Pierce College was selected to be part of the Online Education Initiative’s (OEI) pilot launch phase, according to Distance Coordinator Wendy Bass at the Academic Senate Meeting on Monday, Sept. 22 in The Great Hall.
Conflicting emergency notifications caused confusion for the Pierce College community because of a potential threat the morning of September 17.
The campus community received an email at approximately 11:45 a.m. stating that the LAPD was searching for a suspect believed to be armed and dangerous who may have driven into campus. Within minutes another notification in the form of a text was
sent out informing the community of an immediate evacuation taking place. Minutes later an email, stating that the college was to be on lockdown until further notice due to “current police activity”, spurred confusion among those currently at Pierce.
“It was an adequate response.
I asked for only certain units to come. It was appropriate for the information I had. If you put back on information and you judge wrong, it’d be a bad day,” Deputy Guerrero said.
As a result of the conflicting messages, students evacuated the campus or did not attend class at all.
Some students and faculty received
a message at around 12:23 p.m. notifying them that the lockdown was lifted and the campus was safe. Other students, who received the previous warning messages, did not receive that message.
Administration received phone calls throughout the evening from uninformed, concerned persons
Pierce College’s Student Success and Support Program (SSSP) is one step closer to full implementation after its unanimous approval by the Academic Senate on Monday, Sept. 8, at their first meeting of the semester in the Great Hall.
The SSSP is an updated version of the process formerly known as Matriculation. Orientation, assessment, counseling, and other follow-up services are at the heart of the program.
“It’s all about students getting off to a good start,” Pierce’s new Dean of Student Services Kalynda Webber-McLean said. “We provide them with adequate support while they’re here so they can meet their educational objectives.”
Parts of the plan are already in motion at Pierce, according to Webber-McLean. Academic Counseling has changed significantly since new policies and
procedures were introduced in the spring.
“Now we have guidelines we go by,” Counseling Department Chair Rudy Dompe said. “Before, we had more time to do counseling, per se. Now we’ve got to move into action right away – educational goals, career goals – we’ve got to do the comprehensive educational plan.”
The plan Dompe referred to is a complete outline of everything a student needs to complete his or her academic goals. Abbreviated plans that cover one to two semesters are also available.
“The state has said that community colleges need to be a little bit more structured,” WebberMcLean said. “Now the state says that if you do a long-term road map for a student, it has to have every stop along the way.”
Webber-McLean also said that Pierce is in the process of hiring more academic counselors, which is also part of the SSSP.
Year-round assessment, on the other hand, is an SSSP feature
that is already underway at Pierce. Before the SSSP, Pierce only offered assessment during certain times of the year, according to Webber-McLean.
She said the probation program should “hopefully” roll out later this fall, with a full implementation in the spring. The First Year Experience Center in the Library Learning Crossroads Building has its classrooms open, but a lead counselor/coordinator is still needed before the center is opened, she said.
The SSSP is based off California Senate Bill 1456, also known as the Student Success Act. It was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2012.
2013 was a planning year while 2014 is an implementation year, according to Webber-McLean. “We’re right on time with the timeline that’s been established by the state’s Chancellor’s Office,” she said. The SSSP will be submitted to Pierce’s board in October for final approval.
asking if it was safe to go on campus.
“There are multiple sources on the campus but we try to make sure ours are consistent through Blackboard Connect,” Vice President of Administration Rolf Schleicher said when asked about the discrepancy between
notifications. “We don’t understand where that came from,” Schleicher said referring to the email about the suspect driving into campus.
The senior staff sends out messages once they have assessed the situation by talking to the Sheriff’s Department and LAPD, according to Schleicher.
Despite efforts, some messages released by Blackboard on Wednesday were vague and unspecific.
Text messages referring to Pierce simply as “the college” were particularly confusing for students enrolled and attending multiple colleges.
Pierce was one of 24 California community colleges chosen to participate in the program, and was placed in the Tutoring Staging Group. Pierce will submit five online courses to the OEI for consideration to participate in the program, of which three will be chosen.
“For us it’s a big deal because we’ll get free tutoring for those three classes,” she said. “Hopefully we’ll see a higher success rate in those online classes. That’s a goal.”
An updated Student Information System (SIS) was also announced at the meeting.
Articulation Officer Elizabeth Atondo said the revamped system will “look different and hopefully will be a lot better.”
Pierce’s current SIS is “homegrown,” she said. The new system “will be an Oracle product.”
She said the all-new SIS will roll out in October, 2015 for incoming fall 2016 students, while continuing students will see the new system in spring 2016.
The next Academic Senate meeting is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 6 at 2:15 PM in The Great Hall.
News Editor
“I think we handled it the way we intended to handle it. Thankfully it went well in terms of no threat was present on campus and no one was injured”
-Rolf Schleicher
Vice President of Administration
“I mean, it’s only 25 cents and I can imagine that part of the reason why they have to raise it up is because not many people use the bus in Los Angeles because the bus system is not the best. So I hope that the extra 25 cents would hopefully be used to improve the bus system overall so more people could be encouraged to use it.”
-Brooke Urick Biology major
For many community college students, maintaining a job to pay bills while going to school to get an education can be a difficult task. More than 90% of Metro riders are minorities and from lowincome households, according to the LA Times, and many Pierce College students who can’t afford a car or to be more frugal with their spending use the metro to get to campus.
