More overseas studies, please

College may be the most optimal time in life to gain beneficial learning experiences. However, when it comes to studying overseas, the experience you gain from it is invaluable. Pierce College should have more study abroad programs.

While college is the beginning of independence for early adults, most at Pierce College have lived in the San Fernando valley their whole lives and still live with their parents. This takes a tad bit away from the independence factor. Studying overseas gives community college students the rare opportunity of gaining brief independence.

As we get older our window of opportunity starts to dwindle. In a couple of years some may have their careers set with no time to spare. A chance to live in another country may never present itself again.

At Pierce, our choices are

TIFFANY

As college students, there are many expenses when it comes to our education including transportation, especially for community college students. In addition, the most expensive is our textbooks and tuition. Attending a community college should not involve worrying about paying for parking. After all, the main reason some students attend community college is to save money on their education.

Photographers: degree. If we do not play to the current job markets and international employers, then we are setting our students up to fail or to flounder.

While the move to expand the program could take time, Pierce should begin by making small changes now. Administration should hire professors that can teach Germanic, Indo-European and Koreanic languages when they start hiring the 50 new faculty members set to arrive by the end of 2016. By the time the process has finished there will likely be enough space to house the new courses.

In April 2010, a study conducted by the United States Department of Commerce and U.S Census Bureau reported that California had the highest percentage nationwide of Vietnamese and Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) speakers. The state has the second highest concentration of Korean speakers and third highest of Tagalog. It also reported that California has one of the densest populations of Arabic and Farsi speaking people, taking third place to New York and Chicago. limited. We have three study abroad programs: French, Spanish, and more recently art in Italy. While a European expedition sounds exciting, there are many different types of studies in various countries for people to consider.

Expanding the Modern Languages Department to include more than what it already encompasses would be beneficial to both the students and community.

It could also be said that this would provide an alternative to students who do not excel in classical Latin based languages.

While classical languages are so closely related that one could understand the basics of French if they speak fluent Spanish, Germanic and Indo-European are vast in their differences. Despite sharing close quarters, the languages of the European-Asian continent stand in stark contrast of one another.

Failure at one would not equate to struggling with the rest. Each stands alone, and, therefore, is less likely to resemble the others.

The point is to start now while the campus is in this period of expansion instead of waiting until it stops growing which could lead to cuts in other programs. Sow the seeds now and reap the benefits later.

We could have a business program where students could study in China or Japan, or an economics program in Qatar, the richest country in the world according to Forbes. There, students could study what makes the MiddleEastern country the wealthiest. Also we could have a Veterinary Science program in Africa, where students can study the animals that roam the savannah.

According to Mary M. Dwyer and Courtney K. Peters at iesabroad. org, 70 percent of intern respondents reported that study abroad ignited interest in a career direction pursued after the experience. In addition, 83 percent said that it allowed them to acquire skill sets that influenced their career path, compared to 75 percent who did not intern.

Expenses, may be the biggest factor in why students cannot study abroad. If there was a financing plan where students pay a certain amount of money a month, it would make the decision to study abroad easier.

Failure to pay the mandatory fees can be similar to tuition negligence, where you cannot see your grades, register for classes or graduate and transfer.

Young college students are in the prime of their lives. With the addition of more overseas studies, it will allow students to take full advantage of their youth. Ultimately, it will be an everlasting memory of a adventurous college ride.

Should parking for students be free?

Students should not have to pay for parking nor should they get tickets for not purchasing a parking pass. Just because students are paying less for their education does not mean they should be charged extra for using the campus’ parking.

Other than Pierce College, different community colleges, including Santa Monica College charge students for parking. Sarah Rivkin, a Business Marketing major, is attending her first semester at Pierce College after attending Santa Monica College. Rivkin mentioned that the parking pass at SMC is around $80 per semester and it does not guarantee a spot.

On Wednesday, Feb. 24, Rivkin arrived at Pierce early before her 12:45p.m.

Political Science class. However, the daily parking pass vending machine would not accept payments from card and there was a line of students waiting to purchase, which left her scrambling to get a pass before her class began.

Students who purchase any parking pass, whether it be the daily pass from the machine or the semester pass from the business office, are expected to wait in long lines. The time that students spend waiting in these lines could be better used for studying or doing their homework; things related to their education.

Prior to purchasing a parking pass, students must pay all fees and holds. Fees for California residents include, the $46 per unit enrollment fee, the $11 health fee, $1 student representation fee, and the optional $7 ASO fee. The ASO fee is optional depending on whether a student wants to be involved in the student government, or if they want to purchase a preferred parking pass. Students who purchase either the non-preferred $20 permit or $27 preferred permit, are advised to always hang their passes in order to avoid tickets from the sheriff station. If a pass is purchased, but not displayed, tickets are still given.

Students can take their receipt of purchase to the sheriff station after receiving a ticket, but it is at the sheriff’s discretion to waive the charges. The hasal is another reason why parking should be free.

Faculty and staff congregated at the Great Hall for the annual Health and Wellness Expo on Monday to obtain information regarding health, dental and vision benefits available to them.

Vendors set up stations to display what they offer and provided information to employees who use their services. Delta Dental, Healthcare Partners, Kaiser Permanente, Wells Fargo, Lakeside Community Healthcare, USC Vision, and Forest Lawn Cemetery are some of the vendors that appeared at the fair.

Titan Medical provided information regarding TENS units. A TENS unit is a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation that sends electrical impulses to certain parts of the body for pain relief. Dan O’Connell, a regional sales representative, had the units displayed and ready for employees to take home with them.

“We come here every year for this fair and over that time at least 40-50 faculty members have purchased one,” O’Connell said. “Everything goes through your PPO insurance, so it helps the employees out with no out of pocket costs.”

Some vendors provided samples or evaluations of their products.

Primary Health Club performed spinal evaluations, Healthcare

Partners completed blood pressure tests and Alpert Vision Care offered complimentary digital retinal scans.

Deanna Cork, an optician with

Alpert Vision Care, distributed eyeglass cleaner and answered vision questions from students and faculty.

“For the staff of the school, we are providing complimentary eye exams with the mention of ‘Pierce College’ through March and April,” Cork said. “Vision exams are very important and beneficial.”

The event was to provide information to employees, but students were also welcome to obtain information if interested. Admissions and Records, counselors, Plant Facilities,