Volume 124 Spring 2016 Roundup Issue 2

Serious beach fun against CSUN

No tech at Center for Sciences

Three of the twenty nine classes fully functioning

MAX SULLIVAN News Editor

Some professors at the Center for the Sciences are frustrated that only three of the 29 classrooms currently have fully functioning audiovisual equipment, according to Dale Fields, department chair of Physics and Planetary Sciences.

The $57 million 109,000 square foot Center for the Sciences, which opened in 2010, features 22 labs, lecture rooms and a planetarium. Fields says the equipment has been fading out of service for the past three years.

The audiovisual equipment installed deviated from the district standard and this played a role in it not being properly maintained, according to an email from Vice President of Administrative Services Rolf Schleicher.

“The procurement of the Crestron AV System was not

Mental health needs provided Six hours of counseling for students

Students fund the entire Student Health Center in exchange for their $11

Conflict in hiring process

Disconnect between president and faculty

Recruitment of new hires for the fall of 2016 have been approved by Pierce College President Kathleen Burke which has caused some conflict among faculty.

There are 50 positions available and 11 were already recruited in the fall of 2015, According to an email from Burke. One incentive for approving new employees is to make progress in improving the school’s full-time to part-time ratios. She believes most disciplines should attain 60-70 percent fulltime staff before any one discipline exceeds 75 percent.

“A balanced and fair distribution of full-time positions is critical to ensure that, even in times of reduced resources, the college is able to maintain a comprehensive program of services and disciplines for students,” Burke wrote.

inclusive of the typical audiovisual maintenance contract and therefore, the servicing vendor, A+ Interactive, did not appropriately service the equipment at the required maintenance intervals,” Schleicher wrote.

The majority of the malfunctions involve projectors and SMART Boards, which are devices that allow you to project images from a computer onto the board and interact with them. Chemistry Professor Izzy Goodman says the equipment was cutting edge when it was purchased and the instructors have become accustomed to using it.

“I think most of the people in this building, if not all of them, walk into the classroom expecting to be able to have a projected image from a computer in front of the classroom,” Goodman said. “And if we don’t, then we’ve got to go to a whiteboard, which is a dramatic difference from what we have planned in terms of visuals.“

All six rooms used by the

which includes up to six hours of free one-on-one mental health counseling, according to Beth Benne, director of the Student Health Center Benne says your funds pay for everyone working at the Student Health Center including the medical doctors (or nurse practitioners), the office managers, some of the student workers, and all of the mental work providers. The resources are limited and needs more funding.

“Last fall, we had a waiting list by the end of October, so we weren’t able to meet [students] needs,” Benne said. “You can see the needs are growing every year. We need more psychologists.”

The Spring of 2014 was the last semester Pierce College had three licensed clinical psychologists working a total of 27 hours per week, according to Benne. Due to lack of funding, Clinical Psychologist Niaz Khani, wrote a proposal to eliminate

Physics and Planetary Sciences departments have equipment that does not work. In addition, the Planetarium has a broken projector that has not been fixed for two years, according to Fields.

Fields says Pierce is the premiere science school in the district, but the teachers are not able to instruct to their potential and the students are not having as enriching an experience as they should.

“When the system works it is magnificent. It is beautiful,” Fields said. I love using this system when it works, but for instance, the astronomy lab room room has been dead for about a year. It doesn’t have technology functioning in it, period. There is no way to do any kind of presentation.”

There is currently a contract in place with Collaboration Solutions Inc. to repair malfunctioning audiovisual equipment, but the work orders must first be submitted to Information Technology (IT) who have a disturbing pattern of not responding, according to Laurence

Thouin, department chair of Life Sciences.

“Work orders fall into a black hole and nothing happens, and you cannot do that with faculty members who do not have projection capabilities,” Thouin said. “One room is really particularly troublesome because there is no projection at all and we have had work orders in for months. Why it could not have been fixed during break or last semester is beyond me.”

Information Technology Manager Mark Henderson says there is only one employee to fix audiovisual equipment on campus and he does not have the expertise to troubleshoot the complex Creston systems that were installed. The most he can do is change bulbs in projectors. Almost everything else needs to be outsourced.

“I give all the work orders to the one person and he methodically goes through them,” Henderson said.

The Faculty Position Priority Committee (FPPC) is a group made up of some of the school’s faculty and is responsible for making suggestions regarding hiring. They prioritize the disciplines which they believe are in the most need of faculty. However, Burke has the power to override any suggestion given by the committee.

“The purpose of the committee is to make recommendations, not to set policy which is, from a faculty standpoint, very frustrating,” said David Schamus, FPPC member and computer science information technology professor. “[The FPPC is] upset a bit because the objective guidelines that [Burke] selected don’t take into account some of the things that we did.”

As the school’s president, Burke reviews the committee’s suggestions and makes the ultimate decisions as to which departments hire more staff and which do not. Burke has prioritized the hiring keeping in mind the Faculty Obligation Number (FON), a statewide goal of 75 percent full-time faculty in

the psychologists who were not working as many hours and up her hours to 20 hours a week.

“Then we hired two post doc interns and paid them somehow,” Benne said. These are two psych degree interns who have to do 1,500 hours of internship of clinical time before they can sit for their license.

So you got these very well educated mental health professionals who aren’t licensed but can work under Dr. Khani’s supervision. It’s a teaching ground for them as well as a benefit to our students.”

The school does not prescribe antidepressants. If a student has serious mental health issues, such as serious depression, suicidality or if they have a psychosis (bipolar disease, schizophrenia, paranoia, etc.) then the Student Health Center has to refer out.

Khani says she assesses students to see how severe the student is and how severe the symptoms are. If it is not

community colleges.

The disparity between the viewpoints of Burke and the FPPC have caused some professors at Pierce to believe the administration is more concerned with the numbers than they are about the quality of the staff they are hiring.

Constance Kocs, FPPC chair, submitted a document to Academic Senate on Feb. 8 acknowledging that President Burke did remove some positions from departments who had stated reasons for not hiring.

“Ultimately the committee feels responsible for developing and maintaining a transparent and streamlined process that places realistic and well considered requirements on department chairs who seek to hire (or not to hire),” Kocs wrote.

“I think the issue is the pacing and the timing,” said Sheri Lehavi, department chair of Mathematics. “We don’t want to be pushed into hiring and then end up with faculty that we don’t think are really qualified or fit in our department and I think there’s a certain timing of growth that’s going to make it better for the department as a whole.”

Burke’s email recommends hiring in disciplines that have not asked for positions, in order to improve the full time numbers. She presents a chart with Mathematics, Counseling, Child Development and ELS and the positions available in those departments.

“Please note that the departments in the following chart did not request positions; however, in light of overall goals related to completion and offering a balanced and comprehensive program, an investment of time and effort to review the full-time to part time ratios in these disciplines is warranted before considering any other positions currently recommended by the FPPC.

The case of objective versus subjective, and the imbalance between those involved, has raised some concerns regarding the communication between Burke and the committee.

“Perhaps what the process needs is more points at which the committee and Kathleen interact,” Schamus said.

