Volume 116 Spring 2012 Roundup Issue 8

The past comes alive as Pierce College hosts Heritage Days

Adult education campus to close in June

said Assistant Principal Don Kihara.

“It’s not one hundred percent positive that it will be closing,” Kihara said. “We’re funded through June 30. After that it’s uncertain what the future will be.”

“The are private schools students can go to for occupational training, and they can go to community colleges to some extent,” Kihara said.

West Valley Occupational Center will close after June 30 due to budgetary constraints, unless the May revision of the state budget provides more money for the district.

The occupational center, part of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), is facing the closure of its school after a $557 million shortfall in the budget resulted in cutting funding to all adult education in the district,

Approximately 30 schools within the LAUSD, which covers San Pedro, Huntington Beach, East Los Angeles and a majority of the San Fernando Valley, will be affected by this decision, according to Kihara.

Servicing about 200,000 students in the LAUSD, adult education provides adult students a way to change careers, obtain a GED or high school diploma, and keep trained while between jobs.

The center was “categorically funded” for some time, meaning the funds were earmarked for adult education.

But the 2009/2010 budget changed their funds to Tier 3 Flexibility, meaning the district can choose to adjust the funds as they see fit.

However, many people have shown their support for the adult education program, writing to their congressmen, and legislators have come to support the program.

“We have a lot of support from

legislators who have written to the school board,” Kihara said. “It’s really a budget issue. If the budget could be balanced without sweeping money away from adult education, I’m sure they would.”

Richard Fischetto, Head of the Electronic and IT department and instructor at the school, will have been with the school 25 years in June and believes the decision is a strategic mistake.

“What aggravates me the most is that they’re taking away choice,” Fischetto said. “Everybody needs choices. You should have the choice to go from school to work or school to college.”

He also sees the effect that it will have on those that use adult education to obtain the training they need to get back to work immediately.

“You’re not going to get out of poverty without career skills,” Fischetto said.

Student Norma Tapia knows exactly what Fischetto is talking about, as she has been at West Valley for almost a year and a half studying cosmetology, taking advantage of training provided by her unemployment.

“If the unemployment continues to pay for my training, I’m going to continue [elsewhere],” Tapia said. “If not, I’m going to have to find a job.

This was my opportunity to change my career. I wanted to be my own boss, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Steven Lofton, a student of medical billing and coding, started attending the center this January, making this announcement just another bump in the road to occupational training.

“I first looked at Pierce, and after I made some inquiries I found out they offer an extension,” Lofton said. “Otherwise[, if that doesn’t work, I’m going to] LA City College.”

The bleak future doesn’t bother Kihara so much because the value of these centers to the community would make closures have a negative impact on the San Fernando Valley.

Cancer survivors gathered over the weekend to march for a cure

Tears filled many eyes the night children, parents, relatives and friends of cancer victims walked up onto the stage at this weekend’s Relay for Life, and shared memories of their loved ones starting with the words “I remember.”

During this luminary ceremony, hundreds of candles were lit inside bags around the track, each decorated and dedicated to someone who is fighting, survived or was beat by cancer. The lights were meant to eliminate the pain of fears of all those who encounter the disease.

The fourth annual American Cancer Society Relay for Life took place on Pierce College’s soccer field April 28 and 29 to raise awareness and funds for the fight against cancer.

The goal was to keep at least one person from each volunteering team on the track for a period of 24 hours.

Husband and wife Dick Bublitz, 80, and Rosemary Bublitz, 78, volunteered during the event, and ran the track as well. Rosemary beat cancer more than once in his lifetime.

She fought skin and breast cancer. She’s had three skin operations and three mastectomies, Bublitz said.

Although it was his first time participating in Relay for Life, he was fortunate to contribute to a cause so personal to him and his wife, he said.

“I want to help eradicate cancer, to find a cure, so people don’t have to go through what we went through,” he said.

At their tent, Bublitz and his wife exchanged clothes and other wares from Rick’s company for donations. Although many just walked the track because of the heat, they did not let the weather stop them from running.

“Rosemary likes to run rather than walk, so we will run,” Bublitz said before they began their run.

For Rosemary, running has been one way to deal with cancer.

“I run and I exercise,” she said. “It keeps me going. I’ve reached the point where I don’t think about cancer anymore.”

Bublitz admits, however, that they used to live in a constant state of anxiety, always wary of another episode of cancer occurring. Whenever she got an ache or pain, she would attribute it to having cancer again, he said.

