Vol. 63 Issue 1

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

Volume 63, Issue 1

theswcsun.com

Sept. 30 - Oct. 18, 2019

Race investigation keeps ASO in limbo College

By Julia Woock and Brittany Cruz-Fejeran

KINDRED MURILLO

An investigation into charges of racial discrimination during the spring ASO election that led the college president to stop voting continues and is expected to run into November, but many of the students involved in the controversial election have appointed themselves to serve in a “coalition government” that is drafting its own constitution.

SC President Dr. Kindred Murillo said the investigation would run “for about two more months.” Murillo stopped the

contentious ASO election process May 2 when she walked into a meeting of the candidates and ASO advisers that had devolved into a shouting match. Murillo’s directive abruptly ended the election.

Murillo said there were many reasons leading to her unprecedented decision to shut down the elections.

“Allegations of bias, allegations of discrimination, allegations of processes in the ASO constitution not being followed,” she said. “And once we substantiated those processes had not been followed, we felt that with the other allegations that we do not have confirmation on, we believed it

was best to stop the elections.”

A contentious election season took on racial overtones as the all-African American slate that called itself Team Elite squared off with a mostly-Latino ticket that dubbed itself Team Green. Team Green was accused of a false flag attack on Team Elite by creating an Instagram post disguised as a Team Elite post that urged SC students to “chop the heads off of the euro-centrist white supremacist Mexicans of the campus.”

Team Elite presidential candidate Ayona Hudson was pictured in the post.

Loa denied creating the post and said he please see Elections pg. A3

101!

COLLEGE COVERED UP PROFESSOR SEX CASE City College hired John Tolli, who filmed sex with students, kept porn trove

By Katy Stegall Voice of San Diego

A Southwestern College student said she received her first nude photo from her former biology professor, John Tolli, around midnight in 2015, and when he asked her to reciprocate, she replied that it was late. She would later tell a private investigator hired by the college that she awoke the next morning to another message — an apology, from the professor, for getting carried away.

Things got far more carried away from there, though: The exchange kicked off a six-month affair.

A year and a half after it ended, the student filed a Title IX complaint with the college. Though she said their sexual encounters — all of which happened in Tolli’s office on the Southwestern campus — had been consensual, she also told an investigator that she’d felt preyed on by his status, then pressured to stay quiet. She shared with the investigator an email in which Tolli had told her that a complaint to the college would have no merit, so “save yourself the embarrassment.”

That kicked off a probe that soon led school officials to a stunning find: Tolli’s work computer contained a trove of nude photos of himself and other students, plus videos of him having sex with a student and videos of him masturbating, according to investigation documents obtained by Voice of San Diego following a public records request.

The investigator appears to have been so overwhelmed by the discovery that at one point she enlisted the former student to look over sexually graphic photos Tolli had stored on his computer of other women to see if she could help identify potential victims. (She couldn’t.)

In the end, the Titan Group — the private firm hired by the college to conduct the investigation — in 2017 sustained all 12 allegations against Tolli involving two students, including that he used his position to manipulate his former student into having sex, engaged in “intimidation” by directing her to remain silent about the affair,

GOT YO UR

G.O.A.T .

Ed Carberry, already SC’s all-time winningest coach, joined a rare club with 100 victories in both high school and college football.

STAY CONNECTED

@THESWCSUN

ROCKET WOMAN Louise Grego landed NASA internship at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena. CAMPUS, C1

By Matthew Brooks Copy Editor

Southwestern College’s president and governing board issued official apologies to The Sun and its faculty adviser following an illegal attempt to use the California Public Records Act (CPRA) to obtain a video shot by a student journalist.

Former Title IX Director Gloria Chavez signed a two-page letter drafted by an attorney at the Erickson Law Firm demanding The Sun turn over a video shot by a staff photographer of a contentious ASO meeting in May. Chavez told an SCEA faculty union investigator that college lawyers wrote the letter and that she was forced against her wishes to sign it by her supervisor, Vice President of Human GLORIA Resources Rose DelGaudio.

Chavez also said DelGaudio CHAVEZ ordered her to have the letter hand-served to Professor of Journalism Dr. Max Branscomb at his home. Branscomb was on medical leave at the time recovering from four surgeries for life-threatening oral cancer, and seven weeks of radiation treatments and chemotherapy. Chavez originally denied that an HR employee delivered the letter to Branscomb, then later said DelGaudio ordered her to have Branscomb served at his home.

The letter reads “hand-delivery/Branscomb” in bold type across the top.

DelGaudio has denied both of these allegations.

She also said that she was not in town at the time of the delivery and that it was handled by Chavez and her office.

DelGaudio did confirm she initiated the sending of the second letter.

The letter accused The Sun of unethical conduct for refusing to surrender the video.

“Because The Sun operates as an entity that is part of the larger Southwestern Community College District, it is thus subject to the California Public Records Act,” the letter read. “Your denial of a public record based on inapplicable authority is inconsistent with your obligations to ‘broadly construe’ the constitutional right to access, and instead attempts to subvert it.

This subversion of the public’s right to access further appears to directly violate one of the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics.”

Branscomb refused to comply with the directive, arguing that the college had no standing to use the CPRA to force a news organization to turn over its work product to the public agency. The Sun received an outpouring of support from national please see Apology pg. A4

EMPLOYEE SUES COLLEGE FOR LGBTQ DISCRIMINATION

By Matthew Brooks Copy Editor

please see Report pg. A4

PROPHET OF HOPE Legendary anthropologist Dr. Jane Goodall said Earth is in peril but can be saved. CAMPUS, C2

apologizes for threats to paper

VIOLENT ENCOUNTER WITH CAMPUS POLICE Southwestern College police officers wrestle an SC student to the ground for allegedly misusing a disabled parking placard.

NEWS, A3

THE ART OF HEALING David Quattrociocchi retires to serve veterans.

ARTS, D1

An employee of the Academic Success Center who identifies a s a C hristian l esbian fi led a Ti tle VI I discrimination lawsuit against Southwestern College claiming retaliation and infliction of emotional distress.

Clerical assistant Rachel Francois filed a lawsuit against SC and former coworker Norma Rich claiming work place discrimination going back to 2012.

Francois’ lawyer James Davis said that though Rich retired in June, the suit is against Rich individually as well as the college. Davis said SC is wrongly paying for her legal defense and any potential settlements.

“In this case Southwestern Community College, despite an individual lawsuit against Ms. Rich, who has had a history of problems with other people on that campus and not just my client, they are paying her legal expenses as well as paying any settlement for her,” he said. “I’m not sure how they can do that with public funds because Ms. Rachel’s suit against Ms. Rich is an individual suit, please see Discrimination pg. A3 in an

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The Southwestern College Sun • Sept. 30 - Oct. 18, 2019 – Volume 63, Issue 1

Campus police body slam student

news@theswcsun.com

“My philosophy of teaching is really that the best way to learn science is to do science.

That’s what the grant is all about.”

Dr. David Hecht, Southwestern College chemistry professor

Witness describes use of violence by PD as ‘unjustified’

By Julia Woock News Editor

Southwestern College police detained then wrestled to the ground a male African-American student police said was illegally parked in a handicap spot near Devore Stadium. At least two passersby recorded video of the encounter, which was posted on social media.

Some faculty and students expressed concern that the violent encounter was racially motivated.

David Vereen was blocked into the handicapped parking space by an SCPD cruiser shortly after he had pulled in. Cell phone video showed Vereen refused to cooperate with police officers and shouted a stream of profanities at them.

Police escalated the situation when Vereen refused to step out of his vehicle. Vereen was apprehended by officers, handcuffed and wrestled to the ground. He was cited and released according to SCPD. Police officers said Vereen was misusing a handicap placard that did not belong to him.

College President Dr. Kindred Murillo said she retained Nicole Miller to investigate the episode. Murillo said she expects the investigation to take two months.

Nursing student Lizette Moran caught the encounter on her cell phone camera. Her video showed the royal blue SUV Vereen was driving, parked in a disabled parking space, with a disabled placard displayed. A squad car blocked in the SUV. Following an angry exchange, three officers took Vereen to the pavement.

“When I saw them pull him out of the car, I got kind of scared,” she said.

“As I’m recording, my hand is shaking a little bit and I’m scared. Like they’re going to get mad at me because I’m recording. After all that I see (Vereen) getting thrown to the ground.”

Moran said the level of escalation was unnecessary and that she thought of her brothers who are about Vereen’s age.

“The amount of force was not justified,” she said. “That was scary to see, scary to witness.”

Moran said the attitude of police officers was not warranted and wondered if there was racial motivation.

She said officers were overly aggressive and disrespectful.

“We’re humans,” she said. “We’re not in jail already. We’re not in prison already. We’re not murderers. We’re here going to school trying to better our lives. You just have to know how to approach someone, even if you are an officer.”

Police advanced upon Vereen too angrily, said Moran.

“The way they came about it was so intimidating and so forceful,” she said. “It’s like someone on campus has gun,” she said. “Why? Because he was Black? Because he was misusing a handicapped placard? It was ridiculous to witness. It was scary.”

Moran said the episode caused her to lose faith in the campus police and would not contact them unless absolutely necessary. She said the only time she feels safe at SC is when she is in class.

Diante Clark, president of the Black Student Union, said he does not feel safe on campus.

“If anything, I feel a lot less safe,” he said. “To see officers approach the student (aggressively) made me feel like that could be me. Just knowing please see Police pg. A4

Nicholas James/Staff

GOOD CHEMISTRY — Jobeth Liwanag (left) and Mynn Sulapat from Alexandra Hofler’s chemistry class are part of a new program to help chem students transfer to SDSU.

SC awarded $3.2M grant Grant creates pipeline agreement between SC and SDSU for biochemistry and chemistry students

STEM GRANT The National Science Foundation awarded Southwestern College and San Diego State University a $5,000,000 S-STEM grant.

By Julia Woock News Editor

Scientists in the region agree – SDSU and Southwestern College have good chemistry.

A $3.2 million National Science Foundation grant is funding a new program to help matriculate at least 10 SC biochemistry and chemistry majors into the SDSU program.

SC chemistry professor Dr. David Hecht said it is a formula for success.

SC students will have a newly competitive edge, said Hecht, thanks to opportunities for undergraduate research, networking opportunities, and scholarships.

Faculty members from both institutions collaborated on the grant, including SC’s Hecht, adjunct chemistry instructor Alexandra Hofler and MESA Director Dr. Mourad Mjahed.

One goal is to cultivate successful candidates for graduate school, said Hecht.

Hofler said the collaboration will help with “transfer shock,” easing transition into SDSU. Both schools will provide outreach to the American Chemical Society, trips to local biotech companies, guest speakers and networking.

Hecht said the mission of the program is to cut through barriers of race, gender and socioeconomics.

Research and literature shows that undergraduate research increases student GPA, retention and success rates, he said.

“My philosophy of teaching is really that the best way to learn science is to do science,” he said. “That’s what the grant is all about.”

Hecht said he plans to implement a new threeunit course, for the program on research techniques that will allow students to learn how to approach faculty mentors for projects, formulate hypotheses

$3.2 million goes to Southwestern College. l

l Up

to $10,000 in scholarships for 30 chemistry and biochemistry students per year for two years. l Transfer, career

and graduate school application workshops.

Julia Woock/Staff

A STRONG NEW SOLUTION — Chemistry student Alexis Garcia uses state-of-the-art equipment in the new MSE building.

and design research. Students will gain real-world research experience studying diseases like malaria, gonorrhea, cancer and the Zika virus.

Students chosen for the program may apply for up to $10,000 a year based on financial need, said Hecht. Students will also have faculty mentors, said Hofler.

“We definitely found that the students that get

mentoring, do better in their classes,” she said.

Southwestern College alumna Ruth Sosa earned her BS in chemistry from SDSU in chemistry and found a job at REVA Medical just a month after she began her search, she said. She credits her success to undergraduate research conducted at SDSU. SC chemistry major Alexis Garcia said she plans to apply for the program and continue her education at a local university.

“I think it’s amazing,” she said. “It’s really hard, especially coming from [a] community college to catch up with the kind of rigor that happens at a four-year institution.”

Garcia said she wants to enroll in an M.D./Ph.D. program.

The program looks to train current students into graduate programs and perhaps in turn, give back to the community, training the next generation.

Applications are available through SWC scholarship website starting October 1-31 under NSF S-STEM Scholarship – Mentored Pathways from Community College to Graduate School and Chemistry Careers.

Southwestern College and San Diego State University were awarded $5 million by the National Science Foundation for a grant project they jointly developed. “Mentored Pathways from Community College to Graduate School and Chemistry Careers” is supervised by Dr. David Hecht, MESA Director Dr. Mourad Mjahed and Chemistry Professor Alexandra Hofler as well as San Diego State chemistry professors Dr. Regis Komperda, Dr. Byron Purse and Dr. Mikhael Bergdahl.

news@theswcsun.com

Elections: Murillo said she has authority to reconfigure the ASO

Continued from pg. A1

did not know who did. Hudson said two witnesses brought her evidence that Loa had made racist comments about her and the African-American candidates. The matter is under investigation, according to Murillo. Loa, during an interview with The Sun this semester, denied charges that he had mocked Team Elite because it was composed entirely of African-Americans.

“This was blown out of proportion,” he said. “They should’ve pulled a meeting with the parties involved and take it from them. Bring the witnesses and find the truth. But no, we went to a conference room open camera lights action came in.”

Hudson filed a grievance with the ASO Election Board. At least three meetings of the board were scheduled and cancelled, she said. ASO officials blamed the cancellations on a provision of the Ralph M. Brown Public Meetings Act that requires government agencies to post meetings at least 72 hours in advance. Election board meetings were cancelled, the officials insisted, because they were posted less than 24 hours in advance, the minimum time for a meeting considered an emergency.

Hudson led a protest on May 1 and called for Loa’s disqualification from the elections for allegedly making racist remarks and creating a dangerous situation on campus

Discrimination: Suit

claims SC co-worker harassed her for years

Continued from pg. A1

individual capacity, for individual actions. It is not something that should be covered by Southwestern Community College, but yet they’re paying for it, and they’ve indicated that if we make a settlement, they’ll be covering her costs, her settlement, for this.”

