Volume 119 Fall 2013 Roundup Issue 8

Campus turns attention to safety

New security measures will help Pierce be be er protected

Michaia Hernandez Online Editor

Pierce College is tightening up security measures and improving safety policies partly in response to the increased frequency of situations that have compromised safety in schools across the country.

Rolf Schleicher, vice president of Administrative Services, has been spearheading the effort since he took over the job in September 2012.

“There’s a lot more focus on security,” he said.

In addition to ensuring that buildings that are currently under construction or renovation are built with the necessary facets to improve security, the school is also aiming to teach students what they need to know when faced with emergency situations.

Student and Faculty Training

Hour-long presentations scheduled for Nov. 18 at noon for students and Nov. 19 at 11:30 a.m. for staff will cover discussions on campus emergency protocols, according to Larry Kraus, associate vice president of Administrative Services. Though this will be the first time students will be given the opportunity to participate actively on the topic, the presentations will be a continuation of ongoing discussion for staff.

“There’s actually continual programs to increase the general knowledge and awareness of our safety issues and appropriate responses,” Kraus said.

Helping keep Pierce safe

Caleb Johnson Roundup Reporter

In a sea of current fashion, it’s easy to spot Melissa Hidalgo wearing her issued uniform -- a blue shirt and navy pants -as she patrols the Pierce College campus.

Hidalgo is one of 13 cadets, an hourly, part-time position that many people mistake for a police officer.

They are not sworn to oath as officers. Their duties are extensive, including general campus safety, escorting students, crime prevention and parking enforcement.

Melissa Hidalgo, a 20-year-old nursing student, is one of the 13 cadets at Pierce College. Her time as a cadet has made her consider law enforcement as another opportunity, to give back and protect the community.

“It’s definitely a great experience,” Hidalgo said. “You really learn a lot about the campus and what is going on.”

The cadets must go through a thorough

background check and interview to be considered for their position. Candidates must also submit references and write a small autobiography to allow the sheriffs to get to know them better.

A friend of Hidalgo’s recommended that she try out the program, but the involvement and interest that she has developed has been unexpected.

The importance and quick pace of the position is tempting for her, making the choice between nursing and law enforcement more difficult than she had first expected.

“It’s nice to be more involved,” Hidalgo said.

“I think both jobs are important.”

The cadets learn through experience, getting to know the campus on a deeper level, committing police codes to memory, and gaining general experience through the officers.

“Mostly our job is to be their eyes and ears on campus while [the sheriff’s] not there,” Hidalgo said.

There is little in the way of a regimented course like full-officers must go through, allowing students to learn about the field without

overextending. Jonathan Holguin, a cadet on the road to becoming an officer, says many of the negative assumptions about the position are unfounded.

“Every day you are helping someone out,” Holguin said. “We just want to keep the school safe.”

Hidalgo agrees with Holguin saying that her time so far as a cadet has been positive, granting her a deeper knowledge of the campus and the ability to help keep the school safe.

The officers even tout the importance of the cadets as part of the security force on campus.

“We need good people,” said Officer John Weber, one of the 13 security officers in the department. “Each day is a new experience.”

According to Angie Moore, senior office assistant at the Sheriff’s station, applications that are submitted are reviewed during the winter and in the summer.

Those interested in joining the cadet program can download the application on the Pierce College Sheriffs Department website or call the station at (818) 719-6450.

The presentations fall in line with past active shooter, Community Emergency Response Team and sensitivity training sessions that have previously been hosted on campus.

Additional sessions could be added to the ones already scheduled, depending on the needs of the Pierce community.

In addition to general knowledge of safety protocol, the staff session will teach faculty how to handle situations in the classroom.

“If we go in the emergency response direction we think is most feasible, that means each faculty member--when the crisis happens-becomes an administrator in the classroom,” said Schleicher. “We want to make sure they’re comfortable with that because it’s not contract driven. it’s driven by, basically, responsibility.”

Teachers need to be seen as the person in charge in the classroom and should be respected at all times, according to Schleicher.

“Some professors might feel comfortable giving students direction; others may not. Regardless, students see that faculty members being the leader in the classroom. We’re trying to

create a stronger dialogue,” said Schleicher. “The training can only be as good as they’re comfortable delivering. We can kind of dictate it out based on what we know of risk management but we thought it would be better to develop a more holistic approach and get their input.”

Students will also be taught how to respond in emergency situations.

“Students are actually the biggest part of our emergency response, because students partaking and safeguarding themselves is the best thing,” Schleicher said. “We learned from L.A.X. When the assault came, people were doing all kinds of stuff to put them in harm’s way. We’re trying to learn from these incidents, like when you have a mass scale, how are they going to react if someone comes in with a semi-automatic? [They’re going] to run away, but we want to make sure they don’t run in the street and get hit by a car or do something else that’s odd.”

Construction

In addition to improving on security measures already in place, Schleicher is also looking at construction projects so that physical safety measures can be planned as the school moves forward with each building. For instance, Schleicher said that he and Kraus had walked the perimeter of the construction area north of the Mall to figure out what was needed before meeting with district officials to report their findings.

The school is also trying to figure out access controls like locks on the doors, district-wide identification cards and intrusion alerts.

“I’m pushing those initiatives to be done at our construction program,” Schleicher said. “Those take time, because I walked into a construction program that was part of the Facilities Master Plan but didn’t have a high emphasis on security because in the past, security wasn’t as much of an issue as it has been in the last few years.”

Even though it will take a while for these to be put to effect, Schleicher says his determination with improving the new buildings’ safety measures is, in turn, helping speed things along with completing construction.

“These concerns are as important as getting new instructional areas,” he said. “If we get construction moving forward, then we can solve some of our security issues.”

Because safety and construction are interrelated, Schleicher has to depend on the bond money that is set aside for the buildings.

“It’s a huge challenge for us. We know what to do, but executing it is a funding issue,” he said.

[See SAFETY, pg. 4]

LAST DAY TO DROP CLASSES

Student cadets assist the campus sheri s in numerous ways

-Letter to the Editor-

Re: Pam Brown Letter to the Editor, Oct. 30, 2013

I was surprised to find Dr. Pam Brown’s “Letter to the Editor” in the October 30, 2013 Roundup in which she bemoaned the lack of an Obamacare debate at the Day of Politics. Everyone who attended our Q&A regarding Obamacare knew that our guest speaker was invited to answer the students’ questions about the new law. Many of my students have no health care and have been asking me questions about how to sign up, how much is the fine if you don’t, etc. So I invited a volunteer with a non-profit to give a Powerpoint presentation and answer student questions about what the different plans are and what they cover.

While a debate on Obamacare would have been interesting five years ago (preferably before the law was passed by Congress and signed by the President) it would have made little sense to do that now. Student feedback has been very positive and I’m glad we were able to provide some information to everyone so that they can make an informed decision before January 1, 2014. Dr. Brown’s mentioning Obamacare and slavery in the same breath would be silly if it wasn’t so insulting to those who suffered under it. Whatever one likes or dislikes about Obamacare, regulating health care and requiring people to obtain coverage is not even remotely akin to the horrific institution of slavery.

Denise Munro Robb, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Pierce College

UC Irvine Social Science Research, Jr. Fellow

-DoubleThumbs Up-

Get Tested:

Free HIV/AIDS rapid testing will be available in Lot 1. No appointment is needed.

Nov. 18, 2 - 7 p.m.

Nov. 19-20, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Nov. 21, 2 - 7 p.m.

Student and Faculty Training:

Hour-long discussions scheduled for Nov. 18 at noon for students and Nov. 19 at 11:30 a.m. for staff regarding campus emergency protocols in the Great Hall.

Blue lights illuminate safety issue

Lack of functioning emergency phones show a gap in security

One should always feel safe walking through campus with the knowledge an emergency blue phone is near by, but they might as well not exist since most of them sit broken behind construction tape or under out of order signs.

These blue phones, also know as “blue lights,” are meant to provide a quick method to contact the campus Sheriff in case of an emergency and should be perfectly visible and accessible day and night.

Despite Roundup efforts to obtain an accurate count of blue phones on campus, Pierce administration was only able to give an approximate number between 26 and 28 which are sporadically placed throughout the campus and parking lots. Only six to 11 of the estimated number of phones is active and able to be used, according to Rolf Schleicher, vice president of administrative services.

Standalone emergency phones are becoming outdated and are slipping to the bottom of administration’s to-do list. The school is beginning to push for smartphone technology in to handle emergency communication, according to Schleicher.

Although there are now informational signs placed on non-functional emergency phones with a phone number to contact the campus sheriff, it does no good for students without a cell phone.

For example, there was a robbery last month in front of the Student Services Building where the student’s phone was stolen and there wasn’t an active emergency phone nearby for use.

Contrary to Schleicher’s comments confirming the current number of

-Survey-

What’s the best thing on campus right now?

