Between 1973 and 1981, Viewpoints would begin to report on news
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that occurred within the district.
VIEWPOINTSONLINE.ORG
Nothing happens without water JOYCE NUGENT STAFF REPORTER
highest enrollment of 70 students. “Here, aspiring journalists would be exposed to the historical importance and foundations of journalism,” Rodriguez said. In March 2020, the curriculum for the coming school year at RHS was announced but did not list the journalism program. It had been cut from the master schedule. “My journalists were worried and so was I,” Rodriguez said. “At the beginning of the 2019 school year, a journalist wrote an opinion article arguing against abortion. The new principal told
This article is part three of the series about California’s growing water crisis. Read more at viewpointsonline.org. Manifest Destiny, the Gold Rush, epic natural disasters: California seizes every opportunity to move heaven and Earth in the name of progress. As a result, California is a leading agricultural producer, a major manufacturing center, the most populated state in the country and the world’s eighthlargest economy. But nothing happens without w a t e r. C a l i f o r n i a ’s w a t e r resources support 35 million people and irrigate more than 5.68 million acres of farmland. Now the state faces the harsh reality that freshwater is not an infinite resource. The Municipal Water District of Southern California declared a drought emergency Nov. 9, asking water suppliers to implement all conservation measures to reduce water usage. “We need immediate action to preserve and stretch our limited State Water Project supplies,” Gloria D. Gray, chair of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors, said in a statement. “Southern California on average gets about one-third of its water from Northern California via the state project. Next year, we’ll be lucky to get a small fraction of that.” Water belongs to the state. The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) grants and manages water rights to landowners, farmers, Native American tribes, manufacturers, developers, environmentalists and conservationists. A water right is the license to use water from a stream, lake or irrigation canal. The license holders do not own the water itself. They possess the right to
See RIALTO on page 3
See WATER on page 3
IMAGE COURTESY OF BURIED UNDER THE BLUE
Activists shed light on truth Descendants of displaced residents work to change stadium’s narrative JENNIPHER VASQUEZ NEWS EDITOR
This is the first part of a series about the history of Dodgers Stadium. Children and grandchildren of displaced residents from Palo Verde, La Loma and Bishop, which is now home to Dodgers Stadium, are pushing to get the story right. The residents’ descendants created Buried Under the Blue,
an organization that is working to shed light and preserve the history of what occurred on May 9, 1959. On that day, brutal evictions took place in the three communities that now lie beneath Dodgers Stadium — also known as “Black Friday.” The organization is also looking to change Black Friday’s narrative. “The narratives that described our communities of Palo Verde, La Loma and Bishop were that they were poor, they were dangerous,
they were uneducated,” said Vincent Montalvo, Buried Under the Blue co-founder. “Those were completely untrue. Sometimes when we went back to these stories, listening to my grandparents and them telling us how they owned homes it came across to me as, ‘How can we be written as poor?’ ” Montalvo’s grandparents sold their home before the evictions made way for Dodgers Stadium and moved to Echo Park, where he was later raised.
He said what was important to the people of those three communities was that they could have a part of the American dream and own homes. Some families even owned multiple homes and were part of a community of people where everyone looked out for one another. “Having these discussions with colleges and high school kids has also (awakened) them because they think we’re in
See STADIUM on page 2
Rialto High School students fight for program SEAN RYAN STAFF REPORTER
LEO CABRAL | VIEWPOINTS
The Rialto High School name engraved in stone faces the Pepper Avenue and Mill Street intersection. The high school was established in September 1992.
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Rialto High School students are fighting to reinstate their journalism program. The journalism program and the school paper, “The Medieval Times,” were revived in 2015 with the help and support of journalism adviser Cassandra Rodriguez and former RHS principal Arnie Ayala. Originally designed for upperclassmen, 15 students had enrolled during its first year and the numbers climbed as the years went on. This year the program saw its
FEATURES
OPINIONS
Palm Springs
Travis Scott
celebrates 35th
and artist
annual Pride
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accountability
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NEWS BRIEFS
the history of viewpoints
The rocky start of a new era
Campus will be closed Thursday Nov. 25 & Friday Nov. 26 Finals Week is Dec. 10-16 C S U & U C Tr a n s f e r Workshops: CSU San Bernardino is hosting career opportunity webinars for psychology and sociology students Nov. 19. The webinars are open to all students interested in transferring and will introduce students to resources available to them upon transfer. Psychology Webinar from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Link: https://csusb.zoom. us/webinar/register/ WN_wKU2Cj6pTKMh0Ky54ntDg Sociology Webinar from 1-2 p.m. Link: https://csusb.zoom.us/ webinar/register/WN_mvX_ w89mSUC8JD668_Aj9w CSU/UC Application Workshops: CSU Nov. 22 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Workshop link: https://bit.ly/ CSUAppWks Password: Transfer UC Nov. 23 from 2-4 p.m. Workshop link: https://bit.ly/ UCAppWk Password: Transfer UC Personal Insight Questions Workshop Nov. 24 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Link: https://bit.ly/UCPIQsWK Password: Transfer CPR Workshop Hosted by Red Cross Club Nov. 29 from 5-7 p.m. Location: Quad Courtyard CORRECTIONS: In the previous issue, there was a typo in the story on the study abroad program that stated Fabian Biancardi’s first name as “Fibian.” The story has been updated on viewpointsonline.org to reflect the correct spelling.
All of these dates are subject to change due to possible regulations to come involving the containment of the coronavirus. To stay up to date on upcoming campus events, v i s i t t h e Vi e w p o i n t s calendar listed at viewpointsonline.org. If you have events happening on campus that you want featured on the calendar, send information about the event to viewpoints. news@gmail.com.
