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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.’ 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.

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.

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