Eastfield Et Cetera December 7, 2022

Student learns to navigate campus obstacles

Every Tuesday and Thursday, business major Jose Cardosa is dropped off in front of the F Building at Eastfield. It’s his first semester of college and all his classes are in that same building, so he’s still figuring out which entrance is the easiest for him to navigate on his own.

Cardoso makes his way slowly up the wheelchair-accessible ramp but struggles to keep the momentum in his manually powered chair because of the steep incline.

Taking his time, he finally makes it to the door and into his 9:30 a.m. class.

Luckily, he wasn’t running late this morning.

“I just have a hard time getting up with my wheels,” he said. “I almost fell [today], but thankfully I had enough muscle to overpower it.”

The F Building entrance isn’t the only challenge for students with mobility challenges. Currently, onethird of the elevators on the Eastfield campus are missing at least one rail ing, and only two elevators are com pliant with the Americans with Dis abilities Act size requirements. The N Building doesn’t have an elevator at all.

To be ADA compliant, an eleva tor must be a minimum of 68 inches wide and 51 inches deep. The eleva tors on campus range in size from 72 inches by 45 inches down to 55 inch es by 35 inches, according to mea surements taken by the Et Cetera.

Facilities manager Adam Qual kenbush said his department is aware of the missing elevator handrails and tries to fix them promptly.

“We replace those as they come off,” Qualkenbush said. “Unfortu nately, some students are a little rough with them and seem to like to take them down on a regular basis. So that’s a continuing battle that we fight.”

Over half of the ADA automatic door buttons on campus also do not work properly or will only open from either the inside or outside of the building. Neither automatic door is currently functional in the G Build ing, which would require any student in a wheelchair to ask for assistance to enter the building.

“The buttons might be out of bat teries or there might be a malfunc tion in the opener,” Qualkenbush said. “Our doors are constantly hav

ing issues one way or another, wheth er they’re accessible or not.”

Cardosa has been in a wheelchair his entire life. He has navigated in convenient ramps and elevators for as long as he can remember. While the Eastfield campus is far from the least wheelchair accessible space he’s been in, he said there are some changes that would help students with mobility issues.

The Accessibility Services Office helps students when these things happen. If they are aware of an issue on campus that is affecting mobility for students with disabilities, they make sure to escalate it to facilities immediately so it can be taken care of.

“If there’s a student upstairs that can’t get downstairs because the ADA elevator is out, we would alert facilities and possibly campus police to see if they can get them down,” said Robin DuLaney-Heerdt, coordi nator of Accessibility Services.

Chancellor Justin Lonon said he had not been made aware of the ac cessibility issues on campus.

“Certainly anything that is around the ADA compliance, there is a spe cific defined timeline where we are required to make sure that we’re pay ing attention to that technology and addressing any repairs that need to

be addressed,” Lonon said. “Clearly, we have commitment to our disabled students and community members.”

Since 1990, the ADA has prohibit ed discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including institutions of higher learning. Dallas College must adhere to the ADA to provide its students with accommodations they need to learn at the same level as everyone else.

“We are overseen by the Depart ment of Education and the Depart ment of Justice, through the Office of Civil Rights,” Dean of Accessibility Services Beverly Neu Menassa said. “They monitor institutions of higher education to make sure that we’re do ing what we need to be doing for our students. And if we’re not, there can be pretty severe consequences.”

Despite some obstacles, Cardoso knows how to navigate inside the campus easily. He’s found the quick est ways to get from class to class and into the Hive to meet his friends.

“I’m pretty good at moving with my chair,” he said. “For other kids that have a disability, like a wheel chair, it could be a lot more difficult than it is for me because I’m more experienced.”

Cardosa uses a standard size man ual wheelchair that holds his legs out

at a slight angle. To fit into one of the smaller elevators in the C build ing, he positions himself with his feet pushed into the corner and the back of his chair facing the elevator door.

Without handrails to help him make small adjustments to his po sitioning, it requires a lot of small movements back and forth with his wheels to fit in.

“I’ve not personally been involved with a student who’s in a wheelchair that is too large to get into one of the smaller elevators,” DuLaney-Heerdt said. “You can do it, and I have done it personally with some students. It’s a tight squeeze, but as long as they’re not panicked, and you can get in the elevator and maneuver, we can cer tainly do that.”

According to the Dallas College website, during an emergency evacu ation, elevators may not be available.

“People requiring physical assis tance to evacuate the building should make their way, if possible, to the stairwell exit of any campus build ing,” the webpage reads.

From there, the person requiring assistance is to report to a College Emergency Response Team (CERT) member who will contact first re sponders to facilitate the evacuation.

“Any accessibility issue is handled

as quickly as we can, but there is no timeline associated,” Qualkenbush said. “Depending on the problem, the severity of the problem or parts available, sometimes it’s five minutes to change out a battery, sometimes its four weeks to wait on a part.”

Some employees have suggested that staffing shortfalls could be con tributing to the delays. However, these concerns were refuted when brought up to Lonon.

“There is a new ticketing system that facilities is utilizing, so if it’s not working and causing long gaps or delays, I want to make sure that we follow up on that,” Lonon said. “I’m not aware if there’s been facilities staffing concerns, but I’m hoping it’s just some process challenges that are going on.”

Cardosa says starting college was intimidating for him because he was leaving the comfort of high school. But he’s learning to enjoy some of the freedoms that come with adulthood and looking forward to experiencing more at Eastfield.

“I just wish the ramps outside made it easier to get in and out,” he said. “Instead of having to ask some one to push me around, I want to do it by myself. I want to be indepen dent.”

Brightspace to replace Blackboard online platform

Brightspace is replacing Black board as Dallas College’s new online Learning management system start ing next fall.

A modern interface and a wide range of device accessibility were some of the main factors that led to the change.

Brightspace is built on a SaaS based platform, so it remains cur rent, unlike Blackboard.

