Volume 119 Fall 2013 Roundup Issue 3

Farm Center throws festival

Council discusses updates on projects College advisory group plans on xing Wi-Fi, cafeteria and classes

Genna Gold Roundup Reporter

Pierce College Council met for its monthly meeting discussing the status of the school’s finances and updates on the progress of campus projects and activities on Thursday, Sept. 26 in the College Services Building conference room.

Like other Los Angeles Community College District campuses, deliberations regarding the campus bookstore spending more money to maintain its operations than it took in last year has become a major concern, according to Don Sparks, a Pierce physics instructor who spoke in regard to the budget committee report.

“The bookstore did dip into their reserves,” said Bruce Rosky, associate vice president of Pierce.

Halloween Harvest Festival open now through Nov. 3rd

General Admission $5 Children under 3 enter free

Hours of operation

Festival Hours

Sun - Thurs 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. Fri - Sat 10 a.m. - midnight

Corn Maze Hours Sun - Thurs 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.

- Sat 10 a.m. - midnight

For additional pricing and ticket information: Visit halloweenharvestfestival.com

Monica Velasquez Features Editor

Walking into the Pierce College Farm Center with the sound of country music in the air, the sights and aromas transport visitors from the urban setting to dust-covered farmland for the 9th annual Halloween Harvest Festival.

The Farm Center is open to the public between Sept. 27 and Nov. 3, from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Kidfriendly attractions include pony rides and arts and crafts, but when the sun goes down the center is transformed into a Fright Fest that has thrillseekers holding each other a little closer.

Hannah Sweiss, 29, and her daughter Sannah Sweiss, 3, have made the Harvest Festival an annual tradition for the last three years.

“We’ve been waiting for it to open, so that’s why we came on the very first day,”

Hannah Sweiss said.

I went on a pony ride,” Spielman said. “So whenever I have a kid that comes and it’s their first pony ride, and they’re super excited about it, that makes me feel special to give them their first ride.”

The plan is to have each of the ponies give rides no more than four hours a day in order to not overwork the animals, according to Spielman.

Palmdale resident Harley Roque, 20, goes to College of the Canyons and works at the Harvest Festival.

His favorite part of the day is being able to tell kids jokes, while they mine for gems and fossils in the sand at his station.

“What does the farmer plant?” Roque asked, trying to keep a straight face. “Beets me.”

“I got into it because on my first birthday I went on a pony ride.”

Spielman Pony Handler

He smiled as a little boy and his family came up to mine for the treasures hidden in the sand.

After the he pours the sand in the strainer, the miners get to keep all the gems and fossils they find, according to Roque.

He also provides them with an information card so the experience is educational.

She said they took advantage of the arts and crafts tent to paint pirate and Frankenstein masks for Halloween and plan to be back numerous times throughout the season.

Sannah Sweiss was all smiles as she rode the Magical Carousel with her mother by her side.

After the carousel, guests can ride “Paint,” one of the eight ponies that will be accommodating riders seven days a week.

Wendi Spielman is one of the handlers that works with the ponies. She grooms Paint to get all the dust off and picks his hooves to make sure there are no rocks in them before he gives his first ride.

Paint was selected to give rides because of his calm nature.

“He’s one of our most reliable ponies, real calm and collected,” Spielman said. “He’s one of the first one’s we go to.”

Spielman had her first encounter with a horse at a young age, and it was then that her love of horses began.

“I got into it because on my first birthday

: See photos from the first day of the Harvest Fest

It is also all about the interaction with the children for twin sisters Marie and Marisa Flores, 18, who were hired to work at the Arts and Crafts tent.

The twins, both Pierce College students whose majors are undecided, help children paint masks and create small art projects.

“I’m excited to watch the different way that they paint the mask, and how some people are creative,” Marisa Flores said.

The twins are looking forward to taking advantage of other activities available for guests.

“The bungee jumping, it’s fun,” Marie Flores said. “Or any of the jumpers are cool too.”

Unlike her sister, Marisa Flores is looking to be frightened by the Fright Fest attractions.

“I’m excited for the scary corn maze,” she said. “ I hear there are chainsaws chasing people, so I’m nervous and excited for that.”

All of the Fright Fest attractions including the Creatures of the Corn maze are open after 7 p.m.

5: See the Student Spotlight featuring Josh Stevens

Ongoing discussions regarding restructuring the store’s business models to boost yearly revenue included restricting book sales to just the first few weeks of each semester and maintaining a larger variety of other items on the shelves.

“One of the main problems is students are running to get their books online on Amazon, or not at all,” Sparks said.

Another subject of concern was the new food court and how it continues to remain unused and empty.

“We’re all anxious about the food court,” Pierce Associate Vice President Larry Kraus said. “There have been some recent developments at the board to make the move, or it possibly already has been done, to take the necessary steps and void the [request for proposal].”

Administration was having issues earlier in the year with

regard to the district-wide food vendor, making the decision to look at alternative companies to provide the school with services based on a one-year contract, according to Kraus.

Poor enrollment numbers are another cause for anxiety, which the Enrollment Management Committee has linked to challenges with the campus phone system, lack of space in classes, CSUN admitting their largest freshman class, and Prop. 30 opening more classes state-wide allowing students to go elsewhere, according to Barbara Anderson, dean of academic affairs.

Even though the enrollment percentage was not raised from last fall as much as had been hoped, Pierce has confirmed there will be about 80 courses available for the winter intersession beginning Jan. 6 – Feb. 2, according to Anderson.

With the amount of confusion regarding mandatory usage of the new LACCD emails, the Information Technology Committee is strongly encouraging students and faculty to attend their brand new IT open houses on the fourth Thursday of every month, according to Wendy Bass, Pierce’s distance education coordinator.

“It is not a gripe session,” Bass said. “It’s an opportunity to find out what’s going on with the IT department and to get some questions answered.“

The IT department has also been tackling the issue of the slow internet speed on campus. Plans to add more Wi-Fi towers, one going to the Auto Tech area, as well as the reinstitution of a campus-wide Wi-Fi password are just a few of the ideas being discussed, according to Bass.

“We have a finite amount of WiFi,” Bass said. “Anyone right now can access it.”

Nelger Carrera / Roundup

FARMERS: Brandon Collins, 19, tosses a pumpkin to David Vihasana at the Pierce College Farm Center on Friday Sept. 28.

Fright Fair // Online Slideshow

Monica Salazar / Roundup Jake Koffam, 16, goofs off in his makeup for the Halloween Haunted House at the Pierce College Farm Center on Sept. 28, 2013.

-Wendi

Reply to David Schamus, Academic Senate Senator-at-large, by Gus Sandoval, president of the Associated Students Organization.

After reading your letter to the editor in the September 18, 2013 issue of the Roundup I was very moved. When I addressed the faculty Academic Senate, in my mind, it was not within the realm of possibility that a member of the Senate might take time out of their day to write something which described me as a “bright light”, or might write: “The students, and this campus as a whole are lucky to have you here as a leader”, or “You inspired me.”

Thank you for your kind words. They were very flattering and made my friends and family smile when reading them. When addressing the senate on September 9, I was simply stating what felt like to me is “the obvious”. The faculty, staff, and administration of Pierce College are capable of greatness. More than capable. The key ingredient to this capability will forever be, as you stated in your letter, what is necessary amongst a group of individuals working towards common goals: consensus.

