PCC Courier 04/02/2015

VOLUME 111 ISSUE 9

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April 2, 2015

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Three presidential candidates selected Philip McCormick Editor-in-Chief

Three presidential finalists have been selected in the search for a permanent president at PCC and the college will hold open forums on campus from Apr. 13 to Apr.15, according to Board of Trustees president Berlinda Brown.

Interim Superintendent/President Robert Miller is among the candidates, along with Patricia Hsieh, president of San Diego Miramar College and Rajen Vurdien, president of Fullerton College.

“I was very pleased with the en-

tire search process,” Brown said.

“The board unanimously felt that these three by far were the most qualified.”

Miller, Hsieh and Vurdien will meet individually with shared governance groups during those three days. Vurdien will have his open forums on April 13, Hsieh on the 14th and Miller on the 15th.

Vurdien and Hsieh will both have their forums from 12:40-1:40 p.m. in the Westerbeck Recital Hall and at 5:30 p.m. to 6:30pm in the Creveling Lounge. Both of Miller’s open forums will be held in Westerbeck at those same PRESIDENT page 2

Swimming still undefeated Legal expert coming to clear up openmeeting law Keely Damara Staff Writer

Shaunee Edwards/Courier Liza Echeverria swims in the 200-yard fly vs. Rio Hondo and El Camino swimmers at Rio Hondo College on Friday. Echeverria came in first place in the event.

Samantha Molina Staff Writer

The Lancers women’s swim team completed a perfect dual season and clinched the South Coast Conference Dual season title at Rio Hondo College on Friday, winning 11 of the 15 events. They remain undefeated with a record of 8-0.

The Lancers finished the meet with wins over host Rio Hondo, 210-38, and El Camino, 171-9.

I N S I D E

This is the first dual team title that the women’s team has won in 12 years and the second conference title in head coach Terry Stoddard’s coaching career at PCC. The last time the Lancers swim team won its only South Coast Conference title was in 2003.

“We have so many swimmers with different talents and can score high in nearly every event,” Stoddard said. “Obviously, to beat every single conference

PI DAY Celebrating a once-ina-century kind of day

PAGES PAGE46&>> 5>>

program is a big deal and it’s not an easy task. It’s a exciting time for our swimmers and I’m thrilled for them.”

Freshman Liza Echeverria won three events for the Lancers, placing first in the 200-yard breaststroke, 200-yard butterfly and 200-yard individual medley.

Overall, the team won 11 events. Freshman Ariahn Givens won the 200-yard freestyle and SWIMMING page 8

MAGIC NBA legend speaks at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium

PAGE PAGE 7 6>> >>

A lawyer specializing in the California Brown Act open meetings law will hold training sessions for the Academic Senate and shared governance leaders this month in an effort by the administration to clarify which bodies and committees are subject to the law—a topic that has caused confusion, debate and infractions within the administration and shared governance bodies.

Interim superintendent Bob Miller acknowledged that the question of which PCC governing bodies fall under the Brown Act has been a point of contention for many years, but that the training sessions to be held on April 13 by lawyer Todd Goluba will set the groundwork for mutual agreement among shared governance.

“As an institution for the past few years, there’s been a great deal of discussion about the Brown Act and how its implemented in our various committees—and which committees need to be governed by the Brown Act, which do not,” said Miller. “The topic has often

Max Zeronian/Courier Communication arts professor Sarah Barker in a committee meeting.

been controversial and has often been divisive.”

The Academic Senate meeting held on Monday, March 23 was the site of a heated disagreement after Lancer Radio director and senate member Sarah Barker was not allowed to defend her decision not to air a Lancer Radio program after English professor Pat Rose stated concerns about it during public comment.

The Brown Act allows for a brief response to public BROWN ACT page 2

SPEAK OUT! Which president candidate would be the best choice?

Vote at PccCourier.com

NEWS

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BROWN ACT

Continued from page 1 comment as long as no action or discussion on an item not listed on the agenda is undertaken.

Barker chairs the newly formed Committee on Committees, formed to help clean up committees. Barker said that many senate committees are in violation of the Brown Act simply because they are not publicly posting their meeting dates, agendas and minutes. Coincidentally, a senate agenda was not provided for public viewing the required 72 hours prior to the Academic Senate meeting last week.

“Basically none of the committees are in compliance with the Brown Act except for the ad hoc committees because they don’t actually need to follow the Brown Act laws,” Barker said.