DANIEL HERNANDEZ MANAGING EDITOR
IMAGE COURTESY OF BURIED UNDER THE BLUE
Police evict Palo Verde residents on May 9, 1959. other and created family-like bonds. STADIUM from page 1 There was no police interaction within those communities until it got close to a perfect time where people the time to to remove everyone are starting to rediscover their from their homes forcibly. Only indigenous roots,” Montalvo White police officers were sent said. “With all that education to the communities to harass we’ve given to them I think them, beat them and shove them that’s helped them come to an in patrol cars and drop them off understanding that they must in other neighborhoods to send question everything now.” the message that they needed to He strives to tell the leave soon. story accurately of how his “At the end of the day our grandparents experienced it. He country paid us by kicking us said how unfortunate it is that out of our homes,” Montalvo he, and many former residents said. “And that’s one of the or relatives of residents, main things that stuck with realized their families’ story them and why it was so painful of displacement was being told and stinging to this day. Most incorrectly. of the elders would never step “Most of it was obviously foot at a (Dodgers) game or the opposite of what happened even watch a game, and if you in the books,” Montalvo said, think about it that’s what the recounting one of many stories psychologists talk about with his grandparents shared with inherited trauma.” him. “I’ve listened to my Another Buried Under the grandfather ’s ways of life Blue spokesperson, Melissa there. They farmed, they raised Arechiga, experienced the their own food and they policed displacement firsthand because themselves, that’s another big her family was among those one.” in Palo Verde that refused to He said, because the leave their homes and were communities were closeforcefully removed by police. knit and lacked telephone People around the country signals, they did not reach watched from home as it was out to law enforcement for broadcasted on the news. any occurrence and handled it “I’m upset, I’m themselves. Similar to a tribal disappointed, I feel like our council. people deserve so much better,” Montalvo said this was the Arechiga said. “People say norm in the three communities I’m upset because, ‘It’s just because they all relied on each
because it’s your family.’ And yeah, it is my family, you’re 100% right, but if it wasn’t my family it would still be brown history. If it’s not brown history then what is their history? Christopher Columbus?” Arechiga’s family was one of the remaining families in Palo Verde. The other two communities that had not sold and left their homes were displaced after Black Friday. She said she hopes that by bringing broader awareness to what their families went through and their deep-rooted trauma that people who have not experienced similar situations will want to learn more. “Maybe they can start to grow a sense of understanding to lay the foundation,” Arechiga said. “When it’s personalized and they’ve experienced it themselves it changes the dynamics of how they digest the history ... but somebody w h o ’s n e v e r e x p e r i e n c e d these things, it’s like they’re removed from it, they haven’t been touched by those life experiences. So it’s always good to start there and ask, ‘Have you been or do you know anyone who’s been displaced’ and take it from there.” She hopes they will further the conversation and prevent further gentrification and displacements in browndominated communities by asking those questions.
Only one would remain after the untimely demise of most of the student publications at Riverside City College. It, too, would face strife as it attempted to service the community. The biweekly newspaper Viewpoints, previously known as the Tiger Times until its name changed until 1973, would be the only surviving publication to this day. Efforts to revive or create new publications would fizzle out and be for naught. The decline in interest in publications affected the journalism department as well. Jan Abrahams, who took over the reins of the publication in 1971, ran the entire program by herself. Faculty in the photography and mass communications department assisted her, but she was tasked with advising the paper and holding journalism lectures. Between the period of l972-1981, Viewpoints had a variety of issues afflicting the publications. Financial instability would directly affect the paper’s production. The responsibility of funding the college paper would frequently change between the Associated Students of Riverside City College and the district. This instability disrupted Viewpoints’ distribution throughout the campus, affecting its biweekly schedule. The news, or lack of it, happening on campus was another major factor affecting interest in the paper. Fewer events would be held on campus, club activities would be less prevalent and major events were no longer commonplace within the college’s property. If an event was covered, the news was no longer relevant by the time the publication was distributed. This led to the paper producing more opinion-based writing and growing the features section. Profiles on faculty, guest speakers, reviews, photo wild art and poetry became more common within the publication’s pages. The paper broadened its focus in the news as well. It began to cover state ballots, administrative policy changes and propositions that could affect district funding. Overall, the focus of Vi e w p o i n t s w o u l d c h a n g e yearly due to the talent of the students who walked through the newsroom doors.
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JOYCE NUGENT | VIEWPOINTS
On a remote corner in Thermal sits a 300-acre parcel of fertile farmland that the landowner is trying to lease because it is no longer cost-effective to plant, grow and harvest his crops. The drought, water scarcity and increased labor costs are driving farmers out of business.