Increasing the metro fares would put extra strain on students who rely on the metro.
On Monday Sept. 15, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority rolled out a fare hike to all of its metro busses, subway and light rail lines that increased the fares from $1.50 to $1.75 one-way and from $5 to $7 for a single-day pass. This fare hike comes at a time when multiple new rail project construction is set to begin and the MTA itself is operating in a budget deficit, according to the LA Times.
Raising the fares while new projects are set to begin is irresponsible and is another case of passing the buck on to consumers who may be having a hard time financially. Commuters can expect to be spending at least $100 per month for a 30-day pass.
“When it got raised from $1.25 to $1.50 people already struggled enough to pay the bus [fare], and that was a big struggle. And [now] they’re raising it to $1.75. They should find other ways to raise it
Pierce students can avoid paying that cost by purchasing the college 30-day pass the MTA offers for $43. The caveat to this is that to qualify for the pass, one would have to be registered as a full-time student.
Students who qualify can pick up an application at the student services building, complete the form and mail it in with a copy of your class schedule. A discounted monthly pass for full-time students is a great alternative to spending $7 per day for an entire month or buying the regular monthly pass for $100, but this disenfranchises a good amount of the student body who don’t qualify because they are not full-time students.
For those who don’t qualify, the only alternative would be to find other means of transportation to and from school. Carpooling, riding a bike or a skateboard part way and taking one bus for $1.75 the rest of the way would also be great alternatives to save money.
However, there is no alternative in the long term for anyone because the MTA plans to raise the fare again in the future after the agency determines their long-term financial outlook, as reported by the LA Times. As the student body tries to cope and find ways to pay for rising tuition cost, we must also think ahead and find alternative solutions to the rising cost of public transportation.
One hundred fifteen hours.
Nick McNamara
nmcnamararoundupnews@gmail.com
That is the number of hours you would have to work per week in California at minimum wage to be able to afford the average rent without spending more than the recommended 30 percent of your income on it, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
To put that in perspective, you would have to work about 35 hours per week, almost a fulltime job, making minimum wage just to pay the average cost of rent.
Simply put, minimum wage must be raised to a living wage.
The value of minimum wage peaked in 1968 and ever since minimum wage earners have effectively lost purchasing power, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
The minimum wage would be $10.10 if it had followed the rate of inflation.
This would not just help teenagers, as common rhetoric would have you think. Teenage workers only account for 24 percent of minimum wage earners, according to the Pew Research
A $10.10 minimum wage would improve the wages of 4.7 million working moms, one fifth of all working moms, and 7 million working parents total, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Mayor Eric Garcetti recently proposed raising the state minimum wage to $13.25 per hour by 2017. While this is a step in the right direction, working people in the state and nationwide need to go further.
Inflation is not the only factor to have changed, production rate has as well.
At that peak in 1968, production was 53 percent of what it is today according to the CEPR.
Not only are workers making less per hour compared to 1968, but they are also much more efficient and produce more per hour.
If the production increase was factored in to the minimum wage, workers would be making $21.72 per hour according to the CEPR.
But instead this increase in profit went solely into the bosses’ pockets rather than theworkers who created the means to make that profit. While $21 per hour might be a ways off, working people should join the fight for $15 and demand a decent living wage for all.
Luis Ayala
layala.roundupnews@gmail.com
Raising the minimum wage won’t be good for all of us here in Los Angeles, while Mayor Eric Garcetti is pushing his plan to raise the wage to $13.25 by 2017. While the increase in minimum wage might sound fascinating at first, we have to look more into it and see how it will affect us. The current plan from Mayor Garcetti needs to be improved dramatically, so that it works out for everyone.
The proposed plan is to raise the minimum wage from $9 to $10.25 in 2015, to $11.75 in 2016 and $13.25 in 2017. Yes, everyone likes to get paid more and this plan has the minimum wage going up every year for the next 3 years, but it will not be worth it in the end.
The increase in wage will rise and so will everything else with it. Businesses, small or large will have to change radically. Major companies will be able to afford the change and give their employees a higher wage, while smaller companies won’t be able to do the same and will struggle. Small businesses have very little chance of surviving, because they will have to pay their employees more and to do that they would have to increase their prices on their products to be able to afford workers.
Prices on food, clothing, transportation, etc. must go up in order to pay all the employees. Small businesses will need to start laying people off when they can’t afford to keep them. Instead of making more jobs, this plan will cause us to also lose jobs.
Major companies’ willpower to survive will have them figure out a way to keep paying their workers while creating new jones , but they would have to give less hours to all their part time employees. At $13.25 an hour, working 25 hours or less, it is hard to live with especially if you have a family to feed.
At first it didn’t sound that bad to raise the wage here in Los Angeles. Looking forward this plan to increase it up to $13.25 in 2017, by Mayor Garcetti will affect employees and all businesses.
The plan needs a lot of work before it can go through or we will see drastic changes by small and large businesses. While your pay check might look bigger, so will the prices of everything that we buy.
without raising it.”
-Richard Flores
Criminal justice major
“It’s not really fair for the people to pay another 25 cents for the bus fare. It will help with the bullet train, [but] I don’t think it’s really fair for us.”
