Volume 128 Spring 2018 Roundup Issue 6

Racking up wins

Tennis surpasses combined wins from previous three years

Coming off a winless schedule last season, tennis has turned around and improved dramatically.

With a combined five wins in the previous three years, the team has already surpassed that in 2018.

Tennis has a 7-4 overall record, 6-2 in conference.

Tuesday's game solidified the second seed in the Western State Conference with a 7-2 win.

Long Dao was assistant coach of the program since 2010, before he took over as head coach in 2015.

Dao said he has scouted years for his current team, working to recruit local players from Los Angeles to help develop a bond between the teammates, creating a more solid team.

“Everyone’s local. A lot of these players know each other and are all friends prior to even joining the team,” Dao said. “I think I and the players around here take pride in the fact that all the players on this team are essentially locals.”

The team has eight players on the roster, which is the minimum number of players for a team.

Dao said that the last time tennis was in the WSC Tournament was two years ago. During that season, the team did not win any dual matches.

When playing in tournament, schools are allowed to enter eight single players and four double teams.

“Tennis is a little different in that the WSC becomes an individual tournament as opposed to a team event where each player is playing in an effort to advance to the Ojai Tournament, the “state” tournament,” Dao said.

Siraj Dail, player, said he can see a difference between this season and the last.

“It’s a new team. We have fresh players that are a lot better then what we had last season, so the level of the team is a lot higher than it was,” Dail said. (see tennis match page 8)

Guided Pathways unguided notions

Academic Senate members don't think enough time was given for a vote

DAVID ZAYER Reporter @DavidZayer

Pierce Academic Senate members have to make a vote to approve this year’s plan for the Guided Pathways program by March 30 or they will lose $1.8 million for funds, according to Vice President of Academic Affairs Sheri Berger.

During the Academic Senate meeting on Monday, members were concerned that they didn't have enough time to speak among themselves to make a decision about whether or not to vote on the Guided Pathways plan.

Professional Development Representative Maria Perser said the College Professional Development Department needs more staff.

“I was advocating for more staff because there is only one person in there right now,” Perser said. “We can not put together a comprehensive professional development program without fully staffing that office.”

Despite Perser’s concerns, the Academic Senate voted against using money from the budget to pay for the extra staff required by Guided Pathways. The senate suggests to get funds elsewhere.

Vice President of Curriculum Margarita Pillado said the senate did not have enough time to fully comprehend the plan.

“We have to make a decision at last second,” Pillado said. “If we make the wrong choice, we are constantly

going to have to fight for reassigned times.”

Although the plan for Guided Pathways is already made, some senate members are relieved that the plans can be changed every year. A decision was made to suggest some changes to the wording. Senate members suggested to include Student Learning Outcomes into the Guided Pathways program.

Another issue that the senate was concerned with was whether the college had a plan to evacuate the college if needed.

In a recent semesters, including just this month, the campus was evacuated due to wildfires and possible threats.

Treasurer Angela Belden wants there to be a uniform plan as soon as possible.

“With the possibility of a natural disaster or possible school threat, we need to have a plan to evacuate the school quickly,” Belden said. “Last time, it seemed liked some people didn't even know the school was being evacuated.”

District Safety Manager William Ramirez, campus sheriff and administration met to discuss safety procedures. Administration is working to decrease the time of emergency evacuation while beating traffic, Berger said.

Berger also informed the senate that email and text templates were made and are ready to send in mass as precautions.

dzayer.roundupnews@gmail.com

Implementing safety Admin works with law enforcement and district

The country’s youth are walking out, marching and standing up for their lives after the shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Locally, students at Pierce participated in the National Walkout on March 14. It included a march down the Mall to protest gun violence, a week after Pierce had a credible threat of a possible shooter on March 7.

Once they were informed of the perceived threat, administration decided to immediately evacuate the campus.

Vice President of Administrative Services Rolf Schleicher said that security cameras would be a beneficial addition to campus security.

“If there is a threat on campus, the ability to get Intel and to address the threat and subdue that threat quickly is even more important than how you evacuate,” Schleicher said.

During the Pierce College Council meeting on Thursday, March 22, college President Kathleen Burke said that it wasn’t a “wait and see situation.”

Burke wrote in an email that emergency preparedness is an ongoing series of decisions and/or recommendations made by herself and forwarded to the appropriate location.

