What is the International Club about?

International club is a club for students from different backgrounds, different cultures and race to come together and  learn about each other. It’s about getting to know each other and broadening our horizons to the world. Seeing what else is out there other than our town. Because of that, 50 percent of our club is social and 50 percent is educational.

How does the club learn about their member’s culture?

We normally do it by having club members do presentations. It’s usually in the form of powerpoint, or they can show a video. From that they’ll teach the club their culture or another culture. They’ll have their turn and show their insights, so its not limited to you having to do your own personal background. Typically our culture presentations talk a little bit about food, the culture, the daily life and the history.

What has been the most interesting presentation you have seen?

There was a presentation that displayed the animal rights issues in Thailand. Elephants there are trained to learn how to draw. They can draw extravagant things such a murals but they’re not trained in an ethical or humane way. They’re tortured.There was also a presentation about the troubles that are going on in Uganda or the Congo, things like that. But not all of our culture presentations are depressing, it’s just that those are the more serious issues.

What other activities does the club engage in?

We also go on different field trips. We go out to different restaurants and we also go to museums and festivals. Anything that is multicultural related, we do it.

Our most recent field trip was during spring break and we went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). We got to see different things and learn about different types of art. For example Muslim art, Egyptian, and East Asian.

Does the International Club host events on campus?

The most recent event we participated in was the World Tour Festival. We helped out the Inter-Club Council (ICC) and acted as guest services. Because we are International Club we couldn’t show bias to a country so our theme was international airport.

Students only have a vague memory of what candidates actually look like, let alone the name of who is running. As time runs down to elect the next student council, the majority of students do not vote.

The majority of the student community is disconnected and unaware when it comes to participating in student policy. The small effort of the ASO (Associated Students Organization) to inform and educate the students   usually goes unsung.

It seems the reason people are so disconnected with their student representation is that they honestly feel that the student government has no immediate effect on campus lifestyle. Changes and improvements that have been made on behalf of the students can easily go unnoticed and can become irrelevant because there is no immediate recognition of it, unless one is on the school website every day engaged because they are in the student government or they know someone.

Other than that, the general student couldn’t care less. They would rather know about food, games or social media.

The people we elect to run our student government need to be more connected with  the student base. Engaging more with students on a more personal and intimate level can really change the atmosphere of what voting can be.

Imagine an invitation to an outdoor barbecue that would host all of potential candidates. They speak a little about themselves; inform changes and improvements that need to be done with food and music playin. Creating a personal connection for those few minutes, in the end, will spread the word on the new voting ceremony which could be an anticipated event. People would Tweet, Facebook and Instagram the place to be.

Instead, ASO voting has come and gone, and most studemts haven’t had a clue.

And even if studemts did vote, will they actually see the impact of of their choices?

Notices should be posted throughout the year that list all new policies implemented. This would be a friendly reminder of the important role all students make.

Undoubtedly, yes, student governments are important because they allow for student representation, a vital factor in serving the needs of students most efficiently.

The election of the ASO includes nine Senate Executive Officers (i.e. affecting finance, student and community advancement, public relations, student services)  two student senators and a council to represent each of EC’s eight academic divisions.

ASO is funded by the Auxiliary Services Board (ASB), which oversees funds distributed amongst students services, such as athletic programs, fine arts programs, and student clubs and organizations. Such student organizations are direct reflections of campus life that affect students like the Inter-Club Council, a composition of one representative each from every club on campus.

Due to the fact that the ASB voting board possesses one student representative from ASO, students hold representation alongside official ASB members in voting on issues of college policy and funding affecting student services.

According to EC’s ASO by-laws, powers of student senators include voicing concern as a spokesperson of students; providing guidance to the ASO in their specific area of authority or division; approving programs and expenditures of their division by majority vote, and coordinating activities by campus clubs and organizations.

Student governments allow power to be possessed by the student body to actually affect their school as well as uphold a system of checks and balances with the distribution of power governing EC. They relinquish some power from the hands of administration and grant it to students via representation: a building foundation of our constitution that reflects the spirit of this country.

However, by all accounts, the darkroom is where Maria Andrade-Reyes, 32, photography major, shines the brightest, albeit with a kind of brilliance that won’t ruin anyone’s negatives.