In the suit Francois and Davis slam the college for inappropriate behavior. “(Southwestern College and Norma Rich) committed the outrageous acts herein alleged maliciously and oppressively, and with the wrongful intention of injuring Ms. Francois, and acted with an improper and evil motive amounting to malice or despicable conduct,” said the suit.

Davis said SC has a history of such behavior it has tried to cover up.

“Southwestern has been one of the most egregious institutes that I have ever seen,” Davis said. “Looking back at their history, the number of lawsuits, the types of lawsuits that have been filed against them and how they continue to push things under the rug to try to hide things from the public.”

Davis also said that the SC Governing Board is responsible for this history, lack of transparency and are tacitly supporting Rich’s anti-LGBTQ behavior by covering her legal expenses.

“The payment of legal fees in any settlement for anybody that’s attacking that lifestyle just shows the support of Southwestern College, and that board of governors,” Davis said.

“And moreover, this has been a history. The Board of Governors has been there, and been incestual, for years. And you have seen these problems for years. It’s not that the deans or the presidents of the college are bad, they’re under that board. And the thing that has been consistent there, and has been consistently controlling, and voting on, and making these determinations are that board. I don’t know if there is anybody you could put in to run that school that would correct the situation, it has to be addressed at the top level.”

Francois said that in April 2012 she introduced Rich to her partner when they ran into each other while shopping.

Following this interaction there was a noticeable change in “attitude and relationship” between Francois and Rich.

Francois said Rich began to make unwelcome comments about her sexuality and differences in religious beliefs, and that these comments would grow more brazen and frequent over time.

Rich is said to have told Francois that she was a sinner and needed to be “deprogramed.” She further informed Francois that her church offered conversion therapy, according to Davis.

Conversion therapy has been banned in 18 states. It was banned in California in September 2012.

In 2013 the America Psychological A s s o c i a t i o n re l e a s e d a s t a t e m e n t condemning the practice.

“The American Psychiatric Association does not believe that same-sex orientation should or needs to be changed, and efforts to do so represent a significant risk of harm by subjecting individuals to forms of treatment which have not been scientifically validated and by undermining self-esteem when sexual orientation fails to change. No credible evidence exists that any mental health intervention can reliably and safely change sexual orientation; nor, from a mental health perspective does sexual

The Southwestern College Sun • Sept. 30 - Oct. 18, 2019 – Volume 63, Issue 1

for African-American students.

As polling began the week of April 29, rancor between the opposing tickets escalated. ASO advisers summoned all candidates to a meeting on May 2 attended by at least a dozen campus employees. The elections board declined Hudson’s request to ban Loa, instead suggesting he complete an implicit bias training and facilitate a retreat to discuss racial relations. Hudson said the decision was outrageous.

“Are you proud of failing us?” she said during the May 2 meeting. “This is a fucking joke!”

Murillo was summoned when the meeting grew argumentative and emotional. She announced she was cancelling the election.

Hudson said members of her slate supported Murillo’s decision.

“Team Elite is okay with the elections being cancelled because of the racism that we had to deal with during our campaign season,” she said.

Team Green published a dissenting statement.

“As members of Team Green, we are shocked in the recent actions taken by the Administration of Southwestern College to invalidate the ASO General Elections of the Spring 2019 semester,” read the statement.

During the summer Team Green presidential candidate Christian Sanchez approached Hudson with a proposal to set aside their differences and form a “coalition government.” Murillo said she supported the idea. Hudson and Sanchez asked SCEA faculty union president S. Rob Shaffer

to mediate a series of meetings between members of the two slates of candidates.

Sanchez and Hudson announced the coalition government from the mainstage of the college’s employee opening day event in August. Faculty in attendance stood and applauded the act of conciliation, though many questioned the legality of appointing a government that was not elected by the student body. SC’s ASO Constitution has no provision for unelected executive officers or coalition governments.

Murillo consulted with lawyers that told her she had the power under to the California Education Code to allow students to form an interim coalition government.

An opinion presented to Murillo by the AlvaradoSmith law firm sited a passage from section 76060 of the Ed. Code. “[The] governing board of a community college district may authorize the students of a college to organize a student body association,” read the letter. “A community college district may assume responsibility for activities formerly conducted by a student body association if the student body association is dissolved.”

Section 76072 states that “the governing board of a community college district may authorize any organization composed entirely of students attending the colleges of the district to maintain activities, including fundraising activities, as may be approved by the governing board.”

Murillo said she had the power to dissolve the ASO and to permit a coalition government.

orientation need to be changed.”

Matters escalated during the month when Rich allegedly “outed” Francois to the rest of her work place and would continue to do so by informing new employees of Francois’s sexuality during their workplace orientations.

Francois also said the college was made aware of this discrimination and harassment, but let it continue for years without intervention.

Francois claims to have brought this continued harassment to her program supervisor, Dean of the School of Language, Literature & Humanities Dr. Joel Levine, in August 2016. Levine took no steps to correct or reprimand Rich, according to Francois.

Levine said that he was unaware of the details of the suit and is currently unable to comment because the matter is in litigation.

Francois the filed a complaint to HR on Aug. 15, 2016.

In January 2017 the college found her complaint to be unfounded. Davis said that there is plenty of evidence to the contrary and that Rich’s activities were well documented.

“Not only were they aware of it from the investigation that they denied for Rachael, but then in other investigations that were taking place about complaints in that department the issue would arise,” Davis said. “They had other statements and testimony from people that had confirmed what Rachael was saying was being done and they still chose to say ‘unsubstantiated’ which is ridiculous.”

Francois appealed the decision in Feb. 2017 and requested that the matter not be closed.

She said she met with SC administration over the next few months regarding the school’s findings and her appeal. During this time Francois alleges that Director of Human Resources Marvin Castillo repeatedly tried to pressure her into mediation with Rich.

Francois said she twice requested transfers in April 2017 to escape the hostile work environment and “mental and emotional pain she was suffering” in April 2017.

Francois said she has suffered from stress and has sought mental health care due to harassment.

“There has been a lot of stress, a lot of stress at home,” Francois said in her statement. “My counseling is not done, yet I still have a lot of counseling to go through because of this.”

Francois said she was retaliated against by the college for requesting the transfers.

She said Trinda Best, the Vice President of HR at the time, required her to withdraw her appeal of the college’s investigation or she would refuse her transfer request. This act would constitute a breach of California law, according to Davis.

Davis also alleges that the college retaliated again by threatening to end Francois’s wife’s health benefits until it received documents proving that the couple was still married.

“As a person being in a same sex marriage, she was required to go to the County and ask them to create a document stating she has continued to be married to her partner or they were going to pull her partner’s medical benefits,” he said. “I have never heard a person that is man and wife, married, that has been in a situation where any institution has told that man ‘you go find a document that says you’re still married after eight or ten years of marriage or we’re stopping your spouse’s benefits.’ Have you ever heard of anybody being told that they find something stating they’re not divorced? There’s no record of that. These are ridiculous things that are plainly retaliatory in nature and clearly go towards Rachael’s lifestyle.”

Francois said the potential loss of her partner’s health benefits had a serious negative impact on her.

“I was panicked,” she said. “I didn’t know

the answer. I was lost. I was scared. I didn’t know how I was going to come up with the money to pay for Rhoda’s half of her benefits.”

During this time Rich’s harassment continued, Francois said. She said she was made aware of this by colleagues in November 2018.

“Ms. Francois was contacted by Southwestern College employees and informed that Rich was ‘gossiping’ in front student workers that Francois and gay and that was a sin,” the suit said.

Davis has alleged that the college is taking retaliatory actions against Francois.

“Currently my client has been suffering some things we feel are retaliatory in nature and harassing, and they’re continuing to create a work environment that is not friendly for her,” Davis said. “That’s something we’re going to bring forward and have to address. I can say that much about that now. Because it’s something we may use in the lawsuit as far as continued harassment and hostile environment at the work place as a result of her bringing these claims.”

Francois said her career and emotional health have been impacted by years of harassment.

“As a proximate result of Defendants discrimination against Plaintiff, Plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer substantial losses in career opportunities, earnings, bonuses, deferred compensation, and other employment benefits, and has suffered and continues to suffer damages to her reputation, embarrassment, humiliation, and mental anguish in an amount according to proof,” read the brief.

The suit seeks compensation for damages, including loss of wages and promotional opportunities, mental and emotional distress, punitive and exemplary damages to punish and deter Southwestern College from further work place discrimination and worker retaliation, as well as attorney and legal fees.

Davis said he is confident in the evidence supporting the suit’s allegations.

“I don’t make any promises, a jury looks at every set of facts and makes a determination,” he said. “I can say that there is strong evidence to support everything we’ve alleged in the complaint, and everything we have said to you today. I feel very confident that this case will be resolved more favorable than their investigation on campus.”

Davis said Francois hopes the suit leads to a better environment for SC. “My client likes working with students, likes the educational environment and wants to be part of a process that creates change at Southwestern Community College,” he said. “And you’ve seen this consistently with the employees there. A lot of the employees, though they may have been treated bad, and there may be some bad environment, a lot of them love the school and the students. They like working in that environment, and they want to help create a Southwestern Community College that is friendly and open to everybody, and Rachael wants to be part of that.”

Davis also expressed hopes the suit would lead to positive change on campus.

“Hopefully, we’re able to get this resolved and work with the school in creating a better environment in the future for all,” he said. “This is not the first case along these lines that I’ve dealt with. And it’s not just one area. They’ve had race issues, they’re having sex issues, they’re having sexual orientation issues, they’re sending predators to other campuses. This has to be cleaned up, and we’d like to be part of working with them to get that cleaned up.”

“Do we have authority to do this?” she said. “I think that’s the question and how would we do that? Because I’m the president of the college, because of board policy 5400, the ASO is required to follow their own constitution and by-laws and we already knew when we started the investigation that the bylaws and constitution had been violated by the 24-hour policy not being upheld, so that basically says that they weren’t following their constitution and bylaws, so then my rule is to make sure they’re doing that.”

The AlvaradoSmith law firm advisory supported Murillo’s action.

“Under the authority of California Code and the board is required to create policies and procedures which we have, and we noted in that policy 5400, that under that the board may authorize a student government organization and under that power I am designated to be able to issue the order that authorizes their ability to move forward, so that we can have a student voice, while we’re finalizing all this stuff,” said Murillo.

Hudson said the ultimate shape of the 2019-20 ASO depends on the findings of the investigation ordered by Murillo in May. “So let’s just say hypothetically that the investigation results show that discrimination did happen,” she said. “Then we would not be using the previous election results. But let’s say that the investigation results show that discrimination did not happen…then we would be using last spring’s results. I think that’s fair.”

Hudson said plans are in place to give

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ASO positions to members of the coalition government, if the elections are validated.

“The coalition, since we’re already working together, we have decided that the ASO officers, since we’re already putting so much work into this together, that let’s say I didn’t win the presidency or someone else didn’t win their respective positions, we’ll just drop down into senate,” she said.

Student Activities Coordinator Richard Eberheart concurred.

“What they decided (is) once the results are released, then the people that won their respective race then they would take that seat,” he said. “Then the person that didn’t win, then they would automatically become a senator in the ASO. They would still get to be a senator and participate in the ASO, maybe not necessarily in the position they initially ran for. They would just automatically be slotted into a senator position so they can still be part of the ASO. So that was sort of the compromise they all sort of came up with.

That way nobody walks away with nothing.”

The ASO Constitution provision for the election of senators is in Article V, Section 1. It is a mechanism to fill vacancies by a special election conducted by the senate called In-House elections. Provision 1 is for vacancies to be “heavily published” during the first three weeks of each semester and for interested students to submit a nomination petition with 75 signatures. Students with enough valid signatures are eligible to be interviewed and confirmed by a committee of five students established and chaired by the executive vice president.

Nicholas James/Staff

ELIZABETH WARREN TAKES THE LEAD

I HAVE A PLAN FOR THAT — Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren attracted an enthusiastic crowd to San Diego’s Waterfront Park for a boisterous rally. Access to a low-cost college education changed her life, she said, and she pledged to work to make higher education affordable or free. Warren also talked about disparities for women in the work place, the need for affordable childcare and equal wages. The former Harvard economics professor and bestselling author said she respects her fellow Democratic presidential candidates, but said she is the only one with viable funding mechanisms to install new plans to change America. Recent polls show that Warren is the new leader in the race for the Democratic nomination, pulling ahead of former leaders Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders in what remains a very close three-way race.

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Apology: Attempt to coerce student press draws ire of board

Continued from pg. A1

First Amendment rights organizations and the region’s news media. San Diego’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists issued a swift condemnation of the attempt to compel Branscomb to order his students to surrender their work.

“The Sun has not committed any violation of the SPJ Code of Ethics,” read a published statement by the SPJ board of directors.

“Protecting unpublished material, which can be done for a variety of important reasons, is a basic tenet of journalism that we urge the school to honor in preparing its students for careers in the field.”

FIRE Issues Warning

Adam Steinbaugh, a director at the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, sent a six-page letter to Murillo condemning the college’s attempts to coerce Branscomb and The Sun. He ridiculed the college for attempting to use CPRA. “The district’s use of a directive under the California Public Records Act is an astonishing affront to the rights of student journalists, betraying the institution’s obligations under the First Amendment and California law,” he wrote.

R e b u t t i n g C h a v e z’s a r g u m e n t , Steinbaugh explained that student newspapers are not subject to the CPRA, which was created to promote transparency in public agencies. “(College newspapers) are unincorporated entities imbued with Constitutional rights of their own, even when their host institutions provided substantial support,” Steinbaugh wrote. “Southwestern’s use of a public records request to compel the production of records from its student newspaper is as puzzling as it is novel. Even assuming The Sun were a public agency under the CPRA, the newspaper could withhold the requested material because of the profound public interest in protecting journalist’s rights.”

Steinbaugh concluded his letter explaining that legal action by the college to force The Sun to surrender unpublished material would fail.