WATER from page 1 use it. If your food was grown or raised by farmers or ranchers, you depend on someone who either has a water right or buys water from a water supplier, such as an irrigation district that has a water right. The Process If you live in the city or suburbs and drink, cook with, wash with, or water your yard with water, you can do so because your city has a water right or buys water from someone who has a water right. When you turn on your lights or use appliances in California, at least some of the electricity you are using was likely generated by a power company that can operate a hydropower plant because it has a water right. If you swim, fish, or boat in a man-made lake or raft below a dam, you can do so because the dam owner has a water right. Food and Water Watch in October 2021 compared water rights allocations and California’s actual supply of water and concluded that the state had issued rights for five times as much water as it can deliver based on mean annual water supplies. The Politics Water continues to be a source of decades-long political wars burdened with territorial priorities. Besides satisfying the needs of a growing population, demands for more water also come from the agricultural industry, businesses, manufacturers and developers. These needs must be balanced against demands for protecting
RIALTO from page 1 journalist to remove the article.” The First Amendment protects student journalists from censorship and retaliation against faculty for the content produced by the students. Principal Caroline Sweeney declined to comment on the matter. “The article was allowed to print, but it appeared bad blood had formed,” Rodriguez said. Tyzhera Williams, co-editor of the journalism club, had been
water quality and fisheries, wildlife and recreational interests. The water rights system is based on seniority. State officials can require junior water users to cut back when water is scarce, starting with those who recently established their claims. “Everybody with senior water rights has a huge interest in keeping the system exactly the way it is, even if it means hurting other people — which it does,” said Thomas Holyoke, a water politics expert at California State University Fresno. “Everybody is retreating into their corners and arming themselves legalistically to defend what little water they still have.” Most experts agree that California’s complex, multilevel web of outdated water rights laws hinder the state’s ability to ensure everyone has enough water. This is a problem that will only get worse as the drought makes severe water shortages a reality. “ Wa t e r r i g h t s c a n b e something that helps us adapt and create resiliency, or it can really hinder us,” said Joaquin Esquivel, SWRCB chair, at the Board’s Feb. 16 meeting. According to Chris Scheuring, legal counsel to the California Farm Bureau, the state needs to address new infrastructure and water storage. “One thing it does not need to do, however, is require reorganization of water rights,” Scheuring said. “In fact, the state’s water rights system is fundamentally conceived to deal with scarcity in dry years by providing for a hierarchy
of priority upon which to base necessary curtailments.” Many farmers have blamed the environmentalists who, the farmers argue, are choosing to waste water on fish at the expense of people. Setting aside water for environmental purposes might be the most contentious issue in state water politics. For decades, farmers, environmental groups and government agencies have fought over how much water should be kept in rivers, streams and estuaries across Northern California and the Central Valley to ensure healthy ecosystems and help endangered species. But water rights holders who depend on rivers and streams have fought to take more water from those sources, arguing that state officials unfairly prioritize fish over people. “You’ve got debates with a number of folks saying, ‘no, the water rights system should just be applied until every last drop in the river is gone,’ ” said Ellen Hanak, director of the Water Policy Center at the Public Policy Institute of California, a San Francisco-based think tank. Wa t e r c o n s e r v a t i o n , development and management should be a collaborative effort. This more inclusive approach to negotiations is essential to address the severe challenges to California’s future. “Everybody is terrified of moving to anything else because nobody has any idea of what the alternative system would be,” Holyoke said. “They’re afraid they would lose out under the new system.”
a member since 2020. As soon as she found out that the program had been cut, she investigated the matter. “I decided to set up a meeting with the principal to get answers,” Williams said. “During our meeting my questions were misunderstood or met with answers that didn’t add up.” This year, RHS still does not have a journalism program and is instead operating as a club. “Over 70 students enrolled for the class, cementing the
fact that the students want this curriculum,” Rodriguez said. “Yet after giving me my teaching assignment for the year, showing two sections of journalism, the principal ultimately cut the course again.” In 1988, the Supreme Court of the United States had dealt with a similar case, Hazelwood School District vs. Kuhlmeier, on a matter of Hazelwood East High School principal attempting to censor two articles from the high school paper. The majority of the Justices declared “a school
Mallard ducks float on a pond at the Whitewater Preserve near Palm Springs on Nov. 12. The Whitewater River provides a year-round water source for native and migrating birds like Mallard ducks.
Above: Two caspian terns on the shore of Lake Cahuilla are migrating. On their journey from Alaska to Southern California, they use rivers, reservoirs, lagoons and estuaries to feed and rest. Left: A snowy egret waits to feed on fish from Lake Cahuilla. As the drought causes deterioration of the waterfowl habitat at the lake, the snowy egret will become endangered.
PHOTOS BY JOYCE NUGENT
need not tolerate student speech that is inconsistent with its basic educational mission.” “It upset me when I found out the journalism class had been cut,” said Cynthia Soto, a junior at RHS and secretary of the journalism program. “It meant students would not be able to publish articles or read them.” The students at RHS are missing out on the opportunity to gain skills and earn credits in journalism while it operates as a club and not an official class. “The principal started the
year off by holding up our articles for longer than they needed,” Isaac Escamilla, sophomore at RHS, said. “The journalism program means a lot to me, I intend on making a career as a journalist.” The journalism club intends to continue the fight to reinstate the program. “This is only the beginning,” Escamilla said. The students have started a petition to show administration that their needs are not being met.
In 1976, Viewpoints reported on a movement on campus to revitalize homecoming. The motion was met with an equally strong effort to ban homecoming.
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Play satirizes American dream College theater department hosts show despite setbacks WILLIAM L.G. STEPHENS A&E EDITOR
On paper, everything about the production of Riverside City College’s upcoming theater show “American Night: The Ballad of Juan José” shouldn’t have worked. From having 80 individual characters played by only nine actors, delays in productions and having to rehearse with masks on, the odds were not in favor of instructor Chance Dean and his group of thespians. “Uniquely putting it in this semester was a challenge in a sense we were sharing a space with ‘Addams Family’,” Dean said. “We had a really quick twoweek turnaround, the challenge of actual physical space and not being in it until a week ago. We made do with what we had, and we made it work.” Due to the COVID-19 restrictions implemented for in-person classes, it has been challenging to work on theater productions. Rather than coming undone, the cast and crew of “American Night” used their circumstances to turn their disadvantages into determination. “This is something we’ve been lacking for a year and a half,” Dean said. “This is the reason why theater still survives and it’s pretty important we get it back.” The play follows Juan José, a Mexican immigrant, as he has a feverish dream while studying for
PHOTO COURTESY OF RCC.EDU
his American citizenship exam. The script contains 80 characters, which requires the cast members to play multiple roles. “While it’s a satire, it gives us a lot of room to play with ethnicity and gender, for the characters (the cast) are playing,” Dean said. The story highlights the issue of America’s exclusion of important ethnic figures from its history books. “It’s one of the flaws of America, we leave out our really important people,” freshman actress Amanda Flanagan said. Flanagan, who plays Viola Pettus, said the character shows Juan José the dark truth of America and how it changes his perspective on the country.
