Kudos to a Union reporter

I am writing this letter to the ECC Union in response to a follow up survey I recently received pertaining to the article, “A professor’s role in the movement that made surfing California’s official sport” by reporter, Jose Tobar.

It was a dark October morning and Jose Tobar was waiting outside my 6 am Body Conditioning class, in the North Gym – PE 51. Still extremely dark outside at 5:55 am, the figure with a notepad asked if I was indeed Professor Peters. After establishingI was Professor Peters, the reporter spent about 15 minutes with me asking thoughtful questions about one of my other classes,

Techniques of Surfboard Riding, PE-250. He was polite, engaged, and prepared for the interview. Afterword, he asked if he could join PE 250 at the beach that Friday morning in order to get more information about the article.

Jose Tobar spent the next five weeks with us at Surf class, Friday mornings from 7-10 am. He was the first person there at 6:45 am each Friday when I would show up to the El Porto/North Manhattan Beach parking lot. Mr. Tobar took video, held interviews with students, even got knee deep in the cold morning water to get photos for his article on the class. Once he collected enough data Mr. Tobar posted professional pictures and videos on social media platforms about his upcoming article.

PE 250, Techniques of Surfboard Riding takes place mostly off campus. Very few people even know it is a class, let alone what the class is all about. The final product of the article, which was published November 13, 2019 in the ECC Union was a tasteful and accurate depiction of the class. I am extremely thankful to get to know Mr. Tobar and all of the work he put into the article. He spent the good part of a month refining the piece, and asked multiple follow up questions to get everything right. It was a pleasure working with Jose Tobar, and I wish him all the best in future endeavors.

– Kurt Peters, Professor of Health Sciences

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Catcalling is harassment

I read your article called, “Stop whistling at me”. I agree with your opinion on how catcalling is harassment. I can relate to it because I as a woman have been through that. I could casually be walking to the corner of my house and many older men would either honk or whistle. Obviously that makes women feel uncomfortable. Parents should be teaching their children at a young age to respect women. They should put themselves in our shoes, to see how it feels to walk down a street. Usually I hate walking to my destinations because I always get multiple stares. Instead, I just order an Uber to play it safe. Overall, I admire you talking about this ongoing issue that women have to constantly deal with.

– Esmeralda Pacas

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Acknowledging local artists and entrepreneurs

I really appreciate your acknowledgement of small artists and entrepreneurs on campus. Students like these are what makes walking to class enjoyable. It’s also great that this young artist is getting exposure this early in his journey. Thank you for choosing such a creative topic and I look forward to more great work from you in the future.

– Dylan Giles

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Drug abuse and weapon violations

I just read your article in The Union paper, “Drug abuse, weapon violation arrests increase”. I found your article very interesting and I think it’s very important for us students to know what goes around our school. It’s scary to see how drug abuse violation arrests increased from only 3 in 2017 to 34 in 2018 and weapon violation arrests went from zero in 2017 to 3 in 2018. Even though it went up drastically, it’s reassuring to know that a lot of this stuff isn’t caused by us students, and that the campus police are doing an amazing job.

– Keanu Agena

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Local cartoon artist

As someone who primarily keeps to themselves, I would most likely never have heard of someone like Justin. The article that Woods wrote exemplifies just what can be found in the community surrounding us. I was immediately drawn in by Galinelo’s works as I grew up watching the cartoons that he presented to The Union. Perhaps I’m feeling a bit nostalgic at the moment, but it took me by surprise to know that these animated shows are still capable of such a response.

– Jesus Escobedo

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Catcalling is wrong

I read your article called “Stop whistling at me” from The Union newspaper at El Camino. I have to say that I could not agree more with you than the point you have made in your article. You state that “catcalling” is simply wrong and insulting, I can agree to that fact and I also can relate to your point of view. I grew up in South Central where all of the gangsters get in a ball and start whistling at any female that passes by. You also mentioned that it is a stereotype behavior and I also believe that as well. This type of behavior I have noticed comes from Hispanics and Blacks. I hardly have a white man or other race disrespect me while walking in public. These inappropriate behaviors are something that are hard to control, but also should enforce parents to discipline their children to respect women. Hopefully with time this disrespectful stops. I also hope that your voice is heard, because this topic is important.

– Isabel Nunez

Editor’s Note: Letters to the Editor are subject to edits for length, grammar and style.