The Sun Vol 61. Issue 4

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 62, Issue 4

theswcsun.com

March 21, 2018

Judge blames police for provoking fight

By Katy Stegall Senior Staff

San Diego police officers involved in the beating and arrest of a homeless black veteran were told by a judge that they unnecessarily escalated a jaywalking infraction into a violent confrontation.

Superior Court Judge Sharon MajorsLewis rejected an assertion by San Diego Police Officer Justin Tennebaum that

Frederick Jefferson, 39, was signaling “aggressive intent” by pulling up his shorts prior to a fight that injured Jefferson and Officer Matthew Ruggiero.

She ordered San Diego County Sherriff’s personnel at the George F. Bailey Detention Facility to provide medical treatment to Jefferson for the injuries he incurred in the Feb. 3 incident on Logan Avenue. Jefferson had been denied

medical attention for a month.

Majors-Lewis said Jefferson has a case for self-defense though he punched Ruggiero in the face. She said she would have dismissed the case outright had the officer not been “badly injured.” SDPD officials said Ruggiero suffered a broken nose and jaw.

“The Court cannot believe that this escalated to this level,” she said.

Special Report, A4 SDPD body camera footage and cell phone video shot by passersby show that Ruggiero and Tennebaum initiated the incident that led to them clubbing Jefferson with metal batons, Jefferson hitting Ruggiero with a counter punch, and six to 10 officers beating, tasering

Special Section

and pepper spraying Jefferson after he was already on the ground.

San Diego District Attorney Michael Reilly refused comment when asked

by The Sun about Ruggiero’s history of anti-African American comments on social media, including a 2016 Facebook post where he called Black Lives Matter activists “black slime.” Ruggiero is white, Jefferson is black.

Ex-ASO senator expelled Roy Castillo banned after rape complaint

By Katy Stegall Senior Staff

A former ASO presidential candidate expelled and banned from Southwestern College is now attending San Diego City College.

A Title IX investigation concluded that Roy Castillo raped ASO Senator Eduardo Orantes, 19, at a 2016 leadership conference after plying him with alcohol.

Orantes said he was blackmailed and coerced into silence for months by Castillo.

Castillo, who identifies as female, denied all charges and appealed the ban, but lost. She then threatened to sue the Southwestern College Sun for reporting the story, but to date no suit has been filed.

SWC President Dr. Kindred Murillo acknowledged the Castillo case, but declined to discuss specifics.

“I want to be clear that we will take, and have taken, appropriate action,” she said.

In his police statement, Orantes said Brittany Cruz-Fejeran/Staff

Murals 2, White Supremacists 0 small group of white supremacists from vandalizing the famous outdoor murals of Chicano Park.

Story on S1

Courageous Colin Kaepernick is America’s new civil rights leader.

PERB, the Public Employment Relations Board, is a quasi-judicial agency that oversees union agreements in California.

Millus was elected CSEA President in December 2016 and took over negotiations from Harris. Millus said the community voted for a college-managed public facility that would generate good jobs when it passed Proposition R, a $389 million general obligation bond, in 2008.

“This changed when the governing board approved the agreement with please see Delay pg. A3

please see INS pg. A2

SPORTS

Employees Association (CSEA).

Former President Dr. Melinda Nish and the governing board decided it would be much less expensive to outsource jobs in the wellness and aquatics complex.

Trustees approved the agreement with MediFit in July 2016 over the strong objection of the CSEA, according to union president Matthew Millus.

“Former CSEA President Andre Harris sent the district a cease and desist letter and filed an Unfair Labor Practice with PERB, forcing the district to negotiate with CSEA,” said Millus.

ARTS

CAMPUS

VIEWPOINTS

A last-minute decision to delay the opening of the new SWC Aquatics Center was a safety matter, said a college official, but union leaders said it is a deeper problem.

Dean of Athletics Jim Spillers said his team did not feel the proper safeguards were in place to open the pool to students and the public.

“We looked at the pools and (realized) it is smarter to take a step back and make

sure everything is in place rather than rush forward and possibly create a situation that was unsafe,” he said. “We really took a hard look at it. Always better to be safe.”

Spillers said the pool will remain closed until it is fully staffed.

Members of the classified union and administrators group have expressed unhappiness with the college’s decision to hire MediFit, a private firm, to operate the new pool and gymnasium facilities.

Classified union leaders insist those new jobs should be college positions represented by the California School

Black History Month celebrates a rich, beautiful heritage.

Starving Artist Club feeds the dreams of low-income creatives.

By Dasha Vovk Staff Writer

A transborder wedding that caught the Border Patrol and a human rights organization off guard has been blamed by Homeland Security officials as the reason a border gate will no longer open.

Not everyone is buying the explanation.

Enrique Morones, the executive director of Border Angels and organizer of the “Door of Hope” project, said the wedding had nothing to do with the Border Patrol’s decision and was merely a cover story. “(Border Patrol Sector Chief, Rodney Scott) is against it,” said Morones. “He didn’t want to open the door in Imperial Valley when he was chief there, so there’s no surprise he doesn’t want to open it here. But I guarantee that we will open the door again in the future.”

Everyone out of the pool! Aquatics Center opening delayed months

By Paola G. Labrada News Editor

INS locks up ‘Door of Hope’

Talented softball team leads seven spring squads into action.

@THESWCSUN

For the second time in two months a throng of peaceful protesters representing a crosssection of San Diego County prevented a

please see Expelled pg. A3

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March 21, 2018 — Vol. 61, Issue 4

Paola G. Labrada, editor

NEWS

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

Border Patrol joins effort to stem Tijuana sewage

By Aileen Orozco Assistant Photo Editor

After 30 years of polite diplomacy and three-and-half years as Mayor of Imperial Beach, Dr. Serge Dedina has declared war on sewage.

Dedina and the Imperial Beach City Council filed a lawsuit against the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) after Tijuana officials repeatedly denied dumping sewage and toxic waste into the Tijuana River, which flows across the border and empties into the Pacific Ocean at Boca De Rio in Imperial Beach. For decades surfers and beachgoers have complained that the bacteria-infested sewage flows are health hazards and devastating to the environment. Beach pollution from Mexico has reached as far as La Jolla and Solana Beach.

Now the progressive environmentalist has a new ally—the United States Border Patrol.

Border Patrol agents stationed in Imperial Beach have been falling gravely ill by working in contaminated areas of Imperial Beach where Mexican sewage is being released, according to Christopher Harris, a leader of the union representing local Border Patrol agents. This winter has seen nearly 100 reports made by the 310 agents in the station, Harris said, and many have gone unreported.

Wildcoast, a nonprofit binational environmental organization, has been fighting this issue for years, according to Paloma Aguirre, the organization’s Coastal and Marine Director. She said she sympathizes with the Border Patrol agents.

“They’ve been getting contaminated or injured with chemical burns, rashes, eye irritations and sometimes even breathing irritations, which are consistent with either hydrogen sulfide which is what sewage emanates, or it can be other types of unknown pollutants,” said Aguirre.

Harris said Border Patrol agents are accustomed to working through illnesses they might get while in the field, but the severity of recent illness makes it impossible to ignore.

“I came here thinking it was part of the job and I finally realized it’s not,” said Harris. “Working in a sewage toxic dump is not part of our job description.”

Harris said agents are frequently rushed to the hospital after working along the border and areas contaminated by sewage waste coming over from Tijuana. Illness can be transmitted in wet or dry weather, Harris said. Sewage-spawned bacteria and viruses can live in soil, ponds and vernal pools.

Even doctors are afraid to get near

INS: ‘Door of Hope’ events are shutdown

Continued from pg. A1

Morones said the Border Patrol was “annoyed” by the unannounced wedding, but “deeply embarrassed” when it learned the groom has pleaded guilty to drug smuggling.

Last February Brian Houston was caught attempting to smuggle 43 pounds of heroin, 43 pounds of cocaine and 47 pounds of methamphetamine into the U.S. through the San Ysidro Port of Entry. He pleaded guilty to three felonies in May and is awaiting sentencing.

Houston and Evelia Reyes surprised Border Patrol officers and Border Angels volunteers when they showed up to the event dressed in a suit and white gown ready to get married.

Morones said he was told by Houston they were going to exchange engagement rings, but he did not know they planned to wed.

“When I asked the Border Patrol agents for their permission to exchange rings they said okay,” he said.

Morones said he was “unpleasantly surprised” to find out about Houston’s legal issues. Blame falls squarely on the Border Patrol for failing to vet Houston’s application to participate in Door of Hope, he said.

“It’s a shame that it had happened,” he said.

“I can’t believe that the Border Patrol failed to do a background check on this guy.”

Border Patrol Agent Theron Francisco said a review of Houston’s background did not indicate criminal activity.

“The surprise wedding aroused agents’ suspicions,” he said. “After the ceremony, additional database queries were completed that revealed Mr. Houston’s arrest for drug smuggling.”

Doors of Hope is a periodic series of humanitarian events where the international border gate at Frienship Park west of the San

Photos by Aileen Orozco

TIJUANA’S TOXIC RIVER OF FILTH– A homeless drug addict (above) scavenges the floor of the Tijuana River channel that is choked with trash and untreated sewage. Squatter settlements and hillside homes generate sewage that flows downhill and over the border (r). Sewage tunnels channel trash and filthy water into the Tijuana River Estuary in Imperial Beach and out into the Pacific Ocean. After decades on the sidelines, the U.S. Border Patrol has joined the call for an American treatment facility.

contamination patients when they see rashes, said Harris. Rare and terrifiying flesh-eating bacterial diseases occur more frequently in Imperial Beach than nearly anywhere else in the world outside the Gulf of Mexico (another heavily-polluted body of ocean water.)

People who know Dedina well said a lawsuit is a radical departure from his previous strategy of polite, civil engagement with Mexican government officials. He worked tirelessly for decades to bring Mexican and American environmentalists together to work with their governments. No mas.

In October 2017 Tijuana officials dumped massive amounts of toxic waste and sewage into the river without Ysidro Port of Entry is briefly opened to allow pre-selected family members living on the opposite sides of the border to hug and visit for three minutes. Previous openings had gone smoothly and had generated enormous amounts of good will for the Border Patrol, Morones said, and the INS was considering similar events in Arizona and Texas.

After Door of Hope meetings were cancelled, the Border Patrol also changed its policies related to visiting Friendship Park.

The Nixon-era park was open for visitors on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Families who live on the different sides of the border could see loved ones through the perforated fence.

New rules limit park visits to 30 minutes and only 10 people are allowed to be at the area at a time. They also ban photography and video, and block access to the binational garden. Border Patrol spokesperson would not discuss the reasons for the policy change.

Morones organized the first door opening in 2013 on the Binational Day of the Child.

A father and daughter who had never met in person hugged for the first time. Border Patrol has opened the massive steel door six times since.

Applicants were required to complete a questionaire by Border Patrol.

Morones forwarded applications to the U.S. Customs and the Border Patrol was charged to conduct background checks.

More than 50 families applied for the Nov.18, event and 12 were approved.

Francisco said approval did not include weddings.

“It is highly unlikely if the ceremony was requested that it would have been permitted,” he said. “This unauthorized event has now led to the cancellation of future events and the continued opening of the border wall door.”

Morones said a border opening event is still scheduled for May 12 near El Paso, Texas.

Interested applicants may contact Border Angels, he said, and volunteers will help put them in touch with Texas officials.

notifying officials in the United States.

As millions of gallons of sewage was entering the ocean at Imperial Beach, locals swam and surfed, unaware of the spill.

Thousands fell sick as Baja California Governor Francisco Vega de Lamadrid and the Comisión Estatal de Servicios Públicos de Tijuana (CESPT) lied about the release, Dedina said. “ They sometimes let us know, most of the time they don’t,” he said.

“Thursday was just another example of (the reality that) we’ve now gone backwards on everything.”

Dedina and Wildcoast are seeking support from neighboring cities and government officials for their case.

Chula Vista and the Port of San Diego have joined the suit, but Coronado has not committed. National City Mayor Ron Morrison has also expressed his support.

President Trump and Republican officials have made things worse, Dedina said. Congress cut $20 million in 2017 for the U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program (BWIP), an EPA program that helps restore sewage infrastructure. Aguirre said the BWIP could potentially help fund infrastructure projects to reduce sewage spills and improve treatment plants.

“If that program is zeroed out we have absolutely no way to make

these really important and critical investments that would prevent sewage spills from happening and from the impact of those sewage treatment plants,” said Aguirre.

Funds for BWIP could also help upgrade Punta Banderas, a sewage treatment plant in Tijuana that is not disposing of chemicals and sewage properly.

The U.S. Senate recently voted to reinstate the program and funds, Aguirre said.

“The quality that is coming out of that treatment plant is not up to standard,” said Aguirre. “It is completely under the regulator y threshold and I don’t think anyone is checking to see that they are meeting the standards at all.”

Under the U.S.-Mexico Treaty 44, sewage from Tijuana is permitted to flow through the U.S. only when there is uncontrollable rainwater runoff.

Mexico violates this treaty ever y day, Dedina said, as sewage is always flowing through. Harris agreed.

“Everything we do on this side of the border is just mitigation,” he said.

“We can’t solve it, it has to be the government of Mexico and the Baja state.”

Harris and Aguirre said Mexico must get on board to fix this perennial problem.

Harris said instability in Mexico has led to a spike in crime and corruption.

A dangerous feud between the PAN and PRI political parties has divided the government, making it even harder for any issue to be addressed. In times of national instability, Harris said, border cities are ignored.

Harris said he has been in contact with Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastélum to try and discuss sewage infrastructure issues on both sides of the border, but sewage is not his biggest concern. Harris said Mexican mayors can be killed for acknowledging issues the federal government prefers not to address.

Harris said that in summer of 2017 state and federal Mexican officials and NGOs spoke out and agreed there was in fact a problem. Until, they said, there wasn’t.

“Within a few days everyone was saying ‘no, there’s no problem, that’s all a lie on TV,” he said. “Within a few days it’s like someone came out and said ‘here is the new story, everybody better be on the same page.’”

IBWP is starting to face political backlash, said Harris. Commissioner Edward Drusina has come under severe criticism for not doing enough. Harris said there is talk of replacing Drusina with a new commissioner, a move Border Patrol, Wildcoast and Imperial Beach would support.

FLEETING MOMENTS OF JOY– Families separated by the border may lose ‘Door of Hope’ events after the Border Patrol called for their end.

Alexander Contreras/Staff

NEWS

The Southwestern College Sun

March 21, 2018 — Vol. 61, Issue 4

STILL WAITING– Years of waiting for the new pool to open is finally over for SWC’s swim team, but not for the rest of the school community. Swim classes were delayed due to safety issues, according to the dean.

Delay: Pool closed due to staffing issues Continued from pg. A1

MediFit to operate a for-profit health club in the new facilities,” said Millus. “CSEA became involved because the district was, in effect, contracting out our bargaining unit’s work.”

Both the SCEA and the administrators group “have concerns” with management and staffing of the facilities, said Millus.

SCEA is upset it was not included in the decision making process, he said.

Director of Disability Support Services Patricia Flores-Charter said her concern was lack of accessibility in some parts of the facility. A push button door on the second floor of the facility is malfunctioning, she said. Students with disabilities have reported the technical malfunctions, but no one was able to assist, she said.