“Just getting that balance between not being controlling but being firm,” Flanagan said about the most challenging part of playing Pettus. “Maintaining that balance was something very difficult to portray.” Getting students to portray characters of different ethnic backgrounds they don’t identify with was another challenge with the casting of the play. “I’m limited by who walks in the door,” Dean said. This challenge made it all the more remarkable for RCC sophomore Damien Santoyo, who co-stars in the play with Flanagan. “The main characters are of Hispanic descent and it’s really nice to see something being put out there representing us,”
Santoyo said. “I’m a Latino male, and to see something like that is very inspiring. I’m really happy to have the opportunity to have done this.” As opening night approaches, Santoyo acknowledged the weight of being center stage. “There’s always nerves before the show,” Santoyo said. “But as soon as I step out on the stage, it’s a whole other story and I try to become the characters I portray.” “American Night: The Ballad of Juan José” will have showings from Nov. 18-21. The anticipation is palpable. “These fabulous students had to make up for lost time,” Dean said. “It’s been a high demand for everyone involved. And it makes for a beast of a show.”
“American Night: The Ballad of Juan José” Show dates: Nov. 18-21 Where: Landis Performing Arts Center Tickets: Free with a $1 processing fee. Tickets are will be sold at the front door before the show, or they can be purchased at the RCC box office at rccboxoffice.com/ rcctheatre/. Seating is limited and proof of vaccination is required at the point of entry for all who attend.
From Swan to princess, Stewart shines The ‘Twilight’ star is sure to receive Oscar nod for performance TIM NACEY MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
At the beginning of “Spencer,” Diana (Kristen Stewart) — still Princess of Wales, but not by choice — stops her car in the middle of a deserted country road and runs off to take an old, dirty and tattered leather jacket from a scarecrow. She takes it back to the house and has Maggie (Sally Hawkins) clean and mend it. It’s a strange image, but once you spend a harrowing Christmas weekend with her at Sandringham House, you’ll understand just why this was so important to her. Despite how quiet it is, “Spencer” plays a lot like a horror movie in many ways. You have a woman who wants
nothing to do with her soon-tobe ex-husband, but is forced to spend time with him and the rest of the Royal Family for the sake of her two sons. Diana is suffering from some severe mental health crises at the moment, but everyone is more worried about what this will do to the family’s reputation than her wellbeing. She’s surrounded by people all hours of the day yet, all these faces feel decidedly less than friendly. A lot of this is due to the cinematography. Since there’s no one for Diana to talk to — her best friend in the house is sent away at the end of the first act, and she doesn’t want to burden her sons — the camera serves as the wordless narrator of her comfort levels and various emotional states. The camera will sometimes be at a nice, pleasant conversation
distance. Then, Timothy Spall’s head of security suddenly enters, and we abruptly blink to a tighter close-up shot. Other times, she’ll just be wandering the house and the camera will be far away from her, filling the frame with background and architecture. However, these aren’t meant to be majestic shots. The intended focus is Diana and evokes a sense of how small this world is making her feel. As dazzling as the visuals are, the true MVP of “Spencer” is Kristen Stewart. There are many out there that may still be hung up on her “Twilight” days, but this movie shows that she’s not only better than that material but also, given the right material, absolutely staggering. Throughout the grueling weekend over which this movie takes place, Diana is put through
an absolute gauntlet, going from emotion to emotion on a dime. She loves her kids and can goof around with them in private. However, she’s also bullied by her in-laws and mocked by her husband for her bulimia. Just like in real life, no one is sad or happy all the time. We alternate between different moods, and Kristen Stewart is excellent at playing the individual, transitory, and simultaneous emotions. Overall, even if you’re like me and have never paid all that much attention to the British Royal Family and all their issues, I can guarantee that there’s something for you here. The dazzling cinematography a n d K r i s t e n S t e w a r t ’s transformative performance make “Spencer” one of the best movies of the year.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPENCERTHEMOVIE.COM
Kristen Stewart plays Princess Diana in her latest role.
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FEATURES
An issue of Viewpoints published a feature article of renowned actress and political activist Jane Fonda after she was a guest speaker on campus.
