Volume 128 Spring 2018 Roundup Issue 4

Pierce says #ENOUGH Clubs and organizations to participate in national walkout

people,” Aguilar-Rosil said.

One month after the Florida school shooting, and days following the “credible threat” to Los Angeles Pierce College, students, staff and faculty will stand in solidarity with the victims during the nationwide walkout.

The Resist Club, the Pierce College Democrats, the Associated Students Organization and others invite students to participate in the #ENOUGH walkout today, March 14, to protest against gun violence. Students will walk out of their classes and meet in front of the Great Hall at 10 a.m. for a 17-minute moment of silence, commemorating the 17 victims killed in the Parkland shooting.

The recent school shootings can bring fear to many students and educators nationwide.The walkout is a call for action to improve gun regulation.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 34 mass shootings in the United States since Jan. 1, all of which resulted in multiple injuries and/or deaths. Shootings on a school campus made up 13 of the 34.

Co-President of the Pierce College Democrats Bella AguilarRosil said a walkout can help educate and inform people about the present state of gun control.

“Knowing that we’re making a conscious effort to try to stop this, to try to create more regulations and restrictions to obtain guns, just instills a sense of security in some

Preview:

Aguilar-Basil said the hashtag #ENOUGH will be used on signs during the march. It has been placed on flyers and will be used in social media to create awareness that not enough regulations have been made, and people are tired of not seeing a change.

Resist Club member Xochitl

Medina said Pierce isn’t the only local college participating in the walkout.

Medina said Valley College and Mission College are also interested in joining the walkout. She said that for the walkout to be effective, they will need a large amount of participants.

Medina said she expects students to join the protest to fight for their future safety on campus.

“I hope. I really hope there will be a lot of students coming out, walking out of class because this is really important,” Medina said. “I know this is not affecting us right now, but you never know. This is a campus, and you never know what will happen.”

Last Wednesday, a “credible threat” against Pierce was reported, and the campus was evacuated while police searched for the suspect. A man was arrested and the investigation is ongoing.

ASO president Efren Lopez said he was shocked that there was a threat of a shooting at Pierce.

“A lot of people don’t realize that it might happen to them, until we get this kind of evacuation order. It feels like a fantasy when it actually starts happening,” Lopez said.

Lopez said the walkout is necessary to make a difference.

“We shouldn’t even have to

go through these kind of drills or evacuations,” Lopez said. “It shouldn’t be a thing to begin with. We shouldn’t have to be afraid or even be thinking about a mass shooting happening in our colleges.”

Aguilar-Basil said her club reached out to local high schools such as Taft, which confirmed that it will also participate in the walkout.

Medina and Lopez said there will be speakers and another

Problems arise from proposed schedule changes

DAVID ZAYER Reporter @DavidZayer

Though they are rushing to class, students may not make it from the Art Hill to the Village in time. But starting next semester, the college is mandating a passing period, recommended at 10 minutes, so that they can make it across campus in between classes.

Instructors have to figure out how to incorporate a passing period into the schedule without overlapping or cutting into other courses, while also commedating the new college hour block.

At the Academic Senate meeting on Monday, members discussed adjusting class schedules to turn in to the district.

“We need to have a 10-minute passing period and it really boils down to attendance counting. It is how we correct the portion of it with the clock hour and college hour,” said Professor Adrian Youhanna, the Department Chair of Anthropological and Geographical Sciences.

demonstration at the Van Nuys Civic Center from approximately noon to 2 p.m. It will be a joint rally with other San Fernando Valley schools.

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Dramatic story unfolds in 'Blood Wedding'

Federico Garcia Lorca's play gets a Pierce twist from a seasoned director

Michael Messiha, who plays Leonardo, said the audience can expect a family feud backdrop, a love triangle and a theme that exhibits resistance.

Second Vice President of Curriculum Margaret Pillado said students only have five minutes to get to class and sometimes the classes overlap.

“We need to update the schedule so at least we have a minimum of 10 minutes during passing period,” Pillado said. “For many years, we had this practice and it worked relatively well, but now that we have a software, it does not allow for those overlaps. We need to clean everything up and reorganize it.”

Instructor of Kinesiology Susan Armenta recommended cutting night classes to have more time to schedule classes and the passing period.

Some professors that teach at night opposed this recommendation.

Federico Garcia Lorca’s “Blood Wedding” takes the audience back to 1930s Spain on the dramatic eve of a wedding.

The play is directed by Valorie Grear, a returning director to Pierce, who has done productions including “Born Yesterday,” “An Enemy of the People” and “Fences.” Under Grear’s direction, this season’s show will bring an element of innovation to Lorca’s classic play.

Grear said she goes beyond the scope of a traditional setting of a “rural Spanish tragedy.” She said the vision for the play’s set is minimalistic, as the structures are all white with a textured floor and few furnishings.

The set would be similar to a “Greek tragedy with the emphasis on the language and not so much the props or the setting. They’re still natural in their behavior when the mother and the son are talking – they sit, they cross, they embrace all of those things, but it’s just not cluttered in the naturalistic environment,” Grear said.

Grear said the set’s simplicity

emphasizes something greater-the play’s dialogue. Lorca’s writing and the actors’ portrayal of it is meant to be the focal point of the show.

Emely Chavez, who plays the Bride in the production, said that the play follows the Greek tragedy set up.

“The whole story revolves

around the bride’s marriage. So a lot of the time, I am center stage and I am open to everybody,” Chavez said. “That’s a style that Greek tragedies follow.”

Bryan Rojas, who plays the Bridegroom, said Lorca’s language is important to the play because this helps the audience understand the complex emotions.

Rojas said his character has a very complicated family history that has resulted in a feud between his family and the bride’s ex-lover Leonardo and his family. The dialogue between the Bridegroom and his mother allow the audience to feel a deep sense of empathy for the family members he lost, resulting in the feud.

