Volume 132 Spring 2020 Roundup Issue 6

Productive during the pandemic

Pierce College supervisors are assisting student workers by giving alternative assignments when online transition is impractical.

Information Desk and the High School Outreach Office student worker Kaitlyn Matsumoto wrote in an email that her duties have not changed much since students are still able to contact her and she can still help them from home. Student worker jobs are considered essential due to the resources they provide for other students. The workers are also willing to work from home with normal pay.

Fernando Becerra, a Peer to Peer Mentor student worker, wrote in an email his view on whether or not his job is considered essential.

BY ANDREA PEÑA

The definition of an essential worker varies across the country, but Pierce College is taking those roles seriously to keep student workers active and receiving a paycheck when millions are losing their jobs.

Hourly wages haven't changed but student workers are now performing tasks remotely, and maximum hours are no more than 12 per week.

Peer to Peer Mentor Lyndsey Morgan wrote in an email that she is no longer worried about unemployment.

“Pierce College provided me with the ability to work when I can and offer assistance to students,” Morgan said. “I was worried that I would

become unemployed. It was rough for the first two weeks. I was really depressed and stir-crazy.”

Student workers are still given the same requirements to continue working, some that include not dropping out of classes, remaining in good academic standing and taking at least 12 units per semester.

Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) Human

Resources Director Mercedes Gutiérrez wrote via email to LACCD representatives that student workers will be paid for their already made schedule until June 30, 2020.

Pierce College did not anticipate that a campus closure due to COVID-19 prevention may become an issue for the spring semester.

CAS tutoring now available through Canvas Help is online

BY CECILIA PARADA

The Center for Academic Success

(CAS) has provided a bridge between pass and fail for students who use it weekly, but some might not have had the time to get there for extra help. Both types of students can now get remote assistance from embedded tutors in Canvas shells.

CAS Director Crystal Kiekel said in a Zoom interview that CAS provides about 50,000 to 70,000 hours of tutoring help each semester.

“To suddenly take that support away from students would have been devastating,” Kiekel said.

Students depend on tutors to be able to get through their classes and to understand the subject matter covered in their classes.

The transition to tutoring online happened quickly and the demand for tutors to be embedded into Canvas shells by faculty was clear.

“Before March 9, we had 136 requests to put tutors in Canvas shells,” Kiekel said. “We’re now up to 417.”

Many have expressed to faculty the desire for tutoring to be online.

Jamie Ray, instructor of English as a second language, said in a Zoom interview that the current circumstance is a silver lining to fulfill that need.

“We were forced into creating this online infrastructure, which is something we feel our students have needed and wanted for a long time,” Ray said.

While not all classes have embedded tutors in their Canvas shells, students with classes that lack an embedded tutor don’t have access to tutoring.

On the CAS website, classes without an embedded tutor still have tutoring available.

Independent Canvas shells have been set up for most subjects, such as sociology and political science, so that students can receive help even when their embedded tutor is unavailable.

The independent subject shells also show the availability of tutors.

Classes impacted by withdrawals

Student enrollment has dropped by about 4%

BY EDUARDO GARCIA

Enrollment dropped about 4% this year because students withdrew from at least one class, and data suggested it's because of COVID-19.

This change is between March 12 through April 12 compared to last year when the drop in enrollment was at about 2%.

“This is not saying that 35% of our Pell-eligible students are dropping out,” Williams said. “That's not what this means. It means ‘of’ all the drops.”

Luis Morales, a student worker at Pierce College Dream Resource Center, wrote in an email that his job at Pierce is not enough to help his family during this pandemic.

“I have had to seek extra help because, in my family household, we are quite a few so groceries are very necessary,” Morales said.

CalWORKS student workers funded by the CalWORKS Workforce Investment Board are prohibited by law from working remotely. These students will automatically be paid at the fulltime equivalent value, through June 30, assuming the Safer at Home order continues in Los Angeles, according to the email sent by Gutiérrez on April 14.

“My job is essential for the school because I provide students with information, updates and contact information with faculty who can help them further in specific categories,” Becerra said. Many student workers have felt that creating a schedule has allowed their mental health to be stable during the pandemic. Some feel that their job has allowed them to find a sense of distraction and has given them the ability to take breaks in between classes.

Workers are using their own resources, ranging from laptops to hotspots, to work from home. However, any impracticalities workers experience with the transition will be provided with alternative assignments to insure jobs.

Despite that, Pierce College is providing online help, online counseling and scholarships available for students.

Student workers are now expected to complete their tasks from home amid campus closure apena.roundupnews@gmail.com

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, CAS had exclusively relied on inperson tutoring that was dependent on the hours that the CAS building was open. “There are some tutors who can tutor outside of our normal hours of operation,” Kiekel said. “It's always been the case that a tutor could do extra hours after the Center for Academic Success closes.”

Communication between tutors and faculty has been crucial in making the transition to online tutoring effective for students and professors.

English professor Marra Kraemer said in a Zoom interview that she has resorted to sending English tutors weekly surveys.

“They're going to tell me what they need, what's working, what's not working and what they would change,” Kraemer said.

She noted that because the tutors are familiar with their independent Canvas shell, they know what works and what doesn’t.

Kiekel expressed that the education system still struggles with either online or in-person learning because addressing one equity concern can neglect another.

“It’s wonderful that we now have more access to people who work full-time jobs, for people who are homebound for any reason and for people to learn better in this modality,” Kiekel said. “But I think we also need to remember that there's a huge class gap and equity gap associated with technology right now. I know a lot of students who are just working on their phones because they don't have a computer.”

Kiekel also said that faculty and staff have responded positively and reacted quickly to ensure that their students would be supported by embedded and independent tutors.

“Our big push is trying to get students to know that our tutors are still here,” Kiekel said. “They have not abandoned them.”

Dean of Institutional Effectiveness Amari Williams provided charts to compare dropped classes and how many students withdrew with an "Excused Withdrawal" (EW) since the transition announcement.

“What we're seeing is that for many of the populations that are more vulnerable, they're being impacted greater with the [COVID-19] crisis,” Williams said.

Williams said the 2% was used as a baseline for the comparison and is normal. He said these are students who choose to take a "W" in their courses.

Williams said the 4% comes from the average in the college that varies from each discipline.

For instance, he said enrollment in technical theater decreased by 44%. However, the discipline is smaller compared to English. Because it’s smaller, that means there is less enrollment and fewer classes offered.

