Volume 130 Spring 2019 Roundup Issue 12

After a year-long search, Alexis Montevirgen was nominated May 13 to be Pierce College President, pending approval of the Board of Trustees.

The Board is expected to consider and approve the appointment at its next meeting on June 5, according to Los Angeles Community College District Director of Communications William Boyer. Montevirgen, who will be Pierce’s youngest president at 40 years old, said in an email interview he is honored to be selected.

“I am extremely eager and very much look forward, once approved by the Board at its June meeting, to join Pierce College as your next President,” Montevirgen wrote. “I consider it an honor and a privilege to have been selected as the candidate being presented to the Board to fill the position, and I am confident that my extensive background in higher education, and in particular, the California Community College system, prepares me well to join a campus community of students,

faculty, staff, and community members who are committed and passionate about student success.”

Several dozen candidates applied from a national pool for the position. The Chancellor and College Search Committee was looking for a candidate who is committed to student access, success and equity, takes strategic risks, communicates effectively, builds strong teams, develops effective external partnerships, and has a strong financial and operational ability.

Montevirgen believes he fits the position well and is excited to start.

“In considering whether or not to even apply for the presidency when it was first brought to my attention back in December, I paid particular attention to the desirable qualities that were listed on the position announcement, and after reading through each of the desirable qualities, I was sure that I was a great match for what the college needed and was looking for in its next president,” Montevirgen wrote. “While this will be my first presidency, I have been very intentional in looking for an institution like Pierce College and the Los Angeles Community College District where I can see myself being at for an extended period of time,

and hopefully even being the institution that I ultimately retire from 15-20 years from now.”

The candidates went through a series of interviews with the Search Committee, Chancellor Francisco Rodriguez and Board of Trustees. Montevirgen was one of five finalists, according to Rodriguez.

“Dr. Montevirgen emerged from a pool of excellent, wellqualified finalists,” Rodriguez wrote in an email interview.

“He possesses the educational and professional background that align exceptionally well with the responsibilities and vision for the position.”

Montevirgen is expected to start on Monday, July 1. He will replace Larry Buckley, who is acting as Interim President.

Currently, Montevirgen acts as Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at Indiana University, Northwest, and he has been there since 2014.

He started in 2006 as the Director of Student Life for the San Jose/Evergreen Community College District.

Montevirgen has previous experience in the California Community College system. Starting in 2009, he served

at the College of Alameda in the Peralta Community College District, Alameda, Calif., as Dean of Enrollment Services before becoming Vice President of Student Services.

He worked for the California State University (CSU) system for several years and held internship positions with the University of Pennsylvania and University of California, San Diego.

Montevirgen has a doctorate in education from CSU’s San Francisco State University; a master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor’s degree from U.C. San Diego.

James McKeever, one of the Screening and Interview Committee members, said he is hopeful that Montevirgen will move the campus forward.

“This is a diverse campus that is predominantly Latino and starts doing more for the population that actually comes here,” McKeever said. “Our previous president did a great job at hiring people of color and we need to corporate other portions of the community, especially in areas that we service the most.”

Homeless students pay out-of-state tuition

Can a homeless student be a resident of California?

Without documentation with a California address on it, California Community Colleges don’t recognize these students as residents of the state and charge $242 of out-of-state tuition per unit in addition to other enrollment fees.

Before California community college students can enroll in classes, they must register through CCCApply. Students who register successfully receive a welcome that includes their School Identification Number, school email and campus resources. However, if a student selfidentifies as homeless in their application, they will receive a separate email notifying them of their non-resident status outlining how much they will be paying for out-of-state tuition.

“CCCApply has been set up in a way that, at least for now, that if you don't have an address or if you use an out of the state address, the system itself codes you as an out-of-state student, unfortunately,” Pierce Registrar Lorena Lopez said.

After being determined as non-residents, these students must fill out a Supplemental

Residency Questionnaire and bring at least two documents from a provided list proving their state residency, including a California driver's license, auto registration, savings and checking accounts in California banks and receipts for paid utility bills.

These students are prompted to email or visit Admissions and Records to reverse the decision. Once students are there and submit their paperwork, they are referred to the Financial Aid office to meet with Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships Anafe Robinson.

While there is no additional funding for homeless students, an additional benefit these students receive is provided by AB 806. This bill allows students who are coded as homeless to receive priority registration.