“She is an extremely gifted artist and photographer,” Darilyn Rowan, photography professor, said. “She’s sensitive, intelligent, and insightful. I’d say her artwork and art practice have a very mature perspective.”

Andrade-Reyes was most recently recognized for her work in EC’s annual student photography exhibit titled “Earth, Wind, Water, Fire.”

“Maria’s images were so moving and so beautiful,” Rowan said. “The way she interprets the assignment shows a very insightful and evolved mind and eye.”

However, Andrade-Reyes didn’t come here taking exhibit-quality photos. Instead, slowly learning the techniques in Rowan’s classes has given her a much deeper appreciation of the work that goes into each image.

“I started a long time ago with those cheap disposable cameras,” she said. “I never understood the process until I started taking classes here. But once you do it yourself it’s an amazing experience. You understand how it’s done, the time it takes, and it makes it more valuable.”

What expertise Andrade-Reyes has developed she now shares intently with friends and classmates.

“She’s wonderful. Maria works a lot with film and I have no knowledge of film whatsoever,” Norma Alatorre, 24, business management major, said. “She’s always there for everybody. Either helping people to do a test strip in the darkroom or showing someone a step-by-step.”

“I am always the first to ask her opinion about anything. She gives a very clear, open opinion about artwork,” Alatorre added. “She’ll suggest, ‘Maybe next time you could use this technique and it’ll be even better.’ Her advice always works to the dot.”

So what does the future hold for this up-and-coming artist? Andrade-Reyes isn’t sure, but she doesn’t intend to waste her penchant for photography.

“I don’t see it as just a hobby anymore,” she said. “Maybe someday I’ll be a well-known photographer. I don’t know what the future has in store for me, but I’m looking forward to making the best of it.”

Those who have spent the past year watching her talent develop are far less modest while discussing her future.

“I think her photographs are so beautiful and moving. I know that she’s going to do some remarkable things with her work out in the world,” Rowan said. “I really consider it an honor to have been one of her teachers.”

From April 11-14, EC hosted more than 500 dance students, from 37 colleges, for the ACDFA Baja Region Conference.

“This has been an amazing educational experience for college dance practitioners from not only across California, but from Oregon, Florida and Taiwan,” Kenneth Walker, conference consultant, said. “Here in Torrance, we have been witnessing the best up-and-coming practitioners that you are going to see at major performing venues in the future.”

Student performers took part in a variety of dance forms that were conducted by “top-notch” instructors, Pamela Santelman, conference coordinator, said.

“We (hosted) all of these people from all over and this is a very important thing for college-aged students to be exposed to, all the different cultures and dance forms,” Santelman said.

“To see beginning and advanced dancers coming together to unite is a beautiful thing,” Joshua Dunn, 21, communications and dance major of Long Beach City College, said. “This conference shows the beauty of art.”

Along with dance classes, the ACDFA conference offered academic research presentations from graduate dance students.

“I’ve networked with the professors that I’ve taken classes from, and I’ve been really paying attention to the way they teach class from a pedagogical stand point,” Rachel Winchester, 30, of the University of Oregon, said.

Also, the ACDFA conference showcased four concerts that were judged by a distinguished panel, and three informal concerts where undergraduate dance students were given feedback from the panel, Daniel Berney, conference coordinator, said.

“It’s a chance to see other universities and students in the United States. It has opened my mind,” Wang Ning, 21, dance major of the National Taiwan University of Arts, said. “American dance is very big with many people performing fluid movements; Taiwanese dance has smaller theatres and pieces.”

Ning added that the confidence displayed from American performances has motivated her to be confident in her own performances when she returns to Taiwan.

“There are amazing artists that have such smart and different ways of seeing things and expressing them,” Jaimee Kadish, 20, dance major of California State University of Long Beach, said. “Dance is extremely relevant and present in our generation.”

“We want to instill the creative process again, so that they get enthusiastic about creating again and dancing,” Santelman said.

Also, Berney said the conference has established a “task force” dedicated to addressing pertinent issues about dance within the academic environment in order to “sustain a strong and vibrant program.”

“The Center for the Arts that we have in place here has made this as large a conference as you could possibly present for the ACDFA 40th Anniversary,” Berney said. “We’ve appreciated the administrative support for the conference; this has been a huge undertaking by our college.”

