The SWC Sun, Fall 2021, Issue 3

AN ACP HALL OF FAME NEWSPAPER

HOUSING STUDY

$250 M The California Community College Chancellor’s office created a $250 million pool to encourage colleges to study affordable housing options, managed by regional campuses.

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A NATIONAL PACEMAKER AWARD NEWSPAPER

COLLEGE EXPLORES STUDENT HOUSING SC will apply for $2 million planning grant to hire architects and consider sites

BY NICOLETTE MONIQUE LUNA News Editor

In what would be a major paradigm shift, Southwestern College officials plan to explore the possibility of creating housing for students and young professors who move to the region.

SC recently applied for five planning grants totaling about $2 million to study options for

THE WORST COLLEGES FOR LGBTQIA+

student and faculty housing in an increasingly expensive corner of the United States. Grants were recently made available by the California Community College Chancellor’s office, which has created a $250 million pool to encourage study of affordable housing options that would be managed by regional campuses.

Funded grants will allow colleges to hire architects and conduct

environmental, financial and engineering studies. Housing options may include dormitories, tiny homes and combined housing, which is often apartments on the second and third floors of commercial buildings.

SC President Dr. Mark Sanchez said the college ought to have an answer by spring.

“We’ll know if we have the funds by March,” he said. “If we get the funding, then we’ll be able

Southwestern partnership with Point Loma Nazarene University troubles members of the LGBTQ community. Special Section

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to bring in architects and housing representatives to help us begin conceptualizing student and potentially staff and faculty housing at our (satellite campuses).”

College leaders’ new willingness to study student housing options represents a substantial change in thinking. About seven years ago previous suggestions to college HOUSING PG 3

College suffers declining numbers Pandemic fuels a 14 percent plunge in spring enrollment

BY YAHIR IBARRA Staff Writer

Southwestern College took an enrollment hit in 2020-21 due to the coronavirus, but so did the rest of California’s 116 community colleges.

College leaders say they are hoping for a spring rebound.

SC saw a one-year decline of about 13 percent in Fall 2020, a drop of 2,674 students from Fall 2019. Spring 2021 measured a 14 percent plunge from Spring 2020, with a decrease of enrollment of 2,758. Community colleges statewide enrollment dropped about 9 percent, according to data provided by the Community College Chancellor’s Office in Los Angeles.

Southwestern administrators said they are taking the downturn seriously, but are not panicked. SC had enjoyed steady enrollment growth for years and is still held in high regard

ENROLLMENT PG 2

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iomara Villarreal-Gerardo, an SC alumnus who is now a junior at SDSU, was named one of 25 San Diego County Remarkable Teenagers for her outstanding achievements in journalism. Villarreal-Gerardo was Editor-in-Chief of El Sol Magazine, named the nation’s best by the College Media Association of New York, as well as the region’s best by the San Diego Press Club and Society of Professional Journalists. She has already earned more than a dozen individual awards for writing, photography, graphic design and leadership. In September Villarreal-Gerardo was crowned Miss Chula Vista 2021-22. Photo Courtesy Xiomara Villarreal-Gerardo

BLACK HISTORY ALL YEAR

Southwestern College is rich with Black success stories and role models. Special Section

Haitians flood Tijuana, seek asylum in U.S. and Canada

BY CAMILA GONZALEZ Editor-in-Chief

ZONA RIO, TIJUANA — When Christopher Columbus set foot on the island of Hispaniola in 1492 he kicked opened the Gates of Hell.

For 529 years on the tropical land that is now Haiti, humanity has demonstrated inhumanity at its sadistic worst. Genocide, extermination, slavery, rape, disease, torture, brutality, assassination, kidnapping, mayhem and murder have defined the rule of Spaniards, French, Americans, dictators, generals and despots.

HAITIANS PG 2

NEWS

“My reason for coming to Mexico is because of the situation in my country. (Poor) living conditions, political corruption and violence has strangled my country. I have no future in Haiti.”

Jean Martinez Haitian refugee

HAITIANS: CONTINUED FROM PG. 1

Desperate to flee poverty, sent away by Brazil and Chile, Haitian refugees cluster in Tijuana dreaming of Le Nord

That is why Jean Martinez is in Tijuana.

It’s a long story, he said, but he has time. He has no job, no family with him and no prospects, so he has plenty of time.

People have been fleeing Haiti since 1493 when the indigenous Taino people ran from Columbus, though Martinez said he was lured away by Brazilians.

Haiti’s dark history of colonization, slavery, cruelty, superstition, corruption and stupefying levels of violence have gutted a once-promising nation. Educated Haitians and its fragile middle class fled generations ago.

HOPELESS IN HAITI

Kleptomaniacal dictators

Haiti’s Gross Domestic Product of $1,358 and average daily earnings of $1.95 make it the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. A series of corrupt, kleptocratic governments have skimmed off what little wealth remained. Haitians rarely have the opportunity to become educated and most have no reliable way to earn a living.

and military officers have spirited away most of the nation’s wealth.

Barely a decade ago Brazil seemed on top of the world. It was frantically building scores of glimmering new stadiums and athletic facilities for the 2014 Soccer World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics – the planet’s two largest sports events. Fueling the feverish construction boom was cheap labor from destitute Haiti.

Eager laborers were shipped and flown in by the tens of thousands to construction sites in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Manaus, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte and others in the jungles and coastal cities of the world’s fifth largest nation. They were promised great jobs and a path out of permanent poverty.

There was work, but the jobs were far from great and the path out of poverty was illusory, said Michelet Remy, a Haitian refugee who was able to cross into the United States but who lives in a streambed near a Home Depot store. At least, he said, he is no longer marooned in Tijuana.

“Once we were done with our project, Brazil was done will us,” he said one morning as he waited for work on a Mission Valley sidewalk.

“We were turned loose and they said go back home. We (asked how)

Adobe Stock

we would get there and they said ‘swim for all I care, but leave.’”

Remy said most of the workers from Haiti were paid just enough to subsist while they were in Brazil and had no savings to take back home.

So legions did not go back. They headed north. Some hitched rides on trucks and trains, Remy said, and a few lucky ones were about to find work on northbound boats.

The rest walked.

They walked through Brazil, the Guianas, Venezuela and Colombia, Remy said, snagging rides when possible. Then they walked up Central America and into Mexico.

Like Central American refugees, the Haitians bought train tickets if they could earn a little money. Otherwise, they surreptitiously hopped the trains, including southern Mexico’s notorious La Bestia (The Beast), which has sheered the hands, arms and legs off countless refugees — the refugees it did not kill.

Martinez said he was lucky because he arrived in Mexico by plane. He made it to Tijuana, but there his luck ran out. He hit The Wall and an overwhelmed American immigration system gutted by Donald Trump and his administration. Haitians are at the back of a line that does not really exist.

Hardship has accompanied Martinez his entire life, he said.

“My reason for coming to Mexico is because of the situation in my country,” he said. “My life was threatened in Haiti and I had to leave. (Poor) living conditions, political corruption and violence has strangled my country. When you are younger you expect the situation to improve, but it never improves. I have no future in Haiti.”

Haiti’s dark history of colonization, slavery, cruelty, superstition, corruption and stupefying levels of violence have gutted a once-promising nation.

Educated Haitians and its fragile middle class fled generations ago.

Kleptomaniacal dictators and military officers have spirited away most of the nation’s wealth.

Even before the coup d’états, assassinations and kleptocracy of the 20th century, Haiti was marinated in brutality and tragedy.

Whipsawed by the Spanish and the French, the colony of former slaves and their descendants revolted against French rule in 1791 and fought a bloody war until 1804. France engaged in a scorched CONT ON NEXT PAGE

CONTINUED FROM PG. 1

ENROLLMENT: Southwestern College decline hits 14 percent versus 9 percent statewide by the community, according to a college spokesperson. Marketing efforts are ramping up, including banners on traffic thoroughfares surrounding the college.

Enrollment troubles began March 13, 2020, the day SC officially went on an extended spring break. On April 1 former president Dr. Kindred Murillo announced the college would not reopen during the spring semester. That triggered record drops and requests for withdrawals by students who did not wish to continue into an uncertain final two months.

Students were not the only ones bailing. Nearly 100 employees retired or resigned by summer 2021, according to the college’s former VP of human resources. Murillo herself quit in March, four months before

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“We’re hoping that this will help us strengthen our enrollment. It will help us to ensure that we have full classes, and that we can offer additional classes. Ultimately, we are setting students on a pathway to their personal career or transfer goals.”

Dr. Mark Sanchez

SC Superintendent/President

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the end of her five-year contract.

Faculty and staff have said Southwestern’s enrollment decline could have been much worse considering the South Bay’s COVID-19 infection rate last winter that was among the highest in the nation. The region’s 80 percent vaccination rate has helped bring infection and hospital rates well below the national averages, though border regions like San Ysidro are still in the COVID red zone.

College president Dr. Mark Sanchez and the governing board have bet large on a plan to use federal COVID-19 relief funds to forgive 4,200 students nearly $1.3 million in debt owed to the college. Sanchez said he has his fingers crossed that the newly debt-free students will register for Spring 2022 classes.

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“We’re hoping that this will help us strengthen our enrollment,” he stated. “It will help us to ensure that we have full classes, and that we can offer additional classes.

Ultimately, we are setting students on a pathway to their personal career or transfer goals.”

Ongoing COVID protocols are likely a drag on enrollment. Students surveyed by The Sun in September expressed an array of opinions about the modes of education currently in use, but a solid majority indicated that they were eager to return to campus for in-person instruction.

SC partially reopened this semester, paving the way for about 25 percent capacity. Spring semester face-toface enrollment will increase to 60 percent, according to Sanchez.

Working against the college right

now is a white hot economy and low unemployment rate. America’s business reopening and shortage of willing workers is providing job opportunities for college-age students and young adults. Typically community college enrollment rises during economic downturns when more people are out of work.

Enrollment ebbs when the economy is strong and jobs are plentiful.

Enrollment for Spring 2022 has opened. Students may enroll on the SC website or in person in the Cesar Chavez Student Center.

Persons entering campus must be fully vaccinated and must wear approved medical grade masks inside buildings.

Nicolette Monique Luna contributed to this story.

NEWS

earth campaign that demolished plantations and infrastructure.

Haiti won a pyrrhic victory. In exchange for diplomatic recognition the new nation was forced to pay ruinous reparations to France, which it did from 1825 to 1947. This caused Haiti to seek loans with high interest rates from American, German and French bank that sank the nation in crushing debt.

Haiti has never been close to digging out. Historians and political scientists generally seem to agree that Haiti is the Western Hemisphere’s most dysfunctional and snake bit society.

Martinez said he has lost all hope for his homeland.

“The crisis in my country is enduring,” he said. “It is never ending.”

Mexico, he said, is not much better.

Camped by the wretch-inducing smell of the sunbaked sewage choking the Tijuana River canal, Haitians are at the bottom of Mexico’s racist caste system based on skin color. Light skinned Mexicans like the blonde, green-eyed rubia models shimmering on billboards make up the ruling class.

Mestizos occupy the working class middle, while dark-skinned indios are shunned and mired in poverty.

Black Haitians are the new punching bags of la frontera, and Martinez has his bruises.

“No one here likes Haitians,” he said.

Jason, a Haitian refugee who uses just one name, agreed.

“There is a lot of violence and pain in Tijuana,” he said. “(Mexicans) do not do anything to help Haitians.

People in Mexico are afraid of Black people. (They) avoid walking on the same sidewalk.”

His job as an Uber driver is barely keeping him alive, Jason said, because the pay is so low. He always asks to be paid in U.S. dollars because that is what the landlord demands.

Like so many Haitians, Jason said his dream destination is not the United States, but Canada.

The bilingual province of Quebec has booming cities like Montreal, Quebec City, Laval and Longueuil that tend to be accepting of Frenchspeaking Haitians.

“Things would likely be better (in Canada),” he said.

Remy also said he would like to find a way to Canada, though so far he has not gotten much more than 20 miles from the border with Mexico. His French has a Haitian lilt, part Cajun Creole but all Caribbean.

“Quebec has French-(speaking) brothers and the Canadians are nicer to Haitians than Mexicans and Americans,” he said. “Some Haitians (speak enough) Spanish to fake it, but Tijuana and San Diego suck if you only speak French.”

Working as a day laborer is rough, he said, and sometimes workers toil all day or all week only to be stiffed.

Still, he added, he would rather sleep in a San Diego canyon than anywhere

LAND IN TURMOIL Haiti, one of the world’s poorest nations, is just 675 miles from the richest.

Once blessed with the same beauty and natural resources of its conjoined neighbor, the Dominican Republic, Haiti’s history on the island of Hispaniola is markedly different.

‘NEVER ENDING CRISIS’ — Thousands of Haitians have joined the legions of Central American refugees flocking to U.S. border crossings from Tijuana on the Pacific Ocean to Matamoros on Mexico’s Gulf Coast. A crowd of demonstrators (above) call for humane treatment of refugees. Photo Matthew Bowler/KPBS

Like so many Haitians, Jason said his dream destination is not the United States, but Canada.

The bilingual province of Quebec has booming cities like Montreal, Quebec City, Laval and Longueuil that tend to be accepting of French-speaking Haitians. along the border in Tijuana.

Emmanuel Philippe Auguste said he arrived in Tijuana at the end of October after a hemispherespanning trek from Chile where he and his wife lived for four years following the Rio Olympics.