* Answers out of 30 responses from students on campus as compiled by Opinion Editor Tim Toton

-Corrections-

Volume 119 Issue: 7

Page 1: CLEAN UP photo caption: “Sandra Lopez, 21, and Miguel Menjivar clean the window of the classroom 8330 in the Village on Oct. 30.

“Farm Center faces eviction,” $1,312,351 in revenue was generated. Story jumps for DIRT, EVICTION and BEING ALIVE went to pg. 3

Page 2: Lauren Vellvé illustrated the editorial cartoon.

Page 4: In “Painter whistles while he works,” the last quote ends with “just make your dreams come true.”

six active blue phones on campus, Pierce’s 2013 Faculty Handbook states there were 11 when the handbook was compiled.

Out of those 11, only five are located in or around the parking lots, which are one of the most poorly lit and vulnerable places for walkers on campus. The remaining six are located by the football stadium, swimming pool, the horticulture building and Agricultural Science building, leaving only two active phones anywhere near the Mall.

Administration was not able to comment on the location of the five phones that are no longer in working order since the compilation of the faculty handbook.

For the students that get to school before the sun rises and leave when it has already set, these blue lights are a reassurance of their safety. But, this assurance has been stopped due to construction projects interfering with the underground wiring.

To repair the wiring is a huge endeavor labor wise and monetarily which is why plant facilities has been lagging according to Larry Kraus, associate vice president of administrative services.

The campus has been cut in half and inaccessible by construction for months leaving those parts of the campus with no emergency phones and therefore posing a higher threat to people walking by the site.

The phones currently blocked by construction should be relocated and fixed to insure campus safety. Although this would be a tedious process, it would be well worth it since these construction projects seem to be untouched and will most likely remain dormant for months to come.

Lack of odor does not mean lack of smoke

College campus

Students who smoke have been shunned at Pierce, yet a whole new wave of smoke has risen over the campus: water vapor.

Cigarette smokers have been pushed to puff in the parking lots while e-cigarette users can freely inhale around campus without rules or regulations.

If a smoker is caught inhaling their nicotine fix on campus, the initial punishment is a citation with potential disciplinary action.

The repercussions for an e-cigarette user seem to be non-existent on campus.

Students can casually cross campus, puffing away on a metallic pen without fear of penalty while students with a cigarette are harassed off campus because of their addiction.

An e-cigarette may or may not contain nicotine but every exhale brings a casual plume of smoke, or as a regular e-cigarette smoker would tell you: water vapor.

The water vapor from the e-cigarette may not technically be smoke, but after a long exhale from a user, there is a cloud of water vapor trailing from their lips, a casual reminder of the “non-drag” of smoke the user just inhaled.

E-cigarettes were originally designed as a replacement to the cigarette and the Food and

Lauren Vellvé / Roundup

Drug Administration is still debating approval in the United States, but they stipulated devices must be sold for therapeutic use—meaning e-cigarettes are being directly made and marketed for smokers, not quitters.

Cigarette smoking was pushed to the parking

-COMIC STRIP-

lots over the last few years in efforts to provide a healthier campus environment according to the Work Environment Committee. If we want to promote a healthy campus, we need to make sure to include handing out citations to all forms of bad habits.”

E-Cigarettes have no place on the Pierce

Photo illustration by: Mohammad Djauhari

CAMPUS LIFE

Do you feel safe on campus?

“I do feel safe on campus. I would like to be more informed on campus in case there is anything happens that I should be aware of. At Pierce we have an open door policy and there can be people that can come in and do bad things. I don’t think that we can stop that though because it’s just a thing we deal with in society.”

The Warner Center 2035 Plan

of the school. This means that the multitude of Pierce attendee’s who have to resort to parking illegally in the orange line station’s parking lot will now have a place to park without having to worry about getting towed.

Economically, the “College District” will include opportunities for people with the making, servicing, or selling of goods, or provision of services.

Over the past couple of years, Pierce College has attempted to reinvent itself by adding a few choice structures with the intention of brightening up the campus, but you can’t necessarily light one or two candles in a chandelier and expect all the prisms to illuminate.

It’s time for a dramatic change in scenery and presentation and the newly approved Warner Center 2035 Plan is all that and more. The 22-year blueprint intends to merge Pierce College with Warner Center as well as other major parts of Woodland Hills.

Pierce may outside the Plan’s boundaries, but it will both benefit from and contribute to the community the Plan seeks to foster.

Areas and facilities in compliance with the Plan will make Woodland Hills one of the most attractive hotspots in Greater Los Angeles.

New transit options and added streets will ease navigation, as well as new parking structures will also be built around the perimeter

“Pierce has a very mature environment. In terms of campus security and maybe a closed door policy if you are worried about people coming and doing that things there needs to be more security on the outskirts of the campus. Near the Farm Center or even more security by the library.”

New public entertainment options will available in close proximity to the school, including but not limited to billiard halls, taverns, bars, theaters, dance clubs, comedy clubs, karaoke clubs, live performances, and live music.

The idea of seeing skyscrapers from the Pierce campus may seem unnerving, but when it’s finished, the San Fernando Valley will be a much different place. Accommodations must be made in order to expand the future development of our community.

If the Plan goes as intended, Woodland Hills will be at the forefront of transit-oriented cities, competing with cities as diverse as San Francisco and New York’s Manhattan.

People often say there is nothing to do in the Valley, but with the Warner Center 2035 Plan it will become a flourishing destination and something our community could use to unite each other.

Fear of the night

campus where anyone could follow you or attack you simply feels dangerous. Especially as a woman.

I try to avoid evening classes as much as possible, partially because a three-hour-long class is unappealing, but more so because I hate the uneasy feeling of walking to my car in the dark.

If I come for only that class, I can park nearby and in well-lit areas with populated paths to class, but if I happen to be at school all day and don’t get out until it’s dark, I don’t always have that option. Students must park where they can find a spot during the day, and it is not always ideal.

“I feel safe on campus because there is not a lot of crime that happens in the area. I definitely think that we should have a closed door policy with ID checks. If we don’t, then crazy people can come on campus and shoot people. I don’t see the campus police enough. I don’t see them walking around and securing areas enough.”

“I feel safe on campus. I’m usually here in the mornings. I personally wouldn’t want to be here at night. I’ve heard stories of things happening at night. This guy got his phone stolen I heard and I got a security message on my phone. I would like to see more officers at night for security reasons.”

“I don’t think that there should be security checks because it’d be very annoying. I do think that there should be security cameras in designated areas to monitor in and around campus. I think that could help improve campus security.”

With the onset of daylight savings time, darkness sets in early these days, leaving a certain feeling of safety to be desired on campus.

As a female who has taken many evening classes in past semesters, I know the fear of darkness all too well.

I’m not afraid of the dark. I’m not afraid of being alone. But combine those two forces and place them in a wide open setting with a sparse evening population and you better believe that my imagination starts to get the better of me.

The fake cemetery by the Equestrian Center doesn’t help either. Not that I think ghosts are waiting around the corner, but it adds a creepy feeling and eggs on that already-overactive imagination.

Supernatural musings aside, I am fully aware that horrible things happen to people on a daily basis, and being alone at night on a dark

Kashish Nizami knizami.roundupnews@gmail.com

The Warner Center 2035 Plan will ruin the communal and agronomic culture that Pierce College has prided itself with and preserved since 1947.

As seen by historical accounts of cities like Phoenix, Austin, and San Jose, which became urbanized after the Second World War, there is no hiding from this undeniable truth: the higher the population, the higher the crime rate.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports showed in a 2011 report that urban violent crime rates were on average about three and a half times that of suburban ones.

In reporting crime rates, the L.A. Times uses the amount of crimes per 10,000 people. Currently, Woodland Hills has on average five crimes per week per that amount. Adding 50,000 people for work and then an even higher sum for housing developments will bring more danger to the community.

Furthermore, traffic in the

surrounding area of the Pierce campus is already dense. While the plan promises more transit, it does not guarantee that all residents or workers will use the proposed methods of less car-oriented ways of transport.

The plan explains that there will be a loss of streets to make room for pedestrians, but this will only mean more traffic for students encompassing the college and there could very well be future taxes to create such infrastructure. This is all not to mention the inexorable increase in traffic and resulting pollution from the 101 Freeway.

According to the EPA, “building construction, renovation, use and demolition together constitute about two-thirds of non-industrial solid waste generation in the US,” with 160 million tons of construction and demolition debris per year. Over the next 22 years Warner Center will be a heavy contributor to the gross total of about 3520 million tons of waste to be sent to landfills.

The families who once sought to settle down away from the busy cities to the slow-paced, peaceful suburbia of the San Fernando Valley will be forced to find new homes in hopes of finding that bliss yet again, and students will attend a Pierce College that will have lost its historical marvels, both physical and conceptual.