As I stated during my address to the Senate, I hope that this consensus is achieved sooner than later. This did not mean that I am insensitive to the issue the Academic Senate was deliberating. It was simply more apparent to me that the issue was divisive. The students and faculty of Pierce College deserve an Academic Senate that is working diligently towards academic matters, with consensus.

I thought maybe I was alone in feeling like the discussion seemed divisive. I’m glad I was wrong. I wish you and the other members of the Academic Senate luck and wisdom in renewing your consensus. I am grateful that you are a member of the Academic Senate, and assume you will help champion this effort.

Sincerely, Gustavo Sandoval

umbs up & umbs down

UP: Sheriff escort

A late night walk across campus can be scary. So it’s a nice function of the campus sheriff to provide a ride to one’s car.

News reporting isnʼt a crime

Policies need to change when crimes go underreported

Many Pierce students may face fears while in the classroom such as social anxiety, performance anxiety and uncertain employment, but campus safety should be their biggest concern—and Pierce College’s top priority.

There have been three assaults within 100 yards of the Pierce College sheriff’s station within the last six months — two of them involved physical violence on a faculty member.

Seven months ago, a disgruntled boyfriend confronted his girlfriend during class in the Village. The instructor and assailant got into a physical fight. Later, Tyshaun Middleton kicked out the back passenger side window of a sheriff’s cruiser.

One month ago, a female faculty member was punched in the face in parking Lot 1 during an exchange of words with a student over a parking issue.

Three weeks ago another assault took place in the Village. A parolee followed students into class, acted erratically, then made threatening statements and saying his intention was to take over the class.

If you are surprised to hear about this now, it’s because the flow of campus crime information essentially came to a halt last semester.

The Jeanne Clery Act compels campus safety officials to provide an annual report of crimes on school grounds covering three years, a daily log of all campus crime made public within two days and immediate notice of threats to health or safety.

Yet, when the Roundup attempted to report on each of the three assaults, it faced steep resistance from both school and campus sheriff authorities

DOWN: Trash everywhere

From the play fields to the farm and the Performing Arts building to every bathroom on campus, trash is prevalent.

-Poll Results-

Have you ever been to the Pierce Farm Center?

Do you feel safe on campus?

* out of 75 responses from those on campus

* out of 77 responses from those on campus

-Corrections-

Volume 119 - Issue 1

Page 1: “Senators name a new president,” Raymond Garcia was also a reporter on the story

Page 1: “Parolee arrested on campus,” Van Nuys Municipal Court is properly named Los Angeles Superior Court, Van Nuys. Also, the source of arraignment information was a Los Angeles Superior Court Public Information officer, not a Van Nuys Public Information officer

Page 3: “Parolee arrested on campus,” California Penal Code 422 is commonly referred to as “making criminal threats” not “terrorist threats” as originally sourced.

posing a risk to others on campus.

Described as a half-breach of etiquette by Los Angeles County Sheriff College Bureau Lt. Rod Armalin, the campus sheriff’s station should not direct inquiries about campus crime to school administrators.

Rather, Lt. Armalin says, inquires of a minor nature will be answered by the campus sheriff’s department and information on major campus crime events will be handled by the College Bureau.

However, neither of these recommendations bears consistent news fruit.

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Media Guide on the sheriff’s website states clearly that deputies are not to isolate or prohibit media activities like photography, video or interviews or deny access over safety concerns.

The Roundup called a meeting with media arts advisers, sheriff officials and school administrators to solve this campus safety reporting obstacle.

The Roundup seeks to clarify the flow of information from law enforcement concerning crime activity on campus.

The Roundup does not feel it is appropriate to obtain crime information from school administrators because such information may be slanted or withheld to protect school image.

The Roundup will write the rules of engagement into the Roundup Policy Manual to remove any sense of ambiguity from the practice of reporting campus crime news.

Pierce students and faculty, their friends, family and neighbors deserve to have the timely truth about campus crime. The Roundup shall deliver it.

Pierce students feel safe on campus

Opinion -Pro-

Caleb Johnson cjohnson.roundupnews@gmail.com

Some may question their safety on campus after reading a news report or hearing about campus crime, but Pierce College is without a doubt a safe campus because of the college’s active community.

Students and teachers often react quickly to dangers on campus, showing time and time again the cohesive bond the community has in and around the campus.

Most recently, a reported parolee made his way into a classroom. The teacher quickly made an excuse to leave and ran to sheriffs who then arrested the man.

There’s a sheriff’s office on campus, allowing officers to react quickly to come to the aid of staff

and students. Sheriffs will even escort students, staff and visitors to their destinations if they feel unsafe, according to their website.

Woodland Hills is a safe place, touting a lower crime rate than many other towns with colleges, according to the Los Angeles Time’s “Mapping L.A.” project.

Valley Glen, where Los Angeles Valley College is located, had 15 more violent crimes in the last six months compared to Woodland Hills. Concorde Career College and Kaplan College in North Hollywood has 65 more violent crimes in the past 6 months, as well as 173 more property crimes compared to Woodland Hills, also according to the LA Times.

Pierce hosts various events promoting safety and self-defense, to promote awareness and help those who have been sexually or physically abused. With the staff, students, sheriffs and community Pierce College has, it is without a doubt one of the safest campuses in the San Fernando Valley and beyond.

Opinion

Chiara Perbil cperbil.roundupnews@gmail.com

Recent campus crime illustrates Pierce College is not one of the safest community colleges, leaving some students concerned about walking the campus.

As a young lady, thoughts about how quiet it is and how dark the Mall gets, despite streetlights, creep in while sitting silently and alone on a bench listening to the crickets chirp at the corner of Medallion Square and the Mall.

There are 21 blue emergency telephones located throughout the campus, yet very few actually work. When they do, pressing a button dials the sheriff’s office directly.

But, protection may not get to you in time from the Sheriff’s

-COMIC STRIP-

Station to Lot 8 or the farm and blue phones are not located in parking lots 5 or 7, Rocky Young Park or the soccer field.

Ironically, an opinion poll by the Roundup found that most Pierce College students feel safe.

In 2011 four forcible sex offenses, four robberies, a burglary and a motor vehicle theft were recorded on the school campus, according to the Los Angeles Pierce College Annual Security Report for 2012. In March and again in September 2013, another non-student attempted to take over a classroom in the Village, also according to sheriff’s officials.

Pierce College has great potential of becoming a very safe school but school officials must first reconsider the safety of the students by installing blue phones that work, more and brighter streetlights and assuring that campus sheriffs are patrolling parking lots at night.

Visit

Lauren Vellvé / Roundup

Wi-Fi troubles plague campus

Students still have issues connecting to the Internet

Kat Wilson

Pierce College is a dead zone where Wi-Fi is concerned, as students are having difficulties snagging internet connection for either their cell phones or personal computers, according to Mark Henderson, manager of Pierce’s info systems. A wireless connection cannot be accessed campus-wide, according to Henderson.

“Currently, the Wi-Fi is only available in a few spots on campus,” Henderson said. “The Sip, current library, and [Business] 3200.”

For students in those areas who are still having trouble getting a connection, it may be that the server channels are becoming too full, according to Henderson.