“With the bride, she doesn’t know if she should resist the flames of Leonardo or if she should follow her new journey with the Bridegroom,” Messiha said. “It’s all about resisting and the outcome of what happens if you don’t resist.”

Grear said the three leads are acting on the stage for the first time.

She said that while choosing her cast, she decided to select younger and less seasoned actors. Despite its challenges, the importance of this decision is what added to the narrative and realism in the play’s adaptation of Lorca’s work.

“When you’re using younger actors, there’s a lot of just working and teaching acting as you’re going,” said Grear. “But I’m very proud of them, they’ve worked so hard and have dug deep to understand the play.”

“Blood Wedding” will run from March 23 to April 1 at the Dow Arena Theatre. You can reserve your tickets now at brownpapertickets.com.

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Adjunct instructor Mark Levick said he was not going to stop teaching his classes if the Pierce president did not approve of schedules.

“I don’t care what she says. I’m still going to teach my classes,” Levick said. “They’re trying to fix something that isn’t broken.”

Levick said the the Physics Department has struggled with the schedule changes.

“The folks is physics say that by having classes start ten minutes earlier than usual, at 6:50 p.m., they wouldn’t have a full schedule,” Levick said. “I been teaching classes at night from 7-10 p.m. for years without a problem.”

Chairman of Psychology/ Statistics Maria Perser said that the schedule would not affect her curriculum, but may affect others.

“It needs to be fixed because it can affect other departments,” Perser said. “We are trying to accommodate as many scheduling issues that have been bought up to the senate and hopefully we will be able to share it public with them.”

An agreement was made to have an administrator attend a meeting to settle things.

DANIELLE PADILLA Reporter @dcxpadilla

Shae Hammond / Roundup

Pierce College students show signs for the national walkout to end gun violence on March 13, 2018 in Woodland Hills, Calif. The walkout is in solidarity with other schools across the country that are participating to show support.

ROSA ORTEGA Reporter @RosaGabOrtega

Randi Love/ Roundup

The Bride (Emely Chavez) and Leonardo (Michael Messiha) argue about her getting married to another man in the Dow Theatre Arena at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on March 3, 2018.

As the number of school shootings increase, the question on many people’s mind is, “What if?” “What if my school goes on lock down? Will we have enough time to actually lock ourselves up and remain safe?”

On March 7, 2018, Pierce College was subject to a credible threat reported to the sheriff’s department by the Los Angeles Police Department. There was one arrest made and no harm came to students or to the campus, but what if something had?

Most of the classrooms, faculty and administration buildings on campus have windows, which easily can be broken into or shot through, making a clear cut path from criminal to victim.

In the older buildings at Pierce, classroom doors must be locked from the outside. In the case of an active shooter or violent event, this means that teachers must open their classroom doors, reach around to the lock, turn the key, and quickly close the door - all in hopes that their safety stays intact.

Pierce needs to go through every classroom and office, making sure that doors can be locked from the inside and the outside.

Some of the newer buildings on the Pierce campus, such as ELM, have gone under reconstruction and have doors that lock from the inside.

But is that enough?

Pierce should purchase devices that block door jams, so no weapons can fit underneath or through doors.

According to an article published by USA Today, Justin Rivard, a high school student from Wisconsin, has invented a tool to be used for protection during a shooting incident.

Boyd Huppert, the author of the article titled, “High school student invents ‘JustinKase’ tool that could save lives during shooting,” wrote that Rivard invented the tool in his shop class.

“Made of steel plates and

-Corrections-

Volume 128, Issue 3:

Page 3: "Tax help is easy to find here" was written by Richard Espinoza, not Karan Kapoor.

Page 8: In the story

"Brahmas tame Wildcats"

LA Trade Tech's mascot was incorrectly identified as the Wildcats. They are the Beavers.

If you would like to have the newspaper delivered to your classroom please email newsroom. roundupnews@gmail. com

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connecting rods, his device slips beneath a classroom door and latches to the door’s jam,” Huppert wrote. “With his device in place, Rivard has yet to find a person who can push a classroom door open, including linemen from his high school football team.”

There are about 240 classrooms at Pierce. The JustinKase sells for $95, so the price for putting one in every classroom would be about $23,000.

Though that may seem expensive, in 2015, Pierce purchased one of the larger golf carts on campus, the Kawasaki Side x Side, for about $16,000.

The cart is not used often, so purchasing the JustinKase tool would be a smart way to use Pierce’s budget for protecting the students, staff and the overall community.

-AnthonyIsome,28,RVT

remodel some of the older buildings. With these changes in process, Pierce should look into bulletproof glass to install in place of the existing window glass. Shelter In Place has created bulletproof storm shelters for the inside of classrooms. Shelter In Place states on its website that the shelters were created by witnessing the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in 2012.

According to the website, there is no preparation or warning time before an active shooter arrives.

“Simply put, the difference between minutes and seconds is life and death,” the website wrote.

DANIELLE PADILLA Reporter @dcxpadilla

Many students would like to believe that when it comes to gender bias on college campuses, they live in a more socially progressive time than the generation that came before them.

However, this assumption is false as gender bias is an institutional problem that still thrives on college campuses.

In a time of #MeToo and Trump’s America, people need to remove their rose-colored glasses and realize everyone is not as progressive as they might have once assumed. These issues have been rooted in society for generations, and students have become desensitized to gender bias in all its forms. Whether these instances include a pro-women or pro-men outlook, they are bias, nonetheless.

According to the American Psychological Association, students’ ability to recognize gender biases in academia is more commonly found in students who come from an egalitarian background.

Imagine the first days of a college semester when students are in a frenzy over adding classes. The decision of who will be added to the class has pitted student against student for years. Most teachers will settle the matter with a simple game of rock, paper, scissors with the winner getting the add code. However, after the class is over, a female student will talk to the professor explain her sob

Pierce recently has undergone construction, and it continues to

Pro: One gender above the rest

story, add a few tears, and ultimately get added to the class.