Storm of tears

in my home country in almost eight years, my heart still belongs to the Philippines. And this heart broke into a thousand pieces for my countrymen.

I thought back to the years when I was living in the Philippines, where impoverishment can be seen in the countless makeshift houses that shelter multiple families, but togetherness is evident despite the circumstances.

When I first heard through social media about Typhoon Haiyan striking the Philippines, I didn’t even bat an eyelash. After all, my homeland has a tendency of attracting natural disasters left and right.

I like to park in the lot at the top of Art Hill so that I have to climb the stairs for exercise, but let me tell you: the stairs are dark and creepy at night.

In that scenario, I find myself hurrying at a much more rapid rate than I normally would. My senses are heightened as I look in every direction at minute intervals to check for rogue attackers. I carry my keys in such a way that they stick out in between each finger and if I have to punch someone in the face, I’m gonna do some damage.

Maybe I seem paranoid, but I’ve heard the stories. I’ve read those emails that go around about all the ways that women are attacked around their parked cars. I know there are crazy people out there, and after all, this is Los Angeles. The crazies are on street corners everywhere.

I don’t want to end up a statistic. And I hope I never have to take another evening class.

And then, the numbers started showing up: hundreds of bodies washed up in the aftermath, thousands more feared dead from the devastating winds and accompanying earthquake, zero sources of food and water for the survivors. Pleas for donations spread like wildfire on Facebook.

What really did me in, however, were the photographs: a man writing an S.O.S. message on the ground, houses literally torn apart and flattened to an unrecognizable heap, body bags lining the streets and people struggling to identify the dead, tears on many of the survivors’ faces.

I thought of the millions of people left without homes, livelihood and even family at a time when they should be gearing up for the holiday season. They have to literally start from scratch and live off the generosity of others for the next few months.

Even though I haven’t set foot

It hurt. There’s no other way to describe how I felt when the full impact of the situation dawned on me. Years of exposure to the country’s strong tendency of empathy toward each other have trained me to be particularly sensitive toward the struggles of Filipinos.

I still can’t go through a single article on the storm without crying.

At the same time, I can’t help but feel a sense of pride to how my countrymen are handling the spotlight. Despite the circumstances, Filipinos have proven their resilience, togetherness and strength. It may take a while for them to fully recover, but they will.

I know I’m not the ideal spokesperson for my country -unlike many of my countrymen I lived comfortably when I was there -- but I do want to extend a heartfelt “thank you” to everyone who has contributed to the help that I know will keep the Filipino spirit alive as my people struggle to come to terms with their loss. At a time when every penny counts, every bit of assistance means the world to us.

Pierce College in desperate need of school spirit

because they build elaborate sets to transport viewers to faraway places.

Tim Toton ttoton.roundupnews@gmail.com

It should come as no shock that the Los Angeles campus of Pierce College is a haven for film production, but the reason is not proximity to Hollywood – rather it’s the bare nature of school spirit. Film productions are costly

Opinion

Tracy Wright twright.roundupnews@gmail.com

So, if a location can offer a virtual blank canvas that requires little to no modification to turn it into anywhere in the country, then it is going to attract the movie industry.

Pierce is that blank canvas. Walking down the Mall or in any corridor on campus, one might think they are at UCLA because of the blue and yellow lanyards adorning many. Maybe we could be at Arizona State University or maybe one stumbled into a supermarket in the San Fernando Valley without noticing.

students reach while driving in the parking lots and around campus. The Pierce College website states the parking lots have an eight mile per hour maximum speed limit and the surrounding streets on campus are set at 25 miles per hour, yet you can guarantee the sound and sight of cars flying by at any given time.

With weathered stop signs and barely visible pedestrian walkways, it’s by sheer luck that Pierce College and its students haven’t been hit by

Yes, that’s it – Pierce is a supermarket of other school’s spirit and none of its own. Occasionally, a red shirt or hat may come out, but the odds of it being Pierce or CSUN runs about 50-50. School spirit seems dead in the wardrobes and hearts of many students.

It’s likely that some of the school problems plaguing the campus right now good old camaraderie on a campus-wide scale.

According to the latest Scorecard published by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, students are spending nearly six years at this two year institution. That education fatigue

cars, or with a string of lawsuits.

Are students in that much of a hurry to get to class and learn something new or is it a common lack of regard or respect for laws set in place to protect people from accidents happening?

The Sheriff’s department at Pierce College issues tickets for speeding on campus, but I have yet to witness this occurrence and question if it’s enough to help reduce the problem and keep our

is bound to be, well, binding. It would do the administration well to acknowledge it has this problem and give everyone a few sponsored days of ridiculous fun. Giving the Associated Students Association the Great Hall was a smart move towards good will and a step closer to reconnecting with the main goal of the school -- providing the student with a great time while receiving a great education. If the ASO and school administration work together on other benevolent endeavors then it may cost future film productions a fortune to paper and t-shirt over Pierce’s newfound school spirit.

students safe while walking through the parking lots.

Students need to remember to plan ahead and get to class on time without risking the lives of innocent bystanders in the parking lot.

And if you happen to be a pedestrian in the lot as another car flies by ignoring your existence, just remember: never turn your back on them, even if they turn their back on you.

The nightmare of finding parking at Pierce College is only trumped by the “Fast Six”-like speed limits

Tatsyuki Suenga, 22, architecture

Joanna Marks, 31, deaf studies

Erika Holzinger, 23, computer information

Jay’Onn Myles, 19, communications

Donna Accardo, English Dept. chair

Lack of proper lighting on campus a cause for concern

Photos by: Nelger Carrera

By: Tracy Wright

Colleges to be on campus

Representatives from UC Irvine will be on campus on Thursday, Nov. 14, UC Santa Cruz on Monday, Nov. 18, and UCLA on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Schedule your appointment online now through the Career & Transfer Center to ensure an opportunity to speak with the schools.

Assessment prep workshop [11/13]

A free math assessment prep workshop is available on Wednesday, Nov. 13 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the first floor of the Library/Learning Crossroads. Students will find information on math courses, assessment tests, and be able to reevaluate math skills.

College Workshops [11/14 & 11/15]

A UC application workshop will be held on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. and a CSU application workshop on Friday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m in the Career & Transfer Center. All students are welcome.

Last day to drop [11/17]

The last day to drop classes is Sunday, Nov. 17. All dropped classes must be processed online through the Student Information System (SIS) unless otherwise discussed with your professor.

HIV/AIDS awareness week [11/18-11/21]

Free and confidential HIV/AIDS testing will be provided through Nov. 18-21 in Lot 1 in honor of HIV/AIDS Awareness Week. No appointment is necessary. Classroom speakers are available during the week.

Spring schedule now online [11/18]

The Spring 2014 schedule is now posted online and registration for continuing students begins Monday, Nov. 18. The spring 2014 semester begins Monday, February 10.

Vintage market coming to campus [11/24]

The Vintage Market returns to Pierce Lot 7 on Sunday, Nov. 24. Over 180 vendors will be selling collectibles, antiques, and vintage clothing. There will be live music, food trucks, and local artists from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $2 for adults and children under 12 are free.

CSUN deadline [11/30]

The deadline to apply for the Fall 2014 semester at CSUN is Saturday, Nov 30. Students can make an appointment with campus counselors.

Fliers becoming a nuisance Car advertisements add to campus li er problem

Caleb Johnson Roundup Reporter

Students and teachers alike remove persistent advertisements from their vehicles every day, many ignoring the messages written and throwing them away immediately – either into the trash, their car or onto the concrete with other litter.

The general lack of interest or even outright disdain for these advertisements raises the question of why they are placed, and if they are actually effective advertisements.

Tony Noris, a 21-year-old art transfer student, agrees that they do not seem effective when many people ignore and even toss aside the marketing attempts.

“I’ve never paid attention to them -- just gotten rid of them,”

Noris said.

A walk around the parking lots on campus can show students and teachers alike what many seem to do with the advertisements, as the papers litter the ground around the cars and greenery in the lots.

Nick Sumandra, a sign language instructor, says the unwelcome advertisements contribute to litter on campus, which leads to a negative view of the campus and decreases the morale of both students and teachers.

“I believe the more messy the campus is, the less it seems like a college,” Sumandra said, highlighting the effects litter like this has on the campus as a whole.

The more aggressive advertisements jammed between side windows and car doors are even worse for some students, as they can be difficult to remove safely.

Casey Spencer, treasurer for the Pierce Robotics Club, had a flier jammed on his window so badly

that his attempts to remove it made the paper fall down and get stuck into his car door.

“There is a flier in my door now,” Spencer said. “Hopefully it does not affect anything.”

Alongside the general disdain for the advertisements placed on windows and windshields, the legality of this marketing tactic is shaky at best in Los Angeles County.

Ordinance Code 2.132 of Los Angeles County seems to state that businesses may only advertise in places specifically in zones bought by the business and sanctioned by a board of supervisors.