Students also had difficulties navi gating Blackboard, and faculty criti cized its lack of functionality..

Shani Suber, dean of e-Learning, brought up this challenge as one of the reasons why Dallas College will be switching over to the new learn ing system.

“Anyone born after 2000 has been raised with Wi-Fi and technology right at their fingertips,” she said. “Modern life is intimately connect ed to mobile devices and the digital world.

And at Dallas College, we must plan to meet the needs not only of our current students, but our future students.”

At a Nov. 1 meeting, Education and Workforce Committee members heard from staff and faculty about the challenges presented by Black board, which has been the college’s e-Learning management system for about two decades.

The pandemic highlighted these challenges as students shifted from traditional in-person classes to on line learning.

Suber said more students are still enrolling in online classes than faceto-face.

Dallas College chose Brightspace by D2L to allow faculty to better con nect with their students and ensure success.

“I feel very confident in this plan as well as in the engagement by the faculty and staff that this will be a successful project,” Chief Informa tion Officer Jim Parker said.

Sixty percent of students enroll in strictly online or hybrid classes while 40% attend face-to-face classes. Prior to the pandemic, 70% of students took in-person classes, according to Provost Shawnda Floyd.

This transition from in-person to online classes made it difficult for faculty to use the data from Black

board to improve a student’s success.

“In terms of analytics insights, we want to use data to improve our stu dents’ success, and while our current system provides some insights, they are limited,” Suber said.

Brightspace has been used by uni versities such as Texas Christian Uni versity, Purdue University, the State University of New York, the Univer sity of Minnesota and Southern New Hampshire University.

“It’s accessible and easy to use,” Suber said. “It has a modern design,

focuses on our student success and analytics and has a comprehensive solution that supports our students.”

According to its website, Bright space is focused on creating unique learner-centric platforms backed by learning science that increases reten tion, engagement and delivers learn ing outcomes.

Online classes becoming the norm also means that faculty will be required to complete online teaching training.

“Clearly, when March 2020 hit,

some of our faculty didn’t miss a beat,” Chancellor Justin Lonon said. “Others needed some additional sup port, and that’s what this ultimately provides, to ensure that they do have that proficiency and have that level of support they need to be able to do this.”

The demand for online classes has been increasing since the pandemic, and Dallas College is finding ways to meet students’ preferences and needs when it comes to classes they want.

“All of our faculty members are hired with the idea that they’re able to teach in any modality given they follow through with whatever re quirements we put on the books for them to do so,” Floyd said.

Chief Digital Engagement Officer Pamela Luckett said that some inte gration of Brightspace could happen as early as Spring 2023.

“We will also be piloting some of our students to make sure we’re not missing anything,” Luckett said. “To make sure that we’re meeting their needs and making adjustments to the learning platform as it relates to training and how they will access and maintain and be comfortable with utilizing the system.”

Campuses plug in to virtual desktop, upgrade Wi-Fi network

Dallas College is completing upgrades to run virtual desktops on campus computers, which means students can access software and save files to a cloud, then load them from any computer.

Virtual desktops were part of a slew of tech nology upgrades issued by the Strategic IT Modernization Program. The new system re quires upgrading every campus Wi-Fi network to meet higher demand.

“What we are essentially trying to do across the board is what I call ‘getting out of the hard ware business,’” Chief Information Officer Jim Parker said. “And part of that is going to the cloud.”

Before virtual desktops, students had to manually save files and download memory-in tensive software onto their personal computer. The new setting forgoes device limitations by running items from a cloud.

“They’re really helpful,” said Ana Torres, a dual credit student studying architecture. “It’s a better experience for [classwork.]”

Dallas College computers across libraries and computer labs didn’t have matching soft ware before the upgrades began. Previously, students could only use Dallas College’s ma

chines during lab hours.

Torres said she uses virtual desktops “all the time” now, no longer limited to running Adobe products on one computer.

Virtual desktops were initially implemented in computer labs during Spring 2022. During a Nov. 1 meeting, Dallas College’s finance com mittee moved forward with a campus-wide rollout of virtual desktops.

“Last semester, when we used it, it wasn’t so great,” digital media instructor Sandra Evans said. “But this semester, it’s actually a lot more helpful.”

Evans found difficulty with the initial virtual desktops due to a technical set-up process.

Under the Strategic IT Modernization Pro gram, device updates no longer have to be done on an individual basis.

The program was implemented to standard ize Dallas College’s data center after all cam puses merged.

However, the team leading it discovered most campuses had equipment beyond repair or incompatible with other campus hardware. Total replacement would be a multimilliondollar undertaking, according to Parker.

“It’s not just the computers,” Parker said. “It’s also the power, [firewall] suppression, back en vironments and air conditioning supporting that environment – all of that infrastructure

was aged.”

Campuses such as El Centro had equipment upwards of 20 years old. Eastfield had more modern equipment due to an annual replace ment system for its data center, according to Parker.

Initially, all campuses ran on respective broadband networks built for the needs of one.

“What we want to do is advance our techni cal status,” Parker said. “We need to have twoway or multipath access to broadband internet.”

The goal is to create a broadband network all campuses can share, especially if one campus’ network goes down.

Several of the upgrades are built upon a higher demand for reliable broadband, which became a “valid concern” in Parker’s review of the network. That includes virtual desktops, which were initially limited to digital media and computer science students.

“Finding [virtual desktops] was the much greater hurdle for dual credit students,” digital media instructor Don Huff said.

Dallas College will create dedicated IT desks in campus libraries, helping students acclimate to the new technology.

“It’s kind of hard, but once you have a teach er there to walk you through it, they’re really helpful,” Torres said.

Since virtual desktops started getting mar

keted to students, digital media instructors have noted more students flocking to labs.

“I have one student…they don’t have a com puter at all,” Evans said. “She comes to me after class and works on her lessons. And then if she needs to work after hours, she goes to the li brary.”