While this is not the most dignified way to add a class, the female student got her objective. If a male student were to try this technique, it would not provoke the same feelings of sympathy from the professor because it doesn’t fit the societal mold of masculinity.

In 2012, the U.S. Department of Education released a data snapshot stating that since the passing of Title IX in 1972, the remanence of gender bias still exists in the education system nationwide.

Now, envision sitting in an English literature class and engaging in a socratic seminar over the week’s assigned reading. There is only one type of student that keeps getting interrupted. These students are the female students. Yes, teachers do have a “wait for your turn to speak policy,” but this rule is often broken in the heat of a debate.

This is not something one always notices because when men interrupt it is seen as being outspoken. In comparison, women generally do not interrupt because society has conditioned women to be patient and wait for their turn.

These small classroom truths are usually overlooked because they have been a part of our culture for decades. The bottom line is gender bias is an institutional problem that cannot be unrooted in one generation. Therefore, this issue follows people all the way to college and through the rest of their lives.

RANDI LOVE Editor-in-Chief @randi_love29

Women are often thought of as having feminine roles in society, with men being grouped into masculine stereotypes.

But on our campus, both sexes cross gender expectations and excel in their positions.

President of Pierce College Kathleen Burke is the person with the most power - and she is a woman. She has no problem making decisions that some would think may be difficult because of her sex.

Times have changed in ways that support men and women doing what they enjoy versus conforming to social expectations.

Women on campus have the opportunity to become welders, automotive technicians, artists, musicians, set designers or anything they put their minds to.

The same goes for men. They can become nurses, mathematicians, theatrical actors or dancers.

Men do not typically go into the nursing field because it is considered a job for women. But that is a stereotype that can be proven wrong at Pierce College. In the spring of 2017, three out of the 21 graduates were 3 males.

Once I complete my education, I want to work in sports or entertainment. Outside of campus, I’ve been told that women have to sleep their way into those industries because it’s harder for them.

While that is sexist and

discriminatory, I’ve been supported by classmates, professors and advisors on campus.

The Academic Senate, the Associated Students Organization (ASO) and many of the committees on campus are close to even representation by men and women.

Although societal norms, rules and roles have instructed men to devalue women in the workplace, men on campus support their female counterparts.

Department chairs are mostly women across campus. Those that are men do not devalue the women who sit in the same seat as they do.

STEM classes usually bring men to mind because of science and technology portion, but women are active and scholarly working the program as well.

The campus supports the effort of all its students to succeed in whichever major they choose and frowns upon discrimination due to gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity.

UN.org lists 17 goals to make our world more sustainable, with goal 5 stating, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.”

“Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world,” the website wrote.

Along with the United Nations and other parts of the world, our campus is doing its best to make everyone feel comfortable and know that they are equal.

While these shelters would be an investment for LACCD, there is still no excuse for not having a basic plan of protection on campus. dpadilla.roundupnews@gmail.com rlove.roundupnews@gmail.com

Cartoonist:

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 Constitution of the United States of America. Accordingly, materials published herein, including any opinions expressed, should not be interpreted as the position of the L.A. Community College District, the college or any officer or employee thereof.

"Mymother.Sheinfluenced metostayonmyeducation andtokeepongetting mentallybetteratdoing thingsinlife."

Photo Illustration by Joshua Manes

“Myoldboss.Sheis actuallythepersonthatgot me to be more assertive in myworkenvironmentand gavemetheleadership skills that I have now."

-Chelsea Carurucan, 23, Business Administration

“Michelle Obama. I feel she doesn'tgetenoughcredit for what she has done withpublicschoolsand nutrition."

-EnriqueMondragon,21, Business

Con: People are created equal

"Mygrandmother.She taughtmetoenjoylife. Recentlyshediedofcancer. ImissherandIappreciate her and her advice."

-AkaiVengoechea,19, Animation

A rocky way to get rid of pests

Special mouse and rat traps spread throughout the campus

Rats and mice have been roaming the campus like any ordinary college student, but few want to transfer out.

Pierce College administration has received complaints from faculty, staff and students about rats on campus.

The North of Mall construction caused a rat and mice infestation in December 2017.

To fix this, hidden fabricated rocks have been placed on the outside walls of the Library / Learning Crossroads.

Operations manager Rodney Allen said in an email that the community has brought the rodent infestation to the attention of administration.

“There were multiple complaints about rodents on campus and the school has contacted a professional pest control company to deal with the problem,” Allen said.

The fabricated sandstone rocks are called Protecta Landscape Bait Stations.

“The stations have holes for

the rodents to go in and out. They are childproof with a locking mechanism that prevents children and pets from accessing the rodent poison,” Director of Facilities Paul Neiman said in an email. “The rat would go into the trap, eat the bait, and be then be able to leave.”

Rodents prefer darker environments and cluttered areas. This is why they are mostly around walls and natural edges, he said.

“The rocks have helped with the rat problem and are not a danger to have on campus,” Neiman said.

“Humans should avoid contact with the bait, though.”

have to worry about them being harmed,” Neiman said.

An employee working in an office nearby, who did not want to be named out of fear of punishment, said that the gardeners want to get rid of the rats humanely, which would make the process more difficult.

Plant Facilities are also afraid to poison the rats because they might die in the walls and produce an odor.

“In this office I have not encountered any, but in the old library I did encounter it, and I did not like them running around,” she said. “I’ve been working here for 10 years, and in those 10 years, I’ve encountered rats and mice in this office even before the construction.”

She said a lot of faculty and staff have complained that it would be dangerous to immediately put poison on the floor because that will affect other animals and that the glue traps placed in offices are inhumane.

Rundown Brahma Blotter

These incidents were reported between March 4 - March 10

03/07

•Possible Threat

The Los Angeles Police Department contacted the Sheriffs Office to report a possible threat to the school at 4:25 p.m. (see full story online)

03/08

•Ill Student

Rabbits also frequent Pierce. Neiman said the rocks are not a danger to them.

