Instagram users anguished over outage
By Luis Cortes, Sports Editor
August 28, 2019
Last month’s 4.5 hour Instagram outage, which according to Newsweek affected an estimated 2.3 billion users, highlighted just how much power social media has over consumers. The idea that social media has power over people was underestimated by most until the outage led to an unexpected level of...
Editorial: District Disruption
August 28, 2019
After another whirlwind semester defined by administrative scandals on campus and inept management practices at the district level, the current state-of-affairs in the Contra Costa Community College District shows leadership does not always operate from the top down. Despite these conditions, incoming...
Inferno sheds light on religious inequality
By Luis Lopez, Advocate Staff
May 15, 2019
April’s fire at the Notre-Dame Catholic Cathedral in Paris, France was presented in the media as a global tragedy. In a country where citizens are protesting financial inequality, the world’s richest religion received over $1 billion in donations within the first 24 hours after the Notre-Dame...
Editorial: Point-blank problems
May 15, 2019
Some 20 years after 13 students were murdered and 24 others suffered injuries in the massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, no concrete plan to ensure student safety has been implemented on any of the nation’s educational campuses. So far this year alone, 15 school shootings on...
Drag culture gets watered down by mainstream TV
By Michael Santone, Editor-in-Chief
May 15, 2019
Centuries ago, dressing in drag was a way for males to satisfy female roles in theatrical plays. The common theater practice of men wearing women’s clothing, contouring their beards and portraying the mannerisms of some fair maiden, was the norm on stage. Although etymology is still disputed,...
Sexual predators thrive
By Cindy Pantoja, Opinion Editor
May 15, 2019
Although sex is just a natural process where two organisms exchange gametes for the purpose of reproduction, human beings have a tendency to use sex as a weapon of mass destruction. We don’t have to go far to prove that having a sexual predator ripping apart the most intimate parts of someone’s...
Techno Terror: The Silicon Valley take over
May 8, 2019
California has long been known as a bastion of liberalism and inclusivity, but for those who lived through the gestation period preceding the birth of widespread gentrification, it’s never been more than a sun-kissed version of the segregated south. Perception is not always reality and for all th...
Editorial: Conversation on race
May 1, 2019
Anyone who’s taken the time to check the pulse of public opinion through any medium, word of mouth, media outlets be they mainstream, social, underground or otherwise, know that racial divisions have become an inescapable topic of conversation. More often than not, these meaningless discussions...
Self care is necessary to find balance in life
By Nijzel Dotson, Advocate Staff
May 1, 2019
Nobody wants to be considered selfish. At a young age many of us were taught that it’s important to help others and to put the needs of others ahead of our own. But like many things in life, as you grow, you realize it’s more complicated than that — not everything is as black and white as...
Editorial: Leading the charge
April 17, 2019
Modern politics have become a combination of popular catch-phrases punctuated by empty promises that rarely seem to be accounted for after all ballots have been counted. That dynamic does not define the student-led political landscape at Contra Costa College. To the contrary, it’s the exact opposite. In...
Mental health checked by grounded mindset
By Jose Arebalo, Scene Editor
April 17, 2019
How do conversations around the family table usually go? You might ask your parents how their day went or tell your roommate about a good joke you heard. But when do we ask each other how we really feel inside? How often do we really see the emotional weight that each of our souls carries, or the...
Editorial: Hate is present
March 27, 2019
Much has been written about the increase in hate crimes over the past three years. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report they have increased 17 percent from 2016-17. California is not immune to such an unexpected hike in hate and despite the appearance of a liberal-leaning population, the...