Los Angeles SCHOLARSHIPS, SPORTS BIN RESOURCES Banish Pandemic Pounds Page 7 Page 8 C Wednesday, Marchollegian 24, 2021 Volume 186 Number 2 The Voice of Los Angeles City College Since 1929 LITTLE TOKYO PROTEST It should not be lost upon anyone that conservatives just spent weeks defending old children’s books that contained racism against Asians... only to have that story disappear once a conservative evangelical man committed a terrible hate crime against Asian American women. Arlen Parsa @arlenparsa COMMUNITY RAILS 1 AGAINST VIOLENCE BY MATTHEW RODRIGUEZ A gunman’s deadly rampage in Georgia that left six women of Asian descent dead has left many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the nation outraged and calling for change, fearing an escalation in a rising trend of anti-Asian attacks nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. While no official motive has been made available, the 21-year-old white male suspect has reportedly told authorities that the murders were not racially motivated, claiming that targeting the massage businesses stemmed from a porn and sex addiction. In the following days, a debate began across the nation: Was this a racially motivated hate crime? Curiously, the answer may lie somewhere in the fact that sexuality, race, and gender all intersect here. Concerns about an escalation of violence 2 3 making its way into the East Hollywood area were largely focused on protecting the more PHOTOS BY LOUIS WHITE vulnerable members of the community. 1- A Chinese man pridefully raises his fist in solidarity with the large crowd gathered at the “Love Our Communities:Stop Asian SEE “CRIMES” PAGE 3 Hate rally in the Little Tokyo/Arts district of Downtown Los Angeles, Saturday,March 13, 2021. 2- A Mother holds her three daughters close for a moment in group prayer and meditation led by spiritual leaders on stage for the “Love Our Communities:Stop Asian Hate rally in the Little Tokyo/Arts district of Downtown Los Angeles, Saturday,March 13, 2021. INDEX 3- Signs held in cultural diversity and protest at the Japanese American National Museum, Saturday,March 13, 2021, An Opinion & Editorial 2 interracial couple displays love over hate at the “Love Our Communities: Stop Asian Photo Focus 4-5 Hate” rally held in the Little Tokyo/Arts district of Downtown. News 3-6 4- Young group of Angelenos stand in resolute harmony expressing their Scholarships 7 views against hate during the “Love Our Sports 8 Communities: Stop Asian Hate” rally held in the Little Tokyo/Arts district of Downtown Los Angeles at the Japanese American National 4 Museum, Saturday, March 13, 2021. 2 Los Angeles Collegian - Wednesday, March 24, 2021 OPINION & EDITORIAL EDITORIAL We Must Act to Regulate Artificial Intelligence, Now Collegian BY CHARLIE DERR tenfold in ensuing years, and the It has been left largely to social Los Angeles City College doppelgangers it can produce are media conglomerates to self-police Visual & Media Arts Department It is time to ask yourself: Is my now nearly indistinguishable from content and introduce or enforce 855 N. Vermont Ave. likeness protected property? reality. disinformation countermeasures, Los Angeles, CA 90029 If you have spent time on TikTok Enter “deepfake” as your query and their traffic-driven profit mod- 323.953.4000 ext. 2832 recently, it is likely that you too have into any major search engine and els ensure that no serious action will [email protected] scrutinized you’ll immediately learn the tech- be taken to dismantle fraudulent ac- Tom Cruise’s nology’s most popular implementa- counts. Co-Editors-in-Chief sleight-of- tion—celebrity porn videos. Artificial intelligence has seri- BEATRICE ALCALA, ANGELA JOHNSON hand for signs Deep faking has also been utilized ous potential for damage. Beyond of life. What to influence international media, the insidious specter of fake news, Graphics Layout Editor you and I saw discredit politicians, and spread we are just beginning to see what a BEATRICE ALCALA was not an disinformation about COVID-19. world full of AI looks like—trans- aging actor Presently, the technology requires humanism, fully automated work- Copy Editor parlaying his several hours of audio and video places, algorithm overlords, and ANGELA JOHNSON fame into so- footage to produce an effective fac- self-driving cars. Managing Editor cial media clout, but rather new, so- simile; that’s why celebrities and It appears our government his- DIEGO CHAVEZ phisticated, and largely unregulated politicians are preferred targets. torically prefers to implement regu- artificial intelligence programming However, it’s likely that its rapid lation after disruptions have begun Opinions & Editorial Editor designed to deceive. This is what’s advancement will allow seamless to wreak havoc on our social sys- ANGELA JOHNSON known as a “deepfake,” a type of identity theft using