Ad hoc committees are temporary committees created to accomplish a specific task in a short period of time. However, if these committees are scheduled to meet regularly for a prolonged period of time, they are then subject to the Brown Act. Student trustee Marshall Lewis said that the violations are most likely stemming from shared governance leaders not fully understanding the scope of the Brown Act. He said the act applies to any body created by board policy and the committees created by those bodies, regardless if they are advisory or result in the formation of policy.

“Where you’ll find the most discrepancy with this are things

like College Council where folks have the attitude that ‘this is advisory so it doesn’t count.’

That’s not true,” said Lewis.

“While it is advisory, so is almost every group of people that meet besides the Board of Trustees.

So it’s poor reasoning.”

A lawsuit filed in September of last year by Californians Aware—an organization that strives “to be a center for information, guidance and initiatives in public forum law”—accused the PCC Board of Trustees of violating the Brown Act by not listing the negotiation of former superintendent Mark Rocha’s severance package in a meeting agenda.

The organization is seeking a ruling that the board violated the Brown Act and to nullify the board’s decision to pay Rocha a $400,000 severance. That would require Rocha to pay the tax-funded retirement package back to the school.

While the administration declined to comment on pending litigation, Associate Vice President of Strategic Planning and Innovation Ryan Cornner said each new board member is briefed on the Brown Act as part of their induction. The board also recently participated in a Brown Act workshop also held

by Gruba during their annual retreat on Feb. 21.

“As part of the board self-evaluation they decided to request additional Brown Act training for themselves—focus on some of the issues that we’ve identified—and also Brown Act training for the shared gover-

nance leaders on the campus,” said Cornner.

A hearing for the lawsuit against the Pasadena City College Area District by Californians Aware is set for April 29 at L.A. County Superior Court.

The Brown Act • The Brown Act is a California law designed to ensure the public’s right to attend andcontribute in meetings of local legislative bodies.

• According to the First Amendment Project, local legislative bodies include districts, cities, school, special districts, any agency’s governing body, any standing committee of a covered board and governing bodies of non-profit corporations formed by a public agency.

• All meetings of public

bodies and the actions that take place at such meetings must be posted beforehand with an agenda detailing the items that will be discussed.

• All legislative bodies are

entitled to discuss items in closed and private sessions, but must disclose what those issues are to the public and state whether there was any action taken after the session. ~ Summary by Kristen Luna

April 2, 2015

PRESIDENT

Continued from page 1 times.

At these forums, members of the community will be able to hear the candidates speak about themselves and then be able to ask them questions.

“I am exhilarated by the prospects of the two forums and the individual discussions with the constituent group representatives and look forward to the experience,” Miller said. “Collectively, these discussions will be a great opportunity for people to get a better sense of who I am, what I stand for as regards the mission of the college, my passion to help students achieve their goals and dreams, and my deep caring and respect for our faculty, staff, managers and the communities we serve.”

Vurdien and Hsieh did not return phone and email messages seeking comment on this story.

Brown said that the purpose of the forums was so that the board could receive feedback about the three candidates.

“We’re looking forward to showcasing these candidates to the campus and community and seeking their input,” she said.

Miller said that it was an honor to be among the list of finalists who both had strong backgrounds and experience.

“I think the three of us can feel good about the fact that out of a field of 51 applicants, we emerged as the three finalists,” he said.

Vurdien has been the president at Fullerton College since

2010 and before that was vice president of instruction at Saddleback College for six years. He also currently sits on the executive board of the California State University Fullerton Doctor in Education Leadership program.

Hsieh is in her tenth year as school president for Miramar College. She also serves on many local and national boards, including the San Diego Maritime Museum Board, the Community College Baccalaureate Association (CCBA), the National Coalition of Certification Centers, and the National Asian Pacific Islanders Council.

Before being selected as the interim superintendent/president of PCC after Mark Rocha retired from the position, Miller was the senior vice president of Business and College Services.

He is also a PCC alum, having graduated in 1975 with an AA in telecommunications. Miller will be president of the 2021 Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game.

According to Brown, the board hopes to make its decision by the end of April.