“There has been a plan to install security cameras throughout the campus that goes back a number of years,” Burke wrote. “We are

waiting for the building program oversight at the District to execute that plan. Other emergency preparedness activities are handled strictly on campus, such as the decision to place regular and ongoing emergency training in the Office of Professional Excellence.”

Burke wrote that the incident was not related to tensions on the campus.

“To the best of our knowledge, the threat was not made by a student and not tied to any particular ‘political climate’ or ‘ideology,’” Burke wrote.

While the campus evacuated, a traffic jam formed, causing major concerns about the quickness of future evacuations.

According to the PCC, the Los Angeles Police Department was not called in and issues with traffic are being accessed in case of future incidents.

“While we could open up additional lanes of traffic to exit the campus, for example the inbound lanes could temporarily be made outbound lanes, there is still only a certain amount of traffic that can be accommodated on the surrounding city streets at any one time,” Burke wrote in an email.

The California Highway Patrol said that in case of a future emergency, they should be contacted for evacuation assistance.

The Sheriff's Department is not staffed for emergency evacuation. There are not enough people, officials reported at the meeting.

Blood Wedding pg 4 and photo essay pg 6

Shae Hammond / Roundup

Gavin Dail win his match against Santa Barbara City College's player on March 6, 2018 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif.

RANDI LOVE Editor-in-Chief @Randi_Love29

Photo by Brian Caldera/ Roundup

“I like to build up the confidence so at the end of the match, when it’s all done, I’ve won for the team instead of myself.”

-Rafeal Fogo’schensul Player

On Wednesday, March 7, Pierce students were told to leave campus following a credible threat made against the college. Knowledge of the shutdown was spread via LACCD email and sheriff’s deputies blaring the information over their loudspeakers as they rolled down the mall in their squad car.

Some students and professors learned of the college shut down from peers rather than from official information released by Pierce or the Los Angeles Community College District, which led to bemused, disorganized exoduses from some classes.

To increase safety and overall security during a campus shutdown, Pierce College should emphasize a comprehensive and thorough evacuation procedure and drill students and faculty in the steps it would involve.

Pierce’s website says that the college has “emergency procedures on evacuations, general safety, communications, and response to a major disaster.”

But these procedures are not taught to students or, as made evident by the response to the credible threat on March 7, emphasized by faculty.

Pierce’s evacuation procedure, which is outlined in the Emergency Preparedness Booklet located somewhere in every class, offers directions for students to follow and includes the steps that a designated “Building Emergency Evacuation Coordinator” is meant to take to ensure that individuals on campus remain safe.

The directions in this procedure are suitably thorough, but they need to be imparted to those on campus.

Pierce should dedicate a day each semester to staging an evacuation drill, similar to the Great California Shakeout earthquake drill held every October.

-Corrections-

Volume 128, Issue 5:

Page 4: In the story "Strings and bows put on a show" the Schrubert String Quintet was referred to as a quartet. They are a quintet.

Page 7: In the story "Reserves depleted " the general fund budget is referred to as having $8-10 million. The general fund has a budget of $72 million. There is a seperate fund for specially funded programs which has the budget of $8-10 million.

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

See any corrections we missed?

Email us at newsroom.roundupnews@ gmail.com

"You should be 25. There shouldalsobeyearly renewals for licenses. We have to start somewhere. We wonʼtknowuntilweactually trysomething.Anything wouldhelpatthispoint."

-FlorArreguin,19,Social Science

This drill could cover how faculty can maintain order in their classrooms following an announcement that there is a credible threat to the campus, how faculty and students can cooperate to ensure a successful egress to a designated safe zone, and where students outside of class can safely evacuate.

Staging a drill would help familiarize students and faculty with the steps involved in the procedure and increase the likelihood that it would be carried out safely and fluidly in the event of an actual evacuation. Communication also needs to be addressed—a simple email is an inadequate method of bringing

awareness to a credible threat and campus evacuation. To properly convey to all present on campus that an emergency has arisen and there is a necessary procedure to be followed because of it, Pierce should install an intercom system. Students and faculty need to be made aware of an emergency as it

unfolds.

Knowledge is power. And the knowledge of what to do in the event of an evacuation order has the power to keep us all safe during our time at Pierce.

Would you feel safe knowing there is an armed minor walking around campus and in public surroundings?

Allowing people younger than 21 to purchase firearms is the wrong decision, and thinking that they will only use it in reasonable situations is juvenile.

Being unaware of the intentions of minors who carry guns can be a serious threat to students and communities.