“When you are living on the streets you realize the world is not so kind and does not have your best interests,” he said. “There is no help for Haitians in Tijuana.”

Auguste and his wife left their children behind in Haiti, he said, and they have not seen them for years. Guarded and quiet, he looked genuinely stumped when asked what he hoped for in the years ahead.

After an uncomfortable and melancholic pause, he sighed and cast his eyes skyward.

“I would like to live somewhere where I am (considered) legal,” he said. “I just want to take care of my family.”

UNWELCOMED EVERYWHERE — Dark-skinned, French-speaking Haitians have an even more difficult time in Mexico than other mistreated refugees, according to UNESCO and American human rights organizations. The man pictured above is one of the very fortunate few to find work in a city where they are not welcomed. Photo Adriana Heldiz/Voice of San Diego

LAND OF TURMOIL

5,000 - 10,000 An estimated 5,000 to 10,000 Haitians have found

A few facts about the land of “Liberte’ and Fraternite’”: • Haiti was the second nation in the New World to gain independence following the United States.

Haiti fought a revolution against France from 17911804 when self-liberated slaves drove off colonial rulers.

• Haiti is the world’s oldest Black republic.

• The poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, Haitians earn just an average of $1.95 a day and have a GDP of only $1,358.

• Haiti has been occupied

by Spain, France and the United States. The American occupation lasted from 1915-1934.

• Notorious strongman Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier oversaw a reign of terror from 1957-1971.

• Duvalier’s 19-year-old playboy son, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, ruled from 1971-1986.

• Pope John Paul II visited Haiti in 1983 to scold Baby Doc Duvalier and the military for corruption, violence and dysfunction.

• In 2010 a magnitude 7.0 earthquake killed more than 250,000 people and injured at least 300,000.

More than 5 million people were displaced.

• Nearly 4,000 schools were damaged or destroyed by the quake, most have not been replaced.

• Haiti’s last legally elected president, Jovenel Moises, was assassinated on July 7.

Sources: BBC International, United Nations Development Programme, historyanswers.co.uk, Britannica.com, UNESCO, New York Times.

themselves in Tijuana at some point since around 2015, according to the Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), a Southern California nonprofit that advocates for Haitian migrants in the U.S. and Mexico. Source: Time

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HOUSING: College eyeing possible student, faculty housing sites in National City, Chula Vista administrators to consider student housing options were soundly rejected.

Sanchez and his team have different ideas on the topics, according to VP of Financial Services Dr. Kelly Hall.

“We know from a recent survey conducted in 2020 that approximately 20 percent of our students have experienced some kind of homelessness or housing insecurity within the last 10 months,” she said. “This housing (sought by the college) is going to be low-income housing. This is going to be housing that we will offer the students based on their financial needs, so it won’t be the same high rent as other places.”

National City may offer the best opportunities to create affordable student and faculty housing, according to college PIO Lillian

Leopold. College officials and National City staff have identified the former Trophy Lounge building as a possible redevelopment site.

“The city of National City is very interested in the college taking over that property and putting in student housing and housing for the community in general,” she said.

“The bottom floor could also be used for (commercial space) so the district could generate rent to help pay for the cost of that building or to maintain that building for students.”

Leopold said the college is also interested in the AMR building on Elmhurst Street just across Otay Lakes Road from the main campus.

The building used to house a Chula Vista Fire Department substation.

Hall said ideally the college could someday apply for funding that would

help students with basic residential needs. “(We would like to support) a laundry facility or a kitchen facility or some other facility that the resident of the housing would use,” she said.

Leopold said the pandemic and the college’s new emphasis on “wrap around services” has moved student housing from impossible to viable.

Southern California’s expensive real estate often requires students to use well more than half of their earnings on housing, making it difficult to buy other necessities while juggling college expenses. Lowering housing costs, she said, would allow students to work fewer hours and devote more time to their studies. This in turn could speed up transfer and graduation rates, and propel young adults into their careers.

THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN

“We’ve seen more and more of the economic insecurity that our students are facing -- both housing insecurity and food insecurity,” she said. “So the overall mission is to educate our students, but if they don’t have a place to live or if they’re hungry, they’re not going to really be learning.”

Hall said college demographics and students’ socio-economic status make housing relief important.

“Students who have lower economic resources are disproportionately students of color,” she said. “They are the ones (saddled with) the burden of all of these responsibilities and the high cost of rent in Southern California.”

SC and other SoCal colleges and universities are increasingly having trouble recruiting and hiring young

faculty from other less-expensive parts of the country. Many American universities offer affordable housing for young teachers for a year or two to allow them to get on their feet financially.

“Moving here can be a killer because the cost of living is so high,” Leopold said.

SC has taken over and expanded many student relief programs original started by concerned faculty and staff. Jaguar Kitchen, a food pantry, and the clothing rack now housed in the Academic Senate office grew out of classroom projects. The college has recently embraced programs to reduce or eliminate textbook costs as well as efforts to help some students with child care, transportation and medical issues.

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VIEWPOINTS 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

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Camila Gonzalez News Editor Nicolette Monique Luna Campus Editor Diego Higuera Sports Editor Sebastian Sanchez Senior Staff Writer Andrew Penalosa Staff Writers Dominic Escobar Lesley Garate Yahir Ibarra Sebastian Melendrez Adrian Punzal Carson Timmons Staff Artists Baby Bonane Edward Herrera Ji Ho Kim Assistant Adviser Kenneth Pagano Adviser Dr. Max Branscomb

AWARDS/HONORS National College Newspaper Hall of Fame Inducted 2018 Student Press Law Center National College Press Freedom Award 2011, 2018 National Newspaper Association National College Newspaper of the Year 2004-2021 Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker Awards 2003-06, 2008, 2009, 2011, 20122017, 2019, 2020 General Excellence 2001-20 Best of Show 2003-20 Columbia University Scholastic Press Association Gold Medal for Journalism Excellence 2001-20 College Media Association National College Newspaper of the Year, 2020 California College Media Association Outstanding Community College Newspaper

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Racists Co-opt First Amendment

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professional journalists.

San Diego County Multicultural Heritage Award California Newspaper Publishers Association California College Newspaper of the Year 2013, 2016, 2020, 2021 Student Newspaper General Excellence 2002-21 Society of Professional Journalists National Mark of Excellence 2001-21 First Amendment Award 2002, 2005 San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism 1999-2021 Directors Award for Defense of Free Speech 2012 Journalism Association of Community Colleges Pacesetter Award 2001-18 Newspaper General Excellence 2000-2020 American Scholastic Press Association Community College Newspaper of the Year

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EDITORIALS / OPINIONS / LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

his newspaper has a history of ferociously defending the First Amendment and this staff is committed to carrying on that legacy. The newspapers laid out in our newsroom’s archive paint a remarkable story of Southwestern College students battling authoritarian administrators, board members and their henchmen (and henchwomen) going back into the 1990s. In each and every case, the offender was trying to cover up an illegal act that later came to light.

Like a schizophrenic roller coaster, SC has enjoyed periods of enlightened leadership by men and women who respected free speech, and endured wanna-be tyrants who attempted to shut it down, most recently a 2019 attack on this publication by a former vice president. We pledge to continue to be vigilant.

America’s First Amendment is broad and expansive for a reason. Our Founding Fathers wanted citizens to have the ability to engage their elected officials and share their thoughts.

Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton did not like each other, but they agreed that robust discussion of issues was the best and most democratic way to find solutions and make policy. It had the secondary benefit of empowering citizens and encouraging Americans to feel ownership in their democracy.

Unfortunately, a wave of extremist scoundrels have hijacked the First Amendment to use as a screen to spew racism, hatred and violence.

They have crossed a line and entered a netherworld the First Amendment was not designed to protect.

Anti-vaxxers and other political extremists have made a sport out of hijacking public meetings and turning them into orgies of insults, racism and attacks on public officials. Worse, they are threatening elected officials, health care professionals, educators and journalists at their homes and jobs under the guise of exercising their First Amendment rights.

Just as you cannot scream “fire” in a crowded theater, you cannot stand at the microphone at the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and call the County’s leading health official – an esteemed Black woman medical doctor – an “Aunt Jemima.”

County Supervisor Nora Vargas and her colleagues on the board sat quietly as they were called savage names by right-wing anti-vax, anti-government whack jobs. One man told former Marine Nathan Fletcher to shoot himself in the head and urged another supervisor to hang herself. He told Vargas he hoped she died quickly of clogged arteries.

A sludge of vile poured forth from the unhinged man as he attacked the supervisors, but Vargas leapt to the defense of San Diego County Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten when he called her the N-word and other racist epithets.

“You can’t call her that!” Vargas told the man. “You can call me fat all you want, but you can’t call her that!”

The Issue: San Diego County Supervisor Nora Vargas stopped a racist speaker from denigrating a Black County employee.

Our position: The First Amendment protects our right to redress the government, not hate speech or calls to violence.

Ji Ho Kim / Staff

Vargas, in the heat of the moment, nailed the essence of the First Amendment.

People of good will can disagree about policy, but too many of the “post-truth, alternate facts” fringe are abusing the First Amendment to threaten public employees.

America’s veneer of civility has been scrubbed away with course sandpaper by Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, Steven Miller and their fellow travelers. They begot the Marjorie Taylor Green, Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert crazies at the national level as well as the San Diego man who would reduce the lifetime achievements and public service of a well-respected Black woman to an illustration on a bottle of pancake syrup.

Their ilk will likely continue with the toxic excreta for the foreseeable future, but they do not get to hide behind the First Amendment.

Vargas and the supervisors have a tough tightrope to walk: How to curtail racist hate rants at public meetings without diminishing legitimate free speech. All five supervisors from both parties have said they are adamant about protecting free speech and the right of San Diego County residents to share their opinions at board meetings. Vargas, Fletcher and Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer also believe they need to protect County employees.

Gone are the days when we can just shrug off nut jobs who rant at public meetings. Our ironically named “social media” has allowed local whackadoodles a national platform.

We should have learned after former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin used social media to

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put a bull’s eye target on Arizona Congress Member Gabrielle Giffords.

Responding to Palin’s post, a man shot Giffords in the head.

Recent developments are deeply troubling. Racist and hateful messaging by national figures like Boebert have become Jim Crow-style code for “harass, injure or kill this person.” Boebert’s once easy-toignore Islamophobic comment about Congress Member Ilhan Omar has put Omar’s life in danger. Same for Congress Member Alexandria OcasioCortez after she was murdered in a video by GOP wingnut Gosar. Both women have been bombarded with death threats.

This scenario is playing out across the nation for governors, state legislators and local board members.

School boards in Poway, Santee and nearby Lemon Grove are under siege from extremists staking out their homes and threatening their families over masking policies and the rightwing’s latest obsession, critical race theory. (That is a topic for another day.)

The Editorial Board of The Sun supports Supervisors Vargas, Fletcher and Lawson-Remer as they work to protect County employees from hate speech and violence, while honoring the spirit of the First Amendment.

Public servants like Dr. Wooten have the right and the expectation of a safe workplace. The nut case who insulted her has the right to express his disagreement with public policy, but not to target County staff.

The First Amendment is too precious to allow it to be abused.

It is worth fighting for. We are glad Supervisor Vargas agrees.

ARTS

CAMPUS ARTS / REVIEWS / COMMUNITY CULTURE

Photos Courtesy Jessie Lark

REVIEW

Dancers step in the right direction

A RARE SONGBIRD •Jessie Lark’s

precocious talents continue to make beautiful music

A RED GUITAR, THREE CHORDS AND THE TRUTH — Jessie Lark urges young songwriters to be thoughtful about lyrics because songs have power.

JESSIE LARK For additional information go to jessielark.com and on Instagram @JessieLarkMusic!

BY LESLEY GARATE Staff Writer

J

ames Henry knew singers.

During his remarkable career, Southwestern College’s former professor of commercial music worked on 90 gold and platinum hits, recorded with Stevie Wonder and Prince, and was nominated for a Grammy with African music legend Miriam Makeba.

He said Bonita Vista High School grad Jessie Lark was one of the best singers he had ever worked with.

“That lady is Taylor Swift on steroids,” he growled as Lark, the artist formerly known as Jessica Lerner, filled in a harmony on a rousing dance track she had written.

Lark blushed at the comparison and changed the subject. She has her own future to write.

Her newest EP, “After (H)ours,” includes five new songs by the versatile singer-songwriter-guitarist-pianist who starting performing when she was 5 and commenced playing solo gigs when she was a teenager.

Like many young singer-songwriters, Lark said she started out as a singer and later earned the hyphenate.

“At first I didn’t have the idea of writing songs, I just wanted to sing,” she said.

“As I got older I realized that you want to make a name for yourself, you have to write your own songs.”

Lark’s voice is clear as glacial ice and expressive as a flock of songbirds.

She was nominated for a San Diego Music Award in the category of Best Singer-Songwriter and has performed throughout the region.

Inspiration for her lyrical songs comes from love, heartbreak and betrayal, but also everyday experiences that make humans human. Her music is emotionally transparent.

“If it’s a song you really poured your heart into, it’s all there,” she said. “You’ve told the story so fully there is nothing else to say and no need for additional context.”

Songwriters are storytellers, philosophers and even sources of wisdom, Lark said, so the lyrics deserve attention.

Good songs are those that resonate with large swaths of listeners.