Expelled: ExASO senator banned for rape Continued from pg. A1

the rape occurred in a hotel room he, Castillo and then ASO Senator Lauren Snyder were assigned to share at the California Community College Student Affairs Association. Orantes said Castillo purchased a bottle of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey and encouraged him to drink the entire bottle. Orantes said he drank whiskey while Castillo and Snyder smoked marijuana out of an apple they had shaped into a smoking device. Snyder seemed tired and appeared to fall asleep.

“Lauren was already passed out, so Roy told me to just drink the rest of the bottle,” Orantes said in an interview with The Sun. Orantes said after he and Castillo were intoxicated, Castillo began kissing his chest and performed oral sex on him. He said Castillo then compelled him into a sexual act. Orantes said he was very intoxicated, scared and did not know how to react.

“Roy pulled me back (the next day) and told me I had to take it to the grave,” he said. “If I didn’t, she’d make sure I was

Flores-Charter said an accessible restroom lacks an electric door. Other DSS issues include lack of electric outlets, which affects students who use wheelchairs who may want to dry their hair. Swim suit dryers are too high and there is a lack of automatic soap dispensers, said FloresCharter. She also said the sign-in computer at the front desk is too high and the faculty offices are not accessible.

Matt Ustaszewski, the swimming and diving coach, said his team will greatly benefit from the new facility because it eliminates the long drive to the Las Palmas Pool in National City where the team practiced for the past two years.

Physical therapy for swimmers will be easier and more effective, he said.

“Having the ability to do it immediately after practice will benefit them,” he said.

SWC’s $52 million Wellness and Aquatics Complex includes a 75,000 square foot, three-story facility with a gymnasium, fitness classrooms and locker rooms as well as a 25-meter therapy pool and two Olympic-sized swimming pools.

It also includes locker rooms for athletic teams. Men’s and women’s basketball teams

have moved into their locker rooms, said Spillers, and the volleyball team will join them this fall.

SWC’s new gym features workout rooms for spinning, yoga and weight training.

Zennia Chia, a freshman forward on the women’s basketball team, said she is grateful for the new gym.

“As a student athlete the gym becomes our home for months,” she said. “We were so excited to see our brand new locker rooms. We are so fortunate.”

Only students may use the new gym this semester. Other members of the community will have to wait until this summer, according to Ernesto Rivera, SWC’s marketing communications associate.

The Health First Fitness Club was retained by the college to create a membership program with “reasonable rates” starting in the summer, according to Spillers. Membership will include two sessions with a personal trainer and online fitness assessment.

SWC’s students are eligible for a discount. Spillers said the cost of the membership has not been determined.

kicked out of the ASO.” (Castillo currently identifies as a transgender female. It is the policy of The Sun to use personal pronouns congruent with a person’s sexual identification rather than their birth sex. Castillo publicly identified as a male at the time of the sexual assault, but asked to be identified as female shortly after the incident.)

Orantes said Castillo also threatened to tell his love interest, ASO Senator Andreanna Vazquez, if he reported the rape.

At the time, Vazquez and Castillo worked in the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion under its director Dr. Guadalupe Corona. Vazquez said Castillo would frequently taunt her about Orantes’ genitalia.

“It would make me feel uncomfortable,” she said. “It would happen whenever we were alone in the office.”

Vazquez said she did not initially report the comments to Corona due to a fear of retaliation.

“I wanted to keep it tranquil in the work place, so I felt like my hands were tied,” she said.

Corona successfully nominated Castillo for a 2017 Diversity Champion of the Year award. Castillo ran for ASO President during the spring 2017 semester while the college’s Title IX officer investigated her for sexual misconduct. Castillo barely lost the race to Kirstyn Smith.

Vazque z said she repor ted the workplace harassment to Corona when she was still employed. She said Corona warned her of the backlash she would face if she decided to report Castillo.

“Dr. Corona told me Roy was a protected class and that I needed to be careful,” Vazquez said. “What I say could come back and shoot me in the foot because she (Castillo) is transgender.”

Corona said she gave Vazquez a choice on filing a Title IX complaint against Castillo, but refused further comment.

“That’s a conversation that I wouldn’t have with any of my employees in public,” Corona said.

Corona’s duties were divided and delegated in November and she now solely focuses on student diversity.

Acting Title IX Director David Caspi was assigned employee diversity.

Murillo said the job was too difficult for one person to handle on their own and also said it was not related to the Castillo incident.

Snyder said she was not asleep when she witnessed the rape and later reported the incident.

“I reached out to SWC leadership and nothing was done,” she said. “It was one of the reasons I resigned from ASO.” Students are required to sign behavioral agreements on school-funded trips that include a pledge not to consume alcohol, marijuana or drugs.

Orantes said he complained to ASO Advisor Brett Robertson about sleeping

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Victoria Sanchez/Staff

Brittany Cruz-Fejeran/Staff

ISSUES TO WORK OUT– Classified union leaders have filed a PERB complaint seeking to make new jobs full-time union positions. Trustees voted in 2016 to hire an outside company to operate the new $52 million Wellness Center.

CASTILLO arrangements that had him sharing a bed with a gay male and having a woman in the room. Robertson said he tried to make informed decisions about which students to place in the hotel rooms together. Roommates are determined by individual needs of students, he said, but would not specify further. He also insisted he did not put Castillo, Snyder and Orantes in a room together.

“I didn’t make that decision,” Robertson said. “Some of the decisions

that were made by some of the students that I didn’t know about.”

Castillo did not publicly identify as female until late 2016, said former ASO senator Zach Valdez. He said Castillo identified as a queer male when Valdez met Castillo at an ICC retreat.

“When I met her, that is not how she introduced herself,” said Valdez. “She had identified as a man a year back.”

Valdez also said Castillo made unwelcomed sexual comments to him.

“She (Castillo) would tell me that I’m attractive and she’d say ‘I would totally sit on your dick’ to me,” said Valdez.

Castillo continued to harass him after their friendship ended, Valdez said, sending him numerous vicious and insulting text messages. Castillo threatened that the consequences would be dire if the two saw each other again. Valdez said he had recruited Castillo to the ASO, but now deeply regrets that.

“I feel like I let a poison, a parasite, into the ASO,” said Valdez.

A police report was filed by Orantes with Chula Vista Police Department. It was then passed to the Los Angeles Police Department, where the Los AWngeles County District Attorney will decide whether to press rape or sexual assault charges.

“I don’t think the punishment (levied

by SWC) is appropriate for the level of stuff that happened,” Orantes said. “It just feels like a slap on the wrist for her.”

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Paola G. Labrada, editor

NEWS

March 21, 2018 — Vol. 61, Issue 4

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

Special Section Southwestern College Sun staff members who had covered a Feb. 3 white supremacist protest and a peaceful counter-rally in Chicano Park were surprised by the TV news that evening. SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman and a police spokesperson said an officer had been “sucker punched” by a protester in Chicano Park during the rally. None of the 10 reporters and photographers from The Sun saw or heard such an attack. Print media throughout Southern California repeated the story.

An investigation by The Sun discovered there was no violence in Chicano Park and no “sucker punch.” Rather, two SDPD officers provoked a violent fight with an unarmed homeless jaywalker more than 200 yards away from Chicano Park. Other parts of the SDPD narrative also proved to be false.

UPON REVIEW

Sequence The following 18 panels are representations of the Logan Avenue confrontation based on police body camera video shown in San Diego Superior Court, two citizen videos published by The Sun and witness testimony.

1.

San Diego Police officers Matthew Ruggiero and Justin Tennebaum drive east on closed down Cesar Chavez Parkway, turning left on northbound Logan Avenue.

Frederick Jefferson exits Logan Avenue business district and heads toward a Logan Heights restaurant to “eat pancakes with a friend.”

2.

Witnesses, cell phone video, police body cameras show that SDPD provoked Logan Avenue violence Frederick Jefferson, an unarmed homeless veteran, jaywalked across an empty Logan Avenue that was closed by SDPD escorting white supremacists from a protest to Chicano Park. When Jefferson disobeyed orders to leave the street, two officers in a cruiser left their car and grabbed him from behind. A violent confrontation followed.

Ruggiero and Tennebaum coincidently intercept Jefferson and order him out of the road. They drive on.

3.

Continued from pg. A1

Police Claim Officer ‘Sucker Punched’ SDPD spokesperson Lt. Scott Wahl told news media that day that Jefferson had “sucker punched” Ruggiero, but civilian video of the confrontation show that Ruggiero struck first. Wahl said police body camera video would show that Jefferson provoked the clubbing and that “a different story will come out in court.” In February Wahl refused to allow journalists to see the police video.

SDPD body camera footage shown in court March 9, however, supported the testimony of witnesses who insisted that Ruggiero and Tennebaum initiated the conflict. The officers threatened Jefferson with arrest, grabbed at him repeatedly and tore his shirt as he attempted to cross Logan Avenue in the middle of the block while it was closed to motor vehicles due to a rally in nearby Chicano Park. Witnesses said that Jefferson ignored the officers’ commands to get out on the street and was argumentative when he was grabbed, but did not strike Ruggiero first as Wahl claimed.

Witnesses Say Police Started the Brawl

Police body camera video verified the testimony of witness Octavio Hernandez, who was walking on the sidewalk on the west side of Logan Avenue north of the barricaded intersection of Cesar E. Chavez Parkway with children prior to the confrontation. He said Ruggerio and Tennebaum drove past Jefferson in their police cruiser and yelled at him to get out of the road. When Jefferson kept walking, the police cruiser backed up to Jefferson and the officers threatened to arrest him if he did not leave the street. Police had closed the street to escort a group of white supremacists away

from nearby Chicano Park following a protest.

Hernandez said the officers then exited their car and approached Jefferson, who was walking away from them. Approaching Jefferson from behind, they each grabbed one of his arms, Hernandez said, but Jefferson shook free. Jefferson was walking backward away from the officers when Ruggiero clubbed him in the thigh with a metal baton.

Jefferson swung at Ruggiero and missed.

Ruggiero then struck Jefferson in the ribs, Hernandez said, and Jefferson countered with a punch to Ruggiero’s jaw. Ruggiero then attempted to strike Jefferson in the head with a club as Jefferson continued to back away.

Jefferson raised his left arm to block the club, which appeared in a video to strike him in the ribs. Jefferson countered with a solid right-hand punch to Ruggiero’s face. Witness Alexis Del Castillo, interviewed separately, described the chain of events the same way.

Jefferson Claims Self-Defense

Hernandez

EYES ON THE ISSUE– Librarian Octavio Hernandez said police were unnecessarily aggressive with jaywalker Frederick Jefferson.

Eyewitness says he feared police would kill black jaywalker

Jefferson ignores the order and continues walking toward the intersection he needs to cross to reach the restaurant.

4.

By Katy Stegall Senior Staff

Jefferson sat for two 30-minute interviews with The Sun at the Bailey Detention Facility in Otay Mesa. He said the officers initiated the confrontation and he was trying to back away when he was attacked by Ruggiero.

“I wanted to put distance in there because I was afraid they were going to Rodney King my ass,” Jefferson said.

King was an African-American taxi driver severely beaten by Los Angeles Police Department officers during a traffic stop that was captured on video March 3, 1991. It was the first known case of a civilian capturing police brutality and tape and sharing it with the news media. After four officers on trial for the beating were acquitted in 1992, rioting broke out in Los Angeles that lasted six days and led to 53 deaths. Almost 2,400 were

A witness to the beating and mayhem unleashed by San Diego Police against homeless veteran Frederick Jefferson said he was worried Jefferson was going to be beaten to death.

Librarian Octavio Hernandez, 29, said he was in line at the Cuatro Milpas restaurant on Logan Avenue with friends ordering food. He said he saw Jefferson’s interaction with SDPD from the beginning.

“I was really scared he wasn’t going to make it,” Hernandez said. “It was scary to see the officers handle it this way. I didn’t see him doing anything wrong.”

Hernandez said he was with a few friends and their children when officers Matthew Ruggiero and Justin Tennebaum approached Jefferson.

Continued on pg. A5

Continued on pg. A6

Ruggiero and Tennebaum stop, than reverse when they see Jefferson is still walking south. They exit their police cruiser.

5.

The officers grab Jefferson’s arms from behind. Jefferson said he was surprised and shook himself free.

NEWS

The Southwestern College Sun

6.

Jefferson backs away. Officers continue to approach.

7.

Ruggiero holds Jefferson by the shirt and strikes his left thigh with a metal police baton.

8.

Ruggiero rips Jefferson’s shirt. Jefferson breaks loose and backs away.

9.

Ruggiero strikes Jefferson in the rib area with his metal baton. Jefferson throws a punch at Ruggiero, but misses.

10.

Jefferson and Ruggiero circle each other amid shouting. Jefferson hits Ruggiero in the jaw.

11.

March 21, 2018 — Vol. 61, Issue 4

Continued from pg. A4

injured before the California National Guard and U.S. military personnel re-established control. King sued the city of Los Angeles and was awarded $3.8 million in damages.

Jefferson said he panicked and tried to defend himself when Ruggiero raised the baton to hit him. He was charged with four felonies, including assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a police officer. He is facing nine years in prison if convicted on all counts. To date, Ruggiero has not been charged with any crimes or misconduct in the case.

Jefferson said the charges are unfair and that he was acting in selfdefense.

“They’re saying the deadly weapon was my forearm,” he said. “I never used it as a weapon. I used it to block. He had that metal ass billy club. If that’s not assault with a deadly weapon, I don’t know what is.”

Police Claim Jefferson ‘Not Injured’

12.

Ruggiero attempts to club Jefferson in the head.

Jefferson blocks the blow with his left arm.

Jefferson counter-punches and catches Ruggiero square in the face, breaking his nose and some facial bones. Ruggiero and Tennebaum club Jefferson’s legs.

14.

Jefferson was injured during the street fight and his arrest on the sidewalk. He showed a reporter severe bruising to his upper rib area and said he had been denied medical care at the prison for more than a month despite submitting at least five formal written medical requests. He also has wounds to his neck, shoulders and arm consistent with deep gouges and scratches.

Wahl and then-San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said during television news interviews that Jefferson was not hurt by police. Judge Majors-Lewis disagreed. She ordered San Diego Sheriff’s personnel at the Bailey Detention Center to provide immediate medical care for Jefferson.

Zimmerman did not returned several phone calls and tweets seeking comment on the case over a period of nearly a month before she retired on March 1.

Anti-African American Facebook Posts

Jefferson crosses the street and is met by other SDPD officers who club his legs to bring him down.

15.

Ruggiero has been outspoken on social media about his dislike of civilians who video police confrontations.

“Law enforcement has spent the last twenty-five-plus years being unfairly criticized because of the growing proliferation of out-ofcontext videos taken by the public,” he wrote. “Those videos viewed out of context have led to a false belief that police use-of-force policies are broken, calling for mandatory body cameras to keep us in line; but when body camera footage shows that it’s the citizen acting like a child/animal/jerk instead of the cop, we shouldn’t release the video?”

Ruggiero also made numerous posts critical of the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I’m tired of hearing people call these black activists,” he wrote on Facebook. “They’re not black activists, this is black slime and it needs to be eradicated from the American society and culture.”

On a later Facebook post he called Black Lives Matter activists “idiots.”

“Choose your battles BLM,” he wrote, “because the rest of us are losing patience with you.”