In the article titled “Children and Guns: The Hidden Toll,” The New York Times wrote of the 2012 death of Cassie Culpepper.

Culpepper, who was 11-years old at the time of her death, was with her 12-year-old brother when he began to play with his father’s gun. The article said he had been given the gun to scare off animals such as coyotes. Culpepper was accidentally shot and killed by her brother as he played with the gun.

According to The Washington Post, states such as Arizona, Vermont, Alaska and Wyoming allow concealed carry without any permit. Vermont, however, stands out from the list because it allows people as young as 16 to carry concealed weapons and purchase handguns without parental permission

So, a 16 year old from Vermont can’t legally go to an R-rated movie alone or join the military, but he or

she can legally buy a handgun and carry it.

While the thought of someone handing a gun to someone under the age of 18 probably makes most people uncomfortable, there are minors living in California who own guns without a license. In some cases, these minors receive guns from adults who make the purchases for them.

According to the California Firearms Law Summary of 2016, published by oag.ca.gov, this practice is known as a straw purchase.

“A straw purchase is buying a firearm for someone who is prohibited by law from possessing one, or buying a firearm for someone who does not want his or her name associated with the transaction,” the summary said.

The summary suggests that a straw purchase can result in a 10 year felony charge and a fine no greater than $250,000.

According the CNN.com article, “A generation raised on gun violence sends a loud message to adults: Enough,” authors Emanuella Grinberg and Holly Yan wrote that thousands of students showed support during a nationwide school walkout on March 14.

Children and minors should not be given firearms at such a young age and shouldn’t be taught about violence. Lowering the age to purchase a firearm can increase the amount lives lost due to gun violence.

ROSA ORTEGA Reporter @RosaGabOrtega

Days after the Parkland, Florida shooting, I shared a video with my friends which showed a little girl receiving a rifle from her parents as a birthday present.

We thought it was ridiculous.

But I also thought, what would be the purpose of raising the legal age to buy weapons if those who are of legal age could just purchase a gun for a minor?

Guns will always land in wrong hands, and age has nothing to do with it.

Instead of focusing on raising the age to purchase firearms, our country should focus on teaching our youths about guns and gun safety.

In school, no one ever taught me about the risk of guns or how to own a gun safely. I knew a lot of my friends’ parents had guns and that they had access to the key to where the guns were stored. Others simply admitted that their parents kept their weapons in drawers, and they had easy access to them.

According to an article published by Everytown titled “Analysis of School Shootings,” in cases where minors caused a shooting, above half of the guns involved were from inside the home. Most incidents were also started by verbal arguments.

Even though purchasers are subject to thorough background checks, guns still somehow enter the wrong hands. There are also illegal gun sellers who don’t check who

they’re selling to.

According to Giffords Law Center, the statistics show that more than half a million guns are stolen and sold illegally, most being handguns.

It is our right as Americans, as stated in the second amendment, to bear arms. Creating more regulations would violate that right. It is up to us to be responsible enough to own guns and keep our kids safe, but the government can only step in so far before violating our right to own weapons.

Taking away guns will not decrease the amount of crime in America.

We all know of people who are under 21, though they drink alcohol. If more gun regulations are put into place, they will work the same way. Raising the age to obtain a gun will not keep people from finding a way to kill or hurt others.

According to Gun-Control. ProCon.org, Mexico is an example of this.

“[Mexico has] the strictest gun control laws in the world, and yet, in 2012, Mexico had 11,309 gun murders," the website wrote.

Raising the age to obtain guns is not going to fix the gun violence problem. Guns will still be available illegally, and those who wish to obtain them will. Kids should be educated about guns so that they can make smart choices, and counselors and parents should be aware of the issues and feelings facing adolescents, to prevent a tragedy.

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.

“Peopleshouldbeover30. Youʼrestillmaturinginyour 20s,andevensomepeople at 30 are still immature and donʼt know how to handle situations."

-MaryAttarian,18,Psychology

“No,theyʼrejustgoingto getitfromtheblackmarket anyhow.Itʼsalwaysgoing tobeillegallysoldonthe streets."

-Thomas Mason, 26, Undecided

Pro: Age remains the same DOMINIQUE DUNGO Reporter @dominiquedungo

Con: Age is but a number

"Atabareminimum,wecan startwithbackgroundchecks ‒notjustcriminalrecords, but also mental health records."