The college also plans to increase the num ber of computers available to check out. Ac cording to Parker, the end goal is to have com puters available for all students on financial aid.

More changes include reshaping how many computers classes and computer labs get in re lation to student count.

“At El Centro, they use the labs for math,” Parker said. “Some of those classrooms had 30 computers in them, but the math classes are capped at 20,”

Virtual desktop upgrades are slated to be complete Dec. 20.

“We just need to get the word out to all stu dents that it’s there and they can use it,” Huff said.

As upgrades near completion, instructors such as Evans find it easier to run class as more students learn about virtual desktops.

“It’s very helpful,” Evans said. “If [students] don’t have access to the software on their own…they’re able to log in and use the website online.”

Después de una larga ausencia, la Liga de Ci udadanos Latinoamericanos Unidos (LULAC) vuelve a tomar fuerza con nuevos miembros y consejero en Dallas College Eastfield Campus.

Alfonso García, entrenador de éxito estudi antil en Eastfield, es ahora el nuevo consejero de la organización. Junto a las alumnas Ceci lia Cruz, presidenta, Angela Rodríguez, vice presidenta y Paola Esparza, secretaria, intentan crear de LULAC una comunidad donde se en cuentre apoyo.

“En estos momentos me doy cuenta que hay una necesidad muy grande de apoyar a nuestros estudiantes de herencia latina en esta escuela”, dijo García. “He ido a otras escuelas como Ce dar Valley. La influencia latina es muy fuerte ahí, obviamente por la locación también, pero sabiendo que [Eastfield] tiene una población muy grande de latinos. No había visto real mente algo que identificara a los latinos, fueran mexicanos, centroamericanos, suramericanos. No había nada. Entonces se presentó esta opor tunidad”.

LULAC es una organización que fue creada en 1929 para defender los derechos y mejorar el bienestar de los hispanos americanos en Es tados Unidos.

García y Cruz comenzaron su aventura con LULAC el 27 de Agosto con 4 miembros. Aho ra cuentan con 24.

“Para tener 24 estudiantes, es un trabajo en equipo. No es Cecilia, no es Angela, no es Paola, somos todos juntos”, dijo García. “To dos hacemos un producto que los hace sentir cómodos. Muchos estudiantes buscan ponerse al día y dicen ‘es que me gusta venir acá, me siento parte de esto’. Lo más importante es que se sientan cómodo. Me he dado cuenta que muchos clubs se desaparecieron a través de la pandemia. Pienso que somos un ejemplo”.

Por lo que llevan como organización, LU LAC ya ha sido parte de eventos en Eastfield.

Alguno de ellos siendo el evento creado por Battleground Texas, que es un comité que bus caba hacer de Texas un estado decisivo invitan do a jóvenes a votar en las pasadas elecciones del 2022.

Cruz fue la encargada de presentar América Ferrera, quien fue la actriz invitada para ani mar a los jóvenes de inscribirse a las votaciones.

Otro evento que hicieron fue el altar de el Día de Muertos, que estuvo en exhibición en The Hive, el área común de Eastfield, durante la semana del 2 de noviembre.

Para Raquel Román, estudiante de psi cología y miembro de LULAC, hacer la ofrenda de Día de Muertos ha sido uno de sus mejores momentos con la organización.

“Organizamos todo para hacer. Compramos las calabazas y pusimos a las personas que para nosotros han fallecido. Fue muy bonito porque no solo nosotros lo apreciamos, sino que vimos que otras personas también valoraron eso. Era

muy elegante, muy bonito, fue un buen mo mento”, dijo Román.

Román tiene una hermana, Gilda Román quien también es parte de LULAC. Gilda es es tudiante de arquitectura.

Ambas tienen seis meses de haberse muda do a Estados Unidos de Perú y han encontrado ayuda en LULAC.

“LULAC me ha ayudado hacer conexiones más que todo. He conocido a personas nuevas, tengo más amistades...De repente hay personas que saben de diferentes cursos como matemáti cas, ciencias o literatura supongamos y si es que no sabes de algo ellos te pueden ayudar”, dijo Gilda.

LULAC en Eastfield no solo intenta ayudar a sus estudiantes, sino que también a la comu nidad.

Cada sábado de 10 a.m. a mediodía en el aula G 222. García, Cruz y Esparza brindan apoyo a personas de la comunidad que les gus taría aprender inglés.

“Estas clases de inglés son muy diferentes”, dijo García. “No son estructuradas para que

repitan todas las cosas. Es como para más que nada los estudiantes pierdan ese miedo a hablar [inglés]. Es muy interactivo, utilizamos lo que es inglés improvisado, que es como actuar. Y de esa manera comienzan a practicar, se divierten, se ríen. Existe una dinámica y una armonía muy bonita ahí”.

Edith Cervantes es una mesera en Mijas Taqueria ubicada en Lake Highlands. Apenas tiene 2 años de haber llegado a Texas. Un día

García fue a comer al restaurante y le contó so bre las clases de inglés gratuitas que iba a pro porcionar.

“Yo en México estudié inglés, nací aquí, pero toda mi vida he estado en México. Tengo una licenciatura y una maestría, entonces ahora que me vine anduve buscando clases de inglés porque quiero revalidar mi inglés y estudios” dijo Cervantes.

Ella ahora tiene un mes y medio estudiando con LULAC todos los sábados y siente que le ha ayudado porque ya familiariza su oído con lo que le dicen.

En un futuro, García mira a LULAC en eventos más grandes, con patrocinadores que les ayuden con dinero y también con oportuni dades de trabajo para los miembros, pero más importante, viendo a sus estudiantes siendo lí deres.

LULAC se reúne todos los viernes de me diodía a 1 p.m. en el aula G 222. Todo el que de sea ser parte de la organización es bienvenido.