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Courier

2014 JACC General Excellence Award-Winner Editor-in-Chief Philip McCormick Managing Editor Kristen Luna News Editor Matthew Kiewiet Online Editor Justin Clay and Mick Donovan Opinion Editor Hannah Gonzales Features Editor Mick Donovan A&E Editor Anthony Martinez Lifestyle Editor Ashley Park Sports Editor Daron Grandberry Asst. Sports Editor David O’Connor Photo Editor Nagisa Mihara Online Photo and Graphics Editor Daniel Valencia Asst. Online Photo Editor Traece Craig Scene Editor Keely Damara Design Editor Samantha Molina Staff Writers: Ahmad Akkaoui, Daniel Axume, Nataly Chavez, Alex Chhuon, Keely Damara, Alan Flores, Monique LeBleu, Diego Linares, Neil Protacio, Luis Rodriguez, Aaron Salazar, Sammy Wu Staff Photographers: Traece Craig, Victoria De La Torre, Mick Donovan, Shaunee Edwards, Michelle Gonzalez, Eric Haynes, Erica Hong, Kristen Luna, Mary Nurrenbern, Michael Osborne, Scott Spencer, Daniel Valencia, Tiffany Yip, Max Zeronian Faculty Adviser Nathan McIntire Photo Adviser Tim Berger

OPINION

Playing the game without pay COURIER

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Alex Chhuon Staff Writer

Daniel Axume Staff Writer

When most people think of basketball players, stars like Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Stephen Curry come to mind.

Basketball players appear to some as multi-millionaire YES rock stars touring the world living lavishly.

There are more or less about 360 players employed in the NBA as all 30 teams need to reduce their roster to 12 players before the regular season begins. And unless the team is the Golden State Warriors, most teams will have a couple players warming the bench while earning around a million dollars that year.

Money is not an issue for players in the NBA. However, not all basketball players are NBA players.

The NCAA, arguably the second-most if not the most famous league in America, is composed of 18,320 male basketball college players that go unpaid every year. About 1.2 percent of those basketball players from the NCAA make it into the pros.

Some argue that tuition and the chance to advance to the NBA is enough compensation for college athletes. While that holds merit, the NCAA is the career apex for a majority of these college athletes, and many of these players come from poorer backgrounds. An NCAA athlete is not allowed to hold a job during the time they are on the team and they cannot accept gifts.

Although tuition is paid for, many athletes have trouble finding spending money on simple pleasures like food since they cannot hold a part-time job.

“You don’t have time to get a part-time job [when you play college basketball or football], Shane Battier, a former elite defender who played for the Miami’s championship team, told The Huffington Post. “When I was in college, things like buying a pizza for my girlfriend -- who is now my wife -- or going to a movie, I necessarily couldn’t afford.”

Well it’s only college basketball, they cannot possibly pay players enough to buy pizza for their girlfriends.

Wrong. The NCAA grosses a comparable figure to the NBA if not more.

According to Business Insider, in 2013 during their postseason the NCAA grossed $1.15 billion in ads compared to the NBA’s $929 million of ad revenue in their playoffs.

Of those players, only the best of them move on to the NBA to profit.

The NCAA has actively advocated itself as an “amateur” league as opposed to a professional one.

While the loss of “amateurism” is a hit to the NCAA brand, March Madness will still come every year. The betting pools of March Madness will run rampant year after year, and so too will the ratings of college basketball.

Transitioning from an amateur league to at least a semi-professional one will be rocky, but cutting the players a slice of the millions that flow into Division I colleges each year is only ethical.

It would not kill the NCAA to pay their players so they can go see a movie on the weekend after the countless hours of intense practice.

With the NCAA hosting its annual College Basketball Championship Tournament, or as most people know it, March Madness, the recent debate about whether student athletes should receive NO a paycheck or not has been raging. During March Madness, companies from all over get to cash in on a great opportunity to advertise their products with millions of people around the country tuning in to watch the games.

The NCAA sure is making millions of dollars off this and their athletes do not receive a single dime. Many people would agree that they should receive a pay, but why?

“Students are not professional athletes who are paid salaries and incentives for a career in sports,” wrote Horace Mitchell of USNews. com. “They are students receiving access to a college education through their participation in sports, for which they earn scholarships to pay tuition, fees, room and board, and other allowable expenses. Collegiate sports is not a career or profession.”

Mitchell has a valid point. These are student athletes, not professionals. Sure these athletes are out their playing and representing their school, risking injuries whether it be basketball, football, baseball, soccer, track and field, etc.

But for these athletes, the number one goal for them should be their education. Not many people are lucky enough to get into a well-known Division I school. Many non-athletes that apply don’t get in. They are the ones who would value and appreciate getting their education at one of those schools.