“You want to be specific, but you don’t want to be so specific that people who listen to the song can’t hear themselves in

BY ANDREW PENALOSA Senior Staff Writer

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LARK PG 9

Colibri Collective uses potent poetry to propel women

BY YAHIR IBARRA Staff Writer

H

elen Reddy’s musical declaration “I Am Woman” still roars almost half a century after it topped the charts.

Progress has been made, but work remains.

Laura Diaz of the Colibri Collective has a MeToo-era update.

Her poetic “I Am Woman” seeks to redefine systems for oppressed communities, including women, America’s largest oppressed population.

A thought-provoking Colibri

REVIEW Collective challenged participants to place themselves into a poem to develop empathy for what it means to be a woman.

“We are grassroots women of color working to decolonize and redefine systems that keep our communities oppressed,” said Diaz.

Colibri’s call to redefine ideas began with an exercise that had participants listen to a prompt before hearing an abstract from a poem. Next they wrote their own interpretation of what they heard.

Enlightenment was gleaned from the divergent responses.

Empowerment was a driving theme. Diaz encouraged participants to determine who they are and what they enjoy doing, “aside from your role in society.”

Diaz said the exercise helped focus on the actual worth of women, whom she said are often just “valued for productivity, with that kind of value within a capitalist system.”

Women struggle with the concept of unity, Diaz said, because society forces them to compete. She prompted women to consider whom

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they envied and to redefine that as admiration.

Gender roles fired a spirited conversation. Participants were asked to write a letter to their younger selves about their duties, expectations and limitations.

This reflection stoked a desire for liberation.

Diaz read her poem about things she wished for her younger self.

Knowledge is power and education creates it, she said. Women of all walks of life need to support each other and help advance each other, she explained, lest the status quo swamps progress.

lowers outnumbered audience who came to witness “SWC Dance Live,” the first in-person dance concert in two years.

That was a good thing – there were a great many flowers and a great many bouquet-worthy performances. Through ‘Rona, remote education and the move to a new performing arts center, SC dance never lost a step.

Director Dana Maue and her crew graced the stage with 15 dances spanning hip hop, ballet, modern jazz, contemporary, ballet folklorico and more. All were well choreographed and strikingly expressive.

Maue’s “Salsa Boogie” was the evening’s standout performance, blending salsa and disco like a Miami nightclub. Gaudy mirror balls and flashy costumes notwithstanding, the dancers conveyed an organic joy that was a celebration of movement reaching across cultures.

“Expand,” a hip hop number choreographed by Jaami Waali-Villalobos, was the crowd pleaser of the night and an invitation for the bottled up audience to join in.

Set to “Back to Life” by Soul II Soul, the dance was a finger popping coming out party that proclaimed “We’re back!”

Mikaela Horvath’s “The River Within” was the most emotional performance.

Ballerinas glided with elegance and grace to “Just Like the River Does,” drawing tears from the eyes of entranced members of the audience.

Stage Manager Mio Aldana did not dance, but was light on her feet addressing tech glitches early in the show.

She kept her head and made fixes on the fly. Dancers Juliana Alvarado and Lucy Jimenez kept it together when their music suddenly fell silent and the audience cheered prematurely near the end of “La Bayadere.”

Sometimes professionalism is measured by the strength of a performance, sometimes by how well performing artists handle the unexpected.

Southwestern’s athletic teams and performing artists were the first to return to campus this academic year and they all took a stab at restoring normalcy. Props to the athletes, but the performing artists carried the season and reminded the community that SC was once the cultural center of the South County. Omicron notwithstanding, spring 2022 looks promising for the cozy and still nameless new performing arts center. “SWC Dance Live” was a thousand graceful steps in the right direction.

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5

ARTS

“Memo Cavada loved National City and gave himself to this community. He was generous with his gifts and his time. It is a privilege to honor him in this mural.”

Salvador Barajas Muralist

MURAL MASTER — Legendary Chicano artist Salvador Barajas has painted numerous murals throughout Southern California, including four in the outdoor art cathedral Chicano Park. He and muralist Guillermo Aranda were both good friends of Memo Cavada and wanted to collaborate on the project on the wall of the National City Chamber of Commerce at the corner of 8th Street and National City Boulevard.

“He was like the rest of us who had it rough when he was young. He managed to make something good out of his life.”

Guillermo Aranda

Muralist, childhood friend

Photos Courtesy Salvador Barajas

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THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN

ARTS

“You would see him at all the community events. He photographed people, but also formed friendships through photography.”

Macedonio Artega Actor

N AT I O N A L C I T Y

Immortalizing NC’s beloved photographer

BY NICOLETTE MONIQUE LUNA | News Editor

M

emo Cavada seems to be everywhere. Presente!

Even though he died in October, the beloved photographer from San Diego County’s most Latino city lives on in the thousands of photos hanging in family room walls, illustrating history books and waiting in newspaper archives for the curious to find. Cavada and his cameras collected Chicano history and Mexican culture like Woody Guthrie chronicled the Great Depression,

granting them immortality.

Now a pair of prominent muralists are making sure “Mr. National City” is never forgotten. Guillermo Aranda and Salvador Barajas are ready to unveil a 10’ x 22’ mural of Cavada on the wall of the Chamber of Commerce building, steps away from his former home on fabled Brick Row, where for 30 years he photographed Sweetwater High School prom goers, thespians, athletes and graduates.

Cavada was a Chicano Forrest Gump who seemed to be in the right place at the right time to witness history and culture as it unfolded. He was there at the founding of the Centro Cultural de la Raza, the early days of Teatro Mascara Magica and the creation of the California Association of Bilingual Education.

Since 1970 he has photographed the activities of the Chicano Federation, capturing priceless history through his lens.

His magnum opus was an epic coffee table book of photos chronicling a half century of Mexican culture. He had all the photos, but died before he could assemble them and go to press.

Actor Macedonio Artega said Cavada was ubiquitous.

“When you are involved in the community you see him at all the events,” said Artega.

“You would get to know who he is and he starts getting to know who you are because he takes pictures of you performing or speaking. It is a relationship where he has this really unique opportunity to photograph people, but he also starts to form friendships through photography.”

Cavada always considered himself an OTNC homeboy and graduated from Sweetwater High in 1962. His childhood friend Aranda said their high school counselors almost never encouraged Latinos to pursue higher education. Cavada enlisted in the Air Force and became a Vietnam War hero, surviving a savage bombing attack that left him injured.

He returned home to recuperate, a Purple Heart recipient. Following his 1969 discharge, he used his GI Bill to attend Sacramento City College where he discovered his passion for photography and met his mentor, world-renowned photographer, Ansel Adams.

Aranda said Cavada was tough and resilient, but always cheerful and optimistic.

“He was like a lot of us who had it rough when he was young,” Aranda said. “He managed to make something good out of his life.”

In 1970 Cavada moved back to his hometown and began to establish himself as a go-to photographer for Chicanos in the region. He also worked briefly with the MAAC Project as a substance abuse counselor.

Whenever he had time and money, Cavada would head to a remote or seldom documented part of Mexico to capture its rich, but eroding culture. His stunning library of photographs includes rarely-photographed Tarahumara Indians, religious rituals, performing artists, laborers, food vendors and wildlife – all in vivid, life affirming color. He had not completed “The Spirit of Mexico” before he died.

Cavada’s mural was commissioned by the National City Chamber Foundation, and the National City Arts and Culture Collaborative. Artists Salvador Barajas and Guillermo Aranda – two of the nation’s greatest muralists – counted Cavada as a dear friend.

Jacqueline Luna Reynoso, former CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, said it was a confluence of good fortune. “(We wanted) an artist that would do justice bringing Memo to life and be able to share this gift with the community,” she said. “We are so blessed to have found Guillermo Aranda and Sal Barajas.”

Former MAAC Project Director Roger Cazares said the mural has much in common with Cavada’s enriching photos.

“I think it is going to be a lasting message to our gente,” he said. “You work hard, you persevere, you fight against all the odds and all the barriers that have been put up against us, but you knock them down.”

Barajas and Aranda said they will unveil the mural December 15 at a public ceremony.

Cavada’s mural is located at the corner of 8th Street and National City Boulevard.

THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN

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CAMPUS Rewriting white washed U.S. history

BY DIEGO HIGUERA Campus Editor

History professor Dr. Gerardo Rios did not always like history. Neither did his compadre Dr. Arthur Guaracha.

It just did not seem relevant or even real, especially to Guaracha, who initially attended school in another part of the country where Mexicans and American Latinos were “exotic” … or worse.

“When I was younger…when I learned about history it was kind of low-rider history, that cholo history, the gang history,” he said. “When I came to San Diego (County) I started to connect to this culture. I was good to be immersed in this heritage.”

Connection was a theme of a scintillating discussion titled “Men of Color” led by Rios and Guaracha, a pair of young college professors with doctorates who transcended disadvantaged upbringings and the indoctrination by the dominant culture.

Guaracha said he realized there was so much more to MexicanAmericans and other Latinos than the stereotypes perpetuated in Anglo-centric history books. He began to wonder DR. GERARDO what else was out RIOS there.

“Southwestern College was a life changer for me,” he said. “Once I got here I became super involved. I loved to learn, but I had to learn how to become a good student.”

Like an October cempasúchil, Guaracha blossomed. He transformed from a C student to an UC transfer candidate.

“I luckily got into UC Irvine with a 2.8 GPA and it was the most amazing experience of my life,” he said.

“Southwestern College propelled me into the University of California. At UC the journey continued and I was connected to (an institution) that helped me discover who I was as an academic.”

Rios started down his doctoral path a little earlier, he said.

“My academic formation started in the second grade when I fell in love with reading because I had to learn English,” he said. “I was hooked.”

Rios’ journey from ESL to Ph.D. hit some speed bumps and pot holes along the way. Like Guaracha, he grew disenchanted learning European civilization and the whitewashed version of U.S. history.

“I wanted to learn about my culture, but didn’t get much until college,” he said. “Even then it was hit and miss in the textbooks. Mostly miss.”

Rios took a direct approach to solving that problem…he wrote his own history books. As a Fulbright Scholar he traveled and learned about Latin America first hand. He is now a respected expert in Chicano history and borderlands culture.

“I finally embraced my ethnicity because I finally understood it,” he said.

Guaracha and Rios agreed that Americans of all ethnicities need to learn about the rich, variant cultures of a richly diverse nation. They also said students benefit from seeing teachers and professors of different races and cultures.

“It is good for students to see professors who look like them,” Guaracha said. “Diversity is healthy and enriching. Southwestern College is blessed in that regard.”

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CAMPUS NEWS / STUDENT NEWS / PROFILES

ENTERING A NEW FIELD

Former farmworker Erica Alfaro transcended abject poverty, domestic violence to earn a Master's degree and became an author

BY NICOLETTE MONIQUE LUNA | News Editor

E

rica Alfaro’s life would be a great screenplay except for one problem. l No one would believe it. l She was a 15-year-old mother born to immigrant farmer workers in a violent relationship who was rescued by her brother, dropped out of school twice before earning a Master’s degree, breaking the Internet and

becoming a successful author. l And that’s just Act I.

ACCIDENTAL INTERNET STAR Alfaro had a brush with fame in 2019 shortly after earning a Master’s in education from SDSU. Grateful for her noble and hard-working parents who always supported her, she posed in her Master’s graduation regalia flanked by her beaming mother and father in the same North County strawberry field her family toiled in when she was younger.

The photo was an Internet sensation that has been emulated by graduating children of migrants ever since.

Earning a Master’s hood was never on the mind of 15-yearold Erica as she gave birth to her son, Luis. The child’s father was violent and abusive to the young mother and baby. Abuse rained down incessantly until Alfaro’s brother intervened. He convinced his beleaguered sister that she did not deserve the malicious treatment and urged her to exit the relationship. He also said he would personally protect her, no matter what.

Her brother’s devotion gave Alfaro the courage to escape a dangerous situation. Even though she was fleeing for her life, she could not outrun the guilt she felt.

Like many victims of domestic abuse, she felt guilty that her son would grow up without a father.

She said she also felt guilty for not leaving sooner and allowing her son to see her being abused.

Susy Alfaro, her sister, said domestic abuse can be very complicated and Erica needed time to sort out what had happened to her.

“The hardest part (of Erica) going through domestic violence was my nephew being a witness,” she said. “He was very young and he was trying to defend his mom.”

Alfaro was free from her violent abuser and supported by her family, but had little else going for her. She was a high school dropout with a young child and no way to earn a living other than picking crops.

Her moment of enlightenment came in a dusty San Ysidro tomato field one afternoon thanks to her wise, weary mother. Alfaro said the words are forever etched in her memory.

GROUND BREAKER 'BREAKS' THE INTERNET— In an effort to honor her parents, Alfaro was photographed with them in the same strawberry field where they once worked. The photo has been shared all over the planet.

Photo by Nicolette Monique Luna “This is our life,” she recalled her mother telling her. “We did not have any other options than to pick crops. If you want a better life, you need to get a good education.”

Alfaro dusted herself off and applied for a GED program. It was a struggle, she said, but she eventually earned a high school diploma.

Success in education was intoxicating and Alfaro came to realize that she was as bright

and capable as any of the other students surrounding her. She enrolled at Mira Costa College and earned an Associate’s degree in psychology. More important, she transferred to CSU San Marcos to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in psychology.