“There are so many people trying to access the Wi-Fi at once,” Henderson said. “And it also might be interfering with their personal phone service.”

Henderson is waiting until the school receives funding from the bond project, which is currently in moratorium.

“We need money for equipment,” Henderson said. “That way we can put in more wireless access points.”

Once the funding comes through

and Wi-Fi is accessible throughout the campus, Pierce would like to implement a system to password protect its Wi-Fi, according to Henderson.

“I’d like the system to ask for an I.D. code so we can verify that Pierce students are the ones logging onto our wireless network,” Henderson said.

Smoking regulations considered Tobacco policy now under review by president

Awritten tobacco regulation has completed its journey to the college president’s desk, where it will await approval, according to a health director in Pierce’s Student Health Center.

The regulation is made up of three main components to ensure a smoke-free campus, according to health educator Vir Maniquiz.

“The only exceptions with the no smoking on campus are parking lots 1 and 7,” Maniquiz said.

In Lot 1, students will be allowed to smoke in the student section, but not in the faculty section. Moreover, in Lot 7, smoking will be only permitted along the edge of Victory Boulevard, according to Maniquiz.

The second component of the tobacco regulation will prohibit both students and the school from selling tobacco products on campus, according to Maniquiz.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The start of October means the beginning of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation website, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lives.

This month, many people on campus will wear pink in support of those battling breast cancer.

Last October, the women’s soccer team wore pink jerseys in honor of the cause.

For a breast exam or instructions on performing an accurate selfexam, students can make an appointment at Student Health Services by calling (818) 710-4270, or visit the Center on the second floor of the Student Services Building.

[Every Thursday]

Club helps members explore career options

The Career Exploration Club will meet Thursdays this October from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Career and Transfer Center, located on the first floor of the Student Services Building. Students can join to explore different majors and careers or to gain more knowledge for jobhunting skills. To join, contact Nicole Goddard and/or Sarah Kihara at PierceCareerClub@gmail.com. Space is limited, according to the Pierce College Career/Transfer Center Facebook page.

[Every Tuesday]

Auto club open to students

News Briefs

Building, room 3640. All students are welcome to join and discuss new technologies and automotive interests.

[10/1]

UC application process opens

The UC application process for Fall 2014 began Tuesday, October 1. Applications may be submitted from Nov. 1 to 30. If you have any questions or need assistance with your application, please call Pierce Transfer Center at: (818) 710-4126.

[10/1]

Annual security report due

The annual Jeanne Clery report is due on Oct. 1 and is produced by Pierce’s safety team, which includes campus vice presidents, deans, directors, and the Sheriff’s department.

The report shows information regarding crimes that have taken place in and around campus.

If you have an emergency, there are a number of options for you to call for help:

Use the emergency blue phones on the campus; Use a campus phone to dial 4311 to reach the Sheriff’s Department; or Dial 818-710-4311.

[10/7 & 10/21]

Scheduled meetings open to the public Pierce College’s Academic Senate will meet Monday, Oct. 7 and Monday, Oct. 21 at 2:15 in the Campus Services Building Conference Room.

The third component will prohibit students from possessing any items or tools that allow the inhalation of tobacco, including cigarettes, hookahs and electronic cigarettes, according to Maniquiz.

In addition to the new regulation, the Health Center is piloting Smoking and Tobacco Off Pierce (STOP), a program to keep the campus tobacco-free, according to Loralyn Frederick, a Student Health Center assistant.

Parolee hearing rescheduled Bail posted on day of initial court hearing

While the investigating officer on the case was unable to attend, Pierce’s officers were represented in the courtroom by two deputies, including Deputy Al Guerrero.

The parolee who was arrested on the Pierce College campus earlier this month for an assault in a classroom posted bail and was released from Twin Towers Correctional Facility on Sept. 27, the same day he was expected in court for his preliminary hearing.

Wearing all orange, Branden Saighe, 27, arrived in the courtroom for his hearing at approximately 9:20 a.m. carrying a bag of belongings and having posted bail roughly two hours earlier.

Deputy Guerrero said he is not surprised that Saighe made bail while on parole but couldn’t speculate on why.

“There’s a lot going on behind it. We have to let the judicial system work,” Guerrero said. Saighe, who is not a Pierce student, had made threats to a professor and tried to take over a communications class in the Village, prompting an arrest from officers at the campus sheriff’s

incident report

Gold

station. Saighe’s bail had originally been set at $85,000.

The hearing has been moved to Wednesday, Oct. 2.

He now reports to agent Robert Schulz in Antelope Valley.

Saighe had previously been convicted of forgery and identity theft from a 2009 check fraud scheme targeting college students in the San Fernando Valley area.

His convictions carried a total of 4 years in state prison with 868 days of credit served, according to Shiara Davila-Morales at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Pierce’s Future Automotive Service Technicians (F.A.S.T.) Club meets every Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the Industrial Technology

The LACCD Board of Trustees will meet on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at L.A. City College on Oct. 23 at Educational Services Center.

[10/8]

Annual fair opens

The 5th annual Meet Your Major Fair will take place Oct. 8 in the Great Hall from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Information regarding academic programs, majors and transfers will be offered by faculty representing most of the departments on campus.

[10/10]

Movie on human trafficking to be screened

The Associated Students Organization Club Council President Krishna Lou Ayungao will be hosting a screening of “Girl Rising,” a film about human trafficking on Oct. 10 in the Great Hall at Pierce College.

[10/22]

Broadcasting journalist to speak in the Great Hall Award-winning broadcaster Tracie Savage will be in the Great Hall discussing what it takes to make it in the cutthroat news reporting business at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22 as part of the Media Arts Department Speaker Series.

[10/24]

Day of Politics to include debate on Obamacare

Instructor of Political Science Denise Robb will be hosting the Day of Politics on Oct. 24 in the Great Hall. Discussion topics will include Disability Rights and History by Nancy Becker Kennedy. Representative Matt Dababneh from the Democratic Party and Susan Shelley with the Republican Party will also be debating on Obamacare initiatives and requirements. The event begins at 2 p.m.

Transfer degrees for CSUs New academic plan increases acceptance rates

Pierce College is offering an academic route for desiring transfer students that greatly increases their chance of acceptance to one of the 23 California state universities, according to Transfer Center Director Sunday Salter. The school is currently offering an Associate of Science for transfer (AS-T) in business and mathematics, and is awaiting approval from the state for five more Associate of Art for Transfer degrees (AA-T), including: administration of justice (criminal justice), early childhood development, journalism, music, sociology and political science, Salter said.

“We’ve done everything we can to move the process along,” Salter said. “We’re on the hook waiting for final approval from the state before we can begin to offer the AA-T degrees.”

The California Community Colleges Board of Governors implemented a goal to each CSU back in 2012 to have AA-T and AS-T degrees approved by the fall 2013 semester in 80 percent of the majors the campuses offer and 100 percent by Fall 2014, according to a memo sent out by California Community College Chancellor Jack Scott’s office.

Although the goal for 100 percent implementation is set for fall 2014, Salter isn’t confident in the speed at which the execution process has been moving so far and

doesn’t expect the goal to be met on schedule.

“The main confusion with the degree is it’s advertised as a degree with a guarantee,” Salter said. “It does guarantee a few things, but not everything one would think.”

