AN ACP HALL OF FAME NEWSPAPER
RESETTING A RELATIONSHIP Southwestern
MARCH 15, 2022 / ISSUE 4
ACKNOWLEDGING A TRAGIC HISTORY College lifts all facilities fees for Kumeyaay People BY NICOLETTE MONIQUE LUNA News Editor
College Governing Board members have approved a verbal land acknowledgment to read prior to public campus events.
WOMEN'S MARCH TIJUANA, MEXICO
PUENTE’S CO-FOUNDER HONORED FOR SERVICE TO STUDENTS
A NATIONAL PACEMAKER AWARD NEWSPAPER
In 1960, Sweetwater Union High School District Superintendent Joe Rindone rented a helicopter to soar over the largely empty South County to look for a spot to build Southwestern College. He chose a spot near the conjunction of twolane Otay Lakes Road and desolate
Telegraph Canyon Road because it was flat, accessible and would, he predicted, someday be the geographical center of Chula Vista. About 12,000 years earlier native Kumeyaay People chose the same land for a village. They chose well. There was a nearby water source, arable land, mild climate and a nice view. As any 21st century real estate agent might
say, “Location, location, location.” During the settlement of California and Mexico by Europeans, the Kumeyaay People were, as anthropologist Florence Connelly Shipek famously described it, “Pushed into the Rocks.” Oncemigratory people who spent summers in the mountains and wintered at the
For a second year Mexican women and their supporters protest the frightening rates of sexual violence and murder of women and girls. Special Section
GORILLAS IN OUR MIDST
RAMIREZ PG 2
LETICIA CAZARES
Dental hygiene scrubs sanctions State board restores program’s standing after tough checkup
BY LESLEY GARATE Staff Writer
David Ramirez is a bridge builder who has never hammered a rivet or spanned a river. He creates bridges to the future for his students. For more than three decades Ramirez has been the fire and guiding light of the Southwestern College Puente Program, an innovative effort to help disadvantaged Latino students to transfer and thrive in universities. Puente means bridge in Spanish and the program has been a bridge out of poverty into success for hundreds of SC students since its founding in 1989. It is considered a model program in California and has been named the state’s best Puente Program several times. It celebrated its 30th birthday in DAVID 2019. RAMIREZ Ramirez was honored for his advocacy for Latino students by the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges with its Emancipation Through Education Award. FACCC presents the honor annually to an educator who elevates students from disadvantage to hope and success. “Well deserved!” said Vice President of Student Services Dr. Tina King. “This is a great win for (Ramirez), our students and the college.” Trustee Leticia Cazares praised Ramirez as a great member of the faculty and the Southwestern College community. “Congratulations to David (for the FACCC recognition),” she said. “We all thank you for your commitment to students. (He has) touched so many lives and can be credited for so many student success stories!” Ramirez co-founded Puente
KUMEYAAY PG 4
BY JANINE RIVERA Staff Writer
C
entral Africa’s mountain gorillas are magnificent, extremely rare and extraordinarily hard to visit. So Southwestern College student Esteban Preciado had to go. Preciado – a San Ysidro HS grad, former Marine and SC Student of Distinction Award recipient – flew to Uganda to commune with a gorilla family that nearly provoked a confrontation with a testy 500-pound silverback male. Photograph by Esteban Preciado. Special Section
Southwestern College’s dental hygiene program got a clean bill of health recently after a bumpy checkup in the fall. A September inspection by the Dental Hygiene Board of California tagged the program with five deficiencies and a warning to correct them before the spring semester. College administrators and SC Dental Hygiene staff have all said the deficiencies were corrected and the popular program is back in the state’s good standing. Dental Hygiene Director Gay Teel said the citations were minor and easy fixes. The report and the modifications did not interfere with instruction, he said. Some of the deficiencies were caused by short-term alterations necessitated by the COVID-19 situation at the National City satellite campus, Teel said. Inspectors’ first deficiency cited lack of security and privacy in the clinical facilities. “Clinic door unlocked and open to reception providing unauthorized access to clinic,” read the report. “No barriers between patient operatory chairs (to provide) patient privacy.” Teel said the doors were indeed unlocked during the inspectors’ visit, but that subsequent training of staff will alleviate the problem. Surgical curtains were installed between the dental stations to improve privacy, he said. State board inspectors criticized the college for diminishing the authority of the program director and not properly staffing the faculty. “Program director does not have the primary responsibility for all aspects of the program,” according to the report. “College Human Resources office superseded program director in scheduling faculty assignments.” Inspectors further criticized SC’s administrative staffing. “Administrative staff (is) not on campus to assist with program functions,” said the report. Vice President of Human Resources Janene McIntyre said the college was managing personnel correctly. “(The program director) has the right of assignment pursuant to the 16 CCR regulations in order to staff the program and students’ needs,” read the college’s response. “This is acknowledged by higher administration DENTAL PG 2
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UFW ICON DOLORES HUERTA TO VISIT CAMPUS
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RAMIREZ:Counselor builds new bridges for SC’s Latino students
BY NICOLETTE MONIQUE LUNA News Editor
“SI SE PUEDE!” (“It is possible!”) – Civil rights icon Dolores Huerta “We did it!” – ASO President Sonia Camargo Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union and a civil rights icon, has accepted an invitation from the Southwestern College MEChA Club to speak to students May 4 in the performing arts center. MEChA leaders said they will email SC students with details following spring break. ASO President Sonia Camargo and her fellow MECHistas have been working for months to schedule an appearance by the 91-yearold Huerta, considered one of America’s g r e a t e s t living women. DOLORES Camargo said HUERTA she is “thrilled” Huerta will be coming to Chula Vista. “She is so powerful and knowledgeable,” said Camargo. “She fights for the people. She is brave (and) she did what needed to be done. Dolores Huerta is a strong and powerful voice who has had such an impact.” Camargo said Huerta is one of America’s greatest women ever and a transcendent role model. “I want students to know it doesn’t matter your size or race because you have a voice,” she said. “You don’t have to be silent. Fight for what you believe in.” Best known for her labor activism, Huerta has dedicated her life to fighting for justice and equality for the poor and marginalized, Camargo HUERTA PG 5
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DENTAL: Program receives a spotless Spring ’22 checkup and (the) faculty union and will be followed in future terms of assignments starting spring 2022. It has been the policy for the (program director) to create the staffing assignments with approval from the Dean and is supported by the VicePresident of Academic Affairs and the Human Resource Department.” Investigators said the program lacked several of the required academic prerequisites for a state dental hygiene certificate, including psychology, oral communication and sociology. It also charged that the college illegally allowed Advanced Placement exams in lieu of prerequisites. Teel said these allegations were not true and “had been missed or confused by (the) Dental Hygiene Board of California.” “(Prerequisites were) approved with proof of documentation,” he said. “No AP exams will be used in lieu of college-level prerequisite courses.” SC’s dental hygiene program is held in high regard throughout the state, according to National City Dean Chris Perri. It has an exemplary success rate, she said, and places graduates into high-paying jobs. The program was founded in 1999 and was located to the National City Higher Education Center about 20 years ago.
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RED DEVIL FOR LIFE – National City Mayor Alejandra Sotelo-Solis was born and raised in “The City of Progress.” She attended elementary school at the National School District and graduated from Sweetwater High School, the oldest high school in the region. Photo courtesy of Sweetwater High School Facebook
National City mayor a Latina role model BY CAMILA GONZALEZ Editor-in-Chief
Alejandra Sotelo-Solis had a degree from UCSD and had served for years as a National City Commissioner when she decided as a 27 year old to run for mayor. She was expecting a rough-andtumble campaign, but one of the first questions she got from a potential voter caught her off guard. “So, you don’t want to have children?” the voter asked. Sotelo-Solis took a breath and gathered herself. “I do not know what my uterus has to do with my leadership skills, but let me tell you why I am qualified for this position,” she said as most of the audience nodded in approval. Running for office is never easy if you are a woman, she said, but Sotelo-Solis has demonstrated a talent for elective office. After serving two terms on the city council, she was elected National City’s first Latina mayor in 2018 and has established herself as one of the region’s most effective public servants. A native and lifelong resident of San Diego County’s second oldest city, Sotelo-Solis started developing her leadership skills when she was a Sweetwater High School Red Devil. She transferred to UCSD intending to major in pre-law to become a lawyer, but discovered a greater love for political science and public service. She was active in MEChA and the Student Affirmative Committee, blossoming as a leader. She was just 18 when she was appointed to a city commission, an experience that helped her to learn the machinations and functions of National City. After graduating from UCSD, she took her first stab at the mayor’s office. Like most first-time candidates, she lost, but the experience was transformative. Just two years later, in 2008, she was elected to the city council. She was re-elected in 2012. In 2018 she ran for mayor against three other candidates and won by a margin of 12 percent. Her personal mission statement guides her decision making, she said. “I want my community to know this is their community and they deserve the very best,” she said. Sotelo-Solis, besides being the first Latina mayor in the city’s 134-year history, is unique in that she came out of an activist background rather than a business background like so many of National City’s elected officials over the years. She prefers to think of herself as a loving gardener. “Good leadership is good stewardship, like planting a seed,
“We need to help give the people in our community opportunities to thrive, and the support they need and deserve to have safe, happy, fulfilling lives.”
Alejandra Sotelo-Solis
Mayor National City
BIOGRAPHY Alejandra Sotelo-Solis was born and raised in National City about four blocks from City Hall where she is now the first Latina mayor of the community of 60,000 and just the second women in the history of the 134-year-old city. She attended Sweetwater High School and SDSU, earning a degree in political science. At 18 she became a National City commissioner and was elected to the city council at 29. After two terms on the council she was elected mayor in 2018. Compiled by Camila Gonzalez
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watering it, giving it love and taking care of it,” she said. “We need to help give the people in our community opportunities to thrive and the support they need and deserve to have safe, happy, fulfilling lives.” National City historically lived in the shadow of San Diego to the north and Chula Vista to the south. The City of Progress was neck and neck with San Diego as the region’s dominant metropolis for many years until the transcontinental railroad terminus ended up in San Diego. National City was eventually hemmed in by San Diego and Chula Vista, which limited its size. The city is blessed, however, with a deep water port, a marina, two interstate freeways and a trolley line that make it a transportation-friendly community and a commercial hub. “We have big city attitude and a small town feel,” said Sotelo-Solis. “Our connectedness is what makes us unique. We are revitalizing our downtown. We are revitalizing our citizens’ excitement about National City, but we cannot gentrify or push out the people who have been here and endured the city before its transformation.” National City’s gritty reputation is a blessing and a curse, she said. It is a hub of business and industry, but World War II-era zoning has left many neighborhoods vulnerable to pollution and unhealthy conditions. Sotelo-Solis said the city’s aging housing stock is a challenge and too many people are forced to rent rather than own their homes. “Our citizens deserve affordable housing and not subsidized housing,” she said. “There can be a big difference. We need to promote home ownership and a pleasant living environment.” Her friends and allies say that Sotelo-Solis es de la tierra (of this land). National City is precious to her, because the community raised her and it raised them. “We need citizens who are passionate and are preparing themselves to become the next generation of leaders,” she said. “I’m not going to be here forever. No one is going to be here forever, so we need to bring along the people to take our places. I have two hands and each one is bringing two other people with me.” Sotelo-Solis grew up in a house just four blocks from National City’s City Hall, but it was a long journey from her abuela’s kitchen to la oficina del alcalde. She said she hopes the journey is easier for the next Latina mayor. “I may be the first but I sure won’t be the last,” she said. “This city is 60 percent Latino and it is full of talented Latinas. They’ll be along soon.”
nearly 33 years ago with legendary SC English Professor Phil Lopez. It was one of the first in the state and one of the first in San Diego County. There are now nearly 60 community colleges and at least 36 high schools with Puente programs. Puente is a learning community that provides a specialized English class and a dedicated counselor. Students work in a cohort in and outside of the classroom. Puentistas benefit from mentoring and networking opportunities, often from Puente alumni. Ramirez said the goal of Puente is to help underrepresented Latino students transfer to universities and succeed. Puente students have been accepted to UCLA, UC Berkeley, USCD and SDSU among many others. Nearly half of Puente students transfer. “We make sure to talk to our students about great American universities and encourage them to apply,” Ramirez said. “Many of them had not heard much about top universities, so they never considered applying. You can’t win if you don’t play.” A man of faith, Ramirez said it is important to him that Puente students develop a social consciousness and an appreciation for the rich Chicano/ Latino culture. They visit Chicano Park, attend conferences and tour California universities. Students have volunteered with Gente Unida, Border Angels and orphanages in Tijuana. “Our students develop a stronger sense of identity and a sense of social awareness,” Ramirez said. Ramirez was born in the Los Angeles community of Echo Park near Dodger Stadium. His father was a hard-working waiter, Ramirez said, who despite low wages always found a way to provide for the family. His parents socked away money for day trips to Disneyland, Hollywood and other inspiring LA activities. Even though the family did not own a car “we had no boundaries,” he said. “Puente students also have no boundaries.”