“Ser parte de una organización como LU LAC trae mucho nombre porque estás envuelto en muchas cosas y no solamente eres parte dé. Te hacemos líder”, dijo García. “Nos asegura mos de que tengas la capacidad para hacer las cosas bien. Más que nada que creas en ti. Me voy a encargar de que seas líder. No que sola mente seas una persona que sigue, no. Yo qui ero que seas líder”.

LGBTQ students seek community after tragedy

When news broke of a far-right gunman opening fire on an LGBTQ nightclub in Colo rado, killing five and injuring 17, members of Eastfield’s Prism chapter looked to each other for support.

Despite a rise in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and legislation, the student-run organization is slowly rebuilding itself, reaching 10 members as of this month.

“It’s a very tough time and that’s why I think offering our community is important,” Prism president Sarah Smith said.

The organization had no members when the Fall 2022 semester began, prompting Smith to take the reins of leadership.

“What we’ll do is play little games, hang out, have a laugh to get away from the stress of the world,” Smith said.

Although the organization’s presence pro vides a hangout spot to members, attacks on LGBTQ rights from the outside sour the mood.

Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to “stop push ing woke agendas” by passing laws in the next legislative session that starts Jan. 10. The ges ture was prompted by national discourse that club members say negatively stigmatizes LG

BTQ individuals.

Prism’s members attributed the Colorado shooting to a culmination of hate speech. As a nonbinary student, the tragedy strikes home for Prism vice president Jace Crosby.

“I feel very angry. This was a safe place for people to go to,” Crosby said. “Not only are [LGBTQ] people going to be traumatized with it, but this is going to affect everyone in Amer ica.”

Colorado state officials, as well as President Joe Biden, say the rise in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric played a key role in the shooting.

Crosby’s mission involves combatting at tacks on the LGBTQ community and promot ing discourse at Dallas College.

The college supported LGBTQ students by creating a pro-LGBTQ space known as the Lav ender Lounge.

In October, the college hosted its first LG BTQ student summit at North Lake, complete with a drag show. Faculty have taken part in supporting LGBTQ students by displaying “safe space” stickers on office doors.

“I’ve talked to faculty who are part of the community or allies,” said game design major Anthony Reyna, who is gay. “It’s nice that I don’t have to feel weird or judged.”

Reyna said the reason tragedies like the Col orado shooting occur is to encourage LGBTQ

erasure.

“Considering where people were targeted, it’ll push [closeted] people further into that closet,” Reyna said.

Republicans introduced the ‘Stop the Sexu alization of Children Act’ in October, which would prohibit exposing children to “sexually oriented” topics in K-12 on a national level.The bill targets topics such as transgenderism, gen der identity and sexual orientation.

“If someone can just come into a club, what’s to say they can’t come into other queer spaces?”

Crosby said.

Despite being targeted by hateful dialogue, students such as Crosby are inspired to pro mote their presence on campus.

“Some people don’t want to see people who are different,” Reyna said. “They are trying to push us down.”

The shooting took place on Nov. 20 on the night of Transgender Day of Remembrance.

“It’s very jarring to see that, while remem bering transgender individuals lost due to violence, we lost some at the same time,” said Cheyenne Murray, program lead for Inclusive Excellence, which tries to promote inclusivity at Dallas College.

Murray said she talked with students fright ened by the shooting and its potential for in spiring additional violence. However, she

doesn’t have time to be there for every student. Dallas College only has four Inclusive Excel lence leaders who rotate between campuses.

Murray has run into a few occasions where an Eastfield student reached out for support, but would be working at Richland that day.

“We’re doing the best we can, but that doesn’t mean we’re doing a good job,” Murray said.

Additional concerns include training staff and faculty on knowledge of LGBTQ dialogue. Dallas College staff are required to fulfill a certain number of hours for training, but ally training is optional.

Although Murray praises events such as the LGBTQ summit, she wants to see more events and people fostering their presence.

“What’s important is that we are also sup porting these students, making sure they are accepted,” Murray said.

As the vice president, Crosby looks back at the history of LGBTQ activism for inspiration on how to move Prism forward.

“We need to keep pushing, pushing and pushing until we can be heard, and something can change,” Crosby said.

Growing numbers is the current objective, followed by hosting events.

“I want more people. I don’t want just queer people,” Crosby said. “I want allies to start com ing and help people feel like they’re accepted.”

Turning over a new leaf: Volunteers refurbish campus garden

Eastfield’s gardening committee is preparing the campus gar den for reopening next spring.

Amber Pagel, English instructor and garden committee head, organized the cleanup effort on Tuesday. Student volunteers, in cluding the Eastfield Harvester Bees baseball team, cleared two years’ worth of overgrowth from the unkempt gardening plots between the W and T building.

“Everyone is helping to clear it, so it’s a good start,” Pagel said. “In the spring, we’ll be able to do a good planting.”

The garden was used to educate students about growing crops before closing due to the pandemic in 2020. When the campus shut down, no one could maintain the area.

“So sad that, after COVID, nothing was happening,” Pagel said. “The sustainability office has been in contact since the sum mer and we talked a lot.”

Faculty and student organizations showed interest in revital izing the campus garden, according to Pagel. She proposed clear ing the garden – which gained the administration’s approval.

The committee plans to use the garden as an educational ex perience for students interested in gardening, and at least 10% of the harvests will go to the campus food pantry - The rest will go to the North Texas Food Bank.

“This is an amazing gift the school can give the community,” biology lab specialist Yolanda Shepard said.

Additional plans include a “butterfly garden to bring back the monarchs,” Shepard said.

Construction for a community beehive started in 2019, but those plans folded when Eastfield temporarily closed. The gar dening committee intends to expand the garden and increase

its visibility.

Students discarded brush onto large mounds, which will be converted into compost – more than enough to supply the cur rent plots.

“Shoveling dirt isn’t always fun, but it’s for the community and beautiful campus,” baseball player Payton Poole said.

Students took to the soil with shovels and pickaxes, removing layers of neglect within the hour.

After removing all the deep roots and grass, Pagel instructed students to put weed barrier down.

