Pro: Give me all the politics

students change their major at least once prior to graduation,” Friedman wrote.

possibly drawing in both more athlete and non-athlete students. Enrollment numbers and finances are down, so any boost to the student body would be a positive. Pierce athletics lacks an online presence as well. There is no social media account for the athletic department as a whole, and few individual sports have a presence. The department website hasn’t been updated in nearly two years. Pierce’s main website has issues that need addressing as well. The athletic site should not be dumped onto the same IT plate if any progress is expected on either. newsroom.roundupnews@gmail.com

It’s not a matter of someone not doing their job. Coaches aren’t full-time employees at Pierce, and Athletic Director Moriah Van Norman has a laundry list of responsibilities. An SID/S would take excess work from the rest of the department and put Pierce athletics on the radar of prospective athletes, students and the general public.

A primary goal in college is to explore a diverse environment that assists one in developing a sense of self and widening their horizons.

College serves as a location that provides a plethora of ethnicities, sexual orientations and, perhaps most importantly, political ideals.

Student politics are vital in providing college students with information on issues happening on and off campus.

The First Amendment of the Constitution allows for us to speak freely and express our ideas without presenting a clear and present danger. Doing so also allows students to constantly spread messages to their fellow peers and open their eyes and ears to issues that directly affect them.

The time a student spends in college is crucial in sparking one’s interest in a particular field and discovering one’s true identity.

Liz

Friedman,

author of The Pennsylvania State University article, “The Developmental Disconnect in Choosing a Major: Why Institutions Should Prohibit Choice until Second Year,” writes that many students enter college unsure of which field to study.

“An estimated 20 to 50 percent of students enter college as ‘undecided,’ and 75 percent of

Students who are undecided upon entering college need an outlet of information to serve as motivation for choosing a specific major. That outlet can be student politics.

Student politics not only act as an agent of socialization that broadens student’s understanding on what is going on in and outside of their individual communities, they also help students decide their career goals, and act as tools for unification.

During the a march against gun violence on March 14, many students all over the country, regardless of their political views, joined together to protest gun reform. They did it in honor of the victims of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who lost their lives in a senseless act of violence.

Many will look at politics as a gateway to the inevitable — opposition. But not enough people see the positives politics can provide.

Indeed, we all have the right to refrain from politics, but it will never hurt to open your mind to others perspectives, especially if you are still a young college student, still maturing and trying to find your place in the world.

Photographers:

DOMINIQUE DUNGO Reporter @dominiquedungo

Mentioning politics on a college campus is not the main focus of an education, and is therefore unimportant. Including student politics to college campus life is unnecessary and a distraction to what students come to school for.

Student-run politics on a college campus screams “out of control.” The responsibility the students take on and the actions that they are expected to take are stressful.

Students go to school to attend their classes and continue their day by working or going home to complete additional tasks. Adding an additional extracurricular activity, like student politics, overwhelms their schedule and isn't a good idea.

In the U.S. News article, “Research Campus Politics to Find Right College,” author Briana Boyington wrote that being a college student who is in a minority group is difficult enough without added stressors.

“Add campus protests, controversial federal policies and violence against black, brown, Muslim and LGBT students and safety and poor emotional health also became issues,” Boyington wrote. It is important to share political

Cartoonist: views, especially as a college student. But giving students the free will to say and do what they want because of student politics can be thought of as going overboard. under the college journalism instructional program. The editorial and advertising materials published herein, including any opinions expressed, are the responsibility of the student newspaper staff. Under appropriate state and federal court decisions, these materials are free from prior restraint by the virtue of the First Amendment to the 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.

Students attend college and take classes that are needed for them to further their education. As soon as politics are added into students lifestyle’s, it is yet another distraction added on to busy schedules.

Giving all students an opportunity to speak and protest about how they feel about a certain subject going on in their campus can be unpredictable and disruptive.

Many students wish they could change things on their campus, but not enough put effort into helping one another or starting any kind of protest or movement.

Students who are free to share and take action of their political thoughts and views hold a sense of power that they will be able to use and take advantage of.

Giving students the freedom which exists within the student politics present at colleges is a distraction and doesn't help the way college is supposed to function.

Gym facility remodeling

$400,000 project

CAMERON KERN Reporter @ckernroundup

The North and South gyms were reconstructed after a student reportedly slipped and fell, Director of Plant Facilities Paul Nieman said.

“We looked at the flooring, especially in the South Gym. The products that were chosen by the architectural team didn't do well when they got wet, and that expanded into the locker rooms and showers,” Nieman said.

The completion of the project cost more than $400,000 and took about 2-and-a-half months for both gyms. There will be some minor touch ups in spring, Vice President of Administration Services Rolf Schleicher said.

KYA was hired to fix the gyms’ flooring. According to the company’s website, KYA is “an industry specialist in surface solutions, sports fields, athletic courts and sustainable plantscapes.”

Nieman said that this was KYA’s first installment in California.

“This is a product we got under a master agreement, which is wonderful. It has about a 50-year life on it. It’s tested by a lab and it showed a slip coefficient that was higher than what's been required,” Nieman said.

The construction initially began with the pool deck and the pathways to those areas. Nieman said they have also reconstructed the North Gym’s locker rooms and showers, the bathrooms near the pool deck and the South Gym hallways.

“It helps with potential slippage and cuts down any bacteria and viruses that can be on the flooring, which we know can be harbored in water sources,” Schleicher said.

Norman Thatch, a Pierce College student studying theater, said he agrees that Pierce needs to fix the flooring. He said he is frustrated about how his previous schools decided to allocate their funds.

“I can’t stand it when they spend the money on books. We need to improve our school,” Thatch said.

Schleicher said fixing the gym floors is a positive change for students and faculty.

“We are happy it's done. It's a very bureaucratic process we have here. We work through the angles the best we can,” Schleicher said. “Work is never done fast enough to our desires but we do what we can.”

Jansin, who like Pasricha will run unopposed, said in his statement that he hopes to facilitate student success by providing clubs and individuals access to the funds they need to operate.

Pasricha said in her statement that her experience as ASO vice president and a former student senator serves as proof of the dedication with which she will serve her peers.

“I am the kind of person that doesn’t settle for the bare minimum. I have read over and studied the Brown Act,” Pasricha said. “I want to make our campus a place that students not only need to come, but want to come.”

ASO President Efren Lopez said it would be an accomplishment to serve as the next ASO president. He hopes that they will carry on with whatever was accomplished this spring semester.

“What I focus on the most is what we are doing. Whoever the next president is, hopefully they carry on whatever was accomplished. Whether it is the food pantry, or the environmental stuff, or the DACA stuff, hopefully it carries on to the next year,” Lopez said.

Accounting student Raysa Chavez, 22, was one of five peer mentors that occupied the otherwise empty orange couches facing the eastern entrance of the ASO during the candidate forum.

“I am here because, as a peer mentor, I want to get students involved in student activities,” Chavez said. “We have a lot of events, but our students choose not to get involved. There are free resources, but students choose not to use it.”

Erin Baker, a student senator and president of the Vegan Club, said she too felt listless upon her arrival at Pierce, but that quickly changed after a friend encouraged her to become more involved.

“A lot of people just tell me that no one puts themselves out there.

But if you actually put yourself out there, you’ll get back what you put in,” Baker said.

Although only 418 ballots were cast during the election last spring, Lopez said that students’ involvement “in the civic process that controls their college experience” is increasing. He hopes for a good turnout this year.

Voting will begin on April 23