Volume 130 Spring 2019 Roundup Issue 13

Discovering cultural roots through a means of expression can be transformational. For this club, it is the central basis for diversity and family.

A collaborative event hosted by Political Science, Economics, Criminal Justice, Law and Chicano Studies (PEACh) Department brought the first annual “Flor y Canto: In Xochitl, In Cuicatl” to Pierce College on May 16.

“In Xochitl, In Cuicatl” means “flowery speech,” and the event aims to embrace ancestral traditions and focus on the cultivation of cultural expression and Chicana/o identity. Los Angeles Community College District Chancellor Francisco C. Rodriguez was the keynote speaker on behalf of the Chicana/o community, promoting his viewpoints on cultural awareness.

“In my over 30 years as an educator at the University of California, California State University, and California Community Colleges, and fifteen as a community college CEO, I have witnessed the multiple and tangible benefits of having diverse faculty, administrators, and students of color on campus and the benefits a diverse curriculum, like ethnic and gender studies – both to the institution and,

most importantly, to the learning and engagement of students,” Rodriguez said in a email. “As a Chicano Studies undergraduate, I was trained to look at pressing

societal issues through multiand inter-disciplinary lenses – an indispensable tool for my policy and advocacy work as Chancellor.”

The sound from Aztec

Flex form changed

Vision Resource Center approved by Senate

Professors will have a better route to submit their flex hours by substituting a physical form with a interactive online option.

Every full-time professor at Pierce is required to complete 33.3 hours of flex credit a year and it varies depending on how many hours they teach.

The Professional Development Committee voted to eliminate the physical form that every professor uses to report those flex hours as of July 1.

According to Faculty Professional Development Coordinator Fernando Oleas, this physical will be replaced by the implementation of the Vision Resource Center, an online hub for faculty and staff that provides training, resources and tools related to system-specific work.

"The Vision Resource Center is a new platform where faculty members will be reporting, as far as what their professional responsibilities they have fulfilled throughout the year," Oleas said. So, it's a platform where we'll be reporting, and it’s the platform where also we would be getting information from. We will have online training and things that we may be interested as professionals."

Faculty and staff members can complete their flex hour in different ways, such as events, department meetings, seminars, advising students, office hours, or online training.

"Flex hours or basically

anything that you do that is educational that is beyond your job duties," said Assistant Professor of Cinema Ken Windrum. "So for instance, I don't get flex time for stuff that I have to do. But, I don't have to advise the film club, but I do that an hour a week. So that's like, already 15 hours plus times two.

The Vision Resource Center conveys a more convenient process for professors and other faculty and staff member that have to complete these hours, which allow them to submit the hours online or add them automatically by completing training courses already integrated into this portal.

"We will be able to identify what Pierce College Professional Development it's offering for faculty in this particular college," Oleas said.

"If I am interested in taking [a] particular course or seminar, I can click in and begin to have an interactive visual. That's why it's called the visual resource center. Visual in the sense that I will be able to see it, the reader, interact with it. they can do a quiz and so on and so forth."

It's expected for this implementation to be more useful and convenient for professors as they will be able to report their hours without having to print any forms, scan them and send them through email with the risk of not being seen.

"I think you have to do it now is you have to fill it out online, print it out, scan it, send it back to yourself," Windrum said. "I mean filling out the form

or four

minutes. Printing takes a minute, scanning a minute or two, getting a file, naming the file. And then save the file and then attaching the files. We're not talking about more than 15 minutes. Might be better to be five minutes than 15."

According to Oleas, this integration is already in process with the help of Professional Development Coordinator Shannon Krajewski.

"Shannon has been heading the charge to integrate this new process with the nine colleges," Oleas said. "So she's working with the professional development coordinators of faculty professional development coordinator across the district to have this piece being integrated as a reporting mechanism."

Distance Education Coordinator Wendy Bass said this new portal will save professors time keeping them more organized and also help students to filter the information they gather from the vast media outlets.

"Every faculty member and staff member should be doing flex credit because life is constantly changing and evolution of learning and how [students] learn," Bass said. "I feel like we've become much more facilitators, so now you guys can go get information, but now we have to help you weed out what's the relevant information."

The Vision Resource Center was approved at the Academic Senate May 20.

instruments such as the jarana, tarima and huehuetl drums echoed through Building 600, while feathered dancers in colorful traditional dress

danced with rattled chachayotes dangling from their feet. Circulo Ajolote is the group of Aztec dancers that performed.

Dean of Student Engagement

Juan Carlos Astorga said Angelita Rovero and MEChA had approached him to propose this type of event. He said everyone was able to benefit from the words of the speakers and spend some time to build a sense of community.

“One of the beautiful things to understand is the historical context, identity and intersectionality of all of our communities coming together," Astorga said. “Where we blend poetry, music, song and just the imagery of our peoples to get all together in one."

