incident report Center cited for child supervision shortfall children by a campus maintenace worker

posted at the CDC for the next year.

News Briefs

- Compiled by Tracy Wright

Daylight Savings Time [3/9]

Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead one hour on Sunday, March 9 for Daylight Savings.

Media Arts Department Speaker Series [3/17]

Feb. 10 - March 1

– Compiled by Genna Gold

2/10 - Sexual battery - A female student reported a sexual battery in parking lot 6 to the Los Angeles Police Department.

2/11 - Assault with force likely to produce great bodily harm - Students were involved in a fight by the Business Office area.

2/12 - Unauthorized use of personal info - Student reported someone wrote a check using his name.

2/13 - Petty theft - An unknown person

Caleb Johnson Features Editor

Two children were found playing unattended outside the front of the Child Development Center (CDC) by a campus maintenance worker on Wednesday, Feb. 5.

The children escaped while they were in the playground, which has an open area that leads back into the lobby and out the front doors. They exited the playground and walked through the front doors of the building where they were found by campus gardener Humphrey Beem, according to a letter sent by the CDC to parents outlining the incident.

Beem found the children playing outside the doors and promptly returned the children to the center and into the hands of staff.

The CDC was cited by the California Department of Social Services with a Type A violation for lack of supervision . The civil penalty for this violation would be $150, but Pierce College’s fine was waived due to it being a public entity, according to the posted documents regarding the violation.

Phyllis Schneider, Director of the CDC, described the issue as multi-faceted in origin.

“Teacher supervision needs to be improved,” Schneider said. “It’s a two-fold solution – monitoring kids and correcting adults.”

Proposed solutions include erecting a proper barrier that would be accessible by adults, posting a cadet at the front doors to monitor comings and goings, changing parent behavior, and instructor training.

“Our concern for a couple of years has been access by the public,” Schneider said. “And even more now that children can go out.”

The CDC is now pushing for change even harder after the scare, with a meeting planned this week to discuss the matter of a physical barrier separating the playground from the main area.

“We’re looking for an appropriate barrier,” Schneider said.

The meeting will discuss which type of barrier would keep the center most secure, while not affecting other safety measures.

Teachers have gone through a class to reinforce their supervisory abilities. Miyuki Yatsuya-Dix, one of the instructors in the CDC, says they will be much more careful.

“We’ll be one hundred percent supervising the children,” Yatsuya-Dix said. “We had high expectations, and they fell.”

Parents are also expected to reinforce the idea of when it’s okay to go places, and how to understand when they shouldn’t. Parents were immediately notified of the issue when the children were found, according to Schneider.

“All the parents were notified of this,” Schneider said. “It’s public information, no secrets.”

Dean of Student Services David Follosco is involved in finding and putting solutions into effect.

“We are concerned,” Follosco said. “We’re looking at every sort of thing we can do and what’s the best solution for the situation.”

2/26

2/26 - Student injury - A veterinary student was kicked by a goat by the Farm Center

2/26

The licensing report that came along with the violation must be with the Financial Aid, Scholarships and Veterans Department.

Another faculty member will also be brought to the facility, posted in the main lobby to monitor the adults and children who pass through the center.

The Soldiers Project and student outreach specialists from Cal State University Northridge and Cal State University Los Angeles.

There are worries about prohibitory costs with posting cadets, or possible fire hazards with a childproof gate. Possible solutions are to be looked at and explored for the issue in terms of what is best for safety and cost for staff, students and the school.

“Our concern is for the safety of everyone,” Follosco said.

Award winning photographer, Kirk McKoy, will be the next speaker in the Media Arts Speaker Series at the Great Hall on Thursday, March 13 at 7 p.m. The event is free.

Aids Awareness Week [3/17-3/28]

The Student Health Center will host free and confidential HIV testing in Lot 1 between 3/233/27. In addition, speakers are available to visit classrooms and discuss HIV and AIDS related issues. For more information regarding booking a speaker for a classroom, contact the Student Health Center at (818) 710-4270.

Free tax preparation for students

Students who need help preparing their taxes can attend a free class sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service on Saturday mornings in the Business Education building 3218 through April 5.

G.I. Bill which includes post 9/11 veterans.”

Veteran and military students were invited to the Welcome Back Lunch in the Pierce College Great Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 26.

Those who attended the event were able to get reacquainted with peers while learning about available resources on campus.

“This event is one way for the veterans to connect with the campus, to connect with the different services that we offer, and I would like to address them and give them a heads up about new regulations for priority registration,” said Anafe Robinson, director of Financial Aid, Scholarships, Veterans and Foster Care.

The event began at 11 a.m. and lasted until 1 p.m. The students had access to community organizations including the Chatsworth Vet Center, Sepulveda Vet Center,

“I have a lot of veteran friends who are going to the event,” said Alex Vasquez, a student veteran. “I think it is wonderful that we are getting veterans together and letting them know what the school offers them.”

The keynote speaker at the event was Levi Kinnard, a veteran, CSUN graduate and Chief Executive Officer of his own business.

“Through this event, we are trying to bring back the Student Veterans Organization. We had it three years ago, it was chartered through ASO,” said Robinson. “The plan is to reignite that organization again so that the veterans have their own club where they can hang out and bounce each other’s experiences and ideas off each other.”

The event was put on by the Counseling Department in coalition

“ I think it is wonderful that we are getting veterans together and letting them know what the school offers them.”

-Alex Vasquez Student Veteran

“In the Fall, there were about 548 veterans who identified themselves in their applications for admissions. About half came to the veterans affairs office in the Fall to be certified for the V.A. benefits,” said Robinson. “A majority of the veterans are under Chapter 33

The students that attended the event found the opportunity beneficial in meeting fellow veterans on campus they might not have met otherwise.

“I think veterans should go [to the event] because veterans should be friends with each other and they should connect with other veterans at the school,” said AJ Khosroabadi, a student veteran. “All veterans, especially combat veterans, I do not care what branch you are, there is an automatic friendship there.”

Pierce will also be hosting a panel of student veterans next month to help faculty understand how they can help these students in the classrooms. For further information for Veterans and military assistance on campus, contact the Veterans Affairs office at (818)-710-3316 or pierce-veteran@piercecollege.edu.