Businesses could also be charged with littering under California’s Penal Code Title 10, Section 374.3.

It seems this avenue of advertising will continue; however, it is only a minor annoyance to those who receive the advertisements, and the sheriffs may not always have the time to be patrolling the parking lots for minor inconveniences.

Child Development Center left out of emergency plan

Administration neglects to inform department of incidents that occur on campus

Kat Wilson Roundup Reporter

Pierce College and the Child Development Center have yet to build a master emergency plan that allows the Center to be notified of any emergency situations happening on campus.

Phyllis Schneider, director and instructor for the Child Development Center is one of the many concerned for the children.

Some safety measures have been executed successfully throughout the semester, such as the Great California ShakeOut where the campus-wide communication system was tested. Schneider said that she did receive these messages dealing with the ShakeOut drill, but she is more concerned about crime and emergencies that occur on campus.

“If there was a campus shooter, we would definitely need to know so that we could do a proper lockdown,” Schneider said.

The center does have their own emergency plan to make sure that the kids attending the school are safe during a natural disaster or a lockdown, but the center hopes to have a more cohesive plan that melds the center and the rest of the campus together, Schneider said.

“The difference is that everyone else deals with adults,” Schneider said. “Everyone can go on their own, while kids cannot. Their parents could be inaccessible, requiring children to stay overnight.”

Rolf Schleicher, the vice

president of Administrative Services, is working on a more fluid plan, but administration runs into difficulty dealing with the budget that is for emergency funding, Schleicher said.

“Blackboard Connect is what I use to communicate things to the campus,” Schleicher said. “But not everything is important to the Child Development Center. We have to find that threshold of what’s important for them to know.”

So, although administration is in constant communication with the

district and the sheriff, the campus still needs money to implement basic emergency necessities that normally would have been included in any other campus, such as intrusion alerts and door locks, Schleicher said.

Pierce is installing a security system with cameras, said Larry Kraus, associate vice president of Administrative Services.

“Lots of people don’t want to implement these emergency elements,” Schleicher said. “I’m caught in the middle.”

LACCD deals with district-wide math problems

Acceleration programs help students pass di cult general education courses

Caleb Johnson Roundup Reporter

The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) had their bi-monthly meeting on campus last Wednesday to discuss the success of the school’s Child Development program and the statewide issues with mathematical success. The school was able to show off the success of the Child Development Center’s most recent achievements.

The Child Development Center has a program that has supported those interested in a career of childcare and development starting in high school, and continuing on through Pierce onto four-year institutions.

UC Berkeley, along with Pierce and other partnering schools recently released a study called “From Aspiration to Attainment,” which detailed supporting practices in obtaining a degree in child development.

“I believe the findings and recommendations are actually applicable to a student attainment of degrees in many disciplines, not solely in child development,” Pierce College President Kathleen Burke said.

The findings indicate that many students had trouble with their math classes. They seem to avoid taking the classes due to low pass rates or after failing, and lose the drive to continue.

Crystal Kiekel, the director of the Center for Academic Success and co-chair of the Student Success

committee, emphasized that math is something to work with students to enable their success.

“Mathematics is one of the major barriers to student success,” said Kiekel. “Not in Pierce, not in California, but nationally.”

Only 23 percent of students who begin in Math 115 ever finish the rest of their math courses all the way through, according to Kiekel.

“[Math] is locking 80 percent of these students from graduation and transfer,” Kiekel said. “That’s not okay.”

As a solution, the Math acceleration programs – ‘Algebra Success At Pierce’ (ASAP) and Statway – were created to aid students of various degree goals by giving them the help and resources they need to complete their math education.

Campus ups security measures

Response Teams

Three tiers of response teams, each comprised of a handful of campus professionals, form the overarching protocol that kicks in with the presence of emergency situations.

The first of these groups, the behavioral intervention team (B.I.T.), is made up mostly of Student Services personnel, and is in place to help prevent situations through keeping track of students’ behavior.

B.I.T. will help differentiate a person who could pose a threat to the security of the Pierce community from someone who is “just misunderstood,” Schleicher said. The team’s main focus is on student privacy.

According to Kraus, B.I.T. referral forms, through which anyone can submit information of concern about somebody else, will be made available soon through the Pierce website.

team, on

is tasked with

responding to escalated threats

and assaults that need immediate diffusion. This team, made up mostly of administrators, has to ensure the safety of the campus by examining emergency situations as they come.

The last part of the trio that make up the response teams on campus is Campus Violence Response Team, which deals primarily with sexual assault incidents, as well as preventative and post-trauma intervention.

While the response teams are already in place, they are being refined with each incident, according to Schleicher.

In addition to the response teams, Schleicher says that the school uses outside resources like Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department psychologists.

“It’s multi-directional, multifocused. What we’re tying to do is better understand the whole network and to plan for any kind of emergencies,” Schleicher said. “Planning is, for us, very important.”

Beth Benne, who is a member of both B.I.T. and the threat assessment team, has been with the campus for 20 years. She says that in all those years, she hasn’t seen the campus’ security as well thought-out as it is right now.

“I’m so tickled we’re finally doing it,” she said.

Notification Systems/ Communication

According to Schleicher, the Los Angeles Community College District is also trying to streamline the emergency notification system for all nine campuses under its umbrella

Since Schleicher came on board, he says the school has restored its cadet program and even hired more cadets. There are 13 currently.

“I spoke to the president and sheriffs about some glaring problems on campus and based on the dialogue, I knew we needed more support,” he said. “We’ve ramped up our security dramatically, I’d say, but we still want more.”

“What we are doing here at Pierce is changing the culture to allow students to succeed and complete their degrees,” said Bob Martinez, co-chair of the Student Success Committee and chair of the Mathematics department.

The programs have proven to be successful – a single semester of ASAP boosted the success rate

from 23 percent to 66 percent, while the pilot program for Statway has increased it to 42.6 percent, according to Kiekel. Pierce’s success aside, the normal meeting functions were carried out after a thorough few presentations, discussing budget use and other necessities as normal.

Nelger Carrera / Roundup

FLIERS: Jake “K,” 23, puts fliers for a company called “i5 Nutrition” on cars parked at Pierce College Lot 7 on Thursday, Nov. 7.

Nov. 3 - Nov. 9

11-3 – Trespassing - A group of 50 people were found on the Cross Country Track without a permit. The group was warned and advised they were trespassing.

11-4 – Injury - A Taft High School student got hurt diving into the shallow end of the pool and was transported to the hospital, according to Deputy Alfred Guerrero.

11-4 – Traffic accident - A traffic collision occurred with no known injuries on Victory Boulevard and Winnetka Avenue.

11-5 – Suspicious person - There was a transient walking through campus, they were warned and advised they were trespassing.

11-5 – Grand theft and arrest - Someone stole a student’s skateboard while they were in the bathroom stall in the Library/Learning Crossroads. The campus sheriffs found the suspect off campus riding down Winnetka Avenue and Gilmore Street on the stolen skateboard and was arrested.

11-5 – Ill student - Student was feeling sick in Village 8100 and was picked up by a parent.

11-6 – Hit and runStudent reported his vehicle was hit while parked in Lot 7 with damage inflicted on the bumper. A witness left a note with the license plate number.

11-6 – Ill student - A student went to the Health Office because they felt ill and was transported by paramedics to the hospital.

11-7 – Injured student - A student was hurt during volleyball practice in the South Gym and was transported to the hospital by paramedic.

11-7 – Petty theft - Someone stole speakers from the Media Cart by the Academic Affairs building.

11-9 – Safety hazard - A water main broke in Lot 8.

11-9 – TrespassingPaparazzi was hiding on campus by the soccer field trying to get pictures of Britney Spears and her kids while they were playing soccer.

Clery Report shows crime decrease

Tracy Wright News Editor

Pierce College has one of the lower crime rates out of the nine schools in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) according to the 2013 Clery Act Security Report.

The Clery Act requires that all colleges and universities who participate in financial aid programs must disclose criminal acts within the campus and surrounding areas in a yearly report, produced every three years.

Data collected from the report shows crime rates have dropped on and near campus in many areas, including: sexual offenses, robberies, and burglaries.

The Pierce sheriffs department has gone through great lengths this past year to make sure everyone continues to stay safe on school grounds, according to Pierce’s Deputy Sheriff Alfred Guerrero.

Data collected from the Clery Act Reports from the nine campuses in the LACCD show Los Angeles Trade Tech College with the highest rate of crime and Los Angeles Valley College with the lowest.

While the statistics reflect better campus safety for some schools,

other schools have relatively no data at all, which leads to question the sufficient amount of evidence collected to present the reports.

No data was provided for Los Angeles Mission College between September and December 2012, but a search of crime maps within a one mile radius of the area in the last week presented six new offenses.

