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ccclarion.com Volume LXXV • Issue 10 Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Study Abroad returns The fall 2022 trip will be the first for the program after a two year hiatus BY KARINA CURIEL
STAFF REPORTER
KCURIEL@CCCLARION.COM
MARK SNOW - STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Leonard Turner prepares for the opening tip-off against West Valley’s Adam Afifi in the CCCAA State Tournament quarterfinals matchup on March 11.
Owls’ run ends at State Rough shooting night costs Citrus in the CCCAA State Championship Tournament BY ANTHONY ROSSI
EDITOR- IN - CHIEF
AROSSI@CCCLARION.COM
Citrus College spent a season running, pressing and, eventually, dancing all the way to West Hills to compete in the California Community College Athletic Association state championship. Their tenacious run ended with a 79-68 loss to the No. 2 seed from the north California bracket, the West
Valley Vikings, in the CCCAA state championship quarterfinal Friday. After finishing conference play 21-6, Citrus entered the SoCal Regional Tournament as the No. 9 seed. The Owls held on to upset the Ventura College Hornets 77-74 on March 3 and unseated the No. 1 seed Fullerton College Hornets two days later to punch their ticket to the state tournament. Citrus’ calling card was a guard-
heavy, fully-used roster that disrupted opponents with a highoctane style of play. All season, coach Brett Lauer played almost the entirety of his 13-man roster. This allowed the Owls to maintain their intensity throughout the game. The Owls’ quarterfinals matchup against West Valley was no exception to this style. “(We wanted to) play the way
we play, focus on us and how we compete,” Lauer said. “(We wanted to) pressure and play fast and get the tempo going.” Citrus’ up-tempo style kept the Owls in it early even as they struggled to knock down shots. The Owls established pressure and continuously occupied West Valley’s ball handlers’ air space.
Read STATE Page 5
PHOTO BY SARAH ADAMS, ILLUSTRATION BY ANTHONY ROSSI
A shifting mentality
Part one of the Clarion’s look into the effects of the March 2020 shutdown on enrollment, students, faculty and the future BY ANTHONY ROSSI
EDITOR- IN - CHIEF
AROSSI@CCCLARION.COM
Two years ago, Citrus College was filled with students mingling in the quad, talking around the Haugh Performing Arts Center, and struggling to find parking for the
day. Today, the effects of the March 2020 shutdown due to COVID-19 remain as students stay home, leaving spots on campus once filled now desolate. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the mindsets of students and exacerbated Citrus College’s
downward trending enrollment issue. Before March 2020, attendance at the college was already decreasing. The amount of full-time equivalent students (the number that in part determines the amount of funding Citrus College receives from the state) fell three straight spring
semesters and two consecutive fall semesters, according to data from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office. Faculty union President David Ryba said when COVID-19 shut the school down, the enrollment issue
Read COVID, Page 3
The Study Abroad Program has returned to Citrus College after being canceled for two years due to COVID-19. The next upcoming trip is for London in fall 2022. Limitations remain for the program, like the summer of 2022 trip to Kyoto, Japan, which was put on hold. Study Abroad program specialist John Morris said a decision will have to be made by the end of the month if the trip will happen. Japan’s borders are currently not open to tourists, and restrictions like these affect the program massively. “We were planning programs, and it was disappointing because they’d get canceled,” Morris said. “We didn’t know how long the pandemic was going to stretch on for, and just when I would start to think ‘Oh, things are starting to go back to normal’, other variants of the virus came up. “It was very disappointing to plan these things, promote them, and get students excited for it – but then we can’t run it.” Morris has been a part of the Study Abroad program since the summer of 2015. His passion for it does not go unnoticed, especially because he took part in the program for his college. He said the experience was beneficial. “It’s so valuable because you’re going to broaden your horizon to what’s possible, open up your perspectives to different cultures, and overall energize your excitement towards your education,” Morris said. The revival of this program has sparked up a lot of enthusiasm, especially from Theresa Villeneuve, professor in the communications department, who has been a part of this program twice. “I wish everyone could go,” Villeneuve said in an email. “The beauty of studying abroad is that you have the opportunity to travel on the weekends like a tourist, but during the week you really live in a foreign country and that’s a very different experience than being a tourist. “It’s a really unique experience and the best way to experience another country because of the safety net when you’re there.” Students can find out more information about Study Abroad at its website.