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Renegade Rip Issue 1, Feb. 2, 2022

The Rip is the campus newspaper of Bakersfield College.

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Page 6<br />

Campus<br />

The <strong>Renegade</strong> <strong>Rip</strong> www.therip.com<br />

Wednesday, <strong>Feb</strong>. 2, <strong>2022</strong><br />

BC COVID talk gets testy<br />

By Aubrianna Martinez<br />

Senior Digitial Editor<br />

Bakersfield College professors joined<br />

together via virtual conference to discuss<br />

their respective concerns and arguments<br />

against the local COVID-19<br />

policies on Jan. 27. In a Zoom meeting<br />

titled “Covid Policies: A Campus Discussion<br />

with Faculty,” a few BC staff<br />

members presented their views on the<br />

matter. Department Chair and nursing<br />

professor Alisha Loken, chemistry<br />

professor Ximena Da Silva Tavares,<br />

professor of behavioral science Patrick<br />

O’Neill, and assistant professor of automotive<br />

technology Justin Flint were<br />

panelists.<br />

The latter three professors expressed<br />

their dissatisfaction with the current<br />

prevention policies such as the mask<br />

requirement that Professors Da Silva<br />

Tavares and Flint found counterproductive—Professor<br />

Flint attributed<br />

this as a cause of BC’s low enrollment<br />

numbers—and use of private security,<br />

while Professor Loken occasionally<br />

chimed to negate information that another<br />

professor stated.<br />

The other panelists used a majority<br />

of science, data, and political rhetoric<br />

to express where they disagree with the<br />

policies in place to prevent the spread<br />

of COVID. Professor Flint began his<br />

segment civilly before delving into his<br />

personal problems with the current<br />

blueprint, saying “I have a lot of grace<br />

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by Associated Collegiate Press<br />

The <strong>Renegade</strong> <strong>Rip</strong> is produced by Bakersfield College<br />

journalism classes and is circulated on Thursdays<br />

during the fall and spring semesters. The newspaper is<br />

published under the auspices of the Kern Community<br />

College District Board of Trustees, but sole responsibility<br />

for its content rests with student editors. The <strong>Rip</strong> is<br />

a member of the California Newspaper Publishers Association,<br />

Associated Collegiate Press, and California<br />

Colleges Media Association.<br />

for how the district has handled this at<br />

the beginning of the pandemic when<br />

we didn’t have the luxury of knowing<br />

what we know now. […] Now that we<br />

have two years of real data to make<br />

real decisions from, I don’t understand<br />

how we can continue down the path<br />

we’re on.”<br />

Professor Da Silva Tavares especially<br />

critiqued the scientific practices around<br />

the pandemic, “even among scientists<br />

there is dissent among how to experiment<br />

this data, even how this data is<br />

collected and whether it’s good scientific<br />

data.”<br />

Professor O’Neill similarly questioned<br />

the legitimacy of the scientific<br />

data turning to the daily health checker<br />

app, “the worst data you can have<br />

a health issue is self-reported diagnostic<br />

data, and we’re going to use that to<br />

keep everyone safe?”<br />

Professor Da Silva Tavares later commented<br />

on multiple COVID-19 related<br />

concepts, such as the use of ivermectin,<br />

the rapid normalization of booster<br />

shots, and the quarterly sales of Pfizer,<br />

but she continued, “I worry about<br />

what these policies do to our society as<br />

a whole […] it’s this emotionally what<br />

we’re doing to each other that worries<br />

me–the messaging that if you see any<br />

hazard, report it. I worry about the<br />

long-term effects on that.”<br />

As the Zoom call started to wind<br />

down Professor Da Silva Tavaras referenced<br />

concerns that have been raised<br />

The <strong>Renegade</strong> <strong>Rip</strong><br />

EDITORIAL BOARD<br />

Editor-in-Chief....Hugo Maldonado Garcia<br />

Senior Digital Editor....Aubrianna Martinez<br />

News Editor...........................Collin Acevedo<br />

Features Editor.........................Raul Padilla<br />

Sports Editor............................Justin White<br />

Adviser.........................................Erin Auerbach<br />

STAFF<br />

Reporters/photographers:<br />

Jacub Bill<br />

Ricardo Garcia<br />

Giselle Manzo<br />

Nathaniel Simpson<br />

Anthony Vasquez<br />

in reference to the vaccine and fertility,<br />

which she stated haven’t been validated,<br />

Loken quickly posted in the chat<br />

“there is NO DATA that supports that<br />

the vaccines affect fertility.” A moment<br />

later when answering another question,<br />

Professor Da Silva Tavaras stated<br />

repeatedly that the fourth phase of the<br />

vaccines had not been completed and<br />

therefore they couldn’t have been approved,<br />

but Professor Loken turned on<br />

her mic to interrupt as she summarized<br />

information from the CDC website in<br />

real-time, “Phase four is always done<br />

after the drug is approved no matter<br />

what drug it is, so that’s nothing different<br />

than the way all medications and<br />

vaccines are treated.” After this exchange,<br />

the Zoom call was promptly<br />

ended.<br />

Two of the professors seemed to be<br />

interested in having a discussion not just<br />

about their own beliefs, but the bigger<br />

picture. Professor O’Neill argued that<br />

the community should work to support<br />

its members better, accommodating<br />

those who have concerns over coming<br />

back to campus, and those who don’t<br />

want to receive the vaccine should be<br />

able to attend virtually.<br />

Professor Loken added, “the choices<br />

we’re making affect each other, right?<br />

We never make a choice in a vacuum<br />

regardless of what you feel on each issue.”<br />

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How to reach us<br />

-Address: Bakersfield College,<br />

1801 Panorama Drive, Bakersfield,<br />

CA 93305<br />

-Phone: (661) 395-4324<br />

-Email: ripmail@bakersfieldcollege.edu<br />

-Website: therip.com

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