Volume 129 Fall 2018 Roundup Issue 4

Roadrunners caught

Football out duels College of the Desert in 44-43 thriller

deciding touchdown with less than two minutes to play.

No ACME products or painted tunnels were needed to catch the Roadrunners Saturday night when football traveled to face College of the Desert.

The Brahmas outlasted the Roadrunners in a back-and-forth 4443 battle that came down to the final seconds.

Despite the harsh conditions of the desert, 93 degrees at the 7 p.m. kick off, the Brahmas looked comfortable throughout the game.

“I told the guys to start hydrating on Monday, and, as you can see, towards the end of the game I think we only had two guys cramp up,” head coach Carlos Woods said. “[I’m] very grateful for our training staff they're on top of keeping the guys healthy. This is all hands on deck and that's what it takes in order to have a winning organization.”

The ground game set the tone for the Brahmas offense. Running back David Kates found the endzone three times for the Brahmas, adding 89 yards on 12 carries.

“I came out feeling loose and my line was getting stronger and better as we went through,” Kates said.

Doma Morris carried the ball 13 times, racking up 109 yards, and the

Brahmas quarterback Jonathan Saavedra went 20-34 for 247 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Saavedra took all but one of the offensive snaps for the Brahmas against Desert, a change of pace from the first four games.

Another change from Woods was getting defensive back and explosive return man Dehron Holloway some looks on offense. Holloway caught a touchdown, but the play was called back for an ineligible man downfield.

“He's a big play player. You watch his highlight film from high school, he's all over the field. Playing secondary, playing running back, playing receiver, a return specialist,” Woods said. “We've got to figure out how to get that ball even more. I'm really proud of his development. We challenged him to get in the playbook and he has.”

The Brahmas hit the ground running to start the game, driving 65 yards in under three minutes, and Kates scored his first touchdown.

Less than a minute later the Brahmas were back on the scoreboard when Dimetri King intercepted Roadrunners quarterback Noah Shoeman and returned it 21 yards for the pick-six. The interceptions was King’s conference leading fourth on the season, but the first time he has found the end zone.

“You are you going to go feel a lot

more [excited],” King said. “I'm just trying to get an interception and make a play for my team each and every play.”

24, with possession on the Desert oneyard line. Two plays later Kates scored for the second time on the night.

Desert struck right back, driving 63 yards on seven plays before scoring to reclaim the lead at 37-31.

The teams traded punts before Kates capped off an 83-yard drive with his third score, this one from 29 yards out with 4:17 left to play.

The Roadrunners wasted no time. Running back Tony Williams took it 69-yards on the first play to give the lead back to Desert. Down five with under four minutes to go, the Brahmas started at their own 29-yard line. Aided by three Desert penalties for 30 yards, Pierce made its way to the four-yard line with less than two minutes to play. Morris made sure those yards counted, scoring from four yards, giving the Brahmas a 44-43 lead.

The Brahmas added a field goal, and Saavedra connected with receiver Christian Graves for a touchdown near the end of the half to send them into the locker room up 24-21, marking the highest scoring first half for the Brahmas this season.

“We have to really work on having a fast start,” Woods said. “We also worked on our conditioning. We did like the hill behind our practice field before we started practice so they're already zonked.”

The Roadrunners took the lead in the third quarter, and the fourth opened with the Brahmas down 30-

The String Family Players

The Brahmas defense locked down the Roadrunners final drive, forcing a turnover on downs after allowing only three yards.

A couple kneel downs sealed the victory for the Brahmas, sending them into the bye week with a 2-3 record.

The Brahmas return to the field Oct. 13 when they host the Santa Barbara City College Vaqueros (1-4) at 6 p.m. to open conference play.

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Records recieved late

IGETC, other information arriving to transfer schools after deadlines

Transferring from a community college to a four-year university is a team effort. It requires participation from many people with no room for error.

When one person does not do their job, the whole process falls apart and the students ultimately suffer by possibly having their admission rescinded.

Scott Prewitt, former Pierce College geography major, applied to graduate and transfer from Pierce to the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) this past February.