“The rabbits are too large to enter the rocks, so you shouldn’t

“As much as I hate rats, I don't want them to suffer by the glue traps and have them chewing off their own little arms and legs,” she said.

Helping students reach their goals

Students must submit a formal application and meet the EOP&S requirements.

degree and/or a transfer program, it’s incredibly important that we foster long term success.”

This year more than 200 students are graduating who may otherwise have been lost between the cracks without the support from one program.

Extended Opportunity Programs and Services offers guidance and assistance to qualified low income students and educationally disadvantaged students. Whether it’s financial or educational circumstances that prevent a student from reaching success, EOP&S is designed to help qualifying students discover and achieve their academic goals.

Qualified students will have be eligible for the Board of Governors Fee Waiver A or B, be enrolled in at least 12 units a semester and be a California resident or meet the California Dream Act standards.

Once in the program, students are introduced to different avenues of achievement through the resources distributed by EOP&S.

“Within the EOP&S program, we talk to students a lot about what they’re doing here at Pierce and what they would like to do with their education after Pierce,” said Kalynda McLean, the director of EOP&S. “Whether they are pursuing a certificate,

Student Services Assistant Latice Gustavis said EOP&S is a valuable service that students should use because of the variety of educational opportunities that are afforded to them through this program.

Resources include: EOP&S counseling with a mentor, tutoring, and access to a computer lab and a book service. These programs are allotted specifically for EOP&S use.

The EOP&S computer lab is available to qualifying students who do not have access to the technologies required to complete a class.

Access to a computer lab is

meant to help close the digital divide between students who can and cannot afford extra resources such as computers.

EOP&S provides a book service that can help students afford textbooks for class. Gustavis said this service is like a voucher that enables students to receive the required texts for class if students prove that they are enrolled in at least 12 units and have attended three counseling sessions.

Other resources offered under EOP&S are specialized programs such as Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education (CARE), which helps single parents in college, and Cooperating Agencies Foster Youth Educational Support (CAFYES), which helps foster youths.

A student having a possible seizure was transported to the hospital by the paramedics at 3:46 p.m.

03/09

•Harassing Phone Calls

A student states she is receiving harassing and annoying phone calls and text messages.

03/09

•Off Campus

Vandalism

Liz Strother, the assistant director of EOP&S and counselor said the goal of these programs is so that eligible students from all backgrounds have the ability to reach academic achievement with the help of the EOP&S.

“Our students are amazing. We have the highest number of students in our program then we’ve ever had that are graduating this year,” Strother said. “We have about 255 graduating and well over 95 percent are planning to transfer to a four-year university.”

Students interested in EOP&S resources can apply for next semester starting in July.

A student reported that her dads tires were slashed while parked at home at 9:30 a.m. She believes it has something towith an incident she had on campus.

Pierce College

Sheriff’s Station General Information:

Emergency: (818) 710 - 4311

Photo Illustration by Navodya Dharmasiriwardena and Marc Dionne

Fake Poisonous rocks are scattered throughout the campus to try to alleviate the rodent problem that began in December 2017.

Pierce alumni use disposable cameras to create prints to display in a Los Angeles gallery

photographers don’t really blend in with the crowd. But, with the disposable camera, I felt that people were less intimidated and were more open to me,” Djauhari said.

Adisposable camera with a built-in roll of film worth $20 was used in place of a Hasselblad 500cm that retails for about $1600 to show that fine art is not defined by the quality of equipment, but the skill and artistry of one’s creative mind.

Photographers equipped with inexpensive disposable cameras showcase the pictures that are captured with them for Cheap Shots, an exhibition which will be on display at STU/FF in Hollywood on Friday, March 16. The threehour showing starts at 7 p.m. and it’s accompanied by jazz and an open bar.

Mohammed Djauhari and Skylar Lester are Pierce College alumni and veterans of the Media Arts Department.

But, as they look beyond Pierce, Djauhari and Lester continue to avail themselves of opportunities to pursue their passion: photography.

Djauhari and Lester were invited to participate in the project by friend and fellow photographer Joon Song.

Song, the deviser and curator of Cheap Shots, said the inspiration behind the project came from a gradual acknowledgment that disposable cameras urge photographers to focus on the scenes

rather than on the capabilities of their cameras.

“I’ve seen people over the years with disposable cameras, and I would think, ‘Who still does that?’ because I thought that cell phones and digital cameras sort of eliminated the need for those,”

Song said. “But once I started getting more into photography and messing with higher quality

cameras, I realized that there was something to be said for disposable cameras because they make you focus on composition.”

Song said that disposable cameras do not have features such as adjustable shutter speeds and apertures, which takes many of the technical aspects involved with capturing high quality pictures out of the hands of the photographers.

“With these cameras, you basically have to take your shot, sit back, wait and pray,” Song said. “They have that element of magic and serendipity. A lot of the shots you take with them will be bad, but every once in a while, you’ll capture something that’s really powerful.”

In taking photos for the project, Djauhari said that, rather than presenting him with notable

challenges, using a disposable camera actually made his street photography easier in some regards.

According to Djauhari, carrying a disposable camera with him as he took to the streets put his subjects more at ease.

“When you’re out there, a lot of people look at you with that kind of ‘stranger danger’ mindset. People get weirded out because street

Lester said that the work she produced for the project combines her proclivity for fine art photography with an examination of human sexuality. She said that the unique appearance given to her photos by the disposable cameras complemented the novelty of her subject matter and inspired her throughout project.

“It’s definitely a new and different theme I’ve been following, so I think it was cool to have a new look that matches it,” Lester said. “I couldn’t help myself. I shot through two disposable cameras. We were only supposed to use one, but I was really excited.”

Djauhari said the project aims to show viewers that the quality of the camera used in a shoot is secondary to the quality of the photographer.

“You don’t need a big, fancy, expensive camera to take a good photo. All you need is a good eye and the skills to compose,” Djauhari said. “The best camra for the job is the camera you have on you.”