Ruggiero also posted messages critical of prominent AfricanAmericans like Beyoncé Knowles and Michelle Obama. Outside of the courtroom District Attorney Michael Reilly said he had no comment about the posts. Soon after the court hearing, Ruggiero deleted the posts and changed his handle from “Matthew Ruggiero” to “Tango N’ Cash.” Ruggiero did not attend the hearing.

Five SD Police climb on top of Jefferson, who is pinned to the sidewalk.

16.

Scuffle on the Sidewalk

Cellular phone video shot by two civilians from two different angles show that Jefferson was injured during his scuffle with police.

Video shared with The Southwestern College Sun by human rights organization IRATE Productions shows police using batons to hit Jefferson’s legs and knock him to the sidewalk. Del Castillo began recording the incident on his phone after Jefferson was on the ground. He said officers shocked Jefferson with a Taser and pepper sprayed him as six officers had him pinned to the ground.

Del Castillo can be heard in the video telling the officers to not block the camera’s view of Jefferson.

“The cops were trying to hide it,” Del Castillo said. “They kept standing in front of the camera as I tried to film.”

The IRATE Productions video was shot facing south. It shows a scrum of officers on a supine Jefferson. One officer grabbed Jefferson’s head and turned his face toward another officer, who hit Jefferson point blank with a full dose of pepper spray. Del Castillo’s video, shot facing north, shows a female officer charging a Taser gun, then discharging it directly into Jefferson’s back.

Zimmerman appeared on local television newscasts that afternoon and said Ruggiero was recovering from his injuries and condemned Jefferson for punching him. Zimmerman, however, did not mention that the officer attacked Jefferson first. Video shown on local newscasts that evening showed the tussle on the ground, but not the clubbing or punches that occurred seconds earlier. It is unclear whether Zimmerman had seen the clubbing video or was aware that the officer had struck Jefferson prior to being punched.

Police Confusion

Jefferson backs away as Ruggiero and Tennebaum approach.

13.

Zimmerman also indicated that she thought Jefferson was part of the white supremacist gathering or peace rally at nearby Chicano Park earlier that morning. She also mistakenly claimed that the confrontation happened in Chicano Park. She said on Feb. 3 television interviews that she did not know “which side” Jefferson was on.

Jefferson said he did not attend the protest and was not even aware it had happened. Leaders of the Patriot Picnic and Chicano Park rally organizers all said Jefferson was not part of their groups. Witnesses said Jefferson was not involved with the Chicano Park protest or rally and never entered the park. He was more than 200 years away in a small commercial center on the other side of the police barricades, coincidentally transiting the area as the white supremacists were leaving their protest. There were two impenetrable police barricades between the protest site and the spot on Logan Avenue where Ruggiero and Jefferson hit each other. Jefferson was about 50 yards north of a barrier that closed Cesar Chavez Parkway, 120 yards north of a barrier on the edge of Chicano Park, and 210 yards from the Chicano Park rally in the heart of the park.

Jefferson said later he was trying to cross the street on his way “to eat pancakes” with a friend at a nearby restaurant.

Officers involved in the beating and arrest of Jefferson were working the “Patriot Picnic” staged by white supremacists on the portion of Chicano Park east of Cesar E. Chavez Parkway. About Continued on pg. A6

An officer tasers Jefferson, even though he is pinned to the ground.

17.

Seconds later, another officer pepper sprays Jefferson point blank in the face, even though he is pinned to the ground

18.

Jefferson is pushed into SDPD cruiser and taken away.

He is being held in the George F. Bailey Detention Center on $250,000 bail. He faces four felony counts and more than nine years in prison.

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Paola Labrada, editor

NEWS

March 21, 2018 — Vol. 61, Issue 4

MATTHEW RUGGIE

@TANGO N’ CASH A quick glace at Officer Matthew Ruggiero’s Facebook page revealed that he has a history of anti-Black Lives Matter posts and defenses of police brutality.

Blue Lives Matter, Ruggerio’s Facebook header, represents a conservative countermovement to Black Lives Matter.

Ruggiero wrote that officers are unfairly scrutinized by citizen videos of police interactions.

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

Police said they attacked man because he wore red shirt, pulled up his pants Continued from pg. A5

50 white nationalists and their supporters threatened to enter Chicano Park to destroy the park’s famous murals. About 1,000 people rallied on the west portion of the park, across Logan Avenue from the protesters. SDPD formed a human barricade down the center of Logan Avenue to separate the groups. Two arrests and one detainment were made on the white supremacist side of the street. No one from the proChicano Park rally was arrested.

After about 45 minutes, the white extremists started to file out of the park behind fenced basketball courts on the north side of the park. SDPD escorted them away as rally participants celebrated with song and prayers.

Minutes later, about 210 yards to the north, the officer and Jefferson had their encounter.

Tennebaum mischaracterized the event in court, calling it “an immigration protest.” He described the white supremacists as a “progovernment” group and said he and Ruggiero were concerned about Jefferson because he was wearing a red shirt. At an early morning SDPD briefing, he said, officers were told that members of “Antifa” (anti-fascist) wore red shirts. (Antifa activists are actually known for wearing all black.) Tennebaum said SDPD officers were told by superiors that demonstrators at Chicano Park were predominantly Antifa.

Peace in Chicano Park

Ruggiero called Black Lives Matter activists “idiots”and wrote that he was losing patience with them.

Organizers of the Chicano Park rally dismissed Tennebaum’s statements in court as “wildly inaccurate.” Muralist Salvador Barajas, who attended the Chicano Park rally, said participants were there to protect the park’s murals from vandalism threatened by the white supremacists.

“It was a beautiful, peaceful event on our side of the park,” he said.

“There were Chicanos, Anglos, Native Americans and people of faith coming together to reaffirm the special nature of Chicano Park as a place of peace for all people of San Diego County.”

Jefferson, who recently moved to San Diego from Baltimore, said he does not belong to any organizations and had no idea there had been a rally at Chicano Park.

Looking for a Fresh Start Jefferson admitted he has had previous scrapes with law enforcement. He was arrested in Baltimore for assaulting a gang member he said was trying to rob him and in Philadelphia for disorderly conduct for illegally charging his cell phone in a public park. Jefferson was released from the U.S. Navy on an other-thanhonorable discharge for lying to his superiors while covering up for a shipmate.

He said he moved to San Diego for a fresh start and his life was on a promising path. He had recently received a housing voucher, he said, and looked forward to finding work and leaving behind his life on the streets. On the day of his confrontation with San Diego police, he said, he was trying to walk through Logan Heights to a restaurant where he and a friend planned to have lunch. He said he is saddened that people see him only as “a homeless black man” who assaulted a police officer.

“They are not looking at the fact that I did not start this,” he said.

“There was no part of my day where I initiated this.”

Jefferson said he has great respect for police officers and did not mean to injure Ruggiero. He said he understands now that the officers were likely tired and stressed when he encountered them.

“I have not created an opportunity (for myself ) to have the honor to wear a uniform such as a police officer’s,” he said, “so I can’t imagine the amount of stress it takes to uphold that duty with pride honorably.”

Jefferson said Ruggiero and the SDPD need to be held accountable and he plans to file a lawsuit claiming police brutality and violation of his civil rights.

The Sun has left numerous messages over the course of four weeks with the San Diego Police Department seeking interviews with Ruggiero and Zimmerman before her retirement. As of deadline, there have been no responses.

Jefferson was assigned public defender Jimmy Rodriguez. His bail is set at $250,000, which he said he cannot pay. His next court hearing is scheduled for April 11.

Video of the confrontation can be found at theswcsun.com

Witness: Said he feared cops would kill jaywalker Ruggiero pulled a quote from an article critical of black activists where a sheriff called BLM activists “black slime.”

Continued from pg. A4

After a San Diego y County District Attorne t was questioned abou Ruggerio’s posts, Ruggerio quickly changed his name on ’ Facebook to Tango N n Cash and pulled dow his anti-black posts.

Tennebaum and Ruggiero aggressively approached Jefferson from behind, he said, and were confrontational from the beginning.

As a swarm of SDPD officers ran over from the motorcycle barricade, Hernandez said, they formed a barrier around the officers piled atop Jefferson and began yelling at some nearby Brown Berets, a Chicano organization.

“The cops were yelling at the Brown Berets ‘handle your people, or we’ll handle them for you,’” Hernandez said. “I’m not part of the Brown Berets, but I didn’t like that they were trying to blame this on them. This was an atrocious act of violence that did not merit their (SDPD) behavior at all.”

Hernandez said he found it offensive that SDPD seemed to automatically assume that all Latinos and African-Americans are troublemakers that need to “be handled.”

Hernandez said there is a wide spectrum of police officers and some are very good people, but the officers scuffling with Jefferson behaved badly and started an unnecessary confrontation.

“They came out with a disgusting chip on their shoulders,” he said.

“Whether it was because he was wearing red or because he was a big black guy, he had no part in the event. He was just trying to get away. These guys were despicable human beings.”

Hernandez said there was a difference in how Latinos rallying in Chicano Park were being treated in comparison to the white nationalists. He said the Patriot Picnic attendees on one side of the street were taunting Latinos and yelling racist insults. Latinos and their supporters were calm and peaceful in comparison. Police, though, were friendly to the white nationalists and hostile to the African-American Jefferson, said Hernandez.

“There was a night and day difference,” he said. “It was how you would expect a peace officer to treat people. The cops had their backs to us as they went up and nurtured the nationalists, asking them nicely to get out of the streets and stop taunting us—and Jefferson was just walking away. It was a huge contrast and is a huge problem.”

The Southwestern College Sun

NEWS

March 21, 2018 — Vol. 61, Issue 4

San Diego’s Bloody Saturday

TWO ENCOUNTERS: ONE PEACEFUL, ANOTHER VIOLENT (counterclockwise, from top) Nearly 1,000 people peacefully rallied in Chicano Park to protect its iconic murals from threats by white supremacists and neo-Nazis gathered across the street for a ‘Patriot Picnic.’ A row of SDPD motorcycles sealed off Cesar E. Chavez Parkway. On the other side of the SDPD barrier, about 210 yards from Chicano Park, a fight between police and a jaywalker ended in a pool of blood on a Logan Avenue sidewalk.

Photos by Brittany Cruz-Fejeran

San Diego Police officers effectively separated alt-right protesters in the eastern portion of Chicano Park from a throng of people gathered on the western portion to protect murals against threats of vandalism. SDPD formed a barricade down the middle of Logan Avenue which kept the two sides apart. Police also sealed the park on its north end in two places, including a line of about 40 motorcycles down the center of Cesar E. Chavez Parkway. It was about 210 yards north of Chicano Park and about 50 yards north of the motorcycle barricade where the confrontation between two white officers and a homeless black veteran took place. SDPD spokespersons told print and broadcast journalists that an officer had been “sucker punched” in Chicano Park, which was not true.

One of the officers had anti-African American posts on his Facebook.

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The Southwestern College Sun

VIEWPOINTS

March 21, 2018— Volume 63, Issue 4

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 COPY EDITOR

Brian del Carmen NEWS

Paola G. Labrada, editor CAMPUS

Justin Dottery, editor VIEWPOINTS

Alyssa Pajarillo, editor Siobhan Eagan, assistant Larry Estrada, head cartoonist ARTS

Marty Loftin, editor SPORTS

Ivana E. Morales, editor Brittany Cruz-Fejeran, assistant ONLINE

Arantxa Calles, editor PHOTOGRAPHY

Victoria Sanchez, editor Aileen Orozco, assistant SENIOR STAFF

Natalie Mosqueda Katy Stegall STAFF WRITERS

Alyson Attencio

Juan Morales

JoseLuis Baylon

Alejandro Padilla

Kateley Boardman

Arianna Pintado

Yazmin Chavez

Marla Raudales

Natalie Davila

Matthew Reilly

Karen Estrada

Joshua Ruiz-

Alberto Gandara

Ortega

Sydni Ingram

Aide Valdez

Elizabeth Juarez

Jahaziel Valencia

Matthew Leksell

Dasha Vovk

Ramona Lopez

Paloma Zaizar

Alejandro Morales PHOTOGRAPHERS

CARTOONISTS

Thomas Contant

Dan Cordero

Alexander Contreras

Stephanie Garrido

Pablo Corona

Michelle Phillips

Maria Joaquin 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, 2004-17 Associated Collegiate Press National College Newspaper of the Year National Newspaper Pacemaker Award, 2003-06, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012-2017 General Excellence Awards, 2001-17 Best of Show Awards, 2003-17 Columbia University Scholastic Press Association Gold Medal for Journalism Excellence, 2001-18 California Newspaper Publishers Assoc.

California College Newspaper of the Year, 2013, 2016 Student Newspaper General Excellence, 2002-17

San Diego County Multicultural Heritage Award Society of Professional Journalists National Mark of Excellence, 200117 First Amendment Award, 2002, 2005 San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards 1999-2017 Directors Award for Defense of Free Speech, 2012 Journalism Association of Community Colleges Pacesetter Award 2001-17 General Excellence Awards, 2000-18 American Scholastic Press Association Community College Newspaper of the Year San Diego County Fair Media Competition Best of Show 200103, 2005-2017

editorial The Issue: An unarmed homeless black veteran was clubbed, pepper sprayed and shocked with a taser for jaywalking. News media regurgitated the lies fed to them by SDPD without further investigation.

Our Position: SDPD should be investigated for instigating a violent confrontation. News organizations must correct their original stories and revisit this case of police brutality.

SDPD lied about beating of black jaywalker Feb. 3, 2018 started out as an uplifting day in San Diego, thanks to the firm but peaceful resolve of about 1,000 people in Chicano Park.

Activists successfully repelled a klavern of white supremacists from vandalizing the park’s iconic murals. A lineup of patient San Diego Police officers helped keep the peace.

Minutes later, about 210 yards away, some other San Diego police lost their cool, abandoned their professional training, and savagely beat and traumatized an unarmed black homeless veteran.

Then they lied about it.

Repeatedly lied about it.

Much of the San Diego County and Los Angeles print and broadcast news media lazily went along.

Frederick Jefferson – whose initial offense was jaywalking – was pinned bloodied to a Logan Avenue sidewalk. Also bloodied were the reputations of some cowboy cops and some journalists who were spoon fed a large serving of nonsense by a hotheaded SDPD lieutenant pretending to be a communications professional and the soon-to-retire Chief of Police Shelley Zimmerman.

Jefferson, who was not part of the protest or rally in Chicano Park, was exiting a small clump of businesses at the corner of Logan Avenue and Cesar E. Chavez Parkway on his way to a restaurant to have lunch with a friend. He saw a crowded sidewalk, an intersection bisected and blocked by dozens of SDPD officers on motorcycles, and an empty Logan Avenue. He crossed in the middle of Logan Avenue.

Coincidently, a squad car carrying a pair of SDPD officers just turned the corner. The officers yelled at Jefferson to get out of the street and drove on. Jefferson, bewildered by the order, looked at the crowded sidewalk and the sealed off intersection, then walked on to try to get across the street.

He disobeyed the officers, but he did not deserve what came next. Two officers exited their car and grabbed Jefferson from behind, manhandling him. The panicked jaywalker fought them off and backed away. Rather than just steer Jefferson to the sidewalk and send him on his way, the officers lost their tempers and escalated a silly situation into an appalling act of violence and police brutality that gave the normally wellregarded SDPD a black eye.