“It’s cold already, but the goal is for students to have the expe rience of gardening and learn a skill they could use,” Pagel said.

With several students tilling the soil, Pagel lost count of all the student organizations present. The gardening committee is working to regrow the committee’s numbers ahead of the first planting.

“I’m really proud of them doing this,” Pagel said. “Seeing so many students coming out to do it is not only heartening, but also a testament to their eagerness and interest in being involved with something like this.”

Life &Arts

Instructor and students sculpt for charity

More than 34 million people in the United States are food insecure, according to Feeding America. East field ceramics instructor Eric Thayer understands that feeling because he’s been part of the statistic.

Burdened by student loan pay ments, low pay and inflation, Thayer found himself struggling to keep bills paid and food in his stomach many times in his adult life. Now he’s mak ing it a priority to help others facing these same challenges.

Thayer spearheaded a Bowl-athon event on Dec. 3 at Eastfield to address the hunger crisis. Faculty, staff and community members craft ed handmade soup bowls in F-217.

The dishes crafted will be donated to the North Texas Food Bank Emp ty Bowls event on Feb. 23 in Plano. Each bowl will be sold to an attend ee, complete with a serving of soup or stew.

All proceeds will support the food bank.

“I’ve been a poor artist for most of my adult life,” Thayer said. “I’ve uti lized food banks; I understand their value. And this is where my skill set fits perfectly. This is the thing that I love to do, and I can use it to benefit the people who don’t have the things that I have. And I think that’s incred ible work.”

Thayer produced 15 bowls him self, plus two other larger art pieces to be auctioned off.

Each other participant created an additional six to 10 bowls.

Trinity Ceramic Supply donated 250 pounds of clay to the Bowl-AThon.

The Empty Bowls event is the first since 2020. The last one raised more than $210,000 and provided 630,000 meals to hungry Texans, according to the food bank website.

The Bowl-a-Thon ceramists ranged from novices to professional artists. A few first-timers got to con front the power struggle between their hands, the clay and the spin ning pottery wheel.

“I just want to participate,” parttime art lab specialist Peter Chao said. “And to try to figure out how to

make a bowl for the first time ever.”

A seasoned freelance artist made it look simple just a few feet away.

“I take [ceramics] classes for the community side of community col lege, not really the college side,” con tinuing education student Tori Solis said. “I have a studio at home, but I like to work with other people in the mediums that I work within. There’s a lot of value in working around and with other people.”

Other attendees were pottery hobbyists. Falling somewhere in the middle in experience level, they said they enjoyed the process of creating, even if the bowl fell flat as soon as it was removed from the wheel.

“I’m happy if it at least looks like something you can eat off of, drink out of or just set around the house,” continuing education student Katy Hubener said.

Taking ceramics classes at Dallas College has turned into a family af fair for Hubener.

“When I first got out of grad school I took a class at Cedar Valley,” she said. “Then my husband was like, ‘I hate my job and life is terrible,’ and I said, ‘Well, Dave, I think you should go and take a ceramics class.’ So, he took it at El Centro and he loved it. He loves the glaze chemistry.”

Supporting the North Texas com munity with his specific expertise makes Thayer feel like the Empty Bowls charity was tailor-made for him.

“It’s so personal,” Thayer said. “I’ve been in the situation that a lot of peo ple don’t want to be in. I can say with great confidence that without food banks I probably wouldn’t be in the position that I am now.”

He says that contributing to the community in a creative space might not be for everyone, but encourages people to figure out where helping NTFB and food-insecure individuals can fit into their own lives.

“I think that if people are intimi dated by this process, there’s still a way for them to be involved and to help out,” he said. “I really encourage people to do this. This is an at-home situation. It affects your neighbors and affects the folks in your family. I hope that people take time out of their day to go and support these en deavors.”

Spread the Holiday Volun-cheer

The spirit of giving is upon us. What better way to spread the holiday cheer than to help those in need? Whether you need volunteer hours, want to help your community or seek an activity your family can do together, here are ways you can make a difference in Dallas.

Inspired Vision Compassion Center

Location: 2019 N. Masters Drive, 75217

Time: 9:30 a.m.- 5 p.m. Monday - Friday Phone: 214-484-6393

This local food bank helps thousands of families each year with their free grocery and annual Christmas Blessing Toy Giveaway. Around this time of year, volunteers are needed to help sort and give away donated toys to children in needy families.

Dog ‘n Kitty City (Humane Society of Dallas County)

Location: 2719 Manor Way, 75235 Time: 11:45 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, closed Tuesdays Phone: 214-350-7387

This no-kill shelter takes in abused and neglected animals while also educating the community on responsible pet ownership. As a volunteer, you can help dogs and cats socialize and get them accustomed to humans or help with the adoption process. You can also help organize the holiday raffle and set up events. If you’re good with social media, you can help take pictures to share news to support the cause.

Eastfield’s Clothing Closet and Food Pantry

Location: Eastfield-C104A and C105 Time: 9 a.m.- 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Friday Phone: 972-669-6400

Dallas College’s clothing closet helps students and the community shop for free clothing based on their needs. Whether it be for an interview or something casual, the clothing closet has what they need. Volunteers can help clients in the clothing closet with choosing their clothes and organize the closet with new donations.

Dallas College’s food pantry has helped students and the community bring food to the table. In addition to giving access to free meals, diapers, snacks and more, the food pantry has a drive-thru and ongoing holiday drives where volunteers can help.

Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support

Location: Benefit Thrift Store at 3419 Knight St., 75219

Time: 10 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Saturday; 1 p.m.- 5 p.m. Sunday Phone: 214-520-6644

Genesis helps women who have escaped domestic violence take back their lives. The thrift store helps each client pick out what they need based on their situation, whether it be furniture or business clothes for free. Volunteers can help at the thrift store or the office. They can also organize the shelter or help sponsor meals.