If the athletes were to be given a paycheck, then how would they value their education when all they would worry about is receiving money? These schools and universities are here for one reason: to educate young people and to receive some kind of degree to show what you are capable of doing out in the real world.

Kate Murphy, a student-journalist at Elon University, agrees that athletes should not play for money.

“College athletes need to recognize their opportunity as a privilege, that most young kids aspire to attain, but are never given opportunity to have,” Murphy wrote in one of her articles for The Pendulum, Elon University’s student news organization. “Just do it for the love of the game…It should never be about how much material value your play is worth.”

With the NCAA already having a minor problem with many student-athletes leaving to the professional leagues after just staying at school one or two years, more players would follow that same direction and less athletes would graduate if they were paid. That would become an even greater problem because someone’s education is always more valuable than the amount of money someone has in their wallets.

VOICES:

Should the NCAA pay their student-athletes?

Advertising Manager Daniel Nerio

The Courier is published weekly by the Pasadena City College Journalism Department and is a free-speech forum. Editorials and comments are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the institution and its administration, student government or that of the Pasadena Area Community College District.

The Courier is written and produced as a learning experience for student writers, photographers and editors in the Journalism Department.

Phone: (626) 585-7130 Fax: (626) 585-7971 Advertising (626) 585-7979 Office: 1570 E. Colorado Blvd., CC-208 Pasadena, CA 91106-3215 © Copyright 2015 Courier.

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“Yes. Once you get to Division I level, it is like taking a full time job.You don’t have time to take another job.”

“They should be paid because they have talent that other students don’t have.”

Donall Tuff, kinesiology

Victor Ibarra, nursing

“Yes because of the promotional work that the athletes do.”

Jalen Canty, undecided

“The NCAA makes a lot of money, and the least they can do is give a portion to the student athletes.”

Daryl Taylor, kinesiology instructor

“It depends on how good the athlete is, not just on the courts but in how well-rounded he is.”

Mia Chavez, human sciences

Reporting by: Sammy Wu Photos by: Traece Craig

Note to Readers

Letters to the Editor The Courier welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be about 300 words and may be edited by Courier staff. All letters must contain your full name and a correct daytime phone number. Letters can be delivered to the Courier office in CC 208 or sent by email to McCormick.courier@gmail.com Corrections The Courier staff endeavors to ensure accuracy in all aspects of its reporting. If you believe we have made an error, please contact us at (626) 585-7130 or via email to gonzales.courier@gmail.com

Correction: On March 26, the Courier ran an article about capital punishment, “Shoot me: Why the bullet is more humane,” by Alex Chhuon that wrongly attributed quotes to Raoul Ranoa of the Los Angeles Times. Ranoa was listed as an author of the story but is in fact a senior graphics and data journalist with the RealTime news desk at the Times. The Courier regrets the error.

Clarification: Last week’s story in the Courier print edition regarding the faculty hiring process was cut due to space issues. The full story is available at pcccourier.com. Also, when the story was published, Terri Hampton was not available for comment because she was on medical leave.

SCE

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Pasadena Gam

Erica Hong/Courier Lancer Khaleel Muhammad competes in the 400 meter hurdles.

Muhammad placed fifth overall with a time of 55.99.

Erica Hong/Courier Lancer Jacob Martinez competes in the long jump for the Pasadena Games at the Jackie Robinson Stadium on Friday.

Martinez’s jump was 5.85 meters.

Erica Hong/Courier Lancer Alex Maldonado runs the 100 meter dash.

Maldonado finished second in heat eight and 48th overall.

Vincent Ogbehi gets ready to pass the baton to Alexander McElwee d Pasadena was disqualified after dropping the baton.

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April 2, 2015

mes

Erica Hong/Courier Lancer Tri Tran performs in the long jump. Tran placed first in flight one and sixth overall.

Nagisa Mihara/Courier during the 4x100 meter relay.

Nagisa Mihara/Courier Lancer Danielle Curry runs the women’s 400 meter dash. Curry’s final time was 1:06.69.

Erica Hong/Courier Lancer Julia Sambvani leaps over a hurdle in the 400 meter hurdles. Sambvani placed first in heat two and fifth overall with a time of 1:07.26.

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April 2, 2015

FEATURES

Speech and debate turns into night of fun Luis Rodriguez Staff Writer

She took the stage and had the audience laughing for the next seven minutes. It wasn’t stand-up comedy, but Alexis Arredondo of the PCC Speech and Debate Team.