“Ultimately it’s [Kathleen’s] call and I respect that as well, but I think it’s going to create a not pleasant environment both ways if we’re not both mutually respecting each other’s decisions, so I don’t like the idea of her just overriding,” Lehavi said.

severe enough, they talk about it and give the student some coping skills to get through it. However, if needed she connects the student to a hospital and make sure they are feeling safe.

“Everybody is different,” Khani said. “Not everybody depressed feels sadness. We spend a lot of time trying to learn about each student and see what they need. And again, if we can do something for them we will see them up to six sessions, sometimes more, but if it’s severe enough and they need more attention, more medication, or if they need other people to be part of that team, then we will help them find a referral.”

Photo Illustration by Taylor Arthur / Roundup

TANYA CASTANEDA & MAX SULLIVAN

The beach volleyball team continued their exhibition games at California State University Northridge against the Matadors and the Santa Barbara Community College Vaqueros on Sunday, March 6th. “It’s great that Pierce gets a chance to experience playing against a team like CSUN, and we don’t have to travel far to do it,” said Athletic Director, Bob Lofrano. Photo: Salvador Fariaz/Roundup [See Beach fun, pg. 7]

BEAT

Whatʼs one thing youʼd change about Pierce?

“Iwouldliketoseethecafeteria openandIwouldliketoseethis newbuildingunderconstruction opentoo,becauseIhatewalking aroundit.Beforethesemester ends,Iwouldliketoseeitdone.”

-Abraham Cortez, 19 Freshman, Criminal Justice

“Theconvenienceofaddingand registeringforclasses.Ithink itʼswaytoocongested.Ifeellike itʼswaytooinconvenientand bothersomeforsomestudents.”

-Luis Solano, 20 Sophomore, Economics

“Theparkinglot.Theparkingis awful.Youalwayshavetolook forparkingsometimesfor20-30 minutes.Thefirstweekiscrazy. Theydonʼtreallyhaveanyother spacetoadd.”

-Shahab Amini

Second semester, CNC programming

“Iwouldliketoseemore parking.Parkingisreallyhard tofind.Ihave8amclassesand theparkinglotisfull.Iwould liketoseetheparkingchange quickly.”

-Kristal Thomas, 23 Sophomore/Kinesiology

“Longerhoursatthelibrary.Alot oftimesifyoutakenightclasses, thelibraryisnotopen.Iwould likethelibrarytobeopenuntilat leastthelastclassends.”

-Richard Bamuharia, 28 Sophomore, Film

“ThebathroomsbecauseIcanʼt reachthesinks.Theonlybathroom [sinks]thatIcanreachareinthe mathdepartment,andthelibrary. TherestIcanʼtreach.Ihavetouse handsanitizer.”

Quotes gathered by Randi Love | Photos by Lauren Chen

–CORRECTIONS–

Volume 124, Issue 1

Page 2: Headline: the word “safety” is misspelled. Streetbeat misattributed. Quotes gathered by Sergei Cuba. Photos taken by Alan Castro.

Page 3: Incident Report was misdated Aug. 29- Sept. 18. Correct date is Feb. 22- Feb. 26.

Page 5: The person in Population Pierce was misquoted

Page 7: The Head Coach in the beach volleyball story was credited as Nabil Mardini. Tom Slauterbeck is the Head Coach. Story was mentioied that it was the first game of the season. It was actually

an exhibition match.

Tech yourself before you wreck yourself

t isn’t anything new that textbook prices and other expenses for college students have risen over the years. It is also safe to say that with the rise in technology, schools have been looking for ways to integrate that technology into the classroom. But what about students from low income families or those who do not have time to work enough to afford the technology needed for their classes and their major?

I

The school should adopt an equipment/technology rental program where students can borrow electronics such as cameras, laptops, graphing calculators or tablets for a short period of time. With such a program, students can keep up with their assignments and not allow their income to interfere with their education.Eighty-nine percent of college students own a laptop and 51 percent of students own a tablet according to the Pearson Student Mobile Device Survey 2015 on college students. Even though these numbers suggest the majority of the college population is equiped, this checkout system needs to be established for the minority.

Students need access to technology today more than ever. Most classes require students to prepare slideshow presentations for a grade. Moodle - soon to be canvas - is another tool that students would need to access to complete assignments. Without Moodle, students can’t turn in many assignments or take quizzes which can affect your grade.

Pierce could set up a check-in and check-out system the Library / Learning Crossroads.

The Library / Learning Crossroads has already addressed the textbook problem and has ordered copies of textbooks that students require so they may check them out when needed. Let’s get ahead of the game and put Pierce College students in the best position to succeed.

All of this equipment adds up when you need multiple gadgets for different classes. But with over 20,000 students on campus, Pierce can add a $1 to $2 technology fee at the beginning of each semester.

In the first year, the school

SHIR NAKASH Reporter

@Shirnakah5

Pierce has plenty of bland walls throughout campus. I believe that these walls would be much more attractive if they were to be filled with art made by our very own pool of talented students.

One of the many great things about college is that, in any given situation, you will typically find yourself surrounded by people of all different backgrounds with a variety of abilities. Every single one of us has unique ideas and every single one of us has unique stories to tell.

The problem is, it’s increasingly easy to miss these stories because our screen-obsessed generation has become uncomfortable with faceto-face interaction. Therefore the majority of us simply don’t talk as much with people we don’t know. Here is where those blank walls around campus can be a huge asset to us.

I think that art is a great way to bring people together. It allows people to express themselves creatively and display a side of their personality that would otherwise go unnoticed or undiscovered by other people. Art often reveals new, interesting information about its creator and Pierce certainly has plenty of potential artists walking through its grounds on a daily basis.

As Edgar Degas once said, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” I think we should take advantage of the blank “canvas” these walls provide to get to know

Photographers:

Ezzat Bekheet

the members of our educational community better and show our fellow students who we really are.

What about Pierce students that don’t feel like they have any artistic abilities to share? As was aforementioned, art is a wonderful unifier and a main reason for this is that you don’t necessarily have to create the art in order to enjoy it. While the blank walls provide interested artists with a platform to showcase their personalities, they also serve as an entertainment medium for anyone who cares to look.

I have found that, whenever I’m stuck in a creative rut, I am able to overcome my static state by drawing inspiration from other people’s artwork. I’m positive that people at Pierce can similarly benefit from the art we decide to put up. This goes for both students and faculty members alike.

At the very least, artwork would add some color to the campus and liven up the atmosphere a little, but I think the effect would extend far beyond that.

This is a good opportunity for students to become more actively involved within the Pierce community in a non-academic way and share a piece of their identity with the rest of us. I think that we will all be very pleasantly surprised if we open up these walls as a display option for Pierce students.

Ahmadreza Rastegarrazi

Abdolreza Rastegarrazi

Dane Igharas

Taylor Arthur

Travis Wesley

Alan Castro

Laura Chen

Brittany Stupar

Georgina Hernandez

Calvin B. Alagot

Claren Flores

Matthew Garcia

would be able to supply the Library / Learning Crossroads with enough equipment to get this endeavor started. There would be late fees on returns on an hourly basis, as is already the case for borrowed textbooks. To help get this program jump started, the Associated Student Organization could help put some of the money since this program directly affects what the ASO is about.