To prepare to go to the summer and fall semesters, Williams and his team are looking at specific populations and the daily enrollment drops. They’re also trying to see if there is a trend in the drop in enrollment.

This year, of those who withdrew between March and April, an average of 43% were female, and 57% were male, according to the graphs. For ethnicity, 61% were underrepresented, and 39% were represented.

Of those same students, Williams said eligible Pell Grant students who withdrew were consistent to about 35% to 40%. Depending on the day, the number would sometimes reach up to 60%.

A different graph focused on non-eligible and eligible AB 540 students. Williams said there was a positive disproportion happening with the AB 540 students, whom the vast majority did not withdraw within the first two weeks of the announcement.

Of those who did drop, about 3% of them were AB 540 students, compared to non-AB 540 students.

Williams said that after spring break ended, the drops increased between March 27 through March 29.

“There are some days going into the beginning of the resumption of spring, where AB 540 students represented about 10% ‘of’ all the withdrawals that happened,” Williams said. “Then you go into spring and maybe they're trying out, ‘How is this going for me? Am I adjusting to being in class online?’”

Williams said the data shows evidence that perhaps the online shift due to the COVID-19 pandemic is having an impact on vulnerable populations.

Williams advised students to speak to their counselor if they are thinking of withdrawing from at least one of their classes or are considering switching to a “Pass/ No Pass” grade basis.

“If you are looking to transfer, speak with the college you’re transferring to. Run whatever you're considering, withdrawing or changing to a ‘Pass/No Pass,’ by both of those areas,” Williams said. “So your counselor in your transfer school, by them first before you make a decision because you have the time. You still have several more weeks to make that decision.”

The last day to withdraw with an "EW" or petition a class to a "Pass/No Pass" is May 10.

Illustration by Angelica Lopez

Katya Castillo / Roundup

Natalie Albizo kneels by Natalamb at the Pierce College Farm in Woodland Hills, Calif., on April 3, 2020.

Pro: A virtual graduation

BY JOEY FARRIOLA

As daily life is being put on pause because of COVID-19, celebrating special occasions shouldn’t be stopped as well.

A graduation ceremony is an important milestone in a person’s life because it signifies students’ success in completing their studies and also calls for a celebration to share with others.

Pierce College should hold its commencement virtually so that 2020 graduates don’t miss out on their special moment.

This will ensure that the school and students are following California’s Safer at Home order while also maintaining social distancing.

While an online graduation may be a foreign concept for many, postponing it does not seem like the better option.

Some graduates plan on transferring to a four-year university, perhaps in a different state or even abroad. Other graduates move on with their careers which can also lead them to different cities or states.

These students are planning their futures outside of Pierce and most likely won’t want to come back simply to walk on stage.

For many students, an online

From the desk of the Roundup: Editorial

graduation could be their sole chance to have the opportunity to celebrate their academic success.

Students experience stress and long nights and a graduation symbolizes that their efforts were worth something.

The families of students should also be able to show their support, but most in-person graduations have a guest limit per person due to spatial limits.

If the ceremony was done online, family attendance would not be limited to those living in California. Multiple members of a family can also witness their graduate walk across the stage to accept their diploma live online.

The process of booking flights, searching for hotel accommodations, finding campus parking and even getting a seat at the event with a good view would no longer be a concern because people could simply attend by watching from their screens.

Whether it’s done through video call or by simply having their name read out loud by the college president or their favorite instructor, the ceremony would still serve the same purpose as if it were done in person.

Bringing back the community in community college

BY EDUARDO GARCIA

Eventhough I don't work, I've been struggling to maintain the same sleeping schedule, but have been working on myself through personal development.

However, ever since the lockdown began, staying at home has been a bit of a downer on me. I can't go to different parts of the valley, visit my friends, hold weekly club meetings or have "Boba Fridays" (half-joke) with my close friend.

While I do practice social distancing, it doesn't feel great to stay in one place for a prolonged time.

Looking at the positives, having more time to be at home has benefited me. For instance, I’ve been reading more, learning new skills online, listening to podcasts, working on personal short-term and longterm projects, revisiting past unfulfilled passions, improving my oral and written fluency in Spanish and many more.

I've also been bettering my mindset and forming new habits. For instance, I've been attempting to write on my agenda planner every day, finishing a book per week, exercising and more.

And, of course, there's the sleep aspect, where I would sometimes sleep really late at night and wake up late in the day. This is something I need to change so that I sleep on time and wake up with the "rise and shine" attitude early in the day.

In the past, I would almost never watch Netflix. But in April, I bingewatched "Money Heist" for two days. I have not finished the series, but I don't think I'm going to finish watching it all just so that I can avoid being locked into a screen. Before that, I did watch a 2011 movie called "In Time," which has transformed how I perceive time.

Con: Postpone graduation

BY JOSHUA BLEIWEISS

Graduation is seen as an important time for a student, no matter the grade. College students have graduated from kindergarten, elementary school, middle school and high school.

It’s something they remember and talk about as they grow up to reflect on memories.

But what if graduation was taken away from them or forced to change because things are out of their control? COVID-19 has caused uncertainty about whether graduation should be made into an online event this year.

While COVID-19 is a serious issue and there is a need for safety precautions, graduation is a unique case. It should not be moved online. It should be postponed until a safer time when it can be celebrated in-person.

People will feel heartbroken that something they have worked years on attaining, both physically and mentally, can be ripped away from them. Online graduation simply doesn’t feel the same as an in-person graduation.

It’s not only the students graduating who would feel torn up, it’s also the people behind the scenes, who supported the students

in achieving their academic success.

Online may be safe, and even cheaper, but it removes a massive chunk of the college experience.

Postponing graduation would make it so that students can stay home and stay safe but also prepare for it more. They could have more time to practice their speeches and even decorate their caps.

I’m quite close to graduating myself, and if it ended up being cancelled due to the pandemic, while I'd understand it, I would honestly feel devastated. Students have been preparing to graduate for years and an online graduation would feel awkward. It would lose a lot of value.

It wouldn’t feel the same to hear a commencement speech from a living room and receiving a diploma paper via email compared to hearing it in person and being physically there.

People should be allowed to feel sad about this and push for a delay. Graduating from college is something you rarely get to do again. Why take away that opportunity entirely when it can simply be pushed to a later and safer time?

With campuses being closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, students have been left in the dark about how their education is being affected.

When offices were still open, face-to-face access to counselors and staff was an easy way to get instant feedback on questions and to stay informed on changes about the school. In lack of direct contact, emails are simply not enough.

