efficacy as well as remove them from a sense of responsibility. Bradley-Geist and Olson-Buchanan wrote that helicoptering makes the student expect everyone else to resolve problems for them. Parents attempting to protect their children only make things worse. Parents will never obtain the successful future they see for their children if they do not permit them to learn for themselves.

Research by University of Mary Washington’s Psychology Department has reported links connecting signs of depression and dissatisfaction with life to an over-controlling parent. Children trying to build a sturdier foundation for their future are being hindered by parents who oversee each of their decisions throughout their college years, a time meant for building independence. By taking control, the parents imply that their child is inadequate to make their own choices. If a parent does feel their child does not have the capability of making their own decisions, they should not be financially supporting their education. A student looking to support themselves and still have a safety net may consider cosigning a loan with their parents. This can go horribly wrong. Students are not the only people liable in the result of a financial hang up. Co-signers are equally liable for any unpaid debts. This can severely damage both parties credit

scores. There is no backdoor to escape if the loan applicant does not pay up. Almost 90% of co-signers who applied to be released were denied, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Parents are persuaded by the idea that the children will pay the bill and that co-signing is only a formality to increase the likelihood of getting accepted. It does. It also forces the parents to rely on the child paying their debts. Many family members are putting their own financial futures on the line by co-signing private loans, said Richard Corday, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Financial strain is a given for the many college attendees, especially students at SWC. People only have absolute freedom when their own money is involved. What a student is willing to sign away for an education is up to them, whether that be money or freedom should be their choice.

Myles Johnson, 18, Business Administration

@theswcsun

Theswcsun

October 7, 2016 — Volume 60, Issue 1

The Southwestern College Sun

CAMPUS

College’s first Muslim ASO president has tasted joy and prejudice in America JoseLuis Baylon

Bees, ancient Greece and mass shootings

“77 Minutes” also explores the question of why it took a San Diego Police SWAT unit an hour and 17 minutes to kill Huberty and end the nightmare. Former San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders, who was the SWAT captain at the crime scene, was interviewed for the film, as were the police sniper who finally took out Huberty, and several police officers and journalists who were there. “Anytime there is a shooting, or any crime really, time is of the essence. 77 minutes is a joke,” said Minn. “The reasons I was given on why it took 77 minutes explains it, but the bigger question I have is, does it excuse it?” Murder victim Jacky Reyes lost her eight-month old son and an unborn baby to Uzi machine gun fire. Their story is highlighted in the film. Minn said his goal is to inform and educate. “Documentaries are normally sad,” he said. “I couldn’t tell you why. Maybe if it’s happy people will say, ‘life is supposed to be that way’ so you don’t cover it. But if everyone saw that baby’s eyes as the bullet went into his back, I think there would be a movement in this country.” As the trailer for “77 Minutes” began playing on the projector behind Minn and Flanagan at the SWC football film room, Flanagan became visibly distraught by the audio. She was a teenage employee at the McDonald’s who survived by hiding in a basement closet Huberty

In 1984, a mass shooting in a McDonalds in San Ysidro foreshadowed a future of Americans killing Americans indiscriminately. Police suspect James Oliver Huberty somehow felt “society” was responsible for a real estate deal that did not work out. He took out his anger on innocents, murdering 21 and injuring 20 more in what was ,at the time, America’s great mass murder. Greek thinkers saw this coming 2,500 years ago. Members of the School of Hippocrates identified reclusiveness as a danger to citizens, the home and state. They wrote isolation from social interactions led to depravity. Acting as interventionists, they would help people falling off the grid integrate back into society. Members of Hippocrates School were also keen to identifying fake delusions. In their era people hallucinated and spoke to gods. Hallucinations often lead to crime, unwanted pregnancy and poor behavior. It was common practice to blame the gods and use them as excuses to worm out of situations, gain power or justify provocative statements. There were clues Huberty needed help. He had reached out to mental health professionals the day before the massacre, but no one called back. Two months before the shooting, he threatened his wife and daughter with a gun. Self-destructive behavior, aggression and violence in the home is a major contributor to the rise in mass shootings in America. A mass shooting is defined as a situation where four or more people are wounded by a firearm. According to CNN, some congressional reports exclude gang-related and domestic incidents from the criteria of a mass shooting. Without taking into account gang or domestic mass shootings, conclusions that terrorism or lone wolves are solely responsible for mass shootings are completely wrong. Between 2015 to 2016 there have been 679 mass shootings in the U.S. alone. The bigger picture is worse. Just two of those mass shootings came from terrorism. Violence at homes and in neighborhood streets accounts for the rest. Family murder/suicides are the most common type of mass shootings. Data shows that access to guns is a primary factor in mass murder and states with lax gun laws are the most violent. Georgia, for example, has the most cases of father’s killing their whole families. Arizona has the most sons killing family members. Texas is a mix of the two. Domestic violence can also grow in the streets. Gang violence is a by-product, as California has learned. California has the most mass shootings from drive-bys. Mass shootings are not happening everywhere. They are rare in states like Maine and Iowa. It begins with gun ownership and concealed gun licenses. Florida has a high rate of concealed gun licenses and gun ownership. Florida has the most mass shootings in the nation. Arkansas, Louisiana, Idaho and New Hampshire have similar gun laws and high rates of mass murder. Gun ownership is also linked to the homicide rate of police officers killed in the line of duty. This data make it clear that more guns in the hands of Americans make the country more dangerous, despite what Donald Trump and the NRA may say. A study by the Boston University School of Public Health revealed that shooting victims are more likely to be shot by someone they know than by a stranger. By examining the FBI’s Supplemental Homicide Index, the researchers studied the relationship between victim and killer for tens of thousands of homicides in the nation. It turns out most people shot have a connection to their killer in some way. Nearly 88 percent of female homicides are committed by people who knew the victim while 41 percent of their killers were gun owners. Researchers conclude that America has too many problems coming from the home. Americans, though, have mixed feelings about whether they want the government to help. Unless citizens feel comfortable with the government, they likely will not seek help. Citizens who hate the government might not trust their leaders or service providers. Ohio State University historian Randolph Roth concluded this might lead to a rise in the homicide rate. In his book, “American Homicide” he analyzed 300 years of U.S. homicide data and found a link between “trust in government” and the homicide