“We make sure to talk to our students about great American universities and encourage them to apply. Many of them had not heard much about top universities, so they never considered applying. You can’t win if you don’t play.”
David Ramirez co-founder puente
A font of wisdom and solid advice, Ramirez remains a magnet for students and former students. His “holy trinity” of good habits have launched a legion of students. “Successful college students can manage time so it doesn’t manage them, make a commitment to their education and ask a lot of questions,” he said. Ramirez has little patience with students who tell him they are not motivated. His retort is blunt. “With all due respect it doesn’t matter because you still have to write your paper, you still have to read your book,” he said. “So don’t tell me you’re not motivated because if you made a commitment, then you’re sticking to it. Motivation is like ocean waves, it comes and it goes.” Southwestern’s bridge, its Puente, stands firm above the waves. Ramirez makes sure of that.
NEWS
ROSARITO: PARADISE UNDER ATTACK Once-beautiful beach community overwhelmed by sewage, dumping
bottles. He sighs as he winds through a shoreline graveyard of abandoned toys, chip wrappers, fluttering shopping bags, straws, cans, plastic cups and tires. “It sucks and it’s sad.”
BY CAMILA GONZALEZ Editor-in-Chief
SEWAGE RUNS FREE It gets worse after a 10-minute walk to a spot just north of the rowdy beachfront Papas and Beer franchise in Rosarito. A fetid fecal stream flows directly out of the city straight into the ocean. Its warm, turgid water has an eye-watering stench that makes clear its cloudy origins. This particular sewage outlet snakes under Benito Juarez Boulevard, the main arterial road. It drains past Dr. Yadira Moreno’s dental office, which is just 50 feet from a canal where untreated sewage collects after coursing through the city. Dr. Moreno has lived in Rosarito for 43 years and loves her hometown, she said, but dreads the direction it is headed. “It is very complicated,” she said. “You have to factor in the trash, untreated sewage and the thermal power station. They all generate a tremendous amount of contamination.” Rosarito’s thermal power station discards its untreated waste directly into the ocean, said Moreno. “I think the biggest issue in Rosarito is the government’s failure to construct a sewage plant to treat the sewage,” she said. “We absolutely need a sewage plant. The pollution from the thermal plant is damaging our health.” Moreno said she long ago gave up on the fouled beach and ocean. “I do not go swimming at the beach,” she said. “I do not enjoy it because when I see the brown foam along the shoreline I believe it is excrement.” There is plenty of blame to go around, Moreno said, but ultimately the government is to blame for the contamination of Baja California’s once-pristine beaches. “Our government is not taking responsibility or making the (infrastructure) investments necessary to protect the beaches. Hotels are also responsible for discharging raw sewage into the oceans. I think that is where we need to start to fix this problem.” Moreno is not optimistic about her hometown’s future. “In 10 years Rosarito will have little or no tourists because the beaches will be too contaminated,” she said. “There will be a point where no one will want to use these beaches. That time is nearly upon us.” Abelardo Lopez Valenzuela, who has lived in Rosarito for 17 years, said he has a similarly glum outlook. “Truthfully, I do not think things will change because every day it gets worse,” he said. “Near the beach they continue to build hotels and more factories, but no sewage treatment facility.” Valenzuela also blamed locals and tourists who trash Baja’s beaches then leave. “There is always disorder,” he said. “People should be more conscientious and take care of these beautiful beaches. They cannot be bothered to pack out their trash.” Law enforcement and government action is required, Valenzuela said. “Tickets should be issued and fines should be high to discourage littering,” he said. “I love going to the beach, but it is difficult to enjoy with all the pollution.”
ROSARITO, BAJA CALIFORNIA NORTE—Rosarito ought to be paradise. In the brisk pre-dawn of late winter, Baja’s famous chaparral hillsides slope gently toward the azure ocean, giving way to a flat sandy beach touching the horizon in every direction. Pelicans skim the incoming swells above a quartette of bodysurfing dolphins. Shorebirds sing their primordial greeting to the dawn, a moving musical performance occasionally halted for a quick bite of sand crab. Gradually the garish light of day lifts the veil of fantasy and exposes a grim reality. Hillsides fragrant with chaparral and bobbing butterflies belch forth streams of raw sewage. Shards of glass, sunbaked plastics and mounds of trash pock the beach like a minefield. Styrofoam and cardboard tumble in the breakers, then retreat in the backwash to tumble some more. Rosarito is best viewed in the gloaming from far away. Distance lends undeserved enchantment. Paradise lost. As the sunlight evades the hillsides and touches down on the smoky sands, people pour forth in a karnevil procession. Vendors push taco carts, entrepreneurs lug gas station coolers with churros and old women with discarded Amazon boxes steaming with homemade burritos amble across the sand. Men with leathery skin in ragged pants and frayed straw hats drag children’s wagons full of iced beer. Paletas to follow. Vendors selling twisty bracelets, threadbare t-shirts and lovely ironwood carvings come ashore, stepping over rivulets of sewage, soggy half-buried trash and stillglowing charcoal from the night before. Paradise destroyed. GOD’S BEACH DEFILED Rosarito is a proto-resort town just 22 miles south of the San Ysidro border crossing, but it seems a continent distant from the manicured shores of Coronado, La Jolla and Del Mar that were made in the same burst of creation. Blessed by God or Mother Nature with even better surroundings and a superior shoreline to those iconic American beaches, Rosarito has been despoiled by carelessness and callous. It is a miracle underappreciated and unloved. Environmental degradation snuck up on Rosarito as it has on other sublime slices of Baja beauty like La Mision, Playa del Mar and Califia. As population grew in the once-desolate coastal areas of Baja California Norte, so did environmental pressures. Homes and businesses sprung up like ambitious squatters, without infrastructure. Sewage systems are virtually nonexistent, treated as an inconvenience rather than a necessity. Rosarito’s 21st century residents manage sewage like an 18th century problem. Most use latrines. Some are connected to septic tanks without drain fields, others to byzantine open air ditches of wastewater that are not disposed of properly. One Rosarito enclave of 748 households generates 7.6 liters of untreated wastewater per second, 170,000 gallons that soon finds its way into the ocean. Trash pickup is spotty and roadside dumping is prevalent. Mounds of household refuse combine with detritus from factories and construction sites. Baja’s dumps are semi-improvised trash cemeteries stashed in out-of-the-way hollows and valleys. They are unsupervised,
TEENAGE WASTELAND — Danny Rodrigues said he wants to love his hometown, but despairs over the unchecked dumping, polluted air and untreated sewage. Any open land in or near Rosarito is usually an impromptu dump site with toxic materials and rats. Photo by Camila Gonzalez / Staff
170,000 A 2012 master plan proposal identified the households in the area of Ampliación Lucio Blanco, on the north side of Playas de Rosarito, as families in critical need. They used latrines, septic tanks without drain fields and open air ditches for wastewater disposal, posing a human health risk from direct contact with raw sewage, as well as an environmental risk for contamination of groundwater and surface water. An estimated 748 households in this subdivision are generating approximately 7.6 liters per second (lps) or 170,000 gallons per day (gd) of wastewater that is not being disposed of properly. Source: North American Development Bank
uncovered and teaming with rats. Clouds of screeching seagulls give them away.
ROSARITO’S RIVER STYX — Untreated sewage and industrial wastewater flows straight to the beach and into the ocean. After a rain storm this canal brims with a torrent of sludge that sends tires, car parts and junked appliances tumbling past homes and restaurants on its way to the beach Photo by Camila Gonzalez / Staff
ATTACKED BY AIR, LAND AND SEA Rosarito and its surrounding areas are at the tipping point, according to residents like philosophical 15-yearold beach lover Danny Rodrigues. “Ten years ago the city was not as polluted,” he said. “It was nice to go outside to enjoy the fresh air, but now when you go outside it smells nasty and you know the air is contaminated.” Rodrigues said he worries that swimming in at Rosarito Beach could make him sick with bacterial infections. He has to carefully watch each and every step to avoid serrated remains of broken beer and tequila
ENVIRONMENTAL AWAKENING Americans ignore the plight of Baja’s beaches at their own peril. Marine biologists and environmentalists in the United States warn that trash and sewage know no borders. The prevailing coastal countercurrent pushes Baja California’s beach water into Alta California. Southern beaches like Imperial Beach, Silver ROSARITO PG 9
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MARCH 15, 2022 / ISSUE 4
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Kumeyaay Indian Nation The Kumeyaay, referred to as Diegueño by the Spanish, were the original native inhabitants of San Diego County. The Kumeyaay, Yumanspeaking people of Hokan stock, have lived in this region for more than 10,000 years. Historically, the Kumeyaay were horticulturists and hunters and gatherers. They were the only Yuman group in the area, the first people who greeted the Spanish when they first sailed into San Diego Harbor with the Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo expedition of 1542. The boundaries of the Kumeyaay lands changed with the arrival of the Europeans. It once extended from the Pacific Ocean, south to Ensenada in Baja Norte, Mexico, east to the sand dunes of the Colorado River in Imperial Valley, and north to Warner Springs Valley. North to northeast, their territory was bounded by other Indian nations — the San Luiseño, Cupeño, and Cahuilla. Today, Kumeyaay tribal members are divided into 12 separate bands: Barona, Campo, Ewiiaapaayp, InajaCosmit, Jamul, LaPosta, Manzanita, Mesa Grande, San Pasqual, Santa Ysabel, Sycuan, and Viejas. One of the largest owners of land in San Diego County, Kumeyaay governments have jurisdiction over approximately 70,000 acres concentrated in East County from El Cajon, Lakeside, Poway and Ramona, to the desert. Of the total acreage, more than 15,000 acres are unusable to the Kumeyaay because the El Capitan Reservoir was removed from Indian Government ownership. The reservoir feeds the San Diego River east of Lakeside and is located within the Capitan Grande Indian Reservation, which is jointly patented to the Viejas and Barona Bands. Source: Viejas Band of Kumeyaay
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“We want to ensure that the campus community not only knows, but acknowledges and appreciates that we are on Kumeyaay lands and that this is a way for us to at least partially give back and do some repair of the damage that has been done throughout history.”
