A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION Woodland Hills, California
Volume 139 - Issue 11
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Tonal Centers rocks the house
Life after COVID-19
3
Terrorist attack surviors
5
Women’s soccer playoff results 6
One Copy Free
2 Opinions 6201 Winnetka Ave. Woodland Hills, CA 91371 Room: Pierce College Village 8211 Phone: (818) 710-4115 Phone: (818) 710-4117 Website: www.theroundupnews.com E-mail: newsroom.roundupnews@gmail.com
Editor-in-Chief.....Benjamin Hanson
Managing Editor.........Rachael Rosenberg Design Editor.................Fabiola Carrizosa Photo Editor...................Ashley Shellmire Photo Editor............................Owen Meza Copy Editor......................Olivia Espinoza Opinions Editor........Christian Castellanos News Editor...........................Sophia Cano Campus Life Editor............Clemente Pasillas Sports Editor............Nusaybah Al Mansur Sports Editor......................Reuben Santos Social Media...............Daniela Raymundo
Reporters:
Raquel Frohlich Maxine Chaykovskiy Dialaysia Whittaker Gerardo Escobar John Ormeno Jacob Macofsky Tyler Hale Brian Khoury Alexis Brown Isabella Marino Alexis Martinez
Advisers:
Jill Connelly Jeff Favre Tracie Savage
Photographers:
Hunter Hammerot Myraneli Fabian Linda Zimmerling Felipe Gamino Sonya Miller Luis Quintana Devon Thompson Jr. Kareem Andrades Aidan Nary Madison Cheramie Icy Smith Emil Rizkalla Daniel Decamp Ellie James Dannie Carreon Diego Cardenas
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Correction: Email Newsroom.roundupnews@gmail.com
Front: Reseda Charter High School students 12th grade students Isabella Rosas, Jeimy Guzman and Chelsea Aligo perform during “Tonal Centers,” a dance concert, at the Performing Arts Building at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Nov. 18, 2023. Photo by Emil Rizkalla.
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Editorial: From the desk of the Roundup
Pierce should host bring-your-kid-to-school event
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verything that we do as parents, we do for our children in some way or
form. All around America, the third Thursday in April is known as “Bring your child to work day.” So why not “Bring your child to college day?” It could be a day where parents can introduce their children to the information and resources available to their parents, while also allowing children to partake in hands-on experiences. With majors such as marine biology, anthropology, automotive and computer engineering, it could bring families closer together and could provide more knowledge about the options available at community college level to
potential future students. After all, community colleges are mostly known for bridging the gap between the low-income communities to higher learning for a fraction of the cost. The potential future students would be able to see the diversity of majors and students at their local community college campus. This day could also break down the higher educational barriers that we see in lower income communities. Children accompanied by parents on this day could create a positive outlook on higher education and make going to universities more attainable to these communities. By encouraging children and community colleges to
take part on this day, we could contribute to a college-going culture in the communities that don’t have it. According to Oregon Goes to College, “On-campus experiences have been shown to increase both college aspirations and knowledge. Even one day visits have the power to inspire both students and parents and inform them of the possibilities. In fact, students whose parents accompany them on campus visits have increased odds of attending college.” Encouraging children to step into a college atmosphere can inspire generations to become a part of a higher learning community. Seeing their parents strive to provide for the household
while obtaining a college degree can increase awareness and show children that anything is possible. With a focused mindset, dedication and ambition needed parents can motivate their children simply by leading the way. In today’s society it’s hard to find a job that values individuals in a financial fashion without a college degree or some type of college background. Bringing your kids to college can play a major role in encouraging educational pursuits and promote a positive outlook toward higher education while providing a support system from family to future students.