It was not until late August that Prewitt received an email from UCSB saying that he only had a week to submit his approval of IGETC petition.

Prewitt became worried and tried to contact the graduation office at Pierce to see what the issue was, but he was later informed that the graduation office was going to be closed for a few weeks.

Prewitt took to social media where he stated that one member of the UCSB office of admissions went as far as to call Pierce College “notorious” for missing paperwork deadlines.

“The UCSB administration office said that they had a lot of problems with Pierce and when I asked if they were notorious for this kind of stuff she said yeah,” Prewitt said.

However, in a phone interview with the UCSB admissions office,

they said they have no knowledge of these claims of Pierce being “notorious” for late paperwork. They went on to say that it is very rare that they reject students’ admission because of late paperwork and that they do whatever they can to help the student.

“Every year there is some,” said a member of UCSB admissions who requested to stay anonymous.

“That’s part of the process now that school is starting and they are missing documents. Very rarely we do that and we try to work with the students as much as possible.”

Prewitt does not want to point fingers at anyone but feels like the process is flawed and has too much room for error.

“Somebody is accountable for the delays which are being called notorious,” Prewitt said. “And that somebody should be explaining why those delays are occurring and why they are specific to Pierce College.”

According to Prewitt, Will Marmolejo, dean of student services, was the individual who helped resolve the whole situation.

Marmolejo said that the process itself is not difficult, but because there are so many factors involved in the transfer process there is plenty of room for error.

“It is not a complicated process but it is a process with a lot of moving parts,” Marmolejo said.

“Grades, where instructors don’t submit grades on time. Students change their mind when they want to get their IGETC to one school then to a different school so they let a counselor know but they don’t let

the graduation office know.”

Marmolejo also cleared up that most colleges will give a deadline to submit their transfer records, but will almost always accept it after the deadline. According to Marmolejo, these deadlines are meant to light a fire and motivate the student to be proactive in the transfer process.

“I know that a lot of times these dates are not set in stone and the student is not going to lose their certification for their IGETC,” Marmolejo said. “They aren’t going to lose their acceptance.”

According to Marmolejo, this problem can be resolved by hiring more evaluators in the graduation office.

The state of California is paying colleges more money depending on the number of students they graduate, said Marmolejo. With graduation in higher demand, the evaluators in the graduation office start to get overwhelmed.

“We are working on trying to get an additional one or two evaluators,” said Marmolejo. “We have three evaluators. Schools of our size in our district have five evaluators.”

Marmolejo advises students if they are experiencing a problem with their transferring process to go visit the graduation office since they are the ones with all the records and petitions. He also said that students should check their LACCD email and student portal regularly.

“If ultimately, that is not productive then they can contact the Dean of Student Services, which is me,” Marmolejo said.

Joshua Manes / Roundup

David Kates, running back, rushes for a touchdown in the first quarter against College of the Desert on Sept. 29, 2018, in Palm Desert, Calif. Kates had three rushing touchdowns for the Brahmas in the 44-43 victory.

Andrew Susanto / Roundup

From top to bottom, David Young, Maryanne Steinbrenner, and Lynn Grants, performing a piece together. Sept. 27, 2018, at Woodland Hills, Calif.

CHRIS TORRES Reporter @chris_t_torres

JOSHUA MANES Editor-in-Chief @TheManesEvent

“This is all hands on deck and that's what it takes in order to have a winning organization.”

- Carlos Woods Head coach

From the desk of the Roundup: Editorial

While there are recycling bins throughout the campus, Pierce lacks a system that reduces plastic waste. The school is missing out on the opportunity to save school’s and the student’s money and help the environment.

Pierce sells plastic water bottles on campus and does not have a solid program to ensure that it gets properly recycled.

Pierce should make the switch and ban the selling of bottled water on campus. Strictly selling reusable bottles and installing water filling stations would be better for students.

According to the Specialty Food Association, bottled water is the top beverage purchase among Gen Z college students, with 43 percent consuming it seven or more times per week.

Ban The Bottle states, “The U.S.’s recycling rate for plastic is only 23 percent, which means 38 billion water bottles – more than $1 billion worth of plastic – are wasted each year.”