PCC students showcased their public speaking skills as the team put on “A Night of Oratory” Thursday at the Westerbeck Recital Hall.

The event is to prep the team, which is ranked eighth in California, for the Phi Rho Pi National Speech and Debate Tournament.

For the audience it was a blend of serious and informative topics mixed with humor.

“A speech to entertain is a blend of stand-up comedy with basic public speaking skills, like an informative speech or a persuasive speech,” said Allan Axibal-Cordero, speech and

debate team coach.

“You get a lot more information heavy, whereas standup comedy isn’t about being educational, it’s just to entertain and make people laugh,” added Axibal-Cordero.

Once the speakers are ready to perform it’s easy to forget how much preparation must have gone into what looks like an effortless speech.

“The entire research process is my favorite part,” said Alicia Batice, who presented a persuasive speech about how to handle sexual abuse on college campuses.

As for the performance, Batice’s advice to any students scared of their Speech 1 class is to “breathe [and] remember everyone in the class is nervous too.”

But one speech, in the impromptu speaking category, was given with only two minutes of preparation in front of the audience after being presented

with one quote each from Miley Cyrus, Kurt Cobain and Ice-T. Thomas Morgenroth chose Ice-T’s “I make an effort to keep it as real as I possibly can,” and presented three examples why deception is a valuable life skill.

After talking about history and Star Wars, Morgenroth decided to take a pause and poke fun at himself.

“History? Star Wars? You can guess the third example won’t be about my girlfriend,” said Morgenroth which elicited the most laughter that night.

The night was topped off

by Matthew Shoop, who talked about how men can fall into classifications of alpha, beta and omega and how he self-identified as a beta.

“Last year I went to Comic-Con, dressed as a badass Captain America,” said Shoop.

“I saw this guy, super cute, dressed as Peeta from ‘The Hunger Games’ and I thought ‘Boy, Imma be your Mockingjay.’”

Nagisa Mihara/Courier Matthew Shoop performs a speech on alpha, beta, and omega males during “A Night of Oratory” in the Westerbeck Recital Hall on March 26.

Shoop’s game fell short when a guy dressed as Red Skull swaggered up and stole Peeta away.

“One of the criteria is that it has to be a new take on something old, or something completely new,” said Shoop.

“It’s all real world stuff be-

cause if its not current or new, then why should we listen to it?”

This skill set has to be seen live to appreciate, and the team will host another event, A Night of Interp, in the Westerbeck Recital Hall at 7 p.m. on April 2.

large-scale project was becoming shorter.

Students like Sky Parkhurst jumped at the opportunity to become involved. Her first time working with fractal art, she started at 9 a.m. on most days just prior to the Pi-Day festival to help meet the deadline to complete the large-scale chalk art project along with other artists.

After a day of working in chalk and covered in color smudges on her hands, face, and closely cropped light hair, Parkhurst applied finishing touches to prevent the same fate to her art.

“I [sprayed] the chalk down with 3 parts water, one part school glue. It soaks through the chalk to keep the wind from blowing away,” she said. “And when I go over it with a second coat, it will blend a little smoother.”

Separate from the time

involved in the creation of the computer graphic fractals, the graphics took three student programmers and a project manager three weeks.

“Students work at different levels. More advanced students work with lower levels students, and everybody contributes as much as their knowledge allows,” said Barkeshli. “This brings up the lower level students to expose them to new ideas and teaches the advanced students to manage others.”

Sanctioned by the department of mathematics, math and computer science, Barkeshli credits Dean Carrie Anne Starbird and Professor Yu-Chung Chang-Hou in the well-organized Pi Day Celebration this year.

“I don’t know if you are familiar with getting permission to do something like this, it’s huge,” said Barkeshli. “And for them to let us do this was big.”

Pi (π) Day: when mathematics and science meet art Monique LeBleu Staff Writer

Pi is not a misspelling of that pastry encrusted, fruit-filled dessert or pizza slice that we know and love. Pi (π) is that mathematical enigma that is the endless stream of numbers indicating the circumference of a circle. It is also the base for the art that makes a fractal.

But this was a special year.

According to timeanddate.com, Pi Day in 2015 had a special significance.

“This year, the digits of the date 3/14/15 corresponded to the first 5 digits of pi: 3.1415.