STREET BEAT Are you vaccinated? Why or why not? “I am vaccinated, but against my will. If it were up to me, I don’t think I would have gotten vaccinated. I personally don’t believe covid was a threat to people within my age range and demographic, I don’t think an experimental vaccine made from shady pharmaceutical companies was the answer to a problem that personally never really affected me.” - Josh Rojtman, Philosophy major “I am not vaccinated. I honestly never really looked into the virus, I knew that I had a strong immune system and felt the vaccine was more for those who have a weaker immune system. I think the vaccine is beneficial for those who don’t have a strong immune system to help them fight off the virus.” -August Sanchez, Biology major
“I am vaccinated because my parents said I had too. However, if it was up to me I still would have chosen to get the vaccine. I am still learning new things about the vaccine and I think there are some unknowns about the vaccine.” -Michael Martindale,Engineering major “I am actually not vaccinated, I guess I just let time pass by and truthfully I always had a feeling that the vaccine requirement wouldn’t be set in stone. I feel like the development of the vaccine was a bit too fast considering we didn’t fully understand covid and what it was. -Aliyah Alexander, Radiology major
Quotes by Alexis Brown Photos by Hunter Hammerot
“Yes, I am. It was a personal preference and gives me some peace of mind when I’m out in public. I usually wear a mask in my classes and when I’m in the cafeteria, it makes me feel safe having it on.” -Brian Ozor, Computer Programming major
Opinions 3
Thursday, November 23, 2023
COLUMN:Why I still wear a mask
Roundup News/BENJAMIN HANSON Roundup News Opinions Editor and KPC Radio Program Director Christian Castellanos works on the radio website in the radio booth at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Nov. 21, 2023.
By Christian Castellanos Opinions Editor
I
still wear a mask after all these years.Now, I realize it’s 2023. I really don’t hear about COVID-19 on the news anymore, and a lot of people are not wearing their masks nowadays. With the holidays coming, we are probably planning to celebrate it with family and friends. What scares me is that we have forgotten what this virus
did to the more-than-a-million Americans who have died over these three years. And this fact should not have the lifespan of a meme. At this point, I might just be afraid of COVID. I consider myself to be healthy for my age range, and if I caught COVID, I’m sure I would survive. But I have heard onetoo-many stories about how bad symptoms can get from people outside my circle and from those close to me.
I’m not the only one feeling this way. A few questions that are frequently asked on Google are, “When do you get back to normal after COVID,” “How do you get rid of COVID fatigue” and “Should I still worry about COVID.” I worry about dealing with Long COVID, especially when I do a lot of physically and mentally demanding activities. Still, I’ve had friends and family make remarks about wearing a mask. They say things like “they’ll never see my face”
or “how masks never really work.” But, so far, it’s done me well. I have been in compromising situations in classrooms where I have gotten the dreaded “Potential COVID-19 Exposure” email and around people indoors who later tested positive. And while I regularly wash my hands and sanitize, in all these times, I believe the mask has protected me. There were still a few scares I’ve experienced. I wore my mask
out of an abundance of caution for the people around me. Now—as I did in those moments—I have no idea if I will have symptoms or be asymptomatic, but the last thing I want is to expose the people around me to COVID. I would not want to think that I was the cause of someone’s decline of health, or even worse, a death of a colleague or loved one. For that reason, I still wear a mask.
COLUMN: My relationship with health post-pandemic By Olivia Espinoza Copy Editor
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ost-pandemic my relationship with health has changed drastically. I did not respect my well-being as much as I should have during those two and a half years in the pandemic. Yes, I quarantined, got vaccinated and wore masks out in
public. But when it came to how I treated myself, I was far from attentive. My main priority was simply trying to get through each day, terrified of the next. Spending my last few years as a teenager in quarantine, while watching the daily news with the Covid-19 death toll rise, I feared that this is what adulthood had to offer. Now that we have exited
the pandemic, I now value my health because at one point it felt like that is all any of us had. I no longer see self-care as selfloathing. The pandemic taught me how taking care of your own health can help the masses in the long run too. When we leave the house to run an errand, go to school or even walk our dogs, we are able to spread anything we are
carrying. I have grown appreciation for the things that felt so insignificant before. It is now a priority for me to go outside as much as possible. Even if it is just to take in the day. I now make the active choice to do things in my daily life that I know will help with my mental and physical health. From what I eat and exercise, to journaling about what is going on in my
mind. I feel like I have left the pandemic with a sense of appreciation for my health as well as my life. I have learned we are only given one mind and one body. That feels like reason enough to find steps that work for you in taking care of yourself.