Angel Trees

Angel trees are in almost every church, shelter and charity organization. The first three charities listed here also participate online and in person. Each angel ornament represents a family or person and includes a list of what they want for Christmas. Even if it’s for a dog or cat who can no longer be adopted, a child whose family has gone through the worst or someone who has lost everything, a gift can bring back a bit of joy back in their lives.

Websites: ivcompassion.org genesisshelter.org dognkittycity.org

Sharing Life

Location: 3544 E. Emporium Circle, Mesquite, 75150

Time: 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Monday-Friday Phone: 972-285-5819

Sharing Life provides food, clothing, financial resources and educational programs to thousands of people in need. Volunteers can help in the clothing closet, food pantry or donation center. Sharing Life also has an annual Thanksgiving basket giveaway and Christmas Fair during the holidays when support is critical.

Lamborghini takes charge, drives automotive career forward

Peter Lamborghini, Honda PACT coordinator and automotive mechanic at Eastfield, is certified to work on just about any car. Sharing his name with a popular luxury sports car makes his career choice seem like fate despite starting off in a different field. Lamborghini sat down with Et Cetera staff writer Blake Dickerson to talk about his experience working to become a technician in the automotive field.

I can’t but help but to ask about your last name. After some research, I learned that you have worked on Lamborghinis. Is there a correlation between the two?

It’s a cool last name. I was trained as a scientist and people would say to me, “You’re in the wrong business.” And you can’t argue with that. It’s a great car name, and eventually I decided I wasn’t going to stay in the science field. Then I asked myself “what do I like?” That was cars. With a last name like this, I gotta explore what that’s like.

So how did you get experience applying for a job like being a Lamborghini technician?

Well, I grew up in New England. It’s a conservative area, and people don’t want to take risks. It’s one of those “Catch-22s” where we won’t hire you if you don’t have experience. So I had to leave New England to get hired as a Lamborghini technician. I found a place that allowed me to start out and got hired by a guy in Iowa who was the technical trainer for Lamborghini in the American dealership network. He relocated to Dallas and that’s what got me to Dallas. So I worked in an independent shop that was doing Lamborghinis and gained experience that way.

Were Lamborghinis your first real experience with cars or did you

gain experience working on other cars first?

I worked on my own cars. My first car was a used MG (former British car maker), and I just learned how to fix it myself. You learn and make mistakes and do it on your own car. My first job getting paid as a mechanic was with BMW. That was an independent shop, and I was the kid in the shop. I would get the parts, the coffee and sweep the floors. Eventually, I would start doing oil changes and tune-ups. Then when I came to Texas to do the Lamborghini work, which was very exciting, I still didn’t know much about cars and I was the kid in the shop again. When that job ended, I felt I needed more technical knowledge. I went to work at a Honda dealership, and Honda has excellent training for their technicians. They send you to a training center a week at a time. Almost everything I learned about cars came from that center.

Honda has been rated one of the most reliable car companies, so is there different training they put you through compared to other car companies?

I think that all Japanese car companies have a high regard for quality when they build and engineer the cars. They then ask their owners to do maintenance on their cars, which is something a lot of American car owners and dealerships don’t really emphasize. Pretty much all Japanese cars are reliable and very cheap to own. They get very good gas mileage and are very economical.

Considering that most companies are going fully electric soon, how do you think that will impact consumers?

We’re getting more alternative

cars from the dealerships. We can buy hybrid cars. There’s a hydrogenpowered car that you can lease in Los Angeles and in Miami. There’s more ways to run a car than a gasolinepowered engine, and nobody knows what the future holds. We will see what people are driving in 20 years and see how people are building them and how consumers will buy them.

What kinds of certifications do you have and how have you obtained them?

Some of my certifications are from Honda. If you pass the training, you get certified. That’s how I learned most of my technical knowledge, through the Honda training center and working on the cars at the dealership for many years. Outside of the manufacturers, the only body that certifies the industry is called the ASE (Automotive Service Excellence), and you take a test. It’s sort of like the SAT to test out of college. You take a test and if you pass the test you can be certified in a subject area like engines, brakes or transmissions. There are eight general tests for entry level. The more certifications you have, the more valuable you are in the industry.

What was the hardest part of getting these certifications?

Automatic transmissions gave me the most trouble. I had to take that test five times to pass, and I could rebuild automatic transmissions at the Honda dealership. After studying how American transmissions work, I finally passed that test. Sometimes it does take a while to get all your certifications.

This is a question everyone loves to ask mechanics: What is your dream car that you would love to own one day?

I would love to have an older Lamborghini. It’s just because the V-12 engines sound so amazing. Also, my name is on the car.

With inflation on the rise, students are feeling the pinch. “When [my family goes] to buy food, like a small amount of groceries, we spend more than $100 and sometimes we don’t even buy

everything we need,” biochemistry major Elba Rubio said.

But being a student has its advantages. The Student Resource Guide (dallascollege.edu/help) provides

students with a list of vendors who offer discounts to students and employees on merchandise, services, events and more. Here are the top 10 businesses that offer students discounts.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra

1717 N. Harwood St. Dallas

General admission to the Dallas Mu seum of Art is free and includes viewing the museum’s collection galleries and most exhibitions.

General admission is available from 11

a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Friday; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Students with their Dallas College IDs receive a $4 discount on special exhibition tickets, which drops them to $12.

Cole Haan Angelika Film Center

5321 E. Mockingbird Lane, Dallas

Students can enjoy independent films in this eight-screen complex.

By showing a Dallas College student ID at the box office, students can re ceive a discounted admission of $9.

Prices for adults are $14, kids $9 and seniors $10.

Some of the cinema luxuries include a cafe/lounge, stadium seating, wheel chair accessibility, Dolby Surround 5.1, 2K digital projection and Dolby 3D, according to the center’s website.

The discount is not valid for special engagements such as operas, ballet and live theater, concert films and limited engagement screenings.