While not guaranteed admission to the CSU of choice, the transfer degree ensures a student has junior standing and priority admission consideration over all other applicants when applying to their local CSU that offers a degree program deemed similar, according to the CSU transfer website.

“Given these benefits, it is clear that these degrees represent a vast improvement in how California’s systems of public higher education serves our students,” Scott said in his 2012 memo.

Photo illustration by: Nelger Carrera / Roundup

Wi-Fi: Pierce Collegeʼs wireless connection is only available in certain spots on campus like the Freudian Sip and library.

Roundup Reporter

Kat Wilson Roundup Reporter

Tracy Wright Roundup Reporter

Genna Gold Roundup Reporter

- Compiled by Tracy Wright

Farm Center Grows Community

Cultivating the family dream

ree generations develop the Pierce Farm Center

Pierce Farm Center Director Robert McBroom grew up in North Hills, Calif. on a three-quarter acre lot where he raised animals and showed at fairs as an 11-year-old member of 4-H agriculture and farming club.

“He raised every animal known to God and man,” his 82-year-old mother, Agnes McBroom said.

It’s easy to see where Robert McBroom derives a good part of his ability. His mother has a tenacious resume that includes stints on executive committees and boards ranging from Soroptimists International to 4-H and several health care and family foundations, to boot.

As a child, Robert McBroom raised and sold quail. That business took off rapidly from a dozen quail to more than 3,000 in just one year. Later, he cultivated hydroponic basil, he said.

McBroom attended Pierce College and took Professor Skidmore’s agriculture business and marketing class.

Skidmore forced his hand into attending a poultry convention in Fresno, Calif. widening McBroom’s perspective and, he says, acting as a turning point in his professional life, which is harmonically fused to his family and community life.

Robert and Cathy McBroom have been married for 13 years and have three children together, daughter Jordan, 11, son Brody, 9, and son Mason, 3. Husband and wife both worked for Joe Cicero at Cicero’s Pierce farm stand when they were young themselves.

Roy Barker, Robert McBroom’s father-in-law, has long worked with him and says that he has always wanted to do something like the Pierce Farm Center (PFC) since his time in 4-H.

“He calls this his dream,” Barker said.

His dream is truly a family farm enterprise. Cathy McBroom runs the administration, Robert McBroom runs the operations, Roy Barker alternates between maintenance and babysitting the youngest McBrooms as do Agnes and Bob McBroom. Even middle child, Brody, has his own food cart called “Fancy B’s.”

“[Cathy] works right along side him,” Barker said. “They both work hand and foot.”

They first opened shop at the site of a closed Levitz warehouse in Northridge, Calif. in 1997 after a year of building, organizing and budgeting. One year later, they moved to a Boeing lot at 8900 De Soto Ave. in Chatsworth, Calif. where they stayed until security changes after Sept. 11 forced them to leave.

“Some things are winners - some things are losers,” Robert McBroom said. “You’ve got to kind of shake it and figure out what you’re going to make a change to, but you can’t give up – you’ve got to keep moving forward.”

Desiree “Desi” Cooper is market supervisor and has been with

PFC for seven years and says the McBrooms put employees first, themselves second.

“That man, I tell you, he is something else. He has so many ideas and what he has done here from what it used to be: it’s phenomenal –it’s crazy,” Cooper said. “He’s got the drive – he’s got the bite.”

Agnes McBroom is helping her son establish a legacy foundation to continue the message of PFC.

“We want something to have the sustainability of the farm and agriculture in the San Fernando Valley - so the children growing up when they see a chicken they know what a chicken looks like. It’s not a plastic wrapped thing in a supermarket,” she said.

Robert McBroom cares for his community and his family and he

puts his money where his heart is.

“When I started having cardiac arrhythmias,” Agnes McBroom said, “Robert said, ‘You’re done.’ So I came home one day and he said, ‘I just spent $14,000.’ I said ‘on what?’ He said, ‘I just bought a corn roaster.’ He did this so I wouldn’t go back to work.”

Agnes and Bob McBroom joined other family members and those like family who work at the farm.

“Fancy B’s” was built for Brody McBroom who has wanted to be a chef since he was 5 years old, Cathy McBroom said. “When one of our vendors was going out of business and selling that, they came to us and asked us if we were interested – my husband and I just looked at each other and said, ‘We have to make Brody’s dream come true.’”

Small business to fiscal fitness

The Pierce College Farm Center may have had its beginnings in fields filled with pumpkins for the first Harvest Festival, but in the nine years following, it has become a thriving business year-round.

Launched in 2005 with $10 million in bond funding, the Harvest Festival was a way to meet the goals of the Enterprise Group, which existed at Pierce to “provide alternative sources of funding to support Pierce’s academic programs,” according to the group’s 2004-05 annual report.

The Enterprise Group sought to create sustainable income through the Agriculture Educational Center, and brought Robert McBroom on as operator to run the Harvest Festival. McBroom said he worked closely with then-President Rocky Young and followed the vision and business plans from the college.

“The Harvest Festival year one, 2005: absolute home run,” McBroom said. “We had to re-evaluate: are we doing a farm, or a Harvest Festival operation? Immediately the next year, we’re opening up the market, we’re starting to grow summer produce, years ahead of original foresight and projections.”

As the years have progressed, so has the development of the vision plan, with the addition of the Pizza Farm, field trip projects and Christmas tree sales, to name just a few, while also providing more jobs for Pierce students than any other program on campus, according to McBroom.

Third year Pierce student Anthony Russo, 20, is one of those

students hired for a seasonal job at the Farm Center, and although he has only just started working, he said he likes the way McBroom and his wife run the center.

“I really, really like the way they do it. They realize that it’s a lot of people’s first job here, they don’t really say, ‘here’s your training manual, now go.’ They take their time to really lay it down and do it step-by-step,” Russo said. “Very thorough, very detailed.”

McBroom said he’s happy with the connection he has with Assistant Professor of Horses Science Patty Warner and her students: the Farm Center’s ponies are utilized by the Equestrian Center during the school year, and then in the fall, a “tremendous amount” of those students are hired to work with the animals.

“There’s this great relationship of utilization and connection. We find that we have dedicated staff, someone that absolutely cares about the welfare of the animal,” McBroom said. “They’ve had an expert and an academic that has gone through and actually physically shown them techniques, and they’ve gotten to know the ponies, and then they come over here and they get a job.”

For now, the staff is busy with all those pumpkins growing in the Pierce fields, although the school does not have the acreage necessary to produce as many as they will sell.

“In nine years, the demand has grown to where we now deal with other farmers, and bring in,” McBroom said. “We’re expecting to sell 240,000 pounds of pumpkins. That’s a lot of pumpkins. A river of orange, so to speak.”

McBroom continues to follow the vision plan to grow the Farm Center and has several projects in mind, the one he’s “been dying to do” incorporating bugs. He wants to teach kids how to identify which bugs are the heroes and which are the villains. “It’s a bug’s life” will be just one more program to enhance business and community outreach.

As a community service operation, the Farm Center is able to control the budgets, make improvements, continue the sustainability, and be able to take a large sum of bond-funded money and divert it back into education, according to McBroom.