-BryanPerez,19,SocialScience

Cartoon by Beck Shields

The building blocks of a college

Faculty discuss the construction projects and the educational programs soon available

DANIELLE

Reporter @dcxpadilla & ROSA ORTEGA Reporter @RosaGabOrtega

Building blocks for student success and construction to improve campus infrastructure are both underway at Pierce College.

The implementation of Guided Pathways and the construction projects on campus were prevalent issues discussed during the Pierce College Council meeting (PCC) on March 22.

According to the California Community College Chancellor’s Office website, Guided Pathways is a multi-year program that is designed to help students reach success.

The website explains that by guiding students toward better enrollment decisions and establishing a support system for

them, this will improve student outcomes.

“This is a good thing,” said Sheri Berger, Vice President of Academic Affairs. “It approved the work plan and we can move forward.”

Because the action passed, the program plans can now pass through the other channels of approval, including the senate and college president. The passing of this action will mean Pierce College will have a chance to determine what the significance of the program will be to the campus and student body. Now the planning, facilitating, and logistics of the program can occur.

Sherri said that during the first year, the school will receive $460 thousand and it will be in a separate funding file so that it can be saved specifically for guided pathways. After that, the money will be received in different parts and with no specified amount.

However, the process hasn’t been as smooth as some faculty would like. During Monday’s Academic Senate meeting, Anna Bruzzese, the senate president, said they received the documents that needed to be signed too late, and they weren’t

able to have a normal process, which includes presenting an issue and taking some time to make the appropriate decisions. In this case, they had to make a decision and plan right away.

“What we hope will happen in the future, is that if there’s another such plan and there will be this kind of plan, we receive it in advance. Way in advance, and we will be asking for that from administration,” Bruzzese said.

General construction was also discussed at the meeting. Though a lot of construction remains in the preliminary stages of planning, the community can expect the beginning phases of the Mason Avenue reroute and the reconstruction of the old Media Arts Center on the Mall, the council members said.

The reroute will result in the closing of the cross streets Mason Avenue and Olympic Drive. This construction will also force the closure of the Mason Avenue entrance and exit onto campus.

Because of the Mason Avenue reroute, plans to work on road repairs and construct a better crosswalk can now begin.

Paul Nieman, the director of facilities, said that students and faculty will face initial shock once construction starts.

Avenue reroute will not impact students in the fall semester, but will create safer walkways for pedestrians once completed.

Another project entering the beginning stages of construction is the old Media Arts Center along the Mall.

At the meeting, College Project Director Ed Cadena said that construction occurs in phases and plans for the building are still being organized, but 50 percent of design development is completed.

Cadena said the next steps will be to finish the design development and choose proposals for a building team.

Rundown Brahma Blotter

These incidents were reported between March 20 - March 27

Reported by: Jordan Nathan and Rocio Arenas

“They’re going to freak out. Construction can be that way,” Nieman said.

Miguel Montanez, the PCC chapter president and the Admissions and Records assistant, said he understands the strain the rerouting will have on student body, but it is a necessary step to improve the campus. Nieman also said that the Mason

Although many items are still in the preliminary stages of development, students can expect tangible changes on campus in the form of construction projects, council members said at the meeting. Students can also anticipate more educational initiatives to better help students achieve success at Pierce.

dpadilla.roundupnews@gmail.com

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[From safety on front]

The sheriff’s deputies police all nine schools in the district and a certain amount of officers are assigned per school.

Captain of the Community College Bureau Rodrick Armalin said that he thinks the bureau is a well-prepared agency to deal with situations like an active shooter. He said there are multiple training sessions per year.

“We do a large-scale activeshooter training at two campuses a year,” Armalin said. “It takes so much to put on a large-scale training scenario because we like to include other local law enforcement agencies, the fire department, and other entities.”

Since the incident at Parkland and after the threat to Pierce College, one emergency plan was created for the district.

“We have pretty thorough procedures,” Schleicher said. “We are the best in the district, we were recently affirmed on that.”

Armalin said with the various ways to exit, the main concern is safety and ensuring that all students, faculty and staff get off campus without getting hurt. He said his officers want and need to do their job.

“If there is a threat on campus, I can assure you that my officers are running to that threat,” Armalin said.

According to the meeting notes,

No incidents were reported this week, according to the Pierce Sheriff's Station.

Pierce College Sheriff’s Station

General Information:

Emergency: (818) 710 - 4311

District Safety Manager William Ramirez said that under Measure CC, there is a plan to address campus safety issues.

“Public address system...telephone in all rooms, camera, etc. Big picture as a district, $180 million is amount being discussed,” the agenda notes stated.