In addition, at 9:26:53 am and 9:26:53 pm on March 14, 2015, the date and the time exactly corresponded to the first 10 digits of pi: 3.141592653. Many people called this the Pi Second. This only happens once in a century!”

Normally observed on March 14, the month and day that mirrors the numerical representation of Pi, the PCC Pi Day festival is always scheduled a week following Spring Break.

The festival honored the mathematical constant with booths filled with student posters, graphic work, art, and a large-scale colorfully chalked fractal representation on the

Michael Osborne/Courier A chalk mural of a fractal was drawn in front of the R building for Pi Day celebrated on March 26.

Quad grounds.

Sassan Barkeshli, who teaches computer science, was on hand to explain how art, science and math connect and how the work in the festival reflects that.

“The message here is how art and mathematics and computer science are just one. Every division in people’s minds is just artificial,” Barkeshli said.

David Wu, computer science, got involved in brainstorming what to do for Pi Day early on, helping to determine that fractals would be a colorful way to represent Pi. “We calculate angles using cosign data,” said Wu. “For coloring, every layer has another color. For my project, it starts off at two points, and then using

those two points at an angle we give it, it calculates a third point.

Then [the program] runs this again, and again, and again exponentially until we get something like a fractal.”

After creating the fractals, Barkeshli approached an art class to seek last minute volunteers to help create the chalked fractal as the time to complete such a

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LIFESTYLE

COURIER

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NBA legend brings the Magic to Pasadena Ashley Park Lifestyle Editor

“I love to win and I hate to lose.”

That is Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr.’s attitude on life and all personal, athletic, and business ventures he pursues.

Johnson, an NBA legend, a two-time Hall of Famer, part owner of the LA Dodgers, one of the most powerful entrepreneurs in the world, and philanthropist, explained this outlook last Wednesday at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

The Distinguished Speaker Series of Southern California, which was founded in 1996, invites seven successful, influential speakers from all walks of life to talk about many different topics

such as world affairs, business, politics, culture, and environment.

“We provide entertainment for the community,” said Kathy Winterhalder, the owner of Distinguished Speakers. “Not only is it entertainment, but it’s also educational… It’s really an opportunity to bring thought leaders and world leaders to help educate and influence the community.”

Johnson did exactly that with his stories of his friendship-rivalry with Larry Bird, his first entrepreneurial mission to open movie theaters in the urban community, his struggle of coping with HIV, and his positive and adamant mindset to win that helped him conquer it all.

“You will make mistakes. I have made mistakes,” said John-

son during his speech. “But I want everyone here to know that you can always fix your mistakes… You have to believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, who else is going to?”

His inspirational message reached an extremely broad audience who asked questions and laughed and actively engaged with him throughout the speech.

“Johnson is unique in that he resonates with many different people,” said Winterhalder.

“Many subscribers brought their children today, and we usually don’t have many children in the audience… He is like a hero.”

“He really is,” added Ben Bergman, a reporter for KPCC and the moderator for the event.

“He’s such a role model for a lot of people for so many different things, like for overcoming

Daniel Valencia/Courier Earvin “Magic” Johnson takes part in the distinguished speaker series at the Pasadena Convention Center.

HIV, for being a businessman, for being such a leader in the African-American community, for being such an amazing basketball player. He has all those things… He’s also someone who has given back to others.”

Johnson proved to clearly be a giver and a personable hero, as he continuously invited young fans wearing Dodgers hats and uniforms towards the stage for

Reporter recollects four year journey across China

David Pierson is full of stories. The Hong Kong-born reporter vividly recalled story after story of his time covering places ranging from the San Gabriel Valley to China to a room full of students in Harbeson Hall last week.

Having been in his high school newspaper, Pierson knew this is what he was meant to be.

Almost a decade later, landing a reporter job for the Los Angeles Times just goes to show what kind of guy Pierson is.

It wasn’t until Pierson joined the LA Times that decent coverage of the San Gabriel Valley began.

“The 626 was really where I found my voice, as a reporter, as a writer. This was an area that the LA Times was not covering as rigorously covered as it should have,” said Pierson to the crowd.

From finding the guy who started the trend of a foot spa on almost every corner of Valley Boulevard to investigating whether Chinese restaurants were really as dirty as people said, no story is too serious or too wacky for Pierson. In fact, the wackier, the better.

“I used my background to write stories that I feel other reporters weren’t able to tell at the time to fill this void,,” he said.

