Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1055975
F E AT U R E 32 KEYFRAME collectors, or hunters, or who live far from law enforcement and need to defend themselves, should be able to own guns. He does believe, however, that in America there are too many guns in the hands of people who shouldn't have them. For example, simple changes—like waiting periods, universal background checks, storing guns with gun locks, an age limit of over 21 for gun owners—could save thousands of lives a year without taking guns away from people who are law-abiding citizens. Reading his posts brings home the extent of the problem. On October 1st he wrote, "No mass shootings. Just a day when a lot of Americans killed each other." That day the number of gun deaths was 72, the highest so far. West points out: "There was no newspaper article saying: Deadliest Day in America. No one's tracking that—I only know it because I go onto the Gun Violence Archive every day and do the math." West's journey can be followed online at @marlonw on twitter, @stlmarlonwest on Instagram and on Facebook. EUNSOO JEONG HELPING IMMIGRANTS KNOW THEIR RIGHTS If anyone understands what it's like to face the daunting and complicated situation of being an undocumented immigrant, color designer Eunsoo Jeong has firsthand experience. Jeong came to the U. S. as an undocumented and unaccompanied minor at age 13 from Korea, sent by her single mother to live in San Francisco with her grandmother. Despite her challenging situation, she managed to get into San Jose State University's animation program while working under the table for many years. "It was a difficult time," Jeong says, as she explains how she felt lonely growing up and had no idea where to turn for help. Her situation improved when, in 2013 , she received DACA status and was hired as a production assistant on Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now a permanent resident green-card holder through marriage, Jeong has not forgotten her own experiences and is committed to working with local immigration groups in helping undocumented immigrants. Jeong explains that after graduating she was so focused on her career, she didn't have time to process how much immigration and DACA had affected her. While she loved her work in animation and felt privileged to be a part of the industry, she realized she needed to do more. It was after attending an immigration conference in 2014 where she met young, undocumented immigrants who were fighting for their rights, that she realized she could be of help. During a work hiatus she decided to use her down time to become more actively involved. She was able to get a fellowship with the UCLA Labor Center working with immigrants in Los Angeles, helping out with workshops aimed at informing immigrants of the options available to them and the kind of relief they could apply for. She assisted lawyers with translation into Korean and helped Korean American immigrants file their papers for citizenship. Jeong also made a short animation entitled "Know Your Rights" that was translated into several languages. For her, it's rewarding to put her talent to use for something beyond entertainment, and presenting information in a visual form is a helpful way to get the word out to people—explaining key and important material. At first, she didn't realize the impact of her work, but soon people were reaching out to her, telling her the images were really powerful and that they had benefitted from them. Jeong continues to independently produce graphics and visuals that give people easy access to information. She also helps at a group called ICE out of LA, providing help with flyers for immigration clinics and creating any artwork or visuals that may be needed. Most recently, Jeong designed artwork for "Artifax," an online initiative that allows people to choose artworks designed around a particular cause, add a message, and then have it easily sent on to their representative in congress. Jeong says that social activism makes her feel happy and healthy. She doesn't want to forget her personal journey and the stories she hears from the immigrants keeps her grounded and inspires her to do more for the cause. "I want people to know that they're not alone," she says, adding how much it would have helped if she'd known she was not the only one in her situation when she was undocumented. Jeong has worked as a color stylist on Shimmer and Shine, and Pinky- Malinky and as a background painter on Sanjay and Craig. She is currently working at DreamWorks T V as a freelance color designer. Visit Artifax (https://artifax.us) Ice Out of LA (iceoutofLA.org) or UCLA Labor Union (labor.ucla.edu) to learn more.