As the semester draws to a close and another academic year ends, we have seen many programs introduced, cut or altered both throughout the district and within our campus with varying levels of success. A decline in extracurricular activities and lack of accessible resources for students struggling...

By ESMERALDA OLGUIN All my family gathered up for my sister’s birthday dinner, something that never happens. From the moment we sat down, I buried my face in my cellphone. As our server came to take our order, I looked up only to see my family ignoring her because like me, they were all on their...

By JASMINE OLIVA When I got my first news writing assignment, I was terrified. I was told to interview professors and Eastfield students about an event on campus. Easy, right? I’m an adult. I should totally be able to interact with other adults and ask them basic questions, right? Not exactly. Having...

By BRAULIO TELLEZ The spring semester is almost over. Students are in full study mode, crawling through the last leg of final exam preparation and making plans for the longest break of the academic year. Some of us can already smell the sunscreen and chlorine from the pool. Before you commit to lounging...

Transparency in crime reports is integral in keeping the public informed and safe. The media regularly uses such records to confirm information for news stories and presentations, and ordinary citizens have the option to consult these reports directly. Unfortunately, the Dallas County Community College...

The article “District prepares for campus carry” (Feb. 8, 2017) not only misquotes me, but does so in a way that radically distorts the meaning and intent of my words. Further, my remarks were obtained through a recording made by the Student Publications Manager, a recording which should not have...

This last election cycle, I felt less represented and understood than ever before. I felt more isolated, saw more hypocrisy from both Republicans and Democrats and lost virtually all faith in our current political system. I’m a Libertarian. That means that I fundamentally believe in liberty as an inherent...

With a new executive dean presiding over Eastfield’s Office of Student Engagement and Retention, change is to be expected. The recent implementation of the Puente Project and the revamped advising system are only two examples of improvement brought on by the switch in management, but other changes...

By DAVID SANCHEZ I am a 26-year-old deaf student. I have been at Eastfield since I graduated from North Lake College in 2014 with a computer graphics certificate, and now I’m studying digital media. I want to tell you a story about the deaf life and community at Eastfield College. First of all,...

For an addict, one is too many, and a thousand is never enough. When you hit the pipe, shoot up, smoke or drink a beer for the first time, you’re ruined because the cycle of your addiction begins. This is an everyday battle. We tell ourselves to take it one day at a time. We can capture the opportunities...

By KATRINA BOND As American women, we’ve come a long way from not being able to vote or go out in public when we were on our periods. But despite the advances of modern feminism, we still have a lot of work to do. Now more than ever, women must stand together in solidarity. One of the major issues...

In the chaos of campus life, students are especially susceptible to drug and alcohol addiction. Whether they’re popping pills to stay awake through finals, smoking to calm their nerves or drinking alcohol for the first time, college is where many people are introduced to addiction. A support...

With seemingly unrelenting attacks on the judicial branch of government — both courts and individual judges — President Donald Trump has set an ominous precedent for the next four years. His comments on court decisions and judges show a lack of respect that bodes of an administration that will...

By MATTHEW WESEMAN I have failed 14 classes. Now let me tell you a little secret: I’m going to graduate this spring. Five years ago, I was a 17-year-old high school senior, pudgy and awkward and tragically unsure of myself. Like my peers, I shouldered one of life’s most unwelcome burdens, a single...

By ALYSSA R. FULLILOVE In recent years, certain behaviors and beliefs, such as homosexuality and women’s reproductive rights, have become more acceptable within American society. However, many stigmas remain that should not exist. One is the stigma of mental illness. While mental illness awareness...

Less than a week after President Donald Trump placed his hand on the Bible and swore to honor and uphold the United States Constitution, he shook the country with more than a dozen executive orders of questionable constitutionality and repeatedly voiced contempt for the press, the First Amendment...

BY MICHAEL MORRIS JR. Donald J. Trump has proven on multiple occasions that he is unfit to be president of the United States of America. Since he has made it to office, he has gotten more than 100 detained at airports, because of his immigration ban which has stopped students from Muslim countries to return...

By CAITLIN PIPER On an otherwise gloomy Friday in Washington, D.C., former steak tycoon and “Home Alone 2” star Donald Trump descended the stairs of the United States Capitol to address the world as the 45th president of the United States, proving once and for all that anyone can persevere in the face...

BY DAVID SILVA How is it possible that the most important global dilemma our generation has inherited can be refuted due to party alignment? On Inauguration Day, President Donald Trump affirmed that he would specifically target former President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, according to a statement...

By JON-MARK TAMEZ When I first heard Donald Trump on the campaign trail talking about his vision for a better America, I was drawn in. He was not speaking in ideological terms or rhetoric. He was speaking about real issues and problems faced by Americans on both sides of the aisle. President Trump...

For a man who’s vowed to unite Americans, President-elect Donald Trump seems to be trying his hardest to pit them against one another. A particularly vicious election cycle has left the country split right down the middle, and Trump’s current picks for his cabinet are only confirming the worst...

BY BRIANNA HARMON It’s college football bowl season — arguably the best time of the year. But for the college football playoff selection committee, you could say it’s the toughest. The committee must decide who plays for the national championship. The existing playoff system was put in place...

BY MACKS PREWITT On April 25, 2014, I was sitting at my computer when I happened upon one of the most distressing articles I have ever read. Disney announced that they would be retconning the vast majority of the “Star Wars” Expanded Universe. Retcon, or retroactive continuity, is when previously...

BY LANDON WILLIAMS Everyone is looking for the cheapest way to get what they want. That’s why Black Friday exists. It would be easy to go off on a tangent and talk about how ironic it is that everyone rushes to get the best deals on things they don’t need the day after being thankful for the things...

On Oct. 22, the Los Angeles Times reported that thousands of veterans of the California National Guard were being forced to pay back thousands of dollars of enlistment bonuses erroneously awarded by the Pentagon over the last decade, many with interest charges. Following the rightful public outcry,...

By David Silva The Black Lives Matter movement must eliminate and disavow violence from their protests in order to succeed as a civil rights group. I don’t quite remember how I reacted when I heard about the death of Trayvon Martin. I can’t say I felt strongly about the situation. I didn’t...

By Avery Williams Get ready for high school freshmen to join you in your next class here at Eastfield because the rules are changing. Texas House Bill 505, passed in the last legislative session and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, lowered the age of students eligible for dual credit courses...

To the Editors: In the time I have been teaching at Eastfield, I have watched our student newspaper grow and improve. The Et Cetera has done some top-notch work in the past few years, and the awards and accolades it has received are well-deserved. But I must express great disappointment in the overwhelming...