“They have an appointment to see me and there's paperwork that they normally fill out, and if they are in that [homeless] status, then I code them appropriately and in our system,” Robinson said.

“And that will then include the student in the priority registration process, so we can track them. Then I assist the students with their financial aid to make sure that it's done or completed in a timely manner. So I track them to make sure that they do receive their funding because they are

in need of funding right away.”

Once coded as homeless, students can go to Lopez, who can change their residency status. Once that is changed, their cost of tuition will be updated and their priority registration status will take effect.

“So if it happens right in the middle of the spring, just to give an example,” Lopez said, “I have the power to backdate that status all the way to the beginning of the semester in order for the students to receive the benefit from the beginning of the semester.”

Lopez explained that the state is trying to identify homeless students in a better way, so they are not initially coded as out-of-state.

Since it a statewide system, Lopez said that this is not a problem secular to Pierce, it is a result of the CCCApply configuration.

“I just know that here's the chance to correct this, and so we'll focus on that part,” Interim President Larry Buckley said.

Buckley brought up this matter up at the President’s Council meeting on May 10.

Until CCCApply develops a new way to accurately code the residency status of homeless students, the current system remains.

courtesy of the Los Angeles Community College District

[see PHOTO ESSAY on pg.

From the desk of the Roundup: Editorial

Whether it’s for medical or recreational purposes, the notoriety of the cannabis industry has grown higher than its customers.

The legalization of marijuana in California has led to an increase of marijuana dispensaries all over the state. According to the City of Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation, there are over 180 legal shops in the Los Angeles County and 87 of them are located in the San Fernando Valley. With the business booming, Pierce College should inform faculty and students about the health and financial benefits of cannabis.

Pierce should hold a town hall or plan an event that shows people the positives of the cannabis plant and breaks the negative stereotypes that come along with it.

To educate the public, the town hall will cover the negatives of cannabis but focus on the positive aspects.

Los Angeles Southwest College held a cannabis town hall in early May that discussed how the school was getting more involved with the emerging industry. They went over the health and wellness benefits of the plant itself and the economic development and career opportunities that the industry has to offer.

The town hall also informed what the community can do to be involved with cannabis while staying within the legal borders and even had a Q & A session with cannabis industry experts.

The two main chemicals in the marijuana plant that are of medical interest are delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA).

According to the NIDA, THC can increase appetite and reduce nausea. It may also

decrease pain, inflammation (swelling and redness), and muscle control problems.

Unlike THC, CBD doesn't make people "high,” according to the NIDA. These drugs aren't

popular for recreational use because they aren't intoxicating. It may be useful in reducing

Would a no-straw policy on campus help the environment?

Pro: Going strawless

GINA WONG Reporter @ginabwong99

When drinking beverages out in public, we are accustomed to drinking out of straw. Some of us also have found ourselves asking waiters and behind the counter workers at some fast food chains for a straw.

According to businessinsder. com, this first began when former Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1884 into law, which “prohibits dine-in restaurants from automatically providing plastic straws” to customers.

The law went into full effect on January 1, 2019.

“In the U.S. alone, approximately 500 million straws are used every single day,” according to nationalgeographic.com.

Pierce College should join in on the elimination of singleuse plastic straws because they are made out of polypropylene, which is not biodegradable.

Also, when recycled they become microplastics, which are fatal to marine life if consumed.

Two main reasons behind the sudden push to ban singleuse plastic straws come down to an environmental issue, which is to decrease pollution in our oceans and to protect marine life.

According to onegreenplanet. org, “The Great Pacific Ocean

Garbage Patch is roughly the size of our continent, and it contains approximately 100 million tons of debris, with 80 percent of it coming from human contamination.”

Furthermore, if we don’t want to swim in polluted oceans and sunbathe in sand-littered with trash, what makes us think that marine animals don’t mind swimming in plastic infested waters in their environment?

According to strawlessocean. org, by 2050, 99 percent of all seabird species will have ingested plastic. This is because they often mistake plastic for food.

When animals consume plastic they can die of starvation because it gets stuck in their stomach preventing them from eating their natural food.

Unfortunately, their stomach is not the only place where plastic is being found in their bodies.

A viral video back in 2015 captured a sea turtle that had a plastic straw stuck up its nostril, which had to be physically pulled out of its nose, causing it immense pain.