Leticia Cazares
Southwestern College Governing Board Member Photo courtesy of Southwestern College CONTINUED FROM PG. 1
KUMEYAAY: Tribal members may use college facilities for free beach, the Kumeyaay were forced ever eastward as their land was farmed and developed by invaders. Southwestern College trustees have officially acknowledged that the college is built on Kumeyaay land and is making efforts to connect with its original occupants. Trustee Leticia Cazares led an effort to establish a verbal “land acknowledgement” to be read at the start of certain college events. Her next proposal created a new policy that allows the approximately 20,000 Kumeyaay tribal members to use campus facilities and fields without charging rental fees. Cazares said the move was long overdue. “We want to ensure that the campus community not only knows, but acknowledges and appreciates that we are on Kumeyaay lands and that this is a way for us to at least partially give back and do some repair of the damage that has been done throughout history,” she said. Erica Pinto, chairwoman of the Jamul Indian Village, said the respectful gestures are appreciated. “It started with the (SC) board publicly acknowledging at every board meeting that the district operates on what are historically Kumeyaay land,” she said. “Recognition goes a long way for the tribal community, but going beyond acknowledging and taking action that provides a tangible benefit, like free use of facilities for the tribes, is a big step in the right direction.” SC’s new policies have inspired other South County school district to consider similar gestures. South Bay Union School District leaders also adopted a land acknowledgement for the K-6 district that serves Imperial Beach and the southern pockets of San Diego adjacent to the I-5. SBUSD Board President Marco Amaral said his district also wanted to publicly support the region’s Native Americans, particularly the Kumeyaay. “We saw what Southwestern College did and we thought it is a great idea,” he said. “Is it enough? No, but it is a good first step.” Amaral said he is glad that many Americans are looking back at the nation’s history with an eye on the treatment and mistreatment of Indigenous People, African slaves and immigrants. “It speaks to a larger conversation of reparations,” he said. “The United States has always had a difficult time coming to the fact that we have treated various groups with a lack of dignity and respect as well as a genocidal complex.” Cazares said the Kumeyaay People’s catastrophic mistreatment at the hands of Europeans began shortly after explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailing for Spain came ashore in what is now San Diego Bay in 1542. Though Cabrillo and his crew did not stay more than a few days in this area and did not encounter the Kumeyaay, they were engaged in violent fighting with the native people of the Catalina Islands. Subsequent Spanish incursions from the south were deeply antagonistic to the Kumeyaay, despite the Natives’ friendly welcome of the newcomers. Kumeyaay were forced to farm crops for the Spaniards and
Photo courtesy of Erica Pinto
”Our people are story tellers at heart, it’s in our DNA and small measures like this help provide for these opportunities. We think it’s the right thing to do and look forward to the ability to use the facilities to share our stories!”
Erica Pinto Chairwoman
were compelled to build the San Diego Mission and other early buildings. Kumeyaay were reported whipped, beaten, starved, sexually assaulted and forced to convert to Christianity. Many thousand died of diseases the Spanish introduced. Kumeyaay People were later mistreated by Mexican and American settlers who were in a struggle with the Russians for California. Mexico awarded Kumeyaay land to powerful dons in the later 1700s and early 19th century. After gold was discovered in 1849, California was fast tracked for statehood in 1850. Newly installed American politicians and elites confiscated vast tracks of Kumeyaay land and prevented the Indigenous People from practicing their sustainable lifestyle of migrating between the mountains and the coast with the seasons. During the climax of Indian Wars from 1880-1900, Kumeyaay
THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN
survivors were forced to live in the arid hills of what is now San Diego’s East County. Their population dwindled to about 1,000. Annihilation loomed. Nearly a century later California voters passed the Tribal Government Gaming and Economic Self-Sufficiency Act of 1998 which allowed County tribes to engage in gaming and build casinos. The effort helped to lift thousands of Kumeyaay out of poverty, but centuries of institutional racism and financial isolation of the region’s Indigenous People did deep damage that lingers today, said Pinto. “Our People’s lands have been stolen,” she said. “Many of our People have been placed on reservations, usually in rural areas, on undevelopable land, away from economic opportunities. As a result, many of our tribes and their members do not have the resources to pay for the use of facilities (on college campuses), let alone education.” Pinto said the Kumeyaay need access to urban facilities “to tell our own stories.” “Our people are storytellers at heart,” she said. “It’s in our DNA. Small measures like this help provide for these opportunities. We think it’s the right thing to do and we look forward to the ability to use the facilities to share our stories!” Cazares said she would like to see SC add classes on Kumeyaay history and the Ipai language. She also said the college should consider waiving registration fees, though she said that would require action at the state level. Pinto welcomed those and other ideas to improve educational opportunities for Kumeyaay People. “Given many tribal members do not have the resources to advance themselves, education would be important,” she said. “Finding ways to provide education and outreach to encourage advancement would be important. We also believe curriculum, staffing and programming could be improved to help tell the story of the tribal community, specifically in the San Diego (County) region.” Cazares and Pinto both said the relationship between the Kumeyaay and Southwestern College would continue, and both parties would work toward mutually-beneficial innovations. “It is a new era,” said Cazares. “I am optimistic that we can accomplish many, many good things.”
Land Acknowledgment Southwestern College officially adopted language for its Kumeyaay Land Acknowledgment March 14, though it was previously used at governing board meetings and had its public debut at the college theater production “Superhero Planet” in May 2021. It reads: We acknowledge the land upon which we sit and occupy today as the current, traditional and ancestral home of the Kumeyaay Nation. Before they were colonized and genocide occurred, Kumeyaay territory was vast and included Baja California to the south, Palomar Mountain to the north and the Salton Sea to the east. It included Southwestern College locations in Chula Vista, San Ysidro, National City and Otay Mesa. Without them, we would not have access to this gathering or any of the services and benefits our district provides. We take this opportunity to recognize the more than 500 years of demonstrated resilience and resistance in the face of violent actions taken by colonizers in efforts to separate them from their land, culture and one another. We acknowledge that despite this history, the Kumeyaay Nation continues to be an active, thriving people who contribute to the health and benefit of our region. Let us not only remember but acknowledge, as a conscientious political act, that the land we are on is occupied Kumeyaay territory.
NEWS
Q&A WITH COLLEGE PRESIDENT DR. MARK SANCHEZ
Pandemic forced college leaders to adapt those exact data reports. Our local public Dr. Mark Sanchez has been the president of health expert Dr. Wilma Wooten…has Southwestern College for a year now and still been an amazing resource for us. We has not met most of the faculty or very many ask her what protocols the college students. needs to implement in order to It is not that he doesn’t want to, he said, ensure maximum health and safety but the timing has been bad. for our students. We have even held Few would argue that entering a top discussions on what air filters need leadership position one year into a global to go into our buildings to filter out pandemic that chased everyone off campus the Omicron variant. Merv 13 air filters must be challenging. Today, as we enter Year have been installed by our facilities team Three of the COVID Decade, Sanchez is the to filter out the omicron variant. All the remote president who is trying not to be a remote DR. MARK procedures we are implementing are the president. He writes regular global emails to SANCHEZ result of getting a lot of the information employees, he said, and looks for things to celebrate. from experts at UCSD and through our San Sanchez has met over Zoom several times with the Diego County leaders. Editor-in-Chief of The Sun. Following are some highlights edited for length: THE SUN: Thank you for taking the time to meet. First question — How have you personally had to adjust to the era of COVID? DR. MARK SANCHEZ: I have had to make decisions for the entire district and the community we serve. We have had to look at the (COVID) data and we have had to look at the metrics. For me personally, because I have to spend much of my time at the office, I need to make sure we have the health and safety protocol for everyone coming on to campus. I work on campus, so I am constantly making sure I have my mask on to limit exposure. I always make sure I have my face covered around the staff. To minimize exposure we have implemented a rotation where some days staff work remotely and other days in the office. With so many people becoming infected, I prioritize making decisions that will guarantee a healthy environment for our community. THE SUN: What is your favorite part of this job? SANCHEZ: My favorite part of this job is serving this community. It is interesting to me because when I see students on campus I see myself when I attended Southwestern in 1989. Oftentimes when I see students walking by my office or to the bus stop I see myself. What this represents to me is the opportunity to give back to a college that has given me so much and prepared me for my career. … and I get to do it in my hometown, which is not always the case for a college president. It is a very rare opportunity to lead an institution (I) actually graduated from. It is an honor. I am home. I am serving the community I grew up in and love. THE SUN: What is your least favorite part of the job? SANCHEZ: This pandemic has created much stress and has impacted the personal lives of many students, faculty and staff. Trying to find solutions to address all of those complex issues is difficult. There is no prototype on how to tread about this situation. It is something necessary for me to do, but at the same time it is heavy and difficult. THE SUN: How do college leaders keep up with the news of Omicron? What is your process? SANCHEZ: There are several ways we track the data (including) UCSD and their researchers, who are considered among the finest in the country with regards to tracking COVID-19 infection rates. So what they do is they develop model trends for the virus, new cases of infections and declining infection rates. We utilize the models they present on tracking the data. San Diego County also aligns with the use of
THE SUN: We know there are mixed feelings about online classes where students are never in the room with a professor. Some students are telling us that they feel underprepared when they transfer to a university. Do you think this generation of students who have done so much of their college online will be prepared? SANCHEZ: Yes, students have communicated that. I think with the level of instruction that our faculty provides at Southwestern College I think our students will be prepared. We have had students who transferred during the pandemic and others students attending top level universities like Stanford and other students that are doing absolutely amazing. So I think the level of preparation and instruction is occurring at the college. Some of that is related to students getting the resources they need to be successful in their coursework. I do believe our students will be ready for the university when they get there. THE SUN: How do college leaders make good decisions in isolation? How do they collect the personal information they need when they never see faculty or students? SANCHEZ: We do not work in isolation, it is just a new way of working. I was in meetings today with faculty talking about our decision making. During the holidays, we held Zoom meetings while I was 400 miles away in Monterey County with our executive leadership team. We do not make decisions in isolation. We have learned to use technology to bring us together no matter where we are. We also used that time to develop surveys because we wanted to consider their concerns as well as what they wanted to see. Despite the fact we are remote and separated does not necessarily mean we have to work in isolation. THE SUN: This is a tough question for anyone, but what do you think May 2022 will look like for the college? SANCHEZ: I think 2022 is going to be an amazing year. It probably does not feel like that right now (but) I want people to remember (that) in the fall … our facilities were open. We had swim meets, football games, soccer games, athletic events and dance performances. So when we had declining case rates it was starting to feel normal again. What I see in 2022, if we can get back to where we were in October and November with the declining case infection rates, I envision that our facilities will be up. Once we can get back to a stable case infection rate levels and get people back on campus, I think it is going to be an absolutely dynamic semester and year. THE SUN: What do you think SC will look like in 10 years in terms of facilities and curriculum? SANCHEZ: Our facility does an amazing job
in developing curriculum that aligns with our workforce needs. We offer various programs like drone technology, performing arts programs, communication programs, journalism programs, biotech programs and our faculty has also developed our latest program -- the optical technician program. Programs we are developing are preparing our students for the future. We are training and educating (students) for the next generation of workforce opportunities … in San Diego County. All of the studies that San Diego County (government) has developed (regarding) jobs of the future … (illustrate) we have the programs that align to that. So I am very excited about the future of our curriculum and the work our faculty does to create (it). With regards to facilities, I envision the completion of our bond projects which you see (through) the wellness center (and) the performing arts center. We will have a new instructional building, a new planetarium and we are focused on building affordable student housing on our campuses so that students can have access to affordable and quality housing. (Housing) causes a lot of stress for many of our students wondering where they are going to live (and) where they can afford to live. If we can take that out of the equation by providing quality and affordable housing for our students, I think it is going to be a bright future. THE SUN: How has Southwestern College changed since you were here as a student in the 1990s? SANCHEZ: It has grown completely! The performing arts center used to be a dirt lot when I was a student at Southwestern College and now we have these beautiful facilities. So much growth. We now have the public safety training center at Otay Mesa, (a) brand new world-class facility. (And) we have the dental hygiene program in National City. We have our computer programs (and) ESL programs in San Ysidro. So we have created this footprint in South County and it was not like that when I was a student. It makes me proud that the college has expanded its reach to serve every segment of our community. The work that Southwestern College does is very important … and I am proud it has changed for the better. THE SUN: You made a comment in iNewsource stating: “If colleges do not change the way they operate, they will become obsolete.” What are your reasons for this statement? SANCHEZ: We have to continue to always have a pulse on what students want. We have to continue to hear and develop the programs our students desire and require. If we do not deliver, there are several other institutions that are creating quick programs that get students in and out. This is obviously attractive to students because their end goal is to make it into the workforce. We have to get a pulse on that and emulate those institutions. In some ways I believe we have been successful in adapting in building programs. However, there are some areas in which improvement is needed. THE SUN: Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers of the Southwestern College Sun? SANCHEZ: I want readers to know that as a leader I have a tremendous responsibility to make sure I am making decisions to keep our community and students safe. You may not agree with the decisions the leadership team and I are making, but that is really the guiding principle for our decisions is to ensure everyone coming onto campus is safe, and that is a priority for me.