Behind the checkout counter of the Library / Learning Crossroads, there is room for

Illustration by Nelson Simmons

cabinets and safes where staff can store the equipment and rent it out to students who need it. Students would also need to leave a copy of identification and sign forms to ensure that students won’t steal or break the equipment without repercussions.

The world of technology is moving faster than ever and it has the opportunity to expand the way students learn. Community College is an institution which gives people of every background a level playing field. Let’s help keep everyone up to par.

NADINE GOSTANTIAN Reporter

@ngostantian

Our school has an excellent Art program which consists of students from different backgrounds who get to improve their talent and learn how to create amazing artworks for all eyes to enjoy. Most students are very talented and rightfully think they have a right to publicly display their masterpieces. However, using the bare walls on campus as a canvas to display students’ talents can have many disadvantages, and that there are other ways students can showcase their work.

Graffiti and wall art (or street art), are inextricably related. The use of spray paint and brushes to draw beautiful pictures or words on walls can lead to a type of art called graffiti. When graffiti is done professionally by talented or skillful artists, it is art. However, when it is not done professionally, it would be considered vandalism and may look ugly and distracting to the eye. Since the law says destroying public property is illegal, vandalism would turn into an issue and would require law enforcement. The cost, which would be required to repair the walls or to enforce the laws to prohibit vandalism, would be another hit to our college’s funds.

Graffiti, in its history, has always been recognized as a way people have expressed their hopes and desires, their reactions to injustice and disenfranchisement. Wanting a revolution, or bringing

awareness to socio-political issues. While some might see wall art as merely as an attempt to beautify the environment, others might see it as a way to show rebellion. Sometimes writing or drawing on bare walls have lead people to express anger, by writing racial slurs or by drawing offensive figures. If we let our students or anyone to feel free to fill up the empty walls on our campus it would most definitely encourage others to want to express their thoughts, good or bad, as well.

Wall art on campus can also be distracting to the students whose main goal is to merely get an education and graduate. If students feel forced to look at or react to the wall art, they might not be able to focus on their work flow.

The Art department offers other ways talented students can showcase their work, they can submit their art (drawings, paintings, sculptures), to the Pierce College Art Gallery whenever the school would be hosting an event. The department also has a small section where it showcases works from talented students in glass cabinets by the classrooms. Wall art can encourage harmful graffiti and tagging, which can turn into vandalism.

The deadline is 11:59 p.m. the Sunday prior to the issue date. Editorial Policy: The Pierce College Roundup position is presented only in the editorials.

published as a learning experience under the college journalism instructional program. The editorial and advertising materials published herein, including any opinions expressed, are the responsibility of the student newspaper staff. Under appropriate state and federal court decisions, these materials are free from prior restraint by the virtue of the First Amendment to the ROUNDUP: March 9, 2016

-Nick Alfaro, 33 Sophomore, Deaf Studies

Bridge to success

The Summer Bridge program helps students who tested into English 28 or lower get a head start

ENRIE AMEZCUA & MAX SULLIVAN

NEWS EDITOR

Summer Bridge is an eight-week summer session designed to help high risk incoming freshmen, who tested into English 28 or lower, successfully transition into college.

The program is a cohort of an English and personal development class. Students are given two 85-minute presentations by Clinical Psychologist Niaz Khani in their personal development class. The first presentation is on stress and anxiety. The second is on sleep hygiene.

The purpose of these presentations is to remove shame from speaking about mental illness, putting a face on mental health services and tools that students can use to manage stress and improve sleep habits, according to Director of the Student Health Center, Beth Benne. “First we wanted to destigmatize mental illness,” Benne said. “We wanted to introduce one of our very own mental health providers [Khani] and if it makes them more comfortable to ask for help everybody wins. The third thing we want to do is give the students tools that they can take home and learn, whether it be deep breathing, visualization stress relief, sleep hygiene, whatever.”

Representatives from the Student Health Center and the Summer Bridge Program will be speaking at the Advancing Student Success Conference in Sacramento on Monday, March 14. They will be on a panel presenting data that shows the program increases the chance of a student staying in college. Director of New Student Programs Zimring-Towne will be

Henderson says he has been submitting proposals to hire more staff every year for the 10 years he has been working here, but is optimistic that will change soon.

“Historically IT and media stuff has always been last, but now since we have been having all of these issues it is starting to be first,”

Henderson said. “This is the year now that we are going to hire more staff.”

Thouin says faculty is being left in the dark on much of what is being done to fix the equipment in the Center for the Sciences.

“We are never really given the whole truth,” Thouin said. “It is always like we are given enough information to make you satisfied but then you walk away saying ‘what did you just say.’”

Henderson says there are discussions in a shared governance format and groups on campus have a representative present, but he does not know how much of that information is shared back with the groups.

“It is not like we are operating in secret,” Henderson said. “We have been in deficit staffing and funding for quite some time. we have had competing priorities. That gets shared out.”

In the fall of 2015, Pierce College selected Lassen Associates Inc. to conduct an assessment of the audiovisual equipment to assist Pierce in selecting a vendor. The candidates were Creston, Utelogy and Extron.

Lassen Associates Inc. concluded that Utelogy is the best option of the three. The findings in their assessment, dated dated Nov. 7, 2015, state that Utelogy will be the most efficient to maintain and require less reliance on outside vendors than the other candidates.

As a result of the findings, Pierce College will be moving to a Utelogy platform and changing the technology in the Centers for the Sciences over the next few years, according to Schleicher.

“We recognize that our IT needs continue to grow and we are committed to fixing our infrastructure problems,” Schleicher wrote. “Pierce is on the right track and in time will have one of the best platforms for delivering our required services. We continue to make measureable progress in finally securing the funding and support we need to

one of the members on the panel.

“It can really be a challenging transition,” Towne said. “Students don’t always understand the differences between high school coursework and college coursework, and sometimes it can be overwhelming.”

They also hope to learn methods from the other community colleges that will be attending as well, according to Towne.

Benne and Khani will present information advocating more mental health services in addition to providing data that shows the presentations in the summer bridge program can decrease the chances of a student deciding to dropout of college. The first 85-minute presentation students receive from Khani discusses topics including finances, personal health, breakups and loss of family or friends.

“Anything that is bringing up a lot of anxiety and stress for them and what they can do to deal with it,” Khani said.

In the sleep hygiene presentation, students learn about the sleep process and facts like anything more than a 20-minute nap during the day or two beers before bed are both detrimental to restorative sleep at night, according to Benne.

“We have discovered that sleep hygiene really interests students,” Benne said. “They need help. They don’t know how to sleep well. They don’t know how to get enough sleep, or how to monitor their sleep.”

The program is open to incoming freshman with six credits or fewer and have tested into English 28 or lower. Last summer there were 12 cohorts with about 20 students each. Students are placed into cohorts based on their English assessment placement and take the english and personal development classes together.