Bridging the gaps between art, the digital world and getting paid DIEGO LOMELI PHOTO EDITOR
There’s always been a superficial side to documenting people, and with that comes the hollowed-out questions that we expect to read about. When interviewing an artist, the unavoidable question must be thrown into the mix: “What does art mean to you?” To Xonasuchi, interviews like that are on par with flimsy throwaways — something that’s not meant to hold attention for very long. “It’s kind of like humans. Once you grab something and obtain it you’re like OK, got it— let’s go to the next one,” he said. “That’s why I don’t like interviews. I like to be anonymous and private. People don’t even know much about what I’ve done and I think that’s so cool.” Xonasuchi once told himself that if Jay-Z was the only one looking at his photos, he wouldn’t need anyone else. The audience that he has managed to build up is small, but it’s important to him. Like a lot of good art, it all began as an effort to impress a girl. After it all fell apart, a heartbroken Xonasuchi began photographing simple things: wet rocks, trees, puddles and clouds with a camera he bought. From there, his photographs began shifting into something a lot more abstract. “I treated it like art therapy,” he said. “It went from forgetting this girl to, ‘my thoughts have been weird since I was a kid, why don’t I just express them through
this visual medium?’ So I just began coming up with ideas and shooting them.” Most of his work is on his social media page, but only for a short while, as he is prone to removing his posts after he moves on to newer, fresher ideas. “I don’t know why I remove it,” he said. “Maybe it’s so it seems special to what you’re looking at now. To me personally, now it’s off the shelves and I think it creates this scarcity factor.” Instead of an online portfolio, Xonasuchi referred to his social media page as if it were a tangible place. “The digital world,’’ he called it. As an artist aiming to produce a livable income through his art, more contemporary means of interchanging cash and art obviously stand more appealing than traditional online stores or brick-and-mortar studios.
“It went from forgetting this girl to, ‘my thoughts have always been weird, why don’t I just express them through this visual medium?’ So I just began coming up with ideas and shooting them.”
Things such as NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) promise a good opportunity for Xonasuchi and his vision. “Since February I’ve been looking at NFTs, and I stumbled across this blockchain that’s green, carbon negative and easy to use,” Xonasuchi said. “From there I met this French developer, and we’ve been going back and forth on this concept of tying in a physical work of art to have software and to have a use for it.” This concept would work as a pass-around counter that pays out as a buyer’s fee or a tax. It makes sense to think of it as a dividend that only pays when the artwork is bought and sold. One transaction would equal one payment directly into the artist’s pocket. Like NFTs, each artwork would be binded to its unique digital signature and would be impossible to replicate or produce fakes. Each piece would also be a part of a collection and individually numbered or identified. The value of each collection would be based on the sole popularity and reputation of the artist themselves, the rarity of the collection and other external factors such as pop-culture trends. With all of it in mind, Xonasuchi’s concept poses the question: will the ownership of rare digital art pieces eventually rival or surpass the perception of incredible wealth? “Maybe wealth might still exist, but it’s going to be more of a construct than money already is,” Xonasuchi said. “It’s obviously not going to exist, it’s just going to be a counter on a screen. In the grand scheme of things it doesn’t really mean anything, it all boils down to how we perceive wealth.
Artwork courtesy of Xonasuchi
Features
November 18, 2021
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Palm Springs Pride Celebration returns to the desert JOYCE NUGENT STAFF REPORTER
The Greater Palm Springs Pride Parade filled Palm Canyon Drive with colorful floats, marching bands, rainbow flags and immense pride Nov. 7. “It was amazing,” Pride attendee Kendall Madsen said. “I mean, look at it. There are thousands of people here, and I couldn’t be prouder to be gay.” Every fall in Palm Springs since 1992, the LGTBQ+ lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community comes together
for a week-long celebration of love, diversity, acceptance and unashamed self-pride. People of all ages attended this year’s festival, some who understand the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community and others who remember a time before 1969 when the thought of a large group of LGBTQ+ people celebrating their gender and sexuality in public was unthinkable. Even though pride week has ended, Greater Palm Springs Pride will continue its work in a city in the desert where the LGBTQ+ community is welcome, included and thrives.
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JOYCE NUGENT | VIEWPOINTS
A chihuahua wearing a rainbow bandana trots as he tries to keep pace with the other Animal Samaritans in the Palm Springs Pride Parade Nov. 7.
“I mean, look at it. There are thousands of people here, and I couldn’t be prouder to be gay.”
JOYCE NUGENT | VIEWPOINTS
Dottie DuBois, Palm Springs royalty, playfully flirts with the crowd.
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-Kendall Madsen
JOYCE NUGENT | VIEWPOINTS
Revving engines, loud pipes and cheering passengers of the San Francisco Dykes on Bikes Women’s Motorcycle Contingent (WMC) opened the 2021 Greater Palm Springs Pride Parade Nov. 7.
ORANGE
JOYCE NUGENT | VIEWPOINTS
A rainbow-adorned participant dances his way down Palm Canyon Drive in the 35th annual Palm Springs Pride Parade.
A COMIC BY JULIANNA HERNANDEZ | VIEWPOINTS
In 1974, Viewpoints editor-in-chief Mary Cummings wrote an editorial condemning the ASRCC cabinet for implementing a new priority stating that clubs need to participate in all campus events.