Pierce College should host weekly webinars to provide updates about all decisions and plans being made for the college.

Although faculty and team meetings are ongoing via Zoom, some of what’s being said is not shared to those who are actually being affected-the students.

It can sometimes take hours before Pierce or the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) sends an email, and they usually don’t always address student concerns.

Almost every person has special circumstances where not all the information applies to them. They have more concerns, but they won’t get a response right away.

They usually have to wait to speak with someone through the Cranium Café. Not all

assistants will be available online when they have the question, and a majority don’t have the option set for them to send an offline message.

If Pierce College President Alexis Montevirgen did a live streamed event where he gave updates and then opened up time for students to give feedback, similar to Coffee and Conversations with the President, communication would be more effective.

San Diego Mesa College had a community forum on YouTube, where the president of the college talked about a variety of items, including laptop distribution and emergency funds, as well as campus construction and registration for summer classes. After answering questions that were previously submitted, she looked at comments directly from the chat.

California State University, Northridge and California State University, Fullerton are also hosting online events to provide information for newly admitted students as part of their outreach and recruitment program.

After a webinar has ended, a recording of it can be uploaded to the Pierce website along with a link being sent through email.

This would ensure that people who missed it could

still have access to everything that was shared.

Everyone in the meeting can’t be in the same room, so another option is to do it through Zoom. The platform allows conference calls to be streamed directly to YouTube.

Rather than simply having the president host it, administrators, deans and chairs from different departments could also join the video to answer concerns that are more specific to people’s needs.

Despite a 20-second delay between the Zoom and the stream, there would still be a live chat on YouTube for people to talk.

While not all of the weekly webinars may contain any new changes, simply checking in will create a closer community.

Decisions about classes or finances don’t have to be behind closed doors. Although there will still be people who are not happy with the results, students and professors could see the thought process behind choices that are made.

Perhaps issues that they didn’t know needed resolving could be brought up by people in the chat.

By having a weekly online forum, communication would be open on all ends.

I've also been attempting to do ‘dopamine detox’ at least once per week. This is where someone doesn't utilize electronic devices that lead to high dopamine production in the brain, such as playing video games, binge-watching a show, watching YouTube videos and scrolling through social media. According to other people, the ‘detox’ helps recalibrate the brain to be more motivated to do the ‘lesser-liked’ activities.

Now, I've been heavily invested in politics since 2015. I love reading and learning about it, as well as what goes on in the U.S. government. But looking at how many COVID-19 cases the country has compared to other countries has been a bit scary. So, I try to minimize the amount of information I take in because that is always in the news.

In more positive aspects, my close friend and I have been keeping our "Boba Fridays" tradition by having them on Saturdays instead. Only this time, I would use the "Uber Eats" app to order and pick it up at my place to avoid going further out. Then we would have a video chat about whatever topics we want to talk about.

While my academic classes aren't too difficult, there are extra 'classes' that I've put myself in that aren't academic. For instance, learning from YouTube, online courses, podcasts, etc. on topics I'm interested in, and then incorporating that information into my life.

And lastly, I've been thinking about what truly drives my core in life. While journalism is one of my biggest passions, I do enjoy writing, editing and filming videos.. Later, I do want to involve myself in public speaking and coaching, both2 I'm not that good at right now but feel I have a calling to do.

While the pandemic has obvious downsides, I've just been taking the time to do self-reflection, grow as a person, learn new information, and bring myself closer to the life I want to live. For now, I've been more aware of time, practicing self-care, progressing day by day and continuing despite obstacles and setbacks.

Illustration by Peter Villafane

Illustration by Kevin Lendio

School to receive federal funding 50% of fund going to students

BY MAYA GARIBAY

Pierce College will receive a federal fund of about $7 million, as announced at a faculty Zoom meeting on April 17.

The fund is part of a stimulus package that was previously approved.

About 50% of the fund will go directly to students.

The remaining half is planned to be split, with about 30% going to further assist students and 20% to offset debts incurred from the campus closure due to COVID-19 prevention.

“We want to make sure that it goes to the neediest students, in particular making sure the funds go out to our BOG [also known as California College Promise Grant] eligible students,” President of Pierce College Alexis Montevirgen said. “We can get those funds immediately to them so they can use the money that they probably already need.”

The exact date that students will receive the grant will be determined at a later time.

About 180 people joined the Zoom meeting where Pierce faculty also discussed campus cleanliness, maintenance and the challenges students are experiencing as they transition to online learning.

Visitors and staff are now required to wear masks and gloves when on campus for cleanliness and safety. Tabletops are being wiped down and carpets are being shampooed frequently.

“We haven’t had the exposure some other colleges have had to date,” Vice President of Administrative Services Rolf Schleicher said. “We’ve done a great job safeguarding our faculty and staff and our students.”

Faculty also discussed student unresponsiveness as they transition into online classes, with some students not completing work and others not logging in.

Academic Affairs Advisor

Malina Koani informed faculty of an email that will be sent to unresponsive students. She said that there are about 51 students who need to be contacted immediately.

The faculty also spoke about being understanding of students who may have issues attending lectures during the scheduled class time.

Distance Education Coordinator Wendy Bass suggested professors record their lectures so that students who are unable to attend can view them at a later time.

“Just because they are home does not mean they still have that time available,” Bass said. “They may be sharing bandwidth with their kids or sharing a computer.”

Montevirgen ended the meeting by showing his gratitude to the staff at Pierce for their efforts in making the transition to online as smooth as possible.

“I applaud our faculty, our staff and constituency groups for continuing to hold our different meetings,” Montevirgen said.

“I have never been prouder to be President of Pierce College, because of the fact of what I have seen and witnessed first hand, in terms of our entire campus community, coming together and wanting to pitch in any way they can.”

Lab based classes transition online

Industrial technology courses find alternative ways to teach remotely

The Industrial Technology Department consists of mostly hands-on learning, so the department is trying to use relevant programs online to give students quality education while following Safer at Home orders and practicing social distancing.

Tom Fortune, professor of automotive technology, said in a phone interview that the automotive class is fairing well as the campus transitions to online.

He said that he believes the lecture is even better online than it is in person as students can rewind and rewatch as they please. If students are unable to attend the lecture, they have the option to watch it later.

“The lab is a bit of a challenge, but there are some virtual programs that we are utilizing,” Fortune said.

The class, which has a deal with Chrysler, continues to use their online training program.

Fortune said that since students have started learning from home, they are performing better on the Chrysler training program. The lecture also utilizes Electude, an e-learning program for automotive students that use simulations and gaming technology.