just your Insta- tems, but it is imperative that in this synthetic media in which a person’s gram feed. case, the United States Congress acts Broadcast, Social Media Producers likeness is imitated by powerful ma- Despite the formation of a G7- now. BEATRICE ALCALA, JAMES DUFFY V, chine learning algorithms. backed Global Partnership on AI, A regulatory board must be es- DIEGO CHAVEZ CADENA Major production houses have the United States government has tablished for Internet-based media been improving this kind of AI for yet to endorse its policies, and there and technology, staffed with former Photo Editor BEATRICE ALCALA years— it’s the sort of facial scan- is no federal law prohibiting the cre- industry members and ethics and ning that resurrected Audrey Hep- ation or distribution of deepfakes, policy experts with a singular goal Photographers burn for chocolate ads way back in although several bills have been in- of protecting humanity. The stakes PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH LOUIS WHITE, ALLIN ERIS, JONATHAN 2013. But the process has advanced troduced in Congress. are too high to stand by. MONTES, FRANK MARTINEZ, GERARDO DE LOS SANTOS Illustrators STEPHANIE KO OPINION Designers Neglect of Power Grid Led to Blackouts in Texas BEATRICE ALCALA, JAMES DUFFY V L.A. Music Scene Missing in Action Reporters MATTHEW RODRIGUEZ, WHITNEY BY RONNISHA GUNN BY HANNAH COBURN lem nothing was done about it. That which is actually attending the show. main income for live music venues GIBSON, WILLIAM B. TORRES, enrages me. This crisis could easily Waiting in a line for hours just to comes from putting on shows for HANNAH COBURN, RONNISHA GUNN, The sorrow and misery of Texans have been avoided had people did Pausing and rescheduling con- get your wristband, and then stand- the community. A Silverlake venue JONATHAN MONTES, SERINA HAYNES, cannot be comprehended by us Cali- their job. tinue to stifle the colorful and vast ing for an even longer period as you and bar named the Satellite decided JAMES DUFFY V, DELIA ROJAS, fornians as they undergo a power out- Being the largest energy produc- music scene of Los Angeles. The wait for Elton John or Megan Thee in early 2020 to no longer host live JUAN MENDOZA, ANGELA JOHNSON, age crisis from the result of two severe ing state in the country, individuals closing of venues across the city was Stallion to come out on stage, only shows and become a restaurant. TUPAC ZAPATA, ALLIN ERIS, KELIYAH winter storms, expected things to be under control among the to continue standing as they preform According to the National Inde- WILLIAMS, JUSTIN DE LA CRUZ leading fam- briskly. Instead, nearly half the state many loses for an additional four hours while pendent Venue Association (NIVA), ilies to very faced power disruptions. associated your feet start falling asleep—all of “Venues are losing 85-100% of their Online Editor-in-Chief dangerous liv- The Governor of Texas, Greg Ab- with the that is the ultimate show experience! income due to the social gathering DIEGO CHAVEZ CADENA ing conditions. bott is providing very few details about COVID-19 Of course, you can’t leave out the bans in place. We were the first to Texas was when individuals can go back to living pandemic. overpriced drinks and the potential close and we’ll be the last to open.” Faculty Adviser somewhere I a normal life, as if he doesn’t care. He With the fights that can break out. But this all NIVA was able to get more than RHONDA GUESS was consider- doesn’t give full and honest responses u n k n o w n becomes worth it when you take in two million emails for congress to ing soon visit- in his press conferences which leads to return of the beauty of live music directly in pass the Save our Stages Act. The act ing because of me question his real motives. live enter- front of you and make unforgettable states, in part, “the Small Business For all submissions including letters the distant family I have residing there As of February 28, 2021, the power tainment, we patiently wait for the memories. Administration allows grants for eli- to the editor and publicity releases, send materials to Collegian offices located in waiting to meet my daughter. But the is back, but millions of Texans worry safe day when we can gather in a Infamous venues like the Hol- gible live venue operators, producers, Chemistry Building, Room 207, or email: thought of not having electricity or about what it will take to fully retrieve dark crowded room, swaying side to lywood Bowl, the Troubadour, the promoters, or talent representatives [email protected]. water upon my arrival worries me. the happy and healthy lifestyle they side to our favorite performers once Fonda, the Echo and Echoplex, the to address the economic effects of To advertise in the Collegian, direct Federal agencies sent out a warn- were previously used to living.