“Just the fear of cancer is probably the worst thing of anything,” he said.

Bublitz, who runs the company Fibrenew West, is a member of the Woodland Hills-Tarzana Chamber of Commerce. He’s the chair of the Marketing and PR Department, and since arriving to Woodland Hills in 1970, he has tried to stay active in the community, he said.

Pierce students also showed up to participate in the relay. Rodrigo Espinoza, a Political Science major and member of the ASO, volunteered for the event for the first time.

[See Cancer Walk on page 3]

William Welles

Ready,Aim, Fire: Confederate soldiers fire blank rounds during a mock battle at this years Heritage Days Civil War reenactment at the Pierce College Farm Center. See the full article on page 5.

Ava Weintraub

Survivors: Dr. Leland Shapiro, and student Kat Ivey, participate in Saturdayʼs Relay for Life.

‘Liking’ Facebook more than Moodle

With 850 million users and growing, and its’ recent $1 billion acquisition of Instagram, Facebook continues to solidify itself as a social media giant. One of the best things about this multifaceted website is that it’s free.

Community Colleges are currently undergoing a budget crisis with constant reduction cuts being implemented.

To help alleviate the debt the college has been digging itself into, the Pierce Online department should begin to utilize Facebook as a way for teachers to communicate with students as opposed to costly systems like Moodle.

The main purpose of Moodle is to provide students with means to interact with their teachers and classmates, as well as turn in their work for grading.

Creating a private facebook group for a course where an instructor can approve access for students enrolled in a class can function in the same way.

According to allfacebook.com, 96 percent of college students already have a facebook account.

Since students are already visiting their facebook accounts regularly, this means they are more likely to see any new posts that have occurred on their class groups page.

This can make getting school work done more

efficiently, and there is less of an excuse for a student to not know about an assignment or miss a deadline.

Although not all coursework can be done via Facebook because it does have some limitations compared to a more robust eLearning platform like Moodle, some class work can be done on Facebook, and some can still be done on Moodle.

This way, less money is needed to spend on bandwidth usage for students and faculty members who visit the Moodle site.

In the Spring 2012 semester alone, there were 664 requests from faculty and staff members who needed to have courses activated.

Rather than having to pay for all of the bandwidth that is needed to support hundreds of web portals, and having to pay for information technology professionals to fix bugs and issues, why not use a free platform that students and teachers already

know how to use?

On September 30, a five-year Title V grant to fund contract workers in the distance education department will be up.

The college has submitted a new request for a Title V Cooperative grant, but will not find out if they have received approval until sometime between July and September.

It currently costs $11,000 a year to fund Moodle, a relatively low cost course management system.

The expiration of the Title V grant will not affect the continuing operation of Moodle, but the three employees who where hired understanding their contract will soon be up could possibly be out of work unless the grant is renewed.

Lowering the operational costs of the online department would help ensure the continued employment of current Pierce faculty members.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is proposing to lower graduation requirements for high school students entering this fall because they fear more students might drop out.

The LAUSD is considering graduating students even if they get a “D” in the college prep courses they will be required to take, but passing with a “D” in these courses won’t meet admission requirements for California State University or University of California systems.

The amount of required credits to graduate would also be reduced from 230 to 170. There’s no problem with less credits, but maybe not 50. That’s just over a 20 percent cut in required credits.

They are also considering to cut electives to allow students more time to study for core classes. That’s fine, if you want to work on your English homework instead of taking an art class then that’s up to you. However, they should not cut both the total amount of required credits and electives. That’s too much.

They should cut back on electives to allow more study time, and keep a “C” as the passing grade.

These college prep courses are were implemented to help students get ready for their future. Employers, colleges, and life after high school aren’t going to lower their standards for these kids. Granted, not everyone goes to college, but knowledge is power and those courses would only teach kids to work harder. Everyone needs a job and extra skills look good to employers.

Lowering the standards also implies to the students that they can’t do it. Telling high school students the minimum they need to pass is a “D,” will result in students striving for a “D.”

When the students work hard to earn the “C” grade or higher that they need to graduate, they will have confidence in themselves, knowing that they are capable and ready for college because they earned it and didn’t settle for an easy “D.”

The LAUSD is worried that students who aren’t passing will simply drop out, but letting students graduate with a “D” discredits LAUSD schools. There is a reason you get a diploma- because you completed the tasks that were demanded of you and earned it. If these changes are made a high school diploma won’t be held with much regard and it already . LAUSD students should be encouraged to improve themselves, not to be held back and graduate from discredited schools because the district thinks they will fail.

