The IVC

Friends of the Earth

Newsletter July, 2015

Volume 1, Ed. 4

What is Hip—

Guadalupe Lopez

2

Equality: The Time

is Now— Tina Perez

2

The Blonde and the

Redhead— Maria Utsler 2

All in a Day’s Work-

Melissa Gawat

3

A Test of Human

Nature—Erin Tarango 3

Welcome to the

Machine—Ale Lopez

4

INSIDE:

STUDENT WRITING:

It’s our

Special

Summer Issue!

“The only way to stay sane is

to go a little crazy.” - Susanna Kayesen

Girl, Interrupted

IVC Friends of the Earth to Publish

Community Mental Health Journal This summer our English 009 students are reading Susanna Kaysen’s memoir Girl, Interrupted and writ-ing about anorexia, bipo-lar disorder, depression, anxiety and other emo-tional struggles. We plan to publish our best work in our new IVC Friends of the Earth Borderline Jour-nal. Our hope is to gen-erate safe and meaningful discussion of important mental health issues. We want to work together to reduce the stigma associ-ated with mental illness

on campus and off.

IVC Friend of the Earth Student Profile — Erica Acosta

(I once heard SDSU Basketball Coach Steve Fischer say, if you have passion for what you do you’ll never work another day

in your life. Here Erica writes in her cause and effect essay of an important experience that would change her life forever…

Erica’s got rhythm! Beyond the guitar, she

also plays the guitarron and the viruela.

I have two tattoos. I got one right out of high school and the other tattoo I recently got a couple months ago. My first tattoo means a lot to me. It’s a bass and treble clef shaped into a heart. It represents the passion I have for music. The second tattoo is a guitar with a sunflower. This tattoo is me. This is the in-strument I play and my favorite flower. When my parents found out about them , they got really mad – with the tattoos, not the music. Their proud of my participation in my school Mariachi program. Before I joined Mariachi Mixteco, I was very antisocial. I only had few friends in high school and would hardly go out. But, ever since I joined the group, it has completely changed me.

It has always been my dream to travel around the world. Now, that I have joined the group, I’ve gone as far away as Guadalajara, Jalisco. It was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. My family is from there.

(cont. on page four)

THE IVC

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH

Pagina 2

English 008 Students Write “Back to the Future” Essays This past semester, we read a Sixties novel that prompted my students to research im-portant events of a turbulent period in our nation’s history. Here, they compare and con-trast historical events, ideas, and people with the world they live in today. ...

Sixties Feminists Pave the Way for Women’s Rights By Tina Perez

Betty Friedan and Emma Stone

Stone were two activists that felt

passionately about women’s

rights. Betty Friedan’s book

The Feminine Mystique inspired

women to fulfill their lives with-

out being stuck in their usual

traditional ways. Emma Watson

gave an inspirational UN speech to

empower not only women, but men

as well. Both ladies in their own

way, paved a path for women to

stand up for themselves and speak

their mind. Friedan and Watson are

very influential to me Feminism to

me means equality for both men and

women. Both Betty and Emma are

perfect examples of powerful wom-

en who dedicated their lives to

change the world.. ( To see Tina’s

complete essay, go to IVC Borderline )

Hippies were the “Hipsters” of the Sixties

By Guadalupe Lopez In the Sixties, hippies were a new and different group of people. Their politics were both liberal and radical. They used to believe in the phrase about “being happy, not about what others thought you should be.” They had a “if it feels good, do it” atti-tude. Also hippies were often vegetarian and believed in eco-friendly environmental practices. Hippies participated in alter-native arts and street theater and listened to folk music and psychedelic rock as part of their anti-establishment lifestyle. In the same way, Hipsters are a group of people between their 20’s and 30’s. They believe to be confident in your own skin. In contrast to hippies, hipsters stay away from social events, but they communicate their ideas through social media like twitter. They also have a deep appreciation towards the arts, photography, journalism and fashion. Like a hippie, A hipster is generally known as a down to earth, political and environmen-tally aware type of person.

The Redhead and the Blonde

By Maria Utsler Marilyn Monroe and Lindsay Lohan are two

popular actresses, models, and singers, but there are many other renowned actresses, models, and singers. I am mesmerized

when they blend their personal lives with the roles they are interpreting. Their lives

are almost as interesting to watch as the movies they act in. Even though I will re-member them by their iconic roles in mov-

ies, I will remember them even more by their excesses and complicated personal

lives. (To see the rest of Maria’s essay, go to IVC Borderline)

Coming Soon: Look for our special “Back to the Future”

section in our IVC Borderline Journal. You can see ex-

tended versions of the stories on this page and more lively

discussion of the music, art, politics, and science of the

Sixties. I mean, it will be totally “Far Out.. Groovy…”

VOLUME 1, ED. 4

Página 3

Imperial Valley Community Profiles:

English 110 Writers Stay Close To Home

All of us in the class, we found out, have at some time been drawn to the unique story of someone we know in this valley: teachers, firefighters, drunk driving accident survivors. Beginning with the research of these stories, our writing led to deeper discussion of controversial social situa-tions, trends, or problems. (To see full text, go to our IVC Borderline Journal).

Loss, Crisis, Immobility, Stress: It’s all in a Day’s Work By Melissa Gawat

Nursing can be a wonderful job, but just like any profession it has its flaws. I

invited a nurse I knew from my work as a volunteer at Pioneer’s Memorial Hospital to discuss

the real story over a cup of coffee. Her name is Ana Martinez. Since I knew her, she has moved on to Centi-

nella State Prison. The faces and conditions are different if not more dangerous, but for Ana it’s all the

same. She loves what she does and is dedicated to her career.