-Cesar Zamora Administrative justice major
“If gas prices were higher, I would understand a raise of fare. If you’re in my situation where you ride four buses a day to get here, that’s a pretty huge deal. If I need to sit there and pay $1.75 everytime I go somewhere I’m not going to want to pay that, I’m going to try and find a taxi cause it’ll be cheaper.”
-Mike MacCann computer science majorPhotos by Marc Dionne. Quotes gathered by Kieran MacIntyre.
“The bus fare is bad in terms of affordability, especially since at the beginning of the semester. You’re buying all the books and paying off for the classes or some of the classes it just gets too expensive.”
-Scott Devris
Physical designs majorFlydoskope by Nick Part npart.roundupnews@gmail.com
What do you think of the bus fare increase? What do you think of the bus fare increase?Illustration by Nick Part
Los Angeles Metro bus fares were raised for most riders on Monday, Sept. 15.
One-way trips were increased from $1.50 to $1.75. Fares for seniors and disabled passengers went from 55 cents to 75 cents. Monthly passes also saw an increase from $75 to $100. However, oneway kindergarten-through-12thgrade student-fares stayed the same at $1.
Some LA Metro riders are concerned about the fare increases.
“I take the bus four days a week,” said Pierce College student Andrea Ortega. “By the end of the year that extra change really adds up.”
But there are ways riders can save money on bus fare, according to a Los Angeles Metro Information Contact Center representative. “Metro.net will give you more
details,” she said. “You can get discount coupon passes such as rider relief or purchasing a reusable Transit Access Pass (TAP) card.”
With the Metro fare increase,
passengers who pay with a TAP card are now eligible to ride for a two-hour, free transfer-period for a one-way trip. “I am definitely going to look into buying a TAP card,”
period.
Sept. 7 - 13 – Compiled by: Seth Perlstein
said Pierce student Naomi Pinto. “The two free hours will definitely help.”
Despite the fare increase, Pinto still thinks the bus is a great way to move about LA.
“Riding the bus is the best alternative with all the traffic,” she said. “Its annoying at times, but if I travelled any other way there would be a hole burned through my wallet with gas prices.”
9-8—Traffic Incident – Two vehicles were involved in a traffic collision in Parking Lot 1. There were no injuries.
9-8—Student Incident – A student argued with a staff member in the Village about the campus smoking rules.
9-8—Student Incident – Students cut the add-line at Admissions and Records.
9-11—Hit and Run – A drunk driver hit a parked vehicle in Parking Lot 7 and fled the scene.
Pierce College Sheriff’s Station
General Information: (818) 719 - 6450
Emergency: (818) 710 - 4311
Pierce College will have a Winter Session in 2015, according to Dean of Academic Affairs
Barbara Anderson.
The Winter Session’s schedule of classes will be posted on Pierce’s website in early November with registration opening soon after. Classes should begin in early January.
“We try to provide classes that are in-demand for students,” Anderson said. “We want to help students keep that forward momentum going.”
Unlike the similarly-shortened Summer Session, winter classes take place over a single five-week
Winter classes generally meet two to four times per week, depending on how many hours are required per class. Many general education and prerequisite classes will be offered in 2015. The 2014 Winter Session class schedule is available on Pierce’s website, which should give an idea of which classes should be available during the 2015 session.
Classes are selected for Winter Session after considering many factors, according to Anderson. Factors include enrollment rates and how well the class can be taught within the condensed timespan.
“We look historically at previous winters, and we look at what worked,” she said. “There may be something that could work well in
summer, but wouldn’t necessarily work well in the winter.”
Some students find it better to take certain classes during the shortened Winter Session, while others prefer the longer spring and fall terms.
“Having the winter courses is very beneficial to the students,” said 21-year-old Neurobiology major Nico Reeve. “When it came to the end of the class, I could remember stuff I’d learned just five weeks ago as opposed to 15.”
However, some Pierce students find the condensed schedule too short.
“I shouldn’t have taken the class (Math 125),” said 19-yearold Veterinary Technology major Karen Martinez. “Maybe English, but not a math class.”
Pierce College’s largest evacuation zone is still not entirely open for emergency use after being at least partly inaccessible for a period of time.
Evacuation Zone 1 has had some form of fencing around it for a number of years. Pierce College has five evacuation zones that are used for emergencies like fires, explosions, and bomb threats.
Zone 1 is located on the east side of Brahma Drive, and covers the Winnetka entrance.
It is responsible for students in buildings 1000-1700, and faculty and staff in College Services, Student Services, and Business.
used for evacuation.
Evacuation Zone 1 has been partially fenced off for at least six months, according to Director of Facilities Paul Nieman. “I’m not positive,” he said. “I think that fence went up last semester.”
But some students said the area has been blocked off for much longer.
“The fences have been there for as long as I’ve been coming here,” said chemistry major Anurima Rai, who is in her fourth year at Pierce College.
Former three-year-student Andrew Delgado, who attended Pierce from 2011 through 2014 said “oh yeah, for as long as I’ve known.”
Neither Rai nor Delgado said they were aware that the area was
Pierce College Vice President Larry Kraus, who coordinates evacuation planning with Nieman, is unsure how long Evacuation Zone 1 has been closed off.
“I don’t have that kind of information,” he said.
However, Kraus said the area is fenced off by order of the Vice President of Administrative Services “to keep unauthorized people from going in and vandalizing and destroying the property.”
While parts of Zone 1 remain fenced off, there are parts of it that are accessible in case of emergency, according to Kraus.
“Parts of it are and parts of it are not. You can still go to that zone,” he said.
[From LOCKDOWN, pg. 1]
“Every time we spend time crafting a message, it’s eating up time to get messages out to our students,” Schleicher said.
Getting the message out to students, according to Schleicher, also depends on how “engaged” the students are about inputting accurate contact information into the Blackboard system.
“60 percent of our students are potentially in the system and the other 40% are completely neglected because they haven’t updated their profiles,” Schleicher said.
A number of students either didn’t receive these notifications or received them at later periods.
“It’s a system we maintain for a lot of services. We’re trying to make it as expedient as possible but there are some latency issues,” Schleicher said.
Possible reasons for this latency, according to Schleicher, are bugs within the system itself, but may
also be due to the service speed of certain mobile service providers.
Director of Facilities Paul Nieman, suggests that the latency is due to the high capacity of people the system has to relay information to.
“The number of contacts that the system was attempting to contact via text, via cell phone, via landline phone was 54,223,” Nieman said.
The Center for Sciences building, known for its bad reception, has thick walls which make it difficult to receive mobile cellular service. Of the potential 60% registered onto Blackboard, those taking a class in the building during an emergency are less likely to receive a notification through mobile phone.
“I think Pierce has been the most aggressive campus of having security presentations and other events to make everyone from faculty, staff and students aware of what protocols we have in place,” Schleicher said. Safety meetings throughout
the year as well as pamphlets and booklets given out throughout campus are some ways safety instruction is distributed. Attempting to remedy the lack of reception in the Center for Sciences, hardline phones were installed and briefing faculty on safety protocol at the beginning of the semester was implemented.
“Today’s example,” Schleicher said of Wednesday’s incident, “was one of the best where you have an incident you don’t have a lot of credible information initially. I’m trying to focus on the potential issue and then communicate out to other individuals.”
But getting the word out isn’t easy, he said.
“Those are things we are trying to do in a short time frame, so that was a challenge for us,” Schleicher said. “I think we handled it the way we intended to handle it. Thankfully it went well in terms of no threat was present on campus and no one was injured.”
Meet Your Mentors: Faculty Exhibition [9/26-10/30]
Members of the Art and Architecture Department will host a Faculty Exhibit at the Pierce College Art Gallery on the Art Hill. There will be an opening reception on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 6 PM in Art Room 3300. For more information on the exhibition or to schedule a tour, please contact Monika Del Bosque, Pierce College Gallery Director and Associate Professor of Art. She can be reached at 818-7102262 or delbosmm@piercecollege. edu.
Science, Imaging and Astronomy Expo [10/10]
The SIA Expo returns to Pierce College, co-hosted with Woodland Hills Camera & Telescope.
In its 2013 debut, the SIA Expo was a succes with 1200 attendees.
People attending can meet representatives from Auto Tech, Engine Emission, Engineering Design, Machine Shop, Media Arts, Nanotech, Nursing, Industrial Tech and Pre-Vet, and view a student Chemistry exhibit.
Student projects from the Robotics Club, photography department and industrial technology will be on display.
New this year is an exhibit on Zooniverse, the online community of citizen volunteers who are crowdsourcing scientific research.
Experience “Hubble Vision II” and “Voyager Encounters” shows in Pierce College’s 50-seat Planetarium for a $3 donation. Students at any grade level, friends and families are encouraged to attend, and everyone will get a free raffle ticket for a chance to win valuable prizes of professional level telescopes and cameras. Bring any student ID to get free food. Visit www.siaexpo.com for the latest details on these and more stellar activities for the science and astronomy minded.
Checklist in one hand and coupons in the other, you might find this petite mother of two working her magic in your local grocery store.
Nursing Major Rea Tiu is a very busy woman with a hidden talent known as extreme couponing. After being introduced to couponing from the patients at the nursing home she used to work at, Tiu began couponing to help relieve financial burdens.
“I have to do this otherwise it’s hard to survive,” Tiu Said. “I average about 60% savings every transaction,” said Tiu.
When Tiu began couponing five years ago it was as simple as saving a dollar here or there. She taught herself with time, practice, and eventually with a little help from social media until she perfected her talent to where she is today.
Paying off student loans, working as a full-time LVN nurse, raising two kids and being a Pierce College student for the past two years and counting makes spare time for Tiu a rare commodity. Whether it is scanning the Los Angeles Times Sunday paper or while having breakfast and clipping coupons on her lunch breaks, Tiu manages her time well.
While going through the Sunday paper and social media, she finds and clips coupons only for the things that they need. Sorting their coupons and keeping them in an organized binder for easy access.
“Couponing is so much easier now than it was back in the day. Now that we have smart phones and social media it’s not as difficult,”
said Tiu. “One of my favorite places to look is on Instagram, on pages such as CouponsToTheMax or FreeStuffFinder,” said Tiu.
Tiu is normally accompanied with her children, 3 year old son and 8 year old daughter, on her trips to the store. She is currently teaching her husband of ten years, Edison Tiu, on how to coupon while their daughter has already picked up some of these skills.
“She’s trying to teach me, but I don’t quite get it yet,” said Edison Tiu. “She’s a really hard worker and this is just one example. I’m proud of her,” said Tiu.
Occasionally while shopping, Tiu is given a hard time by certain checkout clerks or customers at stores but she still enjoys the excitement. While shopping, Tiu even gives extra coupons or tips on saving to fellow shoppers at times.
“Once I saw an older man staring at laundry detergent for a while. I came up to him and handed him a coupon and told him which one to get, and he was really grateful,” said Tiu.
From canned goods to toothpaste, couponing, not only helps provide the basic necessities for her family. While giving back to those who are in need helping out in anyway they can.
Every one or two months, the Tiu family assembles care packages of assorted goods and sends them to their family in the Philippines. Tiu explained how although shipping is about $70 a package, the amount they save on what’s inside makes it neutral.
“Whenever we get a chance we like to help,” said Edison Tiu.
In addition to helping their own family, they frequently donate to
food drives or school fundraisers when they can. One of Tiu’s colleagues, Jackie Santiago, explained how Tiu influenced her on how to use coupons.
“Rea is definitely wise when it comes to money. She taught me how to be frugal on many things,” said Santiago. “She is a good example to many working students,” said Santiago.
local, county and state government.
Growing up having both parents in the Navy and a grandfather who served in World War I and World War 2, it only seemed natural to follow along the family tradition by serving the country in some way.
For this Pierce College student, following her family’s tradition was unfortunately not what she initially had in mind pursuing.
Barbara Lombrano, is originally from Sulphur, Louisiana where she attended Sulphur High School and received a band scholarship to McNeese State University located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where she studied law.
To Lombrano’s surprise she joined a local sorority called Chi Omega and began making new friends on campus but soon began to realize that it all wasn’t quite for her.
Taking a break from her academics, she later decides to make a fresh new start and transferred to Louisiana State University in which she moved in with her father who lived two hours away in Baton Rouge. She then realizes that school wasn’t exactly where she was supposed to be and decides to sign up for the Navy.
“It didn’t feel like college was where I needed to be,” said Lombrano.
Excited about finally following the family’s tradition, Lombrano quickly becomes disappointed when the recruiter announces that there was a delay in their entry program.
Adding her name to a long list of new recruits and is told she would be expected to go in for training later on that year. The week before her 19th
birthday Lombrano unexpectedly receives a call asking her to report to duty and heads to Houston for the beginning process of the American Navy Reserve.
“I celebrated my 19th birthday in boot camp,” said Lombrano.
After bootcamp, Lombrano was stationed for two years in Hawaii and worked as a secretary for the engineering dept. where she was able to practice some of the law skills she had learned.
While on a visit to the dental office, Lombrano came across a dental technician and became very interested in the field of work.
As the technician expressed her excitement about being in the dentistry field Lombrano felt it would be a great fit and gave it a shot.
After being approved, Lombrano began the dental program that trained her for several months and she moved on to dental school.
“And I loved it,” said Lombrano.
Several years later Lombrano at the age of 50 is a full-time student and mother of two who has been recently elected to the American legion as commander at the Moorpark post.
The American legion is largest veterans service organization in the world with a mission in serving their military members, veterans,
and their families in any way they can.
“She’s a very strong and smart woman. She’s fair and open minded, we need more people like her. This is the stuff she loves to do,” said Natasha Oleas, daughter of Lombrano.
“She loves to get involved in the community and she loves to help people. It’s just in her nature,” continued Oleas.
Although it has taken 48 years for a female to become commander of the Moorpark post, studies have
shown that there are more men than women who are active in The American Legion. Unfortunately there have been no records kept on how many member have been women have worked for the legion.
“For some reason women don’t think they’re vets. My goal is to really be out there and have a face for the legion, and try to get more women involved.. I believe diversity makes any organization run so much better,” said Lombrano. Lombrano and The American
Legion want to make the world a better place for all veterans like for those who are still serving and students.
Weather it’s going to high schools giving presentations on proper flag etiquette or working closely with The American Legion Boys State.
Boys State, is one of the most respected educational programs offered in U.S. high-schools as students get hands on experience in writing bills, running for office, and becoming part of the operation of
“These types of activities are necessary to build traits and characteristics that cannot be taught in the classroom. Barbara embodies what the American Legion stands for,” said Kaycea Campbell Ph.D. Assistant Professor. “She has all the necessary leadership traits, she sets an excellent example, and is a role model for both men and women to follow, “ continued Campbell. For Lombrano, she believes that being in the military is a personal decision and great way to obtain job experience, training while still being able to go to college.
Majoring in business management, Lombrano is planning to transfer to California State University, Northridge where she will obtain her bachelor’s degree.
“And she’s in my Women in Politics class and we’re talking about breaking the barriers for women, as you can see barriers are still being broken. It’s very exciting. We’re lucky to have her,” said Denise Munro Robb, Ph.D. Assistant Professor.
She will continue her outstanding works as a patriotic person while managing work, school, and the American Legion.
She still finds time start and promote the banner program that gives veterans the opportunity to have their own banner that includes their name and branch of service on it.
The banners are planned to be hung outside of the city for those to a take a moment of silence for those who served our country.
She will also be participating in Moorpark Country Days on September 27, 2014 at, the Historic High Street where there will be a free parade and she welcomes all to come and the celebration.
Making a di erence by following the family’s tradition.Eric Ceron/ Roundup Barbara Lombrano, 2 year business management, is the first woman to lead the Moorpark Post of the American Legion smiles to the camera, at Pierce College, on Sept. 18, 2014.
Tavian Quinn Roundup Reporter
“She loves to get involved in the community and she loves to help people.”
-Natasha Oleas
Daughter of Barbara Lambrano
Pierce College Performing Arts professors and students remain frustrated as the expectation for the opening of the new Performing Arts building comes up short again.
According to Michael Gend ,Department Chair of Theatre Arts/ Dance, the project is heading into its fourth year and should have only taken nine months.
Gibson Director of Theater“ From my understanding, the school in terms of the leadership level is having a legal confrontation with the contractor that is only going to make things more complicated,” Gend said.
Director of Pierce College Dance Theater Denise Gibson said the lack of space in the temporary building is inhibiting her ability to teach her students.
“It has definitely dropped the enrollment in the dancers we have been able to cast in our shows ,because our theater is so small,” Gibson said. “We can only fit comfortably about eight dancers on the stage. So instead of casting 40 dancers, we now have to cast very small pieces.”
Pierce College ENCORE performer and student volunteer Sharon Fine said that the lack of a theater arts and performing center sends her groups to sing at other venues to perform.
“The fact is that as a singer we cannot be singing here on campus. We have to try to raise funds and find venues to sing,” Fine said. “That is not easy to where we can afford it.”
Back in April 2014 Director of Facilities Paul Niemann said that the Performing Arts building could be finished in July and the theater arts facility page has already
Pierce College has always handled outside media within the college, but now the school has a new contract where all outside commercials, movies, and other broadcasting media are run by a company called FilmL.A.
FilmL.A. helps coordinate and arrange permits for on location filming because Los Angeles requires permits when filming anywhere in the city.
Associate Vice President Larry Kraus gave a brief summary regarding filming on campus and the new partnership.
“We decided it would be best to work with an organization that coordinates and manages films,” Kraus said.
As of late May, the Los Angeles
Community College District changed its contract for film productions to work with FilmL.A. instead of Pierce College.
According to Kraus, the campus never had a prior contract for filming permits.
“Nothing is different really it’s just a maintenance contract for services,” Kraus said.
Administrative Analyst Brian Silk, who dealt with the schools film permits, declined to comment to the Roundup about the subject.
The film companies scout for locations and once they decide to work with Pierce College, FilmL.A. takes control of drawing up the contracts or permits.
FilmL.A.’s Director of Production Planning and New Business Jodi Strong explained how the merger is still in development.
“We’re still working through the process and tweaking things as we
go but it’s all worked out so far,” Strong said.
Once FilmL.A. decides the location on campus they are going to film at, they must run it through administration and then the president of the college must sign it in order for production to start.
According to Los Angeles Pierce College Special Events and Filming Rate Sheet, the filming rate for all areas of the campus start at $1,000 for four hours or less and it increases by another $1,000 every additional four hours.
When FilmL.A. approves of a production company filming, they make sure that students are not affected by the project on campus. According to Filmla.com, community relations are important. Pierce College is part of that community.
“We put FilmL.A. monitors and they monitor the crew to make sure they’re doing what they’re suppose to do and stay where they’re suppose to be,” Strong said.
The final round of auditions for the Pierce College Fall production of Cabaret were held Saturday afternoon in the North Gym.
Gene Putnam, who directed the musical for Pierce College in 2003, will be directing again this year. All of the main roles have been filled. Saturday, Sept. 13 however, the final round of auditions for Kit Kat girls and other Cabaret dancers
was held.
“We’re trying to get two for the price of one,” Putnam said. “We want people who can both sing and dance.”
The award-winning play is based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood that takes place in the 1930’s, where a novelist meets a singer in a seedy Cabaret club in Berlin.
“It’s fun and exciting, it’s a different type of theater,” Jacquel Harris, an auditioner, said. “It’s very raunchy, very sexy
and it has a good storyline.”
The show will run from Dec. 5th-14th with an alternating cast each night. Choreographer Denise Gibson said they were ‘getting creative’ this year and will be performing in the tents by the Child Development Center at Pierce College.
This will be the second of four productions that the LAPC Theater is putting on this school year.
For more information please visit the Los Angeles Pierce College Theater page on Facebook.
announced that they will be returning to the new theater arts facility this fall.
However, Gend jokingly suggested that it might be faster to just tear the building down and build a new one because it seems to be stuck in bureaucracy.
The Roundup News reported in a previous story that Director of Facilities Paul Nieman told the Pierce
College Council, during its meeting last Spring that the Performing Arts building could be completed in July.
Nieman said the building was going to have new lighting and sound equipment, a new stage floor and there will be
Sholom Druk Roundup Reporter
“It has definitely dropped the enrollment in the dancers.”
Deputy Snover of the County Services Bureau monitors an entrance to Pierce College during an evacuation on Off campus police received a tip from a second hand source that a potential gunman had been on campus. The lock down lasted less than an hour and was cleared with no suspicious activity found.
Pierce College students and faculty received emails, as well as texts and calls, notifying them that there was a suspicious and potentially armed person driving into campus, at about 11:39 a.m. on Wednesday Sept. 17, 2014 in Woodland Hills, Calif.
The campus was put on lockdown for less than an hour, following messages lacking information that would inform students and faculty what was happening.
People were seen leaving the campus, despite the campus wide lockdown. Results of messages that required students to fill in the blanks.
The lockdown was lifted at 12:23 p.m. and there was no suspect found by the LAPD.
Starting in July 2015 athletes will be held to a higher level of academic achievement.
The California Community College Athletic Association has ruled that next summer, second year athletes will be required to complete 27 units and maintain a 2.0 GPA in order to be eligible to play sports.
The CCCAA is the governing body for all the community colleges in California and is authorized to establish rules and regulations of almost 27,000 male and female student athletes.
Out of that 27,000 only two students a year, one male, one female receive an award for their excellence in athletics and academic.
The National Junior College Athletic Association Award for Superior Academic Achievement is awarded to student athletes that hold a GPA between 3.80 and 3.99 on a 4.00 scale throughout the year.
“What’s important is when these students walk in their classrooms it’s not just about an athlete, but a student athlete who will be more than just a student because they have a lot more responsibility,”
Pierce College Vice President of Student Services Eric Peters said.
“These are not normal students, these are students who are going above and beyond with their education, sacrifices, and following two dreams, there love of sports and
Athletic sophomores will now be required to have completed 27 units to be eligible to
their education.”
Some student athletes like Brahmas sophomore defensive lineman Pedro Munoz feel that the three unit increase is preparation for the life that is ahead of them.
“It’s hard being a student
of the
Striker Paige Wolny scored two goals against Valley College and is Pierceʼs leading goal scorer.
Paige Wolny has had a strong start for her first year on the Pierce soccer team. Wolny leads the team after scoring seven goals in seven games. Wolny, 19, is a sophomore majoring in pre-med hopes to transfer to either attend UCLA, Occidental College or Harvey Mudd College.
How do you feel about being named player of the week?
I feel very humbled.
You’ve played extremely well scoring seven goals in seven games, are you happy with your recent play?
No, I feel like I can always do better. Every game there’s always mistakes that are made and you can always work on improving yourself and improving your cohesiveness as a team.
I feel like as a team, we can be playing better than what we have been.
What do you see when you’re on the field? What keeps you focused and in the game?
I try to have an open vision of the field and just see beyond myself to really put myself in a good position to score, which has a lot to do with field awareness of the other players around me and trying to get open for free balls and be in position to do my job.
Do you feel your coaches and teammates rely on you?
I think we can rely on each other. Everyone is just as equally important in making goals happen. It’s not just the fowards job, it starts from the goalie, to the defense, then to the midfield. It’s not just one person.
Do some games mean more to you than others? No, I just try to play my best in every game.
What are your expectation of the team for
athlete,” Munoz said. “You have to focus on school and the sport you’re playing. It’s like a job and you have to keep up with all that. It’s going to be a tough semester, but I think I can do it.”
Coaches are being held to a higher
standard by taking a compliance test. For student athletes it will be required that nine of the 12 units being taken must be academic units unlike in previous years.
Athletic Director Bob Lofrano who coached the Brahmas in
baseball and is a scout for the Chicago Cubs has reflected on his experience dealing with student athletes and trying to mold his players into successes both on the field and off.
“They come back and they say
Pierce College’s water polo team got destroyed in its first game of year, losing to the Citrus Owls 19-4.
Citrus got an early jump on the Brahmas and after three quarters the Owls had a 12-2 lead.
The Owls were led by sophomore Lauren Quintero who had five goals to lead Citrus.
Citrus also got strong offensive performances from freshman Eliane Hodge, Mary McCreary and sophomore Kimberly Torres who each added three scores.
Pierce had trouble getting going offensively because of sophomore Citrus utility Gabriela Biedebach who had four steals.
The Brahmas will play their next match at home against Santa Monica at 3 p.m.
The Pierce College Women’s Volleyball team earned a third-place finish at the sixteen-team San Diego Mesa Invitational, on Friday Sept. 19 and Saturday Sept. 20 at San Diego Mesa College.
The sixteen teams were divided into two groups of eight. Each team played three matches over the weekend. Pierce opened the tournament with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-21) win against host Mesa on Friday.
“We played clean volleyball,” said Coach Nabil Mardini. “The girls played with a lot of energy and enthusiasm, and were scrappy in the back row.”
Pierce played two matches on Saturday. They lost their first match against Chaffey 3-1 (25-20,
thank you, I didn’t realize at the time but I really appreciate all the hard work you made me do, and now it’s paying off. I’m still using some of the things you used with me out on the baseball field in life,” Lofrano said.
25-23, 23-25, 25-18), but bounced back later in the day with a 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-23) win against Glendale (AZ).
Chaffey played a different, more patient style of volleyball than Pierce was used to, according to Mardini. He said they played patiently and waited for Pierce to make errors.
“They play non-traditionally,” Mardini said.
“Our girls were having a hard time adjusting.”
But Pierce adjusted after the loss to close out the tournament with a win against Glendale (AZ),
“They have some big-time players,” Mardini said. “We played even better than we played against Mesa.”
The Brahmas will be hosting the fifth annual Pierce Invitational that will start Friday at 4 p.m.
play sports in Fall 2015.– Compiled by Ethan Hanson and Seth Perlstein Diego Barajas / Roundup
The Pierce College Brahmas had their first home game of the season end with a blowout loss of 41-14 to the Southwestern College of Chula Vista.
After a four and out by the Jaguars on their first possession the Brahmas struck first. Freshman running back Shakeem Wharton scored on the team’s first play of the game going untouched with a 62-yard touchdown to give Pierce a 7-0 lead.
Southwestern started its comeback in the first quarter with a field goal by freshman kicker Jack Flatau to make the score 7-3 and followed it shortly with a touchdown by quarterback Isaraelu Paopao.
“The penalties weren’t onesided, it went both ways. It was fairly called,” Brahmas coach Efrain Martinez said.
Cornerback Jay’Onn Myles helped the Brahmas get some momentum back when he took an interception back 17 yards for a touchdown to make the score 1410. But Myles’ somersaulted into the endzone and was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“Myles made a great play but it hurt us,” Martinez said. “It cost us
a penalty which led Southwestern to score.”
Southwestern kept their foot on the gas and didn’t give Pierce many chances to score. Freshman wide receiver Travis Gardner scored a touchdown to lead 17-14 and the Jaguars kicker helped end the second quarter with a field goal making the score 20-14.
Brahmas linebacker Justin Anthony had some great plays defensively for Pierce but even after a huge sack on Jaguars quarterback Paopao, the game started to go downhill heading into the third quarter.
“Defense did really well. They kept us in the game all the way up to the second half,” quarterback Sean Smith said. “It was rough. We came out on the first play and scored but
after that we were just having a rough time picking up all the blitzes they were bringing.”
Starting the fourth quarter with a 34-14 lead after a touchdown by running back Charles Westbrook. Westbrook would score another touchdown to end the game with the score of 41-14.
Smith talked about how he expected the players to come out and play hard tonight and play to
The Pierce College women’s soccer team played their second tied game of the season, against Cosumnes River College, on Friday Sept. 19 in the Pit at Pierce College.
The defense by both teams was the key to the 0-0 score.
Coach Adolfo Perez, was happy with his team’s defense, but wishes something could have been done to prevent the draw.
“Anytime you get a shutout, it’s good. Offensively, I wish we would’ve scored, but that’s a tough team. They’re a team that plays great defense too. We could’ve finished opportunities. We had opportunities. We just have to score on them,” Perez said.
There wasn’t a lack of physical contact, as multiple injuries occurred to the Brahmas and Hawks.
Brahmas leading goal scorer Paige Wolny, defender Stefany Soto, and Hawks defender Erica Lim all received ankle injuries. Wolny spent 20 minutes on the sidelines before returning to finish the game.
“It was frustrating,” Wolny said. “I don’t think it was intentional on their part, but you know, it just comes with the game. We did our best to go in equally as hard, so I don’t think it could have been prevented.”
Defender Alexis Mendias talked
about her thoughts on the injuries and how she feels about the ongoing injuries in almost every game.
“Every game has been kind of sketchy. Every game, at least one person is getting hurt. It’s just always on your mind,” Mendias said.
A good start for a team that is still adjusting to the way all the women play, according to Mendias.
“I think we could’ve connected a lot better in the middle so we can advance more,” Mendias said.
“We’re still trying to get to know where everyone goes and be familiar with everyone’s spot. Just communication, and passing, and being confident in how we play.”
The next game for the Pierce women’s soccer team (3-2-2) was yesterday on Tuesday Sept. 23, against the Citrus College Owls, on the road.
For coverage and analysis of the game go to: theroundupnews.com.
Goals: Assists: Saves:
Paige Wolny- 7
Marissa Albano- 3
Jenna Koziol- 18
the best of their ability. But after tonight’s game, he thinks the team really needs to work on their discipline.
“We need to go in and watch more film, be more disciplined when we come out to practice so our practice will transfer to the games,” Smith said.
Southwestern Head Coach Ed Carberry, in his eighth season with the team and 38th year coaching,
had nothing but praise after the game for the Brahmas.
“Absolutely a hard team to play.
Pierce has great team speed and the ability to break a long run anytime,” Carberry said. “Pierce has a giant line, a good scheme, a quarterback that can throw the ball and big receivers, so it was very difficult to play today.”
“But we just had balls start rolling our way. Our defense stepped it up
and played super physical.”
The Brahmas are now 1-1 this season but are looking forward to taking on Glendale College Vaqueros next Saturday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. in John Shepard Stadium.
“We need to work on being the better team next time. It’s not over for us, I think the future looks bright and we’re just going to have to fix some things, that’s all,” Martinez said.
“We need to go in and watch more film, be more disciplined when we come out to practice.”
-Sean Smith Pierce College quarterback
Megan Moureaux Roundup ReporterStacy Soriano / Roundup Wide receiver Darren Hall from Southwestern College gets tackled by linebacker Trey Jackson from Pierce College on Saturday.
Lynn Rosado Roundup Reporter
“With year-round enrollment and access to faculty, I knew National was for me. My advisor transferred my credits, and now I’m on my way.”
~ Michael, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Where earning a bachelor’s degree meets “I want to transfer today!”
“We could’ve finished opportunities. We had opportunities. We just have to score on them.”
-Adolfo Perez Pierce College Women’s Soccer Coach