I know the LAUSD is only one school district in one state, but What if other school districts made similar decisions?

California’s education rank has been slipping over the years, becoming one of the worst. The thought of districts lowering standards paints a scary picture for our country’s educational future.

Letter to the editor

From: Assembly member Bob Blumenfield

Today’s crisis in higher education funding was caused by the great recession and a disappointing lack of courage by some of my colleagues in the State Capitol to balance the pain of budget cuts with necessary revenues. However, by working together, we can bring positive change for students starting this Fall.

More than anyone, you know that cuts to higher education have reduced course offerings, making it harder to graduate. And, tuition has skyrocketed. Starting this summer, community college fees will have increased by 255% since 2003. As costs rise, many students take on crippling debt or give up on their education goals altogether.

This vicious cycle must be reversed. That is why I am co-authoring the Middle Class Scholarship Act, supported by the Student Senate for California Community Colleges.

Under the proposal, $150 million would expand fee waivers and grants covering the costs of books, transportation, or other educational expenses for community college students. It would also reduce fees at the University of California and the California State University by 2/3 for students coming from families earning up to $150,000 a year. Students would only need to fill out existing aid forms to be considered.

We aim to pay for this new scholarship by closing a tax loophole called the “elective single sales factor,” which allows out of state companies to cheat California out of 1 billion dollars each year. To add insult to injury, the loophole actually incentivizes companies to create jobs out of state. With 20 other states already having closed this loophole, the idea should be a nobrainer. But, unfortunately, we have a fight on our hands and we need your help to break through this political logjam.

The companies taking advantage of this loophole have unleashed an army of lobbyists to ensure that this scholarship never materializes. They narrowly prevented the elimination of this loophole last year. But you can help us beat them by speaking out this year. Your passion and personal stories can pressure wavering Legislators and help California make college more affordable.

This fight is chance to validate our society’s belief that hard work should be rewarded with opportunity. For more information about getting involved, please visit www.middleclassscholarship.com.

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Farm Walk breaks records

$150,000

of donations are planned to be spent on student labor

Lior Haykeen lhaykeen.roundupnews@gmail.com

This year’s Farm Walk hosted more than 10,000 people, far more than the number of attendees at past Farm Walks.

This rise in attendance is significant in comparison to the 6,000 people who attended last year’s Farm Walk.

“I cried when a group of kindergartners handed me an envelope with more than $500 in it,” Leland Shapiro, head of Department of Agriculture, said.

Community fights cancer together

[Cancer Walk: Continued from page 1]

He is also a cancer survivor.

At the age of 2, Espinoza was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a common cancer found mostly in children.

His grandmother also died of cancer, and when he was younger he saw other cancer-stricken children relapse and die around, he said.

“You can’t measure how personal [the cancer relay] is,” he said.

Robert Hovanisian, a film major and another ASO member, volunteered in Relay for Life Saturday for the second time. His grandmother and grandfather both died due to cancer in addition to a few other relatives, he said.

“I want to come out and support the cause,” he said.

When asked if he’d be walking or running in the event, he laughed, “It’s too hot for running,”

Contributing: Lior Haykeen

Congressional candidates hosted at town hall meeting

Michaia Hernandez mhernandez.roundupnews@gmail.com

The Pierce College campus was the venue for five congressional candidates to meet with their constituents.

The candidates, who are hopefuls for California’s 30th congressional district, represented the Democratic, Green, and Republican parties.

For full coverage of the event, visit theroundupnews.com.

After paying the bills from the fund-raiser, which sum up to around $4,000, Shapiro knows that he will have at least $17,000 of profit from the event, he said.

Though the annual event was free, the department requested each attendee to donate $5 at the entrance to help pay for animal feed and tractors, Carol Kozeracki, dean of research, planning and enrollment management, said.

Farm Walk offered activities including animal feeding, a petting zoo, a pie-eating contest, face painting and horse shows that were located throughout the farm.

“We had a full and solid crowd until 3 p.m. from the information booth at the entrance all the way to the sheep unit,” Shapiro said. “I couldn’t even get my car through the people.”

With the $17,000 in profit, Shapiro plans to maintain four to five pastures, which will not only cut down animal feed cost by half, but would provide animals the opportunity to walk around pastures more often, he said.

So far this semester, the farm has received around $200,000 in donations.