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HUERTA: Iconic labor leader is ranked with America’s greatest women said. She is a staunch advocate for education for underrepresented people in the United States. MEChA adviser Dr. Francisco Fuentes encouraged SC students to take this opportunity to hear Huerta. “Dolores Huerta is a giant in our history and not enough Latinos are aware of her contributions and how that work she did in the fields is connected to college education,” he said. “I hope students will recognize her work. Without her sacrifices our college wouldn’t be possible.” Dr. Guadalupe Corona, director
for the Office for Student Equity Programs and Services, said Huerta is one of her heroes. “An essential part of being an advocate for farmworkers is about building coalition and unity,” she said. “A part of the farmworker’s history is that it is a Chicano movement, but it is also a unified movement with our African American and Filipino brothers and sisters. It’s a unified voice to support and advocate for the most vulnerable workers in all industries.” Camargo and other members of MEChA have presented the college
“Dolores Huerta is a giant in our history and not enough Latinos are aware of her contributions and how that work she did in the fields is connected to college education.”
Dr. Francisco Fuentes SC MEChA adviser president and governing board with a 10-point plan entitled “El Plan de Southwestern College: Establishing a Chicanx Studies Department for Cultural Inclusion.” SC has never had
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a formal Chicano Studies program and scant classes on Chicano/Latino culture, history and politics. More than 70 percent of SC students are Latino, Camargo said,
yet SC is one of the few colleges or universities in Southern California that lacks a Chicano Studies curriculum. She said she is optimistic Huerta’s visit will help to draw attention to the situation. “I hope it brings us together, no matter our color, our skin, our background, our upbringing,” she said. “We all want the same thing. The more we voice it, the more we’re heard. We’ve had over the years so much (controversy) on our campus, so I think right now SC really needs this.”
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VIEWPOINTS
EDITORIALS / OPINIONS / LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Low-income students shut out
The mission of the Southwestern College Sun is to serve its campuses and their communities by providing information, insights and stimulating discussions of news, activities and topics relevant to our readers. The staff strives to produce a newspaper that is timely, accurate, fair, interesting, visual and accessible to readers. Though The Sun is a student publication, staff members ascribe to the ethical and moral guidelines of professional journalists.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor-in-Chief Camila Gonzalez News Editor Nicolette Monique Luna Sports Editor Sebastian Sanchez Staff Writers Ramon Armenta Esteban Fernandez Lesley Garate Anette Pedrotti Amber Plascencia Esteban Preciado Janine Rivera Carson Timmons Colton Tull Staff Artist 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 2003-22 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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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 2000-2022 American Scholastic Press Association Community College Newspaper of the Year
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veryone needs to blow off steam sometime. Life can be stressful, never more so than during a global pandemic. Southwestern College students – like others across America — have reported serious stress at higher levels than any time in our institution’s 61-year history. College students are drowning in cortisol, the hormone that lights the stress fire. Cortisol also causes rapid weight gain and can inflame mental health issues. Low income students are among the most stressed people in our nation. They have had to shift learning modalities overnight, bouncing from face-to-face to online and zoom, blowing their schedules to bits. They had to adjust child care, jobs and family life while attending classes in bedrooms, kitchens, closets and even bathrooms. Most health care professionals agree — exercise is the best tonic for stress. A good workout is a stress buster that washes away cortisol, strengthens the heart and lungs, oxygenates organs, and supplies the brain with dopamine, the feel-good hormone. It elevates mood, lowers blood pressure and fights depression. Research shows that during a workout, proteins are released into the brain which can help improve memory and increase cognitive performance. The hippocampus is responsive to these proteins. This area of the brain is involved with retaining information. Students who are more active and engage in rigorous exercise retain more information when they study and are able focus significantly more during lectures. Ironically, low-income students from Southwestern College are too often blocked out of the college’s exercise classes and facilities. Due to archaic federal financial aid rules, legions of low-income students are discouraged by college counselors from taking exercise classes. Our counselors’ motives are entirely honorable. Federal financial aid allotments are limited, so counselors often advise low-income students to stay focused on their transfer classes and avoid electives that burn through
Ji Ho Kim / Staff
The issue: Stressed out students are too often excluded from college exercise classes and facilities due to financial aid limits. Our position College leaders must end this inequity and create affordable mechanisms so all students may access exercise facilities. financial aid without directly aiding transfer goals. That may be sound counseling strategy, but it is poor mental health advice. It is also an equity issue that further separates the college’s poorest students from the rest. Low-income Jaguars are excluded from the gym, pool, yoga, aerobics and other exercise classes. A study by the U.S. Surgeon General concluded that income and exercise are inextricably linked. Low income Americans suffer a physical inactivity rate of 41 percent compared to 17 percent for middle income citizens. Low-income students have fallen through the cracks. Our leaders need to take notice. There is another principle at stake here and it is citizenship. Southwestern College literally belongs to all of us. It belongs to the taxpayers and their children. It exists because of the unfailing support of our community
through state taxes and bond measures. Our low-income community has generously voted billions to this college over the years. Members of the community should be able to use facilities at their community college — especially its students. Exercise and mental health are fundamental to student success. We need our smart, caring college leaders to get creative and figure out a way to make exercise accessible to all student without forcing them to sacrifice financial aid or buy expensive memberships. They seem to be working on it, but are not yet on the same page. Some administrators have told us students can work out or swim for free by showing their SC IDs. Others said a $17 a month membership comparable to for-profit gyms may be coming. Even $17 a month is $340 in two years and $510 in three — about the same as a commercial gym. We would like to suggest tying free facilities use to financial aid eligibility, CalFresh, Cal WORKS, Free and Reduced Lunch, SSP and SNAP. Squeezing low-income students out of parts of this wonderful public institution is counter to the mission of Southwestern College. Our leadership should not allow exclusion, inequity and institutional forms of discrimination. Every student matters, even the poorest of us.
Southwestern veterans have a strong support system
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hat a difference one year can make. Today at Southwestern College my professors and classmates call me Esteban. And why not? That’s my name. Less than a year ago, however, I was known as Sgt. Preciado of the United States Marine Corps. For five years I served our country and was stationed primarily at nearby Camp Pendleton. During my service I directed the work of many men and women as a Floor Chief. Now, like most of our readers, I am just another college student trying to find my way in life. I know how difficult it can be to transition from the military base to a college campus. Most military folks spent years getting used to the regimented armed services life. We depended on the structure and consistency. Then, in the blink of the eye, we were thrust into the unpredictable
civilian world. military life to the civilian It is an adjustment, world. Veterans Center to say the least. ExCoordinator J.D. White Marines, sailors, is a former Marine who soldiers, airmen and runs a tight ship. He and airwomen, merchant his busy staff perform marines and coast a raft of services, guardians have to including: get their footing in • Monthly visits by a more independent BRAVO ZULU Dept. of Veterans Affairs setting. They must staff to assist SC vets ES T EBAN PR ECIADO adjust to a starkly with filing and refiling of different culture, disability claims often with younger classmates. • VA work-study positions for all Fortunately for us, Southwestern eligible vets and their dependents College gets veterans. SC is • Assistance with basic needs consistently ranked as one of resources and referrals America’s most Veteran Friendly • Resume and cover letter writing institutions of higher education in a • New student orientations community that is comfortable with • Wellness classes former service people. • Student Veterans Organization And SC has a great Veterans club events Center. • A moving Veterans Day ceremony Staffed by caring veterans, its • A Memorial Day event called mission is to help us transition from Honor Our Heroes
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• An ambitious Sisters in Arms event • Free food distributions (partnered with Courage to Call) • Toys for Tots (partnered with Marine Corps League) • Walk of Honor, a veterans scholarship fund raising program College life should not be a lonely experience for veterans, White said. The Veterans Center is a source of comfort, inspiration, guidance and support for all kinds of veterans, including a San Ysidro High School grad and ex-Marine like me. SC’s Veteran’s Center is front and center near the entrance to the campus marked by a statue honoring vets and an array of colorful flags. White said he loves drop-ins, so my advice is to drop in and pay a call to a team created to help us be successful students and to pursue our post-military dreams.
VIEWPOINTS
“I’ve been pretty lucky. I’ve been feeling okay and it’s an interesting situation for me because I’m a new faculty member and I recently moved to San Diego from Los Angeles. It has been an interesting time to start a new position during a pandemic!”
“It’s good to be able to see other people and our professors. One of the things I like about Southwestern is that most of the professors are nice and try to help you.”
“Lately life has been super hectic. As a student athlete I’m at school for classes and sports almost all day and sometimes it can feel overwhelming. I like having a set schedule and a routine in life. I’m doing alright, though I am currently injured with a concussion (suffered during a softball game), so it’s been hard to navigate through that and trying to handle school, sports, home life and all that.”
“From a mental health standpoint it’s been on and off for me at home. Since my parents don’t believe in therapy it’s pretty hard to get a therapist without their approval. As you get older you realize how much your mental state affects everything else in your life.”
Eliza Garcia Mathematics
Sydney Dull Journalism, Softball Player
Nico Sandino Mechanical Engineering
Isabelle Ramos Librarian
“With school, with football, with work, it kind of takes a toll on you. I feel like every time I take a step forward it’s like two steps backwards.”
“The pandemic has brought out the best and the worst in people. Most people at Southwestern have been very helpful and supportive, but some are rude and disrespectful to students. I get ghosted a lot and it is hard to make appointments. I guess the grownups are stressed out, too.”
Fernando Ruelas SC Football Player
Miriam Hernandez English
“It’s hard from going from knowing a lot of people to entering a new place where you can’t really make friends.”
Daniella Campuzano Journalism
“I’m glad to be able to be on campus again, even though I have this weird mix of in-person and online classes. I like my professors and meeting new people.”
Ji Ho Kim / Staff
Ron Johnson Communications
“Getting to school was just difficult and tiresome.”
Madeline Montano Undeclared
“I’m fine. School obviously is school. It gets hard and you just kind of have to deal with it.”
Elijah Mathis
“It’s mostly my anxiety. I will never drop out of school. I will just do what I have to do to survive.”