According to the Pierce College website, “MEChA is the acronym for Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan (Chicana/o Student Movement of Aztlan). MEChA is a chartered ASO club and supports and executes the ideals of MEChA Nationwide on campus. As of 2014, there are over 500 MEChA chapters at various high schools, colleges and universities nationwide.”

Angelita Rovero is the adviser of MEChA de Pierce and helped coordinate Flor y Canto with the PEACh Department. She said the PEACh Department brought the event together and she got support from Dean Astorga.

“This is our culture, so for MEChA, our mission is higher education, cultural diversity and political awareness. But more than anything, it’s love of one's culture regardless of culture,” Rovero said.

[For the full story visit theroundupnews.com]

Final Exam Schedule

at Building 600 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, C alif., on May 16, 2019.

Volume 130, Issue 12:

News 3:

Justin Miranda was named a Features Editor. He is a reporter.

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

T

Although this is supposed to be a time of celebration for the nation's heroes, most students on campus wouldn’t know it was Military Appreciation Month, because Pierce College doesn’t have a

his May our nation celebrates Military Appreciation Month, a time when Americans can look back on the sacrifices that the men and women of this country, both active and retired, have made for us to enjoy our everyday rights and freedoms.celebration for those serving.

This is interesting considering various students at Pierce either have been in the military, have a family member or friend that has served or are looking to join.

The question is how do we bring the celebration to campus? Pierce could throw a mini festival on campus, maybe at Rocky Young Park. We could invite veterans and military recruiters could come set up booths and share the history of our armed forces.

There could be obstacle

courses set up that students could navigate, possibly even for a prize. The US Army representatives could be invited to set up a “How Many Pull Ups Can You Do” bar and have an ongoing challenge to see who can hit the highest number as they do on high school campuses such as El Camino Real Charter High School. Also a bake sale could be used to raise money for disabled veterans, and if resources permit have actual veterans be at the booth to show the students that their

dollars are going to a good cause.

Most importantly, speakers who have served could share a stories so that students who may not be exposed to military sacrifices can better understand, and appreciate what the men and women of this country do so that they may live in peace.

Although Los Angeles celebrates veterans and armed forces year round with military discounts and events, it is important to show support and love from a community standpoint.

Getting connected through LinkedIn?

Pro: New ways to network

JACKSON HAYANO Reporter @hayanojackson

There is no denying that social media is becoming increasingly important in a modern, technologybased world. While apps like Twitter and Instagram are great for entertainment, they don’t exactly offer the best platform for those seeking work

Then there is LinkedIn, which is like a Facebook interface but for professionals. With more than 610 million profiles in 200 countries, LinkedIn surely offers something for everyone.

From business and writing to communications and media, LinkedIn is one giant network for job opportunities and resumes.

According to Forbes, “LinkedIn is, far and away, the most advantageous social networking tool available to job seekers and business professionals today.”

Companies and employers can post job listings, while those looking for jobs can post their resumes and past experience - thus creating a network that benefits both parties.

People can research a company via LinkedIn before applying, and companies can access potential employees resumes to see if they’re a right fit for the company.

LinkedIn also allows people to put their past experience on their profile - including things such as their education, awards, and past jobs.

But LinkedIn isn’t only important for those looking for work - it can also be helpful for entrepreneurs looking to establish their brands or companies.

Start-ups can reach out either to potential employees or companies to try and expand. Instead of having to pay fees to attend conferences, start-up companies can look for potential partners or investors for free via LinkedIn.

But LinkedIn isn’t just great for business - it’s also great for any profession involving freelance work.

By putting your profile on public, any potential employee can find you. For those interested in writing or journalism, LinkedIn also has job listings for freelance articles. With LinkedIn, students can make connections while attending Pierce, which may someday lead to them getting that dream job of theirs.

LinkedIn also lets students explore their intended field and possible make connections with like-minded individuals. They can also get updates on job offerings or news relating to their field.

LinkedIn also has a specific page dedicated especially for students. The page offers tips for getting hired and finding jobs. Plus, when you join LinkedIn, it syncs your phone contacts so you can connect to friends and families members and expand your connections.

Having a LinkedIn profile is a huge advantage to students, and can help point them in the right direction to achieving their dreams.

jhayano.roundupnews@gmail.com

Maja Losinska

Joshua Manes

Joshua Bleiweiss

Johnathon Guerino

Navodya

Dharmasiriwardena

Ivan Moises Lozani

Sonya Miller

Manuel De La

Paz Jr.

Alexandra Rose

Klivans

Katya Beth Castillo

Nathan

LinkedIn, like Myspace, seems to cater toward feeding junkies that like to fluff up their resumes. With all the various social media networks that accomplish the same job as LinkedIn, it’s like this becomes another oversaturated network that you would eventually forget your password to.