We will stipulate that Jefferson could have handled things better and should have just walked away from a pair of tired, testy trash-talking cops. He is not entirely blameless in this situation and was a fool to slug a cop. We are sorry that Officer Matthew Ruggiero was so badly injured by the punch. So was Superior Court Judge Sharon Majors-Lewis, who after scolding the officers in open court for escalating the situation, declined to dismiss the case due to the severity of Ruggiero’s injuries.

What we are offended by as journalists and citizens was the stunning stupidity the SDPD put on display on TVs and newspapers from here to Santa Barbara. Lt. Scott Wahl, a mouthy and ill-tempered amateur, pulled a fast one on most of the news media with a series of whoopers.

He said there was a fight in Chicano Park. He said a police officer was “sucker punched” by a protester. He said Jefferson started the brawl.

Sadly, his boss, Chief Zimmerman, mindlessly

Siobhan Eagan/staff

parroted Wahl’s nonsense.

Without checking out the details or verifying the SDPD’s fantastical story, Southern California news media published and broadcast the lies.

They unfairly smeared Chicano activists, residents of Barrio Logan and human rights supporters by making it seem like a peaceful rally by people of color had devolved into an unprovoked attack on innocent police officers.

When The Sun published video from the incident, Wahl went ballistic. He screamed at a student journalist on the phone for 10 minutes, then screamed at her adviser for another 15.

He was so loud every single student in the large newspaper lab could hear him. Luckily the student and our adviser were calm, professional and did not take Wahl’s bait to argue. Wahl then called our dean and the vice president of academic affairs in his effort to censor The Sun, to no avail. (We appreciate Dean William Kinney and VP Dr. Renee Kilmer defending our First Amendment rights.)

Wahl wailed that police body camera video would show that he was right. He was wrong.

The body camera video shown in court verified the accounts of witnesses quoted in The Sun. The sordid tale gets worse. Ruggiero, it turned out, seems to have serious problems with African

Online Comments Policy

Letters Policy

The Sun reserves the right to republish web comments in the newspaper and will not consider publishing anonymously posted web comments or comments that are inflammatory or libelous. Post web comments at theswcsun.com.

Send mailed letters to: Editor, Southwestern College Sun, 900 Otay Lakes Road, Chula Vista, CA 91910. Send e-mailed letters to viewpoints@theswcsun.com. E-mailed letters must include a phone number. The Sun reserves the right to edit letters for libel and length and will not consider publishing letters that arrive unsigned.

Americans. His Facebook was littered with ugly posts about Black Lives Matter activists (whom he called “black slime”), Beyoncé and Michelle Obama.

Ruggiero and his partner, Justin Tennebaum, got their own beat down in court. Judge Majors-Lewis expressed her disbelief that a jaywalking became a violent fight. She scoffed at Tennebaum’s ridiculous claim that they suspected Jefferson of being a dangerous “AntiFa” thug because he was wearing a red t-shirt. She said she would have dismissed the case on the spot had Ruggiero not been so badly injured.

The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics requires journalists to call each other out when mistakes are made that are not corrected. We are calling out some of our brothers and sisters in the professional news media to revisit this story, correct their mistakes, and give this community the true version of events. We are also calling on brand new SDPD Chief David Nisleit to give his officers a stern talking to about mendacious behavior, bullying student journalists and unfettered arrogance.

Chief Nisleit really needs to hire a professional Public Information Officer with the skills, experience and integrity to communicate with the news media.

Opinions expressed in the Viewpoints section are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily represent the views of The Sun Staff, the Editorial Board or Southwestern College.

Katy Stegall, editor

VIEWPOINTS

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

Out

Loud

Do you know what to do if there is a shooter on campus?

“We are supposed to close and lock the doors, turn off our cell phone and just stay quiet. If he were to come in the room they said to throw stuff at him.”

Alina jimenez, 22, exercise science

“I think I would like try to like save everyone I can. Just like do something good for the people.”

Alfredo Ponze, 20, Undeclared

“I’d get to safety, you have to do it for everybody in the chaos room. Then call 911 on my cell phone.”

Sharon Mackey, 29, art

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Corporate capitalism has hijacked activism

By Matthew Reilly A perspective

Healthy eating sponsored by McDonald’s. Female empowerment sponsored by Dove. Social justice sponsored by Pepsi.

Give us a break.

Corporations have no place in contemporary social movements. They are paradoxical.

Social movements are about progress and change and are often outspoken champions of the oppressed. When German sociologist Lorenz von Stein first coined the term “social movement,” he conveyed the idea of a “continuous, unitary process by which the whole working class gained self-consciousness and power.”

Around the same time, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published the Communist Manifesto, further clarifying the term. They claimed that “all previous historical movements were movements of minorities, or in the interest of minorities. The proletarian movement is the selfconscious, independent movement of the immense majority, in the interests of the immense majority.”

Corporations, however, abhor the idea of progress. They detest any change that does not advance their brands and they spend copious amounts of money to ensure the system continues to work in their favor. Corporations exploit the labor of the oppressed to the benefit of the privileged.

Some of the earliest U.S. social movements were in response to corporate abuse. One of the earliest recorded strikes in America occurred in 1768 when New York journeymen tailors protested a wage reduction.

This is why the modern trend of major corporations sponsoring social movements is paradoxical simply due to the fact that social movements were many times born out of a need to oppose major corporations. They are the enemy and have always been the enemy and many contemporary activists need not forget that.

Powerful corporations have attempted throughout history to quell almost every social movement. Mass protests against an entrenched establishment

f MAtthew reilly/staf

?

Thinking

March 21, 2018 — Vol. 61, Issue 4

is nothing new.

Christianity started as a progressive social movement, as was the uprising that brought down the Qin dynasty in China.

Contemporary social movements, however, gained traction following the Industrial Revolution in the United States. Early protests fought hazardous working conditions. In 1909, more than 20,000 female shirtwaist makers in New York struck against dangerous sweatshop conditions.

Their protests were ignored by their corporations. Less than two years later, the Triangle Shirtwaist factory caught fire, killing 146 workers.

In 1914 the Ludlow Massacre in Ludlow, Colorado moved corporatism into the realm of pure evil. A tent colony of 1,200 striking coal miners from the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company were fired upon by the U.S. Army National Guard, killing as many as 26 people, including women and children. At least two women and 11 children were asphyxiated or burned to death. These were Ludlow’s own workers.

Government blatantly sided with corporate interests in 1981 when Ronald Reagan fired more than 11,000 striking air traffic controllers who ignored his order to return to work. This reckless, vengeful act slowed commercial air travel,

made flying less safe and left thousands of people without jobs. A spate of crashes left blood on Reagan’s hands.

“In carrying out his threat, Reagan also imposed a lifetime ban on rehiring the strikers,” wrote Andrew Glass of Politico.

“The Federal Labor Relations Authority decertified PATCO (the union who initiated the strike).” Thousands of union members gave their lives for privileges many take for granted nowadays, including 40-hour work weeks, weekends off and overtime pay. Unions also ended child labor in America, improved safety and promoted civil rights.

Divisive politics have led to a rise in protest culture. Donald Trump’s election caused a flurry of protests all across the nation, garnering massive media attention. A Fox News poll said Trump’s approval rating plunged to a historic low of 38 percent in October. Corporations began to concoct strategies to make this

profitable.

Marketing agencies realized it may be lucrative to bash Trump. They exploited an opportunity by pretending to be socially liberal and dupe liberal consumers into choosing their products.

So large corporations started capitalizing on modern protest culture.

Pepsi recently released a sad, tonedeaf commercial featuring Kendall Jenner attending a protest in which she inexplicably ends all societal problems by offering a Pepsi to a police officer.

Backlash was harsh. Pepsi management pulled the ad, oblivious to what it had done wrong.

“Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding,” the company said in a statement. “Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize.”

PepsiCo’s embrace of unity, peace and understanding ring hollow. This is a corporation engaged in child labor, unethically low wages and worker exploitation in Indonesia.

Activists must remember that corporations are a wealthy and powerful force often in cahoots with the government. Corporate attempts to distance themselves from the Trumpian evil many citizens are protesting is becoming increasingly transparent.

Frederick Douglass wrote, “power concedes nothing without demands.”

Change will occur by continuing to call out these companies on their lies and manipulative behavior.

Destructive remedial classes must go “The first thing I would do is probably call my parents let them know I am okay, if I am okay. Then call the cops, make sure everyone is all right.”

Sergio Coss y leon, 18, admin. of justice

“If someone really came in here and started shooting, I would honestly just stand there. I would be so in shock that I can’t move, I wouldn’t.

Hadida Hassan, 20, sociology/ethnic studies

Follow us on: The SWC Sun Theswcsun

@theswcsun

Theswcsun

Theswcsun

By Marty Loftin A perspective

Remedial classes have got to go.

Remedial classes are not just a necessary evil to be accepted when it comes to higher education, but a dangerous trap that can shatter students dream of earning their diploma. Many who cannot avoid remedial classes are likely to never advance further in their education. Being forced to take remedial classes for no credit while also balancing other classes is incredibly demoralizing.

Many students leave high school unprepared for the rigors of college education, and it is up to those colleges to prepare incoming students for higher-level material. The problem is, only about a third of high school seniors were ready for college-level math and reading according to 2015 data by the National Assessment of Educational Practices.

Many colleges require students to take placement tests to figure out if they require remedial classes to get them up to speed. But it is becoming increasingly apparent that remedial classes do not work as intended and may serve as a barrier towards higher education. by the PPIC to be more useful at determining A survey of California community colleges from readiness than placement tests, though not every 2014-15 by the Public Policy Institute of California community college uses this data unless a student titled “Determining College challenges their placement based Re a d i n e s s i n C a l i f o r n i a’s on test score. Assessment and Community Colleges,” found placement of ESL students that community colleges across were found to be offered less About a third of high the state have a number of ways exemption opportunities and school seniors were used to identify readiness that test preparation activities in are ineffective and may serve as ready for college-level ESL, compared to math and a barrier towards transferring math and reading.

English. or earning a degree. Although A lower proportion of colleges the state requires community use high school achievement data -National Assessment of for ESL placement, indicating colleges to determine student readiness for college-level Educational Practices that English Learners may not courses, there is a lot of leeway have access to more accurate in how those schools figure methods of determining it out. readiness for college material.

Most opt for tests that base readiness on the Besides standardizing placement scores to make score, but the PPIC survey found that the actual readiness placement fairer and focusing more on test score varied from school to school, and colleges high school achievement data, the use of remedial that serve more people of color were found to courses should replaced by a program similar to have a higher math cut scores. This serves to keep that of Guttmann Community College. This City people of color trapped in remedial classes and out University of New York’s so-called co-requisite of higher education, whether intentional or not. model still uses tests to screen students, but those High school achievement data was also found students who need the extra help are enrolled in

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both remedial-classes and college-level courses and credit is not delayed. In 2015, Guttman Community College’s within-three-years graduation rate was 49.5 percent, compared to 21 percent for all CUNY community colleges.

Starting Fall 2018, Cal State plans to drop placement exams in math and English and noncredit remedial courses, which over 25,000 incoming freshman had to take each fall. Chancellor Timothy White issued an executive order for the CSU program to restructure its approach to remedial education and focus on determining readiness via high school grades, ACT and SAT scores. This is part of Dr. White’s ambitious plan “Graduation Initiative 2025” which hopes to increase graduation rates, decrease time to earn a degree and eliminate achievement gaps for all students.

Southwestern College should join the ranks of those colleges that seek to improve graduation and transfer rates by eliminating their reliance on placement tests.

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Katy Stegall, editor

VIEWPOINTS

March 21, 2018 — Vol. 61, Issue 4

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

Botanical garden’s talented caretaker has died Editor’s note: This obituary was provided by friends of Eduardo Munguia and published in his honor.

Eduardo Munguia, 35, beloved son, brother, nephew, and cousin passed away on Monday, March 5, 2018. He was born to Maria Dolores Gonzalez Olide and Carlos Munguia on March 23, 1982. He resided in San Diego, CA where he lived until his passing.

Like so many other children, Eduardo was the right hand of his mother Maria, often helping her with anything she asked for. He never put an end to her requests, for the benefit of her, his older brother Gerardo and his younger brother Ricardo.

Eduardo’s passion for plants and landscaping was visible at the South Bay Botanical Garden at Southwestern Community College, where he worked as the horticultural lab technician for 10 years. At the garden he would do an array of tasks and oversaw the following areas of the garden; the tropical house, vegetable house, compost area, cacti and succulent collection, California native garden, monocot meadow, rare and exotic fruit area, dry feet garden, formal rose garden, two greenhouses, the water garden, plumeria garden, putting green and gathering spot.

Eduardo was meticulous to a flaw in his landscaping labor, especially when it came to helping students with new projects. The garden was a significant place in Eduardo’s life. He loved his job, his coworkers, but most of all, he loved being close to nature.

To his close friends and family, in English or in Spanish Eduardo was simply Eddie. By whatever way his name was pronounced, he always projected the qualities that defined him. Caring, loving, strength, and industriousness.

He is survived by his parents; Maria and Carlos, his brothers; Gerardo and Ricardo, and over 150 cousins, and 17 aunts and uncles from both maternal and paternal sides of the family.

Kaepernick is America’s newest civil rights leader and role model

By Justin Dottery A perspective

“ Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. History repeats itself, so it should be no surprise that this statement is as relevant today as is was in 1963 when MLK wrote it in his Letter From Birmingham Jail.

Today, 50 years later, this fight is still going on with a new leader.

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has become the face of the fight against injustice. Kaepernick began to make headlines and sports talk shows when he took a knee during the playing of the national anthem before NFL games to protest police brutality against African-Americans.

Kaepernick became a household name and public enemy number one for right wingers who considered themselves “real” Americans. Though conservatives may hate him, Kaepernick is a source of inspiration and pride for many of us.

I believe Kaepernick is the 21st century’s MLK. When his protests began during the 2016 NFL preseason, Kaepernick was called “a traitor,” “unAmerican,” “unpatriotic” and worse, including the n-word and other racist epithets. He is being demonized for the same principles MLK now is revered for during his the mid-20th century period of activism.

King non-violently stood for equal rights and the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for African Americans during the era of segregation, which he helped to end.

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The family would like to like to express gratitude to Bill Homyak, Meredith Sinclair, Richard Zasueta, Enrique Gonzalez Jr. and Mark Valen, and to all of his friends and coworkers at Southwestern College for their friendship, love, and support during Eddie’s time at Southwestern College.

larry estrada/staff

In solidarity with the brave students of Marjory Stoneham Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Kaepernick is also standing for equal rights and in opposition to escalating police brutality against blacks in America. King would have loved Kaepernick, who, like MLK, is intelligent, thoughtful, humble, altruistic and courageous.

Kaepernick knelt during the anthem to raise awareness about police brutality. He did not stop there. He has started a donation campaign called 10 for 10 where he has partnered with celebrities who donate $10,000 each to a cause of that celebrity’s choice. Kaepernick, though his career has been ruined, has pledged to give $1 million himself. He organized Know Your Rights camps for kids to learn how to deal with police safely.

Kaepernick is using his platform as an NFL quarterback to influence children in a positive way. Standing up for injustice was costly. He sacrificed his own personal dream of a long and proactive NFL career.

Kaepernick lost his dream, but MLK lost his life. Kaepernick knows that. Now Kaepernick is pursuing King’s dream.