please see San Ysidro pg. A8

please see Shooting pg. A8

David Hodges/Staff

BARRIER BREAKER — SWC ASO President Mona Dibas has been active organizing events in support of Black Lives Matter as well as a moving tribute to the Orlando massacre victims. She promises a year of meaningful activism to benefit all students. She is the college’s first Muslim ASO president. By Cristofer Garcia-Saldivar News Editor

ona Dibas, all-American woman, was b o r n i n Sa n Diego, drives an SUV with a “Bernie 2016” sticker on the bumper and sings along to her friend’s “Hamilton” CD. She was elected President of the Southwestern College Associated Student Organization and is hard at work planning the fall semester. Even though she is popular and clearly on a roll, Dibas said she must always be vigilant. So it

goes for Muslim-Americans.“It used to be because I was a woman I needed to protect myself,” Dibas said. “But at this time, it’s not even about that. It’s about the fact that I wear a hijab.” Dibas’s decision to wear an Islamic head scarf sometimes draws negative attention. “I remember recently I parked my car a little too close to this truck and I had my little sister with me,” she said. “(The driver) got so mad and he started to curse and (say), ‘you can’t effin drive because of that towel on your head.’ My sister was very scared. I just drove away

and he also pulled out and started driving behind me and I remember feeling so afraid. They could have a gun, they could ram into my car. I remember feeling completely angry and I cried. I was thinking we’re in 2015, we’re such an advanced world, yet we can’t get over the fact that I wear a hijab and you don’t.” Such incidents flare after terrorist attacks, she said. Violence against the MuslimAmerican community has nearly tripled following the November stadium bombing in France. A man in Michigan called a store clerk a “terrorist” and shot him

in the face. A Pennsylvania taxi driver was shot by one of his passengers after the passenger asked him about ISIS. Violence has also spilled on to school grounds. A San Diego State University student was attacked and verbally assaulted last November for wearing a hijab on campus, spurring a march of hundreds of diverse students showing solidarity. Dibas and her younger sister, Nada, are among the estimated 3.3 million Muslims residing in the U.S., less than one percent of the population. They are native San Diegans who live typically American lives in Chula

Vista. Typical to a point. Recent events like the San Bernardino shootings have escalated anti-Muslim rhetoric, including controversial statements by Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. Trump’s “Muslim ban” calls for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country representatives can figure out what is going on.” Trump has actively worked to stir anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. “A poll from the Center for please see Dibas pg. A9

Controversial documentary raises questions about the San Ysidro McDonald’s Massacre By Katy Stegall Assistant Viewpoints Editor

William Bird/Staff

WHAT TOOK SO LONG? — Documentary filmmaker Charlie Minn says it is inexcusable that San Diego police took 77 minutes to stop mass murderer James Huberty, who killed 21 and injured 20 more at the San Ysidro McDonald’s in 1984. The massacre site is now an SWC satellite campus.

SAN YSIDRO — July 18, 1984 was San Diego’s Pearl Harbor and its 9-11. It was this region’s day which shall live in infamy. That afternoon a deranged gunman opened fire in a San Ysidro McDonald’s restaurant, killing 21 and injuring 20 more. Documentary director Charlie Minn is revisiting the horror in his latest film, “77 Minutes.” On July 18, the 32nd anniversary of James Huberty’s killing spree, Minn and survivor Wendy Flanagan spoke at Southwestern College about the film, which opened September 23 at Ultra Star Mission Valley, and plays at San Ysidro Multicultural Center September 30 and October 1. An SWC satellite campus has replaced the McDonald’s. “The film represents and honors the victims because I’m really tired of the killers getting so much attention after mass shootings,” he said. “Society doesn’t benefit from knowing who these dirtbag criminals are.” Minn says that Huberty’s name will not be in the movie in order to focus on the victims instead of the killer. Minn said he is trying to correct an injustice. “I think the victims are the heroes and their stories have been overlooked,” he said. “We have 40 people shot and most San Diegans can’t name one. We have one killer and he’s given so much attention that everyone knows who he is.”

October 7, 2016 — Vol. 60, Issue 1

Domonique Scott, editor

CAMPUS

Tel: (619) 482-6368 E-mail: campus@theswcsun.com

Black Lives Matter activists call for student action By Domonique Scott Campus Editor

Today a Black male born in the United States will leave the hospital with both his birth and death certificate tucked underneath his blue blanket. Southwestern College students of many races are working to change that. Civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson told a gathering at San Diego State University’s Politifest that justifications for the police shootings of unarmed men of color has created the “mythology that Black people deserve to die.” Southwestern College student Casey Boyd attended the event and said she was inspired to participate. “I had the opportunity to speak with DeRay after the open conversation,” she said. “He told me that as students we are ultimately the ones who are able to make differences because we have that power within our own community.” SWC ASO President Mona Dibas said the college’s Black Lives Matter event series would be a major focus for the student government this fall. Cries for change and equality roared from Black students and their supporters at a spoken word event hosted by the ASO. Dibas read from the Black Lives Matter Network. “When we say Black lives matter, we are broadening the conversation around state violence to include all the ways in which Black people are intentionally left powerless at the hands of the state,” she read. “We are talking about the ways in which Black lives are deprived of our basic human rights and dignity.” Dibas said it is her duty to give SWC students the opportunity to participate in the Black Lives Matter movement. “Right now in America we have a group of people who are being treated badly because of something they cannot change, something they cannot hide, which is their skin color,” she said. “It is time to end the hypocrisy in America. It is time to stop calling Black people thugs, Latinos rapists and Muslims terrorists. This is not a moment, it’s a movement. It is a movement towards change and equality. It might not happen in our lifetime, but we are going to keep fighting for it.” Mckesson said there are many platforms when it comes to protesting a cause. “Protest does not mean you have to be out in the streets,” he said. “You can organize at school and hold conversations like this. That is also protesting. The power of protest is that it starts these conversations about trauma