After a strong start, a setback.

Luis developed a medical condition that required more and

"If you want a better life, you need to get a good education.”

Erica Alfaro

THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN

ALFARO PG 9

CAMPUS

RACING TOWARD SPRING

CONTINUED FROM PG. 5

LARK: Gifted South County singer-songwriter releases new EP

S

outhwestern College will offer 60 percent inperson classes for the spring semester and a mix of hybrid, online and remote courses.

Vaccinations against COVID-19 will be required

for all employees and for students who register for inperson sections. All current health and safety guidelines will remain, including masks required indoors. Classes and student services will be offered at all Southwestern College campuses including Chula Vista, National City, Otay Mesa and San Ysidro. Illustration by Ji Ho Kim

“I am so proud of the work everyone has done to keep us safe and because of their excellent commitment, we are able to increase our in-person classes and help get students back into the classroom.”

Dr. Mark Sanchez

SC Superintendent/President

CONTINUED FROM PG. 8

ALFARO: Photo from strawberry fields inspires Latina scholars more of her time. Alfaro said she started feeling exhausted and overwhelmed caring for her young son and taking upper division classes. Her grades plunged and she was ruled academically disqualified.

When Luis began to stabilize she returned to Mira Costa College, discouraged but not defeated. Her husband Jose Esquivel said Alfaro was relentless.

“I learned from her not to give up and not to take no for an answer,” he said.

San Marcos re-admitted Alfaro after she clawed her way through classes she had retaken at Mira Costa. She earned her BA in psychology and decided to keep climbing. She was accepted into the Master’s program by the Education Department at SDSU and completed her MA in May 2019.

STRAWBERRY FIELDS NOT FOREVER Shortly after earning her Master’s hood, Alfaro hired a photographer and drove with her parents to a strawberry field they had labored in. Strawberries are among the most difficult

FELICIDADES MAMÁ! — Alfaro and her son, Luis, celebrate her graduation from CSU San Marcos. Alfaro and Luis escaped a violent relationship and persevered through illness and poverty. She is now a human resources professional with a Master’s degree and an author. Photo Courtesy Erica Alfaro foods to harvest because they require farmworkers to crawl on their hands and knees through the dirt rows for hours on end.

There are often unpleasant surprises beneath the leafy vines, including venomous spiders and rattlesnakes.

Her radiant parents had realized one of their dreams when they stood in the late spring sunshine, feet planted in the soil where they had scratched out a living.

“Los suenos se hacen realidad,” she said. (“Dreams become reality.”)

This was more than metaphysical greeting card

sentiment for Alfaro, she explained. Dreams and goals need to be clearly defined before there is any hope of achieving them.

When a person can visualize what awaits at the end of the journey, the bumps and setbacks become just part of the trail.

“You can use your adversities as an excuse to stop or you can use them as motivation to keep moving forward,” she said.

Esquivel, her proud husband, she Alfaro’s decision to write her book, “Harvesting Dreams (Cosechando Suenos)” was driven by a desire to inspire others. The process was very emotional, he said.

THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN

“When she would write the book she poured her soul (into it), she poured her heart out,” he said.

“I got to see those tears and that happy face when she completed a chapter.”

Inspiration and encouragement are gifts Alfaro likes to share, Esquivel said.

“Young Erica didn’t know if someone else in her position could be successful,” he said. “The mission of older Erica is to share with others what is possible. No matter the obstacles, no matter the background, no matter what happened, there is always a way to succeed.”

As her book tour winds down, her speaking engagements have heated up. Alfaro is a popular keynote speaker at high schools and colleges. And, in a sweet irony, she is now a human resources manager at the same tomato field where her parents once worked.

“Somehow, I completed a full circle,” she said.

Act I is complete and the curtain has risen on Act II of the Life of Erica Alfaro, farmer worker turned scholar turned professional. She sees strawberries and tomatoes from a different point of view, but swears never to forget where she came from or the sacrifice of her parents. Like the hero in any story, she knows it is now her obligation to share her new powers with others back home.

Her journey continues.

it,” she said.

Artists crave inspiration, Lark said, but discipline is important, too. Like John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Lark likes to schedule writing time. Sometimes inspiration follows.

“You need to be able to write even when there isn’t a perfect inspirational moment,” she said.

It helps to be a fan of a wide array of musical forms, she said, and to constantly listen to good music by other artists. Songwriters never want to copy others and be derivative, but they do need to learn constantly and develop a broad musical vocabulary. She also said it is good to be a critic.

“If you feel kind of ho hum and you can’t hold a conversation about music, you really need to dive into the work of other people,” she said.

“Enjoy it. Dissect it. Argue with your friends. (Be a) creator and a consumer.”

Quiet and thoughtful by nature, Lark said the idea of standing on a stage with a microphone and a guitar strapped over your shoulder can be exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.

“It’s hard to perform and put yourself out there,” she said. “(What helps me) is remembering that it’s not about you up there. It’s about the song and it’s about the message you’re about to share. It’s the same when you’re just talking to somebody. If we got nervous before going to talk to somebody like I’m talking to you right now (you cannot worry about) ‘I hope she likes me, I hope I say the right thing, I hope I come off okay.’ That would cause me to be in my head instead of focusing on messages.”

A transparent singer is vulnerable, she said. A great performance can happen when an artist is in “the flow,” a place of comfort and concentration where nerves subside and creativity pours forth.

“Your brain and your body are just vehicles to perform that message for other people,” she said.

“When you (are communicating) it makes your art more sincere, it makes you perform better and more vulnerable. That’s what people are there for. People pay to go see a show because they want to have an emotional connection with the music and songs.”

COVID-19 and the ensuing chaos slowed Lark’s momentum as a live performer, but may have been a blessing in disguise. Like many great artists throughout history, she turned away from a locked door and opened another. Lark adapted and learned new skills. She began sharing music and performing live on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube from home. Twitch enabled her to perform globally and interact with her audience in a more intimate way. Her Twitchcasts, “JessieLarkMusic,” run every Tuesday from noon – 3 p.m. and Thursdays at 9 a.m.

“After (H)ours” is a COVID labor of love, she said, a ‘Rona rose growing from the rubble. Tracks include, “Love Don’t Change,” “Come on,” “Go Slow,” “Under These Sheets” and “Fly Away.”

Like Sir Elton John and Dave Grohl, Lark enjoys collaborating with other musicians. She writes with the band The Rogue Pilots and performs in their upcoming video. She is featured on the new Joe Dreamz music video “Phase.”

She also enjoys doing charity gigs, including her favorite, the San Diego Blood Bank.

Cancelled gigs could not cancel Lark’s enthusiasm for music or the bright future awaiting her.

“Music never goes away,” she said. “It is always around because we need it.”

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9

SPORTS

CAMPUS SPORTS / FEATURES / ALTERNATIVE SPORTS

Photo Sebastian Sanchez

Retooling volleyball team spikes the finale

BY DOMINIC ESCOBAR Staff Writer

Volleyball coach Tyler Reeves said he knows momentum is intangible, but good to have on your side.

Southwestern College volleyball players had the “Big Mo” going for them and were closing in on a season finale victory when it mysteriously slipped away.

A bumpy return from the COVID-obliterated 2020 season saw a young squad finish 8-14, but nearly end the season with four straight wins.

The Lady Jaguars matched up against conference TYLER REEEVES rival San Diego City College for their last match of 2021. COVID protocols at Harry West Gymnasium in downtown San Diego limited attendance to 58, but they managed to sound louder than they looked.

SC’s Natalia Tello, a Pacific Coast Conference Athlete of the Week recipient, and talented freshman Sierra Van Deusen had propelled SC to three straight wins, and they were prowling for a fourth.

SC started slow, falling behind 12-4 in the first set, but rallied fiercely to nearly steal it. City escaped with a 25-22 win, but the set established a frantic tone for the afternoon.

Southwestern caught fire in the second set behind Van Deusen and grabbed a 25-21 win the level the match at 1-1.

Momentum was on the Jaguar’s side. Van Deusen stayed hot, igniting a 6-1 start.

SC never looked back and pulled ahead 2 sets to 1.

Van Deusen carried the Jaguars to a 7-1 lead in the fourth set and Tello asserted herself after a quiet start.

When the lead stretched to 15-7, SC seemed to have the match wrapped up.

Then Big Mo slipped away.

So did the match.

Southwestern was up 23-15 but could not put the Knights away. City’s Faith Patterson and Alyssa Fletes led a rally and their 58 fans suddenly sounded like 500. Somehow, against all odds, the Lady Knights clawed their way to a 25-23 triumph.

Set five seemed preordained, though it was close. City rode away with a 15-13 final set and the match.

Reeves tamped down his frustration to express his gratitude to his players for their hard work throughout a rebuilding season. He said 2022 looks promising.

“Our two outside (hitters) are freshmen and we rely on them a lot,” he said. “They told me they are coming back. We’re trying to fill in around them.”

Perhaps Big Mo will stick around longer next year.

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A RISING

STAR OF THE

RISING SUN MAKING HIS PITCH Jaguar’s Japanese import Daishin Tanaka has the Right Stuff on the mound

D

BY SEBASTIAN SANCHEZ Sports Editor

aishin Tanaka arrived from Japan with a blazing fastball and nasty breaking stuff, but no English.

A few months at Southwestern College has helped him to add that to his arsenal.

Tanaka has Major League dreams that even the Pacific Ocean could not hold back. SC is his first stop in the Motherland of Baseball that he said he hopes leads to MLB. To become one of the best in America he figured he needed to start playing against the best in America.

“My goal is to be a top MLB player,” he said.

Tanaka acknowledges studying Jacob DeGrom, Gerrit Cole and Yu Darvish while following the path of Masanori Murakami, Hideo Nomo and Hidecki Irabu.

Tanaka said his passion for baseball was sparked when he was six years old while attending a game with his grandfather.

“The atmosphere was incredible and the players were so cool,” he said. “I felt like I wanted to play baseball like them.”

While he was in high school, Tanaka would always watch the College World Series, he said. Its competitiveness and electric atmosphere fired his interest to move to the United States in TANAKA PG 11

THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN

“I just want to be the person who can impact (others) and be a good influence (on) people. That’s why I’m going to be an MLB player and give dreams to the children. It gives me motivation.”

Daishin Tanaka SC Baseball Player

SPORTS Photo Courtesy Tonie Campbell

“Restarting everything from a complete stop was difficult, then factoring in all the COVID protocols and testing made it more so." Tonie Campbell Three-time Olympian

BARRIER BREAKER Former water polo coach Jennifer Harper is SC’s first female athletic director

BY CARSON TIMMONS Staff Writer

J

ennifer Harper is comfortable being in charge.

Leaders are made, not born, but Harper made herself into a leader at a very young age. She was captain of almost every team she played on, including the time she played on the boys water polo team in high school.

Her history of working well with males ought to be useful. Harper made history this semester when she was named SC’s first female athletic director. She is also the interim dean of the School of Wellness, Exercise Science and Athletics, the first woman to sit in the dean’s chair.

“At first I really didn’t think too much about that because I had to get straight to work,” she said. “But, in hindsight, I feel honored to be chosen as Southwestern’s first female athletic director. I feel the pull to make Southwestern College a place where all athletes can be represented equally no matter their gender or race.”

“Coach Jefi” was raised in an athletic family.

Her father was a sports polymath who coached track, cross country, football and baseball. Harper was a water polo star in high school and college.

She was captain of the women’s water polo team at UC San Diego and an elite goalie who garnered interest from the U.S. national team.

In 2001 Harper joined the faculty at SC as Professor of Exercise Science and women’s water polo coach. Her peers and players considered her a wise and principled leader who put academics first.

“I love sports,” she said, “but at the end of the day there are more important things. Our coaches’ most important job is to help develop our student-athletes to become the men and women they want to become. That is what I valued the most about being a coach.”

Harper has a high-powered assistant athletic director, three-time Olympian Tonie Campbell, SC’s track and field coach. Campbell shares Harper’s “person first” philosophy, she said, and values their partnership.

“Tonie and I agree that the best part of our jobs is helping our athletes earn a degree and transfer,” she said. “That is our #1 goal.”

Campbell said Harper is up to the challenge of re-booting the college’s athletic programs after an 18-month COVID-19 shutdown. Empty stadiums are once again teaming with players and the darkened gym is lit and alive with students.

“Restarting everything from a complete stop was difficult, then factoring in all the COVID protocols and testing made it more so,” Campbell said. “It was work to get everyone up to speed and on the same page.”

Harper said the pandemic is a moving target that requires current information and flexibility.

She said she was proud that college athletes showed leadership by getting vaccinated and following protocols that keep their teammates safe. Coaches, Harper said, have worked hard and demonstrated great dedication to their studentathletes.

“I think all of the coaches have done a phenomenal job,” she said. “Our coaches know we have their backs, and Tonie and I feel they have our backs.”

Trainers and equipment technicians have always been very important to the athletic programs, but more so than ever in the post-shutdown era,

THOU SHALT NOT PASS — Jefi Harper was an elite goalie for UCSD. She also played five years with the US National Team, competing in Canada and Europe, earning three gold medals in international competitions.

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Harper

HARPER HIGHLIGHTS Jennifer 'Jefi' Harper served as SC's water polo head coach for nearly two decades, starting in 2001. She is succeeded as head coach by Alissa Mashburn after being named interim dean for the School of Wellness, Exercise Science & Athletics.