“Pursuit of its CPRA request will not only undermine its reputation, but risks both miring the District in litigation that offers it no possibility of success and

Report: College let

Tolli quietly resign, tendered neutral letter

Continued from pg. A1

engaged in and photographed sex acts on district property and used a district computer to view and send pornography, according to investigative documents.

Despite those findings, Southwestern College let Tolli quietly resign in June 2018 and agreed not to tell prospective employers about the investigation, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by Voice of San Diego.

Tolli and the student had four sexual encounters in his office from June 2015 to January 2016, according to the Titan Group report. They only had sex during office hours, sometimes using an air mattress.

She said her apprehension about the affair grew over time.

She also said she feared that Tolli would release nude photos that she’d sent him over the course of their relationship, and she worried about an offhand comment he’d made suggesting his superior knew about the sexual encounters in the office but didn’t care so long as he did his job.

Tolli ended the affair in January 2016. The student did not handle the news well.

According to the report, she vandalized a school bathroom wall, writing, “Dr. John Tolli fucks students in his office,” and provided his private email address. Campus police told Tolli about the graffiti, but said they didn’t know who’d done it. She told an investigator that Tolli had threatened to reveal her as the person who’d tagged the bathroom if she reported him for their relationship. She also contacted Tolli’s wife to tell her about the affair, according to the report.

When the woman filed a Title IX complaint in 2017 — by that time she was no longer a student at the school — she was initially hesitant to identify Tolli by name and told the college president she was afraid of being portrayed as “the bad guy.” Title IX is a federal civil rights law intended to protect people from gender discrimination and sexual misconduct in educational settings.

Tolli was placed on paid administrative leave and his district-issued computer was seized. Investigators found numerous pornographic photos and videos of himself and other women on the desktop.

The Southwestern College Sun • Sept. 30 - Oct. 18, 2019 – Volume 63, Issue 1

exposing its administrators to personal liability,” he said.

California law forbids college administrators from censoring college journalists, punishing students and journalism faculty over publication content, and retaliation against student publication advisers. State statutes also holds administrators who break free press laws personally responsible for fines, damages, court costs and attorney fees.

Governing Board Member Roberto Alcantar said the board was taken aback by the CPRA filings by college administrators against The Sun. “We were shocked by the situation,” he said. “It was something that immediately raised red flags because we know that there’s been a history of The Sun being attacked by the administration in the past. As a board member, if I had been told ahead of time that this was going to happen, and such a request was going to be made, I would not have authorized that because I truly stand for one of our values – one of my values – to protect the press and allow the freedom of the press.”

Murillo said she also disapproved of how Chavez and the Human Resources department handled the situation, though she did want access to The Sun video of the ASO meeting. Murillo refused to say specifically why she and HR staff wanted the video. “(Chavez) was trying to do what I believe was the right thing to do,” Murillo said. “The way it happened I am not supportive of.”

Lawyers Offer Support At least six First Amendment attorneys in San Diego, Los Angeles and Virginia offered to represent The Sun should the college attempt litigation or retaliation against the student newspaper or its adviser. San Diego attorney Felix Tinkov, who works frequently with Voice of San Diego, offered to help The Sun obtain public records it has sought for as long as six years. Last month Tinkov successfully secured release of parts of the college investigation of former biology professor Dr. John Tolli for sexual misconduct, and misuse of his college office and computer.

(See coverage in this issue.)

Tinkov is currently working on behalf of The Sun to secure the release of records in three other college investigations, according to Brittany Cruz-Fejeran, editor-in-chief of the newspaper.

State Bar Complaints Branscomb filed three complaints with the California State Bar Association over the CPRA matter. He filed Non-Attorney Unauthorized Practice of Law complaints against DelGaudio and Chavez as well as an Attorney Misconduct Complaint against the Erickson Law Firm. Murillo refused to provide Branscomb with the name of the individual Erickson attorney who wrote the Chavez letter.

“It was ignorant and unprofessional of (DelGaudio and Chavez) to write the first CPRA letter, but I could forgive that even though it is a stretch for me to believe that two highly-paid college administrators could really have thought something like that was allowable,” Branscomb told Murillo in an email notifying her of the State Bar Complaints. “Once they were informed of the laws protecting the work product of journalists, however, subsequent attempts to coerce the video were willful, malicious and illegal. You, the governing board and the college were ill-served and embarrassed by a law firm and administrators who intentionally attempted to misapply the CPRA law in a threatening and intimidating manner, and who attempted to compel a faculty member to commit an illegal act against his students.”

The State Bar Association is investigating the episode. Branscomb said he declined an invitation to file a Hostile Work Environment complaint against the college and Murillo for serving him a threatening letter at home while he was medical leave.

Contentious ASO Meeting College administrators began to pressure journalism students to surrender video of a contentious May 2 ASO meeting by approaching individual photographers and writers without the knowledge of the newspaper’s editor-in-chief Katy Stegall or acting adviser David Washburn. When the students declined to provide the video, a private investigator hired by the college asked Stegall for the video. She refused to comply.

College employees continued to ask individual members of the newspaper staff to turn over the video or describe its contents, even though at least 12 college employees attended the ASO meeting.

Murillo appeared about an hour into the meeting and cancelled the 2019 ASO election.

“His actions have exposed his employer (SWCCD) to substantial risk and liability and creates a negative retention issue. Moreover, his actions also created a predatory educational environment for these current and past student(s).”

Titan Group report He declined to be interviewed for this story.

As the investigation quickly revealed, the former student was not the only person who’d had sexual encounters with Tolli before his 2018 resignation.

The scope of the investigation broadened following the findings on Tolli’s computer.

The myriad pornographic photos and videos expanded the picture that had already been illustrated by the first student’s testimony.

A second student was identified, according to the report, but she declined to cooperate with the investigation. The lead investigator wrote that with the amount of evidence found on Tolli’s computer, the second student’s testimony was not needed to confirm the relationship.

According to the report, there are still unidentified women who had sexual encounters in Tolli’s office.

In an interview with the investigator, Tolli denied that he’d ever intimidated a student into having sex and disagreed that his sexual encounters with his former students might have been inappropriate. But he said he regretted some of his behavior and wouldn’t do it again.

Tolli disputed some other claims, according to the investigation. He said he was not misusing his authority since the student who initiated the investigation was no longer a student of his when their affair began.

He also told the investigator he never sent nude photos to coerce her into sex, and said the student only brought up that she felt manipulated after he ended the relationship.

“Professor Tolli said his behavior did not demonstrate that he was a bad teacher, it reflects that he is a bad husband,” the report reads.

The investigator, however, concluded that Tolli’s “blatant abuse” of his collegeowned computer — where he’d stored pornographic material of himself and students — was highly inappropriate. She wrote that the masturbation videos, which Tolli initially denied filming, were “highly offensive and egregious conduct.”

“His actions have exposed his employer (SWCCD) to substantial risk and liability and creates a negative retention issue,” the investigator wrote. “Moreover, his actions also created a predatory educational environment for these current and past student(s).”

Tolli is no longer allowed to work for the Southwestern College district, according to the separation agreement he struck with the college on March 30, 2018. Details of the investigation were not mentioned in the agreement. Instead, it says simply that a “dispute had arisen” regarding Tolli’s employment. As part of the agreement, Southwestern promised to provide a “neutral employment reference letter” upon request

On May 23 Stegall and Washburn received an email from HR employee Karen Harada on behalf of Chavez seeking the video that invoked the California Public Records Act. Washburn called Branscomb, who said he was “flabbergasted that the college would attempt to flip the intent of the CPRA and use it against a news organization.” He said the college had no standing to even make a request.

A First Amendment attorney working with Washburn confirmed that the college was not allowed to use CPRA against its student newspaper and assisted in providing language for a letter written by Washburn declining to turn over the video.

Washburn’s June 4 letter cited California Gov. Code 6254 (k) as well as the California Shield Law, which protects the work product of journalists, including college journalists, who have the same rights as professionals.

Stegall, Washburn and Branscomb all said they thought that would end the matter.

Instead, Branscomb was served by a district courier on June 14 while talking to his daughter and a neighbor in his driveway.

The second letter from the college was nearly two pages long and threatened litigation if the video was not surrendered to the district.

Branscomb correctly surmised the letter was written by an attorney, though it was signed by Chavez. Copies were also sent to Washburn, the Investigations Editor at KPBS, and Stegall, who had just started an internship at Voice of San Diego. Stegall worked next to Society of Professional Journalists President Lisa Halverstadt, who shared it with the SPJ board.

SPJ and FIRE issued immediate condemnations of the college administration.

The San Diego Union-Tribune ran a B-1 story about the letter on June 30. Voice of San Diego, KPBS, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times and other news organizations followed up on the episode.

Murillo sent Branscomb a text on June 17 that said she had nothing to do with the letter, blaming the situation on “heavy handed” communication by Human Resources staff. She sent him an email the same evening stating that the district was backing off.

“The District is not going to litigate over this issue,” Murillo wrote. “While it would be most helpful to obtain video to the investigation, we are not going to pursue any further.”

Murillo wrote a letter of apology 10 days later on June 28.

“Freedom of the press is a founding tenet of our country, and we respect our student journalists’ efforts in pursuing their stories,”

news@theswcsun.com

she wrote. “More so, we are grateful to the staff members of the Southwestern College Sun and the service they provide to Southwestern College. I apologize for our insensitivity and that our request infringed upon the efforts and rights of our student journalists.”

Murillo also assured students and faculty of The Sun that such a situation was not going to happen again.

“I have since had a real strong discussion with the Human Resources department about how we’re trying to create an environment of inclusion and respect here, and so from now on before these kinds of things happen (Human Resources) need(s) to confer with me,” she wrote.

HR, President Not on Same Page Branscomb said he accepted Murillo’s apology, but was concerned that Chavez and DelGaudio did not acknowledge wrongdoing and refused to say they would not go after The Sun again. Chavez, according to a faculty member who spoke to her after the incident, said DelGaudio forcefully declared “she would never apologize” to Branscomb or journalism students. Chavez, in a text obtained by The Sun, said she would not apologize unless Branscomb would pose for a photograph with her, DelGaudio and Murillo “for the front page of the sun and tribune that reads we have forged a deal that will protect the interest of all our our (sic) students.”

When the faculty member responded that Branscomb would never agree to such a thing, Chavez responded with another message.

“So you’re only okay to spout the negative?” Chavez wrote. “It has to be a win win. He doesn’t get to leave and gloat.”

The Sun learned that Chavez was “separated from the college” in midSeptember, but Murillo and Gov. Board President Nora Vargas refused to say whether she was fired. Chavez had worked at the college for less than one year and was an at-will employee who could be fired without cause. Her departure has not been announced publicly.

SCEA President S. Rob Shaffer and Alcantar read statements in support of Branscomb and The Sun at the July meeting of the governing board.

“We would do whatever we can to ensure that your rights are protected as the press,” Alcantar said. “We fully back you because you do the good work which is the work of holding us accountable.”

that cites his hiring date, last salary and job title. His resignation was effective June 30, 2018.

In a statement this week, Southwestern College President Kindred Murillo said the college accepted Tolli’s resignation because it was “the best solution [given] the circumstance.” She also said she was concerned about maintaining and respecting Tolli’s and the students’ privacy.

Tolli is now an instructional lab tech at San Diego City College, said Jack Beresford, a spokesman for the school. He was hired June 1, 2018.

Obtaining information about Tolli’s resignation from Southwestern took two years.

Southwestern College’s student newspaper, The Sun, filed numerous public records requests seeking investigative documents tied to Tolli, all of which were initially denied by the college. Southwestern officials argued at the time that the documents would not serve a public interest.

The college only reversed course and disclosed the documents after legal intervention by Felix Tinkov, an attorney who represents Voice of San Diego.

“Given the continued media interest in the matter, we have determined that it is in the college’s best interest to provide it with the hope that the information will be responsibly [handled],” Murillo said.

Employees of the district are expected to abide by its Code of Professional Ethics to promote student success, Murillo said, which includes avoiding conflicts of interest or the “appearance of impropriety” between district business and personal relationships.

In March 2018 — four months after the investigation had concluded but before Tolli had resigned — the college’s human resources department started drafting a new teacherstudent fraternization policy, the details of which are still unclear.

The policy has yet to be implemented.

“We are reviewing other model policies that contain better language on employee and faculty relationships with students,” Murillo said.

Update: John Tolli was placed on paid leave by San Diego City College while the school reviews the situation, Jack Beresford, the San Diego Community College District’s public information officer, told Voice of San Diego after this story initially published.

Police: Event sparks renewed interest in police review board

Continued from pg. A2

it could be any one of my friends given the recent events.”

In response to the episode, ASO leadership and college had a listening session where students could voice concerns and ask questions. A lineup of students shared their emotional experiences and how the color of their skin made them feel targeted. Many of the questions asked by the students were not answered by SCPD Chief Davis Nighswonger or Murillo because it would impede the ongoing investigation, Murillo said. She promised a thorough examination of the confrontation.

“Nothing has gone under the rug since I got here,” she told students. “It will be a fair and just investigation.”

Governing Board Vice President Nora Vargas said she contacted the ACLU to help the college create a police review board.

SC PIO Lillian Leopold said there was an attempt to establish an advisory board two years ago, but it fizzled.

“The very first meeting was very well attended, but then after that it was hard to get on people’s calendars, there seemed to be a lack of interest,” she said.

SC’s Black Student Union held a workshop with attorney Jasmine Braswell, to discuss students’ rights.

Moran said she hopes the college’s investigation will be transparent, but has little faith it will be.

“No matter what happens, I don’t think what (the police) did was ok,” she said. “I don’t think it was justified.”

Clark agreed.

“I have very little hope in the outcome of this investigation,” he said.

Moran said she thinks Vereen will be blamed.

“He resisted,” she said. “That’s it. I think that’ll be the end of it.”