Chelsea Pelayo/Staff

BE THE CHANGE— Civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson (r) encouraged Black students to change the system by succeeding in it. Mckesson and Voice of San Diego Editor Scott Lewis spoke at Politifest at SDSU’s Montezuma Hall. Mckesson told students they were important to the Black Lives Matter Movement and the power of protest.

inflicted on peoples of minorities and through those conversations is where we will start to see change, through understanding.” Mckesson said a component of the Black Lives Matter movement is to return power to people who have been “stripped of their power through trauma.” He said people of color have been “grinded down” due to public racism that has been deemed acceptable. Leah Richie, president of the SWC UMOJA Scholars, recited her poem “Fear.” “Fear can be the badge and the

uniform that you love so much,” she read. “Fear is knowing that the hatred for what you stand for is real and strong. You want to know even more what is fearful. Fear is having to wake up knowing that I could die because of how I look. Fear is having people dislike me solely because of the color of my skin.” S W C P r o f e s s o r o f Pe r s o n a l Development, Abdimalik Buul, cochair for the SWC Black Alliance, urged students to use their education to change “a corrupt system of oppression.” “You have to be a change agent,” he said. “You have to leave this world

better than you came into it. You have to understand the legacy of the people that have allowed us to be in the opportunity that we are in right now. I don’t want you all to get up and start protesting and yelling. I want you all to go to the ballot box. I want you all to become a district attorney. I want you all to become the next police chief. We got to get up, wake up and make some changes.” Dibas said the ASO and the Black Alliance will host similar events at SWC this semester. “For my Black brothers and sisters, you are strong, intelligent, dedicated,

beautiful people and I know you don’t need me to stand up here and tell you that,” she said. “I want you to know that I will fight for you, that the Palestinian people will fight for you, because we understand oppression and we understand what it is like to be targeted for something you cannot control. The Black Lives Matter event series will fight for you and it will be a place where you can share your voices and let them be heard. You will educate the ignorant and we will have discussions that will make us feel uncomfortable, but that’s the only way we can solve this situation.”

SanYsidro:McDonald’s Massacre still hotly debated 32 years later

Shooting: Studies show alienation and isolation can lead to mass murder

Continued from page A7

did not find. Flanagan would not turn around and said she would not watch the documentary because she relives the massacre every day. “People are always telling me to get over it and to move on,” she said. “But it still haunts me every day.” Flanagan said that each time she enters a new building she has to study her surroundings and find the nearest exit. Even 32 years later she does not like having open space behind her in public places. She is still receiving counseling, she said. At the time, the San Ysidro Massacre was the worst mass shooting in aAmerican history. As Americans recoil at the likes of Pulse Nightclub or Sandy Hook Elementary, Flanagan said she revisits her own experience with every mass shooting she hears about. Opinions vary on where to place the blame when gunmen unleash their rage with firearms. Minn has his own belief. “If you wake up mad at the world, we better hope we’re not in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said. “We’re so unprotected. It’s ridiculous. We don’t need more guns. We’re just unprotected, plain and simple.” Gun violence has become more routine, Minn said, and America has made no progress to reduce the problem. “This thing is turning for the worse. Guns are so far and wide out there that I’m not sure how much gun control measurements could help the situation.” Minn said he does not have the answers to end gun violence, but he wants viewers to consider the lives lost in mass shootings. “The end result in people becoming more informed and more educated is society becoming a better place. Where is a better venue to raise awareness than college students who want to be educated?”

rate. Historically, when people feel their government can protect them, people can live their lives with confidence and the homicide rate goes down. Communities with victims of police shootings have a diminished sense of police legitimacy. If people feel their government is powerless to help them or the justice or legal systems are ineffective, the homicide rates go up. American’s feelings about their nation affect the way they view their fellow citizens. When Americans do not identify with each other, it might be a sign that society is not unified and needs stability to become manageable. We are currently undergoing one of the most unpopular presidential elections in U.S. history and mass shootings have never been higher. This might not be the best time for Colin Kaepernick to take a knee during the National Anthem. On the streets or home, when parents or adults complain, children listen. Then, children repeat. When parents or neighborhoods fall apart, children watch. Then, children react. A colony collapse disorder might not happen to America, but examples from nature demonstrate what will happen if adults lose self-control. In 2014, beekeepers across America found 45 percent less bees in their hives. Researchers from the University of Queen Mary London went looking inside hives. They found young bees raising themselves. It was apparent that adults had more young to care for than they could handle. This led to their breakdown by stress, anxiety and a shorter lifespan. Ultimately, the adults neglected the offspring and did not teach them social behaviors needed for navigation. A cycle of dysfunction emerged. At least bees don’t own guns.

William Bird/Staff

REMEMBERING THE VICTIMS— Filmmaker Charlie Minn at the San Ysidro Massacre Memorial designed by SWC alumnus Roberto Valdes Jr. Minn’s film drew large crowds during its world premier in San Diego.

Minn screened his critically-acclaimed documentary on the Mexican drug wars “Es El Chapo?” at SWC to a standingroom-only crowd last spring. He has been a frequent guest speaker on the Chula Vista and San Ysidro campuses. Minn’s voice has stretched out beyond the students. Professors and adjuncts have collaborated and influenced “77 Minutes.” Minn was influenced into production by Gregorio Pantoja, a Mexican-American studies adjunct professor. “We started to seek out a story that would hit at the heart of the South Bay community,” said Pantoja. “As the McDonald’s story came about, we discussed the value of documenting and investigating this untold narrative.”