Shapiro said that he is saving $150,000 of these donations for student labor during the next three years.

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“Students need help going through school, and we need their help to maintain the farm,” he said.

Shapiro needs students to work on the farm just as much as they need the money they receive for their hard wok, he said.

Stacy Carpio, a 23-year-old prevet major, is the head of the Farm Team, a member of the Pre-vet club and participated in the organization of the event.

She has experienced three Farm Walks, and was took part of organizing two of them so far.

“This was the most successful one so far,” she said. “We could feel that

the community really came forward this time.”

Carpio is one of the many volunteers who works daily to maintain the Pierce College Farm. She and other members of the Farm Team take part in the feeding of animals twice a day every day, as well as making sure that they are healthy and treating them if necessary.

“[We raised] a lot of money,” Carpio said. “It’s amazing because not we will be able to buy food for all the animals, and buy tools to make sure they’re healthy.”

Shapiro believes that the reason for the “greater turnout” is the news

articles featured in the Roundup, the L.A. Times and the Daily News. He does not take this for granted, he said.

“I think the community now understands that the farm belongs to them, and they demand it stays here,” he said.

Since the community pays taxes for the existence of the college, as well as the farm, Shapiro intends to involve the community as much as he can.

“I consider my boss the community,” he said.

Contributing: Kal Valasek

Our

Joe Kukuczka

Dancing and horses: Jorge Valenzuela rides a Peruvian Paso horse around dancer Julia Mann,15, at Farm Walk’s equestrian arena April 22. Mann learns equestrian studies at Valenzuela in Moorpark.

Ava Weintraub

Relay: Yevette Peterson lets butterflies free to mark the start of the Relay for Life event during the opening ceremony Saturday.

Women prepare for the Historical Clothing Presentation Saturday.

(Clockwise from top left):

A confederate soldier sits fireside during the evening of the first night of the Civil War Reenactment.

Confederates raise their rifles during one of the reenacted battles on Saturday.

History Relived

Community members gathered in the Pierce College Farm Center April 28 and 29 to experience first-hand the annual Heritage Days Civil War historical reenactment. The event boasted several thousand spectators and approximately 250 participants, according to Robert McBroom, Farm Center director.

Two battles were reenacted each day of the event, and participants focused on demonstrating the different types of battles used during the Civil War.

Kristen Aslanian

Guns drawn: Union Soldiers draw and fire guns against the Confederate during the Heritage Days Civil War historical reenactment at the Pierce Farm Center.

Ava Weintraub

Photo: Emad Abbasi

Photo: Jose Romero

A participant portraying Abe Lincoln leaves the battlefield. Photo by: Emad Abbasi

William Welles

Revisiting history

Kevin Reynolds

kreynolds.roundupnews@gmail.com

The elderly man looked out over the smoke-filled field at the men on horseback, listening to the canons boom. This was the first Civil War reenactment he had ever attended but was far from the first battle.

WWII veteran Judge Arthur Alarcon, a decorated soldier who fought in the Battle of the Bulge in Normandy, was invited to watch this year’s Heritage Days Civil War historical reenactment as a special guest.

The 86-year-old ninth circuit judge, who has seen far worse carnage than this reenactment can create, still has the straight back posture of a military man.

His demeanor, though pleasant, still came with the sharp, clipped responses that military men have.

He was a sergeant in the Army Infantry during the war. He received a bronze star and a purple heart during the battle of the bulge. He was also the recipient of four battle stars and a combat infantry badge.

“This is my first reenactment,” Alarcon said. “It’s been great, and this campus is beautiful.”

Alarcon’s presence in the reenactment was just one on many events that attracted families and spectators the Pierce College Farm Center.

This was the third reenactment to take place at Pierce College. The event included a presidential press conference with “Abraham Lincoln”, Civil War period dancing, and a historical clothing presentation.

“This is an opportunity to bring a historical program to L.A.,” Robert McBroom, Farm Center director, said. “This has received huge support from campus administration.”

This event did not reenact any particular battles but focused on demonstrating certain types of battles that were common during the war.

“We were focusing on earthworks and breastworks,” Ed Mann, reenactment coordinator and acting Confederate colonel, said. “We use those mounds of dirt that are out in the field to plan our attacks around.”

There were two battles each day of the event, one at noon and the other at 3 p.m.

The preparation for the event took about a month to complete, according to farm tech Steven Lander.