As it turns out though, covering the San Gabriel Valley was a turning point in Pierson’s career.

Pierson had it in mind to somehow find a way to go overseas to China once at the Times.

Numerous pitches to his editor led to a “tryout” of sorts.

The only catch was he would be going as a business reporter.

“I had never done business reporting,” he said. “I was terrified. I had to overcome my fear of numbers. And they gave me six months on the business desk here to cover California economics.”

Like with any great reporter, the challenge taught Pierson one of the most important lessons for telling a story:

Max Zeronian/Courier Veteran Los Angeles Times scribe David Pierson speaking on his four-year stay in Beijing. Pierson shared his story in Harbeson Hall.

“The story is the story, if you can tell a story it doesn’t matter what section its in,” he said.

And so the reporter’s journey began in April of 2009.

“I walked through Beijing, aimlessly, just soaking in what an incredible city it is, rich in history. I couldn’t believe my luck to be there,” said Pierson of his first week.

Even half way around the world, the Chinese faced similar problems Americans are all too familiar with. Some issues are directly tied with the American high demand for products made in China.

Whereas consumption is 70% of American economy, Pierson wanted to flip it around and find out how the Chinese purchase products instead of making them.

“One of my chief goals over there was to try humanize business and economic stories,” he said. “I wanted to write stories about people that readers on the West coast could relate to.”

However, the fact that Pierson looks Han Chinese often made sources in countryside provinces rush to judgment and treat him as the “enemy” due to the treatment they receive from mainland Chinese officials, he said.

Ultimately, it had its advantages as well.

“I was able to slip into the marches and protests and not get harassed by the Han Chinese protestors who are out for blood,” he said. “I got a clear insight into the country right then.”

Whereas Americans take the Internet for granted, China at some point was a black hole surrounded by what Pierson calls the “Great Firewall.”

“Here is the ‘censorship state’ and one of my stories was going out after Google had pulled out of China,” he said. “I was trying to find how many people were learning how to scam the firewall. The more freedoms they took away from the Internet, the more people looked for ways to circumvent the ‘Great Firewall’.”

After a few months of living in China, Pierson had a “rude awakening” that not a lot of business reporters usually experience when an American is a nearby province tweeted that people had been killed in a riot.

Pierson was on a plane within an hour to cover it and could only describe it as “being baptized by fire.” The riot would later be considered “one of the deadliest race riots to ever happen in

China.”

What Pierson found ironic was the fact that it took him coming to the United States from Hong Kong as a teenager

pictures and autographs.

for him to “really appreciated what he’d missed.”

That includes the wacky and non-traditional stories like the explosion of man purses and knock off In-N-Outs. One afternoon shopping for furniture at Ikea, Pierson noticed the oddest thing: it’s so crowded he can’t even walk; yet no one is buying anything. The story went viral soon after in a quirky piece of Ikea being more of a “public park” rather than a furniture outlet.

But like all journeys, Pierson’s stay in China came to an end in 2013. It ultimately came down to the risk he and his family were now under due to China’s high level of pollution.

“That’s one of the things that breaks my heart, knowing there’s families with children who think blue skies are an anomaly,” he said. “When they ask ‘Why is the sky blue’ they are really asking.

It’s frightening.”

April 2, 2015

SPORTS

8 COURIER

Athletes shine at 72nd Pasadena Games Hannah Gonzales Staff Writer

Despite the unreasonable heat, athletes showed up to compete in various track and field events last weekend when PCC hosted the 72nd Pasadena Games.

Organized by track and field head coach Armand Crespo, the annual event was formerly for high schools only. However, the past couple of years has seen the Pasadena Games grow to include competitions for college athletes the day before high schools compete.

“We’re coming up to conference,” said Crespo, who emphasized the importance of having a practice meet. “It’s a shot for us to get in [the Mt. SAC relays].”

Athletes from varied community colleges and universities came to compete along with athletes who were unaffiliated.

“To have a home competition is very important,” said Crespo.

“It was pretty good. We had a lot of personal bests.”

Among those who placed was Alexander McElwee, a freshman sprinter, who finished second overall for the men’s 100m and 200m dash.

“He ran a top 10 mark,” said Crespo reiterating McElwee’s times.

Another PCC athlete who exceled in track events was Vincent Ogbehi, a sophomore sprinter, who managed to place second overall for the men’s 400m dash with a time of 48.93.