Pantoja says Minn’s documentary is helping to reexamine this part of San Diego history. “Selective memory is an issue here,” Pantoja said. “We see memorials and freeway signs for fallen officers slain in the line of duty, but we have 21 people assassinated and there is absolutely no recognition. We need to convey to students that this scar on our history has affected generations of a community.” Pantoja said Minn has made a conscientious effort to speak for the surviving victims. “Students and the community as a whole need to be exposed to this narrative that has been silenced or suppressed,” he said.

Pantoja blames this story’s erasure on the racism in the South Bay community and said that Minn speaks for voices few have heard before. “If these massacre’s had happened in La Jolla to an Anglo-American community, it would have been different. I can imagine festivities every year and memorials on the news annually. Our community seeing this movie will help to raise the discussion of the treatment of this incident.” Minn said he does not make his films to entertain. “What my movies are about are guts, heroism and humanity in the face of crime and violence,” he said. “I’m not here to entertain and I’m not here to be liked. I’m here to inform people.”

JoseLuis may be reached at plutotoplato@theswcsun.com

CAMPUS

The Southwestern College Sun

October 7, 2016 — Volume 60, Issue 1

Young altruists fight poverty and hunger in Tijuana

Netzai Sanchez/Staff

FIGHTING HUNGER AND ISOLATION— Comida No Bombas prepares free vegetarian meals for the hungry in Tijuana. Volunteers are working to build a hostel near their kitchen. By Victoria Gonzalez Staff Writer

Food insecurity and hunger are rampant in Tijuana, where progress battles poverty. A youthful organization of Americans and Mexicans has joined the fray. Tijuana Comida No Bombas (Food Not Bombs) is a volunteer alliance that opens up a soup kitchen on Wednesdays and Saturdays in Tijuana’s downtown area where anyone can volunteer and cook for people in need. Christopher Chambers, one of the founders, said food is not a privilege but a right. Chambers, 24, a Seattle native, happened

Dibas: Islamophobia has created danger for American Muslims Continued from page A7

Security Policy released data showing 25 percent of (Muslims) polled agreed violence against Americans in the United States is justified as part of the global jihad,” said Trump at a rally in South Carolina last December. “They want to change your religion.” The same poll, which surveyed 600 Muslims, also found that 61 percent define “jihad” as a “peaceful, personal struggle to be more religious” or a “non-violent action.” Cruz upped the ante after the Brussels attacks by calling on law enforcement to “patrol and secure” Muslim neighborhoods in the U.S. Sadly, Mona Dibas said, national polls showed support for Trump and Cruz grew following their anti-Muslim statements. “I’m not surprised that the polls went up,” she said. “Islamophobia, especially after 9/11, has been in people’s hearts, but no one has given them that push to take that feeling out to make it visible to everyone. Growing up I’m sure there were people who were hesitant or a little afraid being around me, but they never physically showed me that. A lot of Trump supporters you hear them say, ‘He’s just saying what’s on everybody’s mind.’” Dibas said she and Nada try to educate people about Islam while developing their own identities. It was a yearning for selfidentity that Mona Dibas said she decided in the fourth grade to begin wearing a hijab, the headscarves worn by Muslim women in many parts of the world.“I had a friend who wore (one) and I would ask her why,” she said. “Her response was beautiful. She said ‘Look at our classroom, no one is wearing it but me. It gives me this power in my heart to know that I’m diﬀerent than everyone else and I don’t have to follow society.’” Mona’s decision was even questioned by her parents. “My parents never forced me to wear the hijab,” she said. “My mother was like ‘Are you sure? You’re young, you don’t have to.’ She didn’t want me to wear it because she was worried that I was being pressured. I told her ‘No. This is me.’” As she grew older, she said she realized that the hijab was also empowering. “Society is all about twerking and crop tops. I don’t define beauty as that,” she said. “Beauty is being humble. Beauty is being kind and that’s what the hijab taught me. As I grew up I started to realize this is the strength that comes with it.” Ahmed Binsanad is a 15-year-old volunteer at Mona Dibas’s mosque who sometimes gives tours to visitors. He said he is interested in studying business and

upon Tijuana four years ago while doing volunteer work. He and friends decided to start a Food Not Bombs chapter in Tijuana. Food Not Bombs started in the 1980s in Massachusetts as a protest movement against nuclear energy and warfare, Chambers said, but evolved into serving free meals to people in need. Seattle native Brii Thomas, 22, said serving the hungry feels right. “A lot of people see us as extreme anarchists and hippies, but we are just normal people doing this,” she said. Chambers agreed. “It’s not an organization in the traditional sense, it’s really just an idea that if you want to do a Food Not Bombs,” he said. would like to work with cars. He has only been in the U.S. for two years, but has already been forced out of his high school by bullies. “At school they kept bullying me because I’m Muslim,” he said. “Every time I walked (by they said) ‘terrorist.’ They make fun of me. It’s common.” Binsanad said he now believes that he does not belong in public school. “I used to go to public (high school), but after what happened I went to Muslim school to be with normal people who I belong with,” he said. “I think I don’t fit in with (public school students) because of the bullying and stuﬀ like that.” A report from the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations (CAIR) found that more than half of California Muslim students are bullied for their beliefs. Turki Alharbi, 21, who studies finance at Southwestern College, is one.“I came to (America) when I was 18 by myself,” he said. “I was fascinated with America because of the movies and the songs.” An ugly incident at a grocery store made him realize he would have to deal with people that do not like Muslims. “I was walking to Ralphs with my cousin and picking Arabic food there,” he said. “There was an old lady walking by us. She screamed, ‘If you (always) speak your fucking language, then go back to your fucking country.’” Mona Dibas said the problem was common. “I was 12 the first time I had someone come up to me and tell me, ‘You’re a terrorist. Go back to where you came from,” she said. “I couldn’t tell you a number of times that it’s happened to me or it’s happened to my sister or online.” Mona Dibas said it is this type of hostility that renders her unable to mourn with the rest of the nation during national tragedies because she feels she must go on the defense. “We don’t get a chance to be human,” she said. “You don’t get a chance to mourn with everyone else, to feel bad with everyone else. We have to protect ourselves from these Islamophobia comments. After shootings like (San Bernardino), Muslims are afraid to go walk alone. If I’m alone in the nighttime, I don’t go anywhere. I have to have someone with me.” Nada Dibas said American Muslims must keep their emotions in check. “It’s really important to not get angry,” she said. “That’s what they want. They want you to prove to them that you are an angry Muslim. You react calmly, you just smile. At the end of the day, as a Muslim, you think ‘what would the prophet do?’” She said the best way to overcome prejudice is by correcting misinformation. “You educate them and let them know how it is that you work and sometimes that works. A lot of times you’ll have people that are understanding.”

