Pierce student dies in car accident

Cesar Perez was part of the MEChA program, supported his family with 6 siblings and single mother

Cesar y Louis.

A row of lit candles with religious figures lined the sidewalk on Parthenia Street alongside an arrangement of flowers in vases. The asphalt ground was spray painted in white cursive—R.I.P.

Pierce student Cesar Perez, 19, and brother Louis Perez, 16, were passengers in a Chevy truck, according to KTLA, when they died in a car crash Sunday on Parthenia Street, between De Soto Avenue and Mason Avenue. The 20-year-old driver of the vehicle, Pablo Roman Trujillo Carrasco, was arrested on suspicion of murder, according to KTLA.

The teen brothers were killed after Carrasco “drove into oncoming traffic, lost control and slammed into two parked vehicles,” according to KTLA. The brothers were pronounced dead at the scene. Elva Rodriguez lives near the crash site and said she witnessed the aftermath. Rodriguez said she saw the brothers being taken away in body bags by the paramedics. “A lot of people were here and the two bodies were the only thing I saw,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t know how [the car] flew to the other side.”

Top Middle: Sherry Ramos and Diana Millan hug after Pierce's final regular season game against the Ventura College Pirates at the VC Sportsplex in Ventura, Calif., on Nov. 15, 2019.

Photo by Benjamin Hanson.

Students who want to change their legal names to their preferred ones can now do so on Canvas.

Distance Education Coordinator Wendy Bass explained the importance of the change.

“I like the idea of students choosing their preferred name because I think that’s their identity and that’s who they prefer to be,” Bass said. “Students are entitled to have the name they want to choose.” by Benjamin Hanson.

Center: Sofia Caparelli sits dejected after Pierce's final regular season game against the Ventura College Pirates at the VC Sportsplex in Ventura, Calif., on Nov. 15, 2019.

Since the program was founded in 2001, the soccer team has always reached playoffs. However, in the course of 90 minutes, they were unable to keep the streak going as they lost to Ventura College.

The Pirates were all offense from the start as they beat Pierce 5-0.

Head Coach Adolfo Perez said it is very disheartening that they won't be in the postseason.

"We were the only program to make playoffs for 18 straight years. All good things come to an end,” Perez said. “It makes you appreciate all those years more. All these [conference] stars, you never value them until you go through something like this.”

The Pirates took the lead in the seventh minute through Jacqueline Rivera.

The pressure mounted on the

Brahmas six minutes later as Ventura doubled their lead when Sammy Zanini scored from 20 yards out, giving Pierce goalie Joanna Cerda no chance at saving.

Ventura went to halftime with a 2-0 lead.

Perez said they had dealt with pressure throughout the season with all the injuries that occurred.

“We had players hurt, while others were ineligible and it was a battle. We averaged three losses in 18 years and now this year we lost 10 games. Very tough,” Perez said.

Top Right: Head Coach Adolfo Perez reacts to a Ventura score during Pierce's final regular season game against the Ventura College Pirates at the VC Sportsplex in Ventura, Calif., on Nov. 15, 2019.

Bass said that this change will make it easier on students who want to change their legal names.

Photo by Benjamin Hanson.

Brahmas have made the playoffs every year in program history ... until now

After the break, the Pirates added a third goal in the 55th minute. Jacky Espinoza scored on a shot from 25 yards out.

Rivera would get her brace in the 61st minute as the Brahmas needed to score five for a chance at reaching the playoffs.

Jasmin Ambriz 10 minutes later scored the fifth and final goal which gave Ventura the win.

Team captain Diana Millan said she was disappointed after the loss.

“This was my last game here at Pierce and I wish we would have kept on going,” Millan said.

Millan expected for the team had done a lot better not only for this game, but in the season.

“We started off slow and that is where it affected us. In this game we could have responded right away after we conceded and it was unfortunate for us,” Millan said.

Isabel Diaz said most of the goals could have been prevented.

“Before they would have to go through my office where they would have to take a screenshot and prove they have changed their preferred name and that we change it on canvas,” Bass said.

Students can go to SIS and change their name and the grades at the end of the semester will be under the preferred name. However the name will change only on canvas.

President Alexis Montevirgen said that students had been asking to change their names in the past.

“This is in response to several of our students wanting to be able to identify using another name preference,” Montevirgen said.

SAMANTHA NEFF Reporter @sam_neff_

Thanksgiving falls around the time of year where college students are stressed about their finals and the end of the semester.

The holiday is an essential time for students to spend time with their loved ones and take a break from the stress.

Students and professors deserve a week off, instead of two days, for Thanksgiving break so they can relax with their family or friends.

According to smartasset.com, 95% of Americans spend the holidays with their family.

After Thanksgiving break, students have about two weeks or less until their finals begin. A week off could provide time for students to study for exams or catch up on school work that they’ve missed throughout the semester.

According to an article by Scientific American, relaxation is important for a student’s success.

“Downtime replenishes the brain’s stores of attention and motivation, encourages productivity and creativity, and is essential to both achieve our highest levels of performance and simply form stable memories in everyday life.”