By switching to reusable bottles, consumers save money by refilling a bottle with tap water and reduce the risk for coming in contact with harmful chemicals, such as BPA, that can be found in disposable plastic water bottles.

Pierce would save money by terminating the sales of plastic water bottles. Money can be put toward creating water bottles designed specifically for Pierce. This also could act as a form of advertisement outside of campus as students use their bottles with the Pierce logo.

-Corrections-

Volume 129, Issue 3:

To ensure that students are still drinking water on campus, water refilling stations could be installed. Globalindustrial.com shows that

Page 2 Opinion: The photos of the reporters for the Pro/Con were incorrect.

Page 4 Campus Life: The photo of Marek Jansin was taken by Natalie Miranda.

Page 5 Sports: The Women's volleyball preview was written by Christopher Torres.

See any errors we missed? Email us at newsroom.roundupnews@gmail.com

one refilling station may cost anywhere from $500 to $1,000.

The Because Water website states that there are grants for schools to

help create places on campus to refill reusable water bottles. If Pierce reduced its plastic waste by removing disposable

plastic water bottles, the school and the students would save more money and there would still be plenty of opportunity to be sure that water

is readily available for everyone on campus.

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Pro Con Students working full-time

Con: Homework is enough

ANGELICA LOPEZ Reporter @angietography

Unless a student is completely confident as to where the money is coming from to cover all their expenses for school, a student should have a job.

Students should not only rely on financial aid to pay for their classes and textbooks. There are many things that can go wrong such as filling out applications wrong, missing files or it not coming on time.

There are students on campus who, in the sixth week of the semester, are still waiting on their financial aid, some because of files needing to still be reviewed. You’d want to have money coming from somewhere else.

Having a job can serve as a backup plan when problems occurs. It would be a great relief to know that you have money coming from your job soon. Taking out a loan would just hurt in the long run. Even if money is not crucial now, it could be in the near future. It’s better to have and save money than to have no options available.

Having a job while going to school can be an easier transition for when you’ll only be having to work full time. It can also be somewhere to fall back on right after college when trying to find a job in your profession.

The fact is that many jobs want to hire people who have had experience

What

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in a workplace. When you’re in a classroom you want to work with just your friends but at a job you have to work with everyone.

Working as a student, not only gives you that experience you need for when you’re out of school it allows you to make more friends. Which notably gives you an opportunity to network with all types of people. People know people that know other people who can probably get you the job you want and that can only be done by getting outside of your friend group.

Many may argue that a full time student, who has to take a minimum of 12-units, that also works will be failing their classes because they will have no time to study. However, according to the Washington Post article “Why more teenagers and college students need to work while in school” Jeffrey Selingo states that balancing work and school is a valuable skill.

“Research has shown that students who are employed while in high school or college allocate their time more efficiently, learn about workplace norms and responsibilities, and are motivated to study harder in their classes so they can achieve a certain career goal.”

Having a job while being a full time student is not something everyone is capable of doing, but only those who are willing to push themselves can.

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DEVIN MALONE Reporter @roundupnews

College students are no stranger to stress, especially to those of us who are full time students at Pierce. So why add on to that stress with a job that also demands 100% out of its employees? While getting a job might be a necessity for most us, when it comes to full-time students, their primary goal at Pierce should be their education and maintaining their well-being rather than balancing a full time.

According to a 2017 Fall semester survey taken by the National College Health Association on an undergraduate group, when asked whether they felt overwhelmed by the by all the work they had to do in the past 12 months, a total of 86.9% said yes. On the same survey, %83.4 said they felt exhausted (by non-physical activities) and 61.4% said they felt overwhelming anxiety within the past 12 months.

With results such as these, it’s no wonder that there are endless guides both on and off the internet about college students managing their stress. But this survey mainly concerns campus life, and doesn’t explicitly state how the added stressors of maintaining a job add to the problem.

In a 2016 survey done by National Public Radio news, the Robert Wood

Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, around 43% of working adults believe that their job is negatively affecting their health, with a 51% majority of workers in low-paying jobs agreeing with this statement.