“The faculty in this department are doing a great job adapting,” Cheung said. “They are flexible and working with the current situation and students well.”

Concerns about UCs and CSUs

Faculty express concerns about new requirements

BY SHEHREEN KARIM

As COVID-19 brings physical interactions to a halt, the Pierce College Academic Senate met on a Zoom conference call with faculty raising concerns about grading and UC and CSU requirements, on April 6.

Senate President Barbara Anderson addressed how students are able to now withdraw from courses by only using excused withdrawals and informs how the deadline for students to request a pass and no pass grading scale has been extended.

given. He also said that it’s not a replacement for hands-on learning.

“I could get all the bells and whistles, but you can’t teach someone to swim without a pool,” Villalta said.

BRIEF:

Fortune said that when classes resume to in-person lectures, he hopes they continue to integrate the technology they are using for distance learning.

The welding and machine shop programs also continue doing as much as they can online. They calculated how many hours a student needs in order to complete the lab course and will have students complete those hours once the campus is reopened, according to Department Chair of Industrial Technology, Elizabeth Cheung.

Cheung said in a phone interview that these courses need hands-on practice in the lab in order to complete them. The date as to when students will be back in the lab remains unknown.

Industrial Tech Instructor Alex Villalta and Automotive Instructor Michael Van Dyke said in an interview through Zoom that the department has done an amazing job in the transition to online classes.

The department meets once or twice a week in an effort to discuss how the classes are going and how they can improve to make it work for the professors and students. They use online programs such as Zoom, Canvas and Electude to keep students engaged in learning.

Van Dyke said around 60% of his automotive class was spent in the lab. Now he will try to use video and simulation software to try and replace the lab work, but he said it is a “poor substitute.”

Villalta believes that the department has done the best they can with the tools they have been

The Industrial Technology professors also have noninstructional meetings in which students can ask questions and talk to their professors and peers in a nonclass setting to feel more connected. They feel this is an important tool in keeping some sort of sense of community and normalcy for students during the sudden changes brought on by COVID-19.

“This is a very confusing time for us all,” Van Dyke said. “We have been reaching out and keeping in touch with drop in meetings.”

Students in classes that can’t be completed at the time, will remain enrolled in the classes until they can be completed in person.

BY MAYA GARIBAY azolezzi.roundupnews@gmail.com

Zoom meetings outside of regular class times

BY ARIELLE ZOLEZZI

As classes settled into their online format, some professors held live meetings on Zoom outside of the originally scheduled time and upload recorded demos for students that missed them.

Vice President of Academic Affairs Sheri Berger announced that live Zooms that don't match the scheduled class times are not allowed because they may force students to choose between an interactive experience and a recording.

Aimee Perez, a student in Angela Kirwin’s Anthropology 111 class, wrote in an email that her professor was doing Zooms that were overlapping with other classes more than once, and it was becoming an issue.

“I think the only way this situation could be productive would be if the teachers did their Zooms on weekends as well as their assigned days,” Perez wrote. “By changing days it doesn’t give us an opportunity to do every Zoom in a timely manner and not feel rushed to get into your next assigned class Zoom.”

In an email sent out to her Anthropology 111 class, Kirwin told her students that she created another optional Zoom office hour to take place during the regular lab class meeting time for when the lab was still face-to-face.

“Zoom meetings are optional (for her class),” Kirwin wrote in her email to her class. “Attendance to any of them is not required to get an A in this class.”

When asked to comment, Kirwin wrote, “I currently have been scheduling my optional Zoom meetings during class hours

and outside class hours. If you write that I schedule my Zoom meetings only outside of class hours, that would be false. It's not true.”

No other classes reported unauthorized Zoom meetings.

“I hope to see more than anything, compassion from the teachers and students as we all join this strange journey together and ride it out,” Perez wrote.

azolezzi.roundupnews@gmail.com

Maintaining safety and online attendance Masks received and online attendance discussed at response team meeting

BY GISELLE ORMENO

The COVID-19 response teams discussed student accessibility toward student services and how to keep students informed through an online Zoom meeting on April 15.

Director of the Student Health Center Beth Benne discussed Team A’s update by stating that they received 2,000 masks, but the masks were not the ones that Benne expected to receive.

Benne also said she is concerned about the growing number of students receiving help for their mental health because they are worried about their privacy.

“They have family members who don’t know they’re in counseling,” Benne said.

“They’re having trouble finding a private place or going on a walk.”

Vice President of Academic Affairs Sheri Berger from

Team C explained that Pierce classes should follow distance education guidelines, rather those of correspondence education.

“The fact is that we don’t have correspondence education and that we need to maintain regular effective and substantive contact,” Berger said. “It needs to be instructor initiated and we need to have student to student interactions.”

Faculty must launch their Zoom classes from within Canvas, rather than sending links to the meetings, according to Berger.

“If you’re going out to some other publisher-based site, it has to be done from Canvas,” Berger said. “There has to be some way that we can document these things that are required by the U.S. Department of Education, in terms of our accredited status.”

Berger also said faculty will receive an email on how they can report students that

have been unresponsive or not participating on Canvas.

“We have a process to set up an email that will go to student services,” Berger said. “Some peer mentors will be reaching out to some of those students, as much as they would if they were on campus face-toface to help direct them to the appropriate resource on campus.”

The Enrollment Management Committee recommended Team D on how to communicate engaging and supportive information to students, according to Juan Carlos Astorga, Dean of Student Engagement. The recommendations include creating concise messaging, developing information that has a date and ensuring that the information is important to students.

Public Relations Manager

Doreen Clay said while monitoring social media, she

“For some students, that’s a good option because originally it was only available for courses in the catalog but the state chancellors and CSUs have approved even major prep and golden four can be pass/no pass,” Anderson said. Anderson adds how students need to be mindful of eliminating a letter grade and opting for the pass and no pass scale because the UC’s still haven’t released information about their new requirements or if they will have any.

As for the CSU’s, Transfer Center Director Sunday Salter explained how the CSU Chancellor’s Office will allow students to transfer with 48 units as long as they complete the rest by the end of summer. However, this change is only for Fall 2020 transfer students.

Prior to COVID-19, students needed to complete all their units and the “golden four” by their spring semester but in light of COVID-19, the CSU’s made an accommodating decision to allow students to complete their requirements by summer.

“We want to send a message to Pierce students that we are still here for you if you want to stay and complete your courses with us,” Salter said. Adding how the CSU’s are also allowing students to defer their enrollment to the Spring 2021 term.