“You get veggies, make a vegetarian meal and serve it in a public space to whoever is hungry.” He said the concept catches on because it is simple and unaffiliated to political parties or businesses. “Too often we’ve seen here that people have ulterior motives when they do things like charity work and we want to simplify things,” he said. “Some places are very faith based and they will have people listen to a service before they give them a plate of food and that’s something we feel really weird about.” Enrique Morones, founder of Border Angels, said members of Tijuana Comida No Bombas “do great work and have

supported our efforts.” Hugo Castro, Border Angels Tijuana liaison, said Border Angels worked with Food Not Bombs in 2013 when they were directing a migrant movement in the El Bordo refugee settlement in the Tijuana River. “On August 7th 2013, we started a camp with deportees to demand the stop of police oppression against deportees,” he said. “Food Not Bombs Tijuana helped.” He also said that from August to December 2013 Food Not Bombs provided meals to migrants as well as cell phones so migrants could call the U.S. Running Food Not Bombs with six people does have its challenges, said Chambers. “As far as paying for this place right now, we’re doing it out of pocket,” he said. Chambers said some members have unorthodox sources of income. “That guy has a job, she works seasonally, one does tattoos and I was hit by a car, so that gives me a little bit of a living,” he said. “One part, the rent, is kind of unsustainable. All of the food comes from donations from markets nearby, so we don’t spend any money on food, but the goal is definitely not to be doing things out of pocket, to be self-sustaining.” “We actually go to the markets and ask for the food, and usually it’s just the food that they’re going to throw away,” Thomas said. ”Sometimes they give us new stuff, but we go twice a week and ask them. We usually get pretty good food and we use what we can to make the meal.” The informal nature of the volunteer process is sometimes a challenge, Chambers said. “Some days we have 15 volunteers and other days we have two,” he said. “What we lack are people interested in this kind of work. We have all of the resources that we need, we really just are lacking community involvement, so we see less folks coming in to volunteer and more people coming in to eat.” Thomas said those served are often deportees and migrants, some of whom

also volunteer. Rigoberto Hernandez, 66, is one such volunteer. A native of Quintana Roo, Hernandez said he crossed the border into the United States when he was10 years old, but was recently deported. “Like most people around here, I got deported and lost my papers,” he said. “I was walking around hungry and somebody told me that I could get a plate of food here, so I came by and they gave a plate of food.” Chambers said Hernandez just needed a break. “He started eating here, then hanging out and cutting veggies with us,” Chambers said. “We helped him move a few times since he’s been here, we’ve seen him get a job, get all of his papers in order and get on his feet. “ Tijuana’s Food Not Bombs recently acquired a four-story building called Pangea near their small kitchen. Chambers said he hopes to generate some income to run the kitchen full time and establish a library, clothes rack and computer access. Thomas said that the top floor of the building will be run as a hostel while the bottom three floors will be used for workshops and galleries, a café and a stage for shows to generate income for the cause. “We’re trying to figure out all these different business models between a business and a nonprofit,” Chambers said. “So what we want here is really to show that there are these resources available, to show that there’s this model of doing things that has the potential to be completely self-sustaining, and encourage other people to get involved.” The team is unusually devoted, Chambers said. “We believe this way is more personal than charity, its solidarity and we’re going into this with a lot of optimism and a lot of faith that’s coming from an almost irrational place but we really feel that this is where we should be and if we do it well, it will work out. We’re all in. This is our life.”

David Hodges/Staff

A QUIET RETREAT— When Mona Dibas and her younger sister, Nada, are unable to find a place to pray on campus they find peace within their car.

Mona Dibas said educating Americans will erase misconceptions and bring people closer. “We are just regular people,” she said. “We want our children to go to school and have a good education. We want to be able to work in a proper job, retire, have food on the table for our family.” Alharbi said he is trying to create a club at SWC to reshape the way society thinks. “People think about the Middle East in a religious way only, which is really wrong,” he said. “Yes I’m Muslim, but people judge me on my religion. If they see my culture and think about it, they will have a diﬀerent perspective about it. I’m trying to provide my culture to American society so that they can understand it and look at it in a diﬀerent way.” Mona and Nada Dibas see themselves as ambassadors for their culture, even though their forays into the public arena worry their parents who live in Abu Dhabi. Nada said her mother was rattled when she saw Mona’s face on the front page of the Southwestern College Sun newspaper following her election as ASO President. “She’s a mother, in her head something

can go wrong,” she said. “(My parents are) just worried in general, but this whole anti-Muslim rhetoric out there gives them a whole bunch of other things to worry about. They’re just worried that we’re putting ourselves out there and it’ll make us more prone as a target.” Mrs. Diba’s fears played out in a minor way this summer when a member of the community defaced copies of The Sun by scrawling “Trump 2016” across the face of Mona Dibas. Hundreds of copies of The Sun and El Sol magazine with Mona Dibas on the cover were stolen. Nada Dibas said most Muslims are not radicalized just as most Christians do not belong to the Ku Klux Klan. “Some Muslims become radicalized but it’s not very common,” she said. “It’s not common at all, it’s just that the media amplifies it. So for us, we have this anger towards radical Muslims because they’re ruining it for the rest of us.” Muslims are far more often the victims of violence in the United States than the perpetrators, Nada Dibas said. Many assaults and hate crimes are downplayed or ignored, she said. The murders of three