Students who are low income, foster children or the first generation attending college can also be placed into the program when entering Pierce. Enrollment is based on a first-come firstserve basis and fills up by April, according to Towne.

more appropriately service the campus.”

Henderson hopes Utelogy will begin to be implemented in a few months but there are budgetary issues that need to be worked out first.

“The AV [Smart Classroom] Task Force has selected Utelogy as our baseline and it is going to deployed as we move forward,” Henderson said. “It is going in our newly constructed areas and then it is going to be retrofitted into the Center for the Sciences.”

Digital Arts and Media Building in jeopardy

Insufficient funds may alter future of the old library

Administration will privately discuss what to do with the proposed Media Arts building on Friday, March 10, after it was stated the project will cost $5 million more than projected by the project manager.

The proposal is to turn the old library, located at the center of the mall into the new Media Arts building. Ed Cadena, project manager, told the Pierce College Council on Feb. 25 that in order to use only the funds earmarked for the project that

Lassen Associates Inc. “As more endpoint devices become IP based, additional features can be added through advancements in the software without the need to reprogram switchers through a vendor or the purchase of new hardware.”

Henderson believes the Utelogy platform will be easier to maintain in house.

“I’m looking forward to that” the creston to Utelogy switch,” Henderson said. “We should be able to handle a lot of it internally along with getting the additional staff that is really specific to supporting smart classrooms and AV equipment.”

Lyn Clark, chair of Pierce College Council and first vice president of the Academic Senate, says the college is working hard to improve the situation.

the new project will need to be reduced in size. Cadena also said that no official decisions have been made on the demolition of the old library.

the Media Arts Department have outdated technology equipment and limited space. The Media Arts classrooms and offices are strewed across campus, which is inconvenient for faculty and students according to assistant professor of Journalism, Tracie Savage, “The current digital lab of the Media Arts Department over in the village is bursting at it's seams,” Savage, said. “There just isn't the space there for the kind of projects that we are teaching our students to work on.”

The Digital Arts and Media Building project is currently planning a budget of $32,950,719 and is set to be completed in 2020, according to data from Nov. 2015, on “Buildlaccd.org.” Current facilities used by

The general policy of the Student Health Center is to not follow chronic conditions because they do not have the resources to follow through with treatment.

“The problem with the $11 dollar health fee is that it is not nearly enough money to do everything we need and certainly not enough money to pay for a physician to be on call,” Benne said. “If somebody is on an antipsychotic medication or an antidepressant they must have access to their physician 24/7.”

Benne believes that being able to help people is what makes her feel great as a health professional and that they already do a lot with the $11, but could do much more with $19, which the state allows.

The multimedia building would house Media Arts classrooms and potentially an art gallery.

“It would be an enormous asset for Pierce College to have this new, state-of-the-art building and would help lure students to Pierce College,” Savage said.

right now. One is on ‘stress and anxiety’ and the other is on ‘stress and communication’.

Onur Tasci, 22, Computer Science major, thinks the Student Health Center has been helpful.

" It’s really reliable and they charge zero to nothing."

- Onur Tasci Computer Science major

#PierceNews

College Coastal Tour

On Friday March 11 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. sign up at the Transfer Center for a free tour of Cal Lutheran, Channel Islands, UCSB.

Mental Health and Wellness Expo

Lassen Associates met on Oct 7, 2015 with members of the Pierce College Smart Classroom Task Force who identified several issues with the current setup of the audiovisual equipment. These included the need for the audiovisual equipment to be standardized across all rooms and that instructions are not provided in most rooms, according to the Lassen Associates Inc. assessment.

Pierce IT also identified nonstandardized rooms as a critical problem, which makes maintaining the rooms more challenging to Lassen Associates Inc. The Lassen Associates Inc. assessment says that Utelogy will best meet the demands Pierce College rated as important.

“Features that were requested by IT support staff such as remote control of a room, setting up custom interfaces for specialized rooms and installing software upgrades are much easier to manage using Utelogy as compared to the other options,” wrote Lassen Associates Inc.

In addition to being the most efficient to maintain, the Lassen Associates Inc. assessment says that Utelogy is the best system to keep up with advancements as well.

“Finally, as the most scalable and flexible solution, Utelogy is the most likely system to support A/V trends in the future,” wrote

“It is a continuing problem right now and everybody is aware of it. We are trying to do the best we can,” Clark said. “I’ve suggested we do some stop gap measures and they’re looking into doing things. They are already on it, they are aware of it.”

“We continue to make measureable progress in finally securing the funding and support we need to more appropriately service the campus,” Schleicher wrote.

Henderson is optimistic about the future since the college is beginning to address the issues and give higher priority to the technology on campus.

“I understand everybody is frustrated, nobody is more frustrated than I am because historically I have been requesting a lot of the same support services for our two departments,” Henderson said. Recently we have started to put greater investment in Information Technology and the Media Center. Going forward, we are looking good, but right now, this is where we are.”

The issue is problematic because it is not isolated to only one department. The sciences likely rely on technology more than any other discipline on campus. Scientists are problem solvers by nature and it is frustrating to not be able to fix the equipment, according to Fields.

“Folks just don’t know the sheer extent of the problems we have been having,” Fields said. “All of the things that have been going on and this is what we have been dealing with the past several years.”

“We can provide such thorough care but we know our limits,” said Benne. “We can really do a lot for the $11. We can do a lot more with $19. Our district has only been charging $11 and $8 dollars since 1998, so it’s been tough.”

Everything is kept confidential and an effort is made to make the students feel safe when coming to the Student Health Center, according to Khani.

“We spend a lot of time going over the privacy and confidentiality form before an appointment is set up,” Khani said. “We’ll say something like ‘yellow bird is calling’, there are different ways. If someone is really scared for whatever reason to come here, we work with them.”

The student health center also has two group sessions meeting

“If you disregard the wait time which is a little over the standard of regular health centers, it’s really reliable and they charge zero to nothing, which is really good,” Tasci said.

Jason Garvin, one of the peer nutrition counselors in the Health Center recommends students to take advantage of the services they provide.

“I would definitely recomend students to make an appointment and come here,” Garvin said. They can get free counseling service, whenever they need to. As far as changing their diet, weight gain, weight loss, muscle gain. We are trying to guide them, not necessarily dieting, we analyze their diet, whether they need to lose weight, we tailor their diet to fit that.”

The Human Resource is hosting a Health and Wellness Expo for employees on March 14 in the Great Hall. Need help choosing a college?

Get help from an advisor at the Transfer Center on Tuesday March 15 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Cal Lutheran University

On March 16 at the Transfer center is open to all students interested in transfering to CLU from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. No appointment needed.

" Folks just don’t know the sheer extent of the problems we have been having ."

-Dale Fields Chair of Physics and Planetary Sciences

" The Media Arts Department over in the village is bursting at it's seams ."

-Tracie Savage Assistant Professor of Jounalsim

Reported by: Samantha Bravo

[Mental Health JUMP, pg. 1]

Laura Chen / Roundup

The old library sits on the proposed space for the new Digital Arts and Media Building.