Stress in and of itself is bad, yet the side-effects can be life changing.. The American Psychological Association states that stress can affect the body in numerous ways, from affecting the reproductive system to being linked to inflammation in the circulatory system and other heart disease problems.

With all this in mind, being a full time college student who is already having to deal with the stress of maintaining their grades and turning in assignments and projects on time, now having to manage a job outside of school (which comes with its own responsibilities and stressors) is a hard feat to accomplish, and one with many side effects.

While it is still important to have a source of income to pay for your classes, working yourself to the bone to juggle both school life and demanding job is a stressful act that can have dangerous repercussions.

Note From the Editor: Good Job Devin! However please remember when doing a percentage sign. Do not put %5 The Right way is 5%. Either then that all looks good.

opportunity to revise unacceptable letters.

The Pierce College Roundup will not publish, as letters, literary endeavors, publicity releases, poetry or other such materials as the Editorial Board deems not to be a letter. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. the Sunday prior to the issue date.

EDITORIAL POLICY: The Pierce College Roundup position is presented only in the editorials.

that are not obscene or libelous and do not contain racial denigration. Writers are given the

Cartoons and photos, unless run under the editorial masthead, and columns are the opinions of the creators and not necessarily that of the Roundup. The college newspaper is published as a learning experience

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.

Illustration by Daisy Rodriguez / Roundup

Pro: Don't rely on financial aid

An extraordinary way to recruit

KENDALL SHANNON Reporter @The_Valley_Life

Life is about being prepared, and this year’s College Fair Extraordinaire attempts to do just that by connecting accredited universities with high school and community college students from all across the valley.

Pierce College opened its doors to numerous colleges such as California State University Northridge, University of California, Irvine and California Lutheran University.

CSUN Representative Arlyn Hernandez even regarded it as one of the more impressive college fair’s she has been to, stating it as “one of the biggest college fairs.”

Pierce’s college fair hosted on its mall walkway had over 30 colleges with a representative(s) at each table to give information about their respective schools. Pierce’s college fair couples with its UC TAG program which offers students a guaranteed transfer to a UC school upon completing certain requirements.

Many students make a choice to look at only a few colleges, but others journey from booth to booth with hopes of coming across colleges with unique programs. Through college fairs, students have the chance to learn about these different programs.

Brianna Randall, a student at Reseda Charter High School, said, “I was only looking at two and once I came here and I spoke with a lot of different representatives,

it made me feel like there was more out there for me rather than just what was close to home.”

Randall said. “I found out about some universities that have certain programs that I wasn't aware of. I got excited about it, realizing that there's a lot more out there for me if I go look.”

According to Daisy Flores, a a student representative of CSUN, students who attend college fairs gain an advantage over the average student by having the knowledge about what certain schools have to offer.

“They’re exposed to all kinds of programs. They’re exposed to opportunities and pathways to get to where they want to be. Not enough people know about college,” Flores said.

Joseph Welch, a representative of Cal Poly Pomona, spoke about the importance of having a college degree is in today’s workforce.

“Don't think about it as not necessary anymore. Especially now in this day and age where most jobs now require a bachelor's degree of some kind or even an associate degree,” Welch said.

Culture Celebrartion

ASO kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month

Every year, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated across the nation. ASO Peer 2 Peer mentoring Program looked to bring the party to Pierce, with Hispanic Heritage inspired snacks and games for students to partake in.

According to Kimberly Castillo, Advisor on special assignment for the Peer 2 Peer Mentor Program, this celebration marks Independence Day in different Hispanic countries.

“Sept.15 is the Independence Day for a few countries by Guatemala, and so that one is the start. After a couple of days, we have the Independence Day of Chile and so we are celebrating all different countries and we do that for the students just to enjoy and learn about Latino Heritage Month,” Castillo said.

Ricardo Acevedo, a creative writing major, works with the Student Engagement Center to make the event happen, said that everything in the celebration features the Latin culture.

value and hopes of having student engagement activities at school

“We want people to come, have fun, join the community, get to know people, and celebrate the event,” Severin said.