OPINIONS
Travis Scott to blame? The Astroworld Festival gave me ‘Goosebumps’
DAESHA GEAR OPINIONS EDITOR
Travis Scott concerts have always been out of control, but the deadly show on Nov. 5 was beyond outrageous and the rapper enabled his fans’ ruthless behavior. It seems like the rapper has no control over his chaotic fanbase as they went “Sicko Mode” during his performance. Scott’s 2021 Astroworld Festival was a senseless, preventable tragedy. The rapper and event organizers need to be held accountable. There were signs that the event would be a disaster. However, the show went on and it warrants an investigation for negligence. Hours before Scott made his appearance, hundreds of fans — some possibly without tickets — razed their way to gain access to the event. Security could not keep up as they were outnumbered by “Ragers,” or Scott’s fanbase. The fact that fans outnumbered security raises a red flag since it was impossible for them to make their authority known to Scott’s barbaric fandom. It is embarrassing that individuals would act so absurdly and endanger their and others’ lives to see an A-list celebrity who does not even know who they are. However, that was just the beginning as Scott’s Astroworld Festival transpired into something out of this world, involving a mass casualty in a riot-like stampede, according to witnesses. “It felt like a riot,” Albert Merza, a concert attendee, told Reuters. “There were people throwing out stuff, objects flying everywhere.” So far, eight people have been
9 #NoStringsAttached November 18, 2021
Traditional marriage is outdated
WILLIAM L.G. STEPHENS A&E EDITOR PHOTO COURTESY OF DANIEL HERNANDEZ
trampled to death, and hundreds were injured in a senseless tragedy that could have been de-escalated. Scott’s fans pleaded for the show to stop as individuals were buried under others, passing out or resuscitated by the paramedics. It’s expected of Scott to care for his fans in their untimely circumstances and be a hero for them, but he fooled everyone. When his fans needed him the most, he acted like they never existed. Scott nonchalantly continued singing while his fans cried out for help. The courteous thing the rapper could have done was stop his show and ask his fans to be civilized during his performance. It took Scott 40 minutes to call for security, but the damage was already done. Apparently, it was too difficult for the rapper to enforce crowd control as he was so self-absorbed in his own world, watching his fans die below him. With Scott failing to use his authority to call out his fans’ destructive behavior, it exposes how the rapper enables and creates a toxic environment. Past concerts included fans stage diving into the crowd, which undoubtedly ended in bodily harm. Still, the rapper seemingly enjoys promoting negative behavior among his fanbase. In Scott’s song, “STARGAZING,” one quote reads, “And it ain’t a mosh pit if ain’t no injuries, I got ‘em stage divin’ out the nosebleeds.”
According to the rapper, bragging about your fans injuring themselves while listening to his rap music is something in which to have pride. It’s not “hype” or “lit” when fans are fighting for their lives to avoid getting trampled on while attending your concert, Scott. This time around, it turned deadly with that same toxic mindset, and now the rapper is devastated — shockingly. “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night,” Scott tweeted. “My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival.” If Scott was indeed “devastated,” he should have stopped performing, but he allowed this tragedy to persist. Now 10 people cannot go back to their families due to his lack of authority. Scott’s main issue is that he has no control over the toxic community he created and lacks the courage to confront the problem due to his own ego. If Scott wants to confront his community’s wrongdoing, it starts with his attitude in the songs he writes. The rapper needs to stop encouraging the terrible acts his fans are committing to others or themselves. Instead, he needs to confront those issues and be a role model, not an instigator. Right now, Scott is not the solution — he is the enabler toward his toxic fanbase, feeding the head of the snake that spiraled out of control and claimed the lives of its own fanbase.
“RCC is a really good school compared to other community colleges. After all these years, it has grown a lot. My aunt went here before me, and she did not like it. That was years ago and now she can’t even tell that it’s RCC. That shows how much has changed in a short amount of time.” - Denay Garcia
“A pro would be that it’s a pretty good campus. There’s a lot of buildings, and the writing center is easy to find. Everything is within a walking distance. Another pro is that there are a lot of good professors and good people, so you can make friends easily.”
Do you ever reconnect with an old friend who got married straight out of high school and is now going through a divorce, and thought to yourself, “I’m so happy that isn’t me?” Common belief used to be that once you graduated high school, you found a decent job, got hitched, bought a house and had the perfect nuclear family. This was considered to be the “American Dream” that was inundated by our society and parents to pressure an untimely marriage. However, is it possible that this was just a dream our parents had forced on us? What happens when our “American Dream” manifests into nightmares? Luckily, in this day and age, our dreams are allowed to suffice. We are in a generation where we have options in which we don’t have to rely on a partner for support. The wrongful ideology of the woman staying at home with the kids while the man goes to work is long outdated and rightfully so. It is 2021 and we want independence. We want to be independently wealthy and want to be recognized for our perseverance through every obstacle we’ve had in life. We don’t need to add anyone else’s last name to do it. According to the US Census Bureau, in 2007 an estimate of 14 million Americans were in cohabiting relationships. In 2016, those numbers increased to 18 million. How high will those
numbers be in the year 2025? People are choosing to live with their partner but abstain from marriage, and why not? At the end of the day, the only difference is a piece of legal document that allows you to file jointly on your taxes. Do you really want to be bonded together because of that? Or do you want the option to bail anytime you want, once you realize that Dr. Jekyll is actually Mr. Hyde? In 2020 households consisting of married couples in the U.S. fell to 49%. So then why have traditional ceremonial marriages decreased significantly in recent years, all the while non-exclusive relationships rise higher? Maybe because we now have dating apps like Tinder, Badoo and Plenty of Fish, which basically allows you to list your deal breakers right on your profile conveniently. It also means your phone vibrates when someone in your area is wanting to hook up. Who doesn’t want a little variety in their lives? Since the beginning of time, we have been preached to in church that living together without marriage is a sin. We have been told by our friends who have never had to make the choice of separating, “Stay together for the kids.” So, what happens when the two of you realize you’re better off as friends? What happens when the children you’re staying together for, are the same children who are always listening to you fight? What happens when that emotional abuse turns to physical abuse? We like to throw words around like unholy, blasphemy and sacrilegious in certain circles. However, the word that is seldomly used is brave. Marriage is not a one-sizefits-all. I believe we’ve known that for a while now. In this generation, we’ve just gotten to the point where we don’t allow the fear of persecution from outside parties interfere with our decisions to remain unmarried.
Campus Conversations What are the pros and cons of attending Riverside City College?
