By Stephen Klehm, Paola Tovar and Kristin Gines While most faculty, staff and students huddled in darkened classrooms and offices during a 15-minute lockdown drill Oct. 1, a SWAT-like police unit stormed the Eastfield Library. “Get your hands in the air,” the officers yelled at a bystander...

By Stephen Klehm Dreading the thought of transferring to a far-away school? You might not have to. Columbia College, a university in Columbia, Missouri, is partnering with Eastfield to offer four-year degrees in Mesquite. Students enrolled in the program will complete their first two years at Eastfield...

By Braulio Tellez Even in his final days, sick and losing his fight with cancer, philosophy and religion professor John Wadhams refused to give up teaching. Interim dean of social sciences Mike Walker said that while in the hospital, Wadhams wanted to continue teaching and tried to come up with...

By Braulio Tellez Tattoos and tales of interstellar travel come alive in this year’s common book. Eastfield’s fifth annual common book is Ray Bradbury’s “The Illustrated Man,” a collection of short stories tied to a main character. The whole college community is encouraged to read...

By Clay Gibson Eastfield is offering a new program on campus that helps high school students become assimilated into college life and achieve their dreams. Early College started three years ago in Dallas’ Samuell High School and the first generation of students arrived on campus this semester. The...

By Sidney Murillo Rape is no joke. Yet comedian Daniel Tosh suggests that a heckler should be gang raped. The Internet is awash with rape memes. One on Instagram shows a roofie being broken into a mixed drink with the label “Fastest way out of the friendzone.” Hashtag: “calm your tits.” The...

By BILLY DENNIS Seven Eastfield students are part of a select DCCCD team that will take the ride of a lifetime this summer in the NASA 2014 Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program. The students will conduct a complex scientific experiment in a microgravity environment during the week-long program...

The Eastfield College Chorus, under the direction of Melinda Imthurn, joined other Dallas community colleges in a special performance April 12 with the Irving Symphony orchestra, performing the “Carmina Burana.” “Carmina Burana” is a book collection of poems and songs from German composer...

By CYNNAMON ROUNDTREE Police officers face dangerous and stressful situations in their daily routine. Chaplain William Blain is there to support the officers and the hardships that they may face at work or at home. Blain was recently sworn in as the first official chaplain at Eastfield College....

By MORGAN CORLEY The college celebrated Earth Day on April 22 by showcasing the new Harvesters Community Garden at a special dedication ceremony. Staff and students strolled among the plots, speaking with gardeners and examining their work. The garden, which is located between the T and W buildings,...

By KARINA DUNN A few months ago, Wendy Jacobson was planning her own funeral. She and her daughter, Brooke, were discussing arrangements on the phone. “She said, ‘Mom, I hate to ask you this, but do you want to be cremated?’ ” Jacobson said. Jacobson, diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma...

By KEVIN CUSHINGBERRY JR. They didn’t intend for it to happen. They didn’t look at each other’s degree plans and try to take just the right amount of classes to time it perfectly. They didn’t even set a family goal. It happened simply by chance. Ben Woodruff, his wife Sheri, their daughter...

By EMMA HAHN In February 2007, a bomb hit an Army truck full of U.S. soldiers on a recovery mission. John Usener, now an Eastfield College student, was inside the truck that day. “I ended up being a human pinball,” Usener said. “I busted three of the four plates in my chest, took a huge chunk...

By DAVID RAMIREZ Danny Garcia was announced as the new president of the Student Government Association on April 29. Garcia recently sat down to discuss his goals for next year. Q: What do you hope to accomplish as president of SGA? A: What I really hope to accomplish is the purpose of student...

By CYNNAMON ROUNDTREE The Dallas County Community College District’s annual Man-Up Conference is coming to Eastfield for the first time on May 9. State Sen. Royce West, who was named one of the top 25 most powerful people in Texas politics by Texas Monthly magazine, will be the keynote speaker. Speech...

The Literary and Fine Arts Festival kicked off this morning in G-101/102 Rachel Wolf, executive dean of Arts, Language and literature unveiled the 2014 edition of The Alternative student literary magazine. The magazine features student-produced poetry, short stories, essays, photographs and other art work.  

By BILLY DENNIS An exuberant crowd greeted new DCCCD chancellor Dr. Joe May  with thunderous applause when he visited the campus on April 10. May made his way through the packed room of faculty, staff and students, shaking the hands of well-wishers on his way to the podium. The Mount Pleasant...

By BILLY DENNIS Sheneika Hathaway never thought she would become an educator. However, from an early age, her family instilled in her the importance of a quality education. Originally from Jamaica, Hathaway moved to the United States with her family at the age of 7, first settling in Maryland and then...

By EMMA HAHN On average, women only earn about 77 cents to every man’s dollar. Women are also far less likely than men to work in corporate leadership positions. These, and many other issues regarding gender discrimination, brought five panelists together March 26 to discuss how women can overcome...

By MORGAN CORLEY Learning to read is a major step in life. Reading opens your mind to a rich history of recorded human thoughts and emotions. Countless studies extol the benefits of reading. So why aren’t more people doing it? Is reading dead, or simply on hiatus? This decline in reading has been...

By GERENEICIA FOSTER Prayer is often thought to be a sacred act and is most commonly performed in the confines of a holy place. But Shahrukh Khan is trying a different approach. He is accepting prayer requests on campus. Since Feb. 25, Khan has been sitting at a table above the Pit in the C building...

By JUSTIN DAVID TATE Firefighter Tami Kayea had just put out her first fire. Now, she needed to pull down the ceiling to make sure there were no more flames. Grabbing a pike pole, a long instrument with a hook at the end, she jabbed at the wooden shiplap ceiling in the dilapidated South Dallas...

By ROBERT BURNS Blackboard Mobile Learn This is a companion app to the eCampus website used by students daily. Pros: This app has almost all the functionality of the website. You can see assignments and tests that have been posted through Blackboard, and you can access any documents your professor...

By BILLY DENNIS A federal judge’s recent decision to strike down Texas’ ban on same-sex marriage has sparked debate on campus. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia in San Antonio ruled that Texas’ ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional on Feb. 25. Then he placed a stay on his ruling pending...

By KARINA DUNN The organization of the college’s academic programs will shift to a four-division format in the fall. Michael Gutierrez, executive vice president of academic affairs, said the new divisions will be Arts and Communications, STEM, Career Tech and Social Sciences. The removal of the College...

By MORGAN CORLEY Technology is playing an ever-increasing role in society as people have come to rely on smartphones, tablets and computers. However, this trend may not be for the best, especially when the personal devices become more of a distraction than a tool. Faculty and students have varying...