Thania Alcocer, a business administration major, said that her family celebrates Latino Heritage Month with arrays of Mexican inspired meals spread throughout the month.

The National Center for Educational Statistics states the number of college admittances has increased by 4 million as compared to 18 years ago.

Cal Lutheran representative Tiffany Anderson believes students who have a knowledge about college are more inclined to finish their degree.

“We’re just educating students about the different options that are available,” said Anderson.

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A string family affair

Thursday concert series kicks off with classical, entertaining quintet

ALEXIS CANELO Reporter @alexiscanelo_

They play a quick four notes and ask the audience to guess the theme song. The audience is silent. Professor Garineh Avakian-Akkus exclaims “The Simpsons!” The String Family Players finished the song for the audience.

From the Simpsons theme to Bach, The String Family Players know how to keep an audience engaged. The String Family Players are a quintet consisting of two violinists, a cellist, and a bassist. The first concert of the semester was held in the performing arts center on the Art Hill at Pierce College. Doors opened at 12:45 pm and closed promptly at 1 pm.

The quintet began their performance of a string rendition

STREET BEAT

of George Frideric Handel’s Queen of Sheba.

David Young joked they were being forced to play by a man with a gun. His light-hearted demeanor was a breath of fresh air in the usually serious world of classical music. This is what makes them so appealing to kindergarteners and college students alike. The band takes turns to each showcase their instruments and their capabilities.

Nancy Roth, one of the violinists, began with Charles L. Johnson’s “Hen Cackle Rag”. Roth demonstrated double stop, a technique where two notes are played at once. During this piece, the audience clapped along. It ended with a hearty “hee haw” from one of the members.

Elizabeth Wilson, the other violinist, performed Bach’s “Concerto in A minor” with the quintet. Wilson and Roth demonstrated counterpoint with separate yet harmonious violin

parts.

Lynn Grants, the violist, demonstrated the instrument’s capabilities with Telemann’s “Concerto for Viola”. Maryanne Steinbrenner, the cellist, played Brahma’s “Trio”. David Young, the bassist, finished the demonstrations with Leadbelly’s “Good Morning Blues”.

Flight of the Bumblebee was not on the music program that was handed out yet the piece was still performed, which shocked the audience. Young shined in this performance as he was the soloist. It almost sounded like a bee was in the room. Towards the end of the musical piece, Wilson slapped her face as if swatting away a bee.

The String Family Players know how to keep an audience focused.

The quintet decided to give Young the solo because the song was used in a Black & Decker advertisement. They felt a bass was most fitting for the song used

in a power tool commercial.

The concert finished strong with “Hoedown” from the ballet Rodeo. The audience clapped along and just when the audience thought the piece was over, it picked them back up again.

After the performance, an audience member asked Young what is his favorite piece to play together.

“Oh man, that’s like saying what’s my favorite type of pie. There’s only like 20,” Young said.

According to Avakian-Akkus, there will be concerts every Thurs. except for Nov. 8. Next week the concert will consist of African drumming along with dancing. The next concert is set Thurs. Oct. 4 at 1 p.m. at the PAB mainstage featuring African inspired drumming and dancing.

The event featured games in which students were able to learn about Hispanic culture in an enjoyable way.

“You can spin the wheel, and it lands on a certain question. You answer the question right and we give you a prize,” Ricardo said.

Different kinds of prizes were there, such as, staplers, lanyards, bottles hand sanitizer, pens and flash drives.

“Everything here is to celebrate Latino heritage month,” Ricardo said.

Jenni Severin, business administration and Peer 2 Peer Mentor member, spoke on the

Alcocer states that conchas, a breaded cookie, is her personal favorite food item in her household. She enjoys conchas with her morning coffee.

Mathew Comonn, a Pierce College student who is studying English, said he enjoys the practice of celebrating Hispanic culture amongst his peers.

“I like taking time to celebrate Latino culture, it is very good to have it here to share the culture to all the other people around,” Comonn said.