4 News
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Pierce gets groovy, man
By Nusaybuh Al-Mansur Editor Intern
I
nternational Student Services hosted a tiedye event for students on Wednesday at the Student Services Building at Pierce College. Meagan Truxal, the International Student Services F-1 Status Advisor taught the students how to tie-dye clothes, such as t-shirts and swimsuits. Truxal showed students the procedure of spiraling, scrunching, and pleat folding. Each was demonstrated and described with pointers that gave the students helpful tips to execute their tyedye. Before proceeding to the actual dying process, she taught the students how the colors would blend and disperse depending on the technique they chose to use. The International Student Services Director and Counselor Abigail Watson said the goal of the event was to celebrate diversity worldwide.
Roundup News/AIDAN NARY Megan Truxal shows students how to scrunch up shirts to make tye-dye styles in the international student services room on Pierce College Campus in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Nov. 15, 2023
“International Education Week is a joint effort between the US Department of State and the US Department of Education, and universities and colleges across the country are celebrating it. Hopefully what is happening is that international students and students that study abroad exchange ideas and information,” Watson said. “The idea is to
celebrate International exchange worldwide and prepare people to be a part of a global community.” Shannon West, a sociology major, attended the event with her daughter and enjoyed dying her piece of clothing with color. She said she was so happy to find this event. “I will be using pink and purple because it’s my fa-
vorite color, but also at the same time it was my grandmother’s favorite color too. This makes me think of her, and she’s resting in peace,” West said. “I think this might be a new hobby for me.” Bella Lee, a business major from South Korea who is studying at Pierce for her first year expressed that she enjoyed attending this
event. “I like this because we can communicate with each other about their way of thinking and share,” Lee said. “I have a lot of purple-colored shirts and skirts and purple can also match well with pink, so this is why I chose this one.”
New winter classes added Final Academic Senate meeting of the semester takes place
By Tyler Hale Reporter
T
he Academic Senate meeting began with a word from President Ara Aguiar. She wished all the participants a warm and safe Thanksgiving for the holiday. Aguiar recounted meeting the chancellor, and added she plans include 12-15 sections in the upcoming
winter semester but an unorthodox bit of news made headways. The LA District plans on uploading a mechanism to identify online bots. “They put a hold on the bots to prevent them from enrolling and fix the situation of classes being full in a heartbeat,” Arguiar said. A resolution which was passed back in 2020 meant
to address systemic racism was discussed. Faculty and Professional Coordinator Brian Moe spoke about a portion of the faculty evaluation which addresses professional development of diversity, equity and inclusion. “It’s always a concern and should be at the forefront because we all share the same planet,” Moe said. Another item addressed
was the future of a controversial statue by John Ehn on campus which depicts violence against Native American culture but was deemed historic. The debate was whether the statue should be removed from campus and placed somewhere else. “A museum or somewhere not here because it has no place anymore and we’re trying to move past that,”
Moe said. Senate President Margarita Pillado expressed her wishes to schedule more classes in-person on campus. “The classes feel faster online but it’s hard to go to the administration and require the in-person ones,” Pillado said. “We have the need for classes to be heavily enrolled.”