“You’re looking at a facility that is now 9 years old, that hasn’t spend $1 of bond money,” McBroom said. “When you can turn around and show that you can make something work, and you’re following a vision plan, and you’re fulfilling a need, and you’re listening: that’s something to be proud of.”

Tim Toton Opinion Editor

Saba Masoomi / Roundup

Pierce Farm Center Director Robert McBroom prepares for the Halloween Harvest Festival

Kate Noah

Copy Editor

“When you can turn around and show that you can make something work, and you’re following a vision plan, and you’re fulfilling a need, and you’re listening: that’s something to be proud of”

-Robert McBroom Pierce Farm Center Director

Nelger Carrera / Roundup Josh Stevens sprays whip cream on a freshly made funnel cake at the, “Worlds Best Funnel Cake,” booth on the Pierce College Farm Center in Woodland Hills Calif., during the Harvest Festival Sept. 28, 2013.

Genna Gold News Editor

Many people wait for opportunities to come to them, while others take the bull by the horns and spin something out of nothing.

For Joshua Stevens, a 26-yearold Pierce College small business management student, creating his own path has always been his ultimate goal.

Straight out of high school at 18 years old, the Van Nuys, Calif. resident couldn’t take the thought of working for “the man,” so he enrolled in Pierce’s Small Business Management program.

Soon, he was taking the knowledge gained from class and applying it to the real world through his small business, West Coast Fun Foods.

“I used to enjoy when the teacher would give the class a situation like, ‘Say you had this many hotdog carts…’ and I’d raise my hand and say something like, ‘Well in my business … ’” Stevens said. ”It was a pretty awesome experience.”

Stevens began to create the framework for his very first business funnel cake venture with just $1,000.

“I had a partner for the first few months, he just must have been more sane than me,” Stevens said laughing.

The first location where the “Worlds Best Funnel Cakes” set up shop was at the Northridge Mall Farmer’s Market. Stevens still sells his food there in addition to other locations like the Los Angeles County Fair and Pierce’s own Halloween Harvest Festival.

“The Harvest Fest was our very first long-running event,” Stevens said. ”We absolutely love coming back each year.”

After the success of the funnel cakes, Stevens couldn’t help but continue to grow his business. He decided to keep

with the food theme and start a lemonade stand, too.

Although food wasn’t the driving passion behind the business, he felt he found his niche and decided to stick with it.

“Who doesn’t like food anyway,” Stevens said. “Lemonade and funnel cake, the perfect combo -- one for each hand.”

The business has been successful enough to allow Stevens to begin to dabble in the world of selling his products wholesale.

The Harvest Fest has been having Stevens’ funnel cakes and lemonade at the event for the past six seasons and has added in the last few seasons his shaved ice cart and “Salt and Pepper,” which has more of a gourmet food truck feel.

“It’s been amazing to be able to be a part of such a great group of people who truly want the business to succeed,” Jake Ortiz, a 20-year old employee at Stevens’ shaved ice cart, said. “The camaraderie between everyone is unbeatable, this is definitely one of the best jobs I’ve ever had.”

Connor Bruno, a 20-year-old employee at Salt and Pepper, admits that the heat, dust, and exhaustion can get to him at times, but the interactions he shares with the public keeps him coming back each year.

“It’s a lot of dirty hard work,” Bruno said. “You really have to love it -- if your heart’s not in it, you won’t last in this business.”

Not only has the Halloween Harvest Festival helped boost the publicity of the growing business, but each year they’ve returned to the Festival, their profits have risen by at least 30 percent, Stevens said.

Robert McBroom, the Farm Center manager, admits that Stevens’ stands hold a special place in the Festival family.

“At first I didn’t want to sell it,” Stevens said. “I wanted my own thing, that no one else could have.”

After he had grown tired of the constant requests for his secret recipe, Stevens said he finally gave in and started selling to mostly small Mexican restaurants around the valley.

Not only can his funnel cake mix be purchased, but he has begun to sell his shaved ice carts as small franchises to people interested in owning their own business, “without all of the royalties,” Stevens said.

Student Spotlight Recipe for success New additions to farm family

“Josh is a great kid, hard worker, and continues to show us each year how much farther he can take his business,” McBroom said. “His food fits in perfectly with the Harvest Festival.”

Being at the Festival is one of Stevens’ favorite parts of his job, not only because of the family feel of the Pierce Farm Center, but because he has made a full circle from where he started.

“I can stand here at the Farm Center and practically see where I learned the concepts I use on a daily basis, only a few hundred meters away,” Stevens said. “It’s kind of an out-of-this-world experience.”

The Pre-Veterinary Science department at Pierce College welcomed seven new lambs last week, raising the grand total up to nine sheep born on the farm this season.

The first newborn lamb of the seven was delivered on Friday, Sept. 20, a set of twins arrived on Monday, Sept. 23, another set of twins were born on Wednesday, Sept. 25, and two more lambs rounded out the week births on Monday, Sept. 30 at the farm located on Brahma Drive, , according to Dr. Leland S. Shapiro, Agriculture Department chair.

“The sheep like to give birth when it’s quiet -- in the early morning,” Ian Lewis, a student in the Pre-Veterinary Department said.

Once the lambs are born, they are vaccinated to protect against various diseases and students are trained on how to bottle feed the lambs. Young males are humanely castrated to prevent inbreeding.

“When I got here, the farm crew students were picking up the babies and cleaning them off,” said Mimi Dimatteo, an animal science student. “They’re just beautiful. You get to see this whole process.”

The lambs are crucial for the PreVeterinary Department -- females are kept and bred for reproduction while males are sold for slaughter and to raise necessary funds for the program to continue running and for maintenance of the farm, according to Shapiro.

“People say, ‘Well why do you need that money,’” Shaprio said. “Well, it costs about $100,000 a year to run the farm, not counting labor. That’s just feed and vendor cost.”

This is the first year in five years that the farm has received funding from Pierce College for the farm.

The sheep-breeding program

was started by Lindsay Boggess in the fall of 1947 and continued for four decades with the help of his son Ed, according to Shapiro.

Shapiro arrived at Pierce in 1968 as a cross-country runner from Fairfax High. He graduated from Chatsworth High School and found his first job milking cows at the farm in 1971.

Pierce has the most successful two-year Pre-Veterinary program in the state of California with students being accepted in to colleges across the country, according to the Department’s website.

Shapiro has approximately 1,600 students in the Agriculture Department and roughly 300 students in the Pre-Veterinary Department.

On top of required classes and a 3.7 GPA, students must have 3,000 hours of hands-on experience in a clinic to be able to graduate.

To date, 203 Pierce alumni have applied and been accepted into graduate schools of veterinary medicine.

The Agriculture Department offers hands-on training on a 200acre working farm located directly on campus and run entirely by its students and faculty.

“There’s a lot of students that don’t even know we have a PreVet Department or even a farm,” Ivan Barraza, a Pre-Veterinary student said. “Summer and winter is usually the hardest because we don’t have students to help us, just about six of us.”

The farm also houses chickens, donkeys, horses, and cows, with the horses needing over $25,000 in feed alone per year. The Agriculture Department also sells cows and eggs.

Students are encouraged to visit the farm and see all the animals Pierce has to offer, but please make sure there are student employees there to assist and ensure that visitors do not scare the animals.