A proposed solution discussed at the meeting is to speak with LAPD about monitoring the perimeter of the school and allowing the deputies on campus to continue patrol within.

The agenda notes also stated that Fernando Oleas, the department chair of modern language said that union grievance is in place to change all locks on campus.

“We have a commitment from the chancellor of the district to have this completed within a year. Locks will be automatic in the future,” the document stated.

Armalin said the best way for the sheriff's to do their jobs is for them to work with the campus community.

“My officers understand that anyone on this campus can approach them,” Armalin said. “My hope is that relationships develop between my officers, the students and the staff to where they can get to a first-name basis because that's when you’re really a part of the community.”

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Jordan Nathan / Roundup

Lesly Olivares and adjunct counselor of First Year Experience Jenni de Caussin look at the Counseling Center page on the Pierce College website on their phones during the Ace The Interview workshop on

" ey're going to freak out.

Construction can be that way.”

-Paul Nieman Director of Facilities

PADILLA

Despite a sporadic performance from the Bride, her counterparts elevated the show's quality

PADILLA Reporter @dcxpadilla

Weddings are supposed to be a cheerful, hopeful and longlasting testament to love, instead Federico Garcia Lorca’s“Blood Wedding” is filled with heartbreak, betrayal and grief.

The play told a complex tale of drama and history that led up åto the wedding of the Bride and Bridegroom. By the end of the night, blood was shed and hopes of a brighter future were abandoned.

Director Valorie Grear said her stamp to Lorca’s play and succeeded with her plan to focus on making this play similar to a Greek Tragedy. Grear said that she made the set modern and minimalistic in design as the stage was canvased in white with few simple pieces of black furniture. Every aspect of the set was utilized in a way to better tell the narrative.

The main conflict of the play revolved around a life-changing decision made by the Bride (Emely Chavez), but what truly made the show spectacular was the bond between the Bridegroom and his mother. The Bridegroom (Bryan Rojas) and the Bridegroom’s Mother (Jasmine Curry) had a relationship that stole the show.

The Mother’s extreme maternal feelings for her only living son were heightened at the prospect of losing

him to a woman she’s never met. As mother’s do, she coddles her son, and these maternal acts displayed the deep sense of pain she carried with her since the death of her husband and one of her sons.

Curry’s delivery of this complicated

balance of love, that is also haunted by the fear of losing anymore of her children, is what helped the narrative be better understood.

This paired well with Rojas’ character as he was too blinded by the idea of love to be cautious. Rojas’

performance of being swept up by his passion for the Bride, making him vulnerable, is something that was phenomenally executed.

It was natural to empathize with his nervousness and rejoice with his excitement at his future with the

Bride. From the beginning of the play, it was easy to be on the Bridegroom’s side.

Therefore, being introduced to the Bride was an underwhelming experience. As soon as the Bride was alone with her maid and was

able to talk candidly, it felt as though the Bride was whining. While the Bride is meant to convey a conflicted demeanor, Chavez’s portrayal of this scene is reminiscent of a child throwing a tantrum.

Even during the day of the wedding when the Bride confronts her ex-lover Leonardo (Colin Hollander), she lacked a stage presence that made it difficult to sympathize with the Bride’s internal conflict. It wasn’t until Chavez’s later scene in the forest where the internalized conflict she felt before the wedding became evident. This is the scene that provided an understanding that although concealing her true feelings was selfish, it was something she didn’t want to believe. From this point on until the end of the play, it became easier to read her character better.

Conversely, Leonardo’s wife (Elyse Hamilton) was an intelligible character from the very beginning of the play. Hamilton did a good job of portraying the ache she felt in trying to keep her family from falling apart.

Overall, the play and actors were a excellent vehicle used to deliver Lorca’s words. The set was pleasantly modern and the cast convincingly conveyed the happiness, pain, grief and sorrow the characters were experiencing.

“Blood Wedding” will run until April 1, at the Dow Arena Theatre. You can reserve your tickets now at brownpapertickets.com

Doing the Lordʼs work worldwide Missionary seeks skills from Pierce to spread biblical teachings

and having the chance to spread the word of God. It felt like the whole purpose was to break the language barrier,” Rager-Mendez said.

The average community college student studies to ready themselves for the work force or university. However, Joanna Louis O’Connor takes the lessons taught to her in class and uses them to help others around the world understand the lessons found within the pages of the Bible.

