CAMPUS
NEWS
Health
CENTER REVIVES
NURSING HOURS
The Health and Wellness Center
has restored nursing hours since
last semester, but finding more
staff to fill those shifts is still a
work in progress.
Rebecca Barnard, a registered
nurse and Health and Wellness
Center coordinator, said that due
to scheduling issues, nurses were
only available for 13 to 14 hours
per week last Spring.
“Staff was cut significantly and
there were gaps in the number of
hours assigned,” Barnard said.
Rancho Santiago Community
College District’s $19 health fee is
mandatory for all students.
For fall, the Health and Wellness
Center has four part-time nurs-
es scheduled for 32 to 33 hours
per week. Mondays through
Thursdays, a nurse is now avail-
able during nearly all hours that
the center is open. On Fridays,
Barnard is available for nurse
advice only.
According to Barnard, the
number of hours are increasing
even though the number of staff
is decreasing.
“I am working with the District to
move through the hiring process
as efficiently and quickly as possi-
ble, while maintaining the integrity
of our district-wide hiring process,”
Vice President of Student Services
Vaniethia Hubbard said.
/Selina Urquiza
Harvey Milk was the fi rst elected openly gay offi cial for San
Francisco. He is one of the center portraits of the new mural.
LGBTQ Mural
STORY
KATE GUADALUPE
BUSTAMENTE
PHOTO
NIKKI NELSEN
Art students paint wall to raise awareness of community activists
The idea of creating a visual representation
honoring LGBTQ history fi rst crossed Lance
Lockwood’s mind when he started teaching at
Santa Ana College more than 15 years ago.
The communication studies department chair
and LGBTQ activist, Lockwood has seen many
students over the years come out, overcoming
the stigmas present in Santa Ana’s majority Lati-
no Catholic community.
He envisioned the mural as a way of eliminating
prejudice and hoped it would empower the
campus’ large LGBTQ population.
“Just being a member of the LGBTQ community
in Santa Ana is a little risky as it is,” says
Lockwood, “and I know that a lot of my students...
they’ve grown up in a very traditional, Hispanic
Catholic household…so I think having something
to represent and having something to talk about
was very important.”
With help from Associate Professor of Art
Darren Hostetter and his students, Lockwood’s
dream is becoming a reality, with a mural of
LGBTQ icons right outside his offi ce. Lockwood
believes it’s the only mural on a college campus
in the U.S. honoring historical LGBTQ fi gures.
Work on the mural — which can be found
tucked behind a wall in a corner on the second
fl oor of the Fine Arts building — started last
Spring semester and is being painted in layers
of brown and black tones by members of SAC’s
Mural Team. The photorealistic mural showcases
LGBTQ fi gures throughout history, celebrating
their achievements despite society’s undermin-
ing of their importance and impact. It depicts
a variety of famous and lesser-known LGBTQ
icons, actors and activists, including: Ru Paul,
Marsha P. Johnson, George Takai, and Mathew
Shepard.
“[The historical fi gures] connect with a group
that’s marginalized and targeted, people who
have lost their lives because they’re gay, or
diff erent. That’s real,” said Hostetter, “I think our
students need to see that, recognize and pay
their respects.”
After the revival of the SAC mural program in
2015, student artists have been engaged with
creating art around the campus and in the com-
munity.
“We have been very busy these last couple
months,” said student Alberto Donjuan, who’s
been in the mural program since 2015, as he
used brown paint to detail a photorealistic face
on the wall earlier this month.
Student murals can be seen throughout greater
Orange County and on campus. Their latest work
can be found by fl ipping through the pages of
the OC Weekly’s “Best Of” issue.
Students hope to fi nish the LGBTQ mural soon
as they are currently preparing for the Dia De Los
Muertos celebration on 4th Street.
el Don Santa Ana College · October 29, 2018
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