However, sometimes it takes videos such as this one to be the catalyst for change and get people to go strawless.

Whether we like it or not, change is coming and it's just around the corner.

As Starbucks announced that by 2020 they will eliminate plastic

disposable straws, which decreases more than one billion straws a year. Instead, they will use recyclable, strawless lids that will resemble an adult sippy cup, according to a New York Times article.

In addition, a new policy at the beginning of the year had the California State Universities (CSU) jump on the bandwagon as well by having them eliminate plastic straws and bags.

According to calstate.edu, a new policy stated that the CSU’s 23 campuses “must phase out styrofoam food service items by January 2021 and discontinue sales and distribution of single-use plastic water bottles before January 2023.”

If Pierce does decide to follow suit and eliminate singleuse plastic straws there can be some alternatives. These could be the use of metal, bamboo and glass straws to compensate, as all three are reusable and more environmentally friendly.

In society, if we have successfully adapted to the grocery bag ban by bringing our own reusable bags whenever we go grocery shopping, we can also adapt to the straw ban by getting used to drinking without the use of straws or we can simply carry around our own reusable straw.

pain and inflammation, controlling epileptic seizures, and possibly even treating mental illness and addictions.

Many researchers, including those funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), are continuing to explore the possible uses of THC, CBD, and other parts of the cannabis plant for medical treatment.

Another plant that is part of the cannabis family that is often overlooked is industrial hemp. According to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, hemp is different from the marijuana plant because it is high in fiber and low in THC so it does not have any psychoactive effect to it.

Pierce has a Hemp Club on campus that focuses on the many uses of industrial hemp. The focal point of the club is to differentiate between the marijuana and hemp plant despite both being part of the cannabis family.

According to an article by Logan Yonavjak for Forbes Magazine, this hardy and renewable resource was refined for various industrial applications, including paper, textiles and cordage.

Over time, the use of industrial hemp has evolved into an even greater variety of products, including health foods, organic body care, clothing, construction materials, biofuels and plastic composites.

Sustainable hemp seed, fiber and oil are still used in raw materials by major companies, including Ford Motors, Patagonia, and The Body Shop, to make a wide variety of products, according to Yonavjak.

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Con: A different approach

ABDUL ALI Reporter @RoundupNews

When it comes to saving the environment, humans are doing all they can to clean up their trace of waste. A recent policy in California is aiming to battle the war on plastic, and the pressure to initiate the law is spreading to college communities.

The plastic straw law that has been adopted by California states full service restaurants are now banned from giving away plastic straws without the request of the customer.

For Pierce to implement this would mean more time wasted trying to figure out whether someone wants a straw or not.

According to nbcnews.com, the reported estimate of the amount of plastic spilling into the oceans is 8.8 million tons a year.

they make up only a tiny fraction of the plastic that ends up in the world’s oceans,” Rainey said.

According to the same article, an audit of waste collected by the environmental group Break Free From Plastic said the biggest brand contributors to plastic pollution were Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Nestle, who are the dominant producers of bottled drinks.

If Pierce were to adopt the straw law, there would be even more bottled drinks throughout campus and this would do even more harm to the ecosystem.

Not only is it problematic for the environment, but it poses issues for disabled people as well.

Investing in glass bottles as well as paper straws would be a better alternative to the traditional use of plastic straws. After all, there would be a much higher benefit to the environment if we used alternatives instead of adopting a policy that doesn't even eliminate the use of plastic straws and in some cases may end up doing more damage to the environment.

For example, Starbucks has announced that they will be replacing straws with strawless lids. The lids themselves are entirely made up from plastic and mimic the exact thing environmentalists are fighting. While Starbucks would argue that the lids are easier to collect for recycling, the rate of recycling in the United States is only 34.3 percent, leaving most plastic produced unrecycled.

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According to Center for Disability Rights, "For those whose disability or living situation makes this impractical, if not downright impossible, reusable straws are simply not an option. Additionally, metal, bamboo, glass and acrylic straws pose injury risks, especially for those with tremors, spastic episodes, and temperature sensitivity conditions. Paper and pasta straws also put individuals at risk of choking."

Photographers: Brandon SinclairVolkens

With this amount of plastic spilling occuring, Pierce should be focusing its efforts on other ways to reduce our use of plastic instead of incorporating a facade law that doesn't really have any impact at all.