Muslim honor students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina was an example, she said. “It makes me a little angry to see that,” she said. “A lot of these crimes aren’t even reported as hate crimes, so it’s actually rare that you do see in the media it quoted as a hate crime. I don’t know if you heard about a shooter in North Carolina, three Muslims died. They called them “ three winners ” (because they were highly regarded in the community). Over a parking spot. That’s what they said, it was over a parking space, (so law enforcement oﬃcials said) it wasn’t a hate crime.” Both sisters said they are optimist that Muslims in America will eventually earn the trust and respect of their countrymen. They want to be role models for other young Muslim-Americans as well as contributing members of the community, especially at Southwestern College. It will, they agreed, require gumption and patience. Nada said she and Mona are entrenched Americans and in this for the long haul. “For Muslims that have only known America for their entire lives, it is like yeah this (hostility) sucks, but this is my country.”

The Southwestern College Sun

October 7, 2016 — Volume 60, Issue 1

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ARTS Student comics learn that success is no joke By Alberto Calderon Staff Writer

Natalie Mosqueda/Staff

CLASS CLOWN— Southwestern student James Chew gave an animated comedic performance at Mad House Comedy Club.

A young shaggy-haired man wearing a striped t-shirt, grey jeans and a devil-maycare expression grabbed the microphone as he took the stage. “Because their body is more relaxed at impact, a drunk person has a higher chance of surviving a car accident,” he said. “Statistically, so does a baby. Does that mean a drunk baby would be invincible? I’d like to find out but nobody will let me test it out. All I need is a baby and an afternoon.” His callous joke drew tepid laughs from the 19 audience members, mostly other comedians waiting for their turn. It is open mic night at the Mad House Comedy Club in Horton Plaza. One after another, in five minute spurts, a parade of amateur comedians take their shot at finagling some laughs. Some have been doing comedy nearly every day for years. For others it is their first time. Admission is free. Anyone can go onstage. Public humiliation is the only cost. SWC communications major James Chew was set to take the stage for his 18th time. Chew said his foray into stand-up comedy started during a dark period in his life. “I was very depressed,” he said. “I had just lost three family members who were very dear to me and I wanted to laugh again, so I just looked up today’s comedy on Pandora. I went through the normal comedians like Kevin Hart and I liked their stand-up, but when I heard Louis CK, that changed a lot of stuff for me. Louis showed me the side of comedy that lets you throw yourself on the table and lets people judge you for who you are.” His friends secretly signed him up for a show. “My first show was at SWC,” he said. “I mostly did ginger jokes because it was all I had. Midway through I got so anxious my vision got blurry. I had to stop early because I couldn’t read my jokes. I didn’t get a single laugh, not even a petty I-feel-sorry-for-you laugh.” Bombing is common for the novice comedian, who learn that being funny with friends and is not the same as taking it to the stage. Anthony Grabert, 29, a fixture at San Diego open mics, went on three spots before Chew. “I’m three years in and I’m just starting to figure things out,” he said. “It’s so much different than being funny in regular life. When you’re with your friends let’s say you make a joke about your friend Dave being cheap. Everyone knows he’s cheap, so you can just make the joke and everyone will laugh.

On stage everyone is a stranger, so you have to set up the whole situation and then knock it down.” Nick McIntosh said he moved to San Diego from Ohio two years ago and has been doing stand-up comedy ever since. It is art form unlike any other, he said. “As a musician or even a painter, you can be locked away in some New York art studio practicing,” he said. “As a stand-up the only way to practice is in front of people.” Mcintosh said feeling perpetually vulnerable is something comics must embrace. “I think the jump on stage is big in most people’s minds,” he said. “But once you do it a couple times you realize that you are just going to spend most of the time your first couple years just bombing all the time. You start to realize that it is not a reflection of you as a human being, it’s just that whatever you were doing that night didn’t work.” Young comics eager to learn try to get on stage as often as possible, seeking out stage time wherever they can find it. “I try to go up 12 to 15 times a week,” said Grabert. “The Mad House has an open mic every day and usually I’ll go to at least another one somewhere in the city. So I go up two to three times a night.” McIntosh said the region is a growing comedic factory. “The San Diego comedy scene is great, it is pretty recent,” he said. “As an actual scene it started about eight years ago. We are just starting to see comics who started here get bigger in LA.” Chew said he mines his life experiences for comedic material. “A lot of times I write jokes from repressed memories,” he said. “I try to be as honest as possible on stage. People have this misperception that comics are always making stuff up. Sure people exaggerate, but the best comedians are the most honest.” After an hour and a half of nervously waiting to go on stage, it was over in a flash. “There were a couple of times in my set where I felt like I was yelling, I just got way too loud,” he said. “Other than that, I think I did pretty solid.” Chew said he is signing up for open mics all over San Diego County. “I find myself happy more times on stage for that five minutes than I have ever been working at any other job,” he said. “I am going to push harder to pursue comedy. I know it will be years before I’m any good, but it’s worth it.” Grabert said that the difficulty of comedy appeals to him. “I’ll probably never be good,” he said. “I’ll probably spend 20 years doing it and never be good. I honestly feel that way. I like that it’s like an unwinnable game, you can never figure it out. Nobody ever figures it out, even the best.”