Sept. 30 - Oct. 18, 2019 – Volume 63, Issue 1

VIEWPOINTS

The Southwestern College Sun

B1

Editorials, Opinions and Letters to the Editor

editorial

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 Brittany Cruz-Fejeran News Editor Julia Woock News Assistant Kathleen Blankenship News Assistant Manuel Gonzalez Campus Editor Gamaliel Carreno Campus Assistant Lisa Pottger Campus Assistant Caleigh Goldman Viewpoints Editor Brittany Hernandez Viewpoints Assistant Pernisha Gaines Arts Co-Editor Andrew Penalosa Arts Co-Editor Karla DeAlba Sports Editor Justin Dottery Sports Assistant John Ceballos-Brodie Sports Assistant Solé Ruiz Production Manager Marty Loftin Production Assistant Paola Labrada Multimedia Editor Jahaziel Valencia Multimedia Assistant Stephanie Aceves Photo Editor Nicholas James Photo Assistant Fernando Martinez Copy Editor Matthew Brooks

Senior Staff Writer JoseLuis Baylon

S TA F F W R I T E R S Ryan Calderon Kamron Davis Andrea Flores Isaac Garcia Rebecca Gutierrez Kiara Miranda

Hanna Noriega Ana Paola Olvera Faith Perez Marissa Romero Aide Valdez

PHOTOGRAPHERS Aide Valdez Marissa Romero

CARTOONISTS Jaime Ramirez Victor Santander Ever Parmely- Den Herder

Advisor Dr. Max Branscomb Assistant Advisor Kenneth Pagano

AWARDS/HONORS Student Press Law Center National College Press Freedom Award 2011, 2018 National Newspaper Association National College Newspaper of the Year 2004-18 Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker Awards 2003-06, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012-2017 General Excellence 2001-19 Best of Show 2003-19 Columbia University Scholastic Press Association Gold Medal for Journalism Excellence 2001-19 California Newspaper Publishers Association California College Newspaper of the Year 2013, 2016 Student Newspaper General Excellence 2002-18

San Diego County Multicultural Heritage Award Society of Professional Journalists National Mark of Excellence 2001-19 First Amendment Award 2002, 2005 San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism 1999-2019 Directors Award for Defense of Free Speech 2012 Journalism Association of Community Colleges Pacesetter Award 2001-18 Newspaper General Excellence 2000-19 American Scholastic Press Association Community College Newspaper of the Year San Diego County Fair Media Competition Best of Show 20012003, 2005-2017

Secrecy has led to dysfunction Board President Roberto Alcantar hit it right on the head.

“Culture cannot change without acknowledging the issues that got us to the place we are at,” he wrote in a recent public statement.

Southwestern College has one of the worst records of any institution of higher education when it comes to transparency, administrative leadership and the treatment of its student publications.

This is a college that has closed public meetings to student journalists, intentionally misrepresented crime reports to hide sexual assaults, permitted insubordinate administrators to secretly rewrite board policies to decrease access, hid public documents behind phony excuses and ignored legitimate California Public Records Act (CPRA) requests.

This is a college that routinely runs out the clock on springtime stories and records requests, then takes secretive actions during the summer or winter break.

This is a college that once fired its adjunct newspaper adviser because his students published a story about a secret $450,000 payoff to a “fired” administrator, manhandled a young female editorin-chief, refused to pay printing bills following critical editorials, attempted to shut down the newspaper to cover up a bribery scandal, and repeatedly vandalized the car and home of the adviser.

SC hit another low this spring when, in The Issue: an act of irony that demonstrated a stunning Senior administrators lack of self-awareness, it filed a CPRA against have swept serious The Sun. Any competent college administrator knows that is not legal, so that leaves us problems under the rug with two unsavory choices: (1) our senior and created a culture administrators are woefully incompetent, or (2) of secrecy that has our senior administrators knowingly engaged in damaged our reputation. an illegal act.

Unfortunately, evidence indicates both are true. It is bad enough that former Title IX Director Gloria Chavez and Vice President of Human Resources Rose Del Gaudio were so dumb as to file a CPRA against a newspaper, it is nearly unbelievable that they would act like Donald Trump and double down once they knew they were committing an illegal act. To make matters worse, they served the newspaper adviser at his home like a criminal while he was on medical leave following lifethreatening cancer surgery.

So much for Human Resources. Del Gaudio runs a department better named Inhumane Resources. She should have been immediately

terminated from her $330,000-a-year job for incompetence and cruelty.

Chavez apparently has been secretly fired, possibly for throwing Del Gaudio under the bus when the professional news media and national First Amendment organizations lambasted the college for the CPRA debacle.

College President Dr. Kindred Murillo swears this was a boondoggle that she knew nothing about. For her sake that better be the truth because if we ever find out she lied about her role in this The Sun will push for her immediate termination as well.

Murillo has a doctorate, but has forgotten the lessons of kindergarten such as tell the truth, be respectful of the feelings of others and do what’s right. There is far too much moral equivocating and rationalization of bad behavior at the college (see Del Gaudio, Rose.) It comes from the top.

Administrators have demonstrated great hypocrisy by committing many of the same misdeeds they piously criticize other employees for, including sexual misconduct, slander and bullying.

Even our well-intentioned, progressive-minded governing board has fallen into the swamp by enabling Victor Santander/Staff the administration’s behavior. Everyone is so hung up about accreditation going smoothly that our leaders began Our Position: sweeping things under the carpet for expediency Gov. Board needs (see sexual assault crisis, John Tolli cover up, to step in and chronic police misconduct). By doing so they have severely damaged the reputation of this institution make some major and embarrassed our community. changes or SC will Our tone-deaf president clearly does not get continue to founder it. Her passive-aggressive little backhands in her and lose credibility.

Things to Know missives are growing tiresome.

Her smugness over her mishandling of the Tolli case is another forehead slapper. She sanctimoniously declares that “We must seek the truth, not what is fed to us,” but refuses to tell the real truth and feeds us nonsense.

Alcantar is right. We hope this talented young leader is persuasive enough to coax the board and administration out of the shadows and back into the light before it is too late. Murillo clearly needs more supervision.

That is the board’s job. Our administration needs to behave ethically.

That is Murillo’s job.

Anyone not up to the task needs to find a new job.

Wonders of our world are a quintessence of dust Centuries ago the Saharan Desert was a lush world of vegetation and life. As the Earth’s tilt changed, entire geographies experienced gradual changes. For the green Saharan environment, it meant the beginning of desertification. For South America, it marked the birth of the Amazon Jungle. Neither would be the same without each other.

As it is with so much of the Earth, everything is connected. If the sands of time could talk, they would have a great story…and sand would get into everything!

Continents apart, dust from the Saharan desert travels across the Atlantic Ocean to fertilize soils in the Amazon.

Scientists published in Geophysical Research Letters estimated the amount of phosphorus settled into the Amazon each year. After a trans-Atlantic journey, 22,000 tons of phosphorus and 27.7 million tons of Saharan dust drift skyward to the Amazon basin to replenish life.

Phosphorus works as one of nature’s fertilizers, fueling life in soil. Lakebeds in Chad have huge deposits of dead microorganisms packed with phosphorus.

Since the Sahara was once covered with life, its sediment today carries away

EDITORIAL POLICY

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

nutrients needed in the Amazon’s soils. Frequent rainfalls washes away .08 percent of the Amazon soil’s phosphorous each year. Conveniently, this amount is restored by sand dropping in from the Sahara.

Dust travels so far it can reach around the planet. When dust particles travel at high altitudes, they have a significant impact on the climate. High altitude dust in the atmosphere causes an impact known as the “cooling effect.”

NASA scientists discovered that dust reflects one-third of solar radiation.

About 70 percent of the dust reaching North America is from Asia. An estimated 64 million tons of aerosols and other particles cross the Pacific Ocean and arrive in North America annually.

UCSD and NOAA researchers found that dust and biological aerosols from Asia influence rainfall in California’s Sierra Nevada. UC Riverside team found that dust from China’s Gobi Desert provided nutrients to giant sequoias.

Smoke particles from combustion sources like fossil fuels or wildfires influence the weather. Fires in the Amazon helped to stall Hurricane Dorian over the Bahama Islands for 36 hours, causing horrific damage.

LETTERS POLICY

Send mailed letters to: Editor, Southwestern College Sun, 900 Otay Lakes Road, Chula Vista, CA 91910.

Send e-mailed letters to viewpoints@ theswcsun.com. E-mailed letters must include a phone number. The Sun reserves the right to edit letters for libel and length and will not consider publishing letters that arrive unsigned.

FROM

PLUTO PLATO TO

JOSELUIS BAYLON Amazon wildfires are mostly humanignited for agricultural purposes. Farmers set “controlled fires” to clear ground.

These fires can get out of hand as they have been in Brazil, home to 325 million of the 1.7 billion acres of Amazon Jungle.

Amazon wildfires are linked to the atmospheric dynamics governing tropical moisture redistribution. Scientists from UC Irvine and NASA found a relationship between forest carbon loss due to atmospheric-ocean interactions in the tropical Atlantic. When water is warmer than usual in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Amazon rainforest will receive less rainfall, causing a drought. Reservoirs of groundwater are diminished. When ONLINE COMMENTS POLICY

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

the summer heat arrives, plants are not be able to evaporate or transpire as much because there is less water in the soil.

Whenever Sea Surface Temperature (SST) is warmer than usual, hurricane season grows more active, leading to more storms making landfall. A warmer atmosphere can hold more water, increasing the amount of rain a hurricane can deliver. As a result, the number of devastating hurricanes making landfall is higher during the warmer years as the atmosphere gets drier and drier in the Amazon, creating the conditions where fires spread rapidly in the rainforest.

Scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison compared 68 years of worldwide hurricanes and concluded they are getting stronger, slower and wetter. Increased time over land leads to catastrophic flooding. Last month the SST in the North Atlantic was 86 °F and more than 9,000 wildfires burned in the Amazon rainforest in the weeks before Category 5 Hurricane Dorian parked for 36 hours over the Bahamas.

Meteorologists around the world had never seen something like it.

Unfortunately, they will likely see a repeat soon.

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VIEWPOINTS

‘Straight Pride’ is straight up homophobia Marty Loftin A Perspective

“Heterosexuality is not normal, it’s just common.”

-Dorothy Parker, poet

How do you feel about the coalition government?

Does it affect your club?

“Not a fan of it, for several reasons. It has no legal legitimacy. The ASO Constitution says, ‘We give you legitimacy and the coalition does not.”

Allen Matthew Palmatier, 30 Chemistry

“I think they can work together. I have faith that they can get past the unfortunate business of the allegations. I think my club will still be able to be chartered.”

Gloria DeJesus, Age 30 Nursing

“Not a big fan of it the whole taking out of the election.

The election got canceled, which I heard is illegal to cancel elections in general.

So I do not like the coalition government whatsoever.”

Diego Lopez, 19 Communications and Political Science

“It’s powerful. We have a lot of different diversity within it, and we also have a lot of different skills so, I’m confident that we can make good decisions. It’s uplifted us because what we’re about is uplifting women of color.”

McKenzie Dawkins, 19 Biology

“No. Our tables have been booming and a lot of people signed up. I mean, I could probably complain about the weather, but that’s not up to ASO.”

Andrew Blue, 22 Criminal Justice, Sociology and Social Work and Human Services

viewpoints@theswcsun.com

Straight Pride Parades are a (poorly disguised) Trojan Horse designed to promote nefarious ideologies such as homophobia, white supremacy, nationalism and transmisogyny.

They were invented specifically to negate growing acceptance of the LGBTQ community.

Pride Parades challenge negative stereotypes by openly associating and socializing with stigmatized groups.

They debuted June 27 and 28, 1970 in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall Riot in Manhattan. A police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a bar that catered to gay and lesbian people, transgendered people, drag queens, male prostitutes and young homeless people swelled into an enormous protest police could not stop.

Police raids against gay bars were routine in the 1960s, but Stonewall erupted into a spontaneous demonstration against police violence targeting the LGBTQ community. It would become a catalyst for a national gay liberation movement that has led to a much larger acceptance of non-heteronormative lifestyles, and the decriminalization of gay sex, which is still illegal in at least 70 countries.

Straight Pride Parades are for conservatives who wish LGBTQ people would have stayed in the closet. These parades are not “pro-straight,” but explicitly anti-gay.

Super Happy Fun America (SHFA), an organization that claims straight people are an oppressed majority, recently held a Straight Pride Parade in Boston. Boston Globe coverage estimated 200 Straight

Pride marchers were met by about 600 counter-protestors.

Signs declared “Make Normalcy Normal Again,” but also Trump campaign slogans like “2020 Trump,” “Build the Wall” and “Secure America’s Borders.”

SHFA was created by Kyle Chapman, who also founded the Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights, a paramilitary wing of the fascist neoNazi hate group The Proud Boys.

Chapman is a thriceconvicted felon who has served three prison terms, jumped bail, twice violated parole who was arrested following nationwide series of marches held on March 4, 2017 called March 4 Trump.

Chapman was photographed beating counter-protesters with a wooden rod at the March 4 Trump event in Berkeley.

The Proud Boys are considered an extremist group by the AntiDefamation League, and a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mocked those attending Straight Pride for the lack of female representation.

“For men who are allegedly so ‘proud’ of being straight, they seem to show real incompetence at attracting women to their event,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter. “Seems more like a ‘I-Struggle-With-Masculinity’ parade to me.”

Later she encouraged her followers on Twitter to give “support to the local LGBTQ community impacted by Boston’s white supremacist parade” and to donate

to the bail funds of “activists who put themselves on the line protecting the Boston community.”

A total of 36 people were arrested at the event and four officers were reported to have been injured.

“Straight Pride Parade” is right-wing code. There is no need for any sort of celebration of heterosexuality. Being straight does not incur the societal oppression that non-cis or homosexual people regularly experience.

Same-sex marriage was legalized in Massachusetts in 2004 and spread to all 50 states in 2015 when the Supreme Court struck down all state bans.

Studies by the Public Religion Research Institute found in 2017 that Alabama and Mississippi were the only two states with a majority opposed to same-sex marriage.

California, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 20 other states have statutes that protect against sexual orientation and

gender identity discrimination in public and private employment. Seventeen states offer employment protections for LGBTQ people, while 12 states have none, though some cities and localities have passed their own ordinances within those states.

Although the court-packing of the Trump administration will create a judicial environment designed to turn back LGBTQ rights, the American public continues to become more accepting.

The anti-LGBTQ community is shrinking. That is making them act out.

Homophobes are often smart enough to hide their true intent, but sometimes they slip up.

In August, Don Grundmann asked the Modesto city council to allow a straight pride parade. He made a serious gaff, though, when he described his National Straight Pride Coalition (NSPC) as a “totally peaceful racist group.” A statement on the NSPC website says it is “protecting traditional gender roles, Christianity, heterosexuality, Western Civilization, babies, and the contributions of whites to Western Civilization from the malevolence of the homosexual movement.”

Although Grundmann attempted to recant his Freudian slip, the entire meeting room erupted in laughter and drowned him out. Now that video of the event has spread online, it should be easier to get a feel for what straight pride people are all about.

ftin/Staff

THINKING

The Southwestern College Sun • Sept. 30 - Oct. 18, 2019 – Volume 63, Issue 1

Marty Lo

B2

‘No Snitching’ ethos a contagion for minorities Justin Dottery A Perspective

On the first day of September my cousin lost her two best friends to a driveby shooting in South Central Los Angeles.

They died in a cacophony of violent gunfire. Complete silence followed.

They were shot more than a dozen times. My mother found two slumped bodies, their blood draining away onto the cool morning street.

My mother called LAPD. Complete silence followed. No one came forward as a witness. Other than her statement, the police had virtually nothing to go on.

No one wanted to talk. In communities like the one I grew up in, it matters not how bad the crime, people do not talk to the police.

If we ever hope to take back our homes from the violence and gang culture, the unwritten “no snitching” rule has to go.

“No snitching” began spreading like a contagion in 2004 when Baltimore artist Skinny Suge (Rodney Thomas) released a DVD called “Stop Fuckin’ Snitchin’.”

It was a message to the community not to talk to the police lest they be met with deadly force. There were T-shirts with bullet holes that said “Stop Snitchin’” to deter people from cooperating with police.

“Snitches get stitches” is the cautionary bulletin of the ‘hood. This brainwashing comes from criminals who instill the fear of retaliation It works. Good people are afraid to speak against bad people. This perpetuates a culture of drug dealing, theft and violence.

This dysfunctional cycle needs to end.

Some say no snitching honors a “hood code,” but it is a phony code without an ounce of honor.

Impoverished communities get little help from law enforcement because cops rarely get cooperation from people in those communities. It is a self-

Victor Santander/Staff

perpetuating tragedy marked by dead bodies, broken-hearted parents and kids with one less parent.

“Oh Hell No, We Don’t Talk to Police!” is a research article that delves into the lack of cooperation police get when investigating gun violence. Coauthors Rod K. Brunson of Northeastern University and Brian A. Wade of Rutgers University concluded that law enforcement grows frustrated by lack of cooperation from people in violent areas.

Their research led them to interview 50 young black men from a high-crime neighborhood in Brooklyn. Many were

unwilling to cooperate as witnesses for a number of reasons. Besides anti-snitching edicts, Brunson and Wade concluded there is a fear of retaliation, cynicism towards the efficacy of the legal system and perceived inability to change their community.

“Crime scene investigators frequently express tremendous frustration after tirelessly canvassing for potential witnesses in urban areas characterized by low fatal and nonfatal shooting clearance rates,” they wrote. “The situation is worsened because most gun violence occurs in disadvantaged minority neighborhoods,

typically at the hands of gang- and drug-involved individuals, (where such) shootings are least likely to be solved, and disproportionately comprise young black males as victims and offenders.”

When we refuse to help the police when they come to our neighborhoods, we endanger the people who live there. We empower those who make it dangerous for children to play outside and enjoy their childhoods.

Gang-related crimes in San Diego through June are up from 385 in 2018 to 463 in 2019.

A study done by the Pew Research Center surveyed 90,000 households and indicated that fewer than half of violent crimes in the U.S. are reported to authorities (46.5% in 2015) or solved (46%).

Police deserve a large share of blame for this situation. They have earned the mistrust and scorn of communities of color through their own acts of violence and lawlessness.

While it is true that some police are corrupt, there must be a reciprocated effort from police and residents of communities of color to rebuild a trust based on respect. Until we can trust law enforcement, the criminals will use mistrust as an ugly shield to allow them to continue their mayhem.

We have a responsibility to speak out against the bad guys to protect the good people. We cannot continue to blame law enforcement for not thoroughly investigating crime in the inner-cities when they receive so little cooperation from good people in those neighborhoods.

Evil people injecting the “no snitch” poison into our communities need to be rebuked.

Turkish writer Mehmet Murat Ildan has it right: “Unless you refuse the bad things happening to you, you will continue to suffer with your own consent.”

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PROFILE: Jessica Posey documents struggles of adjuncts C2

CAMPUS HONORS LIVES LOST 35 YEARS AGO IN MASSACRE

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SC student earns space with NASA

By Nicholas James Photo Editor

Southwestern College and the South Bay community honored the lives lost at the McDonalds 35 years ago in what was at the time America’s worst mass shooting. A deranged shooter killed 21 and injured at least 19 others McDonald’s was planning to reopen PHOTOS after the shooting, but San Ysidro PAGE C2 resident Gloria Salas did not think a restaurant was appropriate. She walked up to the site with a large sign that read “Memorial Park.” Nervously she approached the police surrounding the site, only to have them help her put up her sign on the fence. McDonald’s owner

please see Massacre pg. C3

By Melissa Rivera Staff Writer

Courtesy NASA

OUT OF THIS WORLD — Louise Grego at her NASA internship at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. She earned a full-ride scholarship to the program in a nationwide competition.

Pasadena’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is home to many of the world’s brightest aerospace scientists who steer rovers around Mars, land probes on moving comets and monitor voyages into interstellar space.

Louise Grego of Southwestern College fit right in. Her big interest and curiosity for space took her right into the leading center of robotic

PROFILE

Alcantar honored for talents as leader

please see NASA pg. C4

Law prof helps SC students to dress for success

Bowling 300

By Isaac Garcia Staff Writer

Roberto Alcantar started college young.

Very young.

He was 8 years old.

Esmeralda Alvarado, his mother, was, against all odds, determined to attend college to improve her family’s lot. She could not arrange child care for all her children, so young Roberto went to class with her.

Alcantar is back at SC and he is still young. Elected to the governing board at 29, he is one of the county’s youngest elected officials. And, according to the San Diego Business Journal, one of ROBERTO the county’s best ALCANTAR young leaders.

Named one of the Business Journal’s “40 Under 40 Award” winners, the politically-savvy Alcantar is considered a man to watch.

“He has been instrumental in building new relationships and partnerships,” read the San Diego Business Journal profile.

Alcantar’s SC story began in a onebedroom apartment he shared with his single mother and younger siblings in San Ysidro. He said he clearly remembers the time his mother came across a SC flyer at a family resource center. It was an 8x10.5 piece of paper that changed their lives forever. With a bit of help from child care, public assistance and caring faculty members, Esmeralda Alvarado was able to enroll for classes at Southwestern’s San Ysidro campus barely knowing English.

Señora Alvarado walked the path of a student. She carved out time to focus on her studies while child care watched her two youngest kids, but not Roberto. He said he loved going

exploration.

Grego went where no Jaguar had gone before, but only after weeks of nail-biting suspense. Thousands applied for the internship, she said, but fewer than 500 from across America were selected.

Grego said the first portion of the program was the busiest and most competitive. She completed a fiveweek course that students needed to complete with a 90 percent grade or

By Lisa Pottger Campus Assistant Editor

Fernando A. Martinez/Staff

ANOTHER NIK IN THE WALL — Demolition crews work to tear down the 300 buildings, some of SC’s first structures. Originally built in 1964, the buildings housed the planetarium and other science buildings.

please see Alcantar pg. C3

Wearing jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt, Southwestern College psychology student Jessica Rodriguez looks much like any other student on campus. Most would not guess she is homeless and living at the St. Vincent de Paul shelter in downtown San Diego.

On Mondays and Wednesdays she works in Room 104B unpacking and hanging the clothes donated to the SWC Cares Closet, a place students can get free professional clothing for job interviews and clothes for school.

SC Paralegal Program Director Emily Lynch Morissette founded the Cares Closet in the Academic Senate boardroom next to her office.

She said she remembered when Rodriguez showed up looking for assistance.

“What impressed us is that she came in and immediately began organizing the closet for us and I said you could have a job (here),” Lynch Morissette said.

Rodriguez said she came to the Cares Closet for clothing about two months ago when she moved here from Los Angeles. She said she took the job without hesitation.

“When (she) told me I could be working here, I (realized) I could help some students (in) my situation,” she said. “I live in a shelter, so I need all the help I can get to be successful in college.”

Green velvet curtains and a room divider separate the racks of shoes and clothes from the business part of the room. More clothing is stacked on a table and smaller items go into baskets on shelves. Rodriguez said the job soothes her.

“I’m so grateful to be here, I really love it,” she said. “To be with the students, it’s like therapy for me.”

Lynch Morissette said she hired Rodriguez to organize the Cares Closet and to help direct students to the other free campus resources.

She said having a student helping other students has a powerful impact.

“I told her there was a big psychological component to it because we have all of these

please see Closet pg. C3

Pioneering environmentalist Goodall has message of hope JoseLuis Baylon Senior Staff Writer

Jane Goodall had to earn a Ph.D. from Cambridge, travel the world and write exhaustively before she was able to convince people that animals had personalities and emotions. She had known all that since she was 8 years old – when her dog told her.

Goodall is a science pioneer, women’s rights icon, environmental warrior and prophet of

hope in a world settling into gloom. She is also the defacto CEO of Global Monkey Business.

Blessed with a legendary mentor and fueled by blazing curiosity, Goodall was famous by age 26 – even though she had never been to college.

Prior to Goodall’s research, many scientists argued that humankind was not part of the animal kingdom and that primates lacked emotions or intelligence. Goodall flipped the script when she documented clear evidence

of personalities, emotions and intelligence in chimpanzees.

“Studying the chimps as I did helped science to come out of its reductionist way of thinking that we humans were isolated,” she told a gathering at the 39th Annual Esri User Conference in San Diego. “The chimps are so like us biologically, as well as behaviorally, that science was forced to start thinking differently.

We are part of the animal kingdom and not separated from it.”

Goodall was becoming famous for her prodigious work, but faced criticism for not possessing a college degree back home.

She had, in fact, never set foot on a college campus.

“I didn’t even start as a scientist when I went to Gombe, Africa” she said. “ I hadn’t been to college. It was Louis Leaky who made me go do a Ph.D. and I was really nervous. Can you imagine when you hadn’t been to college

please see Goodall pg. C4

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Nicholas James/Staff

Nicholas James/Staff

¡PRESENTE! – Survivors of the San Ysidro Massacre and family members of the victims convened at the site of the mass shooting to honor those who were lost. (Clockwise from top) Families left photos and made private altars for loved ones killed in the tragedy. Chula Vista Officer Carlos Edington lost a friend at the McDonald’s when he was a boy and was determined to become a police officer in his honor. A drawing from a young attendee. Retired SC Professor William Marsden and a former student share memories.

SAN YSIDRO RESURRECTION

A

Nicholas James/Staff

merica changed forever on July 18, 1984.

At a humble hamburger joint in a humble border town, the gates of hell creaked open and unleashed the nation’s most violent day of rage and anguish.

For 77 minutes at a McDonald’s restaurant in San Ysidro a deranged gunman went to - in his words - “hunt for Mexicans.”

He killed 21 men, women and children, including kids riding on their bikes. At least 19 more were injured. It was at the time America’s bloodiest mass murder.

McDonald’s owner Joan Kroc donated the property to the city of San Diego, which in turn invited Southwestern College to establish its first-ever satellite campus.

Out of the tragedy came rays of sunlight. SC’s San Ysidro campus brought higher education to an area where college seemed a distant abstraction. San Ysidro’s little outpost of learning has lifted people out of poverty, trained child care professionals, prepared nurses and elevated a community. A hellish scene became an acre of heaven.

Victims of the mass shooting are remembered daily thanks to the 21 shimmering white marble pillars at the front of the campus – one for each of the dead. They are remembered annually by staff and students of the compact campus.

Members of the tight San Ysidro community consider the campus a shrine to their dead family members and friends. They join the commemoration, eyes wet and hearts heavy, but spirits free. Survivors defeated evil and fear by empowering members of the community to learn, grow and pursue their dreams.

San Ysidro changed forever on July 18, 1984. Its people changed despair into hope.

Nicholas James/Staff

Nicholas James/Staff

campus@theswcsun.com

Continued from pg. C1

Joan Kroc got the message, Salas said, and McDonald’s donated the site to the city of San Diego.

The city sold the site area to SC in 1988, and the San Ysidro satellite campus was born.

“Most of the people were fixing the funerals for their families,” Salas said.

“I had to be their voice.”

San Ysidro’s memorial features 21 hexagon pillars. Built by former Southwestern College student Roberto Valdez, the pillars vary of white marble, one for each victim.

“They are different heights, representing the variety of ages and races of the people involved in the massacre,” he said. “They are bonded together in the hopes that the community, in a tragedy like this, will stick together, like they did.”

“This is our pain. Our city. So, we cherish that, it makes us stronger.”

Alcantar: Talented young trustee honored for his service to college

Continued from pg. C1

to classes with his mother, though it was not easy for her.

“It’s not that she wanted to take me to class, but she had to,” Alcantar said.

Alvarado earned a degree in child development and was hired by the San Ysidro school district to work for Smythe Elementary School, while her children started their educations. Alcantar attended Mar Vista Middle School and Southwest High. He confessed he was never the perfect student.

“I was deemed as a trouble maker, so I was kind of isolated,” he said.

“I realized that I could be more effective putting that energy into building my community and being a better leader.”