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“Thatthecafeteriafoodsucks, butIloveit. Itʼsreallygood.”

-DeborahGomez ChildDevelopment

goodhere.”

“Thatissucksand,ʻWhyare yougoingtoPierce?ʼ” -Naomi Avalos Nursing

“Itʼsboringandthatitʼsnotas beautiful.Ilovethiscollegeand itisbeautiful.”

Undeclared

EZZAT WANAS Reporter @ezzatwanas

Unique Manns/ Roundup

Parents and students attended the college fair on Sept. 29 at the Mall on Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. to gain more information about their future plans and what steps they need to take next.

“Itʼsveryloweducated, andsomewouldevensay ghetto.”

-Michael Soliz Theatre

Music speaks to her

Garineh Avakian-Akkus went from near dropout to professor

Angeles Master Chorale, or have been invited to sing at Carnegie Hall in New York City not once but twice in her life, she may not have believed you.

interested in general education classes like math and English, instead she excelled in all things music.

At 16 years old, most high school students don’t know their future path.

Garineh Avakian-Akkus was nearly a dropout, but because her parents recognized and embraced her sole-interest in pursuing music, she was able to attend

Avakian-Akkus, better known “Gaga,” is in her fourth-year teaching at Pierce College. Whether it be raising her daughter on her own, or teaching a new class Avakian–Akkus is no stranger to hard work.

Avakian-Akkus did all of this and more by attending Los

She has worked her way from nearly dropping out of high school to receiving her doctorate degree from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music.

In the beginning, AvakianAkkus was not interested in education. It was notuntil the San Francisco Conservatory took a

a performing arts high school that allowed her to flourish academically.

If you told her that she would have earned the highest degree in her field, be singing in the Los

Angeles County School for the Arts. Later, going on to graduate from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music and getting her doctorate degree. Avakian-Akkus was never

chance on her that she started to value education more.

“All I needed was a chance and they took a chance on me,” Avakian-Akkus said.

It was then that she decided

to pursue higher education more seriously.

“I am at the highest -level of my education from a very prestigious school,” Avakian-Akkus said. “I’m not just the person that did this, my parents were the big supporters, and wherever you find support you should go for it. Seek the people that believe in you and hug those people real tight.”

She believes that education is something that nobody can take away from you and values this as one of the most important ideals in her life. She feels that, despite the struggles she has faced in the past year, it was her education, her job, and her love for music that kept her going.

“I don’t wake up in the morning and come to work,” Avakian-Akkus said. “I wake up in the morning to come and share the knowledge and the experience that I have had in my career.”

Avakian-Akkus shares this knowledge by having a profound impact on her students individually.

“We learned When I Have Sung My Songs by Ernest Charles and I sung that with her coaching,

one on one and I think I found my voice that first day,” said Music Club Vice President Samantha Rosenberg.

“Her teaching method is insane, the hands on she does is unlike any class you’ve ever taken.” said Rosenberg.

Avakian-Akkus goes above and beyond for her students, getting to know them personally and giving them the guidance and support that they need to keep going.

“I was really hesitant to try and then she just kept pushing me… it was a lot to take in but she is probably the teacher who has done the most for me at Pierce,” said Applied Music Program member Julianne Sillona.

She is always trying to further this knowledge by researching new things as well as innovating her classes in new ways.

She believes that her teaching stretches beyond the four walls of the classroom.

She always tries to take her students out of the physical classroom so that their knowledge and passion can flourish.

Avakian-Akkus hopes that

they take away life skills, and go beyond just what the description on the course catalog says.

Avakian-Akkus knew from a very young age that she had a passion and talent when it came to singing. She started with playing the piano at the age of five.

“At a very early age my parents already knew I was going to be a musician of some sort so they supported me,” said AvakianAkkus.

Avakian-Akkus tries to supply this same type of support to her students now in all of her classes. She hopes that they will leave her classes feeling empowered, always wanting to improve and be better.

Avakian-Akkus went from nearly dropping out of high school to becoming one of the most educated members of her family and teaching a subject she loves every day of her life. Had it not been for her strong support system she may never have been able to share her gift with the students of Pierce College.