Reclusive artist steps out of shadows for a provocative gallery exhibit By Chariti Niccole Multimedia Editor

DB Foster has been in seclusion almost as long as DB Cooper, but after 30 years out of the spotlight the reclusive artist is back with a dazzling exhibit in the campus gallery. “Outside In” evolved from a February pop-up street gallery in Solana Beach. Online images caught the attention of Southwestern College Galler y Technician Vallo Riberto. “It is really important to see these kind of individual expressions,” Riberto said. “In our age of information, where everything is becoming so homogeneous and homogenized into this digital array, it is important for students to experience this and to have that opportunity to express themselves.” B o r n i n So u t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a , Foster said he was raised in an era of specialization which complicated his young philosophical self. He did not understand the idea of picking a career and being forced to be good at that one thing for the rest of his life. It was not until he attended an art show at the Spectrum Theater in San Diego that Foster was inspired to create art. “There was a voice inside me coming out through those materials,” he said. Foster said he believes isolation and nature are the true sources of knowledge and wisdom. “I was always intentional on finding a place that had a studio or room that actually had nature outside of my window,” he said. “Most of my art has been made around nature.” Foster took journals with him into his self-inflicted exiles. This forced

him to be submerged in the essence, peace, power and beauty of nature, he said, which allowed him to work in his creative consciousness. Pieces of those journals become pieces of art and are now on display in the gallery. “What really impressed me about DB was his notebooks,” Riberto said. “He has a pile of notebooks that are in my estimation publishable.” Fae Esquig, a film major, attended the opening show’s presentation and said she understands what Foster is trying to say with this exhibition. “The art is very structured, but at the same time it is overlapping with organic elements and I think it greatly represents his background,” she said. Adam Lopez, a film major, said he was also impressed. “I think it defines his desire to not be confined to the traditional types of art,” he said. Fo s t e r’s p i e c e s a re m a d e w i t h unconventional material, including reflective traffic sign tape that to requires a flashlight appreciate in the dark. He also used cardboard boxes he found outside of Costco to make his three anchor pieces, which are recreations of smaller pieces done years ago. “They are a continuation of my journey through the decades,” he said. With only two shows under his belt, Foster said this is the time to produce art differently. Gathering his works and showcasing them to the public in a creative fashion should enable him to continue to produce art. “I want to make art on a daily basis,” he said. “Art is best when it seeps into your minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour consciousness.”

Sergio Esparza/Staff OUT OF THE SHADOWS -— DB Foster’s exhibit “Outside In” at the college gallery is inspired by nature, but full of unconventional materials.

ARTS

The Southwestern College Sun

Oct. 7, 2016 — Vol. 60, Iss. 1

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Culinary revolution roars just across the street By Jeanette Sandoval and Victoria Gonzalez Staff Writers

MJ’s Yogurt Time and Deli defies categorization. Stashed in an ordinary strip mall is an extraordinary culinary adventure born to an exotic borderland lapped by the Pacific Rim. Created by a pair of friendly young men dubbed MJ and Chef Kevin, the Asian/Mexican/Islander fusion restaurant is a cauldron of creativity, a studio for its multiracial culinary artists. MJ’s is the birthplace of a South County staple called longanisa fries. It is a layered dish of Cajun or plain fries, covered in fried longanisa sausage, a type of pork sausage common in Latin America and the Philippines. “We are not a traditional taco shop or a hamburger place,” explained MJ. “People don’t know this type of food, so you gotta prepare yourself because even our sign out there says ‘yogurt,’ so you never really know we have food. The only way you’ll know about our food is if someone told you or if you saw us in a magazine.” MJ’s Yogurt Time and Deli opened nine years ago and has earned rave reviews from the San Diego UnionTribune, San Diego Magazine and Los Angeles County food publications. MJ’s is Yelp’s second highest rated restaurant in Chula Vista, behind venerable Tacos El Gordo. MJ’s signature longanisa is cooked on a flat top griddle that is Chef Kevin’s cooking canvas, along with the all-important fryer. Sliced longanisa and fries are accompanied by any of an array of meats chosen by the customer, chopped into pieces like carne asada. Chef Kevin is standing by with marinated pork, apple-pear glazed beef, Alaskan pollock or herb chicken. Fried eggs are the finishing touch. His master work is garnished with aioli, a sweet salad of cabbage and carrots, sesame seeds and cheese, with a side of Chef Kevin’s mild or spicy “red dragon.” MJ said the restaurant and its exotic Pacific Rim foods bubbled up from his multicultural upbringing. “We didn’t really come up with it,” he said. “It’s just how we grew up.”

MJ said the restaurant feels like a potluck with a group of diverse

David Hodges/Staff

NUCLEAR FUSION — MJ and Chef Kevin have created one of Southern California’s most creative and thoroughly multi-ethnic restaurants.

friends. “San Diego County is so multicultural that this is how we eat at a party,” he said. “You don’t know it until you have our food, when you put your plate together, you may have like a pizza or a carne asada, you may have some Filipino food on there. So really you had a fusion plate but didn’t know it.” A three-way marriage of Pacific cuisines raised in America produced mixedtaste offspring like the pallet of fries and some very original burritos. Tasting the food begs the question, why had they

By Jeanette Sandoval and Victoria Gonzalez Staff Writers

In the beginning, there were cold trucks – pickup trucks with coolers stocked with burritos. They were okay for hungry workers during the Reagan Administration. When the Berlin Wall fell, the hot truck rose like a fast-food Phoenix, warming the hearts and stomachs of San Diego County’s citizens on the move. Before that, however, there was Jose Godinez, the Godfather of taco trucks. Since 1974, Godinez and his family have been serving up tacos under the name El Ranchero (the rancher). Their flagship taco truck is usually parked on Telegraph Canyon Road near Interstate 805. The Godinez family also owns three taco shops in San Diego County. Originally from Atotonilco de Alto, Jalisco, Mexico, Godinez developed his devotion for food at an early age in his parents’ restaurants. “They always dedicated themselves to food,” he said. Godinez said he taught himself to cook his family’s classics like carnitas, chicharrones and birria when he was 12. In most traditional Mexican cooking, nothing is wasted, especially when it comes to pork. Greasy carnitas, essentially whole hog, is cooked in lard until tender yet crisp. To make chicharrones, the skin of the pork is fried until it is crunchy and golden brown. Birria is a goat stew, braised until the meat falls apart. Godinez said he has a deep love for the traditional foods of his youth, but he is a businessman at his core. With a trio of taco shops and a truck to run, he is diligent but unorthodox. “If a business is slow, you have to open another one that will give you a bit more money so you can keep open the other place,” he said. “If not, then you become bankrupt.” This double-down approach seems to be working for Godinez, who has combined his passion for quality with an athlete’s love for competition. Most food sold at Godinez’s truck is prepped off-site in one of his taco shops under his watchful eye. His adobada, the spiced pork meat stacked on a large spit in