Also, 3D movies are subject to upcharges.

Dallas Museum of Art Purple Trail

Website: purpletrail.com

Students can find a variety of invitations and cards for each special occasion.

Students get a 15% discount with the coupon code: GET15OFF.With this discount, students can customize their graduation invitations and announce ments.

Website: colehaan.com

Cole Haan sells shoes, bags and outwear for men and women.

Students and employees receive a 20% discount at Cole Haan stores. The discount is available for in-store purchases and at colehaan.com. For store purchases, students need to show their Dallas College IDs or their email logins. For the website, students need a valid school email address.

The discount is “not valid on phone orders. Offer cannot be applied to previous purchases or the purchase of gift cards and cannot be redeemed for cash. Not combinable with other pro motions and offers. Exclusions apply. Enter the unique code provided in the promo code box at checkout to redeem. Offer valid in the U.S. only. One code redemption per 30 days,” according to the Cole Haan website.

Opening Bell

1409 Botham Jean Blvd. #012, Dallas

Students and employees can enjoy the coffee bar and live music at Open ing Bell. Students and employees get a 5% discount on drinks by showing their Dallas College IDs.

2301 Flora St., Dallas

Students can see free performances by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra with a Dallas Symphony Orchestra student card.

To get the card, students should go to the Student Life Office in C-216 and pick up the DSO college card.

They will need to show their student IDs and have their enrollment status verified.

Each student with a DSO college card

Sweets Detailing

Website: sweetsdetailing.com

Sweets Detailing is a mobile unit that brings car detailing services to you. Choose a service, then pick a date and time.

It can be exterior or interior services. Students only need to mention they are Dallas College students when schedul ing the service.

Randall Reed’s Planet Ford

3333 Inwood Road, Dallas

Students can get discounts on select Ford vehicles by showing their Dallas College student IDs.

For more information, visit the dealership.

Dallas Mavericks

Website: mavsgroups.com/dallascollege

The basketball season is in full swing for the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas College employees and students can purchase discounted tickets at the website above.

can only get one free ticket, but they can also get a 25% additional discount on tick ets for friends and family.

College card holders access their free and discounted tickets by logging in to their online accounts.

Once they are logged in, the discounts will be automatically available for included concerts, according to the Dallas Sympho ny Orchestra website.

Camp Gladiator

Website: campgladiator.com

Certified personal trainers and nutrition coaches are dedicated to transforming people’s lives through dynamic, fun and challenging outdoor and virtual group workouts.

Students and employees can get a 10% discount at Camp Gladiator.

If any student or employee is already a member, they can add Dallas College to their account to apply the discount.

Etera

OUR VIEW

Campus accessibility needs more attention

Pushing for online accessibility is a great thing, but it shouldn’t over shadow campus accessibility.

While instructors are held ac countable for their own classes’ accessibility, accommodations on campus, such as the elevators and automatic door buttons, don’t seem to receive the same kind of inspec tion.

If the college focused on physical accommodations as much as they do online accessibility, they could make a difference for students with mobil ity challenges such as wheelchairs.

As students slowly return to inperson classes, the college should be making sure that all members of its community are welcomed and can access services. That means upkeep.

It’s good to see new clubs and organizations, but students with dis abilities will have a hard time access ing these opportunities because of the current state of many Americans with Disabilities Act accommoda

tions.

Eastfield’s missing elevator handrails and inoperable ADA entry points leave much to be desired.

We see elevators frequently out of service, and the G Building cur rently does not have any working accessible doors from the outside. And some entry points, such as the ramp to S Building, are steep enough to pose a challenge to wheelchairbound students.

Prioritizing ADA compliance should take precedence over non emergency items, but neither seem to be getting much attention.

The college has been proactive about addressing online accessibility, but the same effort needs to be made onsite.

Accessibility Services is an invalu able resource on campus.

The employees follow quick time lines to get students the accommo dations they need, whether it is for physical, psychological or learning

impairments.

Dallas College prides itself on having open arms for anyone who wants to learn.

It’s an important part of the cul ture on campus.

Following through with the ac tions to support these statements, and the staff in Accessibility Ser vices, is the heavier task.

Making a disabled student feel demotivated to come and learn because the campus doesn’t feel wel coming is no different than turning them away.

It’s a student’s prerogative to select online classes, but we’ve seen how the pandemic affected engage ment when online courses became the only option due to elements outside one’s control.

We urge Dallas College to take a step back to re-evaluate campus navigation for students who have mobility challenges such as wheel chairs, braces or crutches.

We believe in Dallas College’s ability to make its doors open easier to students, both literally and figu ratively.

Improving organization soothes test anxiety

The views expressed on the opinion pages and other opinion pieces and cartoons in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of The Et Cetera, Dallas College. The Et Cetera is published by a student staff.

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ABOUT THE COVER

Students with disabilities have trouble navigating campus with ADA accom modations in disrepair.

Illustration and design by Mattheau Faught.

The end of the school year is here and many events are coming up, among them final exams. It is a strange combination that always shakes us as students because there are many mixed feelings: nerves, shock and insecurity. But there is a more powerful enemy that can be stronger than us if we fail to control it: anxiety.

Many young people will be af fected by this feeling that generates fear and tension. According to a study conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 41.6% of college students who receive counseling services are treated for anxiety.

But do we honestly know what anxiety is? Or is it the exams that cause such an unpleasant feeling in students?

The American Psychological Association describes anxiety as a “feeling of tension, nervousness and other physical symptoms, such as increased blood pressure,” which means that there are several factors that overwhelm our minds daily.

VALERIA GUZMAN

Students naturally experience test anxiety, a common result of feel ing pressured to get the best grade and get the most out of academic endeavors.

Anxiety can bring even more grave consequences if it is not treated properly.

Undoubtedly, the arrival of final exam week increases anxiety levels due to the important weight that the grade has on our performance.

Our stress levels rise to such an extent that we cannot concentrate, and we feel like there is not enough time for us.