A call to the sheriff’s department at Los Angeles Mission College revealed the department was unaware of their lack of crime statistics online and (at print) were contacting their IT department to fix the problem.

LA Valley College reported three crimes in the year 2012 and calls to their sheriff’s department regarding the lowest crime rate in a high crime area provided few answers.

Los Angeles Trade Tech College, located in downtown Los Angeles, listed over 200 crimes on campus over the last year, including 12 grand theft charges.

While Pierce isn’t located in as densely populated of an area as Los Angeles Trade Tech College, sheriffs on campus are just as committed to keeping students safe.

“Patrols walk to the female gyms,” Deputy Guerrero said. “They walk people to their cars. It’s the overall awareness of the students.”

Sparks fly as an old trade is kept alive

Welding class on campus prepares students for professional career

Anxious to get to work, a classroom mostly filled with male students and a few females sits waiting to let their imaginations run wild.

Soon the room will be filled with sparks and the sounds heard in the professional environment of welding.

The technical term for the course is called Oxy-Acetylene Welding and it teaches beginning students a solid foundation in the principles of the craft and cutting, while emphasizing safety along with related information on equipment, ideas and materials, according to the Pierce Catalog course description.

Professor Eugene Korchmarev works with his students Mondays and Wednesdays -alongside professor Gary Wheeler who teaches the class Tuesdays and Thursdays- and just loves his job because he says he couldn’t imagine working in a cubical.

“I chose this career because I wasn’t the student type. I was a good student, but I wasn’t into it like I am with welding,” Korchmarev said. “I wanted a career where I could create things with my hands and be artistic.”

The class offers not only an understanding of welding but also creates jobs by allowing students to receive certification, according to Korchmarev.

“Our welding program specializes in structural steel certifications and we do have a few guys that do aerospace type programs,” Korchmarev said.

Matthew Wicksman, a 22-yearold automotive technology major, has always been interested in welding and how it can be beneficial to students.

“I took this class because I was always interested in making stuff with my own hands instead of buying it,” Wicksman said. “It is a lot of knowledge and you would never expect to have this much knowledge put into this type of class because a lot of people say it is not a worthy type job to have.”

The professor also adds that this type of industry is really needed in the future and welding will always be a necessary trade.

“There is such a need for this program. All these students in this class are learning a trade that could possibly carry them into a future career,” Korchmarev said. “I’d like to say we are the foundation for society, literally.”

Alexander McKee, a 22-year-old welding technology major, fights the stereotype that welding is not a sufficient career to have.

“Welding is the infrastructure of all the buildings on our campus and throughout the San Fernando Valley,” McKee said. “There is a lot of math and science behind it such as knowing the angels, degrees and metallurgy.”

Mckee is the only certified welder in this school, aside Gary

Q & A: ASO treasurer Adriana Lemus

Chiara Perbil Roundup Reporter

Associated Students

Organization treasurer, Adriana Lemus, hopes to bring back Pierce’s reputation of being an agricultural school, during her rst year with the ASO.

How did you find out about ASO?

I really had to dig my way in. I had to figure out where the office was first and then I had to find out what needed to be done to become a part of ASO.

What do you hope to accomplish within your term?

I wanted to see if we could get one of the college’s greenhouses fixed but it turns out I can’t do it from this level. Another project was that I wanted to improve the life of the college’s animals. Pierce is losing a lot of the reputation of being an agricultural school. We wanted to host fundraisers for the animals.

What are some of the difficult decisions you’ve had to make so far?

I have had to restrict myself from wanting to approve everything and give the money to everyone. There are a lot of requests coming in and not just from the clubs but even the school. I want to help everyone out but you can’t just spend the money on everything.

How do you balance school and ASO?

It is hard. Recently I was working overnights at my job, I couldn’t study without falling asleep and my body just broke down where I got really sick. It was very tough.

How do you think ASO made you a stronger person?

It has helped me to be open with people because usually I can kind of be off-putting but with ASO I have had to talk to all kinds of students and lose the shyness.

What are your educational goals after Pierce?

I hope to transfer after this semester to California State University, Northridge. I would like to

and Eugene and urges students in this field to become certified.

The class facility first opened in 1964 and still thrives, according to Korchmarev.

“This welding class is the most expensive on campus but what it offers to students is a life time of knowledge in the trade,” Korchmarev said.

People in this field do not just see

it as a job, but they see it as helping communities build themselves.

“A huge factor about this trade is that it is so rewarding especially like when doing structural steel you are building someone’s house or business,” Korchmarev said. Wicksman explains that Pierce is not just a school where you take your generals and transfer to a university, but where you can take

a class that trains you for a job in a particular trade.

“This program directly feeds into employable jobs for the community,” Wicksman said. “The purpose of Pierce is not just to be a feeder school to the universities .

It is a community college that is supposed to provide job training, and this is one of the programs that does that directly.”

The class also holds the welding club where students can enhance and improve their welding skills, according to Gary Weiser, the club president.

For those interested in welding, the Pierce College Welding Club currently meets during class Monday through Thursday from 5:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m., in Auto Technology 3805.

Inking more than just his homework

Student ta oo artist nds time for his passion

Fitting in two jobs, the workload of a part-time student and freelance work into a 24-hour time period is a daunting task capable of trouncing almost any individual.

study accounting and become an accounting manager somewhere.

Are you currently a member of any other organizations?

I am in the National Society of Leadership and Success. They are like an honor society at Pierce.

Are there any upcoming events for ASO?

I have tried to get together with the wellness committee, social and cultural committee, and the feminist club to see if we can put a Valentine’s day event together so hopefully things will happen.

This juggling act is performed every week by 21-year-old Pierce College student Chris Halawani, a music major.

Graduating from Sylmar High School in 2011, Halawani has been working at Subway and Foot Locker while attending Pierce. Along the way he has garnered a passion for something not offered on the college campus: tattooing.

Always having a passion for art, Halawani cites work as a reason for his involvement with tattoos. He also credits other people’s art work as a contributing factor to his love for tattoos.

“My main motive was money because work was kind of slow and then I just fell in love with it,” Halawani said. “It’s exactly like drawing.”

Starting only about seven months ago, the transition from drawing to tattooing seemed to happen with ease for Halawani.

He picked it up rather quickly because he had been drawing all of his life and first tattooed someone after very little practice.

He said it was second nature for him.

“Once I got my machine, my boy Baker was just like, ‘Tat me up,’” Halawani said. “Most people practice a lot; I didn’t.”

With support from friend Derron Baker, Halawani was given his first to show off his talents as Baker offered to be his canvas.

Since then he has gotten seven more tattoos, all courtesy of Halawani.

“I loved it,” Baker said. “I love all the work that’s on my body from him.”

A music major at Pierce for the past two years, Halawani is a parttime student taking classes such as

Talia Farber / Roundup

ARTIST: Chris Halawani,21, music major, on Monday Oct. 7. Halawani maintains two full time jobs, is a part-time student, and also runs his own tattoo business.

sociology and psychology.

He splits his time between work and school, making it difficult to juggle everything at once, calling it “tiring.”

“It‘s super stressful,” Halawani said. “On Monday I was falling asleep in class and I got mad because I do not want to be sleeping in class. It’s real hard.”

With about 10 tattoos so far, Halawani’s body serves as an advertisement for his work as he is covered with his own symbolic artwork that he does on himself on his downtime.

Halawani said that the tattoos that are on his body are full of meaning.

“All my body is basically my

story,” Halawani said. “Symbolism; all that. Everything on my body has to have a story and a real meaning.”

Monique Becker, a client of Halawani’s, says that she too was satisfied with her finished product, calling it “beautiful.” Becker said that she would definitely let Halawani give her more tattoos and is even looking into one right now, saying she feels he can definitely make it a career because of his passion.

“I had two sessions for my own and then I brought my brother to him as well,” Becker said.

“Both times he had a couple of sketchbooks that he was showing around and he was very passionate about them and his drawings.”

Jonathan Andrino / Roundup DEDICATED: Current Associated Students Organization Treasurer, Adriana Lemus on Tuesday Oct.16.

Mauel Rios Roundup Reporter

Chiara Perbil Roundup Reporter

Nelger Carrera / Roundup

SPARKS: Edgar De Leon, 21, wears a protecting welding mask while welding two pieces of metal during class, on Monday Nov. 4

16 dance pieces ready for showcase

Performers ready for ‘Signatures’

Michaia Hernandez

Online Editor

“Signatures,” the annual Fall Dance Concert scheduled for Nov. 15 through 17 in the Performing Arts Complex, will feature 16 dance pieces choreographed by students and faculty from Pierce College’s dance department.