News 5
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Hamas attack survivors share their stories at CSUN By Raquel Frohlich Reporter riel Ein-Gal, a 26-year-old Israeli and a survivor of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, stood up to the attentive audience and stretched out his left arm, showing a tattoo reading, “20/21.” “We were 21 at that party, but we only came back 20,” Ein-Gal said. “I did it on the arm like that, some of you can guess, it’s because the Holocaust survivors from Auschwitz did have those numbers, and this is my way, our way to say, ‘Never again is now,’ and this is my story of Oct. 7.” Ein-Gal, Maya Parizer and her fiancé Ron Alenziki traveled to the U.S. to share their testimonies and are speaking on campuses such as California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Co-sponsors of the event included Chabad at CSUN, SSI at CSUN, the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity and Hillel818, an organization that serves Jewish college students in the San Fernando Valley and meets Mondays on the Pierce College campus with a kosher meal. Two sign language interpreters were present, and among the 10 rows of about 10 chairs filled mostly by students and some by older attendees, there was only a scattering of empty seats. Parizer and Alenziki survived the Supernova music festival massacre, from which many people were kidnapped and more than 260 bodies have been recovered, and Ein-Gal survived attacks on Zikim Beach. “The terrorists mounted the shore and they
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Roundup News/RAQUEL FROHLICH After speaking about his experiences surviving the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, Ariel Ein-Gal embraces an attendee—who said she has two cousins who are hostages—in the East Conference Center at California State University, Northridge, in Los Angeles on Nov. 15, 2023.
slaughtered everyone there. And I’m telling you— everyone,” Ein-Gal said. “They killed fishermen that came from this beach every day for the past 40 years. They killed fathers and sons that came there to camp. They killed soldiers we saw there the night before, having fun playing backgammon with some girls. And they even killed a 17-year-old couple that came to the beach to celebrate their first love.” Ein-Gal has now twice extended his stay in the U.S. to continue speaking at sites such as places of worship and universities. “To hear from them, what’s the situation right now in the U.S. and how it is to be a Jewish student, it was very powerful to hear all the people and all the students and feeling like I’m able to give them the motivation to carry on after they’ve heard what I’ve been through,” Ein-Gal said in a later interview. Ronit Chavol, a former Pierce student who is studying psychology at CSUN, has been impacted by the events of Oct. 7, and
when she heard a survivor was coming to campus, it was something she wanted to show up for. “Even though we’re on this side of the world, so many of us have family there,” Chavol said. “Even the people who don’t, the Jewish people are like one big family.” Parizer spoke first, and recounted the initial confusion and slow-coming terror of the morning. After being awoken by hundreds of rockets around 6: 30 a.m., her and Alenziki took their time packing up their belongings and saying goodbye to their friends, not understanding it was something with no end in sight, or not an isolated barrage of rockets that could be waited out in a nearby shelter. “Then someone from the security came to us and told us, ‘You have to leave right now, it’s dangerous,’” Parizer said. “At that point, we had no idea that so many terrorists are right now infiltrating the State of Israel.” Hallie Goodman, a CSUN student studying interior
design, was in attendance and found it important to listen to the speakers’ personal experiences. “You just see all the same videos and testimony circling around on social media, a lot of things just get washed out,” Goodman said. “So having people here in-person who were actually there just hits your heart extra hard.” Parizer also shared the stories of other survivors and victims close to her, including friends who purchased festival tickets at her encouragement. Her friends were among a few dozen in a public rocket shelter close to the party—which terrorists began throwing grenades into—and those inside would take turns throwing grenades back out until they lacked the body parts to continue. Some from that shelter were taken hostage, and two of her friends were killed and two survived. A distant cousin of hers on a kibbutz, Ayelet, was murdered, but not before managing to instruct her daughter—hiding in a safe room, a mammad—through
text to urinate on a blanket and pull it under the door to avoid being smoked out of the mammad when terrorists set fire to the home. After the Israelis concluded their stories, they remained at the front of the room to meet and speak with attendees individually. A few students engaged in conversations in Hebrew and others became emotional as they talked to the speakers about their own family or friends currently in Israel. Many students also approached simply to embrace them and offer brief comments of support. “There’s a lot going on, and to see students come together to hear stories and really be in community with each other—that’s really the most powerful thing that we can do, continue to show up for each other,” said Assistant Director of Hillel818 Meg Wells. “Every single Jewish person is dealing with this in some way,” Wells added. “And it all depends on their connection to the Jewish community here in Los Angeles, their family, their communities in Israel. And so to be able to see that they’re not alone, to see a full room gathering to hear stories is really powerful.” As reported in AP News, about 1,200 Israelis have been killed in the Oct. 7 attacks and in the IsraelHamas war, and about 11,470 Palestinians have been killed according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, which does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths.