Students are already avidly sought out for, in terms of resumes, portfolios, clips and whatever else there is being jammed down their throats. Most people hope to look a bit more trimmed and refined for their job interviews.

The many systematic issues that can be found in LinkedIn are very rudimentary as well. Spam ads monopolize iphone and android mobile games from others into friends and friends of friends. Being unable to post because of the

Advisers:

Jill Connelly

Jeff Favre Tracie Savage

moderating blocking content. Due to the vast number of people using LinkedIn, it becomes much more difficult to operate as smoothly. It is also very self serving.

According to Techcrunch. com, “LinkedIn is not, in fact, a business network — individuals on LinkedIn represent themselves, not their businesses. And as LinkedIn’s content is mostly user-generated, the incentive is for the users to produce material that promotes themselves.”

The user base isn’t very active in terms of the sheer volume of actual consumer base.

According to socialmediatoday. com, “While LinkedIn doesn't officially report this, previous research suggests that LinkedIn had around 250 million MAU when it was on 500 million members, while other analysis has suggested that the platform's active usage rate is only around 25% of LinkedIn members at any given time. That would put the MAU number at around 144 million currently.”

In retrospect, the celebration could be cost efficient considering that most military recruiters and veterans want to spread the word about the armed forces. At a minimum, Pierce could share in the appropriate classes, such as history and political science, the history behind Military Appreciation Month and why it is important that we celebrate those who lay it all on the line.

Photographers: Brandon SinclairVolkens

LinkedIn also holds information on its users based on what they feel would safeguard the consumers so their information wouldn’t leak. But anything you post on a business account is made with the intention of showing it to potential jobs, clients, etc.

“By not sharing its data with others, LinkedIn safeguards some of its revenues, but also restricts integration with business workflows – relegating the network to continue to be one focused on individuals rather than businesses, according to techcrunch.com. This further limits the flexibility and the accessibility of LinkedIn as it makes the ability to steal jobs and businesses a lot less diverse.

Expanding your horizon by marketing yourself in real life via portfolios and resumes that show your outstanding performances through IRL meetings seems like a more realistic approach that can bring in more opportunities.

gapikyan.roundupnews@gmail.com

the L.A. Community College District, the college or any officer or employee thereof.

Photo Illustration by the Roundup

VeriCite is very gone

Plagiarism detection tool to be replaced

Promises kept

Program continues to aid students

ABDUL ALI Reporter @TheRoundupNews

Free community college provided by The Los Angeles College Promise Grant is helping build the City of Angels into a city of graduates.

The Los Angeles College Promise student enrollment has jumped 25 percent. This will increase the number of community college graduates, university transfer and workforce-ready students throughout our region.

does is package it all so that a student knows where to find it all.” Said Kiekel. “I think that we should make it that easy for everyone to access the programs and services that are available to our students.”

According to Kiekel, not only will the one year of free tuition help students but priority enrollment and a support team are a sure way to help students achieve their goal.

For business management major Michael Stevens the Los Angeles College Promise is a great way to give everyone a chance to succeed in college.

Brahma Blotter

These incidents were reported between 5/12-5/18

Reported by: Alexis Canelo

One effective tool for teachers to find cheaters is online software that detects plagiarism.

Pierce has used such software for years but needs to find a replacement by the end of June.

Last year, it was announced that VeriCite, a plagiarism detection tool used by numerous professors at the campus, would be turned off by June 30, 2019.

“VeriCite has been bought by Turnitin.com, and we were given at one year's notice that Turnitin was getting rid of it,” Distance Educator Coordinator Wendy Bass said.

The new plagiarism detection program is expected to be implemented July 1, Bass said.

Turnitin was another plagiarism software that was being used by Pierce College, but the price for using this tool was bumped considerably.

Bass is going through the different options for a new plagiarism tool to decide what will be the most convenient for professors and the campus.

“We are looking at Proctorio [that] has anti-plagiarism software that's supposed to be created in time,” Bass said. “ And then there was supposed to be one called Sim Check, but it still hasn't been created in time. And that's basically got to be something through Turnitin. com. They basically bought VeriCite and said we're getting rid of it, but we're going to create Sim Check.”

Assistant Professor of Cinema Ken Windrum has used VeriCite since it was first implemented and found it useful even though it lacked accuracy when grading student papers.

“I think VeriCite has gotten better,” Windrum said. “It has improved. At first, it used to be ludicrous. It would give you like 25-30 percent plagiarism for students who had not, and that's not good because you don't want to blame people for something they didn't do. You want to catch the occasional really bad plagiarist.”

Assistant Professor of English Christopher Corning found it challenging to get used to VeriCite when it was first brought in to the Canvas shell too as it didn’t work well with the ‘Speedgrader’ feature.

“However, that issue was resolved within a semester or two,” Corning said. “I was able to

create assignments in such a way that I could use Vericite to check for plagiarism while still using the convenient grading tool in Canvas.”

