The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA-1998) was set up to ensure internet safety and bans kids under the age of 13 from having social media accounts. 

Instagram can deactivate accounts that belong to underage users, but there are exceptions listed under their help page. 

They state that while a child is under thirteen is not allowed to access account, a parent or a manager can run the account for the child. Instagram states that if they cannot prove that an adult is running the account, then they will go ahead and delete it. 

However, there are no limits for a 16-year-old having communications with a 21-year-old. 

Bianca Devins 17, from Utica NY, was killed on July 14, 2019. Brandon Clark 22, is now facing 25 years to life in prison. The two met each other online several months prior and later in person. Devins had no romantic feelings for Clark. He was jealous of her interaction with another male and killed her. Police investigated Clark’s phone and computer, and believe he had planned to kill her for some time. 

Clark went as far as to posting images of her dead body online under the account @yesjuliet, which has now been terminated. He left the dates of her birth and death in the biography. Under her pictures, Clark left the quote, “Sorry f**kers, you’re gonna have to find someone else to orbit.” 

Angelina Church 14, Waxahachie TX, went missing on Jan. 27 and was found ten days later. She met up with a 20-year-old man, who she met on Instagram. The man dropped her off at a Whataburger before she went missing. With video footage to back up this claim, the man was released after questioning. 

“You never who’s at the end of the other phone,” Jadey Agredano commented, a 17-years-old who attends high school in San Leandro, CA. Agredano is a bright young girl who hopes to operate her own business. 

She started her own Instagram page dedicated to her nail art, over 300 followers and counting, which she hopes to make a career out of. 

Agredano hasn’t had many encounters with older strangers online. She dismisses anyone that could be worrisome, and thankfully there haven’t been many. However, she can’t do the same thing for her in-person experiences, “It’s really annoying and nasty, it happens to me a lot.” She questions the morals of these older men. 

Agredano stated that these men must have women figures in their personal lives and can’t imagine how they would hurt other women, much less a child. 

Agredano knew two girls who were killed by their abusive boyfriends. The victims won’t be named out of respect and they were miners. Both girls attended the same school as Agredano. One girl who was a senior, killed last year. The other girl was killed when Agredano was in the fourth grade but was a close friend to Adegrano’s family. 

She wanted to point out that the men who killed the girls were ones they met in school, not a stranger on the internet. She understands that no girl is looking for danger, but can’t be so naive to the people they meet online. She stated that teens might be more vulnerable in tough situations.

“The person who you love may not turn out to be someone who they seem.”

Agredano was lucky to have her mother monitor her social media from a young age. Her first account was Facebook in the first grade. Agredano’s mother knew all her passwords and the friends she followed. 

She stated that now she does have more privacy as she’s older, but knows she has someone she trusts if she feels she’s in real danger. “There has to be more talk about this. There’s only so much the internet can protect you from. I wish we would talk more about this in school.”

Love is Respect is an organization that’s, “The ultimate resource to empower youth to prevent and end dating abuse. It is a project of the National Domestic Violence Hotline.” as stated on their website. They provide private chats or calls with real people who are there to listen. The website provides quizzes to test if you’re in a toxic relationship and how to look for signs. 

There is always someone ready to listen 24/7/365

Call: 1.866.331.9474

LOVIES to 22522

Immigrants in the U.S. who depend on government aid, are now at risk of being denied their green cards. As of Jan. 27, the Supreme Court has given the Trump Administration the ability to deny citizenship. 

On Aug. 12, 2019, Ken Cuccinelli, Head of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), spoke at the White House and stated, “Through the public charge rule, President Donald Trump’s administration is reinforcing the ideals of self-sufficiency and personal responsibility.” 

While it has been formally addressed by the USCIS, this is a matter that is targeting immigrants of low income while others have reported that this is a matter of race. 

Professor Juan Pablo Mercado is a history professor here at Chabot. He focuses on Chicano studies, and he earned his Ph.D. from the History Department at UCLA.

Mercado mentions that this news is still shocking despite it not being the first of its kind. He calls it part of an, “anti-Mexican History that we have here in the U.S.” 

There is a quote that is displayed at the Statue of Liberty exhibit, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” 

The poem wasn’t added to the statue until 1903. The initial point of the statue was to represent liberty. Once the poem was added, the country believed it represented opportunities for people outside of the U.S., just how the country began. 

Mercado brought up a time during The Great Depression in which the U.S. treated people of Mexican descent wrongfully. “President Hoover was trying to get reelected under those dire economic circumstances.” 

There was an illegal but highly coordinated scheme that blamed Mexicans for using U.S. services. “Not only deny social services but also forcibly deport them. More than half of them were born in the United States.”

Yessica Ramirez has been a Chabot College student for almost four years and a member of the Dreamers Club for a year. She is undocumented, and for her, hearing this ruling was “Heartbreaking and frustrating” as she described it. She fears she may never become a citizen. 

“I think it’s just a cover-up.” Ramirez referred to the reason behind pushing the new rule that the bill isn’t to, “Better ensure that immigrants are able to support themselves,” as Cuccinelli previously started.

She also questioned the present’s knowledge of who the immigrants to this country are. “This is a country of immigrants,” Ramirez stated.

Here at Chabot College, El Centro provides resources for students who need guidance on what steps they need to further their education. They provide connections to counselors, academic services, and help in gaining financial aid. El Centro has fluent Spanish and English speakers to help as many people as possible. 