This year’s showcase will feature performances that are on the more personal side, according

“Kribians”

Choreography: Joelle Manga

Music: “Sexy Dance” by Fally

Ipupa feat. Krys

Dancers: Marie Bayo, Omid

Haghnegahdar, Johnny Ceja, Marilyn Garcia, Joelle Manga, Jeremy Powell, Florabel Rubio, Drew Sterm

“Storm”

Choreography & performance: Noelle Andressen-Kale

Music score/composition: Kristopher Kale

“A Love Forever Known”

Choreography: Char’Donai’

Brooks Music: “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri feat. Steve Kazee

Dancers: Marie Bayo, Bryan

Garcia, Cassandra Godirez, Sandy Luque, Brooklyn Merritt, William Jace Rain, Jessica Uthus, Gracia Camila Yturrizaga

“She is Both Subject and Object”

Music: “I’m Spiegel” by Arvo Part

Choreography: Bonnie Lavin

Dancer: Paula Salvador

“Let This Be My Last Battleground”

Choreography: Noelle Andressen-

Kale

Music: “Rosewood” by Kristopher

Kale

Dancers: Noelle Andressen-Kale, Sandy Luque, Amani Minter

“Bachantigua”

Choreography: Denise Gibson & The Wonderland Team

Music: “Down” by Mambo 7

Dancers: Latin Dance Team “Salsa

in Wonderland”:

Joel Alvarez, Johnny Ceja, Lynda

Escalante, Bryan Garcia, Giselle

Elias, Erika Figueroa, Camila Medel, Zafir Molina, Yesenia

Perez, Sean Pinto, Gary Silveyra

“Under the Bridge”

Choreography: Denise Gibson &

to dance instructor Denise Gibson, who is the artistic director of the production, as well as a choreographer for a number of the pieces.

The concert will feature a variety of dance styles, including ballet, lyrical, modern and hiphop. Tickets are now on sale for $10 each. For reservations, call (818) 610-6598.

“It usually sells out very quickly,” Gibson said.

Dancers

Music: “Boadicea” by Enya

Dancers: Jeta Vlashi, Char’Donai’ Brooks, Cassandra Godirez, Sarah Hochstatter, Sandy Luque, Tyler Moore, Sydney Catran-Whitney

“The Distance”

Choreography: Philip Pham

Music: “Die in Your Arms” by Ariana Grande & “Hold on We’re Going Home” by Drake

Dancers: Kay Padilla Manalac, Philip Pham, Paula Salvador

“Vive Le Swing”

Choreography: Dennon Rawles

Music: Gabin Brassy Remix

Dancers: Alanelle Bagamaspad, Julio Alanya, Char’Donai Brooks, Joseph Carter, Giselle Elias, Lynda Escalante, Samantha Fairbairn, Bryan Garcia, Arianna Hall, Faisal Hossain, Rikkarria Jones, Sandy Luque, Ana Miranda, Brian Villafan, Busisiwe Yende

“An Odd Number of Women”

Choreography: Natalie Metzger

Music: “Augur” & “The Beautiful

Dead” by Robert Allaire

Dancers: Marie Bayo, Morgan Corulli, Cassandra Godinez, Sarah Louise, Brooklyn Merritt, Samara

Cibrian

“Makes Ya’ Wanna Holler”

Choreography: Bonnie LavinHughes & Dancers

Music: “Strange Fruit” by Nina Simone and “Blood on the Leaves” by Kanye West, mixed by Tony Johnson

Dancers: Julio Alanya, Char’Donai’ Brooks, Sydney Catran-Whitney, Marlene Chavez, Giselle Elias, Bryan Garcia, Scott Kriloff, Magaly Lemus, Gabriela Lopez, Sandy Luque, Ana Miranda, Brooke Merritt, Yesenia Perez, Javier Ramirez, Vanessa Rivera, Sophia Willis, Brian Villafan

“The Cool”

Student choreographs dance for annual Fall Dance Concert

Chaez Pearson Roundup Reporter

For many, dance is an expression that can be used to express emotions, but for 21-yearold Char’donai’ Brooks, it is a way of life.

From North Hills, Calif., Brooks is now in her third semester at Pierce College as a dance choreographer.

Currently living in the inner city of Los Angeles, Brooks has brought her hip-hop style to Pierce dance. She is preparing for the college’s annual Fall Dance Concert on Nov. 15, 16 and 17. She is constructing a performance with students in her class that will consist of 10 people total performing a lyrical and modern type of dance to the song “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri.

“I’ve been dancing ever since I could remember, even at a young age,” Brooks said. “I was always very energetic, and hip-hop was always my style. Teaching my younger sister as well as her friends to dance is, I think, part of the reason I’m here now at Pierce.”

Nelger Carrera / Roundup

REHEARSAL: Morgan Corulli (L) and Samara Cibrian on Friday, Nov. 1 practice the choreography for “An Odd Number of Women,” a piece they will be performing for the Fall Dance Concert.

Choreography: Paula Salvador

Music: “Kitty Kat” by Beyonce, “Electric Lady” by Janelle Monae & “Latch” by Disclosure feat. Sam Smith

Dancers: Paula Salvador

“9th Ward”

Choreography: Wendy Baity

Music: “Minority Report” by Jay-Z

Dancers: Marlene Chavez, Lisa Flory, Marilyn Garcia, Ryan Kuromiya, Maggie Lemus, Ian McCabe, Camila Mendel, Jeremy Powell

“La Clave Gitana”

Choreography: Denise Gibson & The Wonderland Team

Music: “El Ritmo de Juanito” by Sabor de Gracia

Dancers: Latin Dance Team “Salsa in Wonderland”: Char’Donai’ Brooks, Bryan Garcia, Giselle Elias, Gary Silveyra

“Surrender”

Choreography: Sandy Luque

Music: “My Immortal” by Lindsey Stirling

Dancers: Sandy Luque, Rudolph Secundino

“Swinging in the Rain”

Choreography: Denise Gibson & Dancers

Music: “Swinging in the Rain”

Jive Aces

Dancers: Musical Theater Class: Julio Alanya, Emma Bock, CharDonai Brooks, Joe Carter, John Ceja, Sarah Elias, Lynda Escalante, Sammie Fairbairn, Sarah Hochstatter, Brooklyn Merritt, Tin Nguyen, Yesenia Perez, Brittany Walker, Sydney Catran-Whitney, Sally Wenqian, Sophia Willis

List courtesy of: Denise Gibson *In order of performance

Brooks has progressed into an amazing dancer while incorporating her hip-hop roots into other styles of dance, such as lyrical and modern.

“Modern dance is what I first started with when I initially began dancing at Pierce,” Brooks said. “It’s a style of dance that I think was made for my body. Rosario Carache is definitely someone that mentored me during my beginning

stages at this campus. She helped me a great deal getting started.” Brooks prides herself as someone that loves to learn and is open to a variety of different styles of dance. Lyrical dance is the most recent style that Brooks has learned, but she has caught on so quickly that she is now teaching it to students in her class.

“I have always used dance as my great escape,” Brooks said.

“I use dance to tell a story of my emotions, and usually it’s the sad and slower songs that appeal to me the most. Those songs seem to give me the best feeling while doing my dances.”

Dancing is a way of life for Char’donai’ Brooks. She also views it as something she shares with her 2-year-old daughter Kailah.

“My daughter has such great rhythm and a love for dance at an early age,” Brooks said. “It is really something that I am grateful for because it is something we will always be able to share.”

Along with teaching dance at Pierce, Brooks works with her mother doing medical billing and coding. Her ultimate goal is not to perform around the world, but to open her own dance studio for many mothers that share the same passion as she does.

“Becoming a mother really put a lot of things into perspective for me,” Brooks said. “Dance is a great release and also helps with staying in shape and fit. I want to give other moms that same feeling and way to express themselves one day.”

‘Signatures’ concert

Annual Fall Dance Concert

Nov. 15 @ 8 p.m. Nov. 16 @ 2 and 8 p.m. Nov. 17 @ 2 p.m.

Performing Arts Complex

For tickets, call (818) 610-6598.

Open mic event attracts more than 100 people

Todd Rosenblatt Roundup Reporter

More than 100 students and staff gathered in the Great Hall on Thursday Nov. 7 to watch and participate in Harmony in Diversity, an open mic event hosted by Pierce College’s Diversity Committee.

During the open mic session 23 people read poems, sang, danced and discussed social issues. In the middle of the event there was a performance by Diane Kelly, a musician and Pierce professor.

meeting and they came up with the idea of having the event so I said ‘I’ll play,’” Kelly said.

Having Kelly perform was a draw for some students like Karen Ibarra.

“I had professor Kelly before, and I was interested to see what kind of genre was hers,” Ibarra said.

While performing an original song Kelly broke into a guitar solo and the crowd erupted in applause.

Professor Maria Bates, co-chair of the Diversity Committee, said the committee is a group of faculty who support diversity and help to bring people together on campus.

during the event was Arnel Reyes, who attended the event to receive extra credit in one of his classes and recite a poem entitled “I Know You” by an unknown author.

