Softball team's pitcher dies

Madison Lee Tupper dies om heart a ack at age 19

TANYA CASTANEDA

Bull Magazine Editor-In-Chief

@Tanya_Castaneda

Madison “Madi”

Tupper, the lone pitcher for the last two season’s of the Pierce College softball team, died May 7 from a heart attack. She was 19.

Tupper was an athlete who enjoyed fishing and camping with her family, a devoted Catholic and an aspiring athletic trainer.

She also suffered from epilepsy, which caused her to have seizures for more than a decade, according to her brother Kyle Flores-Tupper.

Tupper took medications to control her seizures, which allowed her to participate in activities, such as softball and school.

Despite physical obstacles, those close to her believed she always found a way to push through them.

“She was just a champion. That's the best word for it,” Flores-Tupper said.

Her sister Sydney Tupper recalled a conversation with her sister before her dying.

“She just texted me out of the blue and she asked me how everything was, what was going on with me, because that's the kind of person she was,” Sydney Tupper said. “She was always doing that because she just selflessly loved people.”

They discussed what it meant to grow up and to become an adult.

Sydney Tupper believes that last conversation was the best one she ever had with her sister.

“It gave me better insight as to who she was,” Sydney Tupper said. tcastaneda.roundupnews@gmail.com

As Pierce’s starting softball pitcher, her talents went beyond the diamond.

“I would say she was probably a team leader and a catalyst for that team,” Pierce athletic trainer Robert Horowitz said.

During times of distress, Horowitz said Tupper would serve as a motivator and would contact teammates if necessary in order to compete. With a smile on her face, Tupper would take on the responsibility of a captain to help further excel the team.

“If she was having a bad day, there was no one to hand the ball off to. She had to suck it up and play through, which she did,” Pierce softball assistant coach Mark Cooley said.

As an aspiring athletic trainer, Tupper’s goal was to transfer to the sports medicine program at CSUN. As practice, she would spend her free time helping the trainers and other athletes at Pierce.

“She was actually starting to get used to the workings of the athletic training facility. She came in and probably put in as many hours as I did on those days,” Horowitz said.

“She was a great person who always seemed to have a positive light and always brought a nice aura to the training room."

Her jersey number, 14, will be retired from Pierce softball in Tupper’s honor. The coaches hope to display her uniform in the trophy room.

Tupper’s funeral was held on Saturday, May 13, at St. Bernardine Catholic Church in Woodland Hills.

Out with the old and in with the new. The upgraded Student Information System includes a variety of features not offered through the outdated system. However, the transition so far has not been easy, and faculty and students alike are struggling to access the system.

After years of deliberation, the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) has chosen the company Peoplesoft to host a new Student Information System (SIS) that links all nine campuses to one central website.

The new SIS went live on May 8, and students can now login to access all of its functions which include: registering for classes, viewing transcripts, accessing Canvas, paying fees, viewing grades, education plans, and logging into the student email.

On May 15, the registration process will begin for fall classes. Registration and payment for summer classes will still have to be completed through the old system. All fees must be paid before the start of the semester.

Because the old SIS was outdated and homegrown, the district decided that it no longer fit the needs of students, according to Director of New Student Programs Joanna Zimring-Towne.

Therefore, the district chose to work with a company called Peoplesoft to create a site that would fit the needs of the nine campuses within LACCD.

“There are a lot of benefits. It looks a lot nicer, and it is more functional,” Zimring-Towne said. “You can do a lot more things through it than you can do through the current system. For anyone who does any kind of online shopping or any kind of modern Internet function, it’s a lot easier.”

However, faculty and students have been having difficulties accessing the system.

“I have been having trouble,” psychology major Melissa Guardado said. “To log into the system, you need to sign in through your email. But I can’t do that. I have tried reseting my password and everything and I still can’t login.” see News pg. 3

The new SIS will be accessible on mobile devices. Additionally, an app is scheduled to be released in September, which will allow the information on the site to be more accessible to students, according to Vice Chancellor of Education Ryan Cornner.

Creating solutions one suggestion at a time

The ASO semesterly Awareness Day event is not enough for these leaders to address student concerns regarding their campus.

ASO Sen. Tracy Johnson has used the resources available to him to poll students to find what fixes are most wanted on campus. ASO plans to create senator task forces to help target and combat specific issues that are ailing the school.

Johnson produced a list that has issues such as Wi-Fi, Free Speech Area enhancement and enforcement, and resources for students such as: easier access to scholarship information, the extension of library hours and more embedded tutoring options.

Johnson explained that the idea came to him as he was filling out the application to become a senator. He had to answer an essay question about issues important to students.

