Month: October 2020

Opinion

Vote ‘YES’ on Prop 208: It won’t cost you a penny

By Noor Haghighi The great state of Arizona is notorious for its failure to meet national education standards.  As of this year, we sit at 49th place for overall education based on data determining quality and safety. In 2018, Arizonans took to the streets to protest in favor of Red for Ed, a movement that pushed for an increase in state government spending on public education. Since the outcome of Red for Ed was unfortunately of little help,  the state still has a long way to go. And now that the elections are coming up in November, Proposition 208 has come into play.  A stripped down, digestible version of what the proposition introduces in regards to educational funding in Arizona is as follows: A vote “yes” on the ballot will support increasing the income tax from 4.5% to 8% on incom...
Arts & Entertainment, Opinion

Four horror flicks for an indoor Halloween

By Nate Martinez It's that time of year again: cooler air and pumpkin spice flavored everything signals the coming of fall and all the aesthetics that come with it. Yellow leaves litter the sidewalks, there’s a slightly darker tinge to the sky and that certain smell of the autumn afternoons all seem to make us Arizonans happier. All of these things are miniscule compared to the big day that headlines fall: Halloween. This holiday holds a special place in my heart, from the feelings of nostalgia to simply carving pumpkins with friends.  This Halloween may feel a little bit different, due to the spread of COVID 19. However, do not consider Halloween cancelled just yet. October 31 is the perfect date to sit inside with your friends and/or family and enjoy a scary movie or two; no need to ri...
Opinion

Funerals in the age of COVID

Photo by Ashim D'Silva By Troy Hutchison In the last eight months, the world has gone through drastic changes to keep itself safe during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Events have been canceled, celebrations have been put on hold, classes gone from in-person to virtual classrooms, and these are just some examples of how society has had to adapt to the new COVID-19 world.   No matter how much society adapts to the situation we currently live in, nothing can prepare a person for a COVID-style funeral experience. When talking about this, I am not speaking just about COVID-19 related deaths; I’m talking about any death that comes during this time and the changes a family has to make to keep the funeral safe. That is something I recently went through, and it was an experience that I thought ...
Opinion

Column: Serious Thinking

By Kevin Hartung How do you solve societal problems with people who are not seriously thinking them through and coming to rational and workable solutions? Partisanship has mobilized the masses. The ‘us vs. them’ mentality of the populace is escalating. Volatile debates between political opponents have intensified stronger hostilities between the constituencies. Our Founding Fathers were leery of identity politics and warned against it. James Madison addressed the destructive behavior of ‘factions.’ He states in The Federalist Papers No. 10, “Among the numerous advantages promised by a well-constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction.” Meaning the inherent nature of ‘faction’ is violence and the union mus...
News

Pima to host ‘Virtual Celebration of Life and el Dia de los Muertos’

On Friday, October 30, Pima Community College will be hosting “Virtual Celebration of Life and el Dia de los Muertos: Expressions of Love and Remembrance.” Students and community members are invited to honor their deceased loved ones with: Photos of loved ones or an ofrenda/altar, with 50-100 word description 2 minute video   PowerPoint/slide show 50-100 word commentary on local/regional traditions Submissions will be posted to the event website on October 30, while video submissions will be posted to youtube starting at 3:00 pm. The registration deadline for submissions is Tuesday, October 27. You can register your submission here. The event is sponsored by the PCC Native American Student Association, Student Life, and the Social Sciences, Humanities and Education Division. ...
Arts & Entertainment, Features

Peanut Butter & Jazz Podcast #1: interview and announcements

The first episode of the Peanut Butter & Jazz Podcast, created by Pima students Max Luevanos and Juan Lizarraga, is out now on Youtube. This week's guest is Elizabeth "Frankie" Rollins, an author, professor, Pima honor's coordinator, and faculty advisor to SandScript, the annual student-run art and literary magazine of Pima College. Click here to watch the interview. Click here for the announcements, which goes over important events, club meetings, and information concerning Pima Community College and its students.
Arts & Entertainment, Features

Local artist participates in national painting project

By Joe Giddens Posted with permission from Tucson Weekly. Original story can be found at: https://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2020/10/22/local-artist-participates-in-national-painting-project As the drums ring out the Chinese New Year in a Singapore market, two young women wearing face masks watch the celebration. It's a scene characteristic of local artist Jacqueline Chanda’s work, which often allows the viewer to construct their own narrative of a scene. “I like to catch these those kind of scenes where people can say ‘I wonder what they were thinking?’ or ‘I wonder where was this guy is going?’,” Chanda said. “Did he have intent or was he was he simply taking a stroll?” Chanda’s painting, “Girl with a Turquoise Face Mask,” is based on a photograph she took while on vacatio...
News

Saguaro National Park vandalized

Photo by James Lee By Kyler Van Vliet Eight saguaros were found crudely hacked down this October in the Saguaro National Park. Park officials believe the incident happened on or around October 3rd.  The saguaros that were cut down ranged from 1 to 10ft in height and were located just off of the Scenic Trail.  Law enforcement rangers for the park are investigating the vandalization and are searching for the perpetrator or perpetrators that are responsible for the saguaro hackings.  “Saguaro cacti grow very slowly and hold special significance to the people who live here. A 10-foot cactus could easily be 100 years old, and it was killed in a senseless act of vandalism,” said park superintendent Leah McGinnis in a written statement this past Wednesday.  Park officials are asking for the p...
News

On the issues: Pima Governing Board candidates Ethan Orr and Catherine Ripley

 By Kyle Kersey With sitting board member Mark Hanna retiring at the end of his term, the election for a seat on Pima Community College’s Board of Governors is a race between former Arizona state legislator Ethan Orr and retired naval officer Catherine Ripley.  Background Governing Board members are elected in a non-partisan election, which means that you won’t see a “D” or an “R” next to the candidates’ name on the ballot. However, the two have represented opposite sides of the political spectrum in the past. Orr served as a Republican representative from district 9 in the Arizona state legislature from 2013 through 2015. During his tenure, he said he worked across the aisle to secure $50 million in education funding to the Tucson community, and managed to sneak in $8 million to finish...
Opinion

Opinion: The American people are being fed misinformation, half-truths, and outright lies

By Kevin Hartung Today’s political polarization has stolen the knowledge base that eventually leads to our wisdom and without which we cannot make definitive and relevant decisions. We are facing a division in our country that recalls the contentious arguments between the North and South just before the Civil War. It is certainly demoralizing that today’s politicians lack even one courageous voice for saving the union.  As Henry Clay, keenly aware of the controversial nature of his proposals, urged his colleagues “to beware, to pause, to reflect before they lend themselves to any purposes which shall destroy that Union.” Or as Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts declared: “I wish to speak today, not as a Massachusetts man, nor as a Northern man, but as an American . . . I speak today...