James Rainey, a reporter for NBC News, wrote an article talking about how banning plastic straws would not be enough to clean the ocean.

According to strawlessocean. org, "If we don’t act now, by the year 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish." Looking towards the future, Pierce should spend its time or resources on a policy that will not benefit neither the environment nor the campus. It should use that time and money to adopt eco-friendly alternatives that will assist the planet in the long run. gwong.roundupnews@gmail.com

Instead of focusing its effort on a ineffective initiative, Pierce should do more in promoting recycling and reducing the amount of bottled drinks that use plastic.

“Even if straws can be corralled,

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is presented only in the editorials. 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

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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.

Photo Illustration by the Roundup News Staff

Measles outbreak Bill brings stability

JUSTIN MIRANDA Features Editor @TheRoundupNews

Measles is a rare contagious disease. Symptoms consist of, but are not limited to, fever, a skin rash, sore throat and runny nose.

Seven cases of measles have been reported around the LA County.

Hundreds of students at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) may have been exposed to measles, and while no cases of the measles have been reported at Los Angeles Community College District campuses including Pierce, there’s potential for the disease to spread to other campuses.

According to Director of the Health Center Beth Benne, cases of measles are caused because people are not properly immunized.

“We can avoid this if everybody got vaccinated,” Benne said.

Benne believes that the students could have been exposed

The

that is critical,” Benne said. Measles can be prevented by getting vaccinated with the Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine.

According to Benne, the Health

AB 2160 creates long-lasting jobs

HARLEY DAVIS Reporter @TheRoundupNews

Playground monitors gained a permanent position in the district with the passing of Assembly Bill 2160.

The Bill was approved by Gov. Jerry Brown on Sept. 18, 2018. It went into effect on Jan. 1, 2019. Prior to the Bill, parttime playground positions were unclassified. Unclassified workers did not have permanent status.

Interim President Larry Buckley explained that part-time playground positions did not have specified job responsibilities.

turnover and turnaround as people move on to better jobs, according to Rosky. Because of the new benefits that come with the new classifications being created, the budgets for the jobs are being reassessed.

“Roughly 40 percent of salaries funding is for benefits, so we can estimate that there will be an increase in costs by that much for each job we reclassify,” Rosky said. “For example, if we have $100 thousand in costs currently [for wages in unclassified labor], and we bring everybody over [to classified positions], we will have roughly a $40,000 increase in costs.”

Brahma Blotter

Benne said at worst, the side effect can be a low-grade fever.

Benne also said the Student Health Center offers a measles antibodies test for $9 that checks if students have enough antibodies to be immune to measles.

She said she will be sending out notifications to students, staff and

“They don't have teaching responsibilities. They don't have specific kind of job responsibilities like a custodian would have, where you're supposed to clean the bathrooms or supposed to clean the sidewalks or a groundskeeper whose job is very clearly defined. They are there just to monitor,” Buckley said.

According to the text of California Measure AB-2160, “Existing law requires a school district or community college district that adopts a merit system to appoint

In the Child Development Center on campus, Director Phyllis Schneider, also an instructor, described the progression as the new measures were implemented.

“Those assistant teachers who were working in all of the centers, they were unclassified employees,” Schneider said. “Their positions disappeared as of December 31 [and] there was no longer an unclassified assistant teacher position.”

Replacement jobs were created that were to run for 90 working days for each unclassified employee on a provisional basis, until the new classified positions were available, according to Schneider.

“These positions should be ending sometime mid-May,” Schneider said. “The new positions are going to be available for application within the next week or two. Everybody here who is provisional will have the option to apply for the new position assuming they meet the educational and work experience requirements.”

Schneider also described positive outcomes, mainly for the children at the CDC on campus.

“We’re not going to have the turnover of assistant teachers,” Schneider said. “We are now going to have more permanent staffing or somewhat permanent staffing everyday, predictable, same people. That’s good for children.”

Photo Illustration by Nicholas Martinez/Roundup

Measles Mumps and Rubella vaccine are available at the Student Health Center. Seven cases of measles have been reported in Los Angeles County.

Dynamic duo in print and off

Pierce alumni co-create comic book

NICK MARTINEZ Features Editor @NickEsai

Most siblings share a special bond, but for Paul and Trevor Hankins, they have super powers, or at least their alter-egos do.

The Hankins brothers cocreated their comic book, “Powers Squared,” which tells the story of twin brothers, much like themselves, who have been granted super powers.

“Even when we’re separate, people still think of us as Paul and Trevor, so in Powers Squared, we tried to put some of that in there,” Paul Hankins said. “They’re seen as Marty and Eli, and even though we’ve been seen as a unit, we still do things differently from each other, just like the characters in the book. Just like me, Marty is more extroverted, and just like my brother, Eli is a little more introverted.”

As identical twins, they were inspired to create something beyond themselves. The comics protagonist duo, Marty and Eli Powers, are going to college and they discover they have super powers that they share.

“They’re kind of figuring out what to do with their powers and they have to also stop this scientist named Dr. Atlas from harnessing their abilities and using them for evil purposes,” Paul Hankins said.

Paul Hankins explains where the idea of creating the story began and why they chose to use a comic as its median.

“While we were going to Comicon, we went to panels and at some point we decided we wanted to be there in person, giving the A’s instead of asking the Q’s,” Paul Hankins said.

“So, we were trying to think of a way to do that and a comic book seemed like one of the easier ways to because for a comic you don’t have to be an expert in any particular field.”

Besides the two brothers working on the comic, other people have to be involved to put it together. Paul Hankins who writes the script explains their process of creating the comic.

“I guess you could say it’s like frankensteining a page,”

“Powers Squared”

“Pierce has had an influence on the background of the story since the characters are in college and we wanted to capture a college life aspect,” Paul Hankins said. “We had a comic book class at California State University, Northridge, which was part of a CSUN initiative, which is basically trying to elevate the discussion of comics as a legitimate storytelling medium.”

Long-time friend, Nick Sweeney, is impressed that Paul and Trevor Hankins accomplished what they set out to do and will support them in anyway possible.

“It’s one of those things where you don’t get to see a lot of your friends accomplish the thing they’d set out,” Sweeney said. “For a lot of people, it’s like, ‘Oh, I want to do this, I want to make music, but I must make a living.’ But when one of your friends is like, ‘Hey, I want to do this and I actually do it, and I’m making money off it.’ Why would I not support that? That’s pretty cool.”

Father and co-writer, David Hankins, said that their ambition stretches beyond just doing comics, as they want to expand their horizons to not just TV shows, but to video games as well.

Paul Hankins said. “We send that script to the artists, then what our current artists does is she actually sends us two sets of thumbnails because you need ways to visually interpret the script. Then we decide which version of the pages we want. Sometimes it’s a mixture of panels from first person and the second person.”

The creative process of the comic starts with one brother, and the comic comes back around to the brother, Trevor

Hankins, who finishes it off before being published.

“Because it’s a family thing, I go through it one more time and I notice spelling errors last minute and I go through it fixing it,” Trevor Hankins. “I’m basically the last line of defense, so it comes full circle.”

The Hopkins brothers aren’t just inspired by western comics, but Japanese manga authors as well.

“It’s kind of a mix of

influences from America and Japanese comics,” Paul Hankins said. “Mangaka (Manga artists) that we’ve taken some influence from as a Hirohiko Araki, it’s mainly his use of suspense and he’s very good at having a suspenseful moments in his books.”

College has also played a large role in Powers Squared, from influencing the setting of the story, as well as certain classes helping the Hankins brothers develop the story.

“We’d like to pitch it maybe as a TV series,” David Hankins said. “I think it would make it for kind of a better game as well, you know, the idea that you’ve got two players and one can’t use the same power of the others using could work for good gameplay.”

Paul and Trevor Hankins will be attending the San Fernando Valley Comic Book Convention on June 2nd.

Nick Martinez / Roundup

(Left to right) Identical twins Paul and Trevor Hankins pose next to a banner of their comic “Powers Squared” at comic book store, Galaxy of Comics on May 4, 2019, in Woodland Hills Calif. This was their first comic book signing event, and were giving out copies of their first issue.

An unforGOATable experience

Inhale and exhale. Close your eyes, stretch, listen to the calming breeze and watch out for the goats. Wait, goats?

Students participated in the Goat Yoga event held by the Associated Student Organization (ASO) Social Cultural Committee.

Goats may be cute, but research also shows that being around animals helps with reducing stress, which is something that college students might need with finals coming up.