O’Connor said that, due to work and fi nancial struggles, she and her family moved to Baja, Mexico in her early life. There, her father found out about a missionary church named Cristo por su Mundo. After her parents settled their confl icting opinions about signing her up for the church, O’Connor started her life journey at the age of 6.

Now, O’Connor travels around the world on trips set by her church and organizations she works with to spread the word of God.

“I’m with the Valley Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Shepherd of the Hills Church and an organization named Let’s Start Talking,” O’Connor said. “I’ve been with Let’s Start Talking from about 2015 until now.”

Mike Woodward, a friend and mentor to O’Connor, said he helped her get started in the field.

“I’m in charge of meeting new people with our young adults ministry and helping them with the process of getting started,” Woodward said. “Joanna wanted to just hurry and get active and serve, so I put her in my team that does media for our services and she just ran with it.”

O’Connor started by getting people to go on missions that were organized by Let’s Start Talking before she eventually started going herself.

Her fi rst trip was to Lodz, Poland. She said she was nervous during her mission because she was not familiar with the native language.

“I’m always up to do any type

of spreading of the word of God, so when I heard of the chance to go to Poland, I took it right away,”

O’Connor said. “Though, right after, I was thinking ‘what did I just get myself into?’”

Despite the language barrier, O’Connor said was able to

communicate with her students in Poland because they were learning to speak English through reading the bible.

At Pierce, O’Connor said she chooses classes that can help her with her work.

“There are a lot of Spanish

speaking countries, so if I learn the language, it will help me communicate better to spread God’s word.” O’Connor said.

“My ultimate goal is to spread the word of Christianity as much as I possibly can.”

Alyssa Rager-Mendez, a

friend and fellow missionary who accompanied O’Connor on her mission to Poland, said that their goal transcended the difficulties posed to them by the differences in language..

“We were learning and teaching with the students there

O’Connor said that, during her time in Poland, she was inspired to hear a young man speak of his faith.

“Besides getting to know him, I was able to ask him what he believed to be true, because he was telling me what he knew and what they taught him” O’Connor said. “When he told me he believed in God, it was a beautiful thing.”

O’Connor said she also went on vacation to China with a childhood friend, where she had the chance to further spread the word of God. There, O’Connor said she had the opportunity to speak to her friend’s grandparents, who were Buddhists.

“They were born and raised on that religion, just as I was with Christianity, so I knew their minds were set. I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind or try to persuade them,” O’Connor said. “I just wanted them to know about Jesus and how he was so pure, such as how he ate with sinners without judging them.”

O’Connor said that her next trip will be to Beijing, China where she will be working with students much like how she did when she was in Poland.

O’Connor said she aims to graduate with degrees in etymology, Spanish and social behavioral arts to aid her in her mission.

“I hope to use what I’ve learned in my experiences to spread the word of God better,” O’Connor said.

Rager-Mendez said that O’Connor’s empathy and kindness is unconditional.

“Joanna is super kind and loving. She is there for everyone as a vessel of God, whether she knows them or not,” RagerMendez said.

dzayer.roundupnews@gmail.com

Bleu Briggs / Roundup

Joanna OʼConnor details her missionary work and world travels in her journals in her home in North Hollywood, Calif., on March 17, 2018.

DAVID ZAYER Reporter @DavidZayer

Joshua Navarro is a veterinary science student who has worked on the Pierce farm with chickens and goats. He said he loves working with animals. The kid he holds was the runt of the group.

“Her name is Chiquita Bonita. She didn’t get enough of the milk she was supposed to get from her mom, so we have to bottle-feed her. I just came in here one day, and she came right up to me and she started liking me ever since. Anytime I have a bottle in my hand, she likes me even more.”

Quotes gathered by Vanessa Arredondo. Photo by Brian Caldera.

Blood forever feeds the fire

Young actors in theater don’t always work, but director Valorie Grear thought it would be the best way to go for her rendition of Federico Garcia Lorca’s “Blood Wedding.”

Both leads are fairly new to the stage. Emely Chavez, who plays the Bride, has not appeared in any production at Pierce prior to this play. Also, Colin Hollander, who plays Leonardo acted in a previous production called “Rosecranz and Guildenstern Are Dead” that was directed by Grear.

The plays opening night was March

23, at 8 p.m. and runs through April 1, in the Dow Arena Theatre.

Lorca typically uses fictional nature character’s in his work, so the Beggar and the Moon are helpful characters that lead the play into it’s emotional ending.

