NEWS

NEWS BRIEFS

Organizations to help Ukraine

Revived Soldiers Ukraine (RSU):

RSU is a nonproft organization that offers medical rehabilitation to Ukraine soldiers and humanitarian aid to their families. Monetary donations can be made at https://www.rsukraine. org/. For further information, contact RSU by email at: info@ rsukraine.org

International Medical Corps:

As frst responders, the IMC provides resources such as food, water, healthcare and mental health services to Ukrainian communities affected by the war. The organization also trains the communities how to make their journey from relief to self-reliance by teaching frst responder skills. Donations can be made at https:// internationalmedicalcorps.org/ get-involved/.

Nova Ukraine:

Nova Ukraine is a nonprofit organization that has raised over $3.5 million in donations to provide emergency aid to everyone remaining in Eastern Ukraine. They provide limited assistance to locate and reconnect families that have been separated. Donations of mixed goods in the U.S. are not effective. However, monetary donations can be made through PayPal to donate@novaukraine.org. For more information on ways to donate, visit https:// novaukraine.org/donate/

International Rescue Committee (IRC):

IRC is an organization focused on economic well-being, education, health, empowerment and safety. The organization is at work in 40 crisis-affected countries, including Europe and the Americas. Donations can be made at https://www.rescue.org/. To take action by becoming a corporate partner or volunteer, visit https://www.rescue.org/ how-to-help.

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, visit the Viewpoints 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.

RCC athletes allege title IX inequalities

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the women were asked to describe their experiences with sexism and discrimination.

They referenced weight room issues again and said they want to be recognized for the dedication they apply to their sport.

“We believe that women should have all the equal opportunities and just for (Berber) to let us know what she’s been through, really motivated us to make change ourselves,” Elizabeth Lau, team captain for the women’s basketball team, said. “It’s been 20 years, I don’t want to wait another 20 years when my daughter comes home and is like, ‘They don’t let me use the weight room, Mom.’”

Berber settled a lawsuit in 2012 with the Riverside Community College District where she alleged discrimination and sexual harassment.

She voiced her concerns again nearly a decade later at a Board of Trustees meeting in March 2021, where she stated that President Gregory Anderson was not responding to emails after promising it would be resolved.

Anderson and Berber have not met since recent allegations broke out.

Both RCC and the Orange Coast College teams wore shirts with the statements: “Equality in Women’s Sports” and “We

DAESHA GEAR | VIEWPOINTS

DARLENE-BUKELOW BURTON | VIEWPOINTS From left: Trustee Mary Figueroa, Chancellor Wolde-Ab Isaac, President Bill Hedrick and Vice President Jose Alcala vote to end the mask and booster mandate March 15. The two trustees on the left supported continued full caution by wearing masks and getting booster shots.

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would be required to wear masks.

As of March 10, Riverside County is within the CDC’s “low” category, which only requires vaccinations and COVID-19 tests when symptoms are present.

“I’m glad we are taking this particular direction that doesn’t totally allow those individuals … to feel like we don’t have any kind of protection after this,” trustee Mary Figueroa said. “We are allowing those individuals, who know based on their own personal issues, that they need to wear the Riverside City College women’s basketball team groups in unison as Tigers come short to Orange Coast in fnal regularseason home game. 66-64 deserve to be here.” Many spectators also wore the shirts.

“It was really empowering to see the support of our fans, our community, you know, even of our opposing team,” Lau said. “We just felt this overwhelming support on this really important issue because it affects women everywhere, not just our team, not just other teams.”

Anderson attended the women’s fnal game.

“For me to see the teamwork, to see them caring about each other and supporting each other,” Anderson said. “That is why I’m in this because they care about each other, this college cares about them, their coaches care about them, and that’s how we create success here at Riverside City College.” Riverside native and basketball legend Cheryl Miller was also in Wheelock Gym. She is a Hall of Famer, coach, sportscaster and sideline reporter. Miller wore the same T-shirt as the student athletes in solidarity. “Well, basically, what it means is that we should have equity,” Miller said. “Here, we should be equal, you know? Men, women, whatever, but women want equality, and so that’s what we’re fghting for, and we’re still fghting.” The team is fighting for equality and more accessibility to the weight room it shares with male athletes.

mask to still continue to be as safe as possible.”

Isaac noted that the district’s decision is in line with the state’s March 11 update to its K-12 masking mandate, which allows students to enter class without a face covering for the frst time in two years.

The chancellor expects this alignment to increase district enrollment.

Vice President Jose Alcala, added that he would like the community to respect one another’s choices when it comes to mask wearing.

“I always have to chuckle when reminding adults how to hopefully behave,” Alcala said. “With this happening, I hope folks do respect one another’s choice … and just leave it like that.”

This update comes after the Board approved a booster mandate Jan. 18, requiring all students, classified staff and faculty to receive a booster shot and upload proof to the CLEARED4 system to enter district facilities.

The Board initially passed its vaccine and mask mandate Aug. 10 before the district reopened its campuses to the community after being closed for almost two years.

RCCD aims to increase cybersecurity initiatives

JOHN MICHAEL GUERRERO SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

There are many cybersecurity vulnerabilities present within the Riverside Community College District that leaves personal devices open to attacks due to the past two years of distance education.

Susanne Ma, director of Informations Technology, infrastructure and systems, gave a presentation March 7 on the importance of cybersecurity within RCCD.

“The tactics (of hackers) attacking servers has shifted to individual devices,” Ma said. “Many colleges have been hit with server shutdowns due to a ransomware attacks recently.”

The presentation began by explaining why internet security is important and how it has evolved since its early roots in the late 1900s.

Hackers originally were focused on attacking corporations or groups of people, but with the onset of the ‘Digital Age,’ individual devices have become a more popular form of attack.

Ma elaborated the leading factor behind this shift is the onset of the global pandemic that forced many people to begin working remotely and access college databases from home on personal devices.

All a hacker would need to do is reconnaissance, preliminary survey of a given device to obtain sensitive data, via phishing, keylogging, or denial of service attacks. To combat this evolution in attacks, RCCD’s IT department has various resources available, both for faculty and students, to help in the event of a suspected attack on a device.

“We have a system that has an algorithm to break down if an email is a phishing email,” she said.

Ma hopes to minimize the amount of ‘master keys’ available to decrease the likelihood of a hacker using it for malicious intent if someone’s device is successfully hacked into.

Along with providing resources for people to utilize, the IT department has hired threat actors for the district.

These individuals specialize in fnding faws in cyber security networks, allowing RCCD to fx blatant errors and stay one step ahead of hackers.

The IT department ensures that many devices are up to date with security measures and updates.

Faculty are also provided with the ability to self-download RCCD system software without the aid of IT experts. Ma explained in an email that faculty can access vetted software through a secure central software portal.

Monthly meetings regarding cybersecurity awareness are also held to further decrease the chances of a cyberattack on the district.