Tracy Wright News Editor

Monica Salazar / Roundup New born baby lambs at the Pierce College Farm on Sept. 27, 2013 in Woodland Hills, Calif.

“Josh is a great kid, hard worker, and continues to show us each year how much farther he can take his business.”

-Robert McBroom Pierce Farm Center Director

Affordable health care found on campus

$11 fee gives access to inexpensive services including immunization and u shots

Todd Rosenblatt Roundup Reporter

Affordable health care can be difficult for some students to attain, but there is a potential fix here on campus. There is an $11 fee that Pierce College students pay each semester. This fee, which is the same at all of the nine colleges in the district, grants access to the Student Health Center.

Beth Benne, director of the Student Health Center, promotes the center’s services to anyone that will listen.

“I look at the health fee as an access fee, to health professionals,” Benne said.

A low-cost flu vaccination is one service that the fee provides students.

During a meeting on Sept. 23, Benne informed the Academic Senate of the arrival of the flu vaccines and asked the members to encourage their students to contact the Health Center for the $10 shot.

“Everyone older than 6 months is recommended for flu vaccination with rare exception,” the Centers for Disease Control’s website states.

Other no-cost and low-cost services utilized more than 5,000

CLUB411 CLUB411

times last year include mental health counseling services, overthe-counter medications, physical exams, condoms, STD testing and pregnancy testing, according to Benne.

The fact that so many of the services are free is something Amy Stone, a 25-year-old Pierce student in her third year studying animal science, really liked.

something she took advantage of.

“I hadn’t had a tetanus shot in, like, six years, and I went to urgent care. They wanted me to pay $200, so when I came [to the Health Center] they’re like, ‘Yeah, it’s $35.’

I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?

I’m doing this right now. That is ridiculously cheap,’” Stone said.

However, some students on campus do not know about the center and most have never used it. According to Benne, approximately 5 to 6 percent of students on campus use the services the center had to offer last year.

Ben Salonga, a 17-year-old accounting student in his first semester at Pierce, is one of those students.

“I actually don’t know about [the Health Center]. I just know that it’s $11 a semester,” Salonga said.

Other services that the Health Center provides are a medical clinic, a mental health clinic, a nutrition clinic and educational outreach.

groups about the Affordable Care Act,” Benne said. Students must also be aware that in case of emergencies on campus, they should dial the Campus Sheriffs and not 911, according to the Health Center website.

Fashion marketing major Nancy Gage has never been to the Health Center.

“I don’t go to the Health Canter because I have a doctor, so if I had any problems I’d go to my doctor, not really here,” Gage said.

However, 22-year-old Ivan Vargas has taken advantage of the Center for vaccinations and infected cuts.

“They’re good people,” Vargas said. “I recommend going to the Health Center for check ups and for cuts.” Whether it’s at a free clinic or an urgent care facility, Benne thinks the wide range of services for the cost the Health Center has to offer are unmatched.

“I thought this was pretty awesome, the fact that they don’t charge you for the interview,” said Stone, referring to her visit. The low-cost services were also

“We have made a huge push this summer through our health educational component. We have six classes scheduled next week. We’re going out and trying to educate our students of all age

Breaking the feminist stereotype Club

Meets every Monday at 2:30 p.m. in Business Education 3203

A stereotypical pink T-shirt that reads, “This is what a feminist looks like” and buttons that display the same message are often worn by members of the Pierce College Feminist Club.

President Michelle Borsco, 25, who is majoring in sociology, created the club after learning about feminism in one of her sociology classes.

She took action two years ago in order to teach students about women’s history, to promote equality for everyone.

“I felt we needed the club so we could specifically talk about inequalities for women and ways we could improve them,” Borsco said.

Christy Pena, a 26-year-old architect major, has been a club member for three semesters.

“One of our missions is to expand the knowledge of the term and remove the negative stigma. We want to move forward,” Pena said.

Feminism is about promoting support of women’s rights based on the topics of political, social and economic equality to men, according to Borsco.

“Feminism is being for equality for everyone, not just women,” Borsco said. “We

want everyone to have the same opportunities.”

With every club Pierce has to offer there may be a stereotype that a club can face and the Feminist Club is working to diminish their negative stigma, according to Pena.

“People always think it’s just an angry group of women who want revenge, but we are actually pretty happy women [including a few guys],” Borsco said. “We are just frustrated with the inequalities.”

The club offers a place of acceptance, which helps students overcome the fear to announce they’re a feminist and holds discussions about certain topics, according to Pena.

“I was always so afraid to announce I was a feminist because society sees it as a bad thing but since joining the club, I have nothing to hide,” Pena said.

John Burkett, a 23-year-old history major, joined the club because he wanted to learn more about of the term feminism.

“I thought it might be a nice experience to see what it is all about,” said Burkett. “It has a bad light to it but I figured I should educate myself and get a different

perspective.”

The club was scheduled to host fundraisers for National Ovarian Cancer Awareness month in September and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October but due to a miscommunication with the Associated Students Organization (ASO), the club had to cancel them, according to Borsco.

Gustavo Sandoval, a 31-yearold sociology major who is the ASO president, is also a member of the club and gave a different point of understanding towards,the fundraiser shutdown.

“The ASO didn’t reject their request because it wasn’t submitted in the first place,” said Sandoval. “To say we canceled their request is misrepresenting what actually happened.”

The club spoke with Sandoval, not knowing that to hold fundraisers you must speak with ASO before a certain time limit.

They will host Jeans for Teens all semester long, a program designed for people to donate jeans to homeless teenagers.

Details as to where the jeans can be dropped off and which shelters they go to are still in the planning stage.

“Nowhere in my 33 years of health care have I ever come across something so fundamentally professional and inexpensive at the same time,” Benne said. “This is my dream job.”

Additional reporting Lauren

Vellvé

Free workshops for 4-year hopefuls Transfer Center makes transition to university easier

Jesus Castro Roundup Reporter

It was only a few weeks ago that students crashed classes and put their names on waiting lists for sections of English 101 and Math 125, just to name a few.

Now that the smoke has cleared, students are now faced with exams and countless hours of homework to pass their class.

Semester after semester, students will take classes and accumulate units to meet their educational goals.

According to the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) website, 44.6 percent of students listed their educational goal transfer to a four-year institution.

The Career and Transfer Center is designed to help students make the transition from community college to four-year universities and offers counseling for students who are still unsure of a career choice.

Sunday Salter, the director of the Career and Transfer Center coordinates events such as the College Fair/ Transfer Day on October 31, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. so that students can meet university representatives.

“On that day, we’ll have 50 or so different universities out there for the students to talk to,” Salter said. “All the UCs, many of the CSUs and some private and out-ofstate schools to help students expand their horizons as far as transfer options are out there for them.”

CSUN hopeful, Austin Rios, a 19-year-old criminal justice major, used the Transfer Center in order to obtain a list of requirements he would need to fulfill.

“That’s what I had to do,” Rios said. “I was confused.”

Students like Rios who already know what college they intend to apply for can make an appointment to meet with that college representative.

“They come quarterly or monthly, depending on the school, and meet one-on-one with the students by appointment,” Salter said.

When meeting, students can clarify transfer requirements since they change annually.

“If a student becomes more competitive to get admitted, a university has to set higher standards in order to get the applicant pool they’re looking for,” Salter said.