At age 16 he liked to stir the pot he said, organizing students to fight for things like cleaner restrooms and better facilities. His strength as a young leader was already starting to show, but counselors still told him he had no chances of making it into any college.

“I was pretty much told that I probably didn’t have a good future ahead of me,” he said. “They just didn’t have faith in me.”

His high school counselors’ lack of encouragement did not stop him.

He eventually transferred to UC Berkeley where he learned how to organize and become an even more of an effective leader. After earning a Bachelor’s in political science and public policy, Alcantar chose to return home to San Ysidro and work in his home community.

“I wanted to invest in my community and lead by example,” he said. “If we’re going to go out there and become leaders, then let’s come back and help build a community that we grew up in.”

Alcantar was elected to the governing board in 2016 when he was 29 years old.

“I’m just one example,” he said.

“The fact that I as a young person was able to accomplish this should not be considered something exciting... it should be the norm for our community.”

Alcantar said he enjoys working with students and faculty to better the SC experience. He announced at the June board meeting that SC secured a $115,00 California Campus Catalyst Fund for the Dreamer Center. He also announced a grant for $113,636 from the California Community Colleges Chancellors’ Office for students who are currently or formerly incarcerated.

Board colleague Tim Nader said Alcantar has the right priorities.

“Students First is the culture we are trying to promote through the college,” Nader said.

Education has elevated his family, Alcantar said. His sister Esmeralda is one of the first Latina marine biologists to graduate from UCSD and his younger brother Alberto is enrolled at SC majoring in history.

“It all really started with this place, which is why this place is so special to me,” he said.

By Manuel Gonzalez, News Assistant Editor

A

film chronical of the life of an adjunct instructor, in the mind of Dr. Jessica Posey, is hardly

“The Best Years of Our Lives.”

More like “The Hunger Games.”

JOURNEY WORTH A THOUSAND

WORDS

Posey’s ground-breaking Ph.D. dissertation, “The Plight of the

Adjunct: May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor” was inspired by her five years as an adjunct at Southwestern College. It concludes what is an open secret in America: our nation’s part-time higher education corps are overworked, over-stressed, under-paid and unappreciated.

NEXT ISSUE: POSEY SHARES HER RESEARCH ON ADJUNCTS

please see Posey pg. C4

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Helpful librarians guardians of truth, accuracy

Massacre: San Ysidro campus reflects the strength, resilience of community

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The Southwestern College Sun • Sept. 30 - Oct. 18, 2019 – Volume 63, Issue 1

Nicholas James/Staff

FULL-TIME WARRIOR FOR PART-TIME STAFF — Dr. Jessica Posey wrote her doctoral dissertation on the plight of adjunct instructors. She said “Freeway Flyers” are the backbone of California higher education, but are badly mistreated.

Research experts help guide students on path to knowledge

By Marissa Romero Staff Writer

In a world suffocating from propaganda and fake news spewed by Russian bots, the Southwestern College library is a sanctuary for truth, accuracy and credibility.

Librarians fight to keep it that way.

Library department chair Naomi Trapp-Davis said the number one goal is to provide a friendly atmosphere for students who want to learn.

“We have so many different services, research tools and we want to make sure students find what they need,” she said. “We want the students to be very comfortable using the library.”

SC’s $17 million library is a leviathan of literature, fortress of facts and citadel of science. Its feel is cozy, but its reach is global.

“We are not just books, we are everything happening in the world, all of the history and research of the world,” Trapp-Davis said. “From the most general type of information, to the most detailed information and the most credible information, you will find it there.”

Powerful databases are available to students, providing an immense galaxy of information.

“We have electronic resources which are a gold mine for research that many students don’t know about,” she said.

Databases include articles from academic journals, current and historical newspapers, magazines and primary sources such as speeches and international publications.

SC’s library swamps Google, she said.

Students can find pay-wall articles with specialized information at no charge at the library. Articles that might cost between $35-$65 are free. She said librarians will help students sift out fake news and bias information.

SC Librarian Monika Chavez agreed.

“It’s not just about having information at the tip of your fingers, it’s also about having that ability to evaluate information,” she said.

Trapp-Davis said the quality of a source is an essential factor when conducting research and SC’s librarians can educate students on effective use of databases. All librarians have at least a Masters degree, she said, and are committed to navigating students through the sea of research tools.

Chavez agreed.

“When students go into university upper division studies it is expected that they understand how academic resources work,” she said. “These skills are applicable through life.”

SC Librarian Svetlana Kondratenko works at the reference desk answering questions and guiding students to the information they need.

“If you don’t know how to start using please see Library pg. C4

Closet: Academic Senate

president oversees clothing resource for SC students

Continued from pg. C1

Nicholas James/Staff

CLOTHES MINDED— Academic Senate President Emily Lynch Morrissette helps organize the clothes for the SWC Cares Closet. The service is open to students in need of professional clothing.

students she said. “You could learn about the Jag Kitchen and tell students about it (as well as) the showers (and) the free legal clinic.”

Angie Arietti, administrative assistant for the Academic Senate, volunteers for the Cares Closet. She said many students are scared when they first come in. “(Some) are embarrassed and maybe a little ashamed to say that they’re in need of particular items, daily items that they don’t have enough money for,” she said.

Arietti said the students that need clothes sometimes live in their cars, parks or shelters.

As winter approaches they will come in looking for a jacket or an umbrella, she said.

The SWC Cares Committee recently invited Lynch Morissette to join. She said the group is looking to create a central hub on campus by December where students in need can come in to get clothes, food, emergency grants and legal help.

The Cares Closet is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. With a valid student ID, students can take up to eight items, Lynch Morissette said, depending on the inventory. She said donations of new or lightly worn clothes and money are always welcome.

SWC CARES CLOSET Hours Monday - Friday 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Saturday - Sunday Closed Location Room 104B What to bring Valid SC ID You’ll sign Confidential sign-in sheet (for tracking)

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Library: Underused resources are available to SC students Continued from pg. C3

the library, we will be glad to explain,” she said. “Come to the librarians, stop by the library, send us an email, call us — we are here to help. This is our specialty as librarians, as information professionals.”

Trapp-Davis said the library has more than 150 computers available on the second and third floors, all with open Internet access and every software used in SC classes. Study rooms located at the second and third floors are available for collaborative work. A 24/7 online librarian service is also available. Free tutoring is offered on the third floor with science, math, languages, accounting, business and many other areas.

“Everyone is here because we believe in the mission of the library,” she said. “We love our jobs helping students.”

Business management major Claudia Lozano said she appreciates the library’s environment and services.

“I really enjoy coming here because I can concentrate, do my work calmly and stay focused,” she said. “I really like that

The Southwestern College Sun • Sept. 30 - Oct. 18, 2019 – Volume 63, Issue 1

NASA: Student repped

they offer services at the front desk and tutoring. Tutors have helped me several times.”

Biology student Josh Gillman said he goes to the library to study and do class work.

“I would recommend coming to the library because it is a very good environment to study, very quiet with a lot of natural light,” he said. “It is a good place to get away from distractions.”

Southwestern at elite JPL

Continued from pg. C1

SC LIBRARY Chula Vista Campus Aug. 26 - Dec. 13, 2019 Monday - Thursday: 7:30 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Friday 7:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Saturday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Sunday: Closed Holidays: Monday, Nov. 11: Veteran’s Day Thursday - Saturday, Nov. 28 30: Thanksgiving

campus@theswcsun.com

Marissa Romero/Staff

TOWER OF KNOWLEDGE — Librarian Nate Martin helps a student navigate the vast resources of the SC library.

better.

“I would log on to Brightspace, which is the website of the program, and spend 1 to 2 hours doing readings and completing quizzes,” she said.

Once at JPL, Grego spent 14-hour days working side by side with NASA engineers and expanding her understanding of the universe.

She also worked with San Diego City College sophomore Naomi Webb, who was Grego’s team leader on their final project.

When both realized they were accepted into the program, they were ecstatic, said Webb.

“My heart almost leaped out of my chest when I received the acceptance letter,” she said.

Grego agreed.

“The first thing I did when I found out was tell all of my coworkers, friends and family,” she said.

Webb said the experience gave her a whole new perspective.

“The program really is a life-changing experience that also helped me personally in building my own confidence,” she said. “This experience really made me want to work for JPL.” Webb said students return home with different perspectives and new goals.

“I really encourage everyone to apply,” she said. “Shoot for the stars and see where it takes you.”

Goodall: Legendary

anthropologist offers hope for our world Continued from pg. C1

and you go to Cambridge University and are told that you’ve done everything wrong? I was told I shouldn’t have given the chimpanzees names, that wasn’t at all scientific, they should have had numbers.

I couldn’t talk about personality, mind or emotion because those were unique to us.”

To overcome the obstacles she faced at Cambridge, Goodall did what she did in Africa with the chimps – sat quietly and listened.

“If you meet someone who doesn’t agree with you, first listen to them because maybe they might change your mind,” she said.

“If you still think you are right, then you must have the courage of conviction. That’s what happened to me when I first arrived at Cambridge. I didn’t believe them when they said animals couldn’t have personalities or emotions because my dog had told me as a child that wasn’t true. I was able to have the courage of my convictions.”

Goodall earned a Ph.D. in ethology (the science of animal behavior), one of only eight people to earn a doctorate at Cambridge University without first completing a Bachelor’s degree. Her work in Gombe reported in her dissertation broke new scientific ground.

“Now a lot of students are studying emotion, personality and animal intellect,” she said.

It was not always so.

“I recalled loving animals as a child and I had a very supportive mother,” she said.

“When I was 10, I read Tarzan and Dr. Dolittle and I knew I should turn science into a living. Not so many people worked with animals and wrote books about them.”

Even as a child Goodall was chided by other kids when she told them she wanted to be a scientist and study animal behavior.

“Everybody laughed at me,” she recalled.

“They said, ‘How could you do that? You don’t have any money and you’re just a girl!’

But my mother said, ‘If you really want to do this, you have to work really hard and take advantage of every opportunity, but don’t give up!”

Goodall said her mom was right.

“That’s the message I take to young people all around the world and teach in disadvantaged communities,” she said. “So many people have said ‘Jane, I want to thank you. Because you did it, I could do it, too.’ ” Goodall said she travels the globe 300 days a year with a message of hope as the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education and Conservation. Her inspiring Roots & Shoots program is now in 60

Posey: Adjunct

lifestyle is a lesson in hardship

Continued from pg. C3

“You are working as hard as your full-time faculty peers, but you are not recognized as one of them and were often treated like a second-class citizen,” said Posey. “I felt like I could not really be the best I could for my students because I would try to have office hours in every campus, but since I did not have an office it meant that my office was a bench at school or I would find a coffee shop near the college. It gave you a sense of not belonging to any one place.”

JoseLuis Baylon/Staff

EARTH MOTHER — Dr. Jane Goodall never travels without her stuffed animal companion called “Mr. H,” which was given to her by a blind magician 29 years ago. She said it reminds her of the indomitable human spirit. Goodall encouraged young Americans to fight for planet Earth.

“We’ve got to face the doom and the gloom and the darkness because if we lose hope, then we may as well all give up. None of this is useful if we think there’s no way forward and that we are doomed. We’ve got reason to hope.” countries. It empowers young people from kindergarten to university students to help protect their local environments.

She also created a community-centered conservation approach called Tacare that helps communities and governments protect chimpanzee populations in forests outside designated national parks. Like other scientists, Goodall is concerned about climate change and how it has

been politicized by right-wing populist politicians. A resulting “war on science” needs to be met, she said.

“There’s a very worrying swing to the far right in so many countries with levels of corruption that are very, very hard to fight,” she said. “Climate change, climate crisis is happening. It’s not something in the future. It is not a Chinese hoax. It’s real.”

Goodall encourages people of good will to hang onto hope.

“We’ve got to face the doom and the gloom and the darkness because if we lose hope, then we may as well all give up.

None of this is useful if we think there’s no way forward and that we are doomed.

We’ve got reason to hope. We have to face up to challenges. One of my reasons for hope is the young people.”

Goodall has a special travel companion who gives her hope and inspiration.

Her friend is a plush animal she calls Mr. H. “People cope with seemingly impossible tasks,” she said. “I carry Mr. H because he was given to me by Gary Horne 29 years ago. Gary went blind when he was 21 in the U.S. Marines and decided to become a magician. Everyone said, ‘Gary you’re blind, you can’t be a magician.’ He works with kids and they don’t know he’s blind. He’ll say ‘If things go wrong in your life, you must never give up, there’s always a way forward.’ He does cross-country skiing, scuba diving, sky diving and he’s taught himself to paint, which is incredible.”

Chimpanzees are forward-looking creatures, a trait Goodall said they share with humans, particularly young humans.

“The greatest danger to our future is apathy. Only if we understand, will we care.

Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help shall we all be saved.”

Adjuncts by law may only teach nine units at any campus and at a lower pay rate than full-time faculty. To cobble together a living wage, adjuncts often teach at several colleges. They have been dubbed “Freeway Flyers.”

Posey was an adjunct for five years, she said, driving more than 100 miles a day between five colleges. She had to survive on unemployment checks, food stamps and Medi-Cal to provide for her family.

“Balancing work and family as an adjunct was very challenging, especially as a single parent,” she said. “I felt like my children suffered because they could not really be in extracurricular activities.”

Determined to become a professor, Posey continued to teach despite no job

security, health benefits or office.

“It gave you a sense of not belonging,” she said.

Her world changed dramatically, Posey said, when she was hired as a tenure-track assistant professor in 2014.

“I felt more respected as a colleague because I am full-time,” she said. “I feel more included in decision making and the absolute sense of job security.”

She also said she felt more free to speak up.

“When issues come up that need a voice to advocate for change, I do not have to worry anymore,” said Posey. “As an adjunct you are constantly worried about what you say and how you are perceived because you can get backlash for your

actions. If you are speaking out about injustice or being marginalized, you can be perceived as a troublemaker.”

Posey joined forces with Assistant Professor of English Laura Brooks to support adjuncts and include them as colleagues. Brooks said Posey was a mentor who helped her to successfully apply for a tenure track position.