Salter said how the UC’s are only temporarily removing the cap pass and no pass classes which means students will not be penalized for opting for credit or no credit prerequisite courses.

The difference between CSU’s and UC’s is that each UC campus will release their own new change or requirement in response to COVID-19. Salter said she is still waiting for UCLA’s requirements since most Pierce students want to transfer to UCLA.

Kinesiology professor Sabrina Prieur raised a concern about if students opt for the pass no pass, it could hurt their chances for a school that doesn’t accept pass or no pass, unlike UCs and CSUs.

has noticed that many students are anxious about the future.

According to Clay, students want to know about things such as when commencement is going to take place or when the summer session schedule is going to come out.

Vice President of Administrative Services Rolf Schleicher concluded the meeting by advising team leaders to list essential tasks and adjust them throughout the week.

“I’m hopeful that we get some of the questions we had last week and maybe look through those,” Schleicher said. “We can have the teams maybe answer out and some of those questions that probably are things we’re already covering now.”

“In the best interest of the students, a letter grade would be better unless they end up with a poor letter grade, and not to go with the pass no pass option because we don’t know what all universities will accept,” Prieur said.

As a response to this concern, Sunday Salter agreed and explained how a letter grade would be a better option for those unsure of the university’s requirements.

“When they have multiple options in front of them, we always have to go with the most restrictive and encourage students to go with a letter grade when we are unsure of the answer,” Salter said.

(Left to right) Adriana and Andres Samour prepare their personal pizzas in their kitchen in Simi Valley, Calif. on April 7, 2020. Photo by Jose Samour.

Stephanie Purkey shoots a target in Redmond, Ore., on April 16, 2020. Photo by Joshua Price.

(Left to Right) Ashley and Paul Purkey wash their car in front of their house in Redmond, Ore., on April 9, 2020. Photo by Joshua Price.

A Rat terrier mix lays on the couch next to her owner, Elizabeth Arteaga, who is watching tv on her day off from work, on April 17, 2020, in Encino, Calif. Photo by Adam Baron.

(Left to right) Andres, Adriana and Jose Samour wear fictional character costumes inside their home in Simi Valley, Calif. on April 12, 2020.

Photo by Jose Samour.

Alone Together

Stay at home orders have affected daily life and routines, but have allowed people to spend more time pursuing new hobbies, creating new memories and cultivating relationships with family and friends.

Birthday celebrations look different under precautionary measures, but they can be memorable moments for families staying home.

Quarantine is unique for most families, and finding ways to keep boredom at bay is no exception.

Daily routines have been altered, but art, cooking and spending time with family have cemented themselves as part of a new way of life.

Ari Shellmire dances at the living room as she celebrates her birthday in Chatsworth, Calif., on April 4, 2020.

Photo by Ashley Shellmire.

Shadows cast to a wooden fence as the Samour family plays at their home garden in Simi Valley, Calif., on April 3, 2020.

Photo by Jose Samour.

Skaters practice jumps at a parking lot in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 27, 2020.

Photo by Karla Avalos.

Copy by Cecilia Parada

Giving hope in the middle of a crisis Local church broadcasts weekly Sunday service live on YouTube

BY GISELLE ORMENO

ASunday at La Iglesia En El Camino on the corner of Sherman Way and Kester Ave. is typically overflowing with eager churchgoers ready to listen to the sermons of Senior Pastor Frank Nuño.

But on April 12, the pews were empty due to the closure of public masses to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Instead, about 3,800 churchgoers celebrated Easter on YouTube through a prerecorded video that features Frank Nuño preaching at La Iglesia En El Camino in the city of Van Nuys.

“The crisis of this pandemic is overshadowing our Easter,” said Frank Nuño during his sermon. “This Easter is the weirdest one that I have ever celebrated in a long time.”

Frank Nuño said that the resurrection of Jesus Christ resonates now because of its message of hope.

“Nobody can live without hope,” Frank Nuño said. “When you lose hope, you can only look at the circumstances around you. You lose your sight toward the future.”

Pastor Ann Nuño, the wife of Frank Nuño, said through an interview on Zoom that La Iglesia En El Camino’s transition to an online platform has not been difficult.

“We are aware of the seriousness of the situation,” Ann Nuño said. “That is why we still want God’s word to reach our congregation because a church is not a building. It’s a community.”

Before quarantine was enforced, the church already taped their services and published them on YouTube, so that the people not in attendance could still watch the Sunday sermon.

Ann Nuño said that because they already had the filming equipment, it was a comfortable transition

compared to other churches that didn’t have this practice already in place.

When the church was open to the public, La Iglesia En El Camino had four different services that churchgoers could choose to attend. Now, they record services without an audience and upload videos

onto their YouTube channel on Thursdays and Sundays at 8 a.m.

“We’re very conscious of the fact that we also have to abide by all of the rules and regulations of the government, and we want to care for our people,” Ann Nuño said. “We are enacting very strict social distancing when we’re doing the taping.”

She added that it has been challenging because they’re accustomed to a full team of people that help with camerawork. In order to keep in line with social distancing guidelines, they had to reduce their team.

“It’s very different for both worship and the person that’s

preaching to do so to an empty building, because there’s no feedback,” Ann Nuño said. “You’re not leading anyone, so to speak, you’re virtually leading.”

She said her husband mentions that his sermons and those of other pastors have become shorter because there is no longer a need to pause for people to react with laughter, applause or the occasional “amen.”

Ann Nuño said that even though it was a smooth transition for those who lead service, for others in different departments, it hasn’t been easy.

Associate Pastor Jennifer Palacios is in charge of both children’s services and the young adult’s services. She said in an interview on Zoom that the transition of Sunday school to a virtual platform has been challenging.

“When you don’t have the kids in front of you, it’s really hard to keep their attention,” Palacios said. “After a few trials and errors, I think we finally got it.”

Palacios said that they had to remove a few YouTube videos and then reupload them when they first started. However, the feedback from the children’s parents has motivated Palacios and her team to move on forward.

“I think because we’re all home, all these things are really welcoming to the parents that we at least continue to do something in the routine of a Sunday,” Palacios said.

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Protective and aesthetically pleasing

L.A. local sews and sells unique colorful masks to protect against COVID-19

BY SHEHREEN KARIM

As government officials advise people to wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Hannah Eisen took mask making into her own hands.

Eisen, 24, said in a phone interview that one of the reasons she started making masks was after seeing people not taking precautions when shopping at essential businesses.