Most people can agree that it is easier to get through finals after they have had a few days to relax and review schoolwork. However, if they only have two days to do so, they miss out on time they could spend with their loved ones.

Professors and students also are not given enough time to travel.

If a family member lives in another state, a student would have to miss one or two days of school simply to make it on time.

Unfortunately, if they aren't able to travel then some are left with no choice but to spend the holiday by themselves. While many could argue that most employees do not get a week off from work, they are also not expected to prepare for upcoming projects and essays during their break like students are.

Attendance in the classrooms on the Monday and Tuesday following the weekend after Thanksgiving is already low due to students and professors taking a week long break anyways.

Students and professors would benefit from having a week off for Thanksgiving break so that they are able to get more done and be less stressed when returning to school.

College is hard, and students need outlets that relieve stress and build school pride.

An esports team could benefit the campus community by attracting new students and creating connectivity to a growing global community.

A varsity esports team is a video game group that represents a college or university and competes with other educational institutions.

Many colleges now have facilities for esports training because the cost of investing in gaming computers and other gear can be provided by sponsors. The only other thing needed is a workspace and access to the internet, which could be a designated classroom that isn’t being used.

The stigma of video games as nothing more than a waste of time that makes children lazier is antiquated and needs to be readdressed, especially in the college community. These preconceived notions cause a lot of misunderstandings about what esports are and what value they actually bring.

Participation in programs like these benefits students and campuses. Esports programs can function through student-run production, marketing, broadcasting, coaching, management and game development. Students learn teamwork and problem-solving skills that can enhance career advancement opportunities.

The growing popularity of esports is an opportunity for Pierce to take the gaming community seriously as a professional career path.

Esports audiences are beginning to rival the audiences of physical sports, which is impressive considering that the overhead is such a small fraction of the cost compared to live sports. The rapid growth of esports has grabbed the attention of major cities such as Arlington, Texas, which built a $10 million esports stadium to cash in on the new market.

Esports has already become a serious profession for those that are heavily involved. In the very near future, college esports could be a viable career path for professional competitors. Instead of ignoring the changing employment landscape, Pierce should embrace forward-thinking programs such as these.

According to gamedesigning.com, college esports programs grew from only seven colleges and universities in 2016 to 63 institutions by 2018. With many of these colleges now offering esports scholarships, clearly this is a trend that isn’t going away anytime soon.

Considering the rapidly decreasing college enrollment at Pierce which has led to a budget deficit, perhaps esports would help to revive the campus spirit that can attract new student enrollment.

MAJA LOSINSKA Reporter @RoundupNews

Thanksgiving tradition has almost always been a definition of delicious home cooked meals and time spent with family.

However, for some students, Thanksgiving break is a waste of time.

A week off of school for the holiday would be beyond excessive, especially when the semester is nearly coming to an end.

Usually teachers would assign projects or homework during the break anyway because of the loss of class time.

This makes it almost impossible for students to relax because they have to think about their grades and assignments.

It is often easy to forget the material learned from the previous week when there's a gap in between.

be open for the rest of the week leading up to Thanksgiving.

While spending time with family can be great, it can also be overwhelming.

Family members reel off college and personal life questions that nobody is ready to answer. Almost everyone can relate to having to sit through awkward conversations about the future with an aunt or cousin and thinking of ways to change the topic.

Not going home for Thanksgiving is also beneficial for a student’s budget.

Time for school

If time was given for the holiday, teachers may find it difficult to get through the entire curriculum right before finals. When students get back from the break, class would have to be spent reviewing and re-teaching material instead of moving forward.

It is harder to adjust to a normal routine after a week of doing nothing. A break would simply hurt students in an educational way.

A student’s brain remains charged and in the “learning mode” if school continues to

Thanksgiving week is one of the busiest time to travel. According to the American Automobile Association, about 4.5 million Americans are predicted to travel on plane during the holiday break. Not only are airports jam-packed, flights can be expensive and are usually delayed, which can cause problems and be time consuming for some students.

With so many other people going home for the holiday, driving home could take longer than necessary because of traffic.

In the U.S., Thanksgiving always falls on a Thursday. With school being closed on Friday and then having the weekend following that, students already have a considerable amount of time to rest. There is no need to have the whole week off in addition to that.

Family and friends of the siblings left candles, flowers and other offerings Monday at the crash site.

Jose Rivera, a friend of Cesar Perez, said he attracted people with his outgoing personality.

“He was a really happy guy and funny around other people,” Rivera said. “He was the life of the party, a really good dancer.”

Perez was a part of the MEChA club on campus and helped out at the Dream Resource Center, according to Pierce President Alexis Montevirgen.

Montevirgen said he was sad to include the news of Perez’s death in his report at the Academic Senate meeting Monday.

“Our thoughts are with Cesar and his family during this difficult time,” Montevirgen said.

The Health Center is available for counseling services for any students who need it.

“The campus will assist in providing resources necessary to support affected students, faculty and staff,” Montevirgen said.

The Student Health Center cannot currently schedule counseling appointments because there isn’t counseling spots available.

However, Health Center Director Beth Benne