The Farm Center grew barley in the

Stories told by T-shirts

Clothesline project marks Denim Day

Aurora Ramirez aramirez.roundupnews@gmail.com

Victims of sexual assault and their friends told their stories through T-shirts displayed on the Mall on Denim Day, a day to show support to those who have suffered or encountered sexual harassment.

“We’re here to bring awareness to sexual assault, and we have banded together to wear jeans as a statement on Denim Day,” Health Center intern Andrea Evangelista said. Colorful T-shirts were provided April 25 to students who wanted to share their assault story - whether it is a rape, sexual assault, or harassment - with their peers to demonstrate that such things can happen to anyone.

Once finished writing on a T-shirt, students were able to hang their decorated T-shirts on a line dry position with many others that decorated the Mall.

fields for the reenactment McBroom said. They also set up perimeters for each campsite.

But battlefields and artillery fire was not the only thing happening at the Heritage Day’s reenactment. An authentic Civil War era dancing was also hosted. Ginger Alberti, a local dance instructor and seamstress, led the dancing. She also sat in a booth during the day with old hand crank sowing machines, giving demonstrations and selling machines.

“The boys like to play Cowboys and Indians and the girls like the dresses,” Alberti said.

The heat of the day and the sound of traffic in the distance didn’t take anything away from the experience, Alberti said.

She spoke fondly of how those who participate really took to the characters they played even to the point of taking on the mannerisms of those times.

“I only wish there were more living history,” Alberti said. “Everyone comes out to see the cannons but there is much more to see.”

The event hosted an estimated 250 participants and several thousand spectators, according to McBroom.

Film crew sets base on campus

Kevin Reynolds kreynolds.roundupnews@gmail.com

Pierce College was home to a movie shooting last week when a crew set up trailers in Parking Lot 5, near Shepard Stadium.

The parking lot was not the actual background for the filming. Scenes were instead shot at a nearby house.

The film crew was only using the parking lot as a home base for the cast, crew and trailers.

“We are taking all of your parking,” Frank McCord, the film’s production assistant, said.

“The students here really hate us.”

The group only took up space in the parking lot on Thursday.

The film they are making is a comedy. It will be a parody take on

all the paranormal movies that have recently been released, according to John Starr, background actor. Starr, face painted and body clothed in a colorful clown attire, works for Central Casting and has so for many years.

“I was sitting behind John Travolta in ‘Welcome Back, Kotter’,” Starr said. “I’ve been around for a long time.”

The cast and crew did not wish to give away parts of the plot, but were willing to say that the films working title is ‘Tick Tock.’ ‘Tick Tock’ wasn’t the only media production shot on campus. Last week, cast and crew for ‘Bones’ also used the campus for a scene in an upcoming episode. They filmed Tuesday in the abandoned Horticulture Center.

The T-shirts each shared different stories, yet were all connected to sexual assault.

“I was saddened to read some of [the T-shirts], but I believe that the students who shared their stories do it, in a way, to help others, and that is something that not many are capable to do,” Pierce student Randy Zamora said.

Students participating in or viewing the exhibit of T-shirts were given a small blue whistle that they could attach to their keys, giving them a tool to call attention if they ever find themselves in a situation that they are not sure how to handle.

Denim Day is a rape prevention education campaign across the United States in which community members, elected officials, businesses and students make a social statement with by wearing jeans as a visible means of protest against misconceptions that surround sexual assault.

“People assume that it is what the person is wearing that causes them to become victims,” Michelle Borsco, sociology major, said.

Denim Day started in Italy of the 1990s when an 18-year-old girl was raped by her driving instructor on her first driving lesson. After pressing charges for the

rape, the case was judged at the Italian Supreme Court, and the driving instructor was found innocent because the judge said that since the girl was wearing tight jeans, she would have had to help the instructor remove them from her. This, to the judge, meant the sexual interaction was consensual, not a rape.

Within a matter of hour, the community began to protest by wearing jeans to work.

Interns to the Health Center from California State University of Northridge, as well as Pierce College, united with Campus Violence Response Team (CVRT) - lead by Holly Hogan, the Pierce Bookstore’s textbook buyer, - to bring awareness to sexual assault.

“[We want to let students who have been victims of violence or know someone who has know that] ‘they are not alone,’” April E. Henry, political science major, said.

The team began setting up at 8:30 a.m., and stayed available to answer students’ questions until 3:30 p.m., handing out pamphlets from the Student Health Center and CVRT.