"I feel honored to be chosen as Southwestern’s first female athletic director.

I feel the pull to make Southwestern College a place where all athletes can be represented equally no matter their gender or race.”

Previously, Harper served as Assistant Coach at SDSU's Women’s Water Polo team from 1999 to 2001.

From 1986 to 1991 Harper competed with the USA National Team, participating in four Olympic festivals in Hungary, Holland, Canada and England, earning three gold medals.

Jennifer Harper

SC Dean of Wellness, exercise science and Athletics Harper said. SC hired an additional trainer to focus on COVID-19 protocols, she said, which has helped keep venues open and athletes healthy.

Lost in the chaos is the fact that SC was breaking in its new $52 million facilities when March 2020 rolled in like a dark bank of fog. A revamped $73-million football stadium is aglow on Friday nights with high school games and Saturdays with the Jaguars. Squeaking sneakers from volleyball matches and basketball practice echo through a new gym.

An Olympic-sized pool and surrounding aquatic center have also made a splash. SC’s aquatic facility is now the third largest in California, and the biggest south of UC Irvine. In October the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team had athletes

In 1991 she graduated from UCSD with a Bachelor's in Psychology, going on to earn a Masters in Education from Azusa Pacific in 2001.

training there, and the Olympic Water Polo Team is scheduled to use the facility in December.

Harper, who pushed for the expanded pool facilities, said she is not surprised SC is attracting national attention.

“If you build it, they will come,” she said with a grin.

SC’s fields (and pools) of dreams have nary a corn stalk nearby, but portend a heavenly future.

Harper said she is thrilled to be in the middle of it.

“The future is bright!” she said. “And, finally, the future has arrived.”

CONTINUED FROM PG. 2

TANAKA: Ambitious pitcher learning American baseball while mastering command of English hopes of playing in the collegiate tournament. His parents support his dream, he said, and gave their blessing for his move to California.

“I appreciate my parents (having faith in me),” he said.

Fluent in the language of baseball, Tanaka initially struggled with the language of his new home.

“I couldn’t even speak English (when I arrived),” he said. “I couldn’t understand what people

were talking about. So I really struggled with everything, but I always try to talk to people here.”

Japanese baseball has a few significant differences from the American brand, Tanaka said.

“Practice hours are totally different,” he said. “When I was in high school (in Japan), we practiced more than four hours a day. On weekends we would practice 8-9 hours. We did not have any days off.

Here we only practice 2-3 hours and (not) on weekends.”

SC head coach Jay Martel praised Tanaka’s work ethic.

“He works hard every day,” he said. “You ask him to do something and he does it. That’s just where he comes from.”

Martel said Tanaka has what it takes to succeed in baseball and life. “(Tanaka) has the supporting cast and he is a really good student,”

THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN

Martel said. “He has adapted so well and he’s not afraid to take care of business. He is very mature for his age, so that was a deciding factor for his parents to let him come over here and be on his own.”

Tanaka said he knows his goals are ambitious, but other Japanese baseball players have become superstars. Ichiro Suzuki was one of MLB’s all-time greatest players and the case can be made that California

Angels pitcher-outfielder-DH Shohei Ohtani is the best all-around player in the world today.

Like his heroes, Tanaka said he hopes to pass hope and optimism to those who follow him.

“I just want to be the person who can impact (others) and be a good influence (on) people. That’s why I’m going to be an MLB player and give dreams to the children. It gives me motivation.”

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BACKPAGE

VOICES IN OUR COMMUNITIES

Photo Julia Woock

MESSENGERS OF HEAVEN — Gente Unida activists release monarch butterflies in honor of the unnamed dead in Holtville’s Terrace Park Cemetery. Volunteers from the human rights organization met on Dia de los Muertos to pray for the nearly 1,000 migrants buried in unmarked graves in a dirt lot behind the main cemetery. It is the largest non-military graveyard of unidentified dead in the United States. Photos by Camila Gonzalez / Staff

REMEMBERING THE FORGOTTEN

BY CAMILA GONZALEZ Editor-in-Chief

C

hicano Park on Dia de los Muertos is a festival of color, food, drink, art and la raza magica. Honored dead are serenaded, toasted and served wondrous plates with

chilled tequila.

About 125 to the east nearly 1,000 forgotten bodies with no names bake under the rust tinted dirt of the Terrace Park Cemetery in lonely Holtville. A gathering at festive Chicano Park prays for them, too.

Then they visit.

A caravan of cars makes a two-hour trek over the mountains, across the desert and almost to Arizona. Caretaker Chuck Jernigan cranks apart the dusty lock and swings open the gate with the No Trespassing sign.

Activists from Gente Unida solemnly file in.

Windswept Terrace Park is where dreams come to die. Most died badly. America’s largest non-military graveyard of the unidentified spreads flat as a quiet lake of pulverized brick with no headstones and not one blade of grass. A tilted smattering of pale handmade crosses twist out of the desiccated earth, the only acknowledgment that this is sacred ground.

“You are not forgotten,” murmured Gente Unida founder Enrique Morones. “No olvidados.”

Morones has led the annual visitation for nearly two decades and he expressed sadness that so little has changed.

“Not one of the persons here thought they were going to die,” he said. “They came here to work or to reunite with family. No one

ever thinks they will end up dead and buried without a name in a pauper’s grave.”

America’s antiquated immigration system is to blame, Morones said, along with predatory American and Canadian business and agricultural practices that have impoverished millions of Mexicans and Central Americans.

“Conservatives like to say migrants need to get in line so they can enter through the border crossings, but that’s not possible,” he said. “There is no line. Do you really think so many desperate people would drown in rivers, die in deserts and freeze to death in mountains if there was a line?”

Iranian refugee Ari Honarvar, vice president of Gente Unida, recited a verse of poetry in memory of the immigrants.

“We are from the great beyond and to the great beyond we shall return,” she read. “We are from the ocean and to the ocean we make our way. We are not from here or there. We are from a placeless place, and to that we journey.”

Chaplin Frank Modic had special messengers to carry the prayers to Heaven.

Radiant monarch butterflies lent lightness and hope.

“We use butterflies to celebrate somebody who has passed away,” Modic said to the hushed gathering. “The butterfly is a metaphor, a theological metaphor for transformation, renewed life and being set free.”

Terrace Park’s silent graves are relentlessly permanent, Modic said as the butterflies pranced in the warm morning sky, but the spirits of the dead buried there are free and one with the eternal. Morones said the deceased can only rest when the living help those who come after to avoid their fate.

“Not one of the persons buried here thought they were going to die. They came here to work or to reunite with family. No one ever thinks they will end up dead and buried without a name is a pauper’s grave.”

Enrique Morones

Gente Unida

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THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN

SPECIAL SECTION FALL 2021 WINTER EDITION 2021-22/ISSUE 3

Southwestern College’s relationship with Point Loma Nazarene University troubles LGBTQ community

Illustration Ji Ho Kim

THE W RST COLLEGES FOR LGBTQIA+

At the heart of the claim that the Bible is clear "that homosexuality is forbidden by God" is poor biblical scholarship and a cultural bias read into the Bible. — Human Rights Campaign

THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN

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THE W RST COLLEGES FOR LGBTQIA+ Advocates insist partnership with Point Loma Nazarene University can put SC students from LGBTQ community in harm’s way

A

BY DIEGO HIGUERA Campus Editor

"Clearly there remains a lot more work to do as we develop and train future leaders to create safer, more inclusive communities on campuses.”

A prominent San Diego County university that has reciprocal programming with Southwestern College was recently named as one of America’s most anti-LGBTQ colleges.

Point Loma Nazarene University was included on Campus Pride’s 2021 “Shame List” as one of “the worst, most unsafe campuses for LGBTQ youth.”

Campus Pride, a 20-year-old LGBTQ rights organization based in Charlotte, North Carolina, included PLNU as one of 180 American college or university campuses that marginalize or mistreat students and employees from the LGBTQ community.

Southwestern College, conversely, professes to be a public institution of higher education that values inclusion and diversity, including LGBTQ students and staff. SC, however, entered into a contract with PLNU to teach upper division classes on the Chula Vista campus in four subjects and to facilitate SC students studying at PLNU or transferring to the university. Students who complete the reciprocal program would receive Bachelor’s degrees from PLNU. SC’s website outlines the relationship.

“Southwestern College partners with Point Loma Nazarene University to offer you a variety of bachelor’s degrees that you can earn without leaving SWC’s campus. Earning your bachelor’s degree from Point Loma Nazarene University opens new doors of opportunity in your professional and personal life, and can help you achieve your career goals.”

Degrees included in the arrangement are nursing, criminal justice, business and child development.

SC freshman Jen Valenzuela, who said she is a member of the LGBTQ community, was one of many students who said they found the relationship between SC and PLNU troubling.

“I don’t question them being on that list for a second,” she said. “Being Christian and queer is a big no-no. I should know. I had to leave the church because I was queer.”

Valenzuela said growing up as a Christian who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community can be traumatizing. She said PLNU is not a good place for LGBTQ students.

“Imagine a very, very open and outspoken queer person decides to take child development and ends

Shane Windmeyer Executive Director campus pride

CONT ON NEXT PAGE

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SPECIAL SECTION: THE WORST COLLEGES FOR LGBTQIA+

“I wasn’t able to be myself. I wasn’t able to figure out who or what I was (while I was) there. I felt guilty and ashamed because I was getting traumatized all the time.”

Taylor Christine Spencer PLNU alumnus

up at Point Loma,” she said. “How do we let them work on their degree for years and then have them end up at a place where they won’t feel welcomed?”

Southwestern College’s claim that students can complete a Bachelor’s degree from PLNU entirely on the Chula Vista campus is not true, Valenzuela said. It is possible, she said, that an LGBTQ student could be forced to finish Bachelor’s degrees on PLNU’s main campus.

“Imagine a very, very open and outspoken queer person decides to take child development and ends up at Point Loma. How do we let them work on their degree for years and then have them end up at a place where they won’t feel welcomed?"

Jen Valenzuela SC Freshman

“I know a lot of people who need to take certain classes (on the Point Loma campus) for their major that they are not able to take at Southwestern College,” she said. “My mom, for example, took most of her studies at Southwestern, but then she had to go to Point Loma to finish her courses in child development.

When my mom was a student they didn’t tell her she was going to end up at Point Loma. If they’re going to eventually have you go over to Point Loma, then they should absolutely let you know from the very beginning when you are deciding your major.”

April Ramirez, an SC sophomore, agreed. She said Southwestern College is hypocritical for saying it values diversity and civil rights, but is in league with a college like PLNU that considers LGBTQ people sinners and outliers.

“I’m upset because Southwestern College has its own SAGA (Sexuality and Gender Acceptance) group, so knowing that we are connected to a school that’s on that list while we have a club that is supportive of sexuality and gender rights does not seem like a good fit for us,” she said “It gives us a bad look, to be an inclusive campus but be connected to a campus that is not as inclusive.”

Ramirez said she is worried she may have to enroll in upper division classes at PLNU and is concerned about the university’s anti-LGBTQ reputation.

“I’m someone who is in the child development (major) and might need to take some classes over there and I wonder will I be uncomfortable over there?” she said. “Will I face repercussions if I say something that isn’t according to their policies?”

A LONG MARCH FOR LGBTQ RIGHTS Campus Pride Executive Director Shane Windmeyer and his board first put PLNU on its “Worst Campuses for LGBTQ” list in 2016 when the university donated $50,000 to fight California Senate Bill 1146, the Equity in Higher Education Act. SB 1146 would prohibit discrimination in institutions that receive or benefit

from state financial assistance or enrolls students who receive state student financial aid. More than 70 percent of SC students receive some form of state or federal financial aid.

SB 1146 also called for closing loopholes that allow private colleges to opt out of Title IX of the federal Higher Education Act of 1972 signed

by Republican President Richard Nixon. It would require private colleges and universities to disclose its Title IX exemption and inform students in a clear manner that it does not follow all federal antidiscrimination rules. Ramirez said LGBTQ identifying students should at the very least have the right to know what universities do not follow Title IX and are allowed to discriminate.

PLNU’s catalogue briefly references its policies toward LGBTQ students and staff, which is says align with the religious views of the Church of the Nazarene.

“It is God’s intention that in the sacramental union of marriage a man and woman may experience the joy and pleasure of sexual intimacy and from this act of intimate love new life may enter the world and into a covenantal community of care,” reads a section sub headlined “Human Sexuality.”

The passage continues: “Students are expected to abstain from sexual intimacy outside of heterosexual marriage.”

“PLNU seeks to be a community where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons are treated with dignity, grace, and the holy love in the Spirit of Christ. We recognize the complexity of current issues related to same-sex attraction, same-sex marriage, and gender identity. The university desires to faithfully care for all students while engaging these conversations with respect, care, humility, courage, and discernment.”

PLNU also offers “counseling” for LGBTQ students, but the catalogue said nothing else about the nature of the counseling.

Southwestern College, on the other hand, is committed by state and federal law to follow the non-discriminatory guidelines of Title IX, which reads, in part: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participating in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

Under the Welcome section of its official website, SC spells out its prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of “sexual orientation; gender; gender expression (a person’s gender-related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth) gender identity and other characteristics related to a person’s sex.”