Interviews by Kelsey Olarte Photos by Daniel Hernandez Campus Conversations is an open forum for Riverside City College students to voice their own opinions, views and ideas.
- Krystal Andrad
“A pro would be the community. I’ve made a lot of friends, and I don’t feel so alone. Some cons would probably be the teachers. Their lectures aren’t organized well. It’s hard to keep up in class, whereas online, everything is organized and you can read (about) what you have to do.”
- Daphne Elizondo
“I really like how visually appealing the campus is. Every time I walk onto campus, I think ‘oh my gosh, the campus is so pretty.’ I’m also getting a lot out of my education, especially with COVID and having fewer students here. I don’t really think there are any cons besides the drive.” - Carly Redfearn
Opinions
November 18, 2021
Editorial
10
JULIANNA HERNANDEZ | VIEWPOINTS
Realism should not lead to endangerment Hollywood needs to stop using real weapons on set Hollywood has always been fascinated with legitimate danger in movies, from Buster Keaton letting a house fall on him in “One Week,” to Harold Lloyd hanging from the side of a building, grasping a giant clock’s minute hand for dear life in “Safety Last!” One of the most common practices on movie sets is the use of real firearms, which was the cause of the death of 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Joel Souza’s Western film Rust. In this scenario, a live round was loaded into the revolver that was provided to actor Alec Baldwin. Many questions need to be asked here. The person responsible for checking the chamber before the scene must be involved, and the presence of a live round on a movie set in the first place needs to be addressed. But the most important question to ask here is: why is Hollywood still
doing this? The Viewpoints editorial board believes that there should be no reason why a real fire arm and real bullets are used on movie sets and that the movie industry needs to change its practices immediately. In the last 10 years especially, special effects technology has expanded in amazing ways, transporting us to dazzling fantasy landscapes and deaging actors by 20 years. If we can bring to life things like genius apes and extraterrestrial warlords, surely there must be ways to simulate gunfire without the potential for tragic miscommunications or outright negligence claiming someone’s life. In an interview with “Slate,” prop master Mitch Thompson, who, among other things, worked on the HBO series “Animals,” discussed safer alternatives that he uses on sets. Some
of his alternatives include airsoft BB guns enhanced with CGI muzzle flashes or electronic guns that mimic the action of a gun’s recoil without any actual combustion. The framework is there, and there isn’t anything to invent. There are already professionals using safer methods of simulating gunfire on a movie set. So why are studios still stubbornly sticking to the old ways of doing things? One person losing their life is already too many, but between Brandon Lee, Jon Erik Hexum and, now, Halyna Hutchins, it’s more apparent than ever that the way Hollywood has been doing things isn’t working. Hollywood really needs to take a moment and ask itself: is the marginally more realistic motion you get from a prop gun really worth the potential for lost human lives?
Viewpoints’ editorials represent the majority opinion of and are written by the Viewpoints’ student editorial board.
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In 1975, the sports section published an article on 21-year-old student Pam Dusek. She was an incredibly talented bowler who aspired to enter the Pro Women’s Bowling Tour.
SPORTS
November 18, 2021
11
SPORTS BRIEFS Football Playoffs With a 49-3 win over Chaffey, the RCC football team will advance to the Southern Regionals for the eighth season in a row. The Southern Regional playoffs will begin Nov. 27. Men’s Water Polo
DANIEL HERNANDEZ | VIEWPOINTS
Student athletes from across Riverside City College’s fall athletic programs
Junior college athletics matter too
sports column
MYA CASTRO STAFF REPORTER
Playing at a Division I university is perceived as being the only way to succeed at the next level in athletics and anything less is not worth it. The opposite is true. I t ’s a d r e a m f o r h i g h school athletes to earn a full ride scholarship to a Division I university and play the sport they love. I know it was mine for a while. Still, some athletes don’t have that privilege and feel their only option is to play
at a community college. It leaves them feeling defeated but it’s also important to remember that playing sports at a community college does not make you less of an athlete. According to The National Collegiate Athletic Association website, 8 million students in the United States play high school sports and just 7.2% of those athletes continue to play in the NCAA straight out of high school. With that being said, it’s difficult for athletes to earn spots on a roster at a top division school. Community college, on the other hand, allows students to continue playing at the next level without having to partake in the rat race that is Division I recruiting. Although, only a fraction receive full-ride scholarships. Attending a community college after graduating high school is taboo to student athletes because it’s ingrained into their heads that a four year university is the best way to pursue their
education after graduating. Still, playing sports at a community college gives student athletes time to adjust to a new environment and perfect their skill. Full disclosure: I’m a student athlete. I’ve noticed a significant difference in my academic and athletic performances since I started at Riverside City College. Last year was the first time I had ever received a 4.0 grade point average and noticed that my athletic skills improved tremendously since high school. I have become faster and smarter as my season continues. Community college allows student athletes to mature and adjust to the next level mentality. Take a look at Jesse Chavez, pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. Although Chavez was drafted out of high school in the 39th round to the Chicago Cubs, he felt he was not ready to go pro. Chavez enrolled and attended RCC instead
for two years. Chavez completed one year at RCC before being drafted in the 42nd round. He turned out to be a draft-and-follow, a player who is selected in the later rounds but is not offered a contract right away giving the team time to decide whether or not they want that player. Chavez decided to continue playing at RCC for his second year and was then traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates where he made his MLB debut. Today, Chavez is a 2021 world series champion with the Atlanta Braves. Community colleges have many players who come to them as non-qualifiers. They don’t meet the academic qualifications to play for the NCAA. Still, their talent makes the community college programs as competitive as their Division I counterparts. Through their programs and hard work, community colleges have cemented their role as a stepping stone that can lead to similar, if not, better success than entering straight into a Division I.