Students also received handouts from ‘The Way of No Way,’ a survival seminar that provides selfdefense dedicated to women, and a supporting survivors information

sheet for students to know how to help those they know that have been victims. The Health Center provides help and resources to students every April on Denim Day, and October for Domestic Awareness Month, Hagan said.

Students who would like to receive help or support with any situation involving sexual assault can make an appointment with the Health Center by calling (818) 7104270 or visiting the office located in the second floor at Student Services Building.

According to statistics made by The Way Of No Way:

1. One in four women in the U.S. will be raped during their college years.

2. Somewhere in America, a woman is sexually assaulted every two minutes.

3. 17.6% of women in the U.S. have survived a completed or attempted rape.

Jasson Bautista

Clothesline: Registered nurse major Sitlalli Leon, 19, reads a message written on one of the T-shirts displayed in the Mall on April 25.

Charge: A mock Confederate soldier carries the Confederate flag as he charges the Union camp.

Kristen Aslanian

Clown: Actor John Starr, wearing a clown costume for a movie, poses in Parking Lot 5.

The truck without a name

Former ‘Cuchi itos’ feeds Pierce residents

Todd Rosenblatt

Food to go: Christian Olmedo stands by his nameless food truck waiting for customers to drop by Bri any Blust bblust.roundupnews@gmail.com

For the last four months a food truck with the name “Cuchifritos” slapped on its side has operated by the Pierce College science building, but the name doesn’t belong to them.

“Cuchifritos” was the previous operator’s business name and is associated with Puerto Rican food, not the blend of American and Mexican cuisine the truck currently serves.

The truck serves a variety of food from pastrami sandwiches to nachos supreme.

The “Cuchifritos” name owner, Diana Tinker, declined to talk to the Roundup about pursuing any actions to remove the name from the truck but did mention she was not happy about it.

The owner of the food truck by the science building is Christian Olmedo and he has had it for one year.

“I need to change it [the name],” Olmedo said, “I just don’t know what to call it.”

Tinker has addressed confused customers following @CuchiFritosLLC on Twitter about the mix up of the science building food truck and “Cuchifritos”

“CuchiFritos hasn’t been serving for months...whatever is being served at Pierce college with my CuchiFritos logo truck isn’t my food,” Tinker wrote on Twitter from her @CuchiFritosLLC account April 11.

Food trucks must at all times have a health grade visible or be able to

provide one if it is requested by a patron, according to the County of Los Angeles Public Health’s mobile food facility inspection guidelines.

Olmedo said his truck has an “A” rating, but there is no way to confirm it at this time.

Environmental science major Qusai Bhaijeewah said he has been to Olmedo’s truck over 10 times.

“It’s closest and they [Pierce College] destroyed the cafeteria where I used to eat,” Bhaijeewah said.

He said his favorite meals from the food truck are chili cheese fries and a cheeseburger with American cheese.

“It’s [the food] not healthy,” Bhaijeewah said, “It doesn’t give you the energy you need.”

Accounting major Ashley Lanwick said she likes Olmedo’s food truck better than the Hot Sauce truck.

“The water is cheaper than the vending machine and the guy [Olmedo] is really nice,” Lanwick said.

Olmedo said he lowers the price of food by about $2 when he is on campus for the students at Pierce.

The truck also operates at various locations in Burbank and Glendale.

Nutritious food can be yummy

Club promotes healthy lifestyle with food

Brent Spector bspector.roundupnews@gmail.com

Everyone has heard that keeping a low intake of fat, salt and calories is important in maintaining a healthy diet, but the value of vitamins and minerals in everyday life is what members of Yummy For Your Tummy want to impress on students.

The Yummy For Your Tummy club began this semester through the combined efforts of Antoinette Mannie, Asia Ghazi, Caylor Davis, and Mayra Renteria to educate students about fun and delicious ways to get various vitamins and minerals that are a necessary part of a proper diet.

culinary arts with an emphasis on nutrition.”

The club chooses a vitamin or mineral as a theme for their events, and then they showcase foods that are high in content in that particular vitamin or mineral.

“At Club Rush we showcased vitamin E and served asparagus, chocolate-covered strawberries, hummus, guacamole, vegetable chips, and other foods that were high in vitamin E,” Mannie said.

a

- Shannon DeVaney, faculty adviser

“I spoke to a couple of people in belly dance class and we decided to give it a try,” club president Mannie said.

The idea for the club was a mutual decision between the four, but Mannie and Ghazi had their own reasons for starting it.

Mannie, who wants to be a surgeon, feels advocating health consciousness, especially vitamins and minerals, is a prime way to reduce avoidable diseases like heart disease.

“It really came from within,” Mannie said. “What you consume affects how you feel the next day.”

Club event planner Ghazi aspires to open a restaurant based on healthy substitutions for basic ingredients, like replacing butter for olive oil, so the club’s message fit with that goal.

”I wanted to get a master’s in nutrition, but I realized my real passion was in culinary arts,” Ghazi said. “I want to do something in

At their next event, scheduled to be sometime after spring break, the club plans to showcase vitamin C and are currently in the process of creating the menu for it.

Both Mannie and Ghazi agree that none of this would be possible without help from the ASO and especially without the help of their faculty advisor, Assistant Professor of Biology Shannon DeVaney.

“I think it’s a great message,” DeVaney said. “They’re all about promoting a healthy lifestyle.”

The club does not have any set hours, but they typically meet Friday about noon at the Coffee Bean at the intersection of Ventura and Corbin.

The club is always looking for new members, but there is no pressure to join, and people are encouraged to visit the club’s events and enjoy the free food.

If you would like to find out more about the club, they can be contacted through their e-mail address: yummy4urtummyclub@gmail. com.

Todd Rosenblatt

Customer service: Christian Olmedo gives student Daniel OʼBrien his change.

“They’re all about promoting

heathy lifestyle.”

The life of a graffiti artist

Documentary ‘The Radiant Child’ screened for free in the Great Hall

Eli Diaz ediaz.roundupnews@gmail.com

The Pierce College Philosophy club presented the film, Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child on Monday afternoon at The Great Hall.

“Art World Perspectives” is a series of films and discussions to share different perspectives on art world issues.

The artist in the film incorporates hip-hop, graffiti and street art that blends with fine art.

Communications major, Andrea Gordillo attended the event for extracredit but was surprised at how interesting the film was.

‘The Little Dog Laughed’ opens to a pleased crowd

Sande said.

“Timing is different with a larger audience,” Sande said.

The play “The Little Dog Laughed,” performed by the Pierce College Theater Department, was well received by a full house on opening night April 28.

The Broadway play had a soft opening April 27 and was performed for a much smaller crowd of 40 people, Theater Manager Michael

Fred and Dolores Halbeck of Woodland Hills said they like the feel of the community theater.

“It’s small but the play was just as good as those in larger theaters,” Fred Halbeck said.

Diane, played by Holly Eisman, is an ambitious Hollywood agent and the main character of the play.

“I thought it [the play] was well performed,” Halbeck said. “The agent [Diane] had so many lines. I don’t know how she remembered them but it was great.”

Eisman got a lot of laughs during the play and connected well with the audience.

“It’s going really well,” Sande said.

For others, it was the brief nudity, which makes the play unsuitable for

children under 17, that caught their attention.

“I was really surprised,” said Shawna Adler, an addiction studies major. “But in a good way.”

The play also starred Jordan Jones, Vince Cusimano, and Shannon Mary Dixon.

The critically acclaimed Broadway comedy “The Little Dog Laughed” was written by Douglas Carter Beane and premiered in 2006.

“I thought it was a really great film and I like the fact that they have a panel discussion afterwards and they give you a little more insight into the film,” said Gordillo.

She also had no prior knowledge about the artist or his works.

“A very different artist and high personality type of person,” Gordillo said.

Photography major, Calamoni Trejo also enjoyed the film and spoke about the artist’s rise and fall.

“It kind of sucks to see that a lot of artists start in a black hole and its interesting to see that art takes them into another level but then to see the fame, money and corruption bring them back down to that black hole,” Trejo said.

Furthermore, Trejo said the film

made her realize that today’s art is defined by what makes money or what is more mainstream, that art in our generation has taken a new form with phone applications like ‘Instagram’ or ‘Tumblr’.

“I feel like if you want to find art you have to go into the past,” said Trejo. ”To find art nowadays is kind of like finding treasure.”

Moreover, Professor of Philosophy, Malanie McQuitty wants students to discuss different perspectives and opinions on the film.

“I hope students that aren’t familiar with art have gotten some familiarity and maybe now some interest to go out to museums and look at art on their own time,” McQuitty said.

Angela Tafoya

Curtain call: The cast of “The Little Dog Laughed” directed by Frank Catalano, takes a final bow at the end of their performance Saturday, April 28 held in the temporary theatre located across from the Child Developement Center.