RUNNING AFOUL OF LGBTQ COMMUNITY Windmeyer said right-wing universities like PLNU are anachronistic and unable to evolve with a society that has finally begun to accept and embrace its LGBTQ citizens. PLNU has run afoul of local LGBTQ advocates for many years. In 2012 PLNU denied a charter request for a student LGBTQ club. In 2014 the university published a policy that announced it expected LGBTQ employees to practice celibacy and that it considered marriage to be between a man and a woman.

A year later, in 2015, the scenic, oceanfront university announced it would no longer allow any

“I’m upset because Southwestern College has its own SAGA (Sexuality and Gender Acceptance) group, so knowing that we are connected to a school that’s on that list while we have a club that is supportive of sexuality and gender rights does not seem like a good fit for us. It gives us a bad look, to be an inclusive campus but be connected to a campus that is not as inclusive.”

April Ramirez SC Sophomore

weddings on campus after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.

Campus Pride has work remaining, said Windmeyer. Its 2021 “Shame List” has 180 colleges and universities, the most ever.

“Campus Pride was founded 20 years ago with a vision of campuses and a society free of anti-LGBTQ prejudice, bigotry and hate,” he said in a statement. “And while much progress has been made since then, clearly there remains a lot more work to do as we develop and train future leaders to create safer, more inclusive communities on campuses.”

Alumnus Gerardo Munoz said PLNU richly deserves its place of the “Shame List.”

“You’re paying them money to abuse you. That’s discrimination,” said Munoz. “You’re giving them your life for four years, your mental health that they don’t even care about. The whole school is meant to be loving and godly and now you don’t take care of your students, that’s unacceptable.”

Muñoz said his PLNU experience was “taxing.”

“It really does affect your education,” he said. “Like, you have to deal with that on top of homophobia, transphobia, racism, misogyny, sexism, on top of the stress already of going through college and what you want to do in life.”

Munoz said his experience was peppered with anti-LGBTQ incidences of “love the sinner, hate the sin” that “left scars.”

“I had this class where we read this book about this guy who said

that he was able to find God and his sexuality, that they don’t have to go against each other. I thought that was lovely,” said Muñoz. “But then the reaction from the class was a bunch of guys who literally said `Why do we need to read all about these ... and then proceeded to drop all the F-slurs. They would tell you they love you, but then they would hate everything you are. There were so many times I’d leave class shaking.”

PLNU alumnus Taylor Christine Spencer, a member of the LGBTQ community, said her PLNU experience made her feel set apart from other students. Anti-LGBTQ beliefs and actions permeated the campus culture, she said.

“It’s to the point where I don’t want to tell people which college I graduated from anymore,” she said.

“It’s like this mix of fake niceness.

It’s a lot of people who are trying to act very holy, they hate the sin, love the sinner. There’s definitely the status quo and what their ideal Christian is like and if you aren’t that person, you are othered.”

Spencer said some faculty expressed anti-LGBTQ sentiment in classes and used anti-gay slurs in front of students.

“I found out that a professor said about my friend that he was glad that (f-slur student) was gone,” she said, tearfully. “And that broke my heart, because even though he was such a great student some of these professors were saying these nasty things. And it was from a teacher that my friend respected and looked up to.”

Spencer said American universities should not be allowed to discriminate against LGBTQ students, including Christian institutions. Public schools that partner with racist or homophobic private schools just give them cover, she said.

“I wasn’t able to be myself,” she said. “I wasn’t able to figure out who or what I was (while I was) there.

I felt guilty and ashamed because I was getting traumatized all the time.”

VOICES FOR CHANGE AT PLNU Some students who identify as Christian and LGBTQ acknowledge that PLNU can be a rough place for LGBTQ people, but they have not given up on the university. Jason Que, a sophomore at PLNU who identifies as LGBTQ, said members of the LGBTQ community need to stick together and find allies.

“I haven’t been to any other university, so I don’t really know a comparison,” he said. “I think that generally the people in my (LGBTQ) community that I surround myself with are very supportive.”

Que said LGBTQ students can be stigmatized for their sexual orientation.

“I definitely think that it’s because Point Loma is a Christian university, so that might have

PLNU has run afoul of local LGBTQ advocates for many years. In 2012 PLNU denied a charter request for a student LGBTQ club. In 2014 the university published a policy that announced it expected LGBTQ employees to practice celibacy and that it considered marriage to be between a man and a woman.

THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN

something to do with that stigma,” he said. “From my standpoint with the church in general, the church is pretty set on (the doctrine that) every child deserves a mother and father.”

A budding group of students is quietly demanding change, including PLNU sophomore Jessie Taylor, the diplomatic coleader of Voices of Love, a student organization dedicated to providing safe space for LGBTQ students and others who feel “othered.”

“Getting VOL (established) as an official group on campus was not easy. The Nazarene affiliation with PLNU makes it difficult for queer voices to be heard as it does not accept LGBTQIA+ to be full members of the church. I am sure that countless diligent individuals were involved in the creation and establishment of this incredible group that I’m immensely grateful for.”

Jason Que

PLNU Sophomore “Getting VOL (established) as an official group on campus was not easy,” she said. “The Nazarene affiliation with PLNU makes it difficult for queer voices to be heard as it does not accept LGBTQIA+ to be full members of the church. Although I am unaware of all the formalities and technicalities the group must have gone through to gain a small foothold in the PLNU community, I am sure that countless diligent individuals were involved in the creation and establishment of this incredible group that I’m immensely grateful for.”

Taylor said she believes VOL is making a positive difference and can help guide the conservative campus into the 21st century.

“I like to think that VOL has helped countless students find a safe space to meet fellow queer individuals or loving allies on PLNU’s campus,” she said. “Being able to make connections without the looming fear of having to come out or hide an integral part of yourself is a huge part of VOL that I think everyone involved with the group is endlessly grateful for.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Sun made concerted efforts over the course of several days to contact representatives from Southwestern College and Point Loma Nazarene University for comment and the opportunity to share the point of view of their colleges for this report. The Sun made multiple attempts via email and telephone to contact the SC administrator in charge of instruction as well as PLNU’s Director of Public Affairs. None of the current senior administrators at SC worked at the college when it entered into the agreement with PLNU.

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THE WORST COLLEGES LIST The Worst List identifies the “absolute worst, most unsafe campuses for LGBTQ youth” in the United States. The colleges and universities listed have chosen to openly discriminate against LGBTQ youth and/or have requested Title IX exemptions to perpetuate the harms of religion-based bigotry. Source: campuspride.com

THE CRITERION

1

Received and/or applied for a Title IX exemption to discriminate

2

against LGBTQ youth,

Demonstrated past history and track record of anti-LGBTQ actions, programs and practices.

Abilene Christian University

Florida College

Point University

American Indian College

Franciscan University of Steubenville

Randall University

Anderson University

Freed-Hardeman University

Reformation Bible College

Andrews University

Fresno Pacific University

Reformed Theological Seminary

Appalachian Bible College

Fuller Theological Seminary

Regent University

Arizona Christian University

Gateway Seminary

Rhema Bible Training College

Arlington Baptist University

Geneva College

Seattle Pacific University

Asbury Theological Seminary

George Fox University

Shepherds Theological Seminary

Asbury University

Gordon College

Shorter University

Azusa Pacific University

Grace Christian University

Simpson University

Baptist Missionary Association Theological

Grace University

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Seminary

Grove City College

Southeastern University

Baylor University

Hannibal-LaGrange University

Southern Evangelical Seminary

Belmont Abbey College

Hardin-Simmons University

Southern Nazarene University

Benedictine College

Harding University

Southern Virginia University

Bethany Global University

Heartland Baptist Bible College

Southern Wesleyan University

Bethel University

Houghton College

Southwest Baptist University

Bethel University (formerly Bethel College)

Houston Baptist University

Southwestern Assemblies of God University

Bethel University, Minnesota

Howard Payne University

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Bethlehem College and Seminary

Indiana Wesleyan University

Southwestern Christian University

Biola University

John Paul the Great Catholic University

Spring Arbor University

Blue Mountain College

Judson College

St. Francis University

Bluefield University (formerly Bluefield

Judson University

St. Gregory's University

College)

Kentucky Mountain Bible College

Sterling College

Bob Jones University

La Sierra University

Tabor College

Boston Baptist College

LABI College

Taylor University

Brewton Parker College

Lancaster Bible College

The Baptist College of Florida

Brigham Young University

Lee University

The Master's University

Brigham Young University-Idaho

Liberty University

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Brigham Young University–Hawaii

Life Pacific College

Toccoa Falls College

Bryan College

Lipscomb University

Trevecca Nazarene University

Cairn University

Louisiana College

Trinity Baptist College

California Baptist University

Lutheran Brethren Seminary

Trinity Bible College

Carson-Newman University

Malone University

Trinity International University

Catholic University of America

Manhattan Christian College

Truett-McConnell University

Cedarville University

Maranatha Baptist University

Union University

Central Christian College of the Bible

Messiah University

University of Dallas

Charleston Southern University

Mid-Atlantic Christian University

University of Mary

Charlotte Christian College and Theological

Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor

Seminary

Milligan University

University of Mobile

Clarks Summit University

Mississippi College

University of Northwestern-St. Paul

Clear Creek Baptist Bible College

Missouri Baptist University

University of the Cumberlands

College of Biblical Studies

Moody Bible Institute

Vanguard University

College of the Ozarks

Multnomah University

Virginia Baptist College

Colorado Christian University

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Wayland Baptist University

Columbia International University

North Greenville University

West Coast Baptist College

Compass College of Cinematic Arts

Northpoint Bible College

Westminster Seminary California

Concordia University, Irvine

Northwest Nazarene University

Westminster Theological Seminary

Concordia University, Nebraska

Nyack College

Westmont College

Corban University

Oak Hills Christian College

Wheaton College

Covenant College

Ohio Christian University

William Carey University

Criswell College

Oklahoma Baptist University

William Jessup University

Crown College

Oklahoma Christian University

Williams Baptist University

Dallas Baptist University

Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Word of Life Bible Institute

Dallas Theological Seminary

Olivet Nazarene University

Yeshiva University

Dordt University (formerly Dordt College)

Oral Roberts University

York College

East Texas Baptist University

Ozark Christian College

Zaytuna College

Eastern University

Patrick Henry College

Elim Bible Institute and College

Phoenix Seminary

Emmanuel College

Point Loma Nazarene University

Ensign College or LDS Business College Erskine College Evangel University Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary Faith International University and Seminary Family of Faith Christian University

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According to the Southwestern College website, "Southwestern College partners with Point Loma Nazarene University to offer you a variety of bachelor's degrees that you can earn without leaving SWC's campus. Earning your bachelor's degree from PLNU opens new doors of opportunity in your professional and personal life, and can help you achieve your career goals.

With small class sizes, dedicated faculty, and a commitment to academic excellence, PLNU can help prepare you for a career in nursing, criminal justice, business, or child development."

THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN

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Black alumni and transfers are inspiring role models making their own history

BLACK HISTORY ALL YEAR

Pandemic warrior Alum battles virus inside and outside the emergency room

D

BY JULIA WOOCK | Staff Writer

r. Cleavon Gilman returned from Iraq to find an even more deadly war raging in America. Coronavirus trumps even Isis.

Gilman, a Southwestern College alumnus and emergency medical physician, is in the trenches of a pandemic battle that has killed more Americans than the Revolutionary War, World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam combined. Gilman and his colleagues have engaged in hand-tohand combat with the novel coronavirus and its enablers — denial, misinformation, political cowardice and anti-maskers.

Gilman said he recently worked a fortnight of 14-hour shifts.

Even for a war-hardened former Navy corpsman, battling this pandemic is a nightmare.

GILMAN PG C3

Courtesy Cleavon Gilman

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The soul that is within me no man can degrade.

— Frederick Douglass —

Adobe Stock

Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company.

One person can change the world.

— Rosa Parks —

— Booker T. Washington —

Brainy editor shines at HBCU

Khalil Adisa SDSU

S

DSU Criminal Justice graduate Khalil Adisa is also a SODA recipient. He was secretary

then vice president of the SC Black Student Union. He said he strongly recommends that SC BSU members join the Afrikan Student Union at SDSU, which he

Pernisha Gaines led her college magazine staff under impossible circumstances to a national championship

served as treasurer.

“Follow their Instagram (@ asu_sdsu), talk to them,” he said.

“They help make your transition much smoother. I recommend every student, if there is an identity that you identify with, make yourself at home. There are so many resources that can help you out.”

Adisa shared a personal story about a protest he attended in spring 2019 when SDSU’s Black Resource Center was vandalized.

“You could definitely see so many student’s frustrations, there were students crying,” he said.

“It was so hurting to see our safe spot on campus vandalized. A whole mass group of Black students and allies were there supporting us and saying ‘we are not going to stand for this!’”

Like Hudson, Adisa copped to a brief bout of imposter syndrome, but shook it off.

“Comparison is the thief of joy,” he said. “Don’t dim your light for others.

You are there for a reason and you deserve to be there.”

Photo Courtesy Khalil Adisa

Solé Ortiz-Ruiz UC Santa Barbara

S

olé Ortiz-Ruiz is studying English, journalism and film at UC Santa Barbara. At SC she

was president of Soul Sisters and the award-winning Sports Editor of The Sun — one of the few female sports editors in the state. She was named the nation’s best community college columnist by the Associated Collegiate Press.