“You’re pretty open to do whatever you want. It’s a good vibe, good environment to be yourself in,” Reyes said.

Food and drinks were provided for students in addition to the entertainment, and included cookies, muffins, chips, water and soda. There was no budget for the event so funding came from Bates’ own pocket.

Some of the students who took the stage were from foreign countries and performed in foreign languages such as Farsi and Spanish.

Christine Valada, co-chair of the Diversity Committee, was happy with the turnout.

“It’s always gratifying to see participation,” Valada said.

Events like these have a good impact on the campus and students at Pierce, according to Kelly.

Bobak Radbin / Roundup

INSTRUMENT: Albert Yang, a 26-year-old student, plays his guitar in the Great Hall during the open mic on Thursday, Nov. 7.

Kelly is a fan of the event and offered to support it when she first heard of the event.

“I sat in on the [Diversity Committee]

Arts & Entertainment Briefs

Compiled by: Tracy Wright

Student photos to be displayed through exhibit [11/14 - 12/11]

Two academic departments are hosting a student photography exhibit beginning Thursday, Nov. 14 and ending Wednesday, Dec. 11 in the Art Gallery, Room 3301.

The exhibition, entitled “Urban Sight,” opens Thursday with a reception that goes from 6 to 8 p.m. Students from the Department of Architecture and Media Arts

Department joined together with three other community colleges to participate with the Getty Center for the photo exhibit. “Urban Sight” focuses on Los Angeles structures and architecture. Through the project, the departments hope to demonstrate the relationship between Angelinos and cars through architecture, according to the press release.

The exhibit itself was designed and installed by students from the Art 519 Exhibition Design class. The event is open to the public.

“This is such a positive thing because it allows you to express your individuality,” Kelly said.

One of the students who performed

Thursday concerts continue [11/14]

Following the first Pierce student concert, the college’s Music Department will feature Music of Persia for its next free weekly Thursday shows.

Matin and Misaq Eshaghi will be performing, with the former on the taar and daf and the latter on the tonbal, kamancheh and daf.

The concert will take place in Music Building room 3400 at 12:45 p.m. Doors close at 1 p.m. Event is open to the public.

“I just felt like it wouldn’t be a really nice event unless we offer food. Students come here, they’re spending their afternoons here, it’s really a nice perk,” Bates said.

“I think it’s important for students to be able to connect to one another and it just kind of brings a really cool spirit to the campus,” Kelly said.

Following the success of the event, the Diversity Committee is planning to host another one of a similar format for May of next year.

MUSIC

for the soul

Thursday concerts at Pierce offer an opportunity for students and professional musicians to showcase their musical talents. The latest event was hosted on Nov. 7 in the Music building, room 3400. Students serenaded the crowd with sounds of strings being strummed and soothing songs of soul. Musicians used pianos, guitars, and flutes to provide another successful event for students. This was the first concert entirely performed by students this semester, as guests are usually invited to contribute. The next free Thursday concert will be on Dec. 5 at 12:45 p.m. in Music building, room 3400.

Jonathan Andrino-Vela / Roundup

GROUP: Students Nancy Perillo, Priscilla Schneider, Bruce Salyer and Jay Lawton (L-R) perform together on Thursday Nov. 7 in Music Building room 3400 for the free weekly Thursday concert series.

Jonathan Andrino-Vela / Roundup

FRAMED: Pierce College student Reynaldi Raharja showcases his talent during the first student concert of the semester.

Jonathan Andrino-Vela / Roundup

TEEN: Benjamin Krasner, 13, plays a piece entitled “Tarentella” by Franz Liszt.

Jonathan Andrino-Vela / Roundup

GUITAR: Jacob R. W. Billings rehearses one of his very own songs, titled “You Donʼt Know,” before the concert starts.

Story by: Tracy Wright / Roundup

Trainers ensure players physical health

Pierce College Athletic Department emphasizes procedures and guidelines for head injuries

Raymond Garcia Sports Editor

Injuries are not uncommon for athletes; however, a head injury can alter a person’s life in an instance and Pierce is taking the necessary precautions to help its players.

In recent years, due to the awareness of head injuries — more specifically concussions — professional and collegiate levels of athletics have made it a priority to deal with these types of injuries more seriously.

Pierce Athletic Trainer Leonard Ramirez has made it an emphasis on the players that a head injury is something that should not be taken lightly.

“If you have a concussion you need to tell someone. You can’t hide it like back in the old days,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez has adopted guidelines from the National Collegiate Athletic Association for himself and his staff to follow.

“The NCAA basically has put in some guidelines since 2009 and we follow what they do to help test for concussions,” Ramirez said.

Part of the procedure to educate the athletes about concussions includes players watching a video done by ESPN’s “E:60” about former college athlete Preston Prevletes.

“The players are required to watch this video,” said Athletic Director Bob Lofrano.

Newly-hired athletic trainer Robert Horowrtz said that watching the Prevletes video is not only for the players but for the coaches as well.

“Even the coaches are required to see a video on concussions and they are supposed to sign off that they have seen the video, they understand the video and understand the consequences of the concussion,” Horowrtz said.

The documentary not only shows the importance of dealing with a concussion properly, but playing with this type of injury too soon could be fatal.

“It is the second concussion that is the dangerous one, not the original/initial one,” Ramirez said.

Horowrtz added onto Ramirez’s comment, explaining what occurs in the brain after the initial concussion.

“When you originally get a

concussion there is a cascade and all different types of chemical reactions are going on and you have to let that settle down,” Horowrtz said. “If any trauma happens at that crucial period it goes down hill really quick.”

The athletic trainers and their staff try to avoid getting to this position by working diligently to assess the situation efficiently with the procedures they have been implementing.

“We give everyone a baseline test before the season starts. We are getting these kids when they are supposed healthy with no dings on them, no injuries,” Ramirez said.

These tests help give the trainers a marker for each athlete in the case of a head injury to help diagnose them properly.

NCAA Adopted Concussion Management Plan Legislation

Concussion Management Plan. An active member institution shall have a concussion management plan for its student-athletes. The plan shall include, but is not limited to, the following:

(a) An annual process that ensures student-athletes are educated about the signs and symptoms of concussions.

Student-athletes must acknowledge that they have received information about the signs and symptoms of concussions and that they have a responsibility to report concussion-related injuries and illnesses to a medical staff member;

(b) A process that ensures a student-athlete who exhibits signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion shall be removed from athletics activities (e.g., competition, practice, conditioning sessions) and evaluated by a medical staff member (e.g., sports medicine staff, team physician) with experience in the evaluation and management of concussions;

(c) A policy that precludes a student-athlete diagnosed with a concussion from returning to athletic activity (e.g., competition, practice, conditioning sessions) for at least the remainder of that calendar day; and

(d) A policy that requires medical clearance for a student-athlete diagnosed with a concussion to return to athletics activity (for example, competition, practice, conditioning sessions) as determined by a physician (e.g., team physician) or the physician’s designee.

Symptoms of a Concussion:

Thinking and memory

Not thinking clearly

Feeling slowed down

Not being able to concentrate

“If something were to happen on the volleyball court or football field then we retest them with that same test to check differences,” Ramirez said.

Horowrtz explains that at a game when a concussion occurs they hold the player out and go through some questions similar to the original test and there is a score the trainers look at. After that they test the player again a day or two later.

“There’s a prescreen, injury screen and postinjury screen,” Horowrtz said. “There are certain numbers we look for.”

Despite the guidelines and procedures of the present, the trainers have to look into the athletes past as well.

“Sometimes the athletes will not remember or tell us that they have had a previous concussion and usually that’s where we have to make sure that they are very clear on that because if they are not clear on that it skewers everything,”

Headaches and pains

Throughout my short athletic career I have suffered a variety of injuries from sprained wrists to a ruptured ACL in my left knee, but none have compared to the long lingering effects of the two major concussions I have had.

The first one was probably the most traumatic one I endured even though I do not remember much of what happened.

I was 10 years old playing baseball in Westchester, Calif. on a Little League team in 2000. We were playing in the semi-final round before the finals for the League Championship that year.

During the game my team was ahead by a few runs going into the last inning of the game.

I was playing Left Field and they had a few players on base with their best hitter coming up to bat and sure enough he hit a fly ball my way. The ball was not hit that hard and was falling between me and the shortstop.

The last thing I remember about the game was running for the ball. I can’t recall much of the rest of the

day except for parts of a car ride to a dentist in Redondo Beach.

From what my parents have told me about what happened, the shortstop and I ran into each other and knocked heads.

The blow impact was so bad that my two front teeth were knocked out and hanging by the roots. I was unconscious for about five minutes and was immediately rushed to a dentist to have my teeth put back in place.

As for the second concussion, that one I remember more vividly. It happened in the summer of 2007 while I was playing at a summer league basketball game.