“She has been my biggest advocate,” said Brooks. “She gave me all the materials I needed when I asked for help. If I needed ideas for a class, she would help me. She would look over my stuff and edit it if I needed it.”

Brooks and Posey created an adjunct resource site through Canvas to help adjuncts to do their jobs effectively and

guide them toward full-time employment.

Mentors are essential to adjuncts, Posey said. She remains grateful for the late Professor of English Susan Luzzaro who taught her the importance of community college and its unwavering support of students.

“Susan saw something in me,” said Posey. “She thought that one day I could get my doctorate. Nobody had ever said that to me before. It planted the little seed.”

Luzzaro’s encouragement led to Posey earning a Master’s in Medieval Literature from SDSU —and a career in higher education. Posey said it is her time to pay-it-forward in honor of Luzzaro, one adjunct at a time.

Dr. Jane Goodall, anthropologist

ARTS

Sept. 30 - Oct. 18, 2019 – Volume 63, Issue 1

The Southwestern College Sun

“I see the possibilities for growth, for the excitement of learning, for the formation of dreams that will take them up and out into productive, contributive lives.”

Major Morris

Fernando A. Martinez/Staff

GETTIN’ ALONG— One of Morris’ most famous photos lends its title to the Southwestern Art gallery show featuring his uplifting photography.

Exhibit celebrates racial harmony in young Americans life, Morris dropped out of high school to take odd jobs to keep his family afloat. He was drafted F. Scott Fitzgerald famously into the segregated U.S. Army, wrote “There are no second acts in but honorably discharged due American lives.” to a full quota of black soldiers.

Too bad Fitzgerald never met His brief stint in the military was Major Morris. helpful, though challenging, and Like Grandma Moses, Morris taught him discipline. He settled got a late start to his art career, in Boston in a life-changing job at becoming a photographer in MIT when his photography really earnest after a career at MIT. launched.

He had a preternatural ability to When Morris retired in Southern capture everyday life in povertyCalifornia, he continued to take stricken neighborhoods with grace photographs to the very end of his and a touch of elegance. life in June of 2016.

“What I see is the need for the His wife, Anne-Grethe Morris, dreams to be nurtured!” he said. contacted SC about an exhibition.

“That is what my photography is Art professor Marisol Rendón said all about!” she sees the incredible value in his “Gettin’ Along,” a brilliant photography. exhibit of Morris’s black & white Quotes from Morris were written photography at the SC art gallery, on the walls, his most famous is a walk-in picture book of dreams. talked about what he liked to Morris was born in the West photograph most.

End of Cincinnati, where he “In my photographic experience weathered poverty in the teeth I have always been drawn to of the Great Depression. His capturing images of what life was maternal grandmother instilled in for me as I groped my way through him a relentless work ethic. She an underprivileged youthful wanted him to write, go to school existence,” he said. and stand on his own two feet, His most notable photograph, he recalled. As a child he did not “Gettin’ Along,” was taken understand the need to do chores outside of a building he worked or finish what was on his plate. at in Boston. It features an His grandmother’s death made African- American boy peddling him realize the importance of her a bicycle with a blond white boy lessons. With little guidance in his riding on the back. An American flag attached to the interiors of the front wheel flutters freely. A rusted CAMPUS ART barrier separates them from a body of water with a slightly-faded city GALLERY skyline behind them.

Morris’ said it was a perfect Hours (Fall/Spring) moment. He took his photographs Monday - Thursday without any external help, just him 10:30a.m. - 2:30p.m. and the camera.

Friday - Sunday “Many people would ask, did you Closed crop it?” he recalled. “I didn’t crop it. I saw and that’s what happened.”

Location “Collaboration” shows two kids The Southwestern College working together on what appears Art Gallery is located in to be a school project. A small Room 710B between the white boy wearing a checkered shirt campus cafeteria and Mayan Hall. reaches above his head. An AfricanAmerican child wearing a black Contact long sleeve is doing the same. Their (619) 216-6605 hands are joined as they work on a

By Caleigh Goldman Campus Assistant Editor

please see Morris pg. D2

Gamaliel Carreno/Staff

QU I N T E S SE N IA L ‘Q’

Once more unto the breach for ex-prof

By Ana Paola Olvera, Staff Writer

D

avid Quattrociocchi retired from teaching art at Southwestern College in June, but the former SEAL continues to fight for vets.

Colleagues say David Quattrociocchi has the heart of a warrior and the soul of an artist.

His fellow veterans insist he has the spirit of a saint.

Quattrociocchi laughs at the monikers.

Bronx raised, he attended the High School of Performing Art—made famous by the 1980 film “Fame.” He hit pause on his studies after graduating to fight in the Vietnam War as a Navy SEAL. A newly-minted veteran, Quattrociocchi moved to San Diego after the war, attended SDSU to study art and earned a degree in graphic design. He was hired by Southwestern College as an art professor and rose to chair of the visual art department in 2000.

Former SC communications professor Linda Hensley met Quattrociocchi when they were department chairs. She said she was surprised by his contrasting passions.

“He’s a military Navy Seal veteran, but on the other side he likes the opera,” she said. “He sees things from an artistic perspective.”

When veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars began enrolling at SC, Quattrociocchi said he wondered if they were receiving better treatment than Vietnam veterans had experienced. He said he did not like the answer.

He volunteered for a Department of Labor program called Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program and worked as a case manager with a caseload of approximately 70 homeless veterans—all while teaching fulltime.

“We found vets at shelters and on the street and tried to get them into the VA for treatment and where possible, help them to obtain work,” Quattrociocchi said. “Most of the veterans were homeless due to serious mental illnesses, substance abuse or felony records.”

After working with vets for two years, Quattrociocchi said he felt inspired to apply

for the social work Master’s program at SDSU. He worked with patients at the Mercy Hospital Behavioral Health Outpatient Clinic and the locked wards of the VA Hospital in La Jolla.

He graduated in 2009 and began working after his classes let out at the SC Personal Wellness Services program with mental health counselor Dr. Clarence Amaral. He worked with Amaral for four academic years, providing short-term counseling to students in distress.

Amaral introduced Quattrociocchi to leaders at the Chula Vista Veterans Center and he became an intern. He built a caseload of 68 combat vets.

“I ran two combat trauma groups and an art therapy group along with about 20 hours per week of individual psychotherapy,” he said. “I worked there for three years, which were among the most rewarding years of my working life.”

Quattrociocchi was also admitted to the San Diego Psychoanalytic Institute and completed two years of study in psychodynamic treatment methods. He said this rounded out his knowledge base and expanded his tool kit for social work.

Proudly Italian, Quattrociocchi said he lived a great life in San Diego with his wife and three children, but always felt the East Coast was where he belonged. He missed meeting up with friends that he had known since kindergarten, he admitted, and longed to visit the art museums in NYC. When SC offered a retirement incentive, he retired from teaching, said arrivederci to Little Italy and moved to a small Pennsylvania town.

Quattrociocchi said he is still settling in, but will soon begin to look for social work positions. His lessons learned in San Diego County will empower him to help veterans in need.

Until then, he said, he can be found at the Met Opera.

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ARTS

The Southwestern College Sun • Sept. 30 - Oct. 18, 2019 – Volume 63, Issue 1

arts@theswcsun.com

Aide Valdez/Staff

COURAGEOUS CREATIVITY Stephanie Aceves Staff Writer

Humanity’s story began more than 300,000 years ago when the first homo sapiens appeared in Africa. Over time people’s relationships with nature would evolve as much as it would with art.

“Anthropocene: Human and Nature,” an art exhibit at the Bonita Museum and Cultural Center, delves into 3,000 years of American art through the lenses of climate change and sociopolitical issues. Diana Benavidez, Brian Gibson and 17 other artists explore how humans have affected the planet.

“Piñatas,” a captivating piece by Benavidez, shapes the Mexico party favor as drones and over-sized bottles of pepper spray. These playful sculptures are packed with political messages and cross-border identity.

“Many of the topics I explore include the culture and identity which develops on the border between San Diego and Tijuana like sociopolitical issues, women’s rights and personal issues such as love, heartbreak, and other emotional states,” she said.

Benavidez said contemporary art should incite discussion and protest.

“The piñata depicts storytelling as a nostalgic aspect of our childhood to express ourselves whether it be celebratory or protesting,” she said.

Gibson’s astonishing “Junko Gigantia” depicts a man backpacking through nature who stumbles upon a beautiful finch.

He said he wanted viewers to know his art is about hidden things revealed to artists and then shared with the world, including the connection between humans and animals.

“Art can help bring into focus a visual representation of a complex idea,” he said. “It clarifies and gets people discussing meaning, which leads to better understanding by all.”

Steffa Klein’s “Fire Blankets,” composed of Bismuth on woven glass, offers a

Aide Valdez/Staff

SUFFERING FOR BEAUTY— (top) Shasha Koozel Reibstein’reflects on the horrors of footbinding. (above) Diana Benavidez’s piñata sculptures

celebrate her heritage and political activism.

futuristic look at creation stories focused on the alchemic tension between elements.

Colors pulse between blues and golds in the presence of a stimulated flame, giving the piece life as well as eventual destruction.

Sasha Koozel Reibstein’s piece consisted of high heels with hardware from kitchens and building sites added on to the soles.

It illustrates how first-generation ChineseAmerican women suffered from footbinding.

Saving the planet has moved beyond energetic political discussion and into art galleries around the world. “Anthropocene: Human and Nature” is art that creates its own discussion.

Morris: Photographs

find hope in interplay of American children

Continued from pg. D1

Fernando A. Martinez/Staff

BEAUTY IN BLACK AND WHITE— Photographs by Major Morris make children the heroes. He captured black and white children enjoying life together.

wooden toy.

“Collaboration” is wily in that it shows the boys in a setting society of the day said they should not be allowed together. Boston schools were segregated, but Morris’ kids were oblivious to that.

“Poor Peoples March” shows the Great 1968 March in Washington D.C. This photo was taken at a high angle showing a sea of protestors with signs raised above their heads and a van in the background that read “Emergency.” Organized by Martin Luther King Jr, the Great March called for economic justice.

“Elementary Statistics” is a portrait of a young African-American wearing a white turtleneck underneath two other pieces of dark layered clothing. She is blowing bubblegum as her bangs stand up. It shows the playfulness of a child transcending unsavory surroundings.

Rendón said she loved the photo because it reminded her of childhood.

“The girl with the bubble gum, I just remember my sisters, we used to just do that for hours and hours,” she said.

“It’s just something that brings me back to the memories.”

Morris was passionate about his subjects, Rendon said, as well as his photos.

“I see the possibilities for growth, for the excitement of learning, for the formation of dreams that will take them up and out into productive, contributive lives.”

SPORTS

Sept. 30 - Oct. 18, 2019 – Volume 63, Issue 1

n

The Southwestern College Sun

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New volleyball coach nets results, turns around struggling program PG E2

Jaguars squeeze by tough Palomar

JOSHUAROBERTS

TYLERSIMMONS

DJWILSON

MARCCOMBS

KEVINEASON

QUINCYFEREBEE

JORDANCOOKE

JOSESERRANO

FOOTBALL

Big third-quarter run gave Southwestern the lead it never relinquished

By Justin Dottery Sports Editor

WONDROUS WIZARD OF COZ

Longtime SWC mens’ basketball head Coach John Cosentino rode off into the sunset following a 2018-19 where his team won the PCAC championship, Conference Player of the Year, Coach of the year, a postseason appearance and produced eight players who signed scholarships to four-year universities.

Marco Figueroa/Staff

By Justin Dottery Sports Editor

L

ike father like son… … and other son.

After winning his 11th conference title and being named PCAC Coach of the Year, John Cosentino has handed over his basketball dynasty to his boys Anthony and Domenic. The Wizard of Coz leaves behind a legion of admirers.

He is leaving the program in good hands with new head coach Anthony Cosentino.

A season will tip-off without John Cosentino at the helm for the first time since 1989.

Guard Marquavian Stephens, 2018 PCAC Player of the Year, and forward Nathaniel Pearson lamented the loss of Coz. “We were super close, he was like a father figure for me,” Pearson said. “He taught us a lot on- and off-the-court about how to be a college athlete, as well as a man.”

Stephens echoed the sentiment.

“Coach Coz either says a lot or not much,” Stephens said. “You can really tell he is gone and

we really miss him. He is a Hall of Fame coach, no doubt.”

Anthony and Domenic Cosentino cut their teeth as assistant coaches. Anthony Cosentino, played for his dad at SC before he joined the coaching staff in 2014.

“I have a lot of pride in this program,” he said. “I grew up in this program, so it is exciting to finally be the leader.”

Cosentino and his staff had to put together an almost entirely new roster as well as a new style of play.

“Although we did lose a lot of guys, we are good in a different way,” he said. “We are a lot bigger and are going to change our style a little. We want to dump inside and dominate the paint.”

Even with turnover, expectations have not changed. Pearson said anything short of a PCAC title is unacceptable.

“I think we are going to win conference for sure,” he said. “It is either state or nothing for me. That is how I am going out this year.”

Cosentino agreed. please see Basketball pg. E2

Russ Scoffin/Staff

LEAVING A LEGACY — (top) Marquavian Stephens, Tyler Simmons and Jordan Cooke celebrate as the 2018-19 Jags clinch the PCAC title at San Diego City College. (above) Longtime men’s basketball coach John Cosentino leads children in youth camp.

The Jaguars finished their first home game of the 2019 season the same way they ended their 2018 season, with a 28-24 home victory over Palomar College in Devore Stadium.

After struggling offensively in their first game against San Diego Mesa scoring only four points, the Jaguars were able to lean on their rushing attack to fuel a hard-fought victory.

SC captured its first lead with just 1:08 left in the half on a 21-yard passing touchdown from sophomore quarterback Joshua Owen GAME SCORE to freshman wide receiver Tyler Saikhon. SC Sept 14 took a 14-10 advantage (Home) heading into the locker room.

