Letter to the Editor

Regarding Growing Concern on the Farm, May 7, by Tim Toton

Hello. I wanted to compliment your staff on the great cover story about the loss of Pierce’s land. It was one of the best articles I’ve ever seen in our campus newspaper.

Thank you, Craig Kramer English Department

Never fear a summer challenge

regular 16-week semester, that same workload in half or one-third the time does seem overwhelming. Impossible, even. But you will not be taking 12 units.

Not only would it benefit the students within the LACCD, but it would benefit the MTA as well, maybe not immediately, but moreso in the future. Years from now, students that have used fare-free rides would remember and would continue to support the MTA by using public transportation more often. People that are not qualified to use such a service would recognize the proactive community service student fare-free rides provide and use more public transportation as well.

The caveat to this is that the Santa Monica and West Los Angeles area, as well as SMC, is a much smaller area and campus respectively where as LACCD is comprised of many campuses and encompasses a much larger area, but ridership within the area the Big Blue Bus operates is very high because people support the Big Blue Bus’ community outreach this service provides.

There is a discounted fare that the MTA does provide to students but there are challenges to get it. For a person to qualify for the MTA’s discounted fare, a college student must be enrolled in at least 12 units, fill out an application with some evidence showing the enrollment, and then either mail that form to the MTA or turn in the form at their customer service center located in the Miracle Mile area of Los Angeles. Once that is all completed, a student has to play the waiting game until the MTA mails the reduced fare tap card.

This approval process is not only difficult, but time consuming for a student that needs the discounted TAP card immediately in order to get to classes. This is not mentioning the fact that not every college student is attending full time, leaving out part time students who are ineligible for the discounted rate.

It will be a difficult endeavor for the LACCD to work out a deal with the MTA to provide this service for its students. The MTA is a private business whereas the Big Blue Bus is city operated. In the likelihood that a fare-free ride system be unfeasible for the MTA to offer to LACCD students, the MTA can revise the requirements to become eligible for the discounted rate to include every student, not just full time students.

It isn’t free, but the $36 a month for the discounted rate is better than nothing. If the LACCD and MTA are smart, they will recognize how valuable it is to offer this service to all students.

Pros and Cons: Whether to take summer courses or a breather

As the 2014 spring semester draws to a close, the students of Pierce College begin to weigh their options, head to summer school, recharge the batteries or go to work.

“Dear Kate, I’m thinking about taking summer classes, but I’m a little bit scared because they’re so short. What should I do?” -Scared Student

Dear Scared,

Yes, the summer session is quite a bit shorter than the fall and spring semesters, but don’t let that fact intimidate you. The summer is a fantastic time to get ahead in your classes, catch up, or even explore a new interest.

During the spring and fall semesters, most students take multiple classes. Thinking about the summer with the mindset of one who takes 12 units during a mrios.roundupnews@gmail.com

Pace yourself. Take one class for each of the 5-week sessions, or one to two classes during the 8-week session. You will be spending more time per week in each class, but your brain won’t be required to remember four or five different subjects at once.

You can immerse yourself in only one class and concentrate solely on that subject, making summer actually a little easier than the fall and spring, rather than more stressful because of the time constraint.

Do you have a question for Kate? Don’t shy away, ask Kate anything by sending an email to AskKateAnything@gmail. com. If you have a question of a sensitive nature, your identity will be kept a secret.

With summer school being offered by the Los Angeles Community College District, Pierce is one of nine schools offering a comprehensive summer curriculum.

Providing students with an opportunity to get ahead of the game in their academic careers, it is a no brainier that students should take advantage of Pierce’s summer program. This summer Pierce has changed it’s summer schedule, offering even more classes and dividing the summer schedule into three separate parts.

Making the schedule flexible, the school is offering an eight week session, from June 16- August 9, Session A, from June 16- July 19 and Session B, from July 21- August 23. There is seemingly no down side to the new schedule as Pierce is giving all students a choice.

Summer classes aren’t forced upon those students who might need them but taken by those who choose to, speeding up their stay at the community college level. Pierce offers students who would like to solely focus on their major the opportunity to work on their prerequisite courses during the summer. This would help eliminate them from the students schedule in the fall or spring.

While there is little room for error when attending college, summer school provides a fast paced environment for those committed to getting through their classes and moving through college. The courses offered during the summer can also be a benefit as the class sizes will be smaller than the average class size during the other semesters. In a class with fewer students, this may allow for more time and interaction with the professor.

With summer quickly approaching, it is time that Pierce students take advantage of the opportunity to speed along their process at the community college level by taking summer school courses and help further advance their college education.

-COMIC mmcgillicuddy.roundupnews@gmail.com

Some students may be uncertain as to whether or not they should take summer classes. There could be some advantages to completing classes during the summer, but for the most part, summer should be a time of rest and relaxation. The summer schedule for Pierce College is already online, and many have already registered. By now, a lot of classes can be full and students may find themselves disappointed that they did not jump on registration quickly enough, but maybe it’s not such a bad thing.

Summer session is much shorter than the standard 12 week sessions in the spring and fall semesters. Since they are shorter, summer classes are more intense and fast-paced. Many classes meet four days a week: Tuesday-Friday for three hours at a time.

A student doesn’t necessarily need to overwhelm themselves with more school. If a student really has a need to be productive, they can find a summer job or maybe even an internshaip in the field the wish to peruse. Having an internship, even if it’s unpaid, can look great on a resume.

Other students may want to focus on getting a paid job for the summer. This can enable them to pay for classes, books, supplies, etc. during the school year.

Not only can students travel abroad, but they can travel within California or even Los Angeles. Los Angeles is home several theme parks that may offer summer specials to locals and students.

There other places students can enjoy within Los Angeles. Walking along the stress of Hollywood is another great example. People come from all over the world to famous landmarks like the El Captain and Pantages Theaters.

So relax, take a vacation. See some of the sites of Los Angeles or travel. Go camping, hang out at the beach with friends, see a movie, and visit with friends and family. Students deserve a break after working so hard throughout the year.