Last season was not a very successful one for John Featherstone’s team. They salvaged a 3-7 record with two of those three victories coming in conference play. That record gave El Camino fifth in the National Central Conference.

Featherstone added that in the 27 years that he has coached here, there have only been three losing seasons, last season being one of those. Featherstone added that seasons like last season are needed for coaches.

He also added that the Warriors have the “second highest winning percentage of any other JC in the country, other than Mt. SAC.”

Kaeyln Henderson, sophomore ,undecided major tried to elaborate on the team improving.

“As a team, we need to stay together more as a brotherhood and encourage each other more,” Henderson said. “There was a lot of lockeroom turmoil that nobody outside ever saw and it became a distraction.”

This statement would eventually be backed up by Jean Sifrin, sophomore, accounting major, that last year there was “chemistry issues” and said there was “tension” between teammates.

The only two conference wins would be against the teams that the Warriors finished higher than the College of the Desert and Long Beach City College.

Featherstone, who has been named Coach of the Year on two different occasions (2006 and 2012), now has a career record that stands at 169-80-1.

Last year, the struggle seemed to be the Warriors defense. The defense allowed 31.6 points per game all of last season.

“Our secondary was kind of young but this year we have a lot of returners and we’re all more confident,” Henderson said.

Defense was another issue as the turnover differential of negative five was a definite sign that the Warriors needed to work on defense.

The defensive front line showed signs of greatness accumulating a total of 28 sacks all of last season. The Warrios played five games on their home field and disturbingly enough they lost four including the last three.

Sifrin admitted that this year the Warriors will trust their defense more to ensure no team “just scores on us.”

Sifrin went on to say, “Our defensive line is stronger, our linebackers are quicker, and our secondary is smarter.”

One bright spot for the Warriors season was putting 35 points on the board against Riverside. For those who are not aware, Riverside went 9-2 and finished second in the conference only behind 11-1 Mt. San Antonio. During the course of the game the Warriors seemed to be in control until it turned into a downward spiral.

However, the Warriors should not hang their head about letting that game get away from them because in that game they put the most points on the board that Riverside had allowed all of last season.

“After that game we realized the offense works,” Sifrin proclaimed. “We have all the talent in the world, we just need to learn how to [play] together,” Sifrin continued.

Sifrin believes his team has exceptional talent, even comparing his team’s star power to that of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Heading into this season the Warriors should continue to build on their offense led by Bobby Watts at running back.

Before the kickoff of this 2013 season Featherstone summed his team up in one word. That word was family, as he felt this team is like a brotherhood.

Football and basketball are, more often than not, the most attended sporting events on college campuses, though each college is unique, Robert Uphoff, men’s basketball coach, said, even with our woman’s volleyball team is one of the top programs in the state, year in, year out.

“Attendance increases the excitement for kids and it’s high motivation for the team,” LeValley Pattison, EC women’s volleyball coach, said. “If it leads to a couple points that leads to a win, we’re thankful for that,” she said.

We appreciate it when they attend, Lindsey Colbert, 19, volleyball player and kinesiology major, said It helps a lot when we play.

We don’t get much of an audience here in tennis, Steve Van Kanegan, tennis coach, said.

Tennis is more of an intimate sport, Van Kanegan said, they need more of an ability to stay focused on the game, and people watching can take away from performance, he said.

“Our team is here to cheer each other on during the tournaments,” Anthony Ya, 18, tennis player and pre-dentistry major, said. “When people have matches with other schools, not a lot of people know about them,” he said.

John Britton, badminton coach, said that very specific people, such as parents, friends and loved ones, attend the badminton finals.

If they did pep rallies like they did in high school, I think people would go, Ryan Mand, 22, history major, said. In high school, demonstrations got more people aware and they would go. It’s a school spirit thing, he said.

“I haven’t actually seen any of the sports teams in action,” Christina Railey, 20, psychology major, said. “Advertising what is happening could possibly help,” she said.

We need to advertise five or six things that is happening on Sunday night, Pattison said, not all sports – it could be drama and sports, she said.

My three to five year plan is to find a way to fill our stands with El Camino students and create an atmosphere that is contagious, Uphoff said.

“It is my desire that our home basketball games would become an event that the student body looks forward to attending and also participates in with a lot of energy and enthusiasm,” Uphoff said.