Anxiety happens because we do not plan our time. it spreads because we leave everything to the last minute and try to learn everything

in record time. The simplest and most practical recommendation is to keep track of the subject from the beginning of class, make a calendar that is always visible and write down the main ideas.

This will allow us to keep in sight what we have learned, and when that great moment of testing arrives, everything will be easier to under stand.

Do not forget all the resources

that exist to help ease this anxiety, such as counseling services, which provide us with all the tools we need to help us complete the semester.

And never feel weak for asking for help. Feel stronger for knowing how to recognize that we can handle all that life throws at us, but not at the same time. As Michelle Obama said, “Asking for help is not synony mous with weakness, it is synony mous with strength.”

Dec. 14 Basketball vs. Mountain View 3 p.m.

Jan. 10 Basketball vs. Loyalty College Prep 7 p.m.

Jan. 16 Basketball at Paul Quinn JV 2 p.m.

Jan. 21 Basketball vs. Cedar Valley 1 p.m.

Jan. 25 Basketball at Mountain View 6 p.m.

Harvesters move up to No. 2 in nation

The Eastfield basketball team heads into the winter break having won 11 of 12 games, with its only loss coming against Division I South western Christian by eight points.

Eastfield leads all Dallas Athletic Confer ence teams in wins and secured the No. 2 rank ing in the Nov. 28 Division III national poll. North Lake (6-6) is ninth, Richland (4-6) is ranked 10th and Mountain View (9-3) is 15th.

Sophomore guard Jacore Williams leads the nation in scoring, averaging 22.1 points per game. The Harvesters also lead the nation in team scoring, averaging 129.4 points per game, and have already made 172 3-pointers, which is almost twice as many as the next closest team, Northern Essex, with 91.

Things will get more difficult after the break, however. Eastfield will begin the intense con ference season at 1 p.m. Jan 21 with a home game against Cedar Valley. The Harvesters de feated the Suns 119-65 on Nov. 16 in a game that didn’t count in the conference standings.

“It wasn’t a conference game, but it means a lot to get out to the conference that we’re a seri ous threat,” first-year head coach Dexter Young said. “I liked playing them, beating them and making the conference know we’re here. We’re coming to win.”

Several Harvesters have had big offensive games this season. Sophomore guard Jacob Sanders scored 22 points and sophomore for ward Tylan Harris had 39 points against Creat ing Young Minds Prep, while freshman guard Jamille Barnett and Williams scored a com bined 45 points against DFW Prep.

“Every game is a different player or group leading us in scoring points,” Young said.

The Harvesters finished second in the con ference behind North Lake last season but still advanced to the national tournament, where they finished fourth. This year, Young wants

said.

“At the end of the day, we all want to win na tionals,” Williams

I liked playing them, beating them and making the conference know we’re here. We’re coming to win.

— Dexter Young, basketball coach

New Pokemon game is bug-ridden gem

Pokémon Violet/Scarlet

Released: Nov. 18, 2022

Developer: Game Freak

Platform: Nintendo Switch

Let me cut to the chase: This is the best Pokémon game you can play right now.

However, it has flaws. Some with gameplay, many more with perfor mance. This game has great onboard ing for new players, letting players attend classes that teach the systems in the game. The rock, paper, scissors aspect also makes it easy for anyone to pick up and play.

The story is decent but not memo rable. The legendries treasure had me in tears, but the other arcs were not very original.

This is the first Pokémon game to open the world immediately for the player to traverse, letting them choose their adventure and pick the “treasure” they want.

First, you are told of three paths: collecting gym badges, collecting legendary treasure or fighting the game’s main antagonist, Team Star. However, you need to complete these tasks in a linear order.

You need gym badges to control higher level Pokémon and treasure to traverse different landscapes, while Team Star blocks your path.

This can lead to confusion, as the game does not provide proper direc tion. It can be frustrating to figure out where to go next.

One of the best things about a Pokémon game is the tremendous number of Pokémon you can catch and train.

This game has 400 Pokémon in the local PokéDex and will have a na tional PokéDex added later.

Another update to the series is a school to attend classes about the game and its world. I thought I had little to learn, being a veteran of the series since it started in 1997, but I was astonished to learn lots of new things.

There are also social options that add more story and depth to the characters but don’t affect the game. This is disappointing as it seemed like a great way to add new features.

This game also has a solid multi

player, allowing you to invite up to three people to your party to catch and battle Pokémon, and progress their stories.

If they have the other version of the game, pokemon from both games will appear in the world.

One disappointment is that there is not a drop-in and drop-out aspect. Once you start a game, you cannot add any new members, requiring ev eryone to save the game, disband and then create a new group.

While playing online with friends, I had several connection issues, but nothing bad enough to make me avoid the process.

Raids have also returned to the game. Raids are special Pokémon battles where four players or com puter-controlled teammates battle a Pokémon simultaneously, and once beaten, the Pokémon can be cap tured.

The raids are identified on the map, so they are easy to find. How ever, they seem a bit lackluster com pared to the previous game.

After two weeks of playing, I’ve found that these battles are mostly failing, but this could be because the game is so new and not everyone has fully developed their team despite raids being the focus.

Unfortunately, the game also just doesn’t look very good. Many of the colors are bland and would benefit from a more vibrant choice.

The biggest issue, though, is tech nical. I cannot think of a game in the last two decades that has performed so poorly. The framerate drops dras tically when there are more than a few things on screen.

You will frequently get pop-in, and this is made worse when you run into a Pokémon that hasn’t populated the screen yet.

Just standing in the later cities has characters passing you a single frame at a time.

Overall, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a game where you collect and battle. With over 100 hours of game time, I don’t feel like I have completed everything I want to accomplish.

Completing the collection of the Pokémon in a game has not been a goal of mine since the first release in 1997. However, I find a deep desire to complete this one.

Guitar group amps it up with guest artist