However, for many athletes the heat was affecting their performances.

“I think the weather has hindered everyone’s performance,” said Shuo Yang, a freshman high jumper who placed third in the men’s high jump with a height of 1.85m. “We have potential to go farther as a team. We’ll do better next time.”

Despite PCC’s strong presence in track events, the men’s athletes for the field events did not fare as well.

Located at the California Institute for Technology, the events included discus, javelin, shot put, and hammer throw.

Neither PCC’s men nor women throwers managed to place in the top 5 for any field event.

According to Crespo, despite a lack of a strong presence in the field events, the women did fairly well. “ We were up there in most of the events,” Crespo said.

Taylor Matthews, a favorite for sprints, placed fifth in her heat for the women’s 100m dash and Kate Manzke, a sophomore distance runner, placed seventh for her heat in the women’s 1500m run.

“I felt as if all my hard work paid off today,” said Julia Sambvani, a freshman athlete, who placed first in her heat for the women’s 400m hurdles.

Nevertheless, Crespo wants his athletes to improve by the time the Mt. San Antonio Relays comes around.

“We did drop the baton in the 4X100,” said Crespo. “We’re still working on that.”

Nagisa Mihara/Courier Vincent Ogbehi runs the men’s 400-meter dash during the Pasadena Games on Friday, March 27 at Robinson Stadium. His final time was 48.93.

Irvine Valley Lasers disintegrate Lancers Matthew Kiewiet Staff Writer

Tuesday was the same story on a different day for PCC baseball, as they took one on the chin at home against the Irvine Valley Lasers on by a score of 7-2.

Irvine Valley scored first in the top of the third inning with three runs, all coming with two outs. A poorly played ball by freshman right fielder Anthony Rabito gave Irvine’s Clint Jack a stand-up double instead of a single. The Lasers followed with back-to-back singles, the second of which found its way underneath the glove of freshman center-fielder Manuel Tapia, giving the runners two extra bases.

Mistakes plagued the Lancers early and often. Aside from their defensive woes, the Lancers saw their lead-off batter reach base and then thrown out in each of their first two innings. In the bottom of the first, sophomore shortstop Thomas Castro was picked off of first after drawing a leadoff walk. In the bottom of the second, freshman catcher Justin Cage was gunned down at second while trying to advance on a poorly placed sacrifice bunt

Kristen Luna/Courier The Pasadena City College Lancers watch as they slowly but surely lose the game 7-2.

by Tapia.

Head coach Patrick McGee was far from pleased.

“We need to come ready to play,” he said. “We need to play with more energy. We just were not at all ready to play today.”

Irvine Valley deflated whatever energy was left out of Jackie Robinson Field in the top of the fifth inning. A leadoff double, followed by a walk that was sandwiched between a pair of wild pitches, followed by another timely single gave the Lasers a 5-0 lead.

Each team managed to scatter two runs apiece over the course of the next three and a half innings for a final score of 7-2.

Lasers’ head coach Kent Madole said that he was very pleased with the performance of Ryan Adaby, his starting pitcher.

“It all starts with pitching,” said Madole. “It wasn’t the sharpest he has looked, but he was able to pump strikes.”

Adaby threw six scoreless innings.

“My fastball was definitely my best pitch today,” said Adaby. “It

had good run and I was able to control it.”

Lancers freshman third baseman Cameron Tuck was one of the few bright spots for PCC. In addition to reaching base in two plate appearances, he made a pair of outstanding plays on balls hit sharply down the third baseline, one of which resulted in a double play.

PCC looks to bounce back as they travel to Irvine this afternoon. First pitch is at 2:30 p.m

SWIMMING Continued from page 1

Fukushima won the 1,000yard freestyle, Connie Peng won the 100 backstroke and 200-yard backstroke, Nancy Chen won the 100-yard breaststroke, and Wong won the 100-yard butterfly.

The Lancers swim team continues their successful season with the upcoming 15th annual Pasadena Invitational on April 3 and 4 at PCC’s Aquatic Center.

They will also compete in the South Coast Conference Swimming Championships from April 16 to 18 and possibly the California Commmunity College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Championships from April 30 to May 2, if the swimmers qualify, Both at East Los Angeles College.

“Our goal is to go after the SCC championship and then qualify enough swimmers to compete well at the state meet,” Stoddard said. “So we can savor this moment, and still push ahead and go for our best times in the final few big meets.”