He also knows that over time following his murder, King went from hated to one of the most beloved people in American history. Schools, streets and a national holiday bear his name.

Even Racist-in-Chief Donald Trump called King a great American hero, surprising after he called kneeling NFL players like Kaepernick “sons of bitches.”

Protofacist White Power Barbie Tomi Lahren also praised MLK on MLK Day by tweeting, “Today we honor a great man with a great message #MLKDay.” Lahren attached a photo with the famous quote

by MLK, “ I have a dream that my four little children will live in a nation where they will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

Lahren had nothing but vitriol for Kaepernick, however blasting him on her show, as a “whiny, indulgent, attentionseeking crybaby.” Irony seems lost on Lahren, a n o t o r i o u s w h i n y, indulgent, attentionseeking crybaby.

Martin Luther King Jr. is now considered to be one of the greatest men in U.S history, admired by millions. Kaepernick is acting on the lessons of King and is also a great American. King is a legendary teacher and Kaepernick is one of his best students. Maybe the children of Lahren and grandchildren of Trump will overcome their forbearers’ hatred and admire Kaepernick for “the content of his character,” which is off the charts.

“Heroes,” said Gerard Way, “are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary.” Kaepernick, a foster child from the most ordinary and humble background, has transcended what the world handed him and has become the leader of a movement. Dr. King would be proud.

“Kaepernick lost his dream, but MLK lost his life. Kaepernick knows that. Now Kaepernick is pursuing King’s dream.”

Letter to the Editor

Acting police chief defends SWCPD, says future is bright I am pleased to report the Southwestern College Police Department is not in a dire state as opinioned in the editorial page of the most recent edition. On the contrary, the College Police Department is a good agency, served by skilled professionals. You accurately noted the positive qualities of Officer Adam Cato, a dedicated veteran with many years of experience. His qualities are indicative of the qualities of the other staff members of the department.

In my approximately 34-years of work in the law enforcement profession, either directly working in agencies or conducting investigations into them, I have encountered agencies with serious problems; “bad apples”, rouge cops, corruption, and gross malfeasance. Such serious problems do not exist in the College Police Department. Certainly, there have been some complaints, but these usually involve parking or traffic issues. However, their numbers are few in comparison to the accolades, praise, and thanks I receive on a regular basis.

Service levels and response times are good, exceeding those of surrounding municipalities. College Police Officers may not always be seen but they are present nonetheless, enabling a rapid

response to emergencies within a couple of minutes in most instances.

The College Police Department, like all effective organizations, seeks to continuously evolve and grow to effectively serve its community. Much growth has occurred over the last year to include improving our records management systems, building relations and partnerships, complying with the Jeanne Clery Act and other regulations, and increasing responsiveness to sexual assault incidents. This latter issue has been extensively reported by The Sun. I am proud of the steps the Police Department and the District have taken to address this serious problem.

All sexual assault allegations received by the Police Depar tment have been handled with either a criminal investigation, and/or a referral to Student Services for handing through the student conduct procedures and/ or referred for a Title IX investigation.

The relationship between the Police Department and Student Services is a strong one and rapidly evolving into a triad partnership with David Caspi, the new Title IX Officer. These cases have been handled with the victim’s needs and desires considered first and

foremost. Other departments have also been instrumental in providing critical victim assistance and support.

I would like to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of Dr. Malia Flood and her Behavioral Intervention Team, the timely intervention of Dr. Clarence Amoral and his staff, Patricia Flores-Charter and her team from DSS, and several others.

The future looks bright for Southwestern College and its Police Department. The new security building will provide even greater capabilities with enhanced records management processes and improved communications systems.

Efforts are also underway to provide expand services to meet the growing needs of the college with special events and sporting activities, equip officers with body cameras, and establish regular meetings with the College Police Advisory Board. These are but a few of the improvements and enhancements on the horizon.

To conclude, your readers should feel pride and confidence in their Police Department and the quality of services it provides.

Davis Nighswonger Acting Chief of Police

The Southwestern College Sun

CAMPUS

March 21, 2018 – Volume 61, Issue 4

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Thinking Out Loud How does Black History Month inspire you?

“It is a reminder of how far we have come as black people and the strides we are making towards equality.”

-Khalil Adisa, 21, Criminal Justice

“It inspires me to be a better person because the people before me created a path for me to walk.”

-Greg Smith, 20, Broadcast Communication

College celebrates a beautiful heritage

By Kateley Boardman Staff writer

“Wisdom is like fire. People take it from others.”

– Congolese Proverb Makida Anderson glided through a field of flowers in her mind’s eye as she danced, gifting her granddaughters with her West African culture. Now that ancient culture is theirs. No one can ever take it away.

Anderson, 51, an SWC nursing alumna, performed with The West African Drum and Dance Troupe to help celebrate Black History Month. Her son and uncle played the drums as she and her granddaughters performed dances from the 12th century Mali Empire centered in the great city of Timbuktu.

In polylingual West Africa, dance was an important form of communication, she said.

Black History Month at Southwestern College demonstrated that words are a source of power, but so are food, music, art and history. Professor of History Stanley James said the purpose of the month is “to start correcting lies and deceit” and “to use history as a vehicle for the truth.”

“History used correctly enlightens people,” he said. “History used incorrectly is propaganda.”

Fosiya Hassan, 20, a sociology major, found power through poetry at a spoken word event hosted by the Black Student Union and the ASO. “To my blacks I am everything, for my blacks are my everything,” she said at the mic. “Blacks are the concrete below my feet that guide me to the path of hope and faith, and that to my blacks is enough. That to me is enough to keep living and fighting in a world full of hate.”

Psychology major Briana Tucker, 18, spoke about growing up Mexican and African-American.

“I hope I can get involved more and learn what it means to be black,” she said. “What I do know is that black is excellence.”

Ursula Williams agreed. SWC’s Civic

Center Leasing Coordinator has been an enthusiastic ambassador for AfricanAmerican culture throughout her career.

She led a group of volunteers that came in at 4:30 a.m. every Thursday of the month to prepare the food for the students. Soul Food Thursday, as the Ibo proverb declares, shows that “words are sweet, but they never take the place of food.” Williams, a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, prepared recipes learned from her mother and grandmother as a young girl. Her family’s special ingredient, she said, is “love.”

“The kitchen is where we go to talk and laugh,” she said. “I learned a great deal of my life lessons in the kitchen.

Cooking is a big part of our culture.”

Williams and her crew nearly sold 100 plates of Soul Food. Profits will fund scholarships for black students.

Professional Development Coordinator Janelle Williams said Soul Food is more than rice, beans and entrees.

“It is always helpful to have your cultural nutrients and in a physical form, and that is what Soul Food is about,” she said. “Being able to have those nutrients that kind of inspire you, motivate you, and re-energize you to keep going forward.”

Counselor Abdimalik Buul said his African parents struggled with English and navigating the education system.

Their experiences encouraged him to help others facing the same challenges.

“I saw a lot of people that looked like me not moving forward,” he said.

“I became a hub for black students to kind of engage in a space where they feel welcomed, where they feel safe, and that helped them transcend.”

Buul, a native of Somalia, has been a counselor and personal development instructor at SWC for three years. He leads the Umoja program that helps African-American students to transfer.

James gave a passionate lecture at an event called “Untold Truths of Black History.” He said Black History has been misrepresented to individuals. He encouraged students to find the truth about African-American history, protect it and share it.

LOVE FOR HER CULTURE—SWC student Fosiya Hassan shares her piece during a spoken word event sponsored by BSU and the ASO.

Maria Joaquin/Staff

HONORING ANCESTRAL TRADITIONS— Former SWC nursing student Makida Anderson performs traditional African dances.

“It inspires me because it allows our people to come together and celebrate our history.”

-Chris Kelly, 24, Business Managament

“It makes me educate myself on my culture, not just one month, but for the whole year.”

- Danae Edwards, 19, Sociology

“It inspires me to be myself, because I am black and black is great.”

- Audrea Carey, 18, Dance

Alexander Contreras/Staff

A SHOW OF UNITY— SWC basketball players Kibrom Gebregziabher and Eddie Winslow make friends after students were encouraged to meet someone new at the spoken word event.

Maria Joaquin/ Staff

“It reminds me of those who accomplished more through tougher struggles we go through now.”

- E r i c Yo u n g , 29, Telecommunications

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March 21, 2018 – Volume 61, Issue

Justin Dottery, editor

CAMPUS

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

Voice of Prof. Susan Luzzaro lives on

By Justin Dottery Campus Editor

Susan Luzzaro did not like to sit around.

She was, her friends insist, an activist to the end.

Luzzaro died last spring, cutting short a remarkable retirement that followed a remarkable teaching career at Southwestern College. Her family, however, is determined that her spirit and strong sense of social justice lives on in future SWC students.

Luzzaro retired as a popular and much-respected English professor in 1999, only to remake herself as one of the region’s most important investigative journalists. She helped to uncover illegalities and misappropriation of public funds as she investigated the notorious South Bay Corruption Scandal of 2008-10, when administrators and board members at SWC and the Sweetwater Union High School District were charged with more than 160 felonies. She was presented the 2011 John Swett Award for Outstanding Coverage of Education, a statewide honor.

Her family has established a $5,000 scholarship fund to support SWC journalism students. The Southwestern College Foundation is now accepting donations to the Susan Luzzaro Scholarship Fund.

San Diego Free Press reporter Barbara Zaragosa described Luzzaro as “an icon, a gifted writer who spoke truth to power.”

“Any student who receives a scholarship named for Susan should feel very honored, because they are inheriting a great mantle,” she said.

Luzzaro was born in San Diego on October 12, 1948 and lived her entire life in Chula Vista. She graduated from Chula Vista High School in 1966 and soon after married her high school sweetheart, Frank Luzarro.

Susan and Frank were married for 50 years and had two kids, Frank Jr.

JoseLuis Baylon

Upon reflection, nostalgia is not always healthy and can cause depression Courtesy of Frank Luzzaro

I’LL CALL FOR PEN & INK AND WRITE MY MIND- After an illustrious career as an English professor, Susan Luzzaro became an award-winning investigative journalist who fought corruption. Her husband Frank (above, l) and daughter Vanessa funded a journalism scholarship at SWC. and Vanessa. Susan Luzzaro attended San Diego State University, where she earned a BA in creative writing and an MFA. Besides being a dedicated student and a talented professor, Luzzaro was also a great mother, according to her daughter, Vanessa.

“My brother and I were lucky to have a mother like her,” Vanessa Luzzaro said.

“She was devoted, kind and patient. We grew up with the sense that our mother would do anything for us.”

When Luzzaro retired she also became a loving grandmother, said Vanessa Luzzaro.

“My mother was equally devoted to her two grandsons,” she said. “She retired early to help care for them and each day they came to her house she shared with them the beauty of life.”

Frank Luzzaro said Susan’s devotion extended to social issues. He said she was a woman who stood up for what was right.

“Sue has always been politically involved and committed to civil rights, democracy, socio-economic justice and equality,” he said. “She was unwavering in her fight against injustice and oppression of any sort. We marched and demonstrated together many times for what we felt were just causes.”

Susan Luzzaro was also an accomplished poet who embraces Shakespeare’s dictum that “Action is eloquence.”

She worked at SWC as a creative writing professor for more than a decade.

She helped establish the Baja Border and Latin American Literature courses that are still being taught online, and inspired

hundreds of students, including Francisco Bustos, who is now an SWC English professor.

“Her teaching, along with the motivation and inspiration, gave me drive,” he said.

“It helps you realize that what she knows how to do, you could also learn to do.”

Bustos said he originally had no intentions to be an English major. Taking classes with Luzzaro opened his eyes to Mexican and Baja Literature, he said, and his hobby for reading literature became his passion.

Governing Board Member Norma Hernandez, who once served as president of Southwestern College, said she was “a huge fan of Susan.”

“She was a dear woman who loved our college and our community.”

Courtesy of Abe Photography

A NICE BUMP- Assistant Professor Diana Arredondo volunteers as a volleyball coach at the Monarch School for homeless children. Her team overcame numerous hardships to make the league finals.

Professor inspires net results with volleyball

By Aileen Orozco Assistant Photo Editor

Monarch High School may never win a CIF volleyball title, but its players are champions for showing up.

Every single one of them is homeless.

Their coach, Diana Arredondo, sees only champions.

Arredondo, an assistant professor of architecture at Southwestern College, has been the driving force behind the creation of the Monarch School girl’s volleyball team.

“When I learned that it was a school where all the children are homeless, the strings in my heart were just pulling,” she said.

Monarch School is operated by the San Diego County Office of Education and works alongside the non-profit Monarch School Project. It is a school unlike any other, Arredondo said, populated entirely by homeless children who have no home school. She began coaching the middle school volleyball team in 2017.

“Oh my God, these were just the most amazing group of girls that you could ever meet,” said Arredondo. “When I would

come into the gym, they were already warming up and they would just come run to me and hug me and say hello. Just so loving.”

Volleyball season started without much of the necessary equipment. Assistant coach Lorne Stanly created a GoFundMe in order to raise money to upgrade the deteriorating volleyball nets. The goal was $1,000, but Arredondo’s SWC colleagues got onboard and they raised $5,000.

Motorola contributed $800 and Qualcomm pitched in $350.

Arredondo and Monarch School Athletic Director Chuy Nuñez organized a field trip to watch an SWC women’s volleyball game. After the game the team gathered for lunch and an unexpected gift.

Arredondo had raised money to purchase each girl her own volleyball.

“They were like ‘Wow Christmas came early for us!’” she said.

Arredondo and Stanly started out coaching 21 girls, but by the end of the season there were only 13. Arredondo learned the tough reality that students

at Monarch School often just disappear.

One of her players had her volleyball gear stolen off her family’s shopping cart. She soon disappeared, too.

Another pair of players who were sisters dropped out when their mother told them they had to leave school to help with younger siblings, said Arredondo.

Nuñez said the attendance rate for elementary school-aged students at Monarch is close to 90 percent, but high school completion rates are low.

Volleyball brought some joy in its lives buffeted by homelessness, mental illness, addiction, hunger and violence.

Arredondo and her coaches went all out.

They organized a post-season banquet where players received awards and praise for their hard work. Arredondo’s husband, Abe Arredondo, took headshots of each girl and made photo packets. Players also received Christmas stockings filled with goodies.

Stanly said the Arredondo’s “have the biggest hearts.”

“They really sacrificed a lot, gave a lot of themselves and a lot financially to help

the girls,” he said.

Monarch School was an eye-opener, Arredondo said, and underscores San Diego County’s homeless crisis. Monarch School serves up to 350 students per day and provides daily meals, counseling, medical assistance, housing assistance and scholarships. It also has a room full of clothes, shoes, toiletries and other necessities donated by the community.

“They want to see the students succeed,” said Arredondo. “There is such a large rate of students who are in this community who are homeless, who don’t graduate high school. They don’t want to see that happen, so they do whatever they can to get the resources that they need from special services.”

Spikes, blocks, serves, bumps and fouls will fade into oblivion, Arredondo said, but perhaps some of the memories of teamwork, purpose and love will stick.

“You never know what a troubled teenager will remember or what they will take with them,” she said. “Maybe something as simple as volleyball can make a difference.”

Re f l e c t i n g o n t h e p a s t a n d thinking about the future are generally normal and healthy human behaviors – until they are not.