“I’m not just the person that did this, my parents were the big supporters, and wherever you find support you should go for it.”

professor

Natalie Miranda/ Roundup

Instuctor of Music Garnieh Avakian-Akkus stands in front of her degrees in her office on Sept. 26, 2018, at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Perform your heart out

Singers belting high notes and low ones, a musician strumming from a guitar, another tooting a trumpet and the plinking of piano keys are some of the noises that can be heard coming from room 3400 in the Music Building Friday mornings.

A weekly three-hour Music Performance Workshop class taught by Instructor of Music Garnieh Avakian-Akkus fills the Art Hill, beginning at 9 a.m.

Students enrolled in this class are currently in the Applied Music Program.

Singers, songwriters and musicians are given the opportunity to take the stage and perform in front of their peers. During these meetings, students rehearse pieces for potential audition opportunities and upcoming recitals.

Avakian-Akkus gives verbal and written feedback to those that perform and even sings with them to demonstrate the proper delivery.

There are two upcoming AMP recitals—Nov. 1 and 15—held on the Performing Arts Building Mainstage, which are open to the public.

Photos and Copy by Natalie Miranda and Danielle Padilla

Top: Bryan Herrera plays the trumpet for his audition piece during the Music Performance Wokshop class on Sept. 28, 2018, in room 3400 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Photo by Natalie Miranda

Middle Right : Julianne Sillona-De Leon sings for her audition piece during the Music Performance Wokshop class.

Photo by Natalie Miranda

Middle Left: (L-R) Garnieh Avakian-Akkus sings with Noe Centeno during the Music Performance Wokshop class.

Photo by Natalie Miranda

Bottom: The Music Performance Workshop class responds to a question Professor Garineh “Gaga” Avakian-Akkus poses about another music class. Photo by Danielle Padilla

Soccer rises in the pit

Brahmas net six in dominant win against Pirates

NICK MARTINEZ Reporter @NickEsai

Brahmas soccer capitalized on their win against the Ventura College Pirates with their highest scoring game of the season.

A hat-trick from Gisell Cruz led the way for the Brahmas in the 6-1 win against Victor Valley College Friday.

Head coach Adolfo Perez believes the team is improving.

“We are learning from previous games,” Perez said. “Usually we come out good in the second half, but today we did good in the first half.”

The Brahmas started with possession and it paid off.

Keyonna Hill gave the Brahmas the lead in the 13th minute.

Cruz and Jordyn Conlon would go on to score the next two goals giving the team a 3-0 lead.

Before the end of the first half, Cruz scored her second goal of the game via a free kick.

At the start of the second half Valerie Mojica took Iliana Yanez’s place in goal. Yanez would come on later in the half to play in the midfield.

The Brahmas maintained their intensity as Jessica Tapia came close to scoring, but the Rams defense closed her down.

Cruz went on to score her third goal of the game, extending the lead to five.

Hill scored her second goal of the game and it looked like it was going to be a shutout, but in the final moments of the game, Victor Valley College defender Tausalsa Tau-Ese scored, making the score 6-1.

Perez said that their strong offense was the key to this victory, but their defense was lacking.

“Our offense was just clicking today, but the only disappointment

Sherry

was their one goal against us”

Perez said. “We have to learn to maintain that zero, their not attacking a lot, but when they do we lose focus and they score.”

-Adolfo Perez

Despite the win, Perez said that focus is one of the key things the team needs to improve on.

“I mean we are working on it and we are getting better, but we still have to focus,” Perez said. “There’s lots of instances in past games where we lose focus, and that’s what costs us, I mean the one goal they scored today was a perfect example.”

Assistant coach Cynthia

Rough start for volleyball

FELIPE GAMINO Sports Editor

@fgamino13

Women’s volleyball started their 2018 season with road games against the Moorpark College Raiders and the College of the Canyons Cougars.

The Brahmas lost both games in straight sets to start their season 0-2.

Against the Raiders, the team showed fight in the second and third sets, but it was enough, losing in straight sets (25-9, 25-19 and 25-16).