The next Goat Yoga will take place Wednesday, May 15, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at Rocky Young Park.

Photos by Katya Castillo and Nathan Chung

Copy by Angelica Lopez

Bottom: Students doing yoga at Goat Yoga on May 13, 2019 in Rocky Young Park at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Photo by Nathan Chung.

Top: Raz Moalem participates in Goat Yoga hosted by ASO Social Cultural Committee in Rocky Young Park at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 13, 2019. Students practice yoga inside an enclosure while goats roam around. Photo by Katya Castillo.

Right: Sara Gonzalez participates in Goat Yoga hosted by ASO Social Cultural Committee in Rocky Young Park at Pierce College in Woodland Hills Calif., on May 13, 2019. Photo by Katya Castillo.

Left: A goat stands in front of students as they participate in the Goat Yoga event hosted by ASO Social Cultural Committee in Rocky Young Park at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 13, 2019. Photo by Katya Castillo.

Finding your zen... at Pierce

Along semester of school and preparing for finals may have students stressed and in need of relaxation. There are peaceful areas throughout the campus, from the art gallery to the botanical garden, to fields of wildflowers where you might find your zen at Pierce College.

Copy and Photos by Joshua Bleiweiss

SUSAN LOPEZ Features Editor

From paintings to sculptures, artists are able to convey emotions and feelings through a brush stroke or a splash of color. For Pierce College student artists, many are able to express these feelings, free of judgement and to be recognized for it.

The annual Student Art Show was hosted by a collaboration between the Art and Architecture Departments Thursday, May 9, at the Art Gallery building.

The exhibition showed different styles of art from pencil drawings, oil paintings, watercolor, clay sculptures, to digital and graphic design.

The art exhibition also presented this year’s award winners for their work providing drinks and refreshments for everyone who attended.

Art student Jina Lim won the President’s award for her color pencil drawing named “Unlocked.” The image seemed simple and familiar as it was a hand holding a set of key unlocking a door, but for Lim meant more than that.

“I didn't want to give them [viewers] my story specifically,” Lim said. “ But [show them something to] relate to it because everyone's got a door or someplace to go home too. So I feel when we're going into our house, is just something that we just

Resisting injustice

LGBTQ event fights against mistreatment

for animal and awareness of the wool shearing process in sheep.

“I wanted to show that they are sensitive feeling animals that you know,” Parker said. “And that, with an industry that's based upon how much of wool per pound, their wellbeing isn't really taken into consideration.”

Alber Almanza came from Pasadena Community College to see his friend’s exhibition and thought these types of events are important to commemorate the hard work of students.

“This is a great idea because it gives a lot of students opportunities and also [helps] their selfconfidence,” Almanza said. “They can come here maybe if they want, like, you know, play a part of like the audience and like hearing like maybe the feedback. I think it's good for experience, especially if you're gonna keep creating art.”

According to Monika Ramirez, instructor of arts, this event is important because it celebrates the efforts of the students and the department of arts and architecture.

JESSE BERTEL Reporter @TheRoundupNews

The Pierce College LGBTQ “Resist” event focused on positive response. Instead of shying away from prejudices and social injustices found in society, it discussed them directly.

The event was a gathering at the Great Hall on Wednesday, May 8, to celebrate LGBTQ pride. The Resist panel discussions covered topics such as pop culture, religion, navigating academia and even included a self-defense demonstration.

According to the event organizer, Queer Brahma Collective member Nate Mendoza, the event was put together as a response to some issues on campus.

“A lot of people have been put into hiding due to an incident involving doxing,” Mendoza said. “So we want to slowly reintegrate queer orientated activities back onto campus that people feel safe expressing themselves and being who they are.”

sexual orientation,” Loy said. “So queer students and finding ways to have a conversation about intersectionalities, whether it be pop culture or religion.”

According to Dale Fields, the Resist event is a celebration of the resilience of the queer community in a dominantly straight society.

“If someone is straight and they identify in the same way that their body presents, then you just go walk out into the world and advertisements are built for people like you and TV shows are built for people like you and people talk and they know how to relate to you,” Fields said. “But if you're different, if you're not a part of a dominant power group, if you are a woman, if you're a person of color, if you are someone who is queer, then you don't have a society that's built for you, you don't have a place where you can just feel at home and just let all the stress go away. So a queer event like this during pride week is just to give people that space.”

do, but there's this calm right as you transition from one thing to the other.’’ The evening was packed with smiles, lights, laughs, and pride from every artist that hung a frame or figure inside the gallery.