Despite the challenges that professors had with VeriCite, it helped them to detect students who were cheating on their papers.

“VeriCite has been quite useful to me in identifying plagiarism,” Corning said. “Sometimes, students simply do not understand how to incorporate outside sources properly. Other times, students wait until the last minute and simply grab material of the internet just to try to meet the assignment requirements.”

Whichever software Pierce decides to incorporate, professors expect a hassle-free integration that won’t intervene with their grading process.

“I imagine that I will need to adapt to whatever service comes next once VeriCite is gone,” Corning said. “Whichever software we use, I simply hope that the tool retains seamless integration in Canvas so that I can create my assignments, in the same manner, to grade in Speedgrader and also see the plagiarism score alongside the student essay.”

slopes.roundupnews@gmail.com

According to lacollegepromise.org the grant has now been extended to help even more college students all over Los Angeles.

The most important aspects of the Los Angeles College Promise are the waived tuition for the first year of college, priority enrollment at LACCD's nine colleges and a dedicated support team providing a wide array of academic and student support services.

According to Crystal Kiekel the Director for the Center of Academic Success, the grant is much more than just any ordinary grant.

“College Promise is much more than a grant, it’s an opportunity to connect students to a network of learners and support,” said Kiekel. “Pierce Promise aims to help students by connecting them to the curriculum, peer networks, and support staff that can help them succeed throughout and beyond their educational journey.”

Kiekel also mentioned how all students can benefit from mentoring, tutoring, events, counseling, and financial aid as well as how the promise grant sheds a light on all those things.

“What College Promise

“I think that it’s an awesome opportunity for everyone to be able to have,” said Stevens. “It gives people a chance to figure out what they want to do for free for that first year and that definitely helps out a lot of people.”

While the Los Angeles Promise grant is sure to help many, Wendy Bass the Coordinator for Pierce Online has been working on new grants that are sure to help many as well.

“We have been working on a grant that will give us five new online certificates including routing technologies, public education, task preparation, office communications, and social media,” said Bass.

This will allow students to earn online certificates which can help them earn living wages while finishing up the rest of their classes.

With the Los Angeles Promise Grant in effect along with a variety of many other scholarships and grants available, there has never been a better time to sign up at Pierce College.

For more information on eligibility and other grants along with financial aid information please visit www.piercecollege. edu/offices/financial_aid/.

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3/4 6 p.m.

•Student Injury

A student was injured during oga class in the North Gym.

Pierce College

Sheriff’s Station

General Information:

(818) 719-6450

Emergency: (818) 710 - 4311

Student Awards Brunch relocated

JUSTIN MIRANDA Reporter @TheRoundupNews

The Pierce College Student Awards Brunch location has been moved from the Music Lawn to the South Gym and the time has been changed from 8 to 11 a.m.

The Student Awards Brunch is on the same day as graduation Tuesday, June 4.

According to Instructor of Psychology Angela Belden, the main reason for the Awards Brunch time change is to save students and faculty time.

“It became a 14 hour day for students and that’s an extremely long day,” said Belden.

Belden said students appreciate that the Students Award Brunch is on graduation day.

“Students said it’s really for their families to take one day off work and spending time with them,” Belden said.

Angela said hosting the awards ceremony was beautiful in the

music lawn, but she said the lawn couldn’t hold 350 people.

Angela said the location was also changed because it gets warm around 11 a.m.

Professor of Communication Studies and Academic Senate President Barbara Anderson said the change was an excellent decision.

“In the past, they had the Student Awards Brunch outside up at the music lawn, which was beautiful, but they would have to have it earlier in the day so that it wouldn't be too hot,” Anderson said. “We thought it really makes it a long day for our students that are winning awards and also graduating.”

The banquet will include sandwiches and vegan options from Panera Bread.

Instructor of Theater Brian Moe, said the change in time and location may cause a few bumps.

The new location that was ideal for Belden is the South Gym.

“We partnered with ASO and ASO has purchased floor coverings,” Belden said. “We will have a sound system, table and chairs, food, and we will watch students win awards.”

“Every time you try something new, there’s a learning curve,” Moe said. “Overall, I think everyone will be happy with the move because there’s indoor air conditioner and it’s a shorter day.”

Photo Illustration by Blake Williams/Roundup VeriCite, a plagiarism detection tool, will no longer be used after June 30.

SUSAN LOPEZ

Features Editor @TheRoundupNews

“We will have a sound system, table and chairs, food, and we will watch students win awards."

-Angela Belden Instructor of Psychology

Photo Illustration Joshua Manes/Roundup

The Student Awards Brunch has been moved from the Music Lawn to the South Gym.