Too much focus on what has happened and what is yet to come can lead to stress, depression and dysfunction. Nostalgia is a memory intertwined with a desire from the past. The term comes from the Greek words nóstos and álgos, which means “returning home” and “pain.” It was named in the 17th century to define symptoms of returning mercenaries.

Homesick is a yearning for the familiar. Both are forms of dwelling in the past. Nostalgia can be anything we miss. Large groups of people can undergo nostalgia at the same time. In 2010, the U.S. had a boom of nostalgic entertainment, film and fashion. Hipsters adhered to old ways to make things cool.

Donald Trump generated nostalgia in enough American voters to become president. Conversely, he generated nostalgia for Barack Obama in other Americans.

It is a short step, however, to rumination, constantly returning to the same pattern of thought.

Researchers say depression and rumination are linked because people tend to think in repetitive cycles that reinforce depressioncausing behavior. Depression can be eased by identifying cycles of rumination and controlling them.

Like an hourglass, people who suffer severe depression are affected by time. Researchers at the University of Hertfordshore determined that depression gives the brain more attention to detail, but the over-accumulation of information adds stress and slows time.

Familiar patterns are comforting because nature is repetitious. Our world might feel like it is on repeat.

Cycles of repetition are seen in the sun, seasons, tectonics, ocean circulation and climate. Humans learned to repeat functions to survive.

The sands of time may have an answer. Our brains are organized like a sand pile. Danish physicist Per Bak studied the way sand caves in on itself and discovered that the human brain evolved to function in a similar manner.

Mounds of sand retain their balanced point despite repetitive little avalanches that make grains fall on their sides. Nature replicated the process for brains, allowing neurons to cascade electrical information into complex operations. After each neuronal avalanche, the brain returns to criticality, a resting state.

It is in our nature to look back.

In nature, most things fall in at the same place. Even in our heads.

Rumination or nostalgia might be comforting, but can haze the future. Choose thoughts carefully.

After all, we have action potentials throughout our lives. Gandhi was right when he said our thoughts become our destiny.

Action drives experiences.

Experience becomes memor y.

Memory drives action.

Spin, rinse, repeat.

JoseLuis may be reached at plutotoplato@theswcsun.com

Month Day - Month Day, Year, Volume XX, Issue X

SPORTS

March 21, 2018 — Volume 61, Issue 4

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SPRING AWAKENING

Seven teams fired by new hope

Ivana E. Morales Sports Editor

Swimming

E

ntering the fourth floor at the DeVore Stadium field house above a doorway, there is a quote, “Be strong when you are weak, brave when you are scared, and humble when you are victorious.” Athletic Director Jim Spillers wants to send a message to student-athletes— before reaching greatness there will be difficulties.

“It is about winning with honor and losing with honor,” he said. “Being a good winner and not a sore loser. Sportsmanship is always key.”

Athletes prefer to be a good winner and seven Jaguar teams are primed to stalk Pacific Coast Athletic Conference titles.

Baseball Losing in the first round of the playoffs against top-seed Orange Coast College last year was like a sunflower seed shell stuck in the throat of Southwestern College baseball Jay Martel. This year could be different.

“We expect a lot of things out of our players,” he said. “Our offense is better than last year and if our pitching comes along it could be a very successful season.”

Sophomore catcher Abraham Valdez, outfielder Kenny Ohlhauser, and pitchers Brandon Weed and Dylan Wannamaker will lead the way for the talented Jaguars. SWC will have 16 non-conference games with 12 rivals ranked in the Top 20 of California.

Don’t miss: SWC vs Grossmont College, March 24.

Softball Spring 2017 was a breakthrough for the softball program. SWC hosted a playoff game for the very first time in college history, but College of the Canyons ruined the Lady Jaguars’ buzz.

Coach Yassmin Mossadeghi said the team hopes to build on the achievements of 2017.

“I was absolutely thrilled with the team’s performance and its tenacity throughout last season,” she said. “We already set expectations of hosting playoffs again.”

With talented freshmen such as Trudie Nixon in the circle, middle infielder Sam Miller, and .400 hitter Nicole Correa, the Lady Jaguars are ready to make a run.

“The softball team has been resilient,” said Mossadeghi. “You have girls who are playing in a program where they trust the coaching staff process. They have decided to leave the East County and North County to be part of SWC and that’s something truly special.”

Don’t miss: SWC vs Palomar College, April 11.

With the completion of the Wellness and Aquatics Complex Project, the swim teams are back on campus after a couple of years commuting to Las Palmas Pool in National City. Coach Matt Ustaszewski said the team is proud to have a place to call home.

“The majority of this group are student-athletes who really sacrificed over the last couple of years,” he said. “They are really excited to have the opportunity to swim here.”

Swim star Elizabeth Rozow ended up becoming a conference champion and Top 10 in California. Rozow also was named All-American in three events. Freshman Nicole Aispuro and returner Brent Bernal on the men’s side will provide leadership in the water this season.

Don’t miss: Southwestern College will host the first PCAC Swim Meet in the new facilities on March 23.

Track and Field Coach Tonie Campbell and his team had a rough 2017.

SWC lost the contract that allowed its athletes to practice at the former Olympic Training Center, so the track team moved to Mater Dei High School. Even so, SWC sent 12 track athletes to the SoCal Championships. Campbell said he has a more talented team this year.

“We were getting beat up with recruiting,” he said. “We had a lot of freshmen last year and some of them are coming back. We are looking for big things out of them.”

Freshman Quintin Vinzant will provide speed on the men’s side, while freshman Xeomara Villalobos will try to go far in the distance.

Don’t miss: PCAC Finals, April 21.

Tennis A long tennis drought came to an end last year when the program was re-established after seven years.

Coach Susan Reasons took command once again and the Lady Jaguars are back on the red and beige tennis courts. Reasons said the process of rebuilding continues.

“When you are playing sports and you are not winning, it can be hard,” she said. “It was quite an honor to have the girls go out there and present such good character. They did not care, they were having such a good time.”

Even though the team only won one match, it was awarded the 2017 Sportsmanship Award of the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference. Reasons said she recruited local talents to boost the level of the program.

“My expectations are a little bit higher this season,” she said. “Sofia Maple is a very strong player and Irish Valentos grew up playing tennis.”

Don’t miss: SWC vs San Diego Mesa, March 22.

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SPORTS

March 21, 2018 — Vol. 61, Issue 4

Victoria Sanchez / Staff

PLAY MAKER — Andrea Cavazos looks to pass against College of the Desert. SWC won 70-49.

The Southwestern College Sun

Victoria Sanchez / Staff

DRIVE TIME— Quentrear Meadows takes flight to score against Mt. San Jacinto College.

SWC won 73-62.

Jaguar hoop dreams go flat Lady Jaguars look to rebuild Men’s basketball team had in their new home in 2018 slow start, but finished strong

By Ramona Lopez Staff Writer

Women’s basketball players seem to need a pre-requisite before they hit the hardwood — Chemistry 101.

Po o r t e a m c h e m i s t r y a n d p o o r g r a d e s contributed to a pedestrian 13-15 record this season, despite an enthusiastic coach and a brand new gym. Even though the team had more time to practice and two strong returners, 2017-18 dribbled away.

Head coach Janet Eleazar said the new gym portends for a brighter future that may aid with recruiting.

“It’s beautiful,” s h e s a i d . “ I t ’s amazing because we have everything that we need.”

A loss to San Diego City College in the penultimate game of the regular season cost the Lady Jaguars a chance at the playoffs.

“It was a learning experience for everyone,” said Eleazar. “I think most of the individual players have grown and as a team they’ve grown.”

Coming off of a 14-12 record and second place finish 2016 did not translate into momentum in 2017. All but co-captains Maya Lyda and Daeshya Battle transferred. Lyda said the 2017 squad did not bond.

“Since we only had two returners, and everyone is kind of new to each other and we have different styles, it was kind of hard to get chemistry,” she said. “But I feel like we are finally getting into the groove of things, so we have improved in that sense.”

Injuries and bad grades crippled the team until a 78-71 victory against San Diego Mesa

in early February.

“This was the first game we’ve had our whole team together since the beginning of November,” said Eleazar.

Despite the setbacks, point guard Andrea Cavazos said the team captains stayed positive.

“The other day one of our captains sent this super-long text saying everybody’s strengths and what we as a team have to work on,” she said. “It was constructive criticism and it was really uplifting.”

Battle was a key player all year. The sophomore guard from Bonita Vista High School averaged 10.9 points per game and was named to the AllPacific Coast Athletic Conference first team.

Ba t t l e s a i d t h e t e a m chemistry improved and the newer players have “a good head on their shoulders.” “ It’s l i k e a s e c o n d family,” she said. “They actually have girls you want to play with and I’m excited to see them every day at practice. I love playing with these girls.”

Attendance at women’s basketball games was low, but Battle said performance was not affected by that.

“Our records stand for itself,” she said.

“Whether we have 50 people in the stands or zero. We have on and off fans. It’s a good variety. At the end of the day, our staff is what matters.”

Next season the basketball team will have experienced returners that will continue to rebuild the program, according to assistant coach Drew Dahlstedt.

“With time and experience, next year we will be a lot better,” he said. “We had two great sophomores and had to bring a lot of freshmen.

To try and get them all on the same page was not easy to do.”

“Our team is like a family. I’m excited to see my teammates every day at practice.”

-Daeshya Battle

Justin Dottery Campus Editor

Youth will be served, but not until next year.

After struggling to a 4-10 record to start the season, the Jaguars won their first four games of the new calendar year and finished 13-13 record — one game short of the playoffs.

Slow starts were a recurring theme early in the season, as the team battled back in several games. Freshman point guard Quincy Ferebee said the early struggles stemmed from youthfulness.

“We have a lot of freshmen taking big roles,” he said. “We have gotten used to it and we started to fix the problems we had early in the season.”

SWC lost its first home game in The Den against the Grossmont College Griffins. Strong performances by freshman guard Jose Serrano and sophomore forward Emilio Arellano led the Jaguars on a strong comeback late in the second half. SWC came up just short after Grossmont came out to a strong 5-0 run to start the overtime period. That early overtime run made it tough to ultimately win that game, according to Head Coach John Cosentino.

“That 0-5 start killed us,” he said. “When the other team starts out like that in the beginning of the game, you have all game to make up for it. In overtime, you only have five minutes. We were not able to do that.”

SWC battled back from a 20-point deficit against Mesa College to take the game to overtime and win, 78-74.

Emilio Arellano and Jose Serrano have been huge assets for the Jaguars. Arellano, a returning All-Conference performer and leading scorer, picked up where he left off last year. He averaged 13.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, slightly off last year’s stats.

“He (Arellano) has been a bit inconsistent this year, but he does not have that complimentary low post threat that he had last year with Iman Chatman,” said Cosentino. “He still will be a Division I scholarship player and when you prepare for us, you have to stop him.”

Freshman Serrano, a native of Venezuela, tied for the team scoring lead with 13.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Cosentino said Serrano’s future is bright.

“He should be one of the best players in the state next year,” he said. “When the game really slows down for him, he is going to dominate.”

Serrano said he has worked hard to transition from international basketball to the American style. His biggest challenge, he said, was the speed of the game.

“As the season went, I realized that I was playing too fast and there was no need to,” he said. “Watching film definitely made things slow down and give me a deeper understanding of the game.”

Freshman Forward Israel Seales was a defensive star, averaging a team-high of 2.0 blocks per game. Serrano praised Seales’ defensive skills.

“Israel, due to his wingspan, is one of the best defenders on the team,” he said. “He has made great improvements towards the end of the season, next year is going to be crazy.”

Seales is a 6’7 athletic paint protector, who gave the team a defensive presence it lacked last season.

Last year the guard position was a weakness, but Ferebee filled the role and was a strength. He averaged 11.7 points and 7.2 assists per game.

Cosentino said Ferebee’s talent is going to take him far.

“He spaces the court for us, he can go inside and outside, he can take anybody off the dribble,” he said. “ He will not be around next season and will be picked up by a Division I program.”

Ferebee said he owed his success to talented teammates and coaches.

“They have run a couple plays for me and to get our shooters open,” he said. “I like to get my players open, and that leaves me room to score or facilitate for my other teammates.”

Four SWC players were named All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference. Ferebee and Serrano were first team, Arellano was second team. Seales.

Freshman guard Darryl Wilson and sophomore guard Quentrear Meadows received honorable mentions.

March 21, 2018 — Vol. 61, Issue 4

SPORTS

Ivana E. Morales, editor Tel: (619) 482-6368 email: sports@theswcsun.com

QB OR NOT QB — Luis Perez ignored coaches advice to switch positions, then led Southwestern College to a bowl championship as its quarterback. This season he led Texas A &M University-Commerce to a Division II national championship.

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Courtesy Photos

Ex-QB a national phenomenon Former SWC quarterback wins Harlon Hill Trophy, the Heisman of Division II

Justin Dottery Campus Editor

Former Jaguars quarterback Luis Perez is known as a great listener who welcomes advice from his coaches.

Except the advice that he stop playing quarterback.

Perez, 22, won the 2017 Harlon Hill Trophy as the best football player in Division II. It is considered the Heisman Trophy of Division II football.

In his record-breaking season at Texas A&M University-Commerce he accumulated 4,676 passing yards, 44 touchdowns and a 70 percent completion percentage—all school records. He led his team to a NCAA Division II Football Championship with a win over the University of West Florida.

Perez has received numerous accolades throughout his college career, but that was not always the case. After not playing quarterback at Otay Ranch High School, Perez said when he first arrived at SWC for spring practice, Head Coach Ed Carberry told him he would be better off switching positions. Perez said he respects Carberry immensely, but chose to ignore that bit of advice.

“It motivated me,” he said. “My goal is to be an NFL quarterback, so it made me realize that I had to make moves to improve my game tremendously.”

Perez got his chance to shine during his freshman season after two Jaguars quarterbacks were injured. In his first start at SWC against Los Angeles Pierce College, Perez threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns, and added a rushing touchdown. Wide receivers coach Anuyell Goodwin said Perez just seemed a step ahead of the Pierce College defense “He was attention to detail,” he said. “Getting the ball out on time, made all the right throws and was super accurate.”

This had become the norm for Perez. His decision making, accuracy and chemistry with his receivers gave him the ability to operate with precision. He worked relentlessly with his receivers.

“After practice, he would have a couple of guys running routes,” said Goodwin. “If there were routes he felt like he did not hit on point in practice, he would work those routes after practice.”

Goodwin compared Perez to a former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, who was famously known for his thorough preparation.

“You always hear about Peyton Manning and how thorough he studied his opponents and his attention to detail,” he said. “Luis is of that same mold.”

Carberry said when Perez came home to visit during breaks, he would contact him to watch film and talk football with his old coach.

“The spring before his senior year we watched he said. “The chance to get bigger, stronger, were a national championship and Harlon Trophy film on three teams who really gave him faster and smarter among other things was huge winner.” problems,” said Carberry. “He wanted to get my for me.”

In 2017, he accomplished both when Texas opinion on how I would attack those defenses.”

Perez was able to get acclimated to a new A&M University-Commerce Lions won the His hard work paid off. Perez beat two of the playbook and adjust to a new level of play. He said Division II National Championship at Children’s three teams he watched the following season. his coaches at Texas A&M University-Commerce Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Perez said that Carberry said Perez showed great leadership helped make his transition to that level a bit moment was the highlight of an incredible year. during his time as a Jaguar. easier, but mostly it was up to him.