Song said that he began the project to challenge himself and showcase the different perspectives and bodies of work that others are able to produce when they are given the same basic tools to work with.

The ‘Rocky’ road through Pierce Past LAPC president leaves positive impact long after retirement

his colleagues.

Before Darroach

“Rocky” Young was president, Pierce College was at its lowest enrollment. He was able to raise student registrian to 3600 during his tenure.

Seventy years later, he is still remembered as the man who made Pierce what it is now.

“Rocky is like a folk hero here. He set in motion changes that still continues today,” said Robert Garber, former Pierce president.

Young was president of Pierce College from 1999 to 2005. During his tenure, he helped change Pierce’s system, image and reputation.

According to Young’s list of major challenges in 1999, student enrollment dropped from 24,000 students to less than 13,000. Students from local schools were enrolling at community colleges like Moorpark and Santa Monica because Pierce’s reputation and appearance was “poor.”

Other problems included lack of up-to-date technology, financial issues, negative stereotypes and more.

Young said turning Pierce around was tough, but it wasn’t an accomplishment he did all by himself. Faculty and the community contributed to fixing Pierce’s problems.

Young said the improvements made to the campus helped boost morale.

“It became a college in which it was fun to come to work and where we felt our potential was limitless. The people within the college had gone from hoping Pierce would recover to believing we could be a great college,” Young said. “People had changed from wanting the transformation to happen to helping make it happen. It was at that point that I realized there would be no stopping us.”

Former Director of Marketing

and Public Relations Mike Cornner said he worked closely with Young to improve Pierce’s image. They put together a professional focus group to figure out students’ opinions about Pierce, target specific problems and accommodate student needs to make Pierce the college that

students would enroll in to further their education.

Cornner said Young made incredible improvements at Pierce and his personality makes him memorable.

“He was a really approachable guy, a very good listener and he liked to solve problems. He liked

puzzles, and Pierce was certainly that type of place,” Cornner said. “I worked in education for 35 years, and he was the finest administrator I ever met.”

Young said being the president of Pierce and an LACCD chancellor were very different experiences as a leader. He

said that being president helped strengthen his leadership skills and allowed for institutional and personal leadership, which helped him create trusting relationships with the people he worked with, whereas his position as a chancellor didn’t allow him to build personal relationships with

Professor of communication studies Barbara Anderson said Young was the President when she joined Pierce. She said the sentiment at the time regarding Young’s presidency was a positive one.

“I just remember when we got hired, faculty were saying to me and the other newly hired faculty ‘you came at a wonderful time,’” Anderson said.

Anderson said Young was a social president and had a combination of qualities that made him unique. She said Young’s leadership consisted of respect and equality.

“He used positive thinking and looking for the good in the college as a way to motivate folks to make Pierce better,” Anderson said. “I do appreciate that so much.”

According to the Honorees page on the Pierce College website, the LACCD Board of Trustees honored Young by naming the park near the Center for Sciences in his honor. He was also presented with a bronze plaque at the Faculty Gala that same day.

The first line of the plaque reads, “Rocky Young Park is dedicated June 8, 2011 in honor of a true leader who renewed the spirit of Pierce College.”

Although the plaque has not been installed in the park, Anderson said it’s in the list of construction projects at Pierce.

Young is now retired and lives partially in Washington and Southern California, but said he continues to do occasional jobs for other community colleges.

Young said he hasn’t been to Pierce since 2014, but looks forward to visiting soon.

“I need to come by and see the new bond projects, and I am particularly looking forward to the renovation and dedication of Rocky Young Park. I will certainly be there for that event,” Young said.

Former football player finds fulfillment in bringing laughter to Pierce College and beyond Off the bench and stepping onto the stage

kinesiology and sports medicine to stay close to my football roots.”

Blizzard also said Pierce is allowing him to grow as a comedian and actor.

Trading in his protective gear for a microphone and captive audience, Rayquan Blizzard is on his way to becoming a stand-up comedian.

Blizzard, a sophomore at Pierce College, found his love for comedy just a few years back when he was a senior in high school. However, before he found himself on stage, Blizzard was a committed athlete

Blizzard said he played a variety of sports growing up, including boxing, track and football. However, it was football that interested him the most, and he pursued the sport from the age of nine until his senior year of high school.

However, Blizzard became ill during his senior year of highschool and was unable to continue playing football.

Blizzard said losing the ability to play football as one of his biggest challenges.

“Football was my identity,” Blizzard said. “I was known as ‘Rayquan the football player.’ Once everything happened, I didn’t know who I was. I was lost.”

It was then that Blizzard turned to comedy as a way to ease his mind.

“In high school, I had a teacher who thought I had a natural stage presence,” Blizzard said. “I took a theater class after that, and it was one of the funnest classes I’ve ever had.”

Blizzard said he began to write random jokes on his phone, which he shared with his friends and family.

Jordan Rice, UMOJA student worker, said Blizzard is a natural at what he does.

“You can tell Rayquan studies people he admires,” said Rice. “He applies everything he sees and does to his craft and he doesn’t miss an

opportunity to call you out and make you laugh.”

Kennedy Harris, a sophomore at Pierce College, said she met Blizzard during theater class. She said that, in the time she has known Blizzard, he has shown himself to

be very focused on the goals he sets for himself.

“I can see him as a stand up comedian, he just has to be very determined and I know he will,” Harris said Blizzard said that, although he

can no longer play football, his studies at Pierce are helping him stay connected to the sport.

“Pierce is helping me in ways I never thought it would,” Blizzard said. “Since I can’t play football anymore, I’m pursuing a degree in

“Since I started Pierce, I’ve taken theater and acting classes,” Blizzard said. “The professors I’ve had have given me great feedback, and I know it’s those professors who will allow me to continue to grow.”

Marquan West, a freshman at Los Angeles Valley College, has known Blizzard since a young age. He said that Blizzard always sought to entertain others in their youth.