Finding your voice after it’s gone

Pierce student shows the importance of life on and off the stage

DANIELLE PADILLA Online Editor @dcxpadilla

There’s a lot of Amy Solano in the Nina character from “In the Heights,” the role she played this month at Pierce College. Like Nina, who misses home and returns to her roots, Solano has made her way back to her first love–singing.

Straight out of high school, Solano was accepted into her dream college, the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she participated in the music program. But after receiving bad grades and, she was unsure what to do next.

Solano said she cried for about two weeks, and her closest friends and cousin would often visit her and try to coax her out of the house.

“We went out to eat and I was like, just sitting there like, ‘My life sucks, it’s over’,” Solano said. “They [her friends and cousin] were like, ‘No, no, no, you need to do something that makes you happy.’ So I dyed my hair cherry red and I decided to last minute sign up for music classes at Valley College.”

However, two years ago Solano physically lost her voice, to the point where it hurt her to talk. She took this as another sign from the universe to stop pursuing music, and from that point, Solano decided to switch her major to animal sciences and transfer to Pierce College.

“I was absolutely miserable with what I was doing,” Solano said. “I wasn’t motivated to want to study for my classes. I was just barely making it by and I saw how passionate everybody else was around me about things. And I’m just like, I’m not like these people, especially like in the science department.”

One of the important people who helped Solano find her way back to music was her cousin, Monica Vigil.

Solano and Vigil both attended to Pierce together. Vigil was even the one who convinced

Solano to take a introduction to acting class with Shaheen Vaaz.

“I took it and it was just totally life-changing because [Vigil] saw how miserable I was getting and she was like, ‘You need to go back to that creative side of yourself,’ because I realized I’m a creative person,” Solano said. “I need some sort of outlet because if I don’t have an outlet, I’ll just dye my hair crazy colors.”

But during her time in the animal science program, Solano was diagnosed with colitis.

“I went to the emergency room a couple times, so it did take away from that,” Solano said. “But luckily it came under control and then once I got

into the music program here, it didn’t really affect me. But then when I became pregnant it kind of like flared up again. So it only affected me when I was, when I was pregnant.”

During her pregnancy, Solano was able to work as the assistant director to Vaaz in “The Arabian Nights” in 2017. More recently, Solano and Vaaz got to work together again in “In the Heights,” which just finished its run on the Pierce stage on May 5.

“Amy is surprising in many ways - she seems fragile but then reveals incredible strength, she is quiet but has deeply perceptive feedback/questions, her softness has a core of real power within,”

Vaaz said in an email interview. “She was my assistant director on “The Arabian Nights” while pregnant with her daughter and found a way, and believe me it’s not easy, to return to “In the Heights” as a lead actor while nursing and raising and nurturing her baby. I’m very proud of her.”

Between “Arabian Nights” and “In the Heights”, Solano took a year off to do speech therapy and raise her child. But when the role of Nina came up for “In the Heights,” Solano was hesitant about auditioning. Solano’s biggest concern was if she should be doing the play when she has a child at home to care for.

While her family was

supportive of her aspirations, the best advice she received was from her mom and husband.

“My mom actually told me, ‘You don’t stop being who you are just because you’re a mom’,” Solano said. “You can’t forget about who you are. So I’m like, ‘You know what, you’re right.’

So with that they were like, go for this. My husband is like a stage mom for me, which is hysterical because they were like, Go for it, we’ll figure it out.”

Although there were times that Solano felt overwhelmingly guilty for leaving her daughter during rehearsals three times a week, she said the support from the cast helped her stay grounded.

“I like had a lot of stuff, a lot of that going on at home I would feel really guilty,” Solano said. “But then when I would come here, I feel like everybody’s so great. Everybody has such a positive attitude about things that it’s like, how was I upset or anything like carrying that from home. So, luckily when I was here, I would have at least those three hours where I could forget everything went on in my personal life and just delve into a whole other world.”

While Solano felt support from the cast, she also returned the sentiment to Brenda Garcia who plays Camila, Nina’s mom in the show.

“Amy is so open and giving as a fellow actor,” Garcia said “I play her mom and to play an authentic relationship, especially in the Latino community, there’s a lot of hugging, physical contact and we talked about that. Would she be comfortable with it? Because some people just aren’t comfortable with the physical contact. So we discussed that and she was just, ‘Whatever you want to do, you know, I’m Latin, I know my family, we hug and kissed or whatever you want to do.’ So it made it organic for me to respond to her as my daughter without any hesitation.”

While there were times Solano struggled during rehearsals, the role was important to her because it is equally rewarding and challenging.

Solano’s performance as Nina marks her return to theater after a year off.

“This is kind of like a welcome back after having my baby, but also a welcome back after losing my voice,” Solano said.

“Actually having the confidence to sing, because the last time I was actually in a production to sing was in 2013. Since then, I haven’t been able to really push my voice cause unfortunately I had some improper training and so I lost my voice. So a big part of this journey has been finding quite literally my voice again.”