6 Campus Life
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Dancing the night away Connecting with people American Sign Language club hosts events
By Maxine Chaykovskiy Reporter he American Sign Language (ASL) Club hosted a Fall Gathering event on Tuesday, Nov. 14, at the IRIS room 901 at Pierce College featuring seasonal games. Regardless of their level of ASL skill, attendees engaged in games and activities meant to foster connections and enhance communication. Kristine Hall and a few ASL interpreters hosted the event and played games with current members and new students. “We have general meetings where we do things like play games that encourage the use of sign language to help foster a learning environment of sign language and encourage more exposure to the deaf community and deaf culture,” said ASL Interpreter and Co-President of the ASL Club Julia Anderson. The ASL Club has bi-weekly meetings where they have different games for people of varying sign language skills. “It’s just about exposing people of all levels of sign language, whether someone has no sign language skill, or they’re on their way to become a working interpreter. ASL club is for ev-
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Roundup News/EMIL RIZKALLA Artistic Director Denise Gibson flips her hair at the end of Tonal Centers, a dance concert in the Performing Arts Building at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Nov. 18, 2023.
By Tyler Hale Reporter he program Tonal Centers performed as part of a series of dance routines for the 2023 Dance Concerts held on Nov. 17, 18 and 19. The dancers wore white flowing fabric in the first piece of the program before they shed them for tight black shorts to transition to hip hop. Dance major Liz Scanlan said all the practice done throughout the semester paid off when she and her fellow dancers went on the stage. “I had a few jitters, but I made it through,” Scanlan said. Family and friends showed their support for their loved ones on stage and behind the scenes. Former Pierce student Jazimine Garcia attended with her family because her sister Melaney is the alumni choreographer and her younger sister Ashley danced.
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“Tonight was her best piece ever. It was so emotional I literally cried,” Garcia said. Musical numbers ranged from catchy hip hop music to ethereal slow pieces listed in 13 different routines. Dancers performed all their numbers in barefoot. The venue also had guest performers from Reseda Charter High School who were invited to perform in some of the pieces. Brenda Garcia, who is a high school student from Reseda, said she was ecstatic after her first performance. “I thought it went really well and I gave it my all,” Garcia said. Audience members cheered during the performances. There was a minor controversy given how one of the pieces “Infatuation” uses Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love” which is prominent in the movie “Fifty Shades of Grey” both of which has mature themes.
Warnings were given to parents to be mindful of their young ones during the piece due to the content and attire performers were wearing. “They just told us today they would put up signs just in case younger students or kids would be in attendance,” Scanlan said. “It was just to make sure everyone was on the same page about it.”
Roundup News/EMIL RIZKALLA Alejandra Leon dances in the Performing Arts Building at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Nov. 18, 2023.
erybody to encourage their growth and development of sign language skills,” Anderson said. Co-President Nick Alfaro is a family interpreter for his brother who is deaf. “My knowledge about ASL is to prove to them that the deaf are not stupid and dumb or slow, but we have to work twice as hard to be equal,” Alfaro said. ASL Interpreting student America Quintas attended for the first time. “I first heard about it through my peers to the president, they would often go and announce it when we would have our breaks and it made me want to include myself because I’m majoring in interpreting, so I wanted to practice my ASL and get involved,” Quintas said. Quintas said they enjoyed meeting new like-minded people. “It was amazing. I really enjoyed it. I was able to practice my signing, my fingerspelling and was able to communicate with a lot of different peers that I haven’t met before,” Quintas said. The next ASL Club event will be on Nov. 28 from 1-2p.m. at the IRIS room 901. It will feature a deaf artist Diana Lopez and painting.