Jennifer Pena English and Psychology
COVID leaves residual mental health challenges BY AMBER PLASCENCIA AND NICOLETTE MONIQUE LUNA A Perspective
“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.” —Victor Hugo
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ollege students have to be resilient. Young adults who cannot push through some adversity and snap back will never reach their dreams. An important part of going to college is learning how to manage multiple priorities and navigating through new experiences. COVID, though, is a whole other level. We are careening into our third year of a global pandemic, the first planet-wide health crisis in a century. There was no playbook, no contingency plan and no time to prepare. One day we were in class trying to figure out Aristotle, the next we were at home trying to figure out Zoom. Student mental health across the United States has suffered. Children and young adults who need social interaction have been emotionally starved and had way too much time to think dire thoughts. Stress escalated drastically. Most of this stress was rooted in fear. A constant, nagging fear fueled anxiety. Doom scrolling and toxic social media led to insecurity and damaged self-esteem. While “The Great Resignation” has staggered our economy, “The Great Quitting” has removed more than one third of college and university students from higher education. Legions of students said they were dropping out until things return to normal so they could have their fantasy “college experience.” Now, more than two years later, they are still waiting. San Diego County’s South Bay region has been
one of the hardest hit by COVID in the nation. The Southwestern Community College District was a high-infection, code red region right up until the early days of March. With the new BA.2 variant taking root in our community, we may be in the red again before commencement. Southwestern College is nowhere near its prepandemic normal. Many faculty and employees say they hardly recognize the place. Pop up tents, sandwich board signs, silly oversized arrows and rickety foldup tables litter the grounds like a lowbudget street fair. There is nary a nose or mouth in sight, covered by a protective ear-to-ear stretch of blue and black masks. Smiles are vanquished and comforting words are muffled. Dr. Clarence Amaral, SC’s highly-respected and terribly overworked crisis counselor, said waves of students are experiencing fight-or-flight responses with no one to fight and nowhere to fly off to. Physical symptoms, he said, may include headaches, shoulder tension and back pain. “Our situation creates a lot of stress and so we are in that fight-or-flight mentality,” he said. “It doesn’t take much to activate it and it’s been constant for us for two years. A lot of people are very reactive.” Humans find comfort in routines and like to feel in control, Amaral said. “We lost our usual routines when our lives shifted into the new normal of sitting in front of our laptops,” he said. “Connections and connecting to others helps us neurobiologically co-regulate to others. People need people. It’s a basic necessity.” Amaral said deep, slow breaths help relax stressed out students and he is a big fan of exercise. Hippocrates, the legendary physician of ancient Greece, apparently agreed. “Walking is man’s best medicine,” he wrote. “The natural force within each of us is the greatest healer of all.”
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“The (Associated Student Organization) hasn’t allowed clubs to meet in person, so we’ve been doing everything virtual. Obviously for Dance Club it’s very hard to dance virtually or get a full experience learning everything through a screen. Dance is an escape from the traumas of home or work.”
Crystal Bonilla Dance Club
“The fact that I have to be at home all the time kind of stresses me out.”
Michele Mendez Undeclared
“I take a lot of walks. I started hiking, a little bit of meditation and I love yoga. (Those activities are) so good for my mental balance. I’ve been trying to eat healthier and sit outside when I’m home. I try to appreciate (little things) like sitting in the patio and listening to the sounds.”
Tanya Carr Librarian
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CAMPUS
CAMPUS NEWS / STUDENT NEWS / PROFILES
“Feminine hygiene products should be available to women in a well-stocked restroom just like other products.”
Sonia Camargo, SC ASO President
Student leaders call for immediate stocking of menstrual products
‘NO MORE LOST LEARNING TIME’
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BY LESLEY GARATE | Staff Writer
estrooms on campus stocked with toilet paper, soap and paper towels may soon have permanent company. ASO VP Karen Sanchez and ASO President Sonia Camargo are leading an effort to push Southwestern College to get ahead of the state legislation requiring that menstrual products are available in public schools and colleges by July 1. Sanchez and Camargo said they see no point in waiting. “This is long overdue,” said Camargo. “Feminine hygiene products should be available to women in a well-stocked restroom just like other products.” Dean of Student Services Rachel Fischer said she is onboard and supports the initiative to get a head start on stocking SC restrooms with no-cost feminine hygiene products including tampons, pads, wipes and personal hygiene sprays. ASO leaders and the college are still discussing how to best make the products available. One idea is to put no-charge dispensers in women’s and non-gender restrooms. Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia launched efforts to make menstruation products available in public schools with her 2017 law requiring low-income schools in disadvantaged communities to provide free menstruation products. “Often periods arrive at inconvenient times,” Garcia said. “They can surprise us during an important midterm, while playing with our children at a park, sitting in a lobby waiting to interview for a job, shopping at the grocery store, or even standing on the Assembly floor presenting an important piece of legislation. Convenient access would alleviate the anxiety of trying to find a product when out in public.” Garcia also led an effort to exempt menstrual products from sales taxes. Women pay about $20 million in taxes on these products while many men’s products, including erectile dysfunction mediation, are exempt. In October 2021 Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Garcia’s latest initiative, which expands the 2017 law grades 6-12, community colleges, and the UC and CSU systems. It encourages private schools and colleges to join the effort. “Our biology doesn’t always send an advanced warning when we’re about to start menstruating, which often means we need to stop whatever we’re doing and deal with a period,” Garcia said. “Just as toilet paper and paper towels are provided in virtually every public bathrooms, so should menstrual products.” Women’s advocacy organizations, including PERIOD, praised the legislation and encouraged all schools and colleges to carefully stock menstruation products for their students. “California joins a growing number of states who lead the way in demonstrating that menstrual equity is a matter of human rights,” the group said in statement. “No student should ever lose learning time due to their periods, period.”
SIGNED INTO LAW — Gov. Newsom supports Assembly Member Christina Garcia’s legislation to provide free feminine hygiene products in the restrooms of all public secondary schools, colleges and universities. Photo courtesy of Twitter
‘LONG OVERDUE’ — Democratic Assembly Member Cristina Garcia and Jerry Brown when the former governor signed Garcia’s 2017 legislation to provide feminine hygiene products in low-income public schools. Her 2022 bill expands the earlier legislation to include all public schools where menstruation products may be needed. Photo courtesy of Cristina Garcia
Taxing Women 30 out of 50 states still have a tax on tampons and other essential feminine hygiene products: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Source: Marie Claire
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CARBERRY: Coach retires as winningest in college’s history, won six bowl games “That one loss up there is because of me.” After 45 years of coaching football, Carberry has decided to step away, leaving a legacy of winning wherever he went. His lifetime record of 211-159-1 spans four programs: St. Anthony HS (Long Beach), Monte Vista HS, San Jacinto College and SC. Like most great achievers, Carberry had a great mentor. His football coach at St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs was the legendary Marijon Ancich, the second-winningest high school football coach in California history with 360 victories. Carberry enjoyed learning the psychology of the game during his senior year and was “bit by the bug” and decided coaching was his path. Now he is at the end of the coaching road. What led him to hang up his whistle? “Well, you know it’s a tough question, because it was a tough answer,” he said. “I asked my wife on numerous occasions: Are you sure I should be doing this? One of the things we talk about here (at SC) is faith, family and football. So the opportunity was there to take a step back and stay healthy.” SC Athletic Director Jennifer Harper said Carberry can be followed, but never replaced. “Coach Carberry had an amazing impact on this program because he understands the value of what athletics can teach young men,” she said. “He made it his mission to not only coach football, but to help all of these individuals grow, mature and learn. He brought out the best in each and every one of them. He’s simply the best at what he does.” Carberry said developing studentathletes is way more important that winning football games. “It’s one of the blessings of community college,” he said. “The people who played for us know we are here for them. We’re frozen in time.” Tough as Lombardi, but philosophical like Aristotle, Carberry said he always endeavored to keep his life and his career in perspective. He said there is great value in the adversity of the gridiron because learning to overcome adversity is the key to success. Just as Ancich mentored him, Carberry was a 13-year mentor to his successor, former Nebraska star and SC defensive coordinator Dionicio Monarrez. Carberry is a tough act to follow, Monarrez said, but he feels ready. “Coach taught me to lead by example, he said. “He created a positive environment and implemented a team culture. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned from Carberry is to keep the players accountable.” Carberry said preparation is the key to success in football or any career. “Coaching football is a seven-day-aweek job,” said. “If you’re not willing to put in the time it’s buyer beware. The hardest worker comes out on top.” In the fourth quarter of his life Carberry is content to spend more time with his wife Dianna and daughter Maegan. “My wife always says “I don’t have to worry about a mistress, because football is his mistress!’” Carberry said.
Eating disorders can ruin lives BY CAMILA GONZALEZ Editor-in-Chief
When I get hungry I will try to get something to eat. It wasn’t always like that. Like at least 8 million other Americans, I battle with an eating disorder. Mine nearly killed me. My demon was bulimia, a mystifying condition that makes self-starvation, abuse of laxatives and purging feel perversely empowering. I didn’t like being hungry, but I did enjoy the idea that I was completely in control of at least one aspect of my life. Eating followed by self-induced vomiting was weirdly relaxing. Purging expelled all my worries and guilt – or so I thought. It was my coping mechanism, but also my ticket to permanent physical damage or death. I was diagnosed by a medical doctor when I was 16. He urged me to get immediate treatment, but I brushed it off. Soon, however, I began experiencing unbearable stomach pain. Nothing would ease my pain. When I learned these symptoms were the beginning stages of my health declining I was horrified. Things could only get worse. I was lucky, because the pain shook me up and led me to change my eating habits. I learned that eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. A study conducted by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders reported that 5-10 percent of anorexia victims die within 10 years of contracting the disease. Between 18-20 percent will be dead after 20 years. Less than a third fully recover. Eating disorders can consume anyone, said Dr. Kim Claudat, a clinical psychologist and co-director of the Adult Treatment Program at UCSD Health Eating Disorders Center for Treatment and Research. “It affects people of all races, ethnicities, all around the world,” she said. “All types of genders, all ages, all shapes and sizes. We have this notion that you can tell when
“It affects people of all races, ethnicities, all around the world. We have this notion that you can tell when someone has an eating disorder by looking at them and that is certainly a myth.”
Dr. Kim Claudat
Co-director of the Adult Treatment Program at UCSD Health Eating Disorders Center for Treatment and Research someone has an eating disorder by looking at them and that is certainly a myth.” Counselors at UCSD’s treatment center encourage patients to eat a variety of foods from the major food groups. This also includes eating three meals throughout the day with snacks in between. “This helps to reduce binge eating urges and helps restore nutrition,” said Claudat. “This is the number one way we treat an eating disorder.” Claudat said people need to speak up if they suspect an eating disorder in their family or among their friends. “I give you guys permission to intervene if a situation is out of control,” she said. That, however, is not always a popular opinion among eating disorder victims, who are often in denial. Alondra Guadiana Murrieta, 17, said she does not believe she has an eating disorder, but rather an unhealthy relationship with food. “I feel that my unhealthy relationship with food comes from my image insecurities,” she said. “I would feel guilty after eating, I would skip meals and then eat a lot. I cannot eat without feeling guilt.” She said some of her friends are in the
same situation as her and do not react to her unhealthy relationship with food, she said. “They do not worry about me or themselves because we are all in the situation,” she said. Alisha Marie Civil, 17, agreed. “Most of the time when I try to talk to my friends about stuff like that they get very uncomfortable,” she said. “They do not like to talk about it, but I obviously know they have an eating disorder. I have seen them starve themselves, and I try to tell them there is nothing wrong with eating. (I tell them) you are fine, you are beautiful, but I have never gone out of my way to tell their mothers.” SC student Yesenia Tirado Ortiz, 18, pushes back when friends suggest she has an eating disorder. “I do not think I have an eating disorder,” she said. “I only eat one meal a day. I do not consider it a bad thing. I feel comfortable.” Ortiz said she frequently feels she does not have time to eat, but tries to remember to squeeze in meals. She said she thinks she has healthier eating habits than some of her peers. “I have friends who eat once a day or nothing at all,” she said. “My friend has a really bad eating disorder and I ask her if she wants to go out or have breakfast, but I can’t really force her to do anything she doesn’t want to do.” Although treatment is the best course of action, it is out of most people’s reach. Treatment programs can range from $500 to $2,000 a day. Monthly in-patient treatment often costs $30,000 and individuals need an average of six months of care. Most health insurance does not cover eating disorders. My eating disorder always hovers nearby, but for now I feel like I am making much healthier choices. I eat regular, healthy meals and carry a couple healthy snacks with me when I come to campus. I want to be healthy and happy. I have goals fueled by dreams and food.