“Every time I go to the grocery store I see people without masks and I think it’s important for people to wear a mask to stop the spread of coronavirus,” Eisen said.

“Even if it’s not N95, wearing a mask is better than nothing.”

Eisen was also inspired to make and sell her own masks after realizing how scarce they have become.

“At first I made these masks for just family and friends, but I’m happy that other people are wanting them,” Eisen said.

She learned to make her own masks by watching a video. After posting her homemade creations on Instagram, people commented asking to buy them.

Now she has an Instagram account dedicated to her masks with the username “rrocketphish.”

Eisen’s mother helps make the masks as well, due to the high demand of customers. The masks sell for $10 and as of yet, they have shipped and sold about 80 masks across the United States.

To make the masks, Eisen orders colorful print fabric online and opts for the curbside pickup option before driving to her local JOANN Fabric and Craft store. She said finding elastic has been difficult since other people are also making masks.

According to Eisen, her masks are unique because they are cotton-based and double-lined with a pocket to slip in a filter if the buyer wants extra protection.

Her masks also include a wire noseband to create a custom fit for whoever is wearing her crafted mask.

Juliet Kozlow is one of Eisen’s customers. She had a heart attack late last year when she was 22 years old, so she bought a mask to protect herself since she’s immunocompromised.

“You can’t find them anywhere right now,” Kozlow said in a phone interview. “When Hannah posted about making masks, I was like ‘Heck yeah I’m going to buy them.’”

Kozlow said wearing the mask is a reminder to not touch her face and it makes her feel more secure when going out for essential business.

Madison Avtal, 21, is another customer and said in a phone interview that she hopes wearing her mask in public will influence people to start taking COVID-19 seriously. She also bought the mask because she worries about the health of her parents.

“My parents have low immune systems so I’m doing what I can to keep them safe,” Avtal said.

Eisen hopes to help flatten the curve for COVID-19 and wants to ensure people with immune problems stay safe with her masks.

“Hannah is so talented and creative and I wish my brain worked the way hers does because she can just look at a problem and solve it,” Kozlow said.

Giselle Ormeno / Roundup

Senior Pastor Frank Nuño speaks to empty pews during his Easter Sunday sermon published on YouTube, at La Iglesia En El Camino in Van Nuys, Calif., on April 12, 2020. Screenshot taken by Giselle Ormeno.

Photo courtesy of Hannah Eisen

Hannah Eisen sews a colorful mask in her home, which she will sell through Instagram.

Photo courtesy of Hannah Eisen Hannah Eisen shows a package filled with colorful masks she sews and sells through Instagram.

Students dealing with COVID-19 Essential workers fear for their safety

BY SHEHREEN KARIM

As government officials urge Americans to practice social distancing to stop the spread of coronavirus, some Pierce students find themselves risking their own health to stay afloat financially.

For Sabrina Corona, 23, working at Target during COVID-19 puts her boyfriend with asthma at risk because they both live together. However, the couple struggle to pay rent and live paycheck to paycheck.

“If I lose my job, I don’t know what I’ll do,” Corona said. “I don’t get help from the government and everything I have is what I worked for.”

Corona says how she would prefer not to work to ensure her boyfriend’s health but she has to make sure they pay rent to have a place to stay. She adds how she worries about losing her job because Target cut her hours down to 20 hours a week, which is barely enough to pay rent.

While fi nding themselves in a dilemma between working for fi nancial reasons and potentially harming their own health, Pierce students fi nd ways to protect themselves while working.

Andela Lopez, 20, describes her pre and post work routine she does to protect herself and her family. Before going to work at Target, Lopez takes a shower to protect her customers and takes her hand sanitizer and mask to work. Coming home from work, she immediately takes a hot shower as a way to keep herself safe from COVID-19.

“I can’t always be six feet apart from people when working since I’m always around customers so it’s scary if I do bring it home,” Lopez said. She explains how Target gives their employees gloves when handling items to protect employees and customers.

In the same way, Walmart employee and ASO Senator Jane Benga practices code “62100,” which makes employees stay six feet apart at all times, wash hands for 20 seconds and call in sick if they have a fever over 100 degrees.

Benga is an overnight stocker at Walmart and works five days a week from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. She adds how because she doesn’t drive, she has to take two busses to get to work and back.

She says that it is her family’s financial reasons that drive her to work hard everyday.

“Even though it’s COVID-19, we still have financial needs to take care of and bills to pay,”said Benga.

While being an ASO senator at Pierce and working full time at Walmart to support her family, Benga also balances five classes.

“It’s the grace of God on how I’m managing work and classes,” Benga said.

She credits her having all this motivation from making sure she’s not only physically healthy but mentally as well. Benga does this by having a motivational app on her phone and adds how everyday she listens to prayers and sermons to keep her spirit alive and to motivate her to keep going.

“You just have to tell the brain to be positive and think positive things and when you tell it negative things, you get drowned in depression,” Benga said.

Other students like Benga are also struggling to balance being a full time student and working full-time.

“With class and work, I am going through a hard time right now since I am the only one working in the family and we aren’t financially stable,” Lopez said.

To keep herself organized, Lopez uses a planner to schedule her time between work and her two classes to keep up with assignments.

While some Pierce Students are able to work, others struggle with losing their job and finding ways to be financially stable.

Paula Young, 20, worries about how she will pay 500 dollars for her six classes this semester after being laid off from 85 Bakery. Young adds how she doesn’t receive aid from FAFSA, explaining how she pays out of pocket for everything.

“The minute I can go back to work again I’ll pay it off, but it doesn’t seem likely anytime soon,” Young said.

Young said how managing six classes and being laid off from work recently was beginning to take a toll on her mental health because being outside and social was helping her with her on-going depression.However, she says how talking to friends everyday has helped have a positive attitude.

“Just keeping in contact with coworkers and friends has helped me so much,” Young said. “I realized I have 10 phone calls a day to keep me going.”

In the same way, Jane Benga uses solidarity with other students as a way to keep her mental health in check.

“I tell myself that I got this and a lot of students are going through this and I’m not the only one so I have to keep the momentum going,” Benga said.

As COVID-19 spreads, grocery store workers were deemed as “essential workers” and seeing an increase in pay during these times.

However, some Pierce students who work at grocery stores explain how their job was always essential prior to COVID-19.

Benga said how in every minimum wage job she worked at, she never took her job lightly and worked hard for her family.