Ana says the prison is a completely different environment from working at a hospital or cancer patient

center. It is very hostile and you have to keep in mind the kind of patients you are working with. Out of the

three jobs she has worked at, she says this is the most stressful one. She says there are patients who com-

plain for any little pain they might have just to get medication. If they do not get what they want, they re-

quest to see a doctor. On the other hand, there are patients who are truly sick and need extra medical at-

tention. The inmates are testing your knowledge and skill. You have to be tough and show them you are not

afraid; You are there to provide them with care not to be their buddy or friend. She has faced a few situa-

tions that are very uncomfortable and frightening. Male inmates would flirt with her or ask if she wanted to

see their private parts. She has to show them she isn’t scared or intimidated. Showing those feeling would

only give them more power to think they can get away with things. Ana’s passion and devotion to nurs-

ing has inspired me to enter the profession myself.

. . . . . . . .. .

Ana Martinez– Melissa’s mentor and inspiration

The Wounds You Cant SeeThe Wounds You Cant SeeThe Wounds You Cant See

Living with a n illness that no one

understands can be a nightmare.

Many doctors claim they

can medicate PTSD but they

themselves have never

been through what their

patients have gone through.

Prescribing pills without solid

understanding of the disease is

A test on human nature...

The life of Erin’s husband, changed forever when he wit-nessed the death of a close friend in an IED explosion. “Just like that ,” she writes, “he was gone…” He was no longer this easy going guy. Anger and rage filled his veins. Erin explains in this except , “Unless you have lived through this, you can never truly understand…”

War is like squeezing all the tootpaste from the tube. Once empty, there is no use for it. This is pret-ty much the same way soldiers are treated upon their return from war. Try putting the toothpaste back in the tube. It can be done, but it takes dedication, pa-tience and time. Just as the tube is emptied, compas-sion, heart and life if removed from these soldiers. In the civilian world there is no dedication, patience or time. Civilians only take care of themselves. There is no comradery. If one soldier goes down, all go down with him. But when soldiers return home, they find spouses, children, friends and family have moved on with their lives. The soliders come home to am empty space. Something that was once theirs is no longer

theirs. I reference life.

The ones who return from battle are not the only ones to suffer. These are the spouses that need to change their lives. The person you kissed goodbye is not the same person you kiss on return. The spouses share in the pain. Instead of love, they live through anger and confusion. It’s easy to hurt the ones who

love you the most, knowing they will forgive you .

What’s Next: The IVC Friends of the Earth

Mental Health Film Festival We’ve read Girl, Interrupted, and we’ve writ-

ten extensive research papers about anxiety,

depression, eating and sleep disorders. This Fall

2015, we plan to introduce award-winning films

and documentaries about mental illness on this

campus Join in our discussions of depres-

sion, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, addictions

and overall mental health. Look forward to

hear from guest professionals and the peo-

ple they’ve helped overcome their struggles with disorders

such as drug addiction, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other severe mental illnesses. With these films, we envision the de-

velopment of a cross the campus, cross-the-community event

that combines plenty of counseling, writing, art, and HOPE.

* Of Two Minds— Follow the everyday struggles of three different people afflicted by bipolar disorder : “Take your best day and your darkest moment and multiply by a million..” * Perfect Illusions - Anorexia often strikes where least expected. Learn from strong-willed young women who nearly starve themselves for control of

their lives: “There is no hiding from yourself…”

Look for dates, details and more information on our Facebook page:

You’ll be with IVC Friends of the Earth

Club President: Jonathan Hernandez

Vice President: Jaqueline Orantes

Public Relations: Cindy Huguez

Community Outreach : Lucio Ibarra

Film Festival Director: Sonia Sanchez

Teléfono: 355-6224

Correo: jay.lewenstein@imperial.edu

We’re building a bridge

from the classroom to the

community

Organización

Look for us on

Facebook!

Erica Finds Her Groove (cont. from page 1)

It was a great honor to visit the land where my grandparents are from. When we arrived at night to the airport, I felt very emotional. Ever since I was little, I never had the chance to travel. Now with the group, we attend to many mariachi con-ferences where we compete with different mariachi groups. We attend workshops, where we learn from the professional

mariachi groups so we can improve. When we travel, we always have to prepare ourselves to perform in front of thousands of people on a big stage. It is the best feeling when you are on a stage singing a song and everyone in the crowd sings with you. Receiving the applauses just fills my heart with excitement. Having the opportunity to travel with the group to different places and getting to know new cities, it’s like a dream come true

( For more of Erica’s Mariachi writing, go to IVC Borderline) .

Ale

jan

dra

’s Me

ssag

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to th

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Woman Who Fell to Earth: Tattoo of Alienation

Visual Analysis by Alejandra Lopez

In English 009 we seek meaning from a wide array of sources.. Here , Alejandra was asked to

write a multi-layered analysis of an interesting

tattoo…

Living in a world you no longer feel a part of can lead to an extraordi-nary tattoo. In this picture, a wom-an gives her back to the camera to the camera to show what she has become: a biomechanical machine .

There are no organs, no blood-stream, just parts working to-gether in order to be alive. I put myself in her shoes and I can fi-nally realize what this tattoo mean’t for her.

We are all robots working under the same mechanism,. We’re being controlled and defined by society. For her, this tthe machi-ne and turn on the individual. attoo must be an attempt to turn off

(See more of Ale’s writing at IVC Borderline)