The Moon (Sarah Ruth Ryan) represents a masculine, cold and bloodthirsty world and the Beggar (Josh Ryan) represents death itself.

The story surrounded the Bride and her relationship between the Bridegroom and Leonardo.

Photos and Copy by Randi Love

Overcoming the injuries

Center fielder returns after missing out last season with a shoulder injury

Brahma of the Week

Diego Harris

Sport:Baseball

Position: Outfielder

Class: Freshman

High School: El Camino Real

Four runs and three RBI's in the games against Valley and Mission College

How do you feel about you performance in the Valley and Mission College games?

“I feel good. I’m happy that things are going our way. We are doing pretty well in conference and we are showing up when it counts.”

What do you feel you could improve on?

“Taking more walks and hitting my pitches right.”

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

“Someone who would always fight hard , a good teammate and someone who came with a postive focus.”

Do you have any pregame rituals?

“I don’t, but as a team we have visualization. We don’t let the past or mistakes get to us.”

Siraj Dail, player, said he can see a difference between this season and the last.

“It’s a new team. We have fresh players that are a lot better then what we had last season, so the level of the team is a lot higher than it was,” Dail said.

Dail said that he keeps himself motivated by remembering what his coach told him to do.

Promise helped bring in some of his players. The program gives incoming Los Angeles Unified School District high school graduates a free year of college.

”It took time for players to graduate and come, especially with the college promise program. It’s essentially a free scholarship. So it makes us more competitive with other offers they might get,” Dao said.

With 17 years of baseball experience, three being at Pierce, Michael Tillman plans on furthering his baseball career by joining the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Tillman said joining the draft is his main goal, but another option is transferring to a four-year university to further his education.

He hopes to play for the New York Yankees because he always

admired Derek Jeter, but his second choice is the Los Angeles Dodgers because it’s a local team.

Tillman is the center fielder for the Brahmas, and one of their leaders in runs. After 17 games played, Tillman has a batting average of .347, two homeruns, 13 RBIs, and 16 runs placing him third on the baseball team.

Tillman said he set a goal to hit seven homeruns this season.

“I think it’s cool, but I want to hit more,” Tillman said. “I’m always looking to improve.”

Tillman started his college baseball career, right after graduating from high school, at

the California State University of Northridge where he played one season before transferring to Pierce.

The Redlands High School graduate is now playing his final season and majoring in psychology.

Tillman started playing baseball at the age of three. His dad played football, but also enjoyed baseball so he encouraged him to play baseball first.

Tillman later played football during his four years of high school.

Through his baseball career he’s played different positions, but said center field is his favorite.

“I feel like I get to show off my athleticism the most there,”

Tillman said.

Head Coach Bill Picketts said Tillman injured his shoulder last year and didn’t play a full season, but has recovered and shown improvement as a player physically and mentally.

“It’s been a long journey for him, and a lot of guys may have hung him up with everything that has gone on with him,” Picketts said. “His injuries, he had some grade issues and finally he’s got it all together. His maturity level has gotten way better than it was before this year, and he’s putting it all together this year, so it’s kind of fun to see.”

[For the full story visit theroundupnews.com]

“I usually get pissed off when I’m playing bad, so my coach tells me ‘You gotta focus on the team and not yourself.’ So that kind of helps,” Dail said.

Rafeal Fogo’schensul, freshman, said he struggles at times with how to deal with the weight of the team on his shoulders.

“I don’t let the pressure get to my head. I like to build up the confidence so at the end of the match, when it’s all done, I’ve won for the team instead of myself,” Fogo’schensul said.

Dao said when he became head coach, he had to get his footing. He had to find ways to recruit strong athletes, and the Los Angeles College

Dao said that at the junior college level players are only allowed to participate on in a sport for a short period of time, which limits player growth and team depth.

“It’s difficult to build and maintain a successful team because they are here and they are only allowed to play for two years so players just cycle in and out,” Dao said.

Dao said he hopes the strong and local team he built will overcome the challenges they are faced with and will continue to succeed in this league.

“To build a team locally is way more difficult than to recruit internationally, but it’s definitely worth it,” Dao said.

ckern.roundupnews@gmail.com

ROSA ORTEGA Reporter @RosaGabOrtega

Shae Hammond/Roundup

Michael Tillman goes to bat against the Monarchs on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 at Valley College in Valley Glen, Calif. The Brahmas won 11-7.