Brittany Blust bblust.roundupnews@gmail.com

Jasson Bautista

Panel discussion: Dr. Melanie McQuitty (left) and Jill Newman lead a panel discussion following the film viewing.

Perseverance pays off

Swimmer wins award, breaks 4 school records in the process

to Hagopian.

“Breaking four school records in just my first season makes me excited for the next year to come because I know I still have so much to learn and improve on,” she said.

After an amazing season as a Pierce College swimmer, breaking four school records, and being awarded Female Athlete of the Year for 2012, Laura Hagopian is overjoyed for what is next.

Just her freshman year at Pierce, Laura has accomplished what many swimmers train years to achieve. Having won all three of her individual events at the conference championships in Bakersfield just two weeks ago, and leading off the 200m free relay as well as breaking a new school record in the 50m freestyle, Lara kept pushing herself to break her own school records again.

“Freshman year has been so crazy for me and I can’t believe it’s already coming to an end,” Hagopian said. “I’ve been training harder than I ever have and it really has paid off.”

Joining the team as a club swimmer with years of experience meant that she would get no slack just because of her a first year, according

But don’t judge her achievements as a struck of luck, Laura has been swimming competitively for a club team for almost 13 years.

Looking forward

She has followed her passion for swimming by joining the school team her freshman year at Calabasas High School five years ago and has been representing her schools since.

“Swimming is my passion. As a child I tried so many different sports and as I grew up my parents told me to start narrowing down all my sports

to the ones I actually loved doing,” she said. “Swimming was my favorite because of all the friends I’ve made and how positive my experiences were competing.”

She keeps a rigid diet of classic pasta carb load the night before her races and makes sure to stretch a lot and most importantly get a good night’s rest, the night before her meets she said.

“Before a big competition I tend to get extremely nervous and psych myself out. I try to channel as much nervous energy into my actual race as possible but until then I’m either listening to some upbeat music or joking around with friends,” Hagopian said.

At really important meets, according to Hagopian, she says a prayer before stepping up on the blocks to also calm herself down and keep her positive and focused.

“Laura is one of the fastest freshman we’ve ever had in this school, she qualified to five races for state without having had swam in conference yet,” women’s swim team head coach Judi Terhar said. “She made state even with her worst times.”

Pierce College swimmer Samantha

Elam has won Western Conference Athlete of the Year in 2011, has qualified for state championships in three different events this year, and is currently training for the 2013 Deaf Olympic Games.

“Samantha is looking forward to competing in State Championships,” said women’s swim team head coach Judi Terhar.

She won the 500m freestyle, the 1650m freestyle, and finished second in the 200m freestyle at the Western Conference in Bakersfield two weeks ago, qualifying for the state championships meets in East Los Angeles in all three events.

Yet, this year has not been carrying out as she had initially hoped in comparison to last year.

“This past season has not been as good as my previous one. Last year I accomplished so much in one year that I felt kind of burnt out this year,” Elam said. “I haven’t really felt in shape this whole season and it definitely showed.”

During conference championships, Elam kept her scores

similar to those of last year, but not being close enough to gain her title of Athlete of the Year, which went to fellow swimmer Laura Hagopian.

“Sadly I wasn’t named conference swimmer of the year two years in a row but I am lucky enough to be runner up,” she said. “I was just glad I was passing my title to Laura my teammate and not to someone on a different team.”

At the same time she remains positive and is excited for what is to come.

Currently majoring in Child Development and deciding what university she would like to transfer to.

She knows one thing, when she comes up with her decision; she wants to swim for her future school.

In fact Elam has been swimming for over 13 years, beginning at the age of six.

Later switching to Rattler Swim Club her junior year in High School, up until last the fall semester when she attended Pierce College.

“Swimming is definitely one of my passions. I honestly do not know what I would be doing without it, It’s definitely a love-hate relationship but I couldn’t see myself doing anything else but swimming,” she said.

Aurora Ramirez aramirez.roundupnews@gmail.com

Angela Tafoya

Pose: Laura Hagopian practices for state championships.

Joe Kukuczka

Swim meet: Samantha Elam places second during the 200m freestyle April 6, at the Steve E. Schofield Aquatic Center.

Aurora Ramirez aramirez.roundupnews@gmail.com

Angela Tafoya

Swimming: Pierce College swimmer Laura Hagopian in her practice session at the Steven E. Shofield Aquatic Center.

“I’ve been training harder than I ever have and it really has paid off.”

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Laura

Hagopian, Pierce swimmer