Ortiz-Ruiz said she loves UCSB, but felt more at home in Southwestern’s diverse culture.

“At UCSB it’s predominantly white and everyone is really nice and sweet, but you don’t see people that look like me,” she said. “That

P

Max and just all my friends that I made there,” she said. “I walked into Southwestern thinking, ‘this is the worst because I’m going into community college’, but my opinion changed after three months on campus."

Ortiz-Ruiz left SC with its highest student honor, the Student of Distinction Award, and was selected a Bonitafest Youth Ambassador.

“Now I am going to one of the top universities in the nation and I wouldn’t have without Southwestern College,” she said.

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Now she is one.

A recent UCSD psychology graduate, Lilly acknowledged that Black community college students face challenges and Black university students face larger ones. She insists they are surmountable.

“You are worthy and you are

said. “You can do this!”

Lilly said she

poet and a talented leader who guided a national champion

attended the

publication. l Her favorite title, though, is Mom. l Gaines, her adorable daughter Ayris and her array of talents have left

Southwestern College for North Carolina A&T State University, an elite

Black Student Welcome event during her first semester at SC and heard the president of Black Student Union give an

HBCU (Historically Black College or University). l Transferring to an

inspiring speech. She said she

HBCU was her dream, her goal and her mission — all of which crystallized

“that would be an amazing

during a painful divorce.

Gaines, her adorable daughter Ayris and her array of talents have left Southwestern College for North Carolina A&T State University, an elite HBCU (Historically Black College or University). Transferring to an HBCU was her dream, her goal and her mission — all of which crystallized during a painful divorce.

“In 2019, when my divorce was finalized with my daughter’s father, I started to recognize that I needed to put myself in a position to win,” she said. “I needed to put myself in a position to succeed in life, take care of my daughter, my health and my education.”

Gaines said she faced many challenges that would have made anyone want to quit. Being a single parent in college in a city with no relatives made it rough when she or her daughter got sick. There were times she cried and prayed to God for strength to get through the divorce. As she realized she was going to make it, a new confidence took hold. That same strength to survive divorce could also power her dreams.

“Divorce taught me that I can overcome anything, because that is the most challenging thing any woman with a child can go through by herself,” she said. “I didn’t have family or friends holding my hand

clearly remembers thinking, thing to do someday.”

A year later, Lilly was herself president of Black Student

Courtesy Pernisha Gaines

during the process and it instilled confidence that to this day cannot be shaken.”

Her other motivator is Ayris.

Gaines said she is earning a degree for herself and because her daughter watches her every move.

Coronavirus was a hurdle, one that almost torpedoed the publication of Southwestern’s El Sol Magazine she was leading as Editor-in-Chief. When The Sun broke the story on March 10, 2020 that SC was closing, El Sol was a beautiful vision that was nowhere near finished. Staff scattered to every corner of San Diego County and into Mexico. Slowly, relentlessly, Gaines and her staff pulled together the contents and published El Sol Magazine in July.

It was named National Community College Magazine of the Year by four collegiate journalism organizations so far, as well as Best Collegiate Magazine by the San Diego Press Club and the Society of Professional Journalists.

SC graphic design instructor Kenneth Pagano worked closely with Gaines on the publication of El Sol. He said he noticed a natural leader with the perfect balance of managerial and interpersonal skills.

“She’s so bright,” he said. “She could talk about anything, she can talk to anybody. She could listen and she really inspired us.”

Pagano said Gaines was good at working with diverse, creative people.

“One thing I’ve always liked about the journalism program is that it attracts people from all backgrounds, all races, nationalities, politics, ethnicities and she was such a guiding light,” he said. “Even though she’s had her own struggle, she used her own struggle as a source of determination and did not let her struggle define her success.”

Dr. Cynthia McGregor, dean of the School of Arts, Communications and Social GAINES PG C4

Union.

One of her most important lessons learned at SC was, “define yourself outside of institutional labels.”

“I have had this idea that if I got to a certain level of education or if I got to a certain point in my career where I am making enough money, that (race and identity) wouldn’t matter and that is simply not true,” she said.

Lilly confessed to being over-eager at SC and at first overcommitted. Stress and exhaustion followed. She learned to balance her activities to preserve her physical and mental health.

“You cannot pour from an empty cup,” she said. “I’d rather do a few things in excellence than do everything on a lower level.”

Photo Courtesy Nabressa Lily

Monte Clark

San Jose State

S

an Jose State biology major Monte Clark said Delta Sigma Phi, the

most diverse fraternity on campus, was exactly what he was looking for. Clark was

Ayona Hudson

terms of going

UCLA

A

“We’re always looking at the next

president of the

to conferences

person instead of just looking at

Black Student

yona Hudson, a political

and navigating

ourselves,” she said. “I was accepted

Union at SC and

science and African-

my financial aid,

(to UCLA) for a reason. I can do this!”

is now Director

American Studies major at

knowing who to

At SC Hudson was vice president

of Diversity,

UCLA, advised SC students to “go

talk to and getting

of the Black Student Union and

Equity and

for it!”

help.”

secretary of Soul Sisters, a club to

Inclusion at his frat.

Starting at

“You miss 100 percent of the

empower women of color.

“I saw that they didn’t have a

“I had the opportunity to help

position, so I offered to create it

Hudson confessed, partly because

really uplift those clubs and create a

and unanimously they agreed,”

all the students surrounding her

community for fellow Black students

he said.

first-year Jaguars connect with

seemed so outstanding. She entered

at Southwestern,” she said. “I know

UMOJA (Kiswahili for UNITY).

UCLA with a 3.6 GPA, she said, and

we are a minority in the population,

UMOJA changed her life, she said.

knew that students with higher

so being a part of BSU and Soul

GPAs did not get in. She said for

Sisters, having leadership roles, I felt

counselors, where I felt

a while she felt unworthy, and

very empowered to make sure other

encouraged with my academic

wondered how and why she was

Black students know that we are in

journey, where I met great people,”

admitted.

this together.”

shots you don’t take,” she said. “So

UCLA was a bit intimidating at first,

never be scared, never be hesitant.”

Hudson recommended that

“That’s where I had great

she said. “UMOJA opened me Photo Courtesy Solé Ortiz-Ruiz

looking for a smart,

cool role model.

ernisha Gaines is an award-winning journalist, an accomplished

Ortiz-Ruiz said her most

be the newspaper and Professor

Southwestern College

should be,” she

amazing memory at SC was being “The greatest thing that

N

abressa Lilly entered

exactly where you

experiences as me.”

Southwestern has given me has to

UCSD

BY JULIA WOOCK | Staff Writer

(means) people don’t share the same

the Sports Editor of The Sun.

Nabressa Lilly

up to so many opportunities in

WINTER EDITION 2021-22/ISSUE 3

Stories written by

She got over her imposter syndrome.

THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN

Photo Courtesy Monte Clark

Photo Courtesy Ayona Hudson

Xiomara Villarreal-Gerardo

SPECIAL SECTION: BLACK HISTORY ALL YEAR Children learn more from what you are than what you teach. — WEB Dubois

When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world. ­— George Washington Carver

Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.

— Thurgood Marshall

CONTINUED FROM PG. C1

GILMAN: Doctor fights COVID-19 and ignorance “I’ve seen more death in this pandemic than (six months in) Iraq,” he said with a sigh. “I’m in a war zone at home.”

Former President Trump and his supporters created and regularly fed the misery, Gilman said, with politically-motivated coronavirus denial and damaging rhetoric.

Gilman said he was saddened and offended by the disregard for the health of Black, Latino and Native Americans by the government.

“I’m watching people who do not care about this war (on COVID-19),” he said. “Returning to America was like going back into the war zone, being traumatized again and watching my (Black) community die.”

SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SPRINGBOARD Gilman was a U.S. Navy veteran of five years when he enrolled at Southwestern College in 2005.

Professor of Chemistry Dr. David Hecht said he recalls Gilman as a young man with laser focus. Not satisfied with 100 percent on his labs and exams, Gilman craved a deep understanding of the subject matter, Hecht said, that made him a generational student. Besides being a talented scientist, Hecht said, Gilman was a gifted public speaker who, as a student, gave one of the best and most professional presentations he has ever seen.

“He was on a mission to become a doctor and nothing was going to get in his way,” said Hecht.

No one outworked Gilman, whose legendary 14-hour days on campus usually began before dawn and ended with security asking him to leave at 10 p.m. General Chemistry was hard, he said, but fascinating, fueling an intense passion to learn. Hecht was a crucial mentor, Gilman said, who was always there with support, advice or a swift kick to the rear when required. Both men were from New Jersey, which completed the bond.

“Like-minded souls, Jersey boys,” said Hecht.

Hecht was also there with the right advice at a crucial moment.

Gilman had the pleasant problem of choosing between UC Berkeley, UCSD and UCLA. “You got into UC Berkeley?”

Gilman recalled Hecht saying. “You gotta go there! That’s where all the

Nobel laureates are and they even have (chemical elements) named for them!”

An East Coast guy, Gilman said he was unfamiliar with California universities, so he decided to drive to Berkeley. When he saw Cal’s Gilman Hall he figured it was a sign, he said.

Hecht also saw Gilman himself as a sign. He was a young teacher and Gilman was one of his first students, Hecht said. Gilman was exceptional and a pleasure to teach.

Gilman worked in New York during its grim COVID-19 outbreak last spring when hospitals and morgues were overwhelmed. Affluent travelers who had returned home from Italy and Spain unknowingly brought the novel coronavirus with them, Gilman said, launching one of America’s worst ever urban contagion episodes.

Coronavirus got loose in crowded low-income neighborhoods of color, he said, killing thousands.

“A great way to get into teaching,” said Hecht.

Transferring into an elite institution was very hard for a Black Jersey kid, said Gilman.

He said attending UC Berkeley opened his eyes to the privilege other students had, but also proof that someone from humble beginnings can succeed. He attended UCSF for medical school and then did a four-year emergency medicine residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan through Cornell and Columbia universities.

POLITICS AND THE PANDEMIC Gilman said the Trump administration inexplicably downplayed the pandemic from the beginning, even though Trump and members of his inner circle told Washington Post journalist

Bob Woodward they knew from the beginning exactly how deadly this virus was. Trump’s ill-advised comparisons of COVID-19 to the flu, flippant remarks about masks and disparagement of scientists were damaging, he said.

“It doesn’t work when you have a president that is saying this (misinformation) to his followers,” said Gilman. “We were really doomed. I knew at the beginning it was going to be a test of American solidarity like 9/11.”

Gilman worked in New York during its grim COVID-19 outbreak last spring when hospitals and morgues were overwhelmed. Refrigerator trucks that usually hauled beef and dairy products to supermarkets were brought in to store bodies as they piled up. Affluent travelers who had returned home from Italy and Spain unknowingly brought the novel coronavirus with them, Gilman said, launching one of America’s worst ever urban contagion episodes. Coronavirus got loose in crowded low-income neighborhoods of color, he said, killing thousands.

After months of grueling work in New York, Gilman transferred to Yuma, Arizona. There he saw first-hand the stark differences between Democratic- and Republican-led states and the effect governors had on public health policies during a crisis.

New York lost 20,000 people in 10 weeks, he said, but moved assertively to enact stringent measures to curb the spread of the virus. New York’s efforts were painful, but worked, Gilman said.

Arizona, on the other hand, politicized the virus and took little meaningful action. Masks were never encouraged, much less required, and everything remained open to such an extent that COVID deniers from California and other states traveled to Arizona to engage in sports events, political rallies and other super spreader activities. Politicizing the novel coronavirus, blaming it on Asians and downplaying its danger in an inexplicable effort to prevent an economic slowdown were all catastrophic moves by conservative elected officials, he said.

Yuma, much like the San Ysidro-National City corridor of the South Bay, is still getting hammered by COVID-19, Gilman said. The U.S. Army has deployed personnel to Yuma due to a severe shortage of doctors and nursing staff, he said. Almost 90 percent of Gilman’s patients are people

COVID HERO’S JOURNEY

Cleavon Gilman joined the military in August 1999. He served five and a half years in the Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps.

Compiled By Julia Woock Photos Courtesy Cleavon Gilman

“He was on a mission to become a doctor and nothing was going to get in his way."

Dr. David Hecht

SC Chemistry professor

of color, including Latino and Indigenous people. He said there is an enormous and uncountable population of Mexican farm laborers considered essential workers that have been hit particularly hard.

PEOPLE OF COLOR DISTRUST HEALTHCARE The U.S. has a long and dark history with people of color and health care due to heinous experimentation on AfricanAmericans and Native Americans.

Cells harvested from Black cancer patient Henrietta Lacks without her knowledge in 1951 continue to be used in laboratories across the nation without compensation to her family. “HeLa Cells” are used in cancer research, in vitro fertilization, immunology and — most recently — development of COVID-19 vaccines.

An even more notorious case, the brutal Tuskegee Syphilis Study, was a 40-year observation of the effects of untreated syphilis in Black men. It began in 1932 when syphilis had no cure. Even when penicillin became available for treatment, the U.S. Public Health Service made sure study subjects did not receive it so researchers could watch the gruesome disease run its course, blinding victims, infecting their brains and killing them. It was not until 1972, when the gruesome story was leaked to journalists, that the horrific syphilis study ended. By then 128 patients had suffered terrible deaths from syphilis or complications, 40 of their wives were infected and 19 of their

children developed congenital syphilis. Countless others suffered from the painful, pernicious disease, including severe brain damage.