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A voice is meant for more than just singing Transfer success story hopes to a become civil rights lawyer

UCLA sociology professor Steven Clayman has worked with Evans first hand, and believes that she do well no matter the college she chooses, due to her work ethic.

For years Daniele Evans wanted to use her songs to advocate for civil rights. Now she wants to help people find their voice to speak out against discrimination.

Evans originally came from Shreveport, Louisiana, where racism is more prominent. She came to California to pursue a career in music and to express her experiences, as a way to show other people of color they are not alone.

“Music was my life and I would create music to advocate for people of color, and I felt like that would be the only way I could express myself,” Evans said. “I was doing well, I was song writing for a major company, but I didn’t like the industry out here, I’m a feminist and I just don’t believe in a lot of things that factor into that whole lifestyle. You would be surprised with the kinds of situations you would be put in.”

After leaving a career in music, Evans picked up a job as a personal assistant to a lawyer where she discovered that she wanted to become a civil rights lawyer and help people who aren’t able to represent or speak up for their own rights.

“He was helping people, and advocating for other peoples rights,” Evans said. “As a personal injury attorney he was working with people getting hurt and misused in a work environment, and the majority of them were people of color. I realized that if i’m going to do this, to speak up and help other people, I knew I needed to go back to school.” Evans would then come to Pierce to study Political Science,

and In the fall, she is planning to attend Berkeley University but has also been accepted to the University of Southern California (USC) as well. On top of attending college Evans also works two jobs, one of which is a business she runs herself. “I work part time in retail

and I also work part time for my own job that I have. I run a travel agency and It’s like my own independent business. So it’s like my side hustle, well they are both of my side hustles that turned into full time,” Evans said.

According to the advocate article, Louisiana education is behind Texas ten years in

education. High school students in Texas are already working on college level work but in Louisiana there just now teaching high schools the basics to get to the next level.

“Since I’ve been here at Pierce, my experience has been smooth sailing versus the south,” Evans said. “When I came to Pierce, I

thought I was stupid compared to other kids. I would get frustrated with myself because everyone else was catching on to the class material and I wasn’t. Southern education really messed me over, so coming to Pierce I’ve really had to relearn everything from scratch, which is fine with me because I appreciate it more.”

“I’ve helped her with a lot of outside work as far a mentorships, court cases and internships. She was introduced to me by another faculty at Pierce who recommend that she would be a good candidate for a few jobs that I’ve have lined up for my students at UCLA,” Clayman said. “Evans is very dependable and hardworking and so far has done good work with past projects, and she’s going to do very well at which every University she chooses.”

Classmate Kyle Bagarra said that Evans goes above and beyond to achieve in school.

“As a classmate, she is very smart girl,” Bagarra said. “I’ve seen her put in overtime to ask the professor for help and even go the extra mile to keep her grades above average.”

Aside from a bit of anxiety, Evans is looking forward to what the future has to offer.

“I’m nervous about moving again but I can’t wait to see what this journey has to offer me in the future,” Evans said. “I believe that all things happen for a reason and there’s a reason why I am here at Pierce and getting ready to transfer to university and, you know, continue continuing my journey. Like Plato says, ‘Finding your species being’, and I truly found like my species being and I know what I want to do, I know what I want to be and I know like what I’m here on this earth for and who to help.”

Danielle Padilla / Roundup

Amy Solano curls her hair in the dressing room before her last performance as Nina in “In the Heights” on May 4, 2019, at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Chelsea Westman / Roundup

Daniele Evans stands in the Botanical Garden at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 20, 2019. Evans is a Friend of UMOJA and has been accepted to USC and UC Berkeley.

Piano prodigy finds the keys to the future

A16-year-old

SUSAN LOPEZ Features Editor @susanlo63291265

While most children listen to whatever’s popular on the radio, few go out of their way to listen to 19th century Hungarian musicians.

But that’s what inspired 4-year-old Kevin Cho to become the piano prodigy he is today.

At such a young age, Cho is capable of showing precision, delicacy, and emotion when playing the piano on stage, and presenting his skills in multiple competitions in front of hundreds of people.

However, his prominence only comes after years of laborious practice and dedication.

Cho did not always enjoy practicing the piano, but when he first heard “Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” by composer Franz Liszt, his outlooked changed.

“I feel like love is something that you cultivate through years of practice and dedication,” Cho said. “So, nobody really starts to play piano with a love for it.”

Cho started playing when he was 4 years old with the help of his mother, Agnes Kim, but after reaching the age of 10, he decided to look for another teacher.

Cho mentioned that he didn’t acknowledge his mom as a teacher and that was causing rupture in their relationship. Yet, over time he started to value her advice more than ever.

“Before I feel like I didn’t appreciate her expertise and knowledge as a musician,” Cho said. “But now I really appreciate how much she’s done, and how much she has learned over the years that I couldn’t possibly imagine.”