Women’s basketball returns, beats Chaffey The Tigers dominated in their first game of the season against Chaffey College but showed areas that needed improvement
JESUS CORONEL ASST. SPORTS EDITOR
The Riverside City College women’s basketball team won the first game of the season against Chaffey College 84-53 on Nov. 1. It is the team’s first game back since the COVID-19 pandemic. “There were a lot of nerves for the first game because they haven’t played in two years because of COVID-19,” head coach Alicia Berber said. The nerves didn’t affect the Tigers as they consistently got
points in their possessions, but there were mistakes throughout the game. The Tigers’ defense allowed Chaffey to attempt 25 three-point shots, although the opposing team only made seven of those shots. “We gotta get our hands up on defense,” Berber said. The Tigers also struggled to score points on free throws, going 50% in shooting from the line. “We can be better,” Berber said. “We need to practice more free throws.” Freshmen Ayanna Bourgeois and Neveah Manning are happy to return to the court after not being able to play due to the pandemic. Bourgeois went 8 for 9 shooting from the field, scoring 16 points with three blocks. “It feels great to come back,” Bourgeois said. “We’ve been grinding for a long time so it’s great to compete again.” Manning finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, four of them offensively.
The men’s water polo team concludes their season with a 15-6 loss to Golden West. The team’s overall season record is 11-16, with a fourth place finish in the OEC Championships. T h i s i s t h e t e a m ’s 15th appearance in the Southern Regional playoffs in a row. Women’s Water Polo RCC women’s water polo lost to Fullerton College 14-9. They end their season with an overall record of 16-10, with a third place finish in the OEC Championships and their 19th appearance in the Southern Regional playoffs in a row. Women’s Volleyball RCC had a solid threeset victory over Santiago Canyon. First set with 25-21, second set 25-6, and third set 25-19. Women’s Basketball The women’s basketball team defeated Ohlone College on Nov. 12 with a 81-69 win. The team’s next opponent will be College of the Sequoias on Nov. 19. All of these dates are subject to change due to possible regulations to come involving the co n t a in m en t o f t h e coronavirus. To s t a y u p t o date on upcoming campus events, visit the Viewpoints calendar listed at viewpointsonline.org.
DANIEL HERNANDEZ | VIEWPOINTS
Marquis Ashley, wide receiver, had two catches for 95 yards against Saddleback College on Sept. 18.
If you have events happening on campus that you want featured on the calendar, send information about the event to viewpoints. news@gmail.com.
12
Sports
November 18, 2021
PHOTOS BY DANIEL HERNANDEZ
Riverside City College’s Keith Gooden (20) and Demarco Moorer (12) tackle Cerritos College’s Penieli Lauago (25) on Nov. 7.
Now here’s the kicker JAIR RAMIREZ ASST. SPORTS EDITOR
The Riverside City College football team is the Southern California Football Association Central Conference champions after an exciting back and forth game against the Cerritos College Falcons. The Tigers defeated Cerritos 40-38 on a 36-yard field goal by freshman kicker Jacob Marroquin as time expired on Saturday night at Wheelock stadium. Marroquin replaced star kicker Ricardo Chavez in the second half after Chavez was injured trying to make a tackle on a kickoff return. “It was instant shock,” Marroquin said about replacing Chavez. “Last time I kicked a field goal was in high school but you gotta do what you gotta do for your team.” Marroquin had not seen any action this season. RCC’s offense started fast as the team scored a touchdown in its opening possession but slowed down and seemed to lack energy for the rest of the first half. Freshman running back Lawrence Starks closed the gap with a touchdown shortly before halftime as Cerritos took a 21-17 lead into halftime. The Tigers came out for the third quarter a new team on both sides of the ball, shutting out the Falcons 14-0 in the third quarter before making it 31-21heading into the fourth quarter.
RCC added to its lead later on a touchdown run by freshman quarterback Jordan Barton. Marroquin missed the extra point, making it 37-24 with 7 minutes, 33 seconds left in the game. The Falcons responded with 14 unanswered points and took a 38-37 lead with 1:33 left in the game. RCC marched down the field and faced a 4th-and-6 situation with the game on the line. Barton lobbed the ball in the air, where it appeared to be short, when sophomore wide receiver Jammal Houston came back to the ball and made a diving catch on the 14-yard line. With 6 seconds left on the clock, it came down to a 36-yard field goal for Marroquin who had shanked his previous extra-point attempt earlier in the game. Calm and collected, Marroquin hit the kick right in between the posts, clinching a playoff spot for the Tigers. “It felt like an ordinary field goal, three steps back, two steps over,” Marroquin said about kicking the game-winning field goal. However, what would have been an amazing night turned ugly when both teams confronted each other after the game, which sparked a few altercations along the Cerritos sideline. Right when it seemed the coaches had everything under control, a few players from both teams took the fight to the parking lot. Coaches and administrators ran out and stopped the incident from getting bigger.
Jordan Barton (15) brushes off Aaron Smith’s (21) attempted tackle Oct. 23.
Jacob Marroquin (61), kicks the game-winning field goal. Marroquin replaced Ricardo Chavez as the kicker in the second half after Chavez was injured while tackling a Cerritos College player.
Jordan Barton celebrates after scoring off of a quarterback sneak Nov. 7.
From right: Cody Coleman (22) and MichaelAllen Reddy (8) check up on Bijon Harris (5) who was slow to get up at the end of the game.