In the dugout

Itʼs where your support system stands. It is where your mentors can be seen to guide you. Itʼs where you get rest from a hard inning played. And itʼs the place of celebration when you see the ball fly over the fence.

It is the dugout. The baseball team for Pierce College has hit a small rough patch these past few years; eduring injuries that have left their pitching depth more shallow than anticipated.

When this year started, the potential of the team

was almost as large as the anticipation.

Although the team isnʼt where they expected to be at this point in the season, they havenʼt stopped believing in what they know they are capable of.

Most of the games the team has lost this season had the Brahmas leading at one point. While some teams would be disenchanted after losing such a close game, the players have their eyes on the bigger picture.

For them, they understand

that to get themselves to the record they desire, they will have to start in the dugout. They can spend hours in the batting cages, on the pitching mound or fielding practice but it wonʼt be a perfect fix. The team needs to know that everyone is putting everything on the line everytime they step out to the field.

Some teams need a catalyst to get them on track but the Brahmas already seem to be looking in the right direction. It starts and ends in the dugout.

Right: Dustin Trisler, #7, leans on the railing of the dugout while watching his teammates during a game against Ventura on Saturday, March 5 at Joe Kelly Field.

Below: The Brahmas celebrate a home run hit by Jordan Abushahla, #2, during a game against Ventura on Saturday, March 5 at Joe Kelly field.

Far Left: Tyler Eastman, #22 of Pierce, welcomes and congratulates Trevor Dergazarian, #12, and the rest of the team as they come off the field during a game against Ventura on Saturday, March 5 at Joe Kelly Field.

Left: Edgar Vela, #9, leans on his knees before the start of a game against Moorpark on Saturday, Feb. 27 at Joe Kelly Field.

Bottom Left: Brahmas look on from the dugout as Jordan Abushahla, #2, takes his turn at bat during a game against Ventura on Saturday, March 5 at Joe Kelly Field.

Copy: Salvador Fariaz

Photos: Nicolas Heredia

Club Rush in full swing on The Mall

Prosperity through creativity

Young artist finds success despite financial hardship

Huddled loosely together with friends in the Associated Student Organization building, George Alexander Saggeth, 20, juggles a lively conversation with studying for his next class.

At a young age, the French native began to create artwork and through his creative outlet aids him on his journey through adulthood.

When Saggeth turned 6 years old his family left France to move to Southern California. He lived in Downey with his mother before moving to the San Fernando Valley with his dad.

“Things in my life came up where I needed money and I needed to figure it out so I just started to do it,” Saggeth said.

With his options limited, Saggeth decided to sell select sculptures he had made over the weekends when he spent with his father and grandmother.

“My grandma would have yard sales so I would sell them there,” Saggeth said. “People started to notice it and they asked me to do things for them and it went from there.”

The money Saggeth made from selling his artwork helped the young artist finance his studies and projects. Saggeth was able to purchase a house.

Apart from creating art Saggeth is passionate about computer sciences which he showcases by making programs for others.

Each piece he sells varies and continues to fund him for future projects. The cost of his supplies can vary from $40 to $1,000.

Through his artwork he has made a great deal of people happy although Saggeth modestly believes otherwise.

“In my own opinion my artwork kinda sucks but people like it so who cares,” Saggeth said.

Saggeth gets his inspiration from events and artist that he attends. He’s attended Monsterpalooza, The Child of Monsterpalooza and other art galleries in Pasadena.

“For two years now. I’ll ask him and he does talk to me about some of his work,” Josh Castro said. “It’s an interesting take on what he thinks about different things. Just a different thing that a lot of people in college normally don’t do.”

While art will always be an important part of his day-to-day life, Saggeth has made school his top priority. His main goal is to complete his general education plan with Pierce. From there the possibilities are endless.

Of the possible. He hopes to one day join Blizzard the company

Pierce College’s semesterly Club Rush event has begun and will continue until March 10 on The Mall.

Club Rush is a semesterly event where Pierce students are given the opportunity to discover clubs on campus in which they might be interested in.

Many Different Clubs will have booths set up on the Brahma Mall with various activities and goodies.

The Child Development club has several different activities to

attract more students to their booth this semester. They will be allowing students to play with “slime” similar to the 1990s Nickelodeon slime, according to the club’s faculty advisor Lila Snow.

“We’re lucky because our field is working with young children and playing,” Snow said. “We have slime and we have lots of events that are child-oriented, so I think that’s how we attract people.”

Not only will clubs offer activities, students will get to see how joining a club could benefit their college experience.

Jonathan Saltzman , Vice President of the Phi Theta Kappa Society, says

students joining a club could be very beneficial for them. “Were just hear to promote the PTK and show students that getting involved on campus is important and it also looks great on you resume.”

An older student Michelle Lefort, psychology major, returns to college and is participating in club rush for the first time.

“It’s exciting, getting to participate. As an older student coming back to school, I never got to do this before. It makes me feel young and that I’m getting to connect more with my peers. Also, different kinds of clubs I didn’t know about until today.” said Lefort.

#PopPierce

known for popular games such as Hearthstone, Starcraft, World of Warcraft, and much more.

According to Saggeth, he believed he was “a bad artist, bad writer, bad everything.” His friends however, would argue otherwise.

Whenever he has a moment to relax Saggeth can be found unwinding with friends or playing video games. Public relations major, Jared Henderson has known Saggeth for over year.

In the time since they have met, Henderson has grown accustomed to Saggeth’s relaxed personality.

“We go to Shakey’s sometimes,” Henderson said. “We go out for wings on Tuesdays or go to movies. We just hang out.”

Between working on his art, doing homework, and taking care of his family Saggeth also takes time to participate in charity walks to bring awareness to illnesses that affect others. Saggeth tries to be there around for everyone in his life.

“He’s always willing to help a friend,” Castro said. “If he sees if he can help he’ll help. He is very ambitious which is something rare that you don’t see very much today.”

Alex Arzoo, 17, Biology major sharing his tale of parental expectations and university pride:

“My parents never pressured me into going to UCLA even though my mom hates the Trojans,” Arzoo said. “UCLA gives me the feeling of being in a community. It feels like it’s own little city in the middle of Los Angeles. It has its own supermarkets, it has its own dormitories, everything exists within it. I love the idea of entering its own little bubble of society for my college career”

KELLAN BRADLEY Campus Lifestyle Editor

Travis Wesley / Roundup

Jonathan Saltzman Vice President of the Phi Theta Kappa Society, speaks with a student on the Pierce College Mall during Club Rush on March 8, 2016 in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Travis Wesley / Roundup

Students walk along a series of tents on the Pierce College Mall during Club Rush on March 8, 2016 in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Mohammad Djauhari / Roundup

Matthew Garcia / Roundup

This side of the fossil record Paleontology student works toward his future by digging into the past

KELLAN BRADLEY Campus Lifestyle Editor @kellanroundup

Buried deep in the hard soil are the carbonized bones of dinosaurs that Jorge Barrera has dreamt of seeing since he was 4 years old. Though it is impossible to discern when his fascination began, Barrera, 23, has formed his life’s work around paleontology.

