News Briefs

Small earthquake shakes county

A magnitude-3.7 earthquake rumbled through much of the Los
Angeles area Sunday morning and was followed by a series of smaller
aftershocks.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the
temblors, even though shaking was felt from Compton to the San
Fernando Valley.

The first quake struck at 8:27 a.m. and was centered four miles
southeast of Inglewood and nine miles south of the Los Angeles
Civic Center. It was followed at 8:29 a.m. by a magnitude-3.0
aftershock centered a mile away.

More than a dozen other aftershocks were recorded, according to
the U.S. Geological Survey. USGS seismologist Sue Hough said the
earthquakes were all related and could be followed by more seismic
activity.

Samahang hosts gathering

About 70 students listened as poets and singers commemorated
Pilipino-American women at a spoken word gathering to celebrate
Pilipino-American History Month on Friday.

Pinays, an educational committee of the Samahang club, hosted
the event, with topics ranging from sex trafficking to prostitution
and the affects of the war in Afghanistan on Pilipinos.

Military sites in the Phillipines used in the war increase
sexual abuse of women, as prostitution and sex trafficking becomes
more profitable, said second-year economics student Maricar
Montano.

Understanding the war’s impact on women and the community
is necessary to limiting its backlash, said second-year Asian
American studies and education student Genevieve Espinosa, a
recruitment coordinator for Samahang.

“The healing process begins first by reflecting on our own
community’s rich heritage of suffering and struggle. Once we
understand where we come from, then we can go out into the larger
community with true compassion,” she said.

Downtown rally calls for peace

Wearing makeup to simulate battle wounds, some 700 anti-war
demonstrators held a peaceful rally at a downtown pedestrian area
Saturday to call for an end to U.S. military action in
Afghanistan.

Protesters at the rally marched through the streets of downtown
where they encountered pro-military spectators who shouted at the
demonstrators, but police said there were no arrests.

Some demonstrators carried signs with the picture of an Arab
woman and the words “I’m not the enemy.”

Some painted skulls on their faces and blood on their skin to
look like war victims while others dressed in Aztec-style clothing
and danced on a stage.

Reports from Daily Bruin staff and wire services.