CONTINUED FROM PG. 3
ROSARITO: Once-pristine beach community plagued by rampant pollution Stand and Coronado have all been affected by sewage and contaminated water that flowed north, according to research by the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization that has been calling for action and aid for the health of the beaches and coastal communities along the U.S.-Mexico border. “Since January of 2021, the beaches in Southern San Diego County have been closed due to toxic waste and sewage flow for 215 days,” according to a Surfrider study. Once ships passing in the night,
environmentalists from the U.S. and Mexico have recently formed meaningful alliances and have begun working together, thanks largely to efforts by WildCoast founder Dr. Serge Dedina, who is currently mayor of Imperial Beach. WildCoast, Surfrider and other American environmental advocates support the passage of the Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act languishing in the United States Senate. Like many congressional effort related to the borderlands, lawmakers
from unaffected states do not seem to understand the border environmental crisis and have not supported solutions. Nascent efforts are also stirring to life in Mexico, where CESPT (The State Commission for Public Services of Tijuana) proposes extending waste water services to the area of Ampliacion Lucio Blanco on the north side of Rosarito. Mexico has recently purchased American sewage pumps made with trash shredders to prevent the drains from clogging and spilling
THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN
over during bursts of rainfall. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced this month that it is making arrangements to double its capacity to 60 million gallons of wastewater a day. Construction is expected to begin this summer. Francisco Javier Estrada Ortiz, a personal trainer at Rosarito’s Fitness Center, said he has lived in Rosarito for 28 years and is not ready to give up on his once-bucolic home. He called on the Mexican government to prioritize the environment over unmanaged tourism. Without one, he
said, Rosarito cannot have the other. “Locals and tourists are all responsible for the contamination at the beach,” he said. “We need to build awareness to combat these problems. We need to start a campaign to encourage regular clean ups at the beach. That would be a start and that is something regular citizens could do to start things off.” Ortiz said Rosarito is beautiful and needs to be saved. Mother Nature could not be reached for comment, but she would likely agree. Paradise needs help.
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ARTS
CAMPUS ARTS / REVIEWS / COMMUNITY CULTURE
‘The Addams Family’ is frightfully good theater REVIEW BY CAMILA GONZALEZ Editor-in-Chief
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ew Broadway musicals have thinner, more vacuous plots than the 2010 comedy “The Addams Family,” but few have ever been as much fun. Southwestern College theater artists gifted the community with some springtime light and warmth at the end of a long cold lonely COVID winter. Their frightfully good production of a romp based on the campy 1960s TV comedy was rich with nuanced acting, spirited singing and one marvelously sexy tango. Director Ruff Yeager, a master of Shakespearean tragedies, took a monstrous risk staging a whimsical show with such recognizable characters that invite comparison to the original actors. His faith in his cast was well placed. There were bumpy moments, but his family of Addamses were so convincing that just minutes after the opening curtain we forgot we were watching college students. Rather than mimic the “creepy and kooky” archetypes, they inhabited the characters with delightful commitment. Samuel Ibarra set the standard
TWO SNAPS UP — A rollicking staging of “The Addams Family” was the first musical produced at the new $66 million Performing Arts Center. (l-r) Dafne Acuna as Grandmama, Samuel Ibarra as Gomez, Kevin Stevens as Lurch and Raelene Herrera as Morticia. Photo by Daren Scott
San Diego Symphony goes for Baroque in dazzling SC debut
with his sunny yet pliant Gomez Addams, a charming Spanish count marinated in eccentricity, but a loving husband and doting dad. Ibarra was nimble as his alter ego, who veered smoothly from swashbuckler to court jester to suave romantic. A legit triplethreat, Ibarra sang and danced like a haunted Antonio Banderas, slicing up bite-sized pieces of ham along the way. Fiery Raelene Herrera was his sexy, high-strung l ’amour de sa vie, Morticia, the original Queen of Darkness. Her Morticia was the leggy alpha of the Addams household who used her considerable feminine wiles to wrap weak-kneed Gomez around her spidery finger. Herrera was a tour de force — large and in charge, stubborn and fierce in a performance that drove the show. Her years of dance experience showed in a steamy and elegant tango that would have exposed a less talented actress. Rio Moreno as Uncle Fester was an audience favorite thanks to an enthralling turn that was altogether ooky, but sentimental and lovable. He was the jolly pale giant and the crazy uncle in the attic who toggled from macabre to infatuated. Moreno had true insight into a character that seems so
random. He understood that Fester was an overgrown child, capable of stubborn fixations and the willy nilly sillies. Rachel Herrera as conflicted Wednesday and Kevin Stevens as the groaning butler Lurch earned double snaps for breathing life into underwritten characters and making them their own. Yeager’s staging was energetic and crisp, though there were moments that felt like the cast was too big for the space. He coaxed distinctive performances out of his young actors. Their confidence and grounding was a product of sound fundamentals and a solid rehearsal process. Music directors Tracy Burklund and Ernest Quarles whipped the vocalists into shape, particularly the leads. Dana Maue provided sure-footed choreography and a dash of class to the movement. Designer Michael Buckley contributed his usual sublime set and lighting designs. SC performing arts students are fortunate to learn from such a talented team. “The Addams Family” was a worthy musical debut in SC’s new $66 million performing arts complex. Coronavirus be damned, theater is back and a new generation is having its time in the spotlight.
ROCK SHOW
REVIEW BY CAMILA GONZALEZ Editor-in-Chief
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or classical music aficionados there is nothing quite like the sonic chaos preceding a symphony. Chatter floating like a cloud of smoke over the heads of the audience underscores musicians running scales and rehearsing short bursts of random melodies like Amazonian birds at sunrise. It’s a chaotic war of noise with no remedy or regard for unity. Until he appears. With a swish of the baton chaos becomes order, noise calls forth beautiful music. Southwestern College hosted the San Diego Symphony for the first time ever in its new performing arts center. At the end the question on many lips was, “why didn’t this happen sooner?” Conductor Christopher Dragon and his players dazzled its Chula Vista audience with a performance of “Last Round” by Osvaldo Golijov and “Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi, a pair of starkly different pieces. Golijov, a contemporary composer, was the opening act. His much-produced piece is short, mildly-neurotic composition for about 12 musicians. Its dissonant opening slowly gave way to a melodic and restful ending, sharp giving way to serene. Musicians swayed like lovely willows in a brewing thunderstorm, whipped by the winds of emotion but firmly rooted. “Four Seasons” is familiar to SC journalism students steeped in the Watergate film “All the President’s Men.” It is frequently referenced in TV and film, particularly its first movement, “Spring.”
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VIVALDI VIOLIN VIRTUOSO — Solo violinist Elena Urioste brought tears to the eyes of much of the audience with her emotional interpretation of Antonio Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” skillfully conducted by Christopher Dragon. Photo by Daniel Cavazos Photo courtesy of Christopher Dragon
Dragon’s musicians went for Baroque, playing the piece with enthusiasm and confidence. Joy emanated from each pull of the bow and breath through the brass and reeds. The music was interpreted with celebration, felicity and spontaneity as if for the first time. Solo violinist Elena Urioste was transcendent. Each bow stroke mattered and she made her instrument sing like a lonely siren in the glade. She wove a trance the way a snake charmer hypnotizes a cobra with his pungi. Audience members were clearly thrilled by the performance and the performers by the audience. Dragon said the symphony will return and that SC may be its new southern home. That would truly be beautiful music.
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“
eturnings,” a starkly beautiful exhibit by Keline Swonger in the college art gallery, uses transparent threads attached to individual rocks of an array of shades and shapes. Swonger’s elegant threads creates an inspiring aesthetic like a pathway to something celestial. Photograph By Camila Gonzalez / Staff
SPORTS
CAMPUS SPORTS / FEATURES / ALTERNATIVE SPORTS
ED CARBERRY AN NOUNCES RETI REM ENT
G.O.A.T. LEAVES THE FIELD
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BY SEBASTIAN SANCHEZ | Sports Editor
d Carberry beat the odds. More than once. Southwestern College’s all-time winningest football coach spent much of his career sneaking up on other teams and leaving with the game ball. He has won 100 games as both a high school and college head coach, and took the Jaguars to more bowl games than the previous 50 years of coaches combined. Like the G.O.A.T. he is, Carberry has a raft of stories and the talent to tell them. A fave goes way back to 2001 when his Monte Vista High School Monarchs were about to face off against the invincible topranked Helix Highlanders and their pair of future NFL stars Reggie Bush and Alex Smith. Football fans know that Bush was the 2005 Heisman Trophy recipient and Smith was the NFL’s first overall pick of the 2005 draft. Helix was on a 20-game winning streak and averaging 53 points per game when Carberry’s Spring Valley’s crew took the field as massive underdogs. “No one thought we could do it,” he said. “Who would’ve thought we could go there and beat them? The players did.” Bush and Smith played well, but Monte Vista won. Usually humble, Carberry admitted his delight in visiting Helix High to recruit. He would ask the prospective SC athletes to look up at the giant CIF championship banner from 2001 emblazoned with the record of 13-1.
LETTING IT FLY — Thomas Ringer breaks off a curveball against Riverside College. Southwestern won, 5-3, and is in the hunt for a playoff spot. Photo by Colton Tull / Staff
PITCHING, HITTING HAVE JAGS IN PLAYOFF CONTENTION Baseball team is a popular draw during MLB spring lockout BY ESTEBAN FERNANDEZ Staff Writer
CARBERRY PG 9
Some Career Highlights: Hall of Fame: Saint Paul HS (2015) and Monte Vista HS (2017). Monte Vista HS (14 seasons): Record 102-73. 2-time CIF Champion (1995, 2003), 7-time Grossmont League Champions. Southwestern College (14 seasons): Record 89-58. Six league championships, six bowl victories.
Photo courtesy SC Jaguars Football
San Jacinto College: Record 19-2, Beach Bowl Champions.
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With a labor impasse stalling the Padres’ season and the SDSU Aztecs having a rough season, the Southwestern College baseball team is a hot ticket for discerning fans. And the hot tickets are free. SC’s season of possibilities rolled on with a 5-3 victory over the Riverside College Tigers. In a battle of the Big Cats, the Jaguars solid pitching and timely hitting combined to scratch out a fourth straight win and path to the playoffs. Right handed starter Thomas Ringer went four innings followed by relievers Heath Miller, Robert Carrillo, Van Rabe and Xavier Gonzalez. Miller got the win, Gonzalez the save. SC’s offense was pesky and the aggressive baserunners outright larcenous. Timely hits by Danny Zepeda, Isaac Almendarez, Andres Hinojosa, Aaron Garcia and Justin Brown combined for five runs off a parade of erratic Riverside pitchers. Defensively the Jags were a frustrating blend of spectacular plays and boneheaded errors, but catchers Garcia and Jesus Villegas saved the day time and again by smothering bouncing pitches and errant throws. The versatile Villegas also made a fine play earlier in the game as a left fielder before taking over for Garcia after he was injured. Second baseman Kaysen Kajiwara and athletic first baseman Eddie Kind also flashed some leather and saved at least two runs. HARD TIMES FOR SOFTBALL Southwestern’s typically hard-hitting softball team is rebuilding after losing most of last year’s talented squad to transfer and COVID complications. Injuries have also hampered the Lady Jaguars, particularly a concussion suffered by outfielder Sydney Dull. SC is off to a slow start, but gaining experience and showing steady improvement. SC lost both ends of a doubleheader to Pasadena City College despite three RBI from hot-hitting catcher Natalia Ojeda and a courageous outing by pitcher Katalina Contreras, who pitched a complete game and fanned three in the opener.
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! e r d a m n e n e i t ¡No
THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN
“No Tienen Madre!” is an illustration by legendary Chicano artist Salvador Barajas created for The Sun to honor Lourdes Maldonado and Mararito Martinez Esquivel, and all of Mexico’s murdered journalists.