[from Tennis on front]

Brahmas improve in walkoff win

An extra inning allowed Pierce to jump ahead to defeat the Olympians

JOSHUA MANES Spotlight Editor @TheManesEvent

Nine innings wasn’t enough for the Brahmas and San Diego Mesa College Olympians in a non-conference matchup Tuesday, but a walk off hit from Will Picketts sent everyone home 10.

The Brahmas jumped out to a two-run lead in the second inning. A solo HR from Brenden Lavallee, his first on the season started the scoring. Later in the inning, Gabe Curtier scored on a sac fly from Nick Pico.

The Olympians responded in the third inning with an RBI double from Jeff Pellegrino.

San Diego Mesa took the lead in the fourth inning, opening up with runners on the corners and no outs. Kevin Bristow scored on Tyler Leskiw’s groundout. Grant Ruthenberg put down a pictureperfect squeeze bunt, scoring Isidro Veliz.

The Brahmas reclaimed the lead in the fifth. Pierce loaded the bases with no outs. Brenden Lavallee grounded into a 5-4-3 double play, scoring Michael Tillman from third and moving Will Picketts over from second. Brenden’s brother Johnathan Lavallee singled Will Picketts in, making it a 4-3 game.

“It was a lot of fun being able to hit behind [Brenden],” Johnathan Lavallee said. “We’ve never been able to play together before because we’ve always been two years apart and then he went to a different high school.”

Ethan Sanchez came on to replace Mike Scolaro at the start of the sixth inning. The move was predetermined, said Brahmas head coach Bill Picketts.

“This is non-conference, and I

don’t want that to come across as if it’s not important,” Bill Picketts said. “But I have to get other guys in this week.”

Sanchez struggled, walking the bases loaded before allowing an RBI single to Victor Ceniceros.

The Olympians took a 5-4 lead in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly from Bristow scoring Pellegrino.

The Brahmas tied it up in the eighth inning with two outs. Tyler Isbell came around from first on a shallow fly ball off the bat of Pico that bounced off the glove of Olympians left fielder Takis Thayer.

The ninth inning did not go the

way the Brahmas hoped. Back-toback walks to the eighth and ninth batters to start the top of the inning and a sacrifice bunt from Dizor put the lead run 90-feet away. Pierce intentionally walked Pellegrino to set up the double play.

Thayer came up for the Olympians, hitting a fly ball to shallow right field that was dropped by Diego Harris, scoring Jacob Engel and giving San Diego Mesa a 6-5 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Will Picketts drew a leadoff walk, bringing up Lewis, the Brahmas’ leader in HRs (8) and RBIs (26).

Lewis ground into a fielder’s choice, and was then caught stealing, leaving the Brahmas down to their final out.

Both Lavallee brothers walked. Brenden was lifted for a pinchrunner Ryan Shin, and Alexis Miranda was put in to bat for Curtier. On a full-count, Miranda singled into left center, scoring Shin and tying the game up at 6.

In the top of the tenth inning, the Olympians drew a leadoff walk, but would strand him at third base.

The Brahmas leadoff man reached in the bottom of the tenth when Diego Harris was hit by the

M’s

7 - 6 0 - 2

first pitch of the at bat. A hit-and-run groundout by Pico advanced Harris to second. An intentional walk to Tillman brought up Will Picketts.

On the first pitch Will Picketts hit a hard shot to centerfield over the heads of the defense, easily bringing Harris around for the winning run.

“I was just more aggressive in my approach,” Will Picketts said.

“I wanted to get the winning hit, I wanted to get that run in.”

The Brahmas (13-12, 8-8) travel to Ventura College (12-13) today. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.

jmanes.roundupnews@gmail.com

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7 Tennis

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Swim Tennis make it to WSC tournament

Tennis secured second seed in conference when they defeated the Glendale College Vaqueros 7-2.

This is the first time they have been in a tournament since 2016.

(see tennis story on the front)

In singles action, Brahmas’ Daniel Vinterfeld beat Glendale's Daniel Garcia 6-3 and 6-3. Gavin Dail got the win over Glendales’ David Preciado 6-2 and 6-4. Vinterfeld felt great about his performance and hopes to continue it in the Western State Conference Tournament.

“I thought it was good. I was out a couple of days. Hopefully we continue this way and move forward as a team,” Vinterfeld said.

[For the full story visit theroundupnews.com]

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Shae Hammond/Roundup

Will Picketts fields a ground ball for an out against San Diego Mesa in a win of 7-6 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on March 27, 2018.