Arming school faculty furthers America’s gun violence issues
By Alondra Gallardo, Opinion Editor
March 1, 2018
Filed under Opinion
With everything going on today, arming teachers seems to be America’s next step toward insanity. Will officers protect the rights of every teacher who chooses to carry a gun, or will they shoot them? Will it matter if the teacher is black or white? Educator and African-American civil rights activist Kell...
Limited instructor availability sullies learning environment
March 1, 2018
California community colleges have followed an evolving trend of hiring easily replaceable part-time professors instead of cultivating a crop of costly, yet better prepared, tenured-track employees. Students everywhere know the pain of tracking down professors with erratic office hours only to fin...
Lack of campus liaisons foster divide in community relations
February 20, 2018
Over the past year, the Contra Costa Community College District has continued what some see as a disturbing trend of decreasing the number of people of color in leadership positions at Contra Costa College. On Thursday, CCC President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh announced she would be returning to her old post at...
Rap on repeat: Xanax, coke, weed and lean
By Anthony Kinney, Associate Editor
February 12, 2018
Filed under Opinion
Drugs and music go together like rock stars and rehab. Even before the cocaine-fueled dance parties that thrived in 70s disco clubs to today’s promethazine-induced comas at house parties, music and drugs have always been fused to invoke a euphoric getaway for those who indulge. Spanning across g...
Halftime performance echoes NFL problems
By Robert Clinton, Opinion Editor
February 6, 2018
Ever since Colin Kaepernick was effectively blackballed from participating in the 2017 NFL season, football just hasn’t been the same and although I haven’t watched a complete game this season, my efforts fall short of a full boycott. This past weekend, the biggest American sporting event of the...
Mainstream movements obstruct real feminism
By Alondra Gallardo, Opinion Editor
January 30, 2018
Filed under Opinion
Issues that affect white women, affect women of color even more.
Renewed efforts can set pace for clean Dream Act
December 11, 2017
Filed under Opinion
The lives of the thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States at a young age are at risk of deportation once their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) issued work permit and protection from deportation expires. They will no longer be protected under the Obama administration ...
Rape culture ingrained into minds of men
By Rob Clinton, Opinion Editor
December 7, 2017
Filed under Opinion
Any man that grew up in America, between the invention of the television and today has been immersed in rape culture for the entirety of his existence. Having been steeped in this ethos does not guarantee predatory behavior, but it does lend credence to the idea that discriminatory practices agains...
Concerns arise due to lack of planning, vetting process
November 14, 2017
Filed under Opinion
Assembly Bill 19 was written to pay tuition fees for first-year college students coming from low-income backgrounds. But funds for the bill have yet to be secured. The bill would establish that California Community College Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley be responsible for administering and allotting fun...
Texas trip spurs fears, concerns over racist law
By Denis Perez, Editor-In-Chief
November 14, 2017
Filed under Opinion
Last month I visited Dallas, Texas with fears and expectations of racism and minoritization due to regional racism. In Texas, Senate Bill 4 allows law enforcement to detain a suspected immigrant and ask them to provide green card identification or be deported. This extends to college and universit...
Diversity, inclusivity lack complete presence on campus
November 7, 2017
Filed under Opinion
At Contra Costa College, a diverse student body dominates the cultural atmosphere, amplifying dialogue and unity within the college administration. During the 2017 fall semester this collective embrace of the adversities faced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning as well as DACA (De...
Machismo culture honors men, demeans women
By Alondra Gallardo, Advocate Staff
November 7, 2017
Filed under Opinion
As a Latina, I will not forget the day I sat in the doctor’s office with my adult guardian and the doctor telling me I am due for my Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine (HPV) Vaccine — a shot recommended for young adults that helps prevent HPV. My guardian quickly responded by saying, no, she is not to be...