Salvador Barajas Illustration
hato the brown pit bull came home and sat quietly on the front stoop, waiting loyally for his friend, Lourdes Maldonado Lopez, a prominent Mexican journalist. Maldonado will never return to her Tijuana home. She was murdered the previous day, joining a frightening list of Mexican journalists assassinated in the line of work. Already this year three Mexican news professionals have been executed, including two in Tijuana. Photographer Margarito Martinez Esquivel was murdered just six days prior to Maldonado. El Economista journalist Yolanda Morales photographed Chato, an image that went viral around the world and became the symbol for all Mexican journalists who will never return home. (Chato was adopted by an American family.) “Mexico treats its journalists barbarically,” Morales said. “We live in a unified region along the border. California and Baja California are adjacent, but during this terrible time we feel as if we are very far apart.” Emmy-winning ABC10 TV News Assignment Editor Vanessa Nevarez agreed. Her experience with violence
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directed at Mexican journalists began about 14 years ago when she was Editor-in-Chief of the Southwestern College Sun and an intern at Univision. “Those were bloody years,” she said. “We heard and saw some horrible things. Threats on scanners, emails to peers of explicit images of decapitated heads.” At least 50 Mexican journalists are known to have been murdered in the past three years. Mexico is considered one of the most dangerous countries on the planet for members of the news media. Esquivel was a freelance photographer known in equal parts for his courage and generosity. He was a popular “fixer,” a slang term for someone who assists foreign journalists in Mexico. He had just stepped out his front door on January 17 when he was gunned down. Maldonado, a veteran broadcast journalist, was brutally murdered in her car just outside her home on January 23. On February 8 three people were arrested for her murder. Baja California Attorney General Ricardo Ivan Carpio said the murders do not seem to be related, despite the similar nature of the killings and the fact that they happened less than a week apart. In 2019 Maldonado expressed publicly that she felt her life was in danger during a legal skirmish with Jamie Bonilla, the former governor of Baja California. Maldonado publicly asked Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for protection from Bonilla, who lost a court ruling to Maldonado for nonpayment of her salary when she worked for his television station. She wrote a prescient message on social media that said: “I fear that one day I’ll leave my house and won’t return. That scares me.”
BY ANETTE PEDROTTI | Staff Writer
Murder of journalists outrages borderlands
Tijuana photojournalist, television reporter killed six days apart
BACKPAGE VOICES IN OUR COMMUNITIES
SPECIAL SECTION: WOMEN'S MARCH MARCH 15, 2022 / ISSUE 4
Thousands of women protest sexual violence in the streets of Tijuana. (“Grandmother: I Came to Shout What They Made You Keep Quiet”)
MEXICO'S WOMEN DEMAND CHANGE Photo By Ailyn Dumas
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Women Call For End of Mexican Violence BY AILYN DUMAS AND NICOLETTE MONIQUE LUNA PHOTOS BY AILYN DUMAS
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exico’s beleaguered women have had enough. “Ya basta!” Thousands of women from Baja California Norte and their American allies filed through the bloody streets of Tijuana for the March for Women to protest Mexico’s unchecked epidemic of femicide — murder and violence to women and girls. Hundreds of handheld signs demanded change. “Cansus de Oirlo? Nosotras de vivirlo!” (“You are tired of hearing it? We are tired of living it!”) More than 5,000 Mexican women and girls were sexually assaulted and murdered in 2021, according to government counts. Activists insist the number is higher. Much higher. Perhaps 10 times higher. “Que ser mujer no nos cueste la vida!” (“Being women should not cost us our lives!”) Murder is the leading cause of death for young Mexican females. Older women are also femicide victims at alarming rates. Remains of murder victims fill vast unmarked graves in shallow pits throughout Mexico — if the remains are found at all. Mass graves in Tijuana, Irapuato, Acapulco, Juarez and other femicide dumping sites often have uncountable numbers of dismembered bodies — all female. “Que llegar sanas y salvas a casa sea normal y no suerte!” (“Arriving home safe and sound should be normal, not luck!”) Tijuana is one of the most dangerous cities in the world for femicides, according to United Nations data, and Mexico is one of the world’s five worst countries for the sexist “Killing women murder of women and girls. for sport is too Mexico’s toxic culture of hyper-machismo has rendered easy in Mexico. women as weak and “less than,” according to protesters. Even little girls and Most attacks on women are never prosecuted and some grandmothers are human rights activists insist that nearly 9 of 10 femicides go not safe.” unpunished. Women who report rape and domestic violence are typically dismissed as hysterical liars by the maleMaria dominated Mexican judicial system. Justicia is fleeting. Women’s March “El machismo se aprende en casa.” (“Sexism is learned at Protester, Southwestern home.”) College student “Killing women for sport is too easy in Mexico,” according to Maria (a pseudonym), a Mexican-American fronteriza and Southwestern College student who participated in the march. “Many thousands of men in Mexico treat women like disposable sex toys. Even little girls and grandmothers are not safe. It’s horrible and it must change. We must change the toxic masculine culture.” Tijuana’s March for Women was mostly peaceful, but at times frustration boiled over. At least one bus stop was destroyed and some women spray painted messages of protest on walls and monuments. Police hovered nearby, but did not interfere. Television and print journalists were there to document the protest and monitor las policias. Unlike American women’s marches populated with male supporters, the Tijuana event was almost exclusively female. That is what organizers wanted. “Women need to fight for their agency,” said Maria. “We must demand our rights and take them from the asesinos, the killers of women and girls.” “Wey no! Ni una mas.” (“Dude, no! Not one more.”) Protesters acknowledged that men need to be part of the solution. Maria said Mexican men need to rethink the way they treat Mexican women. “Everyone has a mother,” she said. “Everyone has an abuelita. Most men have sisters or female cousins. Would they rape and murder them? Hell no! Why then would any man think it is okay to rape and murder someone else’s mother, grandmother, sister or cousin?” Purple, the color of bruises and contusions, is the color of the Mexican Women’s Movement. Protesters waved modified Mexican flags with a bar of morado replacing the red. “Mexico’s president (Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador) has done nothing to help his nation’s women,” said Maria. “He has not stood up to machismo culture. Unless he does, he is part of the problem.” Hope, esparanza, gives Mexico’s women new strength, she said. “We are finally uniting, we are finally starting to speak up. We have been silent for way too long, like hundreds of years too long. No mas! Change is coming.”
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THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN
SPECIAL SECTION: WOMEN'S MARCH IN MEXICO
‘CHANGE IS COMING’ – Thousands of women from Baja California Norte and Southern California swarmed the streets of Tijuana to protest Mexico’s epidemic rates of violence and murder against women. (previous page, from the top) A protester’s sign reads “I am the aunt of the girls you will never touch.” Demonstrators spray paint the messages “Dude, no! Not one more.” Protesters congregate at the statue of Aztec emperor Cuauhtémoc to express their anger at Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for not doing more to curtail machismo-driven femicide. (this page, from top) Painting pro-female messages on a wall. Women wave protest versions of the Mexican flag with a purple bar replacing the red and hold aloft photos of a murder victim. Tearing down a bus stop where women were assaulted. Protestors march toward the Cuauhtémoc statue.
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SPECIAL SECTION: WOMEN'S MARCH IN MEXICO
DAY OF RAGE AND SORROW –Tijuana’s Women’s March was mostly peaceful, though protesters (top photo) damaged transit centers where women were raped or murdered. (above, l) A sign reads “You get tired of hearing it? We get tired of living it” and a sign honors murder victim Mayra Velazquez Lopez. (above) “Arm Yourself.” (far l) “Arriving home safe and sound should be normal, not luck.” (l) Upper poster reads “May privilege not cloud empathy. We want each other alive and free.” Foreground poster says “Sexism is learned at home.”
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THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN
SPECIAL SECTION: GORILLA TREK MARCH 15, 2022 / ISSUE 4
San Ysidro’s Esteban Preciado spent his winter break in Uganda’s Impenetrable Forest with a pack of rare mountain gorillas that changed his life.
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GORILLAS IN OUR MIDST
Impenetrable Forest reveals ancient secrets BY ESTEBAN PRECIADO | Staff Writer PHOTOGRAPHS BY ESTEBAN PRECIADO
BWINDI NATIONAL PARK, UGANDA— iking up the outside of an extinct volcano caldera in the tropical Impenetrable Forest of Uganda was like running on a stair climber in a sauna. Equatorial heat was oppressive and the humidity of the Bwindi mountainside made us feel as if we were steaming in a crock pot. During my five years in the United States Marine Corps we had gone on countless grueling hikes with heavy packs, but nothing like this. It was worth every sweat-drenched, sun baked second. We had finally entered the ancient home of the Bwindi Mountain Gorillas. Mother Nature is wise to keep the gorillas separate from humans. An adult male silverback can weigh up to 600 pounds of rippling muscle. A gorilla’s waffle-sized hands can crush a human skull and snap arms like a wishbone. They can uproot trees like pulling weeds and press 1,000 pounds over their heads as easy as people put a can of soup on the top shelf of the pantry. When people surprise a gorilla it may be the last thing they ever do. I wanted to see one up close, in its own environment. I did, but not without an arduous, globe spanning journey.
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SIMIAN DREAMS Why would a kid from San Ysidro High School fresh out of the Marines want to go to the deepest, most remote part of Central Africa to commune with Mountain Gorillas? I don’t even remember when the idea first entered my mind it had been so long. It felt like something I had always wanted to do. Mountain gorillas, despite their enormous size and strength, share 98 percent of their DNA with humans. Next to chimpanzees and bonobos, they are mankind’s closest relatives on the planet. We eat many of the same things and behave in ways reflective of each other. They can learn and pass along knowledge. They have a culture. They are one of the most spectacular yet dangerous animals on Earth. They are also one of the rarest. I had to see them. And, for the first time in my life, I had the time and money to do it.
UNDER AFRICAN SKIES: Vast Lake Victoria (top) is the world’s fifth largest lake and the headwaters of the Nile River. (center) young gorilla romps with a playmate. (above) A Batwa native serves as a park ranger and guide for the gorilla trek.
