Legislation pending in Austin, including tuition freezes, sanctuary city policies and sexual assault transparency, could potentially impact students on a day-to-day basis. With the 85th Legislature of Texas currently underway, here’s a quick rundown of the most noteworthy bills to keep an eye on. —...

By JAMES HARTLEY @JamesHartleyETC The Dallas County Community College District is not adhering to the spirit of Texas open records laws, which give citizens the right to access a broad spectrum of government documents, according to experts. Kelly Shannon, executive director of the Freedom of Information...

The Et Cetera examined the partisan culture on campus. We talked to people about their beliefs, the current ideological walls and the role that media plays. By JAMES HARTLEY @JamesHartleyETC Nicholas Singleton walks into his Texas government class, taking his seat at the long table that early-arriving...

The Et Cetera examined the partisan culture on campus. We talked to people about their beliefs, the current ideological walls and the role that media plays. By KATRINA BOND @KatBondETC Matt Hinckley is so far left that he doesn’t consider himself a Democrat but an anarcho-syndicalist, as well...

By JOSUE HERNANDEZ @TheEtCetera In response to President Donald Trump’s recent executive order expanding the authority of immigration officers, Eastfield hosted a forum on immigrant rights, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Texas legislature updates...

By JULIO VEGA @JulioVegaETC Paint and auto body professor Ramiro Gutierrez, known for his tinkering skills and passion for students’ education, died March 20, four months after being diagnosed with terminal esophageal cancer. He was 47. Executive Dean of Career Technologies Johnnie Bellamy said...

By KATRINA BOND @KatBondETC Feminists strive for the common goal of equality, but women should embrace their own individuality as well as the differences of others, a panel of self-proclaimed “nasty women” said on March 23. “I think we all have mixed ideas or different ideas of what feminism...

By DAVID SILVA @DavidSilvaETC President Donald Trump’s recently proposed budget for 2018 would have a direct impact on Eastfield’s TRIO program and is a cause for concern among art and science professors. The budget proposal includes major cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency and Education...

By KATRINA BOND @KatBondETC When Grant Halliburton was released from a 30-day hospitalization after being diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder, his family  thought he was better. A few weeks later, on Nov. 2, 2015, he jumped off a 10-story building, ending his life at 19. His mother,...

By DAVID SILVA @DavidSilvaETC It’s hard to review a website that doesn’t exist. Days after the Dallas County Community College District “renovated” its websites, Eastfield’s links were all broken. You had a pretty little glass house of a homepage that didn’t have any usable links whatsoever. It’s...

March is one of the busiest months for Free Application for Financial Student Aid filings. It would make sense that the government to make the process easier for students and parents, but recent changes have done just the opposite. And that’s just one piece of bad news surrounding financial aid right...

By JESSICA LUTHER @TheEtCetera In the past four months, there have been five arrests by Eastfield police related to drugs and alcohol, but the college has zero substance abuse prevention or recovery programs available to students on campus. Social work and substance abuse counseling professor Daniel...

By JAMES HARTLEY @JamesHartleyETC A bill in the Texas Legislature could allow Eastfield to begin offering classes for four-year degrees in early childhood education, reclassifying the school as a four-year institution. The bill would allow all Dallas County Community College District campuses to host...

By KATRINA BOND @KatBondETC Eastfield’s Puente Project, which began this semester, is a new program designed to help students in developmental courses facing barriers to continuing and completing their education. Every Eastfield applicant is required to take the Texas Standard Initiative test,...

By Matthew Weseman @TheEtCetera Without family and friends for support, mental illnesses such as depression can make life seem impossible. This is what the Providing Hope and Suicide Education project is designed to address. PHASE coordinator Courtney Pickens thinks depression is a daily battle...

By JOSE DELGADO and JAMES HARTLEY @JamesHartleyETC A bill in the Texas Legislature has the power to require students at state-funded schools to use bathrooms aligned with their birth sex. President Donald Trump recently rescinded rules set by former President Barack Obama's administration that...

By ANTHONY RESENDEZ @TheEtCetera In an effort to streamline the advising process, the Office of Student Engagement and Retention has split services for first-year and returning students. The First Year Experience will focus on orientation and choosing a major for students who have less than 30 credit...

By JON-MARK TAMEZ @TheEtCetera A “free speech area” is available on campus for rallies and protests, but despite the contentious political climate, no groups have used it. Accounting major Diego Seguinot said he believes students aren’t as active as they could be because of disinterest or a fear...

  By KATRINA BOND @KatBondETC Students say they fear for themselves and their families in the wake of increased immigration enforcement stemming from President Donald Trump’s executive orders. Architecture major Jessica Ortiz, a League of United Latin American Citizens member, said her mother’s...

By DAVID SILVA @DavidSilvaETC With home more than 7,000 miles away, the instructors from Chongqing, China, knew that Eastfield would have a teaching culture very different than their own. The delegation arrived on campus Feb. 13. Their arrival was kicked off with an opening ceremony that included...

By JOEL SIERRA and ALYSSA R. FULLILOVE @TheEtCetera Dozens of students, one dressed as Pikachu, gathered Feb. 7 to learn about career paths for aspiring video game developers. Former game developer Gary Brubaker shared his experiences in the field in “Unexpected Ideas from the Video Game Industry,”...

The stereotype of the broke college student holds some truth to it — with tuition, books and newfound independence, it can be difficult to manage what little money you have. Fortunately, there are resources specifically made to help students pay for college, become financially independent and have...

District prepares for campus carry By JAMES HARTLEY @JamesHartleyETC With campus carry going into effect Aug. 1, Eastfield and Dallas County Community College District officials are under pressure to finalize policies for guns on campus. Campus carry, already in effect at four-year public colleges,...

We all read (or pretended to read) George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four” in high school English. Whether you thought it was prophetic, poignant or just plain weird, there’s no denying that some parallels are occurring between the novel and our lives today, which may be why it has recently...

By DAVID SILVA @DavidSilvaETC Professors around campus are looking for alternatives to traditional textbooks to save students money, including a free biology e-book. The average cost of a new textbook was $82 in 2014, while books and supplies for a year at a public, two- year college cost $1,390,...

By JAMES HARTLEY @JamesHartleyETC Last-minute extensions and late-start classes gave Eastfield the boost needed this semester to surpass enrollment numbers from spring 2016, but it wasn’t enough to meet campus goals. In an effort to meet last year’s registration numbers, the Dallas County Community...

By KATRINA BOND @KatBondETC Editor's Note: On Feb. 9 federal appeals court unanimously rejected the Trump administration's request to allow the travel ban to take effect. Terminal D, Gate 22 at DFW International Airport was mostly empty Jan. 31 except for some signs placed on the railings, one reading...

By ESMERALDA OLGUIN @TheEtCetera With signs and chants, millions of people took to the streets at women’s marches across the globe to protest some of President Donald Trump’s policies a day after his inauguration. The Jan. 21 Women’s March on Washington expanded from a single gathering in the capital...

By MICHAEL A. MEMOLI and KATE IRBY Tribune Washington Bureau (TNS) WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump took another step Monday to reshape America's trade relationships with key global allies, breaking from a proposed 12-nation pact with Pacific Rim nations that was an Obama administration priority...

By HANNAH ALLAM, LINDSAY WISE and TIM JOHNSON McClatchy Washington Bureau (TNS) WASHINGTON – Rain drizzled and the sky was gray, but Matt Krapish sported a big smile as he strode toward the National Mall to watch Donald Trump become the 45th president of the United States. Krapish, a 6-foot-7 bail...