“Growing up, we always got in trouble. He was that one student who would always make others laugh in class,” West said.

West said that he and Blizzard connect because of their mutual admiration of particular comedians and actors.

“He enjoys the same actors I like, from Kevin Hart to Katt Williams and Cedric the Entertainer,” Blizzard said.

Blizzard said one of his biggest influences in comedy is Kevin Hart.

“Kevin Hart is someone whom I’ve admired for a long time,” Blizzard said. “I study his work on a daily basis.”

Blizzard said that his ultimate goal is to become a comedian and pursue acting. For now, he said he wants to start going to comedy clubs to get his feet wet and see how that can help him secure his future.

Natalie Miranda / Roundup

Rayquan Blizzard sits in the KPCRadio.com studio for an interview on the “Comedy With Cameron” show at Pierce College in Woodland Hills on March 8, 2018.

Photo Courtesy of Doreen Clay

Rocky Young is presented with the bronze plaque comemorating the naming of Rocky Young Park at the Faculty Gala in June 2011.

ROSA ORTEGA Reporter @RosaGabOrtega

LUPE LLERENAS Reporter @lupellerenas

Light a flame, weld some metal

In Industrial Technology, sparks ignite the minds of students as they learn craftsmanship in this uncommon trade.

Welding only can be found at two community colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District, but Pierce offers the most practical application.

Darlene Thompson teaches students to master four distinct styles of welding.

The classes meet in a combined setting, but students work at different levels, from beginner lessons to advanced.

Students learn how to use electricity from an arc, electricity on its own, and fuel gases to cut and weld metals in the Oxy-Acetylene, Arc, Inert Gas Arc and Advanced Arc welding classes, meet at the same time. Each class has a beginner and advanced level.

Thompson oversees at least 50 students as they learn the different types of welding.

She has been with the department since fall 2017 and also teaches at Los Angeles Trade Technical College.

Thompson said she cannot sleep at night because she is so excited to teach her students during the day. Classes meet Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:45 - 8:45 p.m. in Automotive Technology 3805.

There also is a class that meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:15 - 5:15 p.m. in Automotive Technology 3805.

Photos by Shae Hammond. Copy by Randi Love

Cannabis on campus

Hemp for the homeless

Club looks to team with LATTC to help build plant-based structures

“The most important thing that we want to portray is that hemp is not marijuana, it is cannabis,” he said.

Units (ADUs), or ‘granny flats,’ in residents’ backyards.

perspective, Hemphill said, the benefits are numerous.

Marijuana use still not permitted on campus despite new law in place

Hemp was once a thriving piece of manufacturing and construction, but for 80 years cultivation was illegal due to its close connection to marijuana. However, the plant is making a return in the industrial world and clubs and groups in the district are looking to erase the stigma.

Pierce College’s Industrial Hemp Club President and agriculture student Andrew Hemphill plans to grow cannabis to create hempcrete, a viable building resource that Los Angeles Trade Technical College’s architecture students intend to use to address Los Angeles’ housing crisis.

Although the Pierce Industrial Hemp Club dreams big, Hemphill said the student-led organization must overcome a lot of misinformation and stereotypes that come with the plant.

“It’s the same species, but a different variety, so they’re the same family but they’re cousins.”

The difference between hemp and cannabis is that hemp contains less than .03 percent THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana.

The Industrial Hemp Club will apply to participate in pilot program in Section 7606 of the Agricultural Act of 2014, better known as the 2014 Farm Bill. The bill allows universities and private research facilities to apply for federal permits to grow industrial hemp.

Abigail Cuevas, Los Angeles Community College Industrial Hemp Alliance (L.I.H.A.) president and LATTC architecture student, said her department has been working on blueprints for structures that adhere to a recently passed policy in Los Angeles that permits the construction of Accessory Dwelling

-Andrew Hemphill Industrial Hemp Club President

Cuevas said hempcrete, a composite material made up of hempstalk and lime, is an ideal building material for ADUs because it is non-toxic, moldresistant and fire-retardant.

According to the National Hemp Association, hempcrete bricks nearly eliminate the need for a wooden frame

From an agricultural and ecological

Hemp’s growing period is relatively short with a high return, producing more oil than peanuts and paper than trees per acre. Hemp utilizes less water than cotton and one acre sequesters 12 tons of carbon from the atmosphere, more than any other plant. Hemp can be used to clean soil of pollutants, being planted around Chernobyl in the mid-1990s.

Hemp can be used to make a variety of products including paper, clothing, rope, oil, fuel and building materials.

Hemphill sees the irony surrounding hemp given the resource’s historic connections.

“Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine, intended for it to run on hemp and vegetable oil,” Hemphill said. “In fact, Henry Ford’s first car was built out of plastic and ran on hemp ethanol.”

roneil.roundupnews@gmail.com

Getting to know hemp

CAMERON KERN Reporter @ckernroundup

When voters went to the polls last year and passed Prop 64, California legalized marijuana for adults 21 and up, joining seven other states with laws permitting recreational use.

While the Golden State is now green-friendly, marijuana is still a red-flag at Pierce.

“People think it’s legal, but you can’t smoke it in a public place, especially on a college campus,” Deputy Isaac Jorge said. After the election, before recreational sales even began, the Sheriff’s department on campus made changes to try to nip any issues in the bud.

“Since last year we have been initiating more patrol checks, especially with everything that’s going on. Just high visibility all around.”

So far the patrols have done as intended, with Jorge reporting “no increase in drug related incidents on campus in the last year.”

opinions across the country seem to move to a more favorable take on marijuana, Benne believes the drug is harmful.

“The evils of marijuana use ride along the evils of tobacco and even alcohol,” Benne said. “They’re all substances that will alter your perception. For me, it’s reassuring to know that it’s illegal at Pierce because Pierce is a federally funded campus.”