Claudio Aguilar mentioned how his painting helped him expressed a certain circumstance in his life and his oil paint of two extended arms names “Upward Despair” gave him that openness to project his feelings indirectly.

“I was frustrated with my grades and where I was going with art,” Aguilar said. “I'm not really good at expressing myself in terms of like painting or art in general. I just draw what I see. So it was a little bit showing what I feel and I like it kind of vague so that people don't get too comfortable just for personal reasons.”

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Olvia Parker is another artist who showed her skills with her oil painting called “ Free Range,” and it was inspired by her love

“It's an opportunity for them [students] to professionally show their work,” Ramirez said. “It's a juried exhibition, so that helps them to build their resume. So, it's kind of helping build their professional skills in that regard.”

The art show exhibition will continue until May 23 at the Art Gallery building.

Doxing refers to broadcasting private or identifying information about a person on the internet.

Communications Professor Robert Loy came to the event to support his student, who has been planning it for months.

“Nate actually talked to me about this event a couple of months ago and it was an opportunity for a panel of people that identify with different denominations, either different genders or different

According to Mendoza, the primary objective of Resist is to not only raise awareness about the LGBTQ community on campus but to encourage students who may feel isolated.

“I hope that people start to feel safer and that they deserve to exist and be happy on campus instead of feeling like their identity prevents them from being able to access very important parts of themselves,” Mendoza said.

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Chelsea Westman/ Roundup

(Left to right) Riley Wallace and Janene Viola look at the student-created art on display at the 2019 Annual Student Art Show on the Art Hill at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 9, 2019.

Storming into a new adventure

Safety commits to D2 school Lake Erie College

FELIPE GAMINO Sports Editor @fgamino13

The goal for most junior college athletes is to move on to a four-year school. Hours in the gym, practices, games and determination in their classes are what will get them there.

For safety Jayme Colon, all of the above paid off. He committed to attend Lake Erie College, a Division II program in Painesville, Ohio.

Colon said he is grateful for the opportunity to play for the Storm.

“I’m just ready to go and do what I love. Play football and get an education,” Colon said.

Colon said he had offers to play for Division I programs, but the obstacle was that they wanted him to be a December grad. Colon will be graduating Pierce next month.

Colon said that he is motivated to go in July and meet his new coaches and teammates.

“They were good people. The head coach called me personally and also the defensive coordinator and they spoke with my mom and she liked them,” Colon said.

Colon said that going to another state won’t affect him because he was used to it.

Colon was on the team that saw the coaching shakeup with former head coach Jason Sabolic and defensive coordinator Torry Hughes being fired after the game against LA Southwest College, allegedly due to decorum violations.

Colon said the firings caught him by surprise.

“It threw me off for a bit, but at the end of the day we stood together, played football and we kept getting better each day,”

Colon said.

James Sims stepped in to be the interim head coach and Colon said he learned a lot from playing under

his guidance.

“He was a really good coach when he stepped in. Helped us improve in every aspect of our game,” Colon said.

In addition to playing safety, he was a linebacker in high school. Upon arrival, he switched positions as it would fit his size better.

“I spoke with coach [Lucas]

Melo. He coached me in high school and told him that I wanted play a different position and he told me to just come in and work hard that they will see how things go,”

Colon said.

During the offseason, a new head coach was announced. Carlos Woods took reigns of the program. Woods said that when he met Colon he knew he was going to be a key factor in his first year in charge.

“He played a huge role in lining up the guys and making sure everyone was on the same page and he was good tackler. Having him on the field was an extension of our coaching staff just because of how talented he is,” Woods said.

Athletics Counselor Joseph Roberson said that he is happy for Colon and knows he will do great. “He has worked hard for his opportunity and to me the fact that he is going to a university to continue his education and play. Some athletes are concerned about what division the school is, for me the priority is to continue on, competing and moving forward with your life,” Roberson said.

Joshua Manes/ Roundup

Jayme Colon, Brahmas safety, stares into the camera in the studio at Pierce College on May 13, 2019, in Woodland Hills, Calif. Colon is transferring to Lake Erie College after leading Pierce with 7.8 tackles per game last season, fourth best in the American Pacific Conference.