Fanny Lou Hamer, a midcentury Black Civil Rights activist, was sterilized without her knowledge. She later discovered that six of 10 hospitalized Black women were unknowingly sterilized by a procedure so common it was known as the “Mississippi Appendectomy.”

Native American women in the 1960s and 1970s were victims of mass sterilization at the hands of the Indian Health Services, an agency originally created to help them. Data indicates more than 25 percent of Indigenous women of child-bearing age were sterilized. Researchers insist that figure is probably much higher.

Between 1970-76 up to 50 percent of all Indigenous American women were sterilized, according to investigator Jane Lawrence.

Dwindling Native American populations are the result, Lawrence reported.

Gilman said people of color have every reason to be angry about past abuses and to be wary of American health care, but he said change is afoot and doctors of color are leading it. He encouraged Black Americans, Latinos and Native Americans to get vaccinated as soon as possible to help stem the COVID-19 crisis in their communities. Gilman praised people of color who are recording themselves getting the vaccine and posting on social media in an attempt to earn the trust of their communities. He also documented his experience with the vaccine on his social media.

“I got the second shot on Inauguration Day and had a bit of fatigue the next day, but I documented that,” he said. “I told people about it, ‘here’s what I have.’ I’ve been normal ever since (and) nothing’s happened to me.”

Gilman said he thinks people of color need people they trust to show the way out of the pandemic.

He is trying to be one of those role models, he said, by being authentic and transparent.

Gilman said other physicians are also documenting on platforms like Twitter. He said being kind and truthful is essential in a nation where procedures against people of color are still taking place, such as hysterectomies in ICE detention centers in Irwin County, Georgia.

CONT ON NEXT PAGE

COVID-19 PANDEMIC 2020–21

In 2009, Gilman transferred from SC to UC Berkeley. He completed physiology coursework at UCSF East Bay.

In 2016, Gilman earned a Doctor of Medicine and became an emergency medicine resident physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

During his residency, Dr. Gilman submitted “Rise Up Now,” a multimedia art project, to the National Academy of Medicine’s Expressions of Clinician WellBeing Project. He wrote and performed the song lyrics heard over the imagery.

THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN

On March 20, 2020, Dr. Gilman began documenting the pandemic on Twitter at #cleavonmdjournal.

In the summer of 2020, Gilman was terminated for tweeting about the conditions in the ER hospital in Yuma, AZ, where he worked. He was reinstated after inspectors concluded he was right.

In Dec. 2020, President-elect Joe Biden called Dr. Gilman to thank him for his humanitarian efforts and courage.

WINTER EDITION 2021-22/ISSUE 3

C3

SPECIAL SECTION: BLACK HISTORY ALL YEAR Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

— President Barack Obama

There's not an American in this country free until every one of us is free.

— Jackie Robinson —

ON THE FRONT LINES Gilman said he has lost track of how many of his patients have died due to the virus. He was finishing his residency in Manhattan when New York City became ground zero for COVID-19. For a stretch he was calling at least three families a day to inform them that loved ones had died. Most of the patients he intubated did not survive, he said, and their deaths were difficult.

“The amount of trauma and the amount of patients that I’ve lost, that I’ve had to intubate, the families I’ve had to call, the shrill cries when I tell them that their loved ones (are) dead was extremely difficult,” he said. “It just chips away at your heart, chips away at your soul.”

Ghosts inhabit his fitful nights, he said, as he dreams of patients he could not save, he said.

“It’s really hard, because I feel like we’re alone in that there is no way out of this and that all this trauma, all this burden, all this emotional stress is being put on those healthcare workers,” he said.

“I have to live with the fact that these patients died and I was at their bedside.”

Gilman said it is insulting to health care workers when belligerent people are out and about without wearing a mask. Listening to legions of Americans whine about “lost personal freedom” and “individual liberty” is a narcissistic manipulation of American values, he said. Selfishness has replaced altruism, belligerence has replaced patriotism, indulgence has replaced sacrifice, cowardice has replaced heroism.

While entitled gym rats and foodies bellyache about missed weight lifting and fancy dining, healthcare workers are battling Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, marathon shifts with few days off to rest and their own brushes with COVID-19 illness and death.

Each dead, ill or overwrought healthcare professional means the survivors have to work even harder with less help.

“Intubating a patient is a very

dangerous thing,” he said. “The process releases aerosols full of the virus. The new hurtful (rhetoric) is that healthcare workers are vaccinated and have nothing to worry about. (It is nonsense) because I can still contract the virus and bring it home to my fiancée, and she can die. I can still bring it home to my mother in law who is in her 60s. There has been a constant narrative to try to downplay the severity of this pandemic at the expense of healthcare workers. (Many people downplay) what we’re going through.”

Watching people die never gets easier, Gilman said. He recounted an episode in a COVID ICU where he witnessed sobbing members of a young family say goodbye to their father, who was on the brink of death. The man’s wife and young children lost something that was wonderful and irreplaceable, he said. Gilman said he has endured similar encounters hundreds of times in a dozen settings.

“These young children lost their father, who was also young,” he said. “Then I go home and see (on TV) people galavanting, like at the Super Bowl, without masks.”

Gilman said it is frustrating and lonely to be a healthcare worker under these conditions.

“I’m in a constant war where it’s not supported (by the entire nation) and I’m being traumatized,” he said. “My staff of healthcare workers are being traumatized.”

Thousands of experienced healthcare workers are leaving the profession because they feel unsupported and are no longer willing to risk themselves and their families in an endless war, Gilman said. Many have collapsed under the depressing and exhausting conditions, he said, and the aftermath is alienation from their own families, nightmares, trauma and constant stress due to the emotional toll of working under brutal conditions. “(We are losing) the ICU nurses who have been there for years and who know how to work everything,” he said. “They are being replaced with new grads who

MANY HAPPY RETURNS — Dr. Gilman is a star attraction at Southwestern College recruiting fairs and a role model for Black students.

Photo courtesy of Cleavon Gilman haven’t really had any experience.”

To compensate, the remaining experienced nurses overextend themselves in a heroic but unsustainable effort to pick up the slack, said Gilman.

“Instead of caring for the norm of two ICU patients, some people are caring for five or six, because they just aren’t enough nurses to go around,” he said.

Gilman said healthcare professionals are not receiving adequate PPE and are often forced to attempt to re-sterilize N95 masks and other items meant for one use.

Cleaned up PPE is never as effective as new equipment, he said, and can be a cause of coronavirus spread among doctors and nurses.

Even with the sunny narratives cropping up in COVID-exhausted America, the reality in many parts of the country is still grim, Gilman said. There are still not enough beds for all COVID-19 patients and ICUs across the nation are still jammed.

Non-COVID patients suffering other ailments are often unable to be admitted to hospitals or treated, he said, which is also unnecessarily driving up fatalities. Thousands of very ill people are parked in

emergency rooms or makeshift facilities because COVID-19 wards have swallowed up so much of America’s hospital footprint.

MISINFORMATION A LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH Coronavirus has been a twofront war, Gilman said. COVID-19 is one front, misinformation the second. Misinformation, magical thinking and denialism creates a never ending stream of patients and perpetuates relentless suffering and death, Gilman said.

Misinformation comes in many forms, he said, from the ignorant (“young people cannot spread COVID”) to the preposterous (“hydroxychloroquine will save us”) to the flat-out delusional (“Bill Gates is using the vaccine to inject us with microchips”).

People died when Trump suggested ingesting bleach and some of his followers did it.

Anti-vaxxer groups are capitalizing on the crisis to fan misinformation and further their anti-science agenda. Vaccines are the key to leading humanity out of the pandemic, he said, and time is of the

essence.

“We just haven’t gotten a break as healthcare workers and as educators throughout this pandemic,” said Gilman. “We are constantly battling to stop the spread of misinformation. During the (Trump) administration there was not a clear public health message, so the misinformation filled in.”

Misinformation and political denialism led to the COVID-19 breakout in America, Gilman said, and these forces have slowed progress against the pandemic. Trump’s attempt to convince Americans that the novel coronavirus was not dangerous and his administration’s slow roll of countermeasures was catastrophic, Gilman said, and could well be again.

“There are new variants of the virus spreading and hopefully the vaccine holds up against these,” he said. “It may be (that Americans will require) an annual vaccine because when you let a virus spread uncontrollably, this is what happens.”

ESCAPING THE PANDEMIC Emerging from this pandemic is going to be difficult, Gilman said. A critical percentage of the population must receive the vaccine, continue to wear masks and social distance for the foreseeable future, he said.

Though he has great faith in the medical profession, he said, he has grown wary of Americans who lack the courtesy and discipline to remain vigilant. Gilman said watching televised super spread events like maskless Trump rallies, careless holiday gatherings, the Capitol Riot and the Super Bowl were demoralizing to him and his colleagues. Super spreader events overwhelm hospitals and their staffs, knocking down all the coronavirus dominoes again.

“I think it’s patriotic to wear a mask,” said Gilman. “It’s the most patriotic thing that you can do right now at this moment for your country and for other human beings here and around the world.”

CONTINUED FROM PG. S3

GAINES: Champion journalist, respected leader pursuing her dreams at historically Black college Sciences, said Gaines is smart, visionary and tough.

“I remember her coming in looking like she wasn’t feeling well, but she was so committed to her studies and committed to her work in journalism that she had the perseverance to flourish,” McGregor said. “I could tell by her commitment that she’s got a bright future.”

McGregor said an HBCU is a wonderful choice for Gaines because she would have the support to continue to flourish and become the best version of herself. She said Gaines was invaluable to the journalism program and “did a great job as Editor-in-Chief of the national champion school magazine, El Sol.” “When you see students like Pernisha embrace those challenges and move forward, it’s the best feeling,” she said. “It is very inspiring.”

Gaines said the pandemic brought on additional challenges, but she embraced a mindset that she can tackle anything, making her unstoppable.

“I only see myself winning,” she said, “nothing is a fail. Everything is a lesson and I’m going to continue to go to my lessons and win in my own way, whatever that means for me.”

North Carolina A&T was warm, welcoming and made her feel

C4

“Representation is essential because my young Black daughter can look up to me as a Black woman and say, my mommy did it, so can I. And if my daughter doesn’t say it, my granddaughter can say it, and if my daughter happens to bring a set of friends around who are also young Black women, they can say it.”

Pernisha Gaines SC graduate

important, she said. After earning a BA in African-American Studies, Gaines said she aspires to a Master’s from Howard University, an HBCU in Washington D.C. Her down range goal is to become an HBCU faculty member or administrator where she can empower students like herself to

WINTER EDITION 2021-22/ISSUE 3

accomplish their dreams.

“I want to reach back one day and help someone else,” she said.

“I think we should focus not just on ourselves, but also on our community.”

NCA&T called to her, she said, because she consistently read motivating things about the college.

At predominantly white institutions, she said, African-American culture and history is an afterthought. At an HBCU they are at the forefront.

“I would much rather go to a school which considers me and my legacy a top priority, than to attend a college or university that plays down my relevance,” she said.

Black women are no different now than they were years ago when icons like Coretta Scott King were fighting in the hot Southern sun for the civil rights of African Americans, said Gaines. Vice President Kamala Harris exemplifies that spirit, she said, paving the road for all women of color. Black women should care about all people who are burdened, she said, and be a force for goodness.

“I think Black women are the mothers of this earth and that is only because we’ve given birth to so much,” she said. “We’ve given birth to the race. We’ve given birth to our families. We’ve given birth to ideas, careers and innovations. We

THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN

will continue to make a way out of absolutely no way. When there is a wall, we find a way to break it down.”

Black women face myriad issues, she said, and so do young Black children. Black women must fight to keep families together, Black communities together and Black culture together, Gaines said.

“Representation is essential because my young Black daughter can look up to me as a Black woman and say, my mommy did it, so can I,” she said. “And if my daughter doesn’t say it, my granddaughter can say it, and if my daughter happens to bring a set of friends around who are also young Black women, they can say it.”

Gaines said it is important for Black women to see themselves in other Black women.

“As a Black woman, I’m looking up to Black women,” she said. “I’m looking up to the familiar race and that is how important representation is. If I don’t see that, then I have to go off of someone who doesn’t necessarily experience the culture I do.”

Work remains to make American a place where all men and women are created equal, she said.

“I can’t believe that after hundreds of years we are still not there,” she said. “I want my daughter to be able to walk outside and know

that she’s not going to be harmed or killed by someone who is not Black because of her skin tone.

I want her to have a very Black experience, but I also want her to be able to feel comfortable in her skin in any room. I feel like that is what we’re struggling with now as Black individuals — feeling uncomfortable being Black because someone else is uncomfortable with us.”

Former SC President Dr. Kindred Murillo said Gaines is a deserving student and she hopes others will follow her from SC to HBCUs. “Our Historically Black Colleges and Universities are doing such an amazing job getting students into great jobs and advanced degrees such as law and medicine,” she said.

“Pernisha will thrive at her HBCU and continue toward her potential.”

Gaines has advice for Black women and girls: Work hard, ask for help and do what you can with whatever resources you have.

“You never know when the opportunity that changes your life may present itself,” she said. “Never give up on yourself no matter how hard it gets and learn what it means to go above and beyond for yourself.

A lot of times we go above and beyond for people who don’t value us enough. Learn to go above and beyond for yourself.”