“That is why you work out every day,” he said.

“Leadership comes from productivity and “The speed of the game is faster in terms of “That’s is why you do all the running, getting doing things well,” he said. “For all quarterbacks the players,” he said. “Windows close faster, you under that squat rack and you keep pushing after productivity is about getting guys into the end have to a have a lot more anticipation and you it hurts. It is all for that one moment.” zone, coming through when it absolutely has to have to be accurate.”

Perez said it took a great team to have a great be done and making that play. That is what Luis During his first year as the starting quarterback season. was able to do.” in 2016, Perez threw for 3,326 yards and 32 “I had a great supporting cast around me,” he The extra work goes a long way to earn touchdowns. He was named First Team All- said. “We had great receivers, a great offensive line the respect of his teammates, Goodwin said. Conference, All-American honorable mention and great running backs who could do it all. It Determination and the way Perez carried himself and was nominated for the Harlon Hill Trophy, was just my job to get them the ball.” made him a guy who was easy to respect and a but it was not enough for Perez Perez is now training for the NFL draft guy you wanted to play with, he said.

“I felt very honored to have received those and a camp tryout with a team in the NFL. “He was great vocally,” said Goodwin. “He led awards, but I could not have done it without Carberry warned about betting against the young by example and he was a high character guy and great coaches and great teammates,” he said. quarterback. It is a mistake he said he will never someone you could depend on. The kind of guy “Ultimately, I still fell short of my goals, which make again. you wanted to go to war with any day.”

Pe r e z a l s o s h o w e d strong leadership off the field, said his coaches.

He was able to bring the team together with his charisma. Carberry said Perez has well developed sense of camaraderie.

“He is a great teammate,” he said. “When somebody who is perceived to be a lower tier guy on the team gets positive accolades from the quarterback, it just takes them to another level.”

During his redshirt year at Texas A&M UniversityCommerce, Perez and his wife drove to every away game to watch. His team had a playoff game in Michigan against Ferris State University when Mother Nature called an audible.

“Luis and his wife were driving to the game and there was a blizzard,” said Carberry. “Luis dropped his wife off at a hotel, and proceeded to drive through the blizzard and was on his team’s sideline for the game.”

Perez said his redshirt year was beneficial.

TOP CAT — Chula Vistan Luis Perez celebrates winning the NCAA Division II National Championship. He also won the Harlon “Being able to sit behind Hill Trophy after an extraordinary record-breaking season. and take everything in,”

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The Southwestern College Sun

ARTS

March 21, 2018 — Volume 61, Issue 4

Photos by Victoria Sanchez

Starving Artists Club hungry to help others

By Marty Loftin Arts Editor

Ronald Reagan’s War on Arts in the 1980s changed the landscape of American education. Math, science and engineering became the intellectual darlings of neoconservatives in the United States, as these were the students who would someday build sophisticated new weapons to fight the Soviet Union. Reagan’s betrayal of the arts is supremely ironic considering that he gained fame and fortune as a performing artist.

Arts budgets decimated arts education across the country, but two Southwestern College students are fighting back.

The Starving Artists Club, headed by President Helena Martinez, 19, and Vice-President Dahlia Salazar, 20, is a socially aware compliment to the more traditional SWC Art Club. Focus of the Starving Artists Club is to make the creation of art more affordable for low-income students who have been squeezed out of the lion’s share of arts education since the 1980s.

Martinez, a studio arts major, and Salazar, a fine arts major, are putting their own money into their club, which was not officially an SWC club last semester because it was not chartered. Sailing unchartered into uncharted waters was tough, Salazar said.

Their initial efforts to help needy students and garner attention for their activities went unnoticed.

Salazar said they were practically giving away used art supplies, but almost no one took advantage of their deals.

“We brought art supplies that students were not using anymore, like paint brushes, frames, clear plastic acetate, paper, canvases and stuff, and like nobody came and picked anything up,” she said. “For club members, they could pay $2 and grab whatever they wanted.

For non-members it was like $3-4 for whatever they want.”

Without full-club status it was impossible for them to advertise with school-approved posters and flyers. Requesting money from the ASO for events was out and to host the member’s work at the Barrio Logan art gallery La Bodega, half of the $200 cost came out of their pockets. Salazar

said the gallery forced them to reschedule and did not advertise the event properly, meaning it went unnoticed by the school and community.

Salazar said she is tired of people treating the arts like they do not matter and she hopes to eventually take what she has learned back to where she began.

“I want to be an art teacher at my old high school,” she said. “It got no funding and the teachers had to buy the supplies. I want to go and change that. Everyone that went into the class said it was for an easy A. I want to teach there and on the first day say ‘this class isn’t an easy A, just so you know.’ I want to change our perspective of art an make people respect it.”

Martinez said that her goal was to introduce aspiring artists to what the art world is really like. It can be rough.

“The Starving Artists Club a starting point for any student who is an artist that wants to get a firm grasp of what it is like to be an artist outside of school,” said Martinez. “School is kind of a bubble and the world is tough if you don’t know how to navigate it.”

Martinez said that her initial idea for an art club that was female-centric, but that evolved into a more inclusive club aimed to help poorer students afford to make art and teach them how to create pieces that can be sold at a profit.

Now that The Starving Artists Club is properly chartered with adjunct photography instructor Todd Stands as their advisor, they are making up for lost time.

Salazar said they plan to raise money at SWC with a hot dog sale and by selling art made by club members at farmer’s markets in order to provide scholarships to needy art students.

Now 15 members strong, Martinez said she hopes she will be able to help them grow as artists.

“I want these kids to not have to rely on the club and learn how to do these things on their own with the tools we’ve provided them. Once I’m gone, I hope they’ll be able to work together or set up their own solo shows or reach out to local artists who will help them.”

LOCKER UP— The Starving Artists Club, headed by President Helena Martinez (above, l), and Vice-President Dahlia Salazar (above, r), hope to help students at Southwestern College pursue art by providing supplies, expert advice from professional artists and a community for artists to develop their talent.

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March 21, 2018 — Volume 61, Issue 4

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Anibal Alcaraz/Staff

Better than ever ‘46 Years Later’

By Dasha Vovk Staff Writer

“Imagination grows by exercise, and contrary to common belief, is more powerful in the mature than in the young.”

-Sir Paul McCartney Sculptor Ton Hatton and painter Steve Gibson know better than to argue with a former Beatle. They embody the mantra “you aren’t getting older, you’re getting better.” They have 46 years of proof.

In 1972 Bob Matheny, SWC’s founding gallery director, selected recent SDSU graduates Gibson and Hatton for a pair of one-man shows. Gibson said it was one of the first exhibits of their art works.

In 2018 Gibson sought to revisit the genesis with a twoman show, “46 Years Later.”

“It was just the idea to show that you can still be a productive artist over time,” he said. “Age doesn’t have anything to do with that as long as you are creative.

I thought it was interesting, just a position of ideas and media, and students can probably gain something from seeing it.”

Recent paintings by Gibson such as “Surfing Scotland,” “Leaving Cairns,” “Leaving Glasgow” and “Zion Trek” radiate with chaotic patterns making extraordinary shapes filled with bright colors.

His 2015 pieces “Pirate,” “Bridge” and “Fiji Light” shine with vivid colors and strange shapes.

In most of his paintings, Gibson does not intend to represent a specific and comprehensive idea, he said, but an expression of his inner world and unique perception.

They combine recognizable images and shapes in abstract ways that create a curious sense of interconnectedness.

Gibson has been included in more than 90 juried, invitational and solo exhibitions worldwide. His works is

included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Art Institute of Chicago, William Patterson University and the City of Los Angeles.

Tom Hatton grew up in San Diego and attended SDSU, where he earned his MA in sculpture. He taught art classes part-time at SDSU and local community colleges.

Unlike Gibson, Hatton likes to project specific themes and ideas. His witty and playful approach to the ideas manifest in his works.

A series of small porcelain figures called “T.O.M.” presented androgynous fairytale beings that are as charming as they are ugly. Hatton subtitled this series as “Journeys,” for each figure resembles a medieval traveler, going through life soaking up different experiences.

Although the figures are mostly long-nosed, jowly beings clad in garish clothing, each individual or pair represents joy, happiness, sadness or mindfulness on their little faces. One pair of figures gleefully rides a fish fitted with wheels.

Other pieces include a set of large sculptures of fired clay that depict pointy-eared beings that would fit in among garden gnomes, faeries and other fair folk.

His porcelain tea ware was impressive, elevated by detailed and meticulous work. Small figures made in shapes of famous art icons including “Diego and Frida,” “John the Baptist,” “American Gothic” and others depicted well-known artists or historical figures in a way that was funny and irreverent.

Showcased were Hatton’s latest works, including the 2017 series “What’s Smokin’ Man?” which are large colored sculptures representing prominent political figures.

Gibson and Hatton are still going like 60 at 70. It seems like 46 is their lucky number.

“You can still be a productive artist over time as long as you are creative.”

-Steve Gibson

TWO FOR ONE— (clockwise from top) A gathering of the many strange ceramic sculptures of Tom Hatton, which feature a wide variety of weird characters magical and mundane.

An original flyer for the first time Hatton and Steve Gibson worked together for their original “Two One-Man Shows” back in 1973.

A collection of Gibson’s paintings showing off his versatility.

Nine paintings by Gibson depict the strange geometric and abstract designs that are his specialty.

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Marty Loftin, editor

ARTS

March 21, 2018 — Volume 61, Issue 4

Never same ol’ song for musical SWC professor

Tel: (619) 482-6368 email: arts@theswcsun.com

By Andrew Perez Senior Staff

Peter Bolland walks a thin line between two worlds. In one, the quiet life of a reputable college philosophy professor, on the other the wild and untamed world of a gigging musician.

Bolland said he is proud of his 17-year tenure as a Professor of Philosophy at Southwestern College, but his true passion has always been music.

“Making art isn’t a hobby for me, like making macaroni sculpture or collecting stamps,” he said. “I had to make music, it is just part of who I am. I have played in bands my whole life from junior high on. But I didn’t start making records until I was in my thirties. That’s when I got really serious.”

Aside from his work with his award-winning band The Coyote Problem, Bolland has produced two solo albums and frequently uploads philosophical videos and songs onto his YouTube channel, Peter Bolland TV. Bolland said he considers The Beatles, Neil Young, Jackson Browne and Emmylou Harris, among others, as his influences. Much like his singer-songwriter forbearers, Bolland has a knack for weaving tales through his lyrics.

“I consider myself a storyteller,” he said. “I try to tell stories that I hope have universal resonance. I just am who I am, and I see what I see, and I feel what I feel, and I write about that.

Philosophy and music cover a lot of the same ground – what is real, what is true, what matters?”

One such narrative song is “Bullets on the Boulevard” from his first solo album “Frame,” which he said was inspired by a horrifying real event.

“I was on my way to a gig when I got caught in the crossfire of a gang shootout and my truck got shot at,” he said. “The bullet could have easily killed my wife or me. It left me shaken. This was many years ago, but I still think about it. Getting caught in a spray of gunfire is something you don’t forget.”

More recent influences on his lyrics are his thoughts concerning the current polarizing political climate in the United States. Too much has happened since the 2016 election for him to stay quiet, Bolland said.

“I have nothing but contempt for this administration,” he said. “I see it as little more than a criminal enterprise wrapped up in obscene nationalism.”

One of his most recent songs that perfectly encapsulate his sentiment is “(I Still Have) Some Fucks To Give,” where he raises his fist in frustrated protest over a gently rhythmic guitar strum.

“Well I been angry, I been sad,” he sings, “Pinin’ for what we coulda had/Instead of this clown/On Pennsylvania Avenue/And I ain’t sorry for singin’ this song/For seein’ what I see and sayin’ it’s wrong/I still have some fucks to give.”

Despite Bolland’s harsh words for President Trump, he contends it is an optimistic song.

“It’s about staying upbeat in very trying times,” he said.

“It’s about not succumbing to apathy in the face of great destruction.”

When it comes to creating songs Bolland said he relies more on improvisation than writing down words on a sheet of paper.

“I just pick up my guitar and start playing,” he said. “I look for a mood, or a chord change, or a picking pattern, or a strum, anything that feels good, sounds right, and moves me.

Then the words and the music come out together, in concert with each other.”

Given the state of the world, Bolland said that powerful music is needed now more than ever and the most important thing for aspiring musicians to learn is to never give up on their principles.

“Don’t chase trends or styles, write music that matters to you,” he said. “If you’re trying to imitate someone else, you’ll Victoria Sanchez/Staff never rise above imitation. That being said, don’t run from HIGHWAY 805 REVISITED— Philosophy and music have more work to do in the era of Trump says songrwriter/professor Peter Bolland. His your influences either. Be true to who you really are and to work with the band The Coyote Problem and as a solo artist has earned San Diego Music Awards and a loyal fan base. what you really love. Don’t listen to the haters.”

Unicorn prevails over cuteness

By Alyson Attencio Staff Writer

Thomas Contant/Staff

CUTE AND MAD ABOUT IT— Jennifer Hodge’s children’s book tells the tale of a unicorn that is too cute for its own good that wishes to be as scary and dangerous as all the other mythical creatures.

Being a unicorn is not always what it’s cracked up to be.

Raining sparkle and trailing rainbows may seem glamorous, but high expectations and always standing out can make even the most wondrous of creatures downright cross.

“The Grumpy Unicorn,” the award-winning children’s book by Southwestern College alumnae Jen Hodge, is a fanciful look at some very serious childhood anxieties. Who knew that unicorns could feel insecure, left out and underappreciated?

“My process was mostly thinking of a character I thought would be fun and put a twist on it,” Hodge said. “Unicorns are usually thought of as something really happy and really pretty, so what about a really short, stumpy, grumpy unicorn? Most mythological creatures are pretty scary, so I thought, why can’t he just be really upset about being cute?”

Hodge’s grumpy hero is a cross between Rudolph the Rose Nosed Reindeer and Jack Skellington of

“A Nightmare Before Christmas.”

Mostly, though, he is just cross.

Unicorn attends the School of Mythical Mystical Magical Creatures, a menagerie of under-the-bed, inyour-dark-closet beasties where being charming and cute is detrimental to popularity. He longs to shed his sparkly demeanor and be one of the bad boys with scales and fangs.

Then one foggy Christmas day… well, not quite foggy or even Christmas…Unicorn is called upon by a creepy spider to do what only he can do, lend a little sparkle to his homely hometown. Then -- Holy Puff Balls!

-- transformation and redemption, unicorn style.

Hodge has also become a hometown hero, winning the Chula Vista Commission for Arts and Culture Award for Outstanding Literature as well as seven Purple Dragonfly Awards. A former kinesiology major at SWC, Hodge realized she was destined for other adventures.

“I feel like, innately, I was born to be an artist, but I was chasing something else that felt more ‘tangible,’” she said. “Art can be such an endeavor to try and promote and to

be successful.”

“The Grumpy Unicorn” started out solely as a present for her niece, Hodge said, but her younger sister saw greater possibilities.

“My little sister, who’s my greatest fan, said I should put it on this thing called Kickstarter,” she said. “I had never actually wanted to be published as a children’s book artist before.”