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GORILLA TREK Last July my journey began when I started researching the path of a “gorilla trek.” An organization called Conservation Through Public Health was my guide. Founded by Dr. Gladys Kalema Zikusoka, CTPH is an environmental tourism organization Adobe Stock that monitors the health of the mountain gorillas at the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest as well as the wellbeing of native Batwa farmers. Environmental tourism organizations like CTPH have successfully made the case that it is in Uganda’s best economic interests to protect its gorillas from poachers and habitat loss. Bwindi was sustained by gorilla tourism My travel checklist was lengthy. I needed a “gorilla permit,” a licensed tour guide, and a flight to Uganda. I needed a crash course in mountain gorilla behavior and, even more important, a lesson about how to behave around a temperamental 600-pound silverback male and his 400 pound mates. Uganda is just about as far away from San Ysidro as any place on Earth. A flight of nearly 16 hours over the Arctic Circle crossed a lineup of time zones before touching down in Doha, Qatar for a ninehour layover. Next was a six hour flight to Entebbe, Uganda and a two-hour cattle call through Ugandan immigration and COVID testing. I would have another layover of four hours before squeezinging aboard a small propeller plane that would take me on a 1 hour, 10 minute hop to Kihihi. Uganda’s lush emerald rainforests gave way to massive Lake Victoria, one of the world’s greatest bodies of fresh water and the headwater of the mighty Nile River. Lake Victoria is Africa’s version of the Great Lakes, so expansive that it felt like we were flying over an ocean. Even thousands of feet in the air I could not see the other end. We landed in Kihihi to continue the marathon. It was a jostled one-hour car ride over roads with aged cracked pavement stretches that gave way to dirt. That got us to the town of Kabale. Though we were in the very heart of central Africa, tiny Kabale conjured one of those frontier western towns you might see in American movies, substituting the desiccated dust of the Wild West with luxuriant verdigris scenery of a beautiful rainforest. After more than a day and a half of sleepless travel, I finally had a good night’s rest at my cabin at the CTPH lodge. I dreamed of gorillas. Martin, my host, woke me early. We ate breakfast and laced up for a short hike to the Bwindi Ranger Facility for a life-saving lesson on how to act around gorillas. “Stay calm,” the ranger told us. “The last thing you want to make mad is a silverback gorilla.” Visitors were admonished to avoid showing their teeth, not to beat on their chests and not to stare. If we made eye contact we were warned to quickly look away so the gorillas do not think you are staring at them. If an angry gorilla approaches we were coached to lie on the ground and act as small and unthreatening as possible. My group of six trekkers included a married couple from Spain, a man from Seattle, and two German backpackers. We boarded trucks that took us 30 minutes east of Kabale to the starting point of the hike to the Bwindi gorilla reserve. SOLDIERING ON During my five years in the Marines I did a lot of hiking. We hiked up and down the muddy hills and mountains of Camp Pendleton with more than 60 pounds of gear slung over our backs. We kicked up dust in desert outbacks and struggled through the calf-burning sand dunes of beaches. None of that truly prepared me for the gorilla march up to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. It was the most difficult hike I had ever done. Muddy, slippery rainforest trails were all uphill and at altitude. We were constantly on the incline as we navigated deep ravines and narrow walkways clinging to hillsides. Uganda’s heat was searing and even your sweat seemed hot. It was relentless without even a snatch of relief under the canopy. My ego also wilted as we watched passing Batwa natives of Bwindi pass us by with a leisureliness that had us muttering in disbelief. They had worn out shoes and baskets packed with
THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN
GORILLAS IN OUR MIDST
fruits or piles of sticks skillfully balanced atop of their heads. It was all worth it. Bwindi’s rainforest was one breathtaking sight after another. Our erstwhile enemy, the Sun, was also a master painter. Its golden rays illuminated the lush broad leaves of the forest, and the azure sky complemented the emerald mountaintops on every horizon. Our relentless ascent had stretched nearly seven miles before we reached the topmost edge of the caldera. Spread before us was an ocean of trees and verdance. It was a stunning reward for our efforts. Better still, we were finally hiking downhill. GORILLAS IN OUR MIDST Our ranger escorts announced what we were all waiting to hear -- the gorillas were not far. Their interpretation of “not far” meant at least three more hothouse miles through the dripping, teaming forest. We trudged on through a rainforest that was, in a word, alive. Life was as ubiquitous as the steamy air and thousands of animals squawked, called and squealed as if to welcome us or warn us. Even at our throbbing feet were beetles, centipedes, and egg sized insects. There were the tracks of jungle elephants, monkeys, big cats and, of course, mountain gorillas. We were walking in the eternal land of life, death, rebirth, extinction, evolution and hope. We were in humanity’s cradle, the same African heartland from which sprang our earliest ancestors before they roamed off the continent. A rainforest canopy is a dense thatched ceiling that parses the sunlight judiciously. Few illuminating rays make it to the ground, but those that do seem to celebrate in a dance on the forest floor. These fleeting beams of light from Father Sun lit the stage for our hosts. In the muddy darkness I got my first glimpse of a mountain gorilla. It could have been my last. I was in front of the group when I almost walked right into a grazing female. Her midnight fur somehow perfectly cloaked her 300 pound body in the thick vegetation. Luckily for me I was able to back away without spooking her. I collected myself with a deep breath and noticed the rangers pointing out the pack with two adult females and two babies. Commanding the scene was the king of the jungle, an enormous male silverback gorilla. We moved off to a “safe” spot barely 10 feet away from the business-like mothers and the frolicking babies. We had all done our homework on mountain gorillas, but that does not fully prepared you for your first moments with a gorilla family in a rainforest thicket. They are massive and muscular creatures that radiate strength and power. Their ebony fur is mottled with debris of the forest, including dirt and the pollen from the sea of plants and foliage they wade through. Adult gorillas have long ragged, matted hair that resembles obsidian blades of grass. I was close enough to the females to see into their coal black eyes as they scanned their surroundings, making sure their babies are close by and safe. Baby gorillas have fur that is fuzzy and looks so soft you want to touch it. You dare not. Baby gorillas are much like human toddlers that require constant parental supervision. They are balls of energy that jump from trees, wrestle with each other, and pester their mothers with playfulness. They are extremely curious, which demonstrates their intelligence and also their naiveté. Like dogs, they stop and sniff nearly everything. They fondle and grab anything they can get their vise grip hands on such as sticks, rocks and bugs which they put in their mouths to taste. They even sampled some of our camera equipment Their curiosity was contagious and almost got me in big time trouble with the scowling silverback. Crouching silently about 10 feet from the pack among the ferns and broadleaf plants doing my best impression of a National Geographic photographer, I noticed one of the baby gorillas making his way
MOTHER KNOWS BEST: A 600-pound male and his 400-pound mate (above, l) keep watch over their baby. (top) A Batwa home in the Bwindi district. (center) A trekker with guides outside the Impenetrable Forest. (above) A young gorilla looking out from a tree.
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THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN
MARCH 15, 2022 / ISSUE 4
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GORILLAS IN OUR MIDST DIAN FOSSEY PHOTO COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES
KEEP CALM AND RESPECT GORILLAS Mountain gorillas, despite their intimidating size and reputation for fiercely defending each other, are actually gentle creatures who follow a culture of live and let live. They are highly intelligent and curious. They lack a sense of territoriality that makes many other large African animals so dangerous. That said, humans are no match for an angry gorilla. Humans can safely approach and observe gorillas in their habitat if they follow a few guidelines: Small groups. Gorillas tend to live and travel in small packs, so they are generally accepting of small groups of 5-8 humans. Short visits. Like most humans, gorillas do not like to be stared at or feel like they are being examined. Visits of about one hour reduce the risk of stressing or disturbing gorilla packs. Free of disease. Gorillas share 98 percent of our genes and are susceptible to many of the same viruses and bacteria that sicken humans. Keep clean. To reduce contamination and the spread of disease, visits should wash their hands before seeing gorillas and refrain from smoking, eating or drinking. Silence is golden. Gorillas use vocalizations to communicate. Chatting and loud noises by humans confuse and irritate them. Keep to yourself. Give gorillas plenty of space and avoid approaching them. Never attempt to touch a gorilla or any large animal in the wild. Keep your mouth closed. Baring of teeth is considered a sign of hostility among gorillas. Avoid eye contact. Silverback males, in particularly, consider direct eye contact a challenge. Visitors who accidently catch a gorilla’s eyes should immediately look away. Be respectful and humble. Gorillas sense intentions and will defend each other if they feel threatened. An angry gorilla will bare its teeth, roar or beat its chest. Human who see these behaviors should get on the ground, look away and “get small.” These behaviors indicate that the visitor acknowledges the gorilla’s primacy and does not wish to fight. Sources: Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress, “Gorillas in the Mist” by Dian Fossey
DEFENDER OF GORILLAS PAID THE ULTIMATE PRICE Californian Dian Fossey is the best known and most accomplished mountain gorilla primatologist. For 20 years until her murder in 1985 she lived among the gorillas of the volcanic mountain region of Rwanda, not far from the Bwindi gorilla populations of Uganda. Fossey’s seminal book, “Gorillas in the Mist,” was a best seller and raised public awareness to the plight of the rare and precious mountain gorillas of Central Africa. Prior to her book, mountain gorillas were racing toward extinction due to poaching, war and habitat destruction by farmers and loggers. Fossey’s fierce defense of the Rwandan gorillas and her unorthodox ways likely led to her murder by locals who wanted her out of the way. There is no consensus as to who killed her and the list of suspects is long. Africa’s gorilla population was estimated to have been less than 200 at the time of Fossey’s death, but her book, and a subsequent Oscar-winning film version of “Gorillas in the Mist” starring Sigourney Weaver as Fossey, brought global attention to the plight of mountain gorillas. Ecological tourism and the protection of gorilla habitats by the governments of Uganda and Rwanda are credited with a steady rebound in the gorilla population. Current estimates range from 7501,000 mountain gorillas, still a perilously small number, but an improvement from Fossey’s time. Fossey is greatly admired today for her vision, scientific talent and staunch advocacy for Africa’s wildlife, but she was intensely disliked by many Africans and Europeans during her years in Rwanda. She battled African poachers, trophy hunters from Europe and North America, potion sellers from China and zoos in developed countries. She spoke out against habitat destruction by energy companies, loggers and corporations harvesting the natural wonders of Africa. Ironically, Fossey also opposed the burgeoning ecotourism movement, which she predicted would slowly overwhelm gorilla habitat and interfere with the research of primatologists. She also feared human visitors would infect gorillas with disease. In retrospect, Fossey was prescient to warn of these outcomes, though a new generation of environment activists argues that eco-tourism motivates nations to protect and maintain its natural resources because it is profitable to do so. Sources: “Gorillas in the Mist” by Dian Fossey, “A Forest in the Clouds” by John Fowler, Mother Jones Magazine and the Foundation for National Progress
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MARCH 15, 2022 / ISSUE 4
HANGING OUT: A baby gorilla investigated the author’s backpack and camera gear, then grabbed his shoulder before climbing a nearby tree after its silverback father expressed its roaring displeasure.
towards me. I thought nothing of it at first because I was concentrating hard to get the best pictures I could. I figured the baby gorilla, despite its curiosity, would not approach a strange and unknown figure. I was wrong. Behind me I heard little footsteps and rustling. A little gorilla approached me and reached out to touch my sweat drenched shirt. This small baby gorilla probably had the grip strength of a man because when he grabbed my shoulder I felt it. Our training from the rangers kicked in and I remembered the admonition to remain calm. I was strangely at peace in this transcendent moment. I had a wild gorilla examining me. I was not afraid and strangely serene. I actually felt honored. Thankfully I did not get too caught up the moment. I was able to turn my camera into selfie mode and capture my brief encounter with this magnificent creature. Seconds later came a stern warning from a ranger to back away. I immediately understood why. One of the most protective mothers in the animal kingdom was not even 20 feet away. A lordly silverback was just a few feet further. Silverback mountain gorillas are built like tanks. They are 500-600 pounds of muscle that a bodybuilder would envy. Their bite force is about 1,300 pounds per square inch, biological jargon for “they can bite through almost anything.” They have more power in their jaws than even lions and grizzly bears. Their glistening silver hair is an indicator of their age and status. Then a nearly fatal mistake. A roar shattered my reverie and I unintentionally made brief eye contact with the silverback, which they consider a threat. It opened its cavernous mouth and brandished its dagger-sized teeth. He looked into my very soul. He did not seem to like what he saw. For the split second I saw this angry display and heard the thundering roar a primal feeling welled up in my chest. I was at the mercy of an animal that could rip me apart like a steamed chicken. There was nothing I could do but hold very still and hope he lost interest. Even as I wondered if I was about to be dismembered, I felt blessed. Pumped full of fearful adrenaline, I paradoxically felt fortunate for this most genuine moment in the web of creation. Billions of humans through millennia lived and died without experiencing this kind of moment. I was reminded that the world is so much bigger than I thought it was and that I am but a minuscule part. Lucky for me, my existence in this world continues. The baby scampered away and father silverback did nothing else, turning its fierce gaze toward its meal. I spent one more hour communing with the majestic animals as the mothers tried to manage their younglings and the prevailing silverback munched on fruits and leaves. We watched in wonder as the pack moved away deeper into the dense underbrush. The silverback gave us a final reminder of his preeminence when he effortlessly uprooted a small tree I had leaned my 200-pound frame against minutes earlier. He pulled up the tree just because it was in his way. RETURN TO MY FUTURE We turned and headed back, still deep in the Bwindi rainforest, but already feeling like we had departed the surreal meeting grounds of the mountain gorillas. Hiking back was surely the same distance and strenuous, but none of that mattered. Our transcendent and humbling experience made us feel blessed and light. It was a mere two day later -- just a pair of revolutions by our vast yet tiny planet -- that I was back in the United States. My 16 hour, 15 minute return trip was a non-stop reel of dreams as gorillas foraged, played and raged in the secretive, sacred forest that now lives in my memory.
THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN