Hidden Pierce: Rainbow Barn

Nestled safely away from the harsh and polluting surrounding city lies what is quite possibly one of the last remaining examples of agriculture in southern California.

Tucked away, lying southwest of Shepard Stadium a curious Pierce student who is willing to walk roughly 10 minutes would begin to notice the refreshing lack of buildings, and a faint smell of manure. With only a paved road to guide you, eventually you will find the hidden, but not secret Rainbow Barn.

“We get a lot of hikers, a lot of bikers...you know what’s weird is that we don’t make it a point to keep it hidden,” Marcie Sakadjian, an agricultural technician said.

The Barn, which sports a layeredrainbow paint job with the red layer on top, conceals the design to those who wouldn’t bother to get close enough. It’s a wonder how anyone could miss such a sight.

“You know what’s strange is that we do a lot of publicity and a lot of press. We’ve been in the daily news every year since I can remember, at least once a year if not multiple times a year,” Sakadjian said.

During the week, the gates to the farm are open wide, ready to receive any newcomers or longtime visitors. If one looks carefully, they would notice the Rainbow Barn is host to various types of livestock.

Farm hands warn people to not get too close.

“We keep everything open, for everybody to just go. The only thing is that we don’t let people in with the animals because we’ve had problems. We don’t want them to get hurt or sick,” Sakadjian said, “we welcome everybody. We get students walking in between classes just walking to enjoy the sights.”

Leland Shapiro, former chair of the agriculture and natural resources department, had cocreated and was involved with over 39 FarmWalks. However since his retirement earlier this year, there have been no mentions of a FarmWalk this year.

“We had FarmWalk it’s when we open our doors to the community...

We invite a lot of schools for campus tours for elementary, middle, and high schools,” Sakadjian said.

Despite these numerous accomplishments and praise from the community at large, it still remains a hidden gem.

“I mean we’ve definitely outreached to students and the community. I feel like a lot of people just don’t know we’re here,” Sakadjian said.

Jonathan Saltzmen, a member of Phi Theta Kappa, made sure students were informed that Phi Theta Kappa, is an international honors society at Pierce.

“We service jewish students and students interested in judaism and Jewish life,” said Sharon Basch, a member of Hillel 818. President of the Hiking Club Xavier Fierro said they want people to set goals for themselves, but the Hiking club will help them get there.

The Pierce College Veterans Club sets the club’s focuses very heavily on vets.

“Anyone is welcome to join,” said Alex Miguel, president of the Veteran’s club. “If you are just a vet supporter, we welcome everyone.”

“OSTEM is part of a national society,” said a member of the club, Crystal Adame. “It’s a club geared toward the needs of LGBTQ students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.”

ASO Club Council President

Carlos Castaneda said he felt that Cub Rush was better than others in the past there were a lot of new clubs that were not chartered before”

“I saw a lot of students were really interested in talking to clubs not just walking by them,” Castaneda said. For those who may have missed Club Rush, more information can be found through the ASO by visiting the first club council meeting on Oct. 15 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the ASO Office under the Library / Learning Crossroads.