During the game a player from the other team stole the ball and broke away to the basket. I was able to cut him off and took a charge, however the collision had me fall awkwardly and the back of my head slammed against the hardwood floor.

I jumped back to my feet to inbound the ball and as quickly as I got up I fell back to the floor. I was so disoriented that my head coach, a coach from another team and one of

Horowrtz said.

A main concern for the training staff and the athletes is that after the first concussion an individual is more likely to get another one.

“Does not matter if it was a year ago or two years ago, it is still a concussion,” Horowrtz said. Usually what happens after a concussion is that you are more susceptible to a second or third or fourth concussion.”

In some more serious instances the training staff has to send the players to a neurologist for further analysis.

“We would like to send them to a neurologist especially if they have had more than one concussion or something does not seem right,” Horowrtz said.

Although there is a training staff on campus the real responsibility of dealing with an injury like a concussion falls on the individual athletes.

“Everyone has the responsibility to police everybody,” Ramirez said.

Not being able to remember new information

Physical

Headache

Fuzzy or blurry vision

Nausea and vomiting

Dizziness

Sensitivity to light or noise

Balance problems

Feeling tired or having no energy

Emotional and mood

Easily upset or angered

Sad

Nervous or anxious

More emotional

my teammates practically carried me back to the bench.

After my first concussion, because I was so young, I developed an Auditory Processing Disorder.

After the second, I suffered from post concussion syndrome for almost 4 months and missed almost the first three months of my junior year in high school, because the symptoms were so bad.

I had headaches that lasted weeks at a time, I couldn’t walk outside because the sunlight was so bothersome and all I wanted to do was sleep.

It felt like an amplified hangover that just would not go away despite all the medications and treatments I received over that time period. Even to this day I can still feel the side effects and the slightest knocks to the head bring back symptoms such as nausea, headaches and sensitivity to light.

Although I went through these head injuries, if it were not for a knee injury I would still be playing sports competitively despite knowing the repercussions of getting a hit in the head again.

Sleep

Sleeping more than usual

Sleeping less than usual

Having a hard time falling asleep

Information provided by webmd.com

“If you have a concussion you need to tell someone. You can’t hide it like back in the old days.”

-Leonard Ramirez Athletic Trainer Raymond Garcia rgarcia.roundupnews@gmail.com

Football team crushed in one-sided game Santa Monica ends Pierce’s 3-game winning streak to remain undefeated in conference play

the winner of the Mountain division of the Western State Conference. The winner of that game will be declared the American Division champions.

In a season that has already been mired by controversy for the Pierce College football team, the Brahmas can still go to the American Division Bowl with a win over Glendale next week after a loss to Santa Monica.

Despite the Santa Monica Corsairs defeating the Pierce College Brahmas 37-13, it was announced after the game that SMC is ineligible for a bowl game due to recruiting violations against Santa Monica.

According to South California Football Association commissioner Jim Sartoris, Santa Monica head coach Gifford Lindheim was part of a high school all star game. The SMC football program was put on one-year probation that excludes them from playing in a postseason bowl game. Santa Monica can still win the conference championship if they can beat Antelope Valley at home this week. In the event Santa Monica loses then the winner of next week’s Pierce and Glendale game will be declared the conference champions.

The Brahmas were defeated once again by Santa Monica and have lost to the Corsairs for the sixth year in a row.

But because of SMC’s ineligibility the Brahmas can still go to the American Division Bowl with a win over Glendale and play

The game itself was a pretty forgettable night for Pierce as the offense came out stagnant scoring only 10 points in the first half and three points in the second with a field goal coming at the beginning of the third quarter from kicker Daniel Schlorf.

The Brahmas lost starting center Daniel Barajas for the game due to a knee injury suffered in the second quarter.

“He’s probably the best center in the conference,” head coach Efrain Martinez said. “It was tough, that one was tough”.

Wide receiver Shaquan Hall who has been one of Pierce’s most reliable receivers all season long dropped six passes.

Hall wasn’t the only one to blame for Pierce’s struggles as quarterback Nick Arbuckle threw two interceptions including a late pick in the fourth quarter.

The Corsairs shut down Arbuckle who finished the game 14-31 throwing only one TD along with two interceptions for only 157 yds.

“The offense really let the defense down tonight,” Martinez said.

As for Santa Monica, the Corsairs had a field day with the Brahmas in the fourth quarter scoring 23 unanswered points, with two touchdowns coming off of

turnovers including a fumble from punt returner Jay’Onn Myles with less then seven minutes left to play to hand the momentum right to the Corsairs.

“Pierce is awesome,” said Corsair head coach Gifford Lindheim. “They do a great job coaching here, they are talented.

Volleyball team wins in sweep Brahmas beat Mission College 3-0 in consecutive sets

Chiara Perbil Roundup Reporter

The Pierce College women’s volleyball team defeated Mission College on Nov. 8 by showcasing good offense in a 3-0 sweep.

Pierce was able to beat Mission in three consecutive sets with scores of: 25-23, 25-18, 25-14.

Some of the players who impacted the game included: Kira Guarino scoring 12 kills, Alyssa Chulak scoring 11 kills, Paige McFerren scoring nine kills and Brittani Elser with four aces.

“I thought offensively we did really well and our serving got better,” Mardini said. “The passing could have been better because I have seen us handle the ball a lot better.”

Even though the girls played well Mardini still saw something that didn’t please him during the game and knew it would affect the game play.

“The one thing that was kind of disappointing was that our defense was OK but offensively we did well so that helped us win,” Mardini said.

The coach did applaud his team for putting a good effort into the game.

“Overall I would say Kira Guarino and Brittani [Elser] did a

good job,” Mardini said. “Our team is kind of banged up so we had to move some players around tonight.”

Natalie Livermore, sophomore outside hitter, was out of the game due to a head injury, according to Mardini.

Team captain Kira Guarino said

that team work is what got them to be victorious in this game.

“I thought my girls did well,” Guarino said. “It was not any particular person that saved the game, but the whole team coming together and scoring big.”

Adam Kaminsky, head coach of Mission College women’s volleyball, said his team put in a lot of effort into this game.

“I believe my girls played very well because we were working on a few strategies over the season and they executed three of the four.”

Kaminsky noted that his team is strong, but because of Pierce’s game plan the Mission Eagles didn’t soar this time.

“I thought we did well in the first set with 25-23 but in the end Pierce’s tough serving was a bit much and that is what caused us to get out of the system,” Kaminsky said.

The Mission coach thought it was a tough game but well played by Pierce.

“Hats off to them for scoring a lot of points,” Kaminsky said.

“They were great to play against.”

Before Pierce’s next game against Cuesta College Wednesday Nov. 13 at 6 p.m., Mardini thinks the team will rest up and come back strong for this game.

The game against Cuesta will be the second to last game before regional playoffs.

Soccer team loses to Ventura 2-1

Pierce College soccer team’s seven game winning streak came to an end on Nov. 5 as the Ventura College Pirates defeated the Brahmas 2-1 in Ventura.

Ventura had its way with the Brahmas during the first 30 minutes of action dominating possession

and putting shots on goal. It was only a matter of time for the Pirates when sophomore midfielder Amanda Tewes rebounded the ball in front of the goal post in the 16th minute and put it into the back of the net to give Ventura a 1-0. Five minutes later the Pirates struck again when sophomore forward Taylor C’debaca put it into the right side of the net to make it a 2-0 game. The Brahmas defensively looked scattered throughout most of the

first half, unable to settle the ball and give the offense an opportunity to score.

Pierce head coach Adolfo Perez wasn’t disappointed about the loss, but about how it happened.

“It was a great game and I am not as mad about the loss as to how the goals were given up,” Perez said. “Those goals could’ve easily been prevented.” For full story visit theroundupnews.com

We were just fortunate to be here tonight.”

The Corsairs were highlighted by a trick play late in the fourth quarter when SMC ran a reverse. Rather than a running back or wide receiver, the ball was instead given to sophomore offensive tackle

Maurquice Shikir who threw a 31yd ball downfield to increase the Corsair lead to 14.

“We had been working on that play all season,” said Shikir. “I guess it was the right time to throw it.”

Even with all the glitz, including

a post game celebratory dance that extended 50 yds at John Shepard Stadium, none of it matters for the Corsairs because they are ineligible. Despite a horribly played game, Pierce will be bowl eligible if they can beat Glendale this Saturday at the last regular season game at 7 p.m. in John Shepard Stadium.

Ethan Hanson Roundup Reporter

Nelger Carrera / Roundup

SCRAMBLE: Quarterback Nick Arbuckle runs the ball against Santa Monica College defenders in the Brahmasʼ 37-13 loss on Nov. 9.

Nelger Carrera/ Roundup GAME OVER: Savannah Loutzenhiser celebrates the final point in Pierceʼs win over Los Angeles Mission College on Nov. 8.

Ethan Hanson Roundup Reporter