Complete Schedule of Classes - East Los Angeles College

elac movers and shakersDia de los Muertos Celebration ConnectsStudents to Latin HeritageAltars (ofrendas in Spanish) typically used to commemorate dead lovedonesduring Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations arecreated each year by students under the guidance of Chicano Studiesassistant professor Sybil Venegas.Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd throughoutMexico and in Mexican communities in the U.S. Mexicans have aspecial relationship with death, which they consider is the beginning oflife. Death is celebrated with beautiful, artful and touching traditionalaltars that honor the joyful relationship in which Mexicans happily andlovingly remember their loved ones who have died.“I think all cultures have at their base, concepts about death, ceremonialpractice, and symbolic foods, and these can be comparedand contrasted,” Sybil Venegas observes as she discusses religion inMesoamerica in her East Los Angeles College Chicano Studies course.“When designing an altar, students hopefully learn how to bridge theintellectual with the spiritual, use the arts and creativity as the basis forlearning and develop basic group dynamic skills.”Student ofrendas will be on display during the week prior to Dia delos Muertos through the first week in November.Respiratory Therapy Club Helps CommunityStudent members of the East Los Angeles Respiratory Care (RC) club knockedon doors belonging to five lucky families last Christmas to deliver gifts toteary-eyed moms and 19 kids in various degrees of joy and excitement.They were greeted by laughter, shrieksof pleasure, clapping and jumpingas they played Santa to the deservingfamilies who were expecting a bleakholiday.The families did not requestassistance, but were selected withthe help of campus-based CaliforniaWork Opportunities and Responsibilityto Kids (CalWORKS). The criteriaincluded financial need and in thespirit of helping their own—thesingle parents of the selected familiesare also attending ELAC to improve their future.In addition to community service, the RC club is committed to promotingand encouraging the advancement of the Respiratory Therapy profession.A 12-member Asthma Education Subcommittee, with the assistance of RespiratoryTherapy instructors Kevin Booth and Raul Avila, prepares students to presentasthma education sessions to localpublic schools and communitygroups. Students also volunteerto do asthma screenings at localfarmers markets, testing the publicfor free peak-flow breathing measurementsand providing asthmaeducation materials.