Head coach Edison Zhou was

not on the bench for the Moorpark game due to the birth of his child.

Assistant coach Megan Wheeler coached the team for the Raiders game. She said she liked what she saw from the team despite dropping the season opener.

“The first match for me we had a rough start at the beginning, but I felt they got more comfortable in the rest of the game,” Wheeler said.

Catelynn Pulido led the Brahmas with six kills, followed by Rachel Wiley and Keturah Scott with two. For the Raiders, Miranda Poole led the team with 15 kills, while

Brahma of the Week

David Kates

Sport: Football

Position: RB

Class: Freshman

Hometown:

Baltimore, Maryland

Led the team with three touchdowns in the game against College of the Desert.

You led the team with three touchdowns against College of the Desert. What was the overall feeling?

“It felt good. We came back from a tough loss last week, so we knew that at practice and work really hard and I had to do something to contribute this week.”

In what areas do you see yourself improving?

“Just come to practice everyday, work hard and follow the game plan.”

Do you have any pregame rituals or superstitions?

“I just listen to music an hour before the game.”

If you werent playing football, what sport would be playing?

“Baseball. As a shortstop.”

Plans after Pierce?

“Go to a D1 school and play.”

Rosa also believes there is room for improvement as a team.

“I think we just need to stay focused, organized, and have a little bit better communication from the back line,” Rosa said. “Just to be on the same page as one another, and not to be falling out of position.”

Hill said she was satisfied with her two-goal performance.

“Endurance is the only thing I need to work on, I was getting tired toward the end,” Hill said. “But I felt really good, and confident.”

Cruz said that the team has improved on what they were working on in previous games.

“I think what we were working hard on was our performance in the first half, as we usually gain our focus in the second half and try to come back,” Cruz said. “This game we definitely got the results we wanted.”

The next game is against Glendale Community College on Tuesday, Oct.9 at 4 p.m. to begin conference play.

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Alexis Wolf had seven. There was a tie for assists with Amanda Collet and Jessica Crogg both getting 11.

The Cougars game Friday was more of the same for the team. In the first set, the Brahmas lost 25-7. In the second and third sets, the team lost 25-13 and 25-12 respectively.

Wheeler said that for the Canyons’ game they showed major improvement despite playing a difficult team.

“We played a tougher opponent, but I thought in the end we played a little better,” Wheeler said. “I think it is going to take us a couple of games to get our groove and get everything settled because we did not have a preseason. We just got

right into things. Overall I felt the energy was there. We just have to continue to minimize mistakes.”

Pulido and Wiley led the team with three kills, followed by Scott who had two.

Shayla Johnson had 15 kills for the Cougars, while Grace Ferguson had 11. Sydney Higginson led Canyons with 13 assists.

Wheeler hopes the team continues to show improvement in the games against Santa Monica College and Citrus.

Zhou said that the team was not executing well.

“We missed too much, especially in hitting. For this team we still have to

improve. We only have three returning players and nine new faces, so this is a pretty young team,” Zhou said. “The sophomores are the main point of the team, so we need more players.”

Zhou said that more players will come to the team, however he said it has been difficult to recruit because they started late.

“Right now we are missing a right side blocker. It is a very important position for college level.

Our two outside hitters need more skills to control the ball. And for the setter the same thing,” Zhou said.

Zhou said that they need to be more efficient when they are have a scoring opportunity.

Brahmas Scoreboard

Catelynn Pulido, team captain, said the game against Moorpark was more of the team getting their feet wet.

“It was more of an expirement. Not all of us had the experience playing in a team together. I feel we didn’t play our best. We had some highlights and i felt we could have done a lot better,” Pulido said.

Pulido said that for the COC game they were working well together no matter what the score was. They are just working to improve on their fundamentals. The Brahmas are at SMC Wednesday, before their home opener against Citrus on Friday.

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Abigail Hernandez / Roundup

Ramos (14) , Cristina Peruch-Alegria (17) try to score during a game against Victor valley College on Sept. 28, 2018, in Woodland Hills, Calif.

“We have to learn to maintain that zero ”

Head coach