“I knew a couple things that bothered me, but I had no idea what other students thought,” Johnson said. “But as a senator, I am representing the students. I am not just here for what I want.

“I came to the senate and I asked them to poll the student body to see what the issues are. I was told that we have a thing called Awareness Day already, but nobody really had taken the ball on it. I took control of it and allowed the students to express their issues.”

The ASO would like to quickly implement these groups, but given the amount of time that they have left in the semester, they know that they cannot complete everything on their to-do list they said in their meeting on April 11.

ASO President Amir Haghi said that something has to be done before the end of the semester.

“We have to get something started or else the project will definitely die. The senators won't have any idea how or what to implement,” Haghi predicted. “How far we take it depends on how much manpower we get and how the senators want to go about it. We’re definitely going to leave an impression and start something so the next ASO group can take a part in it.”

President-elect Efren Lopez said that he is going to tackle these task forces by allowing senators to create different groups to tackle the tasks.

“The main way to incorporate these tasks forces for next year would be to create a separate committee that will focus on working on these things,” Lopez said. “They will also take this to the Participatory Committee and ask for their guidance on how to bring about these changes. We want to fix the things that the students want to see changed.”

Haghi said he hopes to see this implemented to help change the school for the better.

“It is taking what the students want and putting it into play,” Haghi said. “We have to build bridges for what we want to accomplish, and this is definitely a bridge that we want to see built.”

See anything interesting on campus? Tag us @Roundupnews on Twitter

Name in lights

Students graduating, transferring and/or earning a college degree can have their name displayed on the Marquee on Victory Blvd.and Winnetka Ave. Students must submit their name and student ID and choose whether they want the college they are transferring to, the name of degree, OR name of certificate earned to news@piercecollege.edu by Thursday, June 1, 2017.

Cap and gowns

Graduation cap and gowns are now available at the Bookstore for purchase. Student must have valid ID.

Commencement

Commencement ceremony is on June 6 at 6 p.m. in Rocky Young Park. Commencement is free.

Fees and holds

Unable to register for summer classes? Call the Business Office on the day of registration appointment and holds will be removed for 24 hours, which will allow students to add classes.

Registration Dates

Registration dates for the fall 2017 semester are now available through the student portal at: mycollege.laccd.edu.

Video contest

Film Club will present the student video submissions on Monday, May 22, in The Great Hall from 7 to 9 p.m.

Speech Tournament

5th Annual Speech Tournament from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Round one will be in the North of Mall and finals will be in The Great Hall.

Fresh Eggs

Last week, the Roundup printed an article delving deep into the gritty details of what can be considered the uncaring eviction of the Falafelicious Catering company.

Despite the support of Pierce College administration, Falafelicious’ five-year lease is at risk of early termination, as the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) seeks to install one vendor on each campus that will provide cafeteria, mobile food and vending services. This would strip the school of any autonomy it presently holds.

Ofir Bass, the owner of Falafelicious Catering, fought for years to occupy the empty cafeteria. Before Bass’s company took over the space, the cafeteria sat empty, limiting food options to food trucks and one cafe. If the food court closes, the school risks repeating the same problem that it only recently solved.

Bass has done an exemplary job when it comes to caring about customer satisfaction. He caters to Pierce specifically. If you give feedback, you’ll see results.

Some customers asked for more vegan options. The next day, a vegan burger was on the menu. He talked to some students, asking what vegan snacks are popular, and he purchased those exact food options by the next week. Bass said he is working with a rabbi to figure out what kind of kosher food he can add to his menu to cater to the students who keep kosher.

Bass has made it a point to make himself accessible, and he cares about providing variety. He bargains with clubs for better pricing for catered events.

Exaggerated & Overrated

By Danielle Kimble

That is leaps and bounds above the customer service we would get from a heartless corporation such as KFC or Taco Bell. Fast food wouldn’t do the things Falafelicious has done.

And why would they? Unlike Bass, a big corporation wouldn’t be on campus everyday hearing the demands and needs of the students. To a chain restaurant, Pierce would just be one of its many customers. Alternatively, Pierce is Falafelicious’ main focus. In fact, he said he closed down his two other restaurants to focus on Pierce.

LACCD wants universal, cookie-cutter type services. From the Brahma Café to the vending machines, Pacific Dining and High Rise Goodies, the top bidding companies, would have a monopoly. This doesn’t encourage any sort of quality assurance.

Los Angeles Mission College, Los Angeles Trade-Technical College and Los Angeles Harbor College are already on the exempt list from the one-vendor plan, so