Roundup News/ICY SMITH ASL Professor Kristine Hall plays games with the ASL Club at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Nov.14, 2023.
Sports 7
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Brahmas win nail-biter in final seconds
By John Ormeno Reporter ierce women’s basketball continued their four game winning streak as they defeated the Golden West Rustlers 72-70 in the final minutes. Defense is what brought the Brahmas to victory, while Chassen Gutierrez scored 21 points Derricka Millinghaus scored 19 and brought in 10 rebounds and forward Tijera Henry grabbed 10 rebounds and 6 points. While Henry had some fouls against Golden West, she said she still brought energy towards her entire team. “I was here by myself last year, I want them to have a winning mentality and we didn’t have that last season. We are more than good, we should act like it.” Henry said. Henry said she never gives up until the final buzzer and communicates well with her teammates. “Being the loudest person on the floor because the more we talk the more connected we are and we need to be aligned in the same secrecy” Henry said.
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Roundup News/MYRANELI FABIAN Miracle Millinghaus (2) goes up for the shot while defended by opponent Kayla Terry (23) during a game against Golden West College at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Nov. 22, 2023. The Brahmas won 72-70.
Head Coach Thara Innocent explains how much impact Henry brings to this team. “She is a key asset to this team,” Innocent said. “She is very vocal, very active. She works very hard.” said Innocent. Henry had 4 fouls and 6 points, but saved the game
with two crucial blocks in the final 43 seconds. With Golden West up by 3 points 70-67, Gutierrez rebounded Henry’s missed 3 pointer shot and created space for her jump shot. Bringing the score to 70-69 with 43 seconds left of the game. Gutierrez said it was im-
portant that she kept her focus for the last 43 seconds of the game. “It’s always important to honestly give it your all and leave it all out there in the court,” Gutierrez said. “You never want to have any regrets.” In the last 20 seconds, Pierce was down 69-70 but
Kayla Fisher had a defensive rebound and passed it to Gutierrez who then passed it to Millinghaus and got a jump shot to put the Brahmas ahead 71-70. Gutierrez was fouled at the final second and added a point to bring the final score 72-70. Gutierrez explained how she kept playing in crunch time knowing there was a lot of pressure coming into the last minute of the quarter. “I just felt like being vocal on the court, staying positive and having that energy,” Gutierrez said. “It goes a long way with my teammates, being a leader will translate for everyone else.” Innocent shared the team’s gameplan and mentality in the final moments. “We just gave them the simple instructions, play hard defense,” Innocent said. “We’re not gonna let anyone come into our house and take a game away from us with one point on the clock.” The Brahmas improved to 6-2 on the season and will take on Santa Monica College on Nov. 29 at 7 p.m.
BRIEF:Women’s soccer playoff season ends By Felipe Gamino Photographer omen’s soccer had an exciting postseason, getting a win against Antelope Valley College in penalty kicks but losing to Saddleback College. In the play-in game against the Marauders, tensions were high not only on the field, but in the stands. After AVC took the lead in the first half of extra
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time, May Htet Lu tied it for Pierce to force PK’s. Lu was injured later in the game causing anger from the Pierce bench including head coach Adolfo Perez. Before the shootout, there was a goalie change. Brenda Medina came on and proved vital, making multiple saves. Heidi Ricketts scored the winning penalty kick sending Pierce to the next round. In the game against Sad-
dleback, Pierce was able to hang on for 30 minutes before the Bobcats took the lead. In the second half, Saddleback scored two more goals to lead 3-0. Victoria Castro scored late for Pierce in the 88th minute. Women’s soccer finishes the season 11-7-6.
Roundup News/LINDA ZIMMERLING May Htet Lu #7 goes after the ball at the Women’s Soccer Playoff Match at Shepard Stadium in Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on Nov. 16, 2023.