Despite his age, Cho has been able to build a meaningful curriculum as a pianist but doesn’t dwell in his talent only.

“Sometimes I practice right

after school up to dinner or sometimes I would not be able to do that and practice at late hours, around 8 p.m or 9 until we 11, or 12 a.m sometimes,” Cho said. “That’s the schedule right now. But over the summer I’ll be practicing a lot more.”

Cho registered at Pierce College to gain more knowledge on Western music history although he had other options

closer

to him in Valencia.

“The [Santa Clarita] district policy is that you’re not allowed to take college classes until you’re finished with 10th grade,” Cho said. “But then for all other L.A. community colleges like Pierce, you wouldn’t have to be that. So, I just wanted to take the classes early as possible since I want to know music history.”

Instructor of Music, Ferhiz

snowboarding and [play] tennis.”

Cho’s close friend, Dylan Thai, is also a fellow pianist and besides the times they spent together playing video games, Cho has been a big influence for him when it comes to music.

“The way he plays [piano] is so invoking compared to others,” Thai said. “Not only how he plays it, but the tone of how he hits the keys. It’s different compared to how other people play. And he actually inspires me to practice and try to create my own way to inspire [others].”

Brewer is a strong believer that if “we give our best, the best will come to us,” and she sees students like Cho as a testament that dreams can come true if you work hard enough.

“He is a humble and kind young man and will say otherwise,” Brewer said. “It is important to have these bright stars come to our campus and be part of our community. They are an inspiration to all of us and give us hope that if we dream, learn, and do, we can achieve our goals.”

Kevin Cho preforms in his piano room on May 19, 2019, in Valencia, Calif. Cho is a 16-year-old pianist who has won multiple competitions.

Flor cantoy

Dance and music are components of many different cultures. Using unique rhythms and colorful outfits for dancers, people of Mexican heritage can feel connected to their roots.

The first annual “Flor y Canto In Xochitl, In Cuicatl,” translated to flower and song, held May 16, honored the culture through poems and songs by Martha Gonzalez and a dance performance by the group named Circulo Ajolote.

Photos by Chelsea Westman

Copy by Angelica Lopez

Bottom: Circulo Ajolote start their ceremonial blessing during the first annual “Flor y Canto: In, Xochitl, In Cuicatl” in Building 600 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 16, 2019.

Right: (Left to right) Martha Gonzalez is blessed by Emily Sanchez during the first annual “Flor y Canto: In, Xochitl, In Cuicatl” at Building 600 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 16, 2019.

Mildred Flores performs a ceremonial blessing during the first annual “Flor y Canto: In Xochitl, In Cuicatl” in Building 600 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 16, 2019.

Left: Dr. Martha Gonzalez sings during the first annual “Flor y Canto: In Xochitl, In Cuicatl” in Building 600 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 16, 2019.

Say it loud and proud

GINA WONG Reporter SUSAN LOPEZ Features Editor @TheRoundupNews

Public speaking can be someone’s greatest fear, but for others, they find it as a way to communicate with others and bring awareness to issues close to their heart.

The seventh annual Speech Tournament was open to all students who are currently enrolled in Communications 101.

The Seventh Annual Speech Tournament took place on Friday, May 17, in the Great Hall.

More than 50 competitors delivered their speeches in two different categories: informative or persuasive speaking. All competed for a prize pool of $375 with first place taking home $200.

The event was sponsored by ASO, which provided food, cash prizes, and trophies for the winners.

Throughout the tournament, speakers went through the first round delivering their speeches in different classrooms to finally move to the second round at the Great Hall.

Students tackled topics like drug addiction, attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), equality for women, gun laws, and more.

Associate Speech Professor

Michelle Silver said participating students gave five to sevenminute speeches, either in the informative or persuasive category, and the tournament offered students an opportunity to practice their speaking skills outside of the classroom.

“It's a form that provides a friendly, competitive environment with their peers,” Silver said. “It also allows students to advocate for issues that are important to them and gives them an opportunity to talk about issues that they deeply care about. So it is a great resume bolstering activity and provides them with real-life experience.”

Silver said some of the judges in the first round were from Pierce faculty, as well as some from California State University, Northridge, and they were looking for overall speaker style, organization of speech and delivery.

Silver said students were expected to speak extemporaneously.

“They combine the best aspects of the speech and deliver it in a conversational way,” Silver said.

“We don’t call it memorization, but we like students to learn and be familiar with the speech. Students can have an outline to refer down to, but they should not be reading from the outline.”

Communications Department Chair Yeprem Davoodian said the informative speeches are where the presentations are a bit more unique because students can talk

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about anything and everything.

Students compete in annual Speech Tournament BEAT

“They choose their own topics,” Davoodian said. “So it could be about Disney World or about an assembly bill passing. In our department, we are a believer in academic freedom and an environment where we call it an exchange of free ideas.”