Marijuana is still a schedule 1 drug, the DEA’s most serious category of illegal substances. That puts it alongside heroin, ecstasy, LSD, peyote, and Quaaludes as a drug "with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse."

According to an article from popsci.com, there are many hoops to jump through in order to perform clinical studies. A DEA license is required, and the study must be FDA approved. When it comes to actually obtaining research-grade marijuana, the National Institute on Drug Abuse is the only place that researchers can go through.

A University of Michigan study has shown that one in 17 college students in the United States smokes marijuana on a daily or near-daily basis.

Believed to be the first domestically-cultivated plant, with fabric dating back to 8,000 years ago in Mesopotamia (modern-day Turkey)

cultivated fabric domestically

• The first US marijuana law was enacted in 1619, requiring Jamestown Colony farmers to grow hemp

• Was used as legal tender and could be used to pay taxes in parts of the Americas

• Hemp paper is stronger than wood-based paper, is naturally acid-free and does not yellow as fast, in many cases does not yellow even after hundreds of years

• Can grow without pesticides and in many different types of soil

• Is known to kill weeds and purify soil

• A high-yield crop, producing twice as much oil as an acre of peanuts, and four times as much fiber pulp for paper as an acre of trees

• Has the strongest and longest plant fiber in the world

• Top 5 counties in hemp production: China, Korea, Netherlands, Chile and Australia

All forms of smoking, vaping and edible marijuana are included in the regulations programs and are illegal on campus. Health Center Director Beth Benne and her interns have been avidly creating presentations across campus focusing on substance abuse, not specifically on marijuana.

Benne says she is “not a fan” of college students here at Pierce and all across California having the ability to get their hands on the drug, especially with the increased potency seen these days.

“The levels of THC in today’s marijuana is so much stronger then it was when I was growing up,” Benne said. “Many medical professionals, including myself, believe it is even more of a gateway drug than it's ever been.”

While the number of states with medicinal and recreational laws on the books increases, and

Nicole Davidson, a Pierce College student and an avid recreational marijuana smoker, is in favor of legalization for the benefits the plant possesses.

“It lets people and college students sleep and relax after a long day of work and school,” Davidson said.

Benne believes the new leniency on marijuana can be attributed to the younger portion of society.

“Your generation might be kinder on marijuana then it’s been on tobacco because this new generation of students feel there’s no harm in the drug, hence the legality of it.”

“ e most important thing we want to portray is that hemp is not marijuana.”

Infographic by Joshua Manes

Prop. 64 at Pierce

REBECCA O/NEIL Reporter @rebeccaroundup

Photo Illustration by Joshua Manes

Baseball

W @ Bkrsfld 11-8

L v Bkrsfld 10-9

W @ West LA 5-4

Brahmas dominate Griffins Running with the bulls

Men's volleyball win in straight sets to comeback a er midweek loss

DANIELLE PADILLA Reporter @dcxpadilla

Men’s volleyball bounced back from a midweek loss against Irvine Valley College with a victory over the Grossmont College Griffins.

Led by captain and state assists leader Bernardo Roese, The No. 8 Brahmas (5-6) sent Grossmont back to San Diego in straight sets (25-20, 25-15, 25-20).

Roese notched 38 assists in the three sets, with Cole Chea putting up 12 kills, followed by Jake Kessler and Brent Norkus with 10 and seven respectively.

For the Griffins, Kaman Curtis had 10 kills, followed by Matthew Perez with five and Treavor Detteh with four.

Head Coach Lance Walker said the team’s dedication, focus and progress showed in the game. He also said that the team must play like they want it, which is something that attributed to their win.

“The chemistry of the team was fantastic,” Walker said. “Energy level was great. I thought the guys did a really good job of staying positive. Good positive energy we had coming from the bench, on the court – I just mean overall and that just helps our team one or two points.”

Chea said that one of their strategies for this game was to utilize control of the ball and move it around before hitting it over the net.

“We all just came together for passing,” Chea said. “We focused priority on the passing first – that really won us the game.”

Max Petuhov, opposite hitter, said the synchronization of the team made their win against Grossmont possible.

Roese had a kill that gave the team a win in the first set and in the third set, Petuhov was able to execute a kill

Football draws recruits from out of state

DANIELLE PADILLA Reporter @dcxpadilla

Players such as Jaelen Strong, Erik Kramer and Jay’Onn Myles have moved on to the National Football League from the Pierce College program. Names like these are what draw students from across the nation.

However, in recent semesters, the football team has increased its appeal and interest to out-of-state students. To date, the football team has more than 30 players on its team from outof-state schools.

“Over the past five years, 126 Pierce players have gone on to play Division I football. That’s a draw for players that have dreams and aspirations of going to the Division I level,” said James Sims, strength and conditioning coach. “A lot of them is word of mouth. There have been outof-state players for years here.”

Due to Pierce’s long list of alumni, the athletics on campus are promoted and well-known to a lot of perspective athletes looking for a school to play at the college level.

One reason is the player’s ability to focus on academics while at the school. In tandem with extracurricular sports, there is educational benefits that they have.

80 to 100 students,” Sims said. “Over a week or two, and you learn them and become a part of that family.”

Integration into the Pierce community is facilitated by the connections that come from being a part of one of largest groups on campus.

The process is made easier with the connections between out-of-state players at Pierce and perspective athletes from the same hometown.

“A lot of the players that came last year, I knew them in high school, so it wasn’t too hard of an adjustment process,” said Jayme Vicente-Colon, defensive back. “I knew a lot of them in high school because I played against them.”

Adjusting as an out-of-state athlete is easier due to ties to one’s hometown and by working closely with people who share a common background. However, being a good athlete is only a fraction of what makes outof-state students successful. Another part of being successful is using the resources offered at Pierce.

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as Blake Omartian and Roese were involved in the buildup, which helped extend the lead for the Brahmas.

Petuhov said the players are working on team bonding.