“I don’t know why I love dinosaurs so much. I just do,” Barrera said. “They’re cool as heck. It’s kind of every boys dream.”

Similar to movie buffs or diehard music lovers, Barrera immersed himself in the prehistoric world the colossal reptiles inhabited.

Cameron Gil, 22, has been close friends with Barrera for six years. During this time Gil watched Barrera’s love change from curiosity to a near consuming passion.

“Dinosaurs are one of his main passions. Ask Jorge any question about dinosaurs and he’ll know. It’s like asking a sports fan about sports,” Gil said. “He’s always been known as the dinosaur guy.”

When it came time to find an extracurricular activity that was flexible with his class schedule, the Natural History Museum was an alluring option Barrera could not pass up on. Barrera began volunteering for the Natural History Museum in the spring of 2011 during his first semester. His first job at the museum was as a greeter. Barrera’s duties were to welcome new visitors and answer any questions they had about the museum.

“Besides the occasional person who would ask if things in the

museum were real, no one really asked anything too surprising.” Barrera said.

Months later, Barrera was moved to the Dino Lab where he would work as a fossil curator. Museum goer’s that visit the lab have the opportunity to watch volunteer’s as they restore cracked fossilized bones and sculpt missing parts of dinosaur skeletons.

Though the position demanded much of Barrera, his main responsibility was preparing specimens that were still embedded in rock and running them up to the

attic for storage.

Between transporting fossils around the museum and prepping bones for the lab, Barrera became good friends with senior volunteer, Tony Turner.

“Jorge was always enthusiastic about working in the lab and he shared that enthusiasm and passion with many of his colleagues and museum visitors,” Turner said.

As a volunteer, Barrera had the opportunity to see how the museum operated on all occasions. He was also given the chance to work on

event nights when exhibits were filled to maximum capacity.

One of Barrera’s favorite experiences was when he volunteered the night of the museum’s annual Reptile and Amphibian Appreciation Day in October. Visitors can tour the collections, view live animal displays, browse reptile and amphibian art exhibits, and meet professional herpetologists.

The countless days Barrera spent with his fellow volunteers played a major role in shaping his academic goals. It inspired him to work harder

as a student while teaching him things that can’t be learned in a classroom.

“Volunteering at the museum helped a lot with the geology classes I’m taking right now. It motivated me to do better at Pierce so I can have a career in Paleontology.” Barrera said.

After volunteering for several years in the Dino Lab, Barrera chose to resign from his position.

“I didn’t get a job there. They said that it wasn’t a block and could lead up to a job and I wasn’t angry about that,” Barrera said. “Now when I apply for a job at a museum once I

have my degree, I can say that I have experience working with the public and with specimens.”

Although he is no longer a volunteer with the museum, Barrera will help out with events from time to time. He recently volunteered for the museum’s 100th anniversary.

Turner, who has worked for the Natural History Museum for over four years, knows the benefits that come with the experience of being a volunteer with the establishment.

“Volunteering here at this museum opens all sorts of avenues and it’s a very fulfilling and rewarded job to get to work around something you are passionate about,” Turner said.

Barrera says one of his favorite things about working in paleontology is being able to work up close with the fossilized giants without being eaten.

From the moment he first fell in love with the prehistoric world, Barrera could not see himself pursuing a career outside of paleontology.

“I never wanted to end up with a boring job, like a job as an accountant,” Barrera said. “I always wanted to work with dinosaurs.”

Barrera plans to apply for an internship at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. this coming summer.

ʻLincolnʼs only mistake was going to the theaterʼ

Professor brings humor to history class

ENRIE AMEZCUA Reporter @enrie_amezcua

Through the combined use of wit and colorful anecdotes, Richard McMillan leads his Latin American history course in a discussion on the Siege of Tampico, Mexico.

McMillan has been a professor of history since 1996. During these 20 years McMillan has learned a number of tricks to keeps his students interested and attentive.

“It isn’t that history is boring,” McMillan said. “History professors can be boring and so I just try not be dull.”

McMillan is aware that if a student is laughing at a joke he made in the beginning and end of the section, then they were likely listening to the lecture in between the punchlines.

Freshman Robert Vanecek, 18, has not settled on a major. As such, this is first semester taking a class with McMillan. Vanecek is impressed by how easily McMillan is able to deliver the course information.

“[History] justs comes easy for him and it seems like it just keeps flowing,” Vanecek said. “It’s kind of like a river, it just keeps on coming.”

Though Khazzaka prefers McMillan, he has taken a history course with a different professor. The styles of the two instructors stood in stark contrast of each other.

“I’ve taken one history class that was a little less interesting. The teacher wasn’t really interactive with the students. He just gave a lecture and that’s about it,” Khazzaka said.

McMillan believes that when there is good atmosphere inside the classroom and students are laughing at his jokes then they will be more

likely to pick up their books and study.

“If you enjoy your class you’re probably going to study and that is kind of my objective, to get you to study so you will learn,” McMillan said.

English professor Charles Sheldon has been at Pierce College for 28 years and has worked alongside McMillan for the duration. In that time, Sheldon has always been impressed by how much McMillan cares about his students.

“He was very engaging and energetic day after day,” Sheldon said.

It is Sheldon’s personal belief that part of his colleagues success can be attributed to his teaching method.

“Each teacher has a particular way. And he’s very artful,” Sheldon said describing McMillan’s methods.

Freshman Jacob Barron, 17, notes how unusual yet unique McMillan’s delivery of class lectures is. Balancing the wealth of knowledge with colorful side stories, McMillan streamlines the lessons so that they do not overwhelm his students.

“When he goes over things that happen he says why it happened, how and when it happen, and who was involved. He is very indepth and he really does drill the information into you,” Barron said. “He really

does convey the information really well.”

Another trait that sets McMillan apart from other instructors is his peculiar view on tardiness and how he handles it. He would rather have a student come late than not showing up he says.

Some faculty members, as McMillan describes, lock their door when class begins. This is a practice the professor refuses to implement as he feels it is potentially more harmful than being a few minutes late.

“If you’re late, the doors locked and you can’t get in. You’re not learning,” McMillan said. “You’re locked out of learning.”

Previous to McMillan becoming

a molder of minds, he dabbled in several careers before realizing his calling.

McMillan began his education at Los Angeles Valley College, where he received his Associate’s Degree. He took a 14 year gap and later went to California State University, Northridge where he earned his bachelor’s degree in history.

McMillan later returned to finish his teaching credential and earn his master’s degree.

McMillan first began as a teacher at Jordan Middle School in Burbank for about 4 years. And then was picked up to teach at Pierce in 1996.

For McMillan, teaching was never the original career goal. His father owned a Volkswagen parts

and accessories and his original career goal was to own his own auto parts business and to race cars.

“I was the first auto parts store in Burbank to sell Castrol engine oil. It was like wow, almost exotic,” McMillan said.

That all changed when the industry changed. Chain stores, like AutoZone and Pep Boys, started to come up, and the shop couldn’t keep up with the competition. McMillan had to make a choice either continue to run a dying industry or find something to do that will make a living. During that time McMillan had two kids, no insurance, no retirement, and no savings. So he closed the business he couldn’t sell and went back to CSUN.

“I can be a history teacher,” McMillan said.

During his vacation, he and his wife go to ballparks around the country. He has been to 22 of the 30 Major League Baseball Stadium and has visited 35 of the 50 states. McMillan’s Faculty Office is filled with souvenirs and he says this year while visiting a ballpark, he will also planning on visiting civil war sites.

But when he comes back, he says he can’t wait to return to teaching.

“Can’t wait to get here. I try to teach summer and winter. If I didn’t teach summer and winter, I’ll go crazy. I’ll be stopping people on the sidewalk saying ‘Can I tell you about the election of 1912’,” McMillan said.

Travis Wesley / Roundup

Jorge Barrera examines a turritella shell fossil in the Geology Lab at Pierce College on March 3, 2016 in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Alan Castro / Roundup Pierce College professor Richard McMillan uses humor and personal life experiences to teach his history classes.

“History professors can be boring and so I just try not to be dull.”

-Richard McMillan History professor

“Ask Jorge any question about dinosaurs and he’ll know. It’s like asking a sports fan about sports.”

- Cameron Gil Barrera’s friend

You got served

From the court to the dancefloor

Shir Nakash Reporter @shirnakash5

Most freshmen college students would find it difficult to balance a full schedule of classes with being a member of a competitive sports team, but 18-year-old Joel Pagan is standing up to the challenge.

Pagan, an administrative justice major, joined Pierce last fall after graduating from East Valley High School in 2015. Pagan said that he has always been a physically active guy and played football, basketball and volleyball throughout high school. Of the three sports, he enjoyed volleyball most and decided to continue playing it in college. Today he is part of Pierce’s competitive men’s volleyball team. Before he joined any school sports teams, Pagan took up breakdancing in sixth grade.

“I was born and raised in Puerto Rico and I moved here in sixth grade to live with my dad,” Pagan

said. “Back then, all I would do was dance. I would do competitions and everything so that was my life.”

Pagan’s dad, who used to be a professional dancer, was the one who introduced him to breakdancing and taught him how to dance until he was able to teach himself. Pagan said that his dad is his biggest source of inspiration in that art. A year later, in seventh grade, Pagan moved back to Puerto Rico where breakdancing wasn’t as widely accepted.

“When I moved back to Puerto Rico, dancing wasn’t everywhere like it is here, so I kind of dropped it,” Pagan said. “It wasn’t as popular there then as it’s getting now.”

Pagan said that he really missed dancing in the three years that followed but he has continued pursuing it as a hobby ever since. Then, when he came back to Los Angeles in tenth grade, he started doing sports through school.

Today Pagan gets his volleyball team pumped before games by breakdancing in the middle of the team huddle. Lance Walker, who is currently coaching the men’s volleyball team at Pierce for his

Joel

fourth consecutive year, said that he enjoys the good atmosphere Pagan brings to the team.

“Joel has a really good spirit and I think a lot of it comes from the island that he’s from, that Puerto Rican fire and the competitiveness that comes with it,” Walker said.

“It’s contagious and I love having it.”

Walker is a former Brahma himself and graduated from Pierce with his associate’s degree in 2000. The team is in season right now and spends about 13 hours each week practicing and playing volleyball.

KELLAN BRADLEY Campus Lifestyle Editor @kellanroundup and MITCH NODELMAN Sports Editor @mitchnodelman

T he beach volleyball team continued their exhibition games at California State University Northridge against the Matadors and the Santa Barbara Community College Vaqueros on Sunday, March 6th at 10:30 a.m.

The Brahmas participated in the Calderon CSUN Challenge, where CSUN hosts various exhibition games.

“It’s great that Pierce gets a chance to experience playing against a team like CSUN, and we don’t have to travel far to do it,” said Athletic Director, Bob Lofrano.

Nicolas Heredia / Roundup Megan Weaver goes for a spike during an exibition match at CSUN.

Mario Patrick, an 18 year old communications major who is also on the volleyball team, said that managing the rigorous schedule is difficult at times. Most of the team players maintain a part-time job in addition to being full-time students and athletes. Like Pagan, Patrick transferred to Pierce last fall straight after high school. Patrick and Pagan met at tryouts and have been close ever since.

“The whole team is close, really,” Patrick said. “I mean, they’re all such good guys and our coach makes sure

Pierce College won one of their top two matches against the Matadors and lost their top match against the Vaqueros.

Led by Brahma players, Cairo Harrell and Sade Escobar against CSUN’s Erin Indermil and Stephanie Serna, Pierce was able to pull out a 16-9 winning set over Northridge.

The second match, Pierce’s Danielle Marmath and Bea Hernandez played against CSUN’s Kamden Maas and Nada Dragovic, in which they were defeated in the final set by 21-9.

“Playing against teams like this keeps us on our toes, I look forward to playing against them in the future,” Marmath said.

Against the Vaqueros the Brahmas top ranked players Megan Weaver and Valentina Krivokapic lost their two sets by a score of 21-14 and 21-8.

Head coach Tom Slauterbeck believes the exhibition games have helped the team in preparing for the regular season.

The transition from indoor volleyball to the sand remains a challenge for the team, but the

SCHEDULE

March 9- March 16

Softball

Thursday, March 10 vs. Oxnard 2:30 p.m.

Tuesday, March 15 vs. Santa Barbara 1p.m. and 3p.m.

of that when he’s recruiting. That way you’re always in good company and you’re always having a good time.”

The team has two home games coming up this week. One on Wednesday, March 9 against Long Beach, and one on Friday, March 11 against Santa Monica. The demanding hours don’t leave the volleyball players such as Pagan and Patrick with too much time for other activities, but Walker says he’s not worried. “That’s what summer’s for,” Walker said.

Brahmas remain optimistic that they will be ready for the regular season.

“Were actually really confident. We’ve gotten better from the first day we started. Each game were learning something. The girls are becoming more relaxed,” Slauterbeck said.

Krivokapic said that the coaching staff has helped in the transition from indoor to the sand.

“Coach Tom is really good. I think that we can learn a lot from him,” Krivokapic said. “We are competing always. That’s our motto.”

“The next few games are going to be challenging, but I believe our girls are ready and will be able to pull through with a victory,” said indoor coach Nabil Mardini.

“All the games we’ve had now are getting us prepared for the conference (regular season),” Slauterbeck said. “I think they are going to be ready.”

Pierce College Sand Volleyball team season continues as they play on March 11 against Rio Hondo, Palomar, and Mira Costa at Carlsbad Beach at 10 a.m.

Swim takes first in competition

Back to back victories keeps Brahmas on right track

Paula Barrantes Reporter @paulabarrantess

Brahmas had a solid overall performance at the first Western State Conference Invite held at home on Friday, March 4th. Pierce competed against Valley, Citrus, Bakersfield, and Allan Hancock. For the 1,000-meter freestyle swim the Pierce women ended in second place behind Valley College.

Freshman Kailey Bennett placed second followed by Shany Ninio in third. Ninio also competed in the 200-meter freestyle, where she placed second, followed by Melissa Velasco.

Pierce swimmer, Eryn Krouse coasted to first place in the women’s 200-meter individual medley. Krouse competed alongside with Jennifer Weiss, who was disqualified in her first event for doing a flip turn instead of touching the wall.

“Well I don’t want to do that again, I just need to prepare ahead of

Sports briefs

Pierce College

beats USC in cheer competition

Cheer and competition team takes first place in the Aloha International Spirit Championships at University of Southern California’s, Galen Center.

There were 19 members from the Pierce College team competing in the “College Advanced” division. Teams were required to do a number of routines including: pyramids and tossing, tumbling and routine composition, stunts, jumps and performances.

Based on how efficiently a team would do their

Tennis

Thursday, March 10 @ Gendale 2 p.m.

Tuesday, March 15 vs. Bakersfield 2 p.m.

Swim and Dive

No meets this week

Men's Volleyball

Wednesday, March 9 vs. Long Beach 6 p.m.

Friday, March 11 vs. Santa Monica 6 p.m.

Wednesday, March 16 @ Moorpark 6 p.m.

Baseball

Thursday, March 10 vs. SBCC 2 p.m.

Saturday March 12 @ SBCC 1 p.m.

Wednesday, March 16 @ Rio Hondo 2:30 p.m.

Women's Beach Volleyball

time,” Weiss said.“I wasn’t ready I didn’t realize I was next so I wasn’t mentally prepared.”

She would later place second in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke.“I feel good about that. It was one of my best races,” Weiss said.

In the women’s first heat of the 100-meter butterfly, swimmer Gerryleo Sarmiento had to exit the race due to exhaustion.

“I believe I was under the water for too long when I dove off so that kinda caused me a whole lot of my

Brahma

– Compiled by Mitch Nodelman

routines, judges would reward points. A maximum of 100 points for all the categories could be given.

The price per admission for each competitor ranges from $50-60; however, competitors from Pierce received free admission to the event due to sponsorship.

“We’ve been lucky to get support from ASO

(Associated Students Organization), Kinesiology and hip-hop crew,” said Jenny Ghiglia, cheerleading coach.

Two competitors for Pierce were injured.

The competition team will compete in Las Vegas on April 9-10 and Bakersfield for the California Finale.

Week of the Eryn Krouse- Swimmer

Our Brahma of the week is Eryn Krouse. We were not able to get a hold of her for an interview or photo.

Krouse took fi rst place in the 200-meter freestyle which helped lead give the Pierce College swim team the win on Friday, March 4.

The next Western State Conference swim meet will take place on Saturday, March 19 at Santa Barbara City College at 10 a.m.

energy. I also didn’t warm up before I went in so I think that’s what cost me the race,” Sarmiento said.

This was the first time Sarmiento had to exit a match. Women’s swim and dive head coach Judi Terhar was very proud of her team’s performance. “They did absolutely fantastic. They came together as a team, and we really didn’t anticipate that they would win against all of the teams,” Terhar said. “One of the reasons that we won against Allan Hancock is because of our diver, who got two first

places and pushed us over the top to get us the win.”

Whether the team wins or not, Terhar’s goal is for the swimmers to improve. “I wasn’t disappointed in any race. It took every single person for us to win this. Usually our goal isn’t to win, our goal is basically for them to improve,” Terhar said. The second Western State Conference meet will be on Saturday, March 19 at Santa Barbara City College.

Friday, March 11 @ Rio Hondo, Palomar, and Mira Costa 10 a.m.

Claren Flores / Roundup

Pagan, Outside Hitter for Pierce Mens Volleyball team, demonstrates his breakdance skills. Pierce College, Woodland Hills Calif. March 2, 2016

Baseball drops another game

Unable to maintain the lead, team loses third in a row

Slattery, father of injured Brahmas pitcher Christian Slattery.

The Pierce College baseball team recorded its third consecutive loss at home against the Ventura County Pirates.

The 8-5 loss brought the Brahmas to a season record of five wins and 10 losses.

Inconsistent calls by the game’s umpire were partially to blame in the Brahmas, according to Kevin

Slattery disagreed with a call that ended a possible late-inning comeback as the Brahmas were up at bat with bases loaded.

“The third-strike call looked like it was a little high to me but the umpire was up and down today,” said Slattery. “It’s an emotional game, they are out there battling every day and that’s all you can ask from your team. High strikes, low strikes, it’s just a part of the game.”

Scheduled to face the Pirates

for the second time in Ventura on Tuesday, March 8, Brahma’s head coach, Bill Picketts, plans to rehearse lessons learned from today’s game in preparation for the matchup.

“We’re going to come back on Monday to practice and work on the things we need to get better at,” Picketts said. “We’re going to put the ball in play a little bit more, put the ball on the ground a little bit more and get our pitchers to throw more strikes. If we do all of those things we’re going to be fine. We’ll have success.”

Picketts recognized problems on the field and stressed it is a necessity to enhance team performance.

“Right now we’re not really doing anything great. We’re not doing anything super terrible but we just need to get better.” Picketts said.

A home-run sent deep into left field by Jordan Abushahla boosted team morale early in the third inning, according to outfielder Jerry Ismerio.

“It was a great hit,” said Ismerio. “He saw the ball down

like we talked about before the game. He did exactly what we were supposed to do, see the ball down and put a good swing on a good pitch, he did just that. It was a great feeling, it definitely raised our team morale.”

Unable to maintain the momentum following Abushahla’s home run, the Brahmas finally succumbed to the competitive pressures applied by the Pirates.

The Brahmas will play their next home game against Santa Barbara City College on Thursday, March 10, at 2 p.m.

Salvador Fariaz Sports Editor

An article from ESPN on February 18 written by Nick Wagoner said that Pierce College is a possible site for the Los Angeles Rams to practice during the season.

Wagoner said this was “the least certain of the venues.” Athletic director Bob Lofrano says the rams have not contacted him about this but Lofrano says if that were to happen it would be awesome.

It’s fun to imagine a professional sports team using the Pierce College football stadium for practice, but how likely is this destination.

Why Woodland Hills? Pierce College has an appealing location being located right next to the 101 freeway. Rams head coach Jeff Fisher probably has a large say in where he wants his team to train and he is familiar with this area.

Fisher graduated from Taft High School after being an AllAmerican wide receiver there. The major thing that could hold the Rams back from making themselves at home at Pierce College is housing. Pierce does not have dorms or other housing options for the players to sleep. The closest viable option would be to rent out rooms in the Marriott hotel close by and for them to bus back and forth.

[For the full story visit theroundupnews.com]

Lucas Wiggins Reporter lwiggins.roundupnews@gmail.com

Travis Wesley / Roundup

Dominick Costello throws a pitch during a home game against Ventura College on Saturday, March 5, 2016 in Woodland Hills, Calif. Ventura would go on to defeat Pierce, 7-4.