“Even before the virus, I never saw my job as small or non essential or something not important. People who think of grocery store workers as essential now are the ones who used to see them as not serious jobs before,” Benga said.

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ASO boosts morale through social media

Senators show their daily lives in quarantine on Instagram

BY GISELLE ORMENO

With campus closed to the public due to the Safer at Home order, the Associated Students Organization (ASO) and Pierce students are physically disconnected.

To reconnect with the student body, ASO senators are using the ASO Instagram story to vlog about their day while quarantining.

Club Council President Nicole Alfaro said in an email interview that she came up with the idea of having the Senate take over their Instagram, showing students that they are not alone during the transition to online classes.

“We have all been staying home, keeping up with our studies and just trying to stay positive during this time,” Alfaro said. “Our purpose was to give students a glimpse into our personal lives and provide them with different activities that they can try at home to take their mind off of things.”

She said that when she vlogged about her day, she shared some healthy facts about the açaí berry, taught how to make an açaí bowl, attempted to do yoga with her younger brother and ended her day by baking.

“I got a lot of responses during the yoga session with laughing emojis and comments on how funny we were, so I was happy to hear that people were enjoying the story and interacting with us,” Alfaro said.

Hackers threaten online classes

ASO Senator Roberto Moron said in an email interview that boosting the morale of students is important, and is one of the reasons why they started the takeovers.

“As senators, it is our responsibility to serve our students’ needs, and we will continue to do that to the best of our abilities,” Moron said. Moron also said that he had a great time taking over the ASO’s Instagram because he was able to connect with students in a light-hearted way. While he vlogged, he created a trivia contest and gave the winner a shoutout.

“I also had fun sharing more about myself, which I think was great for the students as they got the opportunity to know about who represents them,” Moron said. “Overall, the experience was very rewarding.”

ASO President Vivian Yee said in an email interview that by being able to take over their Instagram page for a day, she hopes that students will feel that they are not alone. She said she understands how difficult it can be to stay productive and healthy during this quarantine, so if the ASO can give a little inspiration to students, then they are doing their jobs correctly.

“By showing students our lifestyles, the importance of staying in if possible, we hope to give students a little hope in these dark times,” Yee said.

BY TALEEN KEUROGHLIAN

As face-to-face classes transition to online instruction, disruptions are more common.

In the recent weeks of remote learning, Zoom lectures have been interrupted by people who aren’t enrolled in those courses, known as “Zoombombers.”

Media Arts Professor Shonna Kline wrote in an email that she did not expect her class to be targeted.

“Unfortunately, my first Zoom class went so well that I was naive about taking precautions against ‘bombers’ for my second class,” Kline wrote.

Professors and students alike believe their Zoom sessions are secured by a login ID but a simple code is easy to crack for a professional hacker.

According to Kline, Zoombombers intentionally join meetings to cause disruptions with inappropriate behavior.

“The offenders clearly had experience with drop-in bombing, as they would leave inflammatory comments in the chat and leave immediately, giving me no chance to boot them,” Kline wrote.

Kline said her encounter with a “Zoombomber” was when an editor from the reality TV show “The Bachelor” was answering questions as a guest speaker in her cinema class. While the intrusion was unexpected, the session went on as planned.

“The bomber launched a few choice comments, covering everything from sexual orientation to racial slurs to foul language,” Kline wrote. “Each one showed up in the chat. My guest was a pro, though, and said ‘I can tell what is what’ and forged ahead.”

Sarah Howard, a Moorpark Community College student, also dealt with a “Zoombomber,”

but wrote in an email that she had a much different experience.

“During class a little while ago someone tried to bomb it and they were commenting racist remarks in the chat,” Howard wrote. “My professor honestly didn’t know what to do or how to get them out so he just ended the session.”

Howard wrote that her professor ended up changing the Zoom ID as a plan to keep them out.

Professors across many schools are experiencing these bombings, but with new threats come new solutions.

Kline wrote that she began using the waiting room feature to monitor students who enter or leave the Zoom meeting, as well as setting up the meeting directly through Canvas. These precautions have proven successful.

“I actually stopped someone named ‘Revenge’ from joining my class today when we were chatting with an editor of ‘Stranger Things,’” Kline wrote. “I was pretty happy about that.”

Howard wrote that she is simply going to ignore the person in the chat and focus on her instructor.

“It’s definitely annoying,” Howard wrote. “I hope it doesn’t happen again but it’s not that big of a deal, so if it does, I don’t think the class should end.”

Communications professor Robert Loy wrote in an email that he prevents Zoombombing by setting up a “waiting room” during Zoom sessions so he can identify students first and let them into the meeting.

“Overall, students are aware that zoom bombing can happen in our class and that I won’t tolerate it,” Loy wrote. “It’s important as a public speaking professor to take a stance against potential hate speech in a diverse classroom setting.”

Photo by Ashley Shellmire

Target Employees wipe down frozen food handles to prevent spread of COVID-19 in Northridge Calif., on April 1, 2020.

“Zoombombers”

Alejandra Aguilera / Roundup Jane Benga recommends listening to music and watching movies during quarantine on April 15, 2020. Screenshot by Alejandra Aguilera.

Virus puts an end to the season Spring 2020 sports and conditioning classes can’t meet in person

BY PABLO ORIHUELA

While some classes and departments have faced hurdles moving their curriculum fully online, the Pierce College Athletics Department faced the challenge of moving a completely outdoor experience into the virtual world.

Pierce College’s Interim Athletic Director Susan Armenta explained the two things that occured after realizing the department would be transitioning online.

“First, working through with our student athletes who just had their season swept out from underneath them,” Armenta said.

Armenta said she was then faced with figuring out how to make outdoor classes work online.

“Next is having to maintain this format that none of us signed up for,” Armenta said. “It’s hard, it’s challenging, but in order to get through the semester, it’s something that we need to do.”

Swim and Water Polo Team head coach Judi Terhar said she is heartbroken for the athletes.

“These guys have been training all summer and even all the way back into the fall, and now the season is lost here in the last two months,” Terhar said. “It’s hard. It’s emotional.”

Terhar said students who have another year of sports to go have that to look forward to, but it is a “horrible” way to end the season for students who will not go on to compete anymore.

“For those who have been swimming since they were children, this was going to be their grand finale,” Terhar said. “So, it’s terrible to have their careers effectively end like this.”

This reality was the same for all of Pierce College’s student athletes, who had their spring season end due to COVID-19.

The California Community College Athletic Association announced March 19 that spring games and practices were cancelled for the remainder of the academic year.