Ramirez emphasized that within El Centro and the Dreamers Club, there’s a strong supportive community. She understands that many students who are under DACA, like herself, fear that there’s a possibility they could be deported. 

“We’re hardworking. We have more resources than we used to have. We have to take advantage of them.” Ramirez emphasized, “You’re not alone, I relate to you. I really don’t want people to give up.”

Mercado also noticed that within the community of undocumented students, there’s a high level of resiliency. Like Ramirez, Mercado knows that there are fears and worries among these students. “It’s a very tight-knit community that’s continually coming together to share information, and to help support one another.” 

El Centro is located in Building 700S

[email protected] 

Mon, Tues, Thurs | 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

Wed | 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Fri | 8:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

The Rhythm Section is a new thriller directed by Reed Morano, released on Jan. 31. The film stars Blake Lively as the lead, Stephanie Patrick. Stephanie is an ordinary woman, middle class, highly educated, and very close to her family.

After a tragic plane accident kills her parents and two siblings, Stephanie dives into a severe state of depression and addiction. She seeks out revenge when she finds out that her that the plane accident was intentional.

Lively is known throughout her career as a very beautiful woman with high status and typically takes on the role of the woman men want, and women want to be. In the opening scene, we see Stephanie ready to shoot a gun at the back of a man’s head. Then the scene jumps to eight months prior, Stephanie is in bed thinking back to moments with her family before they died.

Stephanie is approached by a journalist who tries to prove to her that the incident on the plane was due to a bomber, and he’s on the loose just miles away from her. When Stephanie tries to take on the bomber herself and fails, the journalist ends up murdered. Frustrated with herself, she seeks out the source where all the information is coming from and asks him to mentor her. She wants to kill everyone who was involved with the bombing.

Jude Law plays the secret source known as B, a heavily trained killer hidden in isolation who has intel on the group responsible for the bomb. Law and Lively’s chemistry, their arguments and banter between the two felt believable. Both are very committed through the fistfights, the snarky remarks, and vulnerable moments. The relationship of B and Stephanie is a complicated one, he could be lying to her, but he’s all she has to help her.

Stephanie is alone and continuously has to choose who to trust and who to kill. Although every choice isn’t the best, she becomes less and less afraid to make the next move.

One of the strongest points of the movie was how it takes away the traditional way we see women leads. We only once see Stephanie dressed up seductively, but it’s not portrayed as a characteristic. The fact that she’s pretty doesn’t make her important. There are many shots where Stephanie is scared, nervous, contemplating whether or not she can go through with things. The shots are filled with the sound of breathing and the beating of her heart. She and her struggles are the center of the film. The focus is not on what dress she is wearing.

The image of Blake Lively that is known to the common public is thrown out the window. Her hair is cut short and is dirty. Stephanie’s body is covered in bruises, and the effects of drugs are apparent on her face. She went from scared, to risk-taker, from using cheap remarks to using her fists. She wants one thing only, to kill the ones responsible for the death of her family. But she also doesn’t want to be like the men who she’s encountered, that don’t care who gets hurt along the way.

The film doesn’t contain as many fight scenes as you would expect. There is a classic car chase scene and a bloody scene where Stephanie has to stitch her own wounds. There are bombs and guns, but there’s more. There are many scenes especially in the beginning where no one is even talking. The emphasis is around Stephanie and how she’s feeling. The film allows Stephanie to develop, without rushing it. At the end of the movie, there’s no definite happy ending, but you believe who Stephanie had to become.

Bus fares for AC Transit were raised on January 1, 2020, for the Adult, Youth, Senior, and Disabled single ride cash fares. However, switching to a clipper card rather than paying as you ride can help riders save during their daily commutes.

Robert Lyles, Media Affairs manager of AC Transit, confirmed that although single ride cash fares have gone up, clipper cards offer a discount. 

Adult prices were raised from $2.35 to $2.50. Youth, seniors, and disabled fares were raised from $1.15 to $1.25. With the clipper card, adults can save ten cents from the previous pricing, paying $2.25. Youth, seniors, and disabled fares can save up to 13 cents. This makes the single-ride fare $1.12.

Lyles also added that “AC Transit also conducted significant public outreach six months in advance of the fare change — specifically intended for riders to offer their feedback on any proposed changes. We also conducted a Title VI Equity Analysis. This analysis specifically seeks to determine if fare changes create disproportionate impacts on low-income populations and people of color. The Title VI Equity Analysis determined that the July 1, 2019 fare change would not cause an adverse impact.”

Natasha Larsen is 18 years old and attends Chabot College. Luckily for her, she only has to pay youth prices for the bus. Adult pricing begins at the age of 19. When asked if she was aware of the single-ride cash fare raise, she replied that she had no idea. Larsen buys the day pass at $2.75, allowing her to ride the bus as many times as she needs within that day.

I asked Larsen why she doesn’t use a Clipper Card, since it eliminates the use of having to carry cash, and you can reload it at the BART station. She replied, “Every time I go to BART, I’m usually running late, I don’t have time to actually set anything up.” 

It is possible to set up youth discounts with a clipper card through applications that must be sent in via email, mail, or fax.

I asked Larsen If it’s an inconvenience, she stated, “Kind of. As someone who’s in a rush a lot, it’s hard for me to get around to it. But then I never do because as soon as I get home, my mind is off of all that stuff.”

The BART’s official YouTube page “BARTable” has a simple two-minute video on how to reload your card at the station. Clipper has created not just several ways for their customers to get a hold of a card, but also several ways to get discounts.