Joe Quinonez, a 21-year-old English major is confident in his knowledge of the requirements he will need to transfer.

“I just went to the website and clicked on transfer center,” Quinonez said.

Salter is aware of the challenges that students face.

“So many of our students are first generation college students and so they don’t have any examples in their family of how [to apply],” Salter said.

She has designed free workshops and clinics during

the months of October and November that walk students through the process of applying.

“Rock Your Application” is a clinic that runs Oct. 14- Nov. 27.

“That’s when we are helping students one-on-one filling out their applications,” Salter said. “A lot of times they’ll bring in their personal statements and we’ll read them, critique them.”

The center also likes to hear what students have to say about the services that are provided.

“We always want new ideas and some students are like, ‘Hey you know what would be great…’. We have an advisory board that’s all students and they give advice to the Transfer Center and the counselors about improvements we can make,” Salter said.

University Representative Visits

University of California, Santa Barbara:

Thursday, Oct. 3 from 10:40 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

National University:

Tuesday Oct. 8 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

University of California, San Diego:

Wednesday Oct. 9 from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

University of California, Irvine:

Wednesday Oct. 9 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

California State University, Northridge:

Wednesday Oct. 23 from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

strives to bring equality for everyone, not just women

Chiara Perbil Roundup Reporter

“Nowhere in my 33 years of health care have I ever come across something so fundamentally professional and inexpensive at the same time. This is my dream job.”

-Beth Benne Director of Student Health Center

Dayana Manriquez/ Roundup

PROFESSIONAL: Beth Benne, Director of the Health Center, in exam room #2 where blood is drawn for exams, on Sept. 17.

Kate Noah / Roundup

HOPEFUL: Psychology major Sophia Rodas, 23, who plans to transfer to CSUN in the fall of 2014, sits at the Transfer Center on Sept 12.

Pierce falls in tournament despite 2 wins

Golden West College wins 4th annual Pierce Invitational, beating out 7 other schools in two days

Kat Wilson Roundup Reporter

The Pierce College women’s volleyball team won two games and lost a game at the Pierce Invitational on Friday, Sept. 27 and Saturday, Sept. 28. The winner of the tournament was Golden West College

Eight teams participated in the tournament, competing in both gyms on campus: Pasadena City College, Golden West College, Porter College, Bakersfield College, San Diego Mesa College, Santa Monica College, Santa Barbara City College and Pierce College.

Pierce lost 2-3 against San Diego Mesa College on Friday, but won 3-0 against Santa Monica College and Pasadena City College 3-0 on Saturday.

“We played an outstanding match [Friday], though we lost,” head coach Nabil Mardini said.

In the third match, Pierce lost in five games, going the distance against San Diego Mesa College.

“They’re a tough team, one of the top teams in the state,” Mardini said. “But we played very, very well.”

In the traditional scarlet, white, and black that is the Pierce volleyball uniform, the women’s team went up against Santa Monica Corsairs on Saturday.

As the first set started to quicken in pace, Sophomore Brittani Elser took a turn to serve for Pierce,

sending a shot over the net to Santa Monica which was mishandled and sent one of their players diving to the floor, almost running into the stands to keep that ball alive. Strategically placed mind tricks with fake jumps and calculated hits

seemed to be Pierce’s specialty in this match, as they scored point after point.

“I don’t necessarily enjoy [diving]. It hurts,” Avery Rice, a setter for Santa Monica, said. “But it’s something that needs to be

Spectacular corner kick goal seals 2-1 win for women’s soccer Late goal gives Pierce hard fought victory over Citrus

Kat Wilson Roundup Reporter

The Pierce College women’s soccer team went back on track as they won 2-1 against Citrus College on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Pierce had prepared differently for the game against Citrus than it had for any other, according to head coach Adolfo Perez.

“We trained harder [on Monday],” Perez said. “We also ran before the game.”

The game started lightly as the Brahmas tried to figure out the opposing team. Within 10 minutes of the game, Pierce started shooting for the goal, though the attempts were not successful.

Unlike its other games, Pierce was the more physical team on the pitch, dominating possession of the ball against Citrus. They heard coach Perez shouting from the sidelines.

“Be aggressive, Pierce,” Perez said.

Amidst the sparring that made up most of the first half, sophomore defender Karina Ramirez broke away from the defenders and charged toward the goal, but her shot went wide.

In one throw-in for Pierce, Brian Norman, an assistant coach for Citrus, was awarded a yellow card for trying to hold up the game.

With no goals made in the first

half, both teams went into halftime with a scoreless draw.

Perez explained the difficulties the team faced before the game had even started.

“We had a girl who had a seizure before the game,” Perez said. “And we had another girl who had a concussion.”

In the second half, the Brahmas were tired, barely jogging around quickly enough to intercept passes. They were slowly becoming unorganized as they shuffled across the field.

Freshman defender Alexis Mendias fell on her back while trying to take the ball away from a Citrus player, leaving the goal wide open and allowing freshman midfielder Kacie Licata of Citrus to take advantage of the mistake and score the first goal of the game.

Pierce responded quickly, defending their goal and making clean passes. Pierce’s freshman goalie Jenna Koziol was quick at catching every shot attempt that Citrus made.

As Pierce started to fight back, so did coach Perez. He shouted at the referee for the lack of calls, which made her walk all the way over to him from her position in midfield.

“Take it easy coach,” she said. “I don’t want to give you a [yellow] card.”

Not wanting to follow in the footsteps of Citrus’s assistant coach,

Perez kept his mouth temporarily shut.

With Pierce working together, sophomore forward Jackie Hilario was able to set up a cross inside the box for Michelle Somers, who put the ball in the back of the net to give Pierce its first goal.

“Come on Pierce,” Perez said, cheering and rallying his team. “One more.”

Pierce almost scored another goal, but the ball hit the crossbar, causing it to bounce back out and giving a Citrus defender the opportunity to clear the ball.

This set up Pierce for another corner kick. Ramirez shot for goal and scored in a spectacular manner to give Pierce the lead late in the second half.

“I knew it was one of our last chances to try to get the win,” Ramirez said. “I was lucky enough to get it in. I’m glad it was the winning goal.”

Tim Tracey, head coach for Citrus, was very disappointed in his team’s performance.

“We had some individuals with strong efforts on the field, but there was no backup behind it,” Tracey said. “We handed the game to them.”

Pierce seemed better prepared for this game, but it wasn’t all about the training, according to Perez.

“I think for the first time, we had perseverance,” Perez said. “Today’s game was based on guts.”

done.”

Head coach Nicole Ryan of Santa Monica liked how her team fought against Pierce.

“Our girls had some moments where they battled,” Ryan said. “I wish they would’ve battled a little

bit more to really drive it home.”

Freshman Jessica Martinez wrapped up the first set with a wellexecuted spike for a 25-20 win.

“I really liked seeing us come together as a team and really meshing,” freshman Brooke Rudebusch said. “We communicate really well.”

The second game was scattered with net violations for both Pierce and Santa Monica.

After each play, whether they missed or made a point, the Brahmas reconvened on the court, putting their arms around each other for a few seconds to really

come together as a team.

“We huddle,” Rudebusch said. “We give each other feedback about where our setter and back row are and where the hitters are going to hit.”