The department found Armenta to be a useful resource because of her experience with online teaching.

“The school had Canvas training offered to all of the faculty and staff, and some of the athletic department took advantage of that,” Armenta said. “However, learning in a big group setting can be a little intimidating, especially for those who are not as familiar with the online format or working with the internet.”

Armenta said she offered to teach the basics of Canvas to the coaches so they could shoot assignments and workouts on video.

“They were really appreciative of that,” Terhar said. Head soccer coach Adolfo Perez said Armenta’s help was beneficial to those who received her lessons.

“Susan had a great tutorial for us,” Perez said. “She actually helped us.”

Terhar said Armenta’s leadership has been of great help to the department during the online transition.

“Susan has been wonderful,” Terhar said. “She has been so helpful with anything that we need, so understanding, so patient. She has bent over backwards to help us out, and with our athletes as well.”

As for what the biggest challenge Armenta found with the online transition was helping athletes without physical contact.

“For a lot of our coaches, the biggest hurdle has been how do we emulate the hands-on experience of what you do with athletes and what you do in classes, with what we can do online,” Armenta said.

Many of the coaches in the Athletics Department tried to keep the online schedules as identical as the outdoor schedules would have been in an effort to maintain a sense of normalcy.

Though the class settings may have changed, Perez makes sure to make the transition as easy on his players and students.

“I kept the same days and the same hours to make it as realistic as possible for them. That way the girls were used to training those days. It’s less of an excuse not to show up,” Perez said.

However, not all aspects can be kept the same.

“Typically I would show them the moves myself. We used to do a lot more ball work than right now,” Perez added.

Terhar added, “Yesterday there was a huge lag when we tried to look at some videos together. The videos slow down and it looks bad. So, I have to download them individually and paste them to canvas. The kids watch them separately and then we talk about them together as a group but it’s not really practical that way.”

Terhar said it has been challenging, but her swimmers have responded well.

“The first time I saw a computer I was in my 50s,” Terhar said. “It’s easier for my students, but it’s way more challenging for those of us who are in our 60s and older. The kids have been very patient with me.”

As for the future of Pierce College Athletics, Armenta made it clear.

“We’re planning as if we are having Fall Sports,” Armenta said. “Because if we don’t plan it and it turns out we can play in the fall, then we’re way behind. We’re moving forward as if we’re having a fall season.”

“However, a lot of stuff happens during the summer for that to happen, such as orientation for all of our student athletes.,” Armenta said. “I know our counseling and our athletic trainers are planning for that orientation to be face to face, but now we need to have a Plan-B so that we can have it online if we have to.”

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Sports programs not allowed to recruit until shelter-in-place order is lifted CCCAA extends recruiting ban for all colleges

BY PABLO ORIHUELA

The California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) announced on April 7 that the ongoing face-to-face recruitment ban would be extended indefinitely due to the growing global COVID-19 pandemic. The loss of the spring season and the face-to-face recruitment ban is yet another consequence of the global pandemic.

Given the current state, however, the ban was not something that caught Pierce College’s Interim Athletic Director, Susan Armenta, off-guard.

“The decision was mostly expected,” Armenta said. “The way things were going with summer online courses with the school, we couldn’t imagine an exception being made for sports or athletics. We had our fingers crossed and were hoping for the best, but in reality, when we saw the college and the district going in that direction, let alone the state, we couldn’t imagine an exception being made.”

Head soccer coach Adolfo Perez said the adjustment has taken a bit of time to get used to.

“It was tough at the beginning because I had never done it before,” Perez said. “I’m a coach and an instructor, so I’m always outside. Doing things online has been challenging, but now I look at it as a positive.”

Although the only aspect of recruiting that was banned was face-to-face contact, many coaches find that this still puts them at a huge disadvantage.

Perez said nothing will beat face-to-face recruiting.

Swimming and water polo head coach Judi Terhar said this affects the team completely.

“All of our recruiting is face-toface. It’s at the swim meets that we’re meeting these kids and building up a rapport,” Terhar said. “We’re behind athletes in their racing blocks and after their race we literally have about 60 seconds to hand them a card with our information,

take their information and just talk to them about our program.”

The face-to-face ban is yet another setback for recruitment that Perez has to adjust for, who would typically be farther along his process at this point in time.

“We’re a fall sport, so the high schools where we do our main recruiting, play in the winter semester,” Perez said. “So right after that we start

contacting available seniors and start bringing them on campus and showing them all of the good stuff, which is something we can’t do at this time.”

In an effort to mitigate the effect of a lost season, the CCCAA added on their press release that studentathletes who would have had their last season of eligibility be in Spring 2020, can have that season added back for the Spring 2021 season.

“The Board of Directors subsequently voted that nearly 9,500 student-athletes who competed this spring will have their season of competition restored, provided they had not quit or been cut from their teams prior to the seasons being postponed by the CCCAA on March 12. The restoration only applies to the student-athletes’ status within the CCCAA.

The NCAA, NAIA and other collegiate governing bodies are currently addressing similar issues and the CCCAA will continue to work with them to help student-athletes who wish to eventually transfer.

Documentation will be completed by the student-athletes’ respective institutions and conferences.”

For head baseball coach Bill Picketts, this brings unexpected positives and negatives to the situation.

“What this is going to end up doing is creating some competition,” Picketts said. “It can definitely be a benefit for the team, especially with the players that have now essentially had a red shirt year forced upon them. I think that it can only benefit us.”

For Terhar, her athletes’ high GPA leads to a high rate of turnover as those students quickly move on to continue their academic careers. The athletes that stay locally can stand to benefit from this decision as well.

“Anyone graduating that will be going to CSUN, I am trying to get them to consider being full time at both,” Terhar said. “So they can still use up their last year of eligibility. CSUN has no team.”

In an effort to help the Athletic Department, Armetna noted some of the upcoming changes occurring to the Pierce College Athletics website.

“I think teams are going to be creative in getting some of their recruits,” Armenta said. “We’ve been trying to get a new website for athletics. So that way prospective recruits have a way to reach out.”

[For the full story visit theroundupnews.com]

File photo / Roundup

A chain and lock keep soccer goals together in the Pit at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on Dec. 11, 2019. Photo by Katya Castillo.

File photo / Roundup

Ian McCullough congratulates Kareem Miles after a touchdown reception during a game against Pasadena City College at Robinson Stadium in Pasadena, Calif. on Oct. 26, 2019. The Brahmas lost 30-19. Photo by Benjamin Hanson.