SWC 28 The Jags were re-enerPalomar 24 gized in the third quarter, scoring 14 unanswered points in two minutes on a 42-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Keylan Chapman and a blocked punt by freshman linebacker De’Aundre Cruz returned for a 23-yard touchdown by sophomore defensive back Atoatasi Fox. Head Coach Ed Carberry pointed to the back-to-back big plays as the turning point.

“Anytime you get a blocked punt, statistics show you win the game about 80 percent of the time,” he said. “Then you pick it up and run it back for a touchdown, that fires everyone up. Then to drive the ball right down for a touchdown after struggling against Mesa. It kind of shows that you are functional and it gives the team confidence.”

That 18-point cushion did not last long as the Comets went on a streak of their own.

Sophomore quarterback Shea Morales connected with sophomore wide receiver Johnny Armentrout on a 72-yard touchdown to make it 28-17. Palomar scored again as sophomore defensive back Jay Craft intercepted an Owen pass and returned it 78 yards Defense rescued the Jaguars in the final quarter and held the Comets offense to 61 total yards.

SC’s offense relied heavily on Owen, who led the team in passing (13-25 for 124 yards and a touchdown) as well as rushing (nine carries for 82 yards and a 53-yard touchdown).

After struggling mightily against San Diego Mesa, Owen said familiarity and a change of mentality allowed the Jags offense to blossom.

“At this level you usually have a brand-new team every year,” he said. “We just had to come together and figure out we can really win. We did not really have any momentum going into Mesa, but coming to Southwestern no one is going to beat us at our house.”

While the offense was able to have a turnaround performance from the four-point output against San Diego Mesa the prior week, the defense continued to exhibit its dominant defensive front. The Jags defensive line set the tone from the first drive getting into the backfield and pressuring the quarterback, resulting in an injury to Palomar sophomore quarterback Rodney Thompson early in the second quarter.

Freshman defensive lineman Brian Williams finished the game with four tackles, one sack, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

Williams said the attitude and talent makes them impact players.

“Our mentality is to dominate,” he said.

“When everyone dominates and does their job, everybody can have a good game. That night it was just my turn.”

The Jaguars have been able to build on that performance, sparking a four-game winning streak taking them into conference play with a 4-1 record.

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SPORTS

The Southwestern College Sun • Sept. 30 - Oct. 18, 2019 – Volume 63, Issue 1

sports@theswcsun.com

ANALYSIS

Fiery soccer goalie a cool leader Lady Jags look to sophomores to show the way

By Solé McMillan-Ruiz Sports Assistant Editor

Women soccer’s defending champions have had trouble defending.

SC’s Lady Jaguars are off to a 1-4 start, but coach Carolina Soto said the early struggle will pay dividends later in the season.

Their opponents so far have a combined record of 22-7-10.

“There is a lot of positives about playing a tough team in preseason,” Soto said, “It has prepared us for tough matches.”

Sophomore midfielder and team captain Alondra Osuna said the team is eager to head into conference play.

“We are excited to start the league the total opposite of what we are now,” she said. “We aim to be undefeated like last year and our chances of doing it are pretty good.”

Soto said last season’s success put a target on the team’s back.

“We are not the CAROLINA underdog SOTO anymore,” she said, “ Everyone is aware that we won it. They know we are going to compete, they know we are going to fight to the last second. It is a competitive game and everyone that walks in knows that.”

One player Soto will rely on is spirited sophomore goalkeeper Sharon Montoya.

“She always keeps her head up and pushes the rest of the team to keep fighting,” Soto said.

Montoya said the fire she exhibits during matches can rub off on teammates.

“I try to transmit energy into every game so that we as a team go in strong and with the best mentality,” she said.

Soto said opponents have noticed Montoya’s fire.

“Montoya’s outstanding, her work ethic and the way she flys,” she said. “Even opposing players after the game say things like, my respect to you.”

Though the Lady Jags are defending champions, most of this year’s players were not part of the championship team. In fact Soto said, 14 out of the 18 players incoming freshmen and will need time to adjust to the demands of playing at the college level.

“It has been a little more challenging this year because I have more freshman, the majority of our team are freshmen,” she said. “We are definitely developing as we go, but we still instill the hard work ethic, structure and the commitment.”

With conference play underway, Soto said the team is eager to regain its conference title.

“There is a little pride, she said.

“We do not want to just win one year. We want this to be something we get used to.”

Osuna said the team is ready and willing to do what needs to be done.

“We have a team full of girls who are willing to fight and work every day to become better players,” she said.

Russ Scoffin/Staff

EMPTY HANDED — Ana James scores over Mesa College. SC’s long-suffering volleyball program has enjoyed a sharp turnaround under its new coach, Tyler Reeves.

POSITIVE NET RESULTS

By Hanna Noriega Staff Writer

I

n just three seasons, the women’s volleyball team amassed a record of 9-62.

Just 10 games into the 2019 season it has already won seven. Head Coach Tyler Reeves is getting a lot of the credit.

Reeves has reset the culture of the SC Volleyball program by dialing it down.

He played at Hilltop High School, where he graduated in 2006. After two years on the men’s club team at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo he began his coaching career at Hilltop in 2010 leading the boys’ volleyball squad - a position he still has.

Reeves helped coach the Mar Vista girls’ team to the 2015 CIF finals. Last year his varsity girls team won its league title. His boys’ team has won league three times in his 10 years of coaching.

Reeves said he could not turn down the chance to coach at SC, where he was once an assistant.

“I felt like I wanted to move up in my career,” he said. “I have been coaching at high schools, but there is a familiarity because I was an assistant coach here already.

Getting to take the reins myself really was what drew me over here.”

New facilities were a plus, he said, and helped with recruiting. That and his relaxed style.

“I am probably a lot more laid back

Basketball: Anthony

Cosentino follows his famous dad as coach

Continued from pg. A1

“Last year we were able to catch people by surprise,” he said. “The year before we were a .500 team. (Opponents) did not think we were a strong group of guys. Now, I try to communicate to the guys every day that we are going to get everyone’s best effort. We made a lot of noise last year, so our game will be circled on a lot of calenders. We have to be at our best every day.”

Cosentino said he will rely on forwards Anthony Howell, Chaz Penro and guard Raphael Allen. Added to the mix are

I like to say that I know the girls are actively trying to do well, they are not trying to do bad so I am not going to try and pile on with that in that sense.”

Tyler Reeves, Southwestern College Volleyball Head Coach

forwards DJ Jackson, Israel Seals and guard Zach Reiter, all of whom came off redshirt years.

Allen has made a huge impression on coaches and teammates, Cosentino said.

Allen said he hopes that his versatility can be a weapon.

“In my position on the team I can help in a lot of different ways,” he said. “I can play the point and run the offense, I can shoot, I can be an extra ball handler, I can score and I can play defense. There are a lot of ways I can contribute, so it will be however coach needs me to do so.”

Allen, who attended Temecula Valley High School, was second-team AllSouthwestern League a year ago. He was originally a commit to the University

Nicholas James/Staff

than many of their other coaches,” he said. “I like to say that I know the girls are trying to do well, they are not trying to do bad.”

Former players praised Reeves. Hilltop alumnus Diamond Lexus raved about his love for what he does, and how it rubs off on the players.

“He taught us a lot,” she said. “He is a really good role model and he loves what he does.”

SC sophomore middle blocker Zennia Chai, the team’s only returner, said Reeves has recruited more experienced players.

“We really struggled a lot by not having a lot of experienced players on the court last year,” she said.

Reeves said he wants to see contained improvement.

“We hope to do some damage in our conference and surprise some teams,” he said. “We are going to win, while having fun playing volleyball.”

of Saint Katherine’s in San Marcos, but coaching changes made him open up his recruitment and said he knew he was in the right place at SC. “Originally, I was committed to St.Katherine’s, but when the coach stepped down early in the summer and I did not know what to do,” Allen said.

“Coach Domo (Domenic Cosentino) looked me up online and sent me a text. When I came down for my visit I knew right away I wanted to come to Southwestern.”

Seales, who played in 21 games in 2017 and averaged 5.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in only 6.8 minutes per game, figures to be a presence in the paint this season. He is back after dealing with a dislocated patella tendon in his first

season. He said his redshirt year helped him get healthy.

“My goal has been to get healthy and play a whole season, and I think that redshirt season really gave me a chance to get ready,” he said.

The Jaguars will be on the prowl to defend their conference crown as well as avenge their three-point loss to state champion Fullerton College in the Southern-California playoffs. Stephens said after that tough loss, the team was at a crossroads.

“The first moments after the game was a little sad, but it was also like, what is next?” Stephens said. “It was me and a few other first-year guys, but it was a large group of sophomores. Then it was just seeing where we are going.”

sports@theswcsun.com

SPORTS

The Southwestern College Sun • Sept. 30 - Oct. 18, 2019 – Volume 63, Issue 1

E3

Nicholas James/Staff

QB OWEN LIGHTS PATH TO VICTORY STORY BY JUSTIN DOTTERY

I

t only takes one.

Sometimes an entire season pivots on a singular act of brilliance that is a match to a fuse.

Sophomore quarterback Joshua Owen seems to have lit the fuse to an explosive breakthrough for the Jaguars with his 15yard game-winning touchdown pass in a double overtime win over Fullerton College.

Owen has been terrific all year leading a potent SC offense with 1,014 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and only three interceptions through week 5. Sophomore running back Keylan Chapman leads the ground game with

94 carries for 386 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, the Jags are anchored by freshman linebacker Josh McCurty and sophomore defensive end Ubaldo Torres.

McCurty is the team leader in tackles with 36 and second in tackles for loss with 4.5. Torres is a terror on the edge with 12 tackles, and a team-leading 2.5 sacks and six tackles for loss.

At the halfway point in the season, the 4-1 Jags have the third-best record in the National Conference’s Southern Division behind Riverside City College and Saddleback College, the number two and three teams in the state.

Justin Dottery/Staff

Nicholas James/Staff

NOSE FOR THE BALL — (top) Freshman linebacker Tyquan Coleman snags an interception against San Diego Mesa. (left) Running back Keylan Chapman soars over Mesa defender. (above) Defensive backs Braelen Bettles and Robert Wright make a tackle in the Jaguar’s 28-24 victory over Palomar College.

Sept. 30 - Oct. 18, 2019 – Volume 63, Issue 1

BACKPAGE

HAIL QUEENS! Jahaziel Valencia Multimedia Editor

W

hen right-wing anti-LGBTQ protestors threatened to come to Chula Vista to protest Drag Queen Story Time at the tiny Otay Ranch Library Branch, Mayor Mary Casillas Salas had a response for them. She moved the event to the much larger main library, increased the marketing and personally led a counter protest.

Casillas Salas, a 2019 Southwestern College Honorary Degree recipient, teamed with former Mayor Steven Padilla to speak out against homophobia. Padilla is one of San Diego County’s first openly gay elected officials. About 40 anti-LGBTQ protestors were met by more than 100 pro-LGBTQ counter protestors.

Drag Queen Story Time was a performance held inside the

Nicholas James/Staff

ONE FOR THE BOOKS – (clockwise from top) Strawberry Corncakes and other well-known regional drag queens join a counter-protest led by Mayor Mary Casillas Salas (with bullhorn) and former Mayor Steve Padilla. AntiLGBTQ protesters. Representatives of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a service and advocacy organization.

Chula Vista Library by well-known drag performers Raquelita and Barbie Q, both educators by profession. Story Time is meant to teach children about gender diversity and accepting each other despite their own differences.

Tony Villafranca, an anti-gay activist, handed out flyers to lure people to his protest prior to the event.

“Drag Queen Story Hour teaches even the littlest children that biological sex means nothing, that sex is just a sign of birth, that people can be any gender they want, and that it is ok to be gay,” read Villafranca’s flyers. “These are all lies. This is child abuse.”

Hector Gastelum, an Otay Water Board Director, read the Pledge of Allegiance for the members of the anti- LGBTQ side.

Gastelum was sanctioned by the Otay board in 2017 for racist comments he made on Twitter disparaging Muslims as “slime” and “subhuman.”

Gastelum was also censored by the Southwestern College Governing Board for his comments. In January, Gastelum defended comedian Kevin Hart’s homophobic joke.

“His jokes about not wanting kids to be gay isn’t homophobic,” Gastelum wrote. “It’s what we call normal. We normal folk don’t see the upside of our kids going LGBT.” Counter protestors from the LGBTQ community and their allies turned out en mass to defend Drag Queen Story Time.

Padilla led a short march along the library area.

“Hate has come to this local community, but it is not the first time,” he said. “It is also not the first time that it will be met with the exact opposite.”

Padilla said both sides must reach an understanding in order to avoid future conflict. He said counter-protestors’ job that day was to bring love to those who chose to hate the LGBTQ community.

“What some of those folks who live in fear plan to do today at this place at this time is to get us to be afraid and to get us to confront them so they can have a spectacle so they can see an angry queer person losing their mind getting in somebody’s face and they can use that narrative to destroy lives instead of protecting them,” Padilla said.

Casillas Salas spoke to the crowd in support of Drag Queen Story Time. In November, Casillas Salas won the mayoral election against Gastelum with 71.9 percent of the votes.

“There is no agenda in those books,” she said. “It is simply making children feel like no matter whatever they’re facing, whatever they may feel, we accept them and embrace those children.”

Drag queen Sister April Hamm Linkin, a member of The San Diego Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, came to support the LGBTQ community. The Sisters is an advocacy group that works to end bigotry and stereotypes.

“What the other side is saying, it doesn’t faze me,” Hamm said. “It’s just remembering all the love and support on this side of the tape and just being part of that.”

Members of the LGBTQ community wielded signs and chanted: “Long live the queens.”

“Chicanx in solidarity with Drag Queens.”

“Refuse to be your child’s first bully.”

“No hate, no fear, everyone is welcome here.”

Casillas Salas said that hate mongering was not successful.

Drag Queen Story Time will return.

The Southwestern College Sun

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JoseLuis Baylon/Staff

Mayor leads rally supporting LGBTQ rights in Chula Vista, defies opponents of library’s Drag Queen Story Time

Nicholas James/Staff

JoseLuis Baylon/Staff