Martinez drove the ball into the ground for another winning point, ending the second match 25-14 against Santa Monica.

The third match started out with Santa Monica mishandling the ball, awarding Pierce the first point.

Sophomore Rachel Wallin, an opposite hitter, served a few times for Pierce, each serve leading to a point as her throws made it over the net, bouncing on Santa Monica’s court.

Pierce finished the third match 25-14, and taking the win against Santa Monica.

Coach Mardini saw the overall good effort that Pierce had put forth at the tournament throughout Friday and Saturday.

“I loved seeing the progress of the girls,” Mardini said. “The team has made a lot of progress since the beginning of the year. It’s good to see.”

Ryan, Santa Monica’s coach, was also proud of her team.

“We always get excited to play against Pierce,” Ryan said. “There’s a little bit of a rivalry, so, as a coach, I’m always excited to play against them.”

The Brahmas walked off the court, triumphant because of their win.

“I had a lot of fun,” Rudebusch said. “It feels good to win.”

Water

Ethan Hanson Roundup Reporter

Pierce College’s women’s water polo team went into the Citrus Tournament with a tall order ahead as they had to match up against the defending state champions at Golden West College. It was too tall of an order, however, as the Brahmas got crushed, losing to Golden West 173.

Considering that the Brahmas are only in their second season in their program after winning the Western State Conference during their 2012 campaign, sophomore set player Sara Booth remained optimistic about the team.

“Considering that we were playing against the defending state champions, we did actually pretty well,” Booth said. “Yeah we got beat pretty bad, but overall we played pretty well.”

The Brahmas were able to recuperate later on in their second game, beating San Diego Miramar College 15-7. Sophomore utility player Maggie Kurzeka felt the team was a lot more prepared

playing a team on their caliber.

polo team loses in blowout State champions swim past Pierce

“Miramar was a lot like us,” Kurzeka said. “A relatively new team but with not as much experience.”

Miramar came into the game with only 11 players on its roster compared to the 16-player Brahma team, and this gave Pierce an advantage.

Kurzeka wants the team to become more physical and aggressive leading up to their next game against the Ventura College Pirates on Wednesday.

“In practice we’re going to have to learn to try harder with each other,” Kurzeka said.

Nelger Carrera / Roundup

SPIKE: Jordan Canole (left) and Jessica Martinez (right) attempt to block a spiked ball from a Santa Monica playerduring the Pierce Invitational on Friday Sept. 27 in the South Gym.

“The team has made a lot of progress since the beginning of the year.”

-Nabil Mardini Head Coach

Pierce College showed no signs of rust after a bye week traveling to L.A. Southwest College.

Pierce defeated the Cougars 4712 scoring 40 unanswered points through nearly three quarters in a one-sided victory to move to 3-0 to start the season.

Quarterback Nick Arbuckle of Pierce College had a solid game throwing 10-19 for 172 passing yds and 2 TD’s, but it was the running game that owned the night lead by Calvin Howard, who in his first game rushed for 163 yds on just 11 carries. The Brahmas altogether as a team ran for 343 yds on the

Cheer program rallies school spirit and competes for its own victories

Home to both an athletic cheer team and a competition team, the Pierce College athletic cheerleading program brings school spirit to athletic sports while the other tumbles to victory in cheer tournaments.

Led and trained by head coach Jenny Ghilgia, one team practices on campus while the other meets in Simi Valley’s Cheer Force Academy. In fact, her team performed well enough to have scored a spot to compete in Daytona, Fla. for the National Cheerleading Association.

“We won first place in nationals for JAMfest,” Ghilgia said. “We don’t have to send in proof that we’re good. A bid to nationals is a great award and honor to the team.”

Going into the competition squad’s third year as a team, 13 of the 20 campus cheerleaders find themselves dedicating time to both squads, according to Ghilgia.

These athletes are collegiate students who make sure the audience cheers with them.

Junior Dulce Rendon, majoring in liberal studies in education, chose to attend Pierce College for its cheer sideline program and once Ghilgia opened the competition squad, Rendon played the part as well.

“Other schools in the area have cheer but they’re at a high school level,” Rendon said, “I came to Pierce because of cheer. It’s an actual college level team.”

According to Rendon, her involvement in cheer throughout high school and Cheer Force drove her to utilize the program Pierce facilitates in the athletics department.

Coach Ghilgia creates an established team of cheerleaders with both beginners and veteran

cheerleaders.

“Coach Jenny will take you. She makes us a team,” Rendon said, “She’ll train you and do her best to get you to par. But if you have cheered before, I’d recommend the [competition] squad.”

The Cheer Force squad is planning on competing in United Spirit Association’s (USA), National competition during this spring semester, stated Rendon.

USA is an organization that specializes in spirit, dance, and band activities. Throughout this past summer, the organization hosted events and programs where multiple teams performed and competed against one another.

Sophomore Xiomar Sanchez, 19, cheered in high school but so far, has chosen not to cheer for Pierce.

“I didn’t think of joining because before, I’ve heard some negative comments about them,” Sanchez said, “But now honestly, it makes me want to join because I see that the team is committed. I like the cheer spirit and I like tumbling. I’ll hopefully join next year.” Ghilgia uses her coaching skills to teach her new students the basics of cheerleading and shows them how to improve their skills. For the competition squad, she wants athletic ability, experience, and leadership qualities that can run a crowd.

“The squad’s award is doing a great season and looking collegiate to make sure the audience cheers with us,” Ghilgia said. “The glory of cheer is being part of both athletic and college spirit. I get so many people wanting to be a part of cheer squad now. It’s amazing.”

In order to join the cheer program at Pierce, the team meets on Wednesdays from 8 to 10 p.m.. If interested, coach Ghilgia can be contacted via email at ghiglijq@ piercecollege.edu.

ground.

“This was a statement game for me,” Howard, who hadn’t played since 2012, said. “Playing football was a feeling that I hadn’t felt in awhile and the offensive line did their job.”

Pierce’s offensive line played well, giving up only one sack during the game.

The Brahmas got off to a slow start in the first quarter on the first drive coming up with a 40yd field goal by sophomore kicker Daniel Schlorf. Then the floodgates opened when freshman running back DeShawn Jones exploded out of the backfield for 55 yds, scoring the game’s first touchdown for Pierce with 1:45 remaining in the first quarter to take a 10-0 lead.

“I kept saying all week I was

going to score,” Jones said. “I was dreaming about it and I finally got my chance. I just followed my lineman and took it to the house.”

From there the Brahmas rolled over L.A. Southwest College scoring 40 consecutive points not allowing a touchdown until Southwest’s running back Andrew Duvea scored on a 4-yd run with 4:23 remaining in the third quarter to make the score 40-6.

Arbuckle talked about the physicality of the run game and its effectiveness against L.A. Southwest.

“This was the kind of game that I love,” Arbuckle said. “Power football is how the game should be played. If I don’t have to do anything but hand the ball off in order to win the game then that’s

the kind of game I prefer. I don’t care if I ever have to throw a TD pass or not, as long as we win. Look at the way Alabama plays, that’s what wins championships, not the spread passing game. If my only job is to get the ball from the center to the running back then I know we are dominating our opponent.”

Pierce College, now 3-0, plays against West L.A. College at home next

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• Fitness Center

• Pet Friendly

coach