Hodge followed her sister’s advice and, to her surprise, raised her goal of $10,000 and then some. With nearly $14,000 on hand she printed 750 copies and “The Grumpy Unicorn” took flight.

“Kickstarter is a lot of work,” she said. “I literally had to campaign every day. I don’t do social media. I don’t like being on the computer or being in contact with unknown people, so that was a struggle.”

All 750 copies sold out in a matter of months. Hodge is currently engaged in a crowd sourced funding drive through Indiegogo to raise $3,000 to print another edition of her elaborately illustrated tome to selfacceptance. Like her horned hero, Hodge has lifted her chin, looked to the sky and decided to “sparkle on!”

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March 21, 2018 — Volume 61, Issue 4

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Victoria Sanchez/Staff

Continued from Backpage

addiction. Johnny is haunted by the stylish drug dealer St. Jimmy (Kevin Phan), who is later revealed by his girlfriend Whatsername (Jasmine January) that this dark character is the personification of his own addiction.

Although the drugs may have given him the courage to make a move on the girl he wants, he loses her when the drugs destroy him.

Although Will becomes a father, his drug and alcohol-fueled depression delude him to continue focusing on the dream that was denied to him by his decision to stay. His girlfriend Heather (Morgan Vance) leaves him to find a more successful man.

Tracy Burkland, the co-musical director, said the punk style allows for very entertaining and diverse numbers.

Live music from the band is part of the play’s voice and message, she said.

“A lot of the music features string instruments that are typically kind of delicate sounding,” said Burkland.

“The majority of the music is very punk rock, but you also get a very sensitive side to the Green Day music.”

Energetic music fires up high-energy choreography, enhanced by Professor Michael Buckley’s clever set, which features two units of tall rolling stairs.

During the song “Holiday,” the pair of metal stairs transform into a bus that the characters board. Choreographer Dana Maue incorporated the steps and railing of the units, which put to use creatively throughout the show.

“The vision is kind of like a guy’s fraternity on a bus,” said Maue. “I tried to incorporate bumps in the road, hitting a really smooth part of the road, and incorporating what would

happen on a bus like moving around in the seats or shoving each other around or punching each other. I try to incorporate everyday movement, but make it into dance.”

Artful choreography portrayed Johnny’s tragic struggle with heroin, Tunny’s hallucination in the hospital after his injury, and Will battling his inner demons on a couch.

Yeager said “American Idiot” is a story with weighty themes and a show people should see to engage in a bigger conversation about contemporary society.

“You have the power to control your life,” he said. “A lot of times my students or constituents on campus don’t understand how much power they have. Every choice I make affects who I am and who I will become.

That is power. Characters in this show don’t make great choices and I think a lot of times young people think their life is just things happening to them instead of making things happen. By learning from these characters, I want people to recognize the power they have.”

By the end, the characters are scarred by their experiences, but stronger for them.

Johnny has beaten his addiction and returns home.

Will overcame his depression and became a father to his child.

Tunny returns from the war missing a leg, but has found someone who loves him.

Johnny asked the audience “Is this the end? Or the beginning?”

For those who have survived the kinds of trauma exhibited in “American Idiot,” they know the answer.

Victoria Sanchez/Staff

FAVORITE SON— (clockwise from top) St. Jimmy comes between Johnny and Whatsername (Jasmine January). Tunny is mystified by the hallucination caused by his severe wounds. Tunny is reunited with the Extraordinary Girl after he begins to heal. Johnny laments that his addiction has cost him the love of his life.

Victoria Sanchez/Staff

Brittany Cruz-Fejeran/Staff

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Design by Marty Loftin

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March 21, 2018 — Volume 61, Issue 4

Y T CI

Tel: (619) 482-6368 email: arts@theswcsun.com

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on page 19

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

n o i t i d E l a ounty

i c th C u e o S p S ce in the an

Resist

theswcsun.com

Volume 61/Special Edition

March 2018

Nevertheless, they resisted

Alexander Contreras/Staff

Aileen Orozco/Staff

Alexander Contreras/Staff

Community comes together to protect Chicano Park

By Katy Stegall Senior Staff

A group of about 60 alt-right and white supremacists rallied at Chicano Park recently, urinating on murals and shouting anti-Latino taunts. They were met by about 1,000 supporters of the park who gathered to defend its iconic murals listed in the National Historical Registry Border Patriots, an alt-right white supremacist organization, teamed up with Patriot Fire leader Roger Ogden to march on Chicano Park with the stated purpose of “removing” the murals and “reclaiming the park for real Americans.” Ogden alleges “Chicano Park is racist against whites and excludes Americans.”

It was the second time in five months that white supremacists summoned demonstrators to Chicano Park with the intent to deface and damage its collection of murals.

Dozens of San Diego Police officers formed a human barrier down Logan Avenue to separate the white nationalists from members of the rally. Ogden and his followers shouted insults and taunts at members of the rally across the street. Some Chicano members of the rally returned the taunts, but there was no physical violence.

About 60 volunteers from Chicano organizations in brown, red or yellow t-shirts urged members of the rally to be peaceful, dignified and not engage the white

supremacists.

“Keep it classy, brothers,” urged a man wearing the t-shirt and headgear of the Brown Berets, a Chicano organization that supports and protects Chicano Park.

“Let those guys be the bad guys. Stay peaceful, stay cool.”

Chicano Park Steering Committee organized with Union del Barrio and the Brown Berets to ensure the park’s safety throughout the weekend, according to steering committee officer Olympia Beltran. Organizers promoted a message of peace and encouraged Chicano Park supporters to not fall for the patriots’ antagonism.

Most participants in the rally enjoyed live music, food, Aztec dancers and a history lesson on the cultural significance of the park. Clergy from an array of faiths blessed the crowd with burning sage and incense.

Beltran, a nurse, was consulted by the Chicano Park Steering Committee because of the crowd control methods she learned at the Standing Rock demonstrations in North Dakota. When Beltran was not singing the “Women’s Warrior Song” throughout the park, she was leading the medical tent inside the rally. She said people were paired off, one traditional healer and one person specializing in modern medicine. While they came prepared for the potential of violence, Beltran said part of the day’s beauty was watching healers give massages since there were no injuries to tend to.

Continued on S4

Brittany Cruz-Fejeran/Staff

A STANDOFF, THEN CELEBRATION— About 50 alt-right white supremacists who threatened Chicano Park's famous murals were met by 1,000 supporters of the park. A white supremacist urinated on a mural, but there was no other damage. It was a peaceful event, according to police who worked the event. The only arrests were white supremacists fighting each other.

S2

SPECIAL EDITION

March 21, 2018

Alyssa Pajarillo, editor Tel: (619) 482-6368 email: eic@theswcsun.com

Protesters to Trump:

Victoria Sanchez/Staff

'You are not welcome here' Paola G. Labrada News Editor

Congressman Juan Vargas did not mince words when Donald Trump paid a visit to his district to inspect border wall prototypes.

The President of the United States is not welcome here.

“He violated the Constitution,” Vargas told a crowd of anti-Trump protesters.

“He’s obstructed justice and, worst of all, he has brought his racism to the national level. He’s pitted people against each other.”

Vargas was far from alone in his criticism of Trump. More than a dozen anti-Trump protests sprung up around San Diego County, including large gatherings at the border near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry and the San Diego County Administrative Building downtown.

Protesters vastly outnumbered small pockets of flag-waving Trump supporters who shouted anti-Mexican and antiLatino epithets toward protesters. San Diego Police mostly kept the groups apart, though some Trump supporters waving Confederate battle flags threw a few

punches.

Vargas said Trump was “hopelessly and tragically out of touch with America” and called on him to resign now to avoid “inevitable impeachment.” Vargas said that the United States is a nation of immigrants, including Trump’s wife, Melania, a former model from Slovenia.

Brown Beret activist Eduard Calleros said Trump has been a catastrophe for American Latinos.

“We don’t need a racist president,” he said.

Vietnam veteran Danny Jackson said he was there to support his community and his multiracial family that includes black and gay members.

“The only wall I want him to visit is the Vietnam wall, in Washington, D.C., where more than 58,000 young Americans gave their lives,” he said.

DACA recipient Ali Torabi said Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions are cruel to young undocumented people who grew up in America.

“Your reality is a little different,” he said.

“Every day you live in the shadows, fearful.

The border wall does not stop at the border. It does not stop at the checkpoints.

They terrorize our community and they separate our families.”

Former City College student Diana Alvarez is a member of United We Dream.

“No one should live in this kind of fear,” she said. “It is frustrating to be put in a category, it angers me sometimes, but I have a lot of hope.”

SWC Governing Board Member Roberto Alcantar said he was glad to see the anti-Trump turnout.

“We are here putting our word out there,” he said. “So when he comes here he knows that he is not welcome. He created this crisis.”

Alcantar said people who are free to speak must do so for those at risk.

“Those of us who are privileged need to speak up for those in fear,” he said.

“They can’t do this right now. It is not the time to expose themselves. We have to be united.”

Father Edmundo Zarate of Saint Anthony Church said people of good will need to stick together.

“We are brothers and sisters no matter where we come from,” he said. “Do not be oblivious to the suffering of your brothers and sisters. The DNA is human.”

Victoria Sanchez/Staff

Natalie Mosqueda/Staff

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL— San Diego County protesters set up multiple fronts during Donald Trump's recent visit to Otay Mesa to inspect border wall prototypes. There were rallies at the border, County Administration Center on the harbor and Chicano Park.

Protest also sprung up in the East County and North County.

Victoria Sanchez/Staff

Natalie Mosqueda/Staff

Natalie Mosqueda/Staff

Victoria Sanchez/Staff

SPECIAL EDITION

March 21, 2018

S3

WOMEN KEEP UP PRESSURE

Women's March II decries sexual assault, pay inequality, glass ceilings and misogyny

By Paola G. Labrada News Editor

Nearly 40,000 marchers gathered at the San Diego Waterfront Park with a message, “A woman’s place is in the House…and the Senate.”

Women’s March II focused on electing more women to public office and increasing the number of women in corporate board rooms, airline cockpits, surgical centers and other male-dominated professions.

“Hear Our Vote” was the theme of the 2018 march, and many of San Diego County’s best-known female elected officials were on hand to serve as role models and encourage other women to follow in their footsteps.

Among them were Assembly Member Dr. Shirley Weber, Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher and San Diego Council Member Barbara Bry. “This is our time,” said Bry. “This is our year. We can, and we must, put women where they belong -- in public office everywhere.”

Gonzalez Fletcher said more women of color need to register and vote, particularly younger women of color who largely sat out the 2016 presidential election. Research by the Pew Charitable Trust and NBC concluded that tens of millions of eligible millennials did not vote, especially Latinos and African Americans. Young people could have enormous power in the United States if they voted in great numbers, said Gonzalez Fletcher.

“We need to hit the polls and vote for equity, justice and dignity for all,” she said. “If we don’t, things will not

change. And things need to change!”

Immigrant women were also encouraged to get involved with the political system and to weigh in on matters affecting their communities. Marison Quezada, 44, a dancer from the Danza Mexi’Cayolt group, said Latinos are not exercising their political potential because they are not voting in large enough numbers.

“Too many Latinas are living in fear. How do you explain that to your kids? How do you make them understand?” she said. “Explaining to your kids that you do not have a voice, a say in this country, leaves me living in consuming fear. (American immigration) policies are constantly changing and all they can do is adapt.”

Debbie Wiggs said she joined the protest to send a message to right-wing elected officials and government employees.

“I’m marching to show the strength in numbers,” she said. “We have a lot of work to do. There are twice the people here today then there were last time. Republicans should be worried.”

Wiggs said she is optimistic that the United States will have a woman as president in the future, but doubtful it will happen soon.

“There will be a women president, but not in my lifetime,” she said.

Afterwards, San Diego Police Chief Shelly Zimmerman thanked participants for attending the march and keeping it peaceful.

“Our officers appreciate and thank you for all the ‘thank you’s’ they received along the route,” Zimmerman tweeted.

Natalie Mosqueda/Staff

Natalie Mosqueda/Staff

HEAR ME ROAR— Nearly 40,000 participated in the San Diego Women's March II, which culminated with a rally at the Waterfront Park at the San Diego County Administration Center. Nationwide, an estimated 5.3 million marched, 21 times the amount of Donald Trump's inauguration crowd in January 2017.

Aileen Orozco/Staff

Marty Loftin/staff

S4

Alyssa Pajarillo, editor Tel: (619) 482-6368 email: eic@theswcsun.com

March 21, 2018—Special Edition

Defenders of Chicano Park repel alt-right

Coalition of activists, faithbased groups overwhelm white supremacists, Nazis Continued from pg. S1

“We used the medicine to keep that energy focused, grounded,” Beltran said. “Those songs, bringing in that ancestral knowledge, the ancestors’ medicine, that is the most powerful medicine we could bring into that moment. Anyone who wanted to focus on negativity and anger and conflict, that medicine overpowered any of that energy. That was the tool we used to keep our community members focused on why we were there. And it worked.”

Patriot Picnickers on the east side of Logan Avenue blasted hardcore metal music and country with right wing, anti-immigrant themes. They frolicked and danced in outfits made from American flags, gas masks and bulletproof vests.

After about an hour and a half of flag waving, name calling and obscene gestures, the white supremacists packed up to leave the park. SDPD escorted them out behind basketball courts and across Cesar Chavez Parkway, which was still closed to traffic and pedestrians.

A Native American singer and three drummers serenaded the supremacists with a song of peace and well wishes as others applauded the departure.

Local activist Ryan Stray, 27, said it was a beautiful day of resistance and thanked the Chicano Park Steering Committee for its organizational efforts. He also said those who wanted to protect the park all followed orders from the co-sponsoring organizations, which included the Brown Berets, Union del Barrio, Party of Socialism and Liberation, and Workers World Party. Stray said the defenders wore bandanas across their faces to prevent being doxxed, a form of attack where

extremists will film protests and post videos online with the intention of finding activists’ private information to intimidate or harm them.

“People should take the social media precautions they feel necessary,” he said. “Some of us are going to be taking the bandanas off if we can. It’s easy for an enemy to put one on and smash a window, and say it was us.”

Fernanda, a member of Union del Barrio, said she was there to defend the park and community. She said people at the park were ready for whatever the day threw at them.

“We came here to have a good time,” she said. “We don’t want to feed hate with hate.”

SDPD arrested three white supremacists for illegal possession of weapons and public disturbance.

A supremacist protester who said he was a minister was detained, but not arrested, for publicly urinating on a Chicano Park mural. Police confiscated knives, stun guns, steeltipped flagpoles and mace from supremacists.

An unarmed teen was peppersprayed by a white nationalist and treated at a medical tent within the park. Beltran and other medical volunteers provided care for the boy.

No member of the Chicano Park support rally was arrested.

Arantxa Calles, 21, said getting involved politically is essential to oppose the fascist regime America is now under.

“It can be scary to organize, but it’s incredibly important to be more involved,” they said. “The people who are affecting your life and making the choices that affect you are organized and involved.”

Brittany Cruz-Fejeran/Staff

LET HIM ATTACK WHO WILL, THE STRONG AWAIT— Nearly 1,000 people rallied at Chicano Park to prevent white supremacists from defacing its iconic collection of murals.

Demonstrators reflected the diversity of San Diego County, including decendents of Aztecs, Christian and Buddhist leaders, Anglos, AsianAmericans and Native-Americans.