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...

By KEVIN CUSHINGBERRY JR. Most college students can visit their grandparents whenever they want. For Maria Garcia, it wasn’t that simple. Garcia was brought into the country illegally when she was 3 months old. So until 2012, when she received her green card, Garcia wasn’t able to visit...

By KARINA DUNN Stephanie Dibble doesn’t have a typical faculty office. A car panel covered in blue eyes hangs on one wall, and a drawing of a female mechanic, frozen in a no-nonsense pose, graces another. Various tools and equipment, including a pair of goggles, are within reach of her desk. Visitors...

By David Ramirez Many high school students believe college is out of reach, due to financial challenges. Eastfield’s Rising Star program can provide a student with up to $4,000 in scholarship money to cover books and tuition for three academic years. “We usually get over 1,000 applicants...

By Emma Hahn One man was wrongly convicted of murder. Another grew up with bad influences and negative racial profiling. A third said he had to work twice as hard as a white man to get where he is today. Despite all of these things, they sat at the same table in suits and ties, ready to share...

By Anahi Perez The Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education had a huge impact on the African American family, political science professor Stacey Jurhree said during a Black History Month lecture on Feb. 5. Frustrated with a separate, but unequal school system, Oliver Brown of Topeka,...

By Justin David Tate The college’s academic divisions will undergo their first makeover in seven years this fall. Three reorganization options are currently under consideration by Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Success Michael Gutierrez, who said he hopes to make a decision by the end of this...

By Billy Dennis The new Texas voter ID law has sent officials, professors and students scrambling in an effort to comply before the upcoming elections in May and November. Some see the current Texas Voter ID law as nothing more than partisan politics – a way to suppress the Democratic vote. “It...

By Billy Dennis An 18-year-old Eastfield College student was shot in the face on Jan. 8  as she left work near North Mesquite Drive and Towne Center Boulevard. Marisol Bucio, a North Mesquite High School graduate, was taken to a local hospital where she underwent surgery to remove the bullet that...

By Justin David Tate Charter faculty member and chemistry professor Jerry McMahon died unexpectedly last week. McMahon’s death left a hole in the Science and Physical Education division, where he befriended veteran professors and helped mentor young instructors. When Sal Frisella arrived in 2002,...

By Gereneicia Foster Teenagers are calling it Kush, Mary Jane, grass, green, bud, green monster, Bob Marley, wacky tabacky, hemp and chronic. The popular plant has gained a multitude of nicknames over the years, but it’s simply known as marijuana. Currently, it is provided medicinally in 21 states...