hot-air balloon shape with thick pineapple slices at the ends, gets the home treatment before traveling in the truck. Same with his tripe and soft lengua tacos. He also cooks carne asada over coals. He is hyper-vigilant with his line cooks, his talented taqueros. A skilled taquero has mastered the traditional techniques of taco making. They work with efficiency, speed and skill to construct tacos with an enviable obliviousness to the sizzling h o t food in their seasoned hands. “ This way it is easier and you always maintain the same line,” Godinez said. “That’s important in a business.” Me x i c a n s c a l l the gift sazón, an intuitive cooking skill. Even if a decent cook is taught exactly how to make something and follows directions explicitly, the finished product may not be as good as the original, he said. Sazón creates magia every time. This is especially true for Godinez’s classic barbacoa, which he takes great pride in. Dedication to quality has paid off. His tacos are tiny packets of Mexican flavors, bursting out of their tortillas with salsa, tradition and tantalizing taste. Almost right next to El Ranchero is Mariscos Rolex, a food truck that sells seafood. This might rattle other restaurateurs, but it is a welcome sight for Godinez. He loves competition, he said. He likes customers to compare, fueling his drive to find ways to do things better. Although his sons own the taco truck now, Godinez said his zeal for this business makes it impossible to stay away. He still wakes before dawn and is busy checking in on his taco empire until after dark because, he said, that’s just the way it is with restaurants. A Shakespearian bard de birria would have said, “The food’s the thing.” Godinez would agree. “What people care about is to eat, right?”

not been combined sooner? MJ’s also sells frozen yogurt in a variety of flavors, but it is not limited to a cup. One popular way to get it is as a filling for their very popular Wow Macarons. With flavors like green tea, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and purple taro with Fruity Pebbles, the colorful cookies go perfectly with the wacky compendium that is MJ’s cuisine. They also sell out quickly. Social media is an important selling tool for MJ’s. Chef Kevin and MJ post pictures of their food on Instagram and invite customers to post pictures of their

orders along with specific hashtags as a way to promote business. MJ said this strategy works particularly well with the macarons. “It’s crazy with macarons,” he said. “We sell them on social media. Once they get posted, people rush over to get them.” MJ’s yogurt smoothies are refreshing and unique, melding flavors like horchata and white chocolate with Thai tea. MJ’s menu is as flexible as a yoga instructor. It is infinitely customizable. An array of meats can be added to sliders, salads, tacos, fries or plump, California-

style burritos. One of MJ’s favorite creations is the 805 South burrito. It is a carbohydrate bomb that weighs about as much as a laptop and is filled with lumpia, fries, eggs, meat and cheese. After almost a decade of business, MJ and Chef Kevin still express surprise at the legion of longanisa loyalists. MJ, the peppy yet zen front man, said the deli will roll with the tide. “We didn’t expect it to be where it is at and it is not where we would like to be at, but we’re moving (forward) and it’s nice because people are actually enjoying our food.”

El Ranchero: El Rey de las loncheras

David Hodges/Staff

TACO TREASURE TRIO — El Ranchero’s famous carne asada tacos are South County favorites and make the humble taco truck a regional destination.

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October 7, 2016 — Vol. 60, Issue 1

Design by Jaime Pronoble Tel: (619) 482-6368 E-mail: news@theswcsun.com

友情 By Carolina Rubio Assistant Campus Editor

COURTESY PHOTOS

PEACE MOVES THE MOUNTAIN—(top) Flower village at the foot of Mt. Fuji in the summer, (middle) Japanese host families and their American guests, (above) Southwestern College alumna Bianca Quilantan with her counterpart student Ryota Saji during a tea ceremony.

Caffeine break in Japan suited Bianca Quilantan to a tea. A Starbucks barista during her days as a Southwestern College student, Quilantan was transported back centuries during a traditional tea ceremony in Odawara, Japan. Bustling urgency that powers Starbucks was absent in the land of the Rising Sun. Lucio Lira, Miyuki McClellan, Virginia PerezGonzalez and Quilantan traveled 5,628 miles to Odawara to represent Chula Vista as ambassadors in its Sister City. Quilantan said the trip was worth it just for the tea. Lira agreed. On a Tatami mat made from rice straw and wood chips, matcha tea was prepared for the Chula Vista quartet. Lira said he was impressed by the antiquity and transcendence of the ritual. “There are specific acts and movements when making, serving and drinking the tea,” he said. “It requires discipline and memorization.” Lira said the elegant ceremony was representative of traditional Odawara and the trip was a “cultural plunge” for him. “I embody the Mexican and American beliefs, traditions and cultures,” he said. “Japan’s traditions are very unique and different.” Lilia Cesena of the Chula Vista International Friendship Commission said this exchange was very successful. “We have a very close-knit relationship with our sister city of Odawara and we’re trying to establish the same relationship with our other sister cities,” she said. Quilantan explored iconic Mount Fuji with her Japanese family and described it as a “God-like experience.” “Seeing another religion that is practiced was an experience of a lifetime and a stepping stone to learning the direction towards tolerance and peace,” she said. “Arriving in Odawara, I didn’t expect to get close to these people in a few days. We’re becoming a global society. Interacting with others creates peace, in order to do that effectively you have to do it through people.” Lira said he was impressed by the friendliness of the Japanese. “I noticed how humble and kind its citizens are,” he said. “They care about others before themselves. I wanted to share this example to show how different we are from them and what we can learn from them.”

Ancient culture, new friends