Cash prizes and trophies were awarded. The first place winner recieved $200, second place got $100 and third place earned $75, according to Silver.

Celeste Jale, a contestant, and winner of the persuasive speech category in “Equality” for women mentioned how critical is for people to learn about this topic and take action.

“I was really grateful that I got to get this speech to such a large group because most people in the United States think that there is an equality amendment in the constitution for women and there is not,” Jale said.

“We need to be aware and we need to be vigilant and take action.”

Silver said she tells her students coming into the competition that they have nothing to lose, but everything to gain.

“You should never think of yourself as a loser,” Silver said.

“I think in the moments that you don't win, when you actually learn more about yourself and you learn about the things that you can do, that you need to change.”

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-OmidTaghizadeh Studio Arts

“SanFranciscoStateUniversitybecauseit's anabsolutelybeautifulcity.”

-Benjamin Dickson Screenwriting

“CSUNbecauseit'soneofthebestschoolsfor mycommunicationsmajorandit’sstilllocal.”

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Soccer aiming for the goal

enter 19th year looking to keep playoff streak intact

FELIPE GAMINO Sports Editor @fgamino13

Pierce soccer enters a new season hoping to keep the playoff streak alive and in the process, win their conference. However, reaching the postseason will not be an easy task as they’ll face teams like Ventura College, Cuesta and Moorpark.

Head Coach Adolfo Perez enters his 19th season at the helm of the program. He looks forward to the new challenges ahead.

“We are in a new conference so that will be tough and also a change in administration so we have to adjust there as well,” Perez said.

The team will be without their top goal scorer Keyonna Hill, who will not be playing due to pregnancy.

Hill led the Brahmas in goals last year with 29, tying Erica Vangsness who had the record for a few seasons.

Perez said that not having Hill will be a big loss for the entire team.

“She is irreplaceable to be honest. We were close in bringing in Karina Salgado from ElCo [El Camino Real] but she ended up transferring to a four-year at the last minute,” Perez said.

Perez said that the objective will be to play as a team and to not depend solely on one player.

Diana Millan last year led the state in assists with 28 as she broke a school record and scored five goals.

Madison Holland who was going to be the starting goalie for the Brahmas will not be returning after her torn ACL she suffered against Antelope Valley College.

Perez talked about the goalkeeper department and mentioned who his number one could potentially be for the season opener against Chaffey College.

“Last year we had four or five. We have Joana Cerda coming in from Kennedy High School and

we also have Iliana [Yanez] who should be our number one, but who knows. She wasn’t our starter last year, but ended up playing most of the games,” Perez said. We had brought Holland to play, but she only did for 10 minutes.”

Perez said that he feels

blessed because even though they lose players, the magic is still there for the team. He said that also an objective for the program will be reaching the postseason.

“Before we start the season we set out goals and we have three of

them. To win conference, we want to make playoffs and we want to win state. We always think big. It will be sad when eventually it will be a group, but I don’t want this group to be the first,” Perez said. An issue for the Brahmas was the injuries. In addition to

Holland being injured, other players were sidelined for a while.

Perez said they will emphasize on that heading into the summer.

“We are going to start one week earlier in the third week of June and I hope our foundation is strong,” Perez said.

Gisell Cruz, who was the top goal scorer in 2017, came in second behind Hill with 21 goals and 19 assists.

Pierce will face a tough schedule to start the season. After their opener against Chaffey, they play Irvine Valley, Cerro Coso, Antelope Valley, West LA, Harbor, Victor Valley, College of the Canyons and Clovis.

Perez said that even though they did not have a strong roster, Hill was scoring the goals. Conlon is expected to be the main striker this year.

Perez is 14 wins away from reaching 300. He has the soccer balls from his first 200 in his office. He said that it will be phenomenal if he reaches it.

“It is not something I’m obsessed with, but if we can get there it will be awesome,” Perez said.

Forward Jordyn Conlon said they have a solid team coming back and is looking forward to the new competition.

“Even though we lost a great amount of players, we have new faces coming in so that will help us tremendously and will make us more compact as a squad,” Conlon said.

She said she looks forward to being the striker this season and hopes to step up for her teammates.

“I really hope I can lead my team this year. Be the best teammate and friend and I have faith that we will put up the same numbers as last season,” Conlon said.

She said that the team has potential to not only reaching the playoffs, but to reach 300 wins.

Skylar Myers, defender, said the new faces on the team will adapt well to the program.

“We have really good coaches and we have built a pretty good environment. I think it is a big step for anyone that starts as a juco player,” Myers said. “This is a really important year for us.”

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Joshua Manes/ Roundup

Jessica Palmer dribbles the ball past Jessica Tapia during the offseason soccer conditioning class next to The Pit at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 9, 2019.