“We had a few problems in the past with working together as a team,”

Petuhov said. “Today we became a lot better together – we’ve been working on doing some family stuff. We try to hang out as a team, we get to practice earlier and just spend time together.”

Walker said that the win was the result of the team’s concentration and growth from past games.

“We played with purpose and we played with focus, which was something that we worked on,” Walker said. “Understanding what rotation we’re in – ‘How can we win play?’ ‘How can we can we get the serve back on to our side and use it as a weapon?’”

Chea said that the team learns from

Brahma of the Week

Brandon Lewis

Sport: Baseball

Position: Infielder

Class: Sophomore

High School: Bishop Alemany

5 runs including a homerun against the Bakersfield College

Scoring a homerun in the bottom of the 9th against the Renegades, but having five runs total, anything feel different?

“I’m happy for the team. It was a key play. I’m just excited for the team and how the rest of the season goes.”

What are your pregame rituals?

“I like to visualize before the game and envision myself doing well and just go off of that.”

What do you think you can improve on?

“Definetly everywhere. There is always room for improvement and if i want to get to the top I have to be better each day.”

If you weren’t playing baseball, what sport would you be playing?

“Probably football being in the defensive line.”

How do you want your teammates and coaches to remember you by?

“A good teammate that always gave his all.If they can remember me by being always respectful that would be great.”

For live game updates follow us on twitter

Jacob Bumgardner/Roundup

each game, regardless of the result.

“Relative to tonight, it’s just a whole evolution,” Chea said. “Every time we grow and every time we play or lose, it’s a learning experience. We want to show every time we get on the court that we learn something new.”

The next game is Friday, March 16, at home against Moorpark College Raiders at 6 p.m.

dpadilla.roundupnews@gmail.com

Marquis Mickens, running back, said that attending Pierce can help get the “college stuff out of the way” by enrolling in core subjects. This way, he said, by the time he achieves a Division I level scholarship, he will be able to focus more on his athletics rather than the general academic requirements needed in college.

The culture shock of moving to California can be a major concern for students coming from out of state, but the comradery of a football team makes the transition to new surroundings less daunting.

“Any time you are a part of the largest fraternity at the school, which is football – it is the largest program – you immediately come in knowing

“Preparing them for success would be my number one goal,” said Moriah Van Norman, Pierce athletic director. “We want to make sure the students are successful, and not just in athletics. We want to make sure they’re successful academically, emotionally, physically, and to make sure they’re prepared for life after this.”

There is an emphasis and support placed on out-of-state athletes to understand that true success is using the tools learned at Pierce to ready them for future endeavors – both in their athletic and academic careers. In past years, there were a number of athletes from out of state who were valued contributors to Pierce College’s distinguished athletic record. Pierce’s current football team is no exception to this as they continue to uphold the football team’s reputable legacy.

dpadilla.roundupnews@gmail.com

Jake Kessler and Brent Norkus jump up to try to defend the ball against the Grossmont College on Ken Stanley Court at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on March 9, 2 018.

Infielder aims to make it to the majors

Transferring to a 4-year college is the first goal for this sophomore player

Most baseball players dream of playing in the Major Leagues.

Brandon Lewis, infielder, is no exception.

He will be transferring to UC Irvine in the Fall, taking one step closer to making his dream a reality.

Lewis has 12 runs and seven RBI’s this season. He practices baseball every day with his team except for Sundays.

“I’m just trying to do my job and get on base for the guys, they’ve been doing a great job at getting me in,” Lewis said.

“Ultimately the goal is to make it to the big league, we’ll see how it goes.”

Lewis has been playing baseball since he was four years old and looks up to his father because he plays a big part in his life.

Lewis had the opportunity to go to CSUN, but decided against it during the summer.

“It was a good offer,but I felt it wasn’t the right fit for me and how the program was ran I felt it didn’t meet all my needs, Lewis said. “I felt I’d be more comfortable somewhere else.”

Head Coach Bill Picketts said that he’s known Lewis since he was 14 years old.

Picketts’ son played baseball with Lewis at Alemany High School, so he’s seen him play and grow for the past six years.

Picketts said Lewis is a good leader and knows how to have fun as well as work hard.

“Not only can he can hit, but he has a ton of power, and has a good feel for the game. Lewis understands the way the game is

supposed to be played,” Picketts said.

Picketts said that Lewis’ strongest point is the ability to work and not give up.

Picketts revealed that, in high school, Lewis was a big kid and weighed about 50 pounds heavier than he does now.

Lewis got his body in shape and became a much better athlete. He can now run and throw better than he did before.

“His all-around game is basically his strength, he can do anything,” Picketts said.

Bryce Vitt, catcher, said that he admires that Lewis does not let mistakes get to him.

“I like his attitude; he never seems to be down, even when he strikes out,” Vitt said. “ He is never really out of the game, he’s always locked in.”

Vitt said that Lewis gets everyone hyped up, and that he’s a great leader.

Picketts said Lewis is a

coachable player. He said that other players who move on sometimes are difficult to coach.

“A lot of guys who are good and have had the opportunity or get the opportunity to move on and play at division one are difficult to get through to sometimes,” Picketts said. “Lewis has always been coachable. Whenever they had private talks about doing something as far as being a leader or a captain, Lewis had no problem doing that.”

Picketts said he sees Lewis being successful when he transfers this semester.

“He’s a phenomenal player and getting the opportunity to play at UCI next year is because of that ability,” Picketts said. “It’s been a joy, I’m going to miss him when he leaves, this is going to be the first time I haven’t watched him play for 6 years since a freshman in high school.”

clehmann.roundupnews@gmail.com

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CAMILLE LEHMANN Reporter @camilleslehmann

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Brandon Lewis, baseball player, stands in the dugout on Pierce Collegeʼs Joe Kelly Field on March 6, 2018, in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Shae Hammond/Roundup

Brandon Lewis, fields a ground ball and throws to first on March 8, 2018 on Joe Kelly Field at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif.