Pierce President to resign in June
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Getting in shape safely and distanced on campus
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Horsing around every night
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Students missing out on college aid
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Much like a Little Free Library, a college campus is what the surrounding community contributes to it.
Pierce College is an ideal place to have several Little Free Libraries where students can stop without needing to commit a significant portion of time to browsing in the Library/ Learning Crossroads. A Little Free Library is a community run “book-sharing box,” functioning on an honor system, according to their website. Anyone can take or share a book, but a donated book is not required to take
one. As students come and go from campus, contributions to the Little Free Libraries would most likely continue through the years. This self-sustaining service on campus would allow students to donate books they no longer need or want for others to pick up. It would also encourage the surrounding community to come to campus to donate books or to search for books while walking campus grounds.
These Little Libraries would allow students who want to read more but don’t have the time to go to the library. It would also
remove the stress of returning a book on a deadline, like many of the things in a student’s life.
Pierce could implement a few of these Little Libraries by engaging campus departments to collaborate with students to create or decorate a library box. The boxes could be placed on the Art Hill, near the Student Services building and near the gym. There are only four registered Little Free Libraries in Woodland Hills, giving Pierce a great opportunity to add to the community and surrounding schools.
These book-sharing boxes
could serve student parents who depend on care centers like Pierce’s to keep their children reading, because this service would not have traditional opening or closing hours and are open year round.
Little Libraries can also help Pierce achieve their goal of engaging and strengthen their bond with their surrounding community
Proof of immunization against a wide variety of infectious diseases have been around and have remained a requirement to attend many schools and universities across the country.
BY JEANPIERRE AGUIRREAs COVID-19 vaccines continue to be administered, California Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to reopen schools and colleges statewide.
However, schools are debating whether or not to mandate proof of vaccination to allow students back onto campus. The issue here is that many are against mandating vaccines as it can cause legal trouble.
There is a misunderstanding when it comes to schools requiring proof of immunization. It will not be violating an individual’s freedoms as everyone has the right to receive or refuse the vaccine.
Instead, schools will be requiring proof of immunization to return to campus for in-person/hybrid instruction. If students are eligible to receive that vaccination, they are highly urged to receive both doses.
There are some exceptions when it comes to health and safety concerns where a student can be exempt from receiving the vaccine. If an individual wishes not to receive the vaccination but is eligible to do so, they will continue their educational pursuits remotely and safely at home.
About 87.5% of campuses nationwide require some sort of proof for the MMR vaccine which protects against measles, mumps and rubella.
This is no different than requiring proof of immunization for COVID-19.
UCSB has announced requiring vaccinations for the safety of everyone.
UCR is allowing a commencement ceremony for the graduating class of 2020 and 2021. This will come with a few requirements: proof of both vaccine doses, and/or a negative COVID test prior to two days of the ceremony. This allows for students and faculty to celebrate one of their most anticipated events which can be fulfilled if everyone who is eligible receives the vaccine.
Pierce College should follow their similar steps. Luckily, students and faculty are highly in support of mandating vaccinations as it will ensure a safe and less infectious area for classes to return to normal. Ultimately, proof of vaccination is a must and schools are likely to mandate it as a large step forward to returning back to normal instruction.
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BY DOMINIQUE DUNGO
COVID-19 vaccines became available for medical professionals and elderly citizens early December and eligibility now has expanded for everyone 16 and older.
Many who have had enough of staying home and worrying for their loved ones being affected by the virus have been rushing to get vaccinated as soon as they can, but with the vaccine being suspiciously ready quickly, it has some students and citizens skeptical.
According to an article published by AP News, 15% of Americans are certain they won’t get vaccinated and 17% say probably not. Many expressed doubts about the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness.
The country has surpassed 440,000 deaths from COVID-19 and is facing the challenge of new variants of the virus.
Rushing to re-open schools and the nation assures that there are still chances of people catching the virus and passing it onto their loved ones, friends and workers that don’t have the ability to work from home who are forced to be around people.
With colleges and universities making a switch to online classes, Pierce should provide students options if they can’t take the vaccine because of medical, religious or philosophical beliefs.
Pierce should not mandate the vaccine for students as there are reasons some will not be able to take it because of allergies, respiratory issues or other health issues they cannot control.
Courses that have switched to online classes give the ability and safety for students to complete their subjects comfortably at home without the anxiety and worry of being forced to go back to campus without a choice.
Some people are worried that the vaccine was made too fast and that reason is enough to let students have the right to proceed taking online classes and give that option to have the classes they need still available online once campus chooses to reopen.
According to an article published by Huffpost News, a morning consult survey conducted in the first week of January found that 23% of health care workers said they would never accept the vaccine.
Students should not be forced to take the COVID-19 vaccine and go back to campus without providing them alternate options.
Pierce College President Alexis S. Montevirgen announced April 15 his resignation, which surprised many of the faculty and administration. He plans to remain in the position through June.
After two years, Montevirgen announced his resignation due to personal and underlying health reasons that repress his ability to fulfill the needs of the campus.
“I can’t give the 100% or even the 110% that I believe this college needs, and that I expect of myself,” Montevirgen said. “I don’t know if I would have been able to continue and say, ‘Well, I know I’m not doing as much as I can, but that’s because of this, and then that would have been me making excuses.”
Montevirgen’s goal aside from maintaining his health is to focus on getting a permanent vice president put in charge at Pierce.
“The priority for me is launching the searches for the permanent VPs for Student Services and Academic Affairs,” Montevirgen said. “And I would hope that once those are named, those will then be the permanent VPs.”
Department Chair of Performing Arts Michael Gend expressed that his initial worry aside from the president’s health was the lack of a vice president.
“I’m more concerned about the vice presidential vacancies right now because the president is also serving as the acting vice president of Student Services,” Gend said. “If we find ourselves in a situation with no president and no vice president, that entire area doesn’t have leadership and that would be my biggest concern, less so of filling Montevirgen’s shoes.”
The initial announcement of Montevirgen’s upcoming departure was surprising for many.
“Coupled with the pandemic we’ve all been living in, it’s hard to tell if any of our co-workers are really going through hard times,” Gend said. “We see them in brief Zoom windows and not for the rest of the day.”
Senate President Barbara Anderson said Pierce is facing a big loss.
“I care about President
Montevirgen, so first I thought I hope he’s okay and I wish him well and I only want the best for him. We’re going to miss him,” Anderson said. “I appreciate many things about him, so I understand his need to do what he needs to do and of course am supportive of him doing that. It will be a loss for Pierce for sure.”
Psychology professor Angela Belden said she admires the way Montevirgen led the college campus over the last two years.
“One of the things I really loved about President Montevirgen were his core values of congeniality and transparency,” Belden said. “I think his leadership style was very collaborative and I really appreciate that in a president. He wants us to build consensus around campus, he wants everyone’s voices to be heard, he wants to hear what the people think and I think that’s a really powerful way to lead a college.”
Gend said that Montevirgen takes care of himself.
“I never really got to know him but I will miss him regardless,”Gend said.
Anderson expressed her gratitude toward Montevirgen and commended him on the amazing job he has done over the last two years.
“I would like to personally thank him on behalf of the Academic Senate for his participation in the Senate meetings, his listening ear to faculty concerns, his responses to our concerns,” Anderson said. “I felt that he was supportive of the work that faculty and staff were doing and that he only wanted good things for us and our students.”
Despite only being president for two years, Montevirgen made long lasting memories and said he felt extremely connected to campus and staff.
“I look fondly at my two years,” Montevirgen said. “ I wish I could have been here much longer, but I did what I could.I thank the campus for joining me and embracing sort of the energy and the direction that we’ve taken the college in these last two years. I just encourage the campus to continue that growth. It’s that lifelong pursuit for continuous improvement.”
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the season.
BY MAX OSBURNThe Academic Senate meeting for April 12 included conversations about the conditions of education moving forward with the pandemic.
Pierce College President Alexis S. Montevirgen began the meeting with a report on COVID-19 and how the Los Angeles Community College District plans to operate as conditions improve for the campuses within the county.
Montevirgen detailed the COVID-19 response, the reengagement plan for students and faculty, and their meetings with government officials for feedback on those plans. Montevirgen expressed the optimism toward these strategies and the support from the government body .
“Just the fact that we are now in orange and that the county is already talking about being in yellow, it appears that we are re-engaging almost just as fast as when we were forced to go ahead and move to remote,” Montevirgen said, referring to the color coated reopening tiers for the state.
With these plans of reengagement showing much promise, Montevirgen explained that campuses are planned to be classified as yellow tier for the Fall semester of 2021. This means that campuses will be reopened for in-person instruction with up to 50 percent capacity and possible modifications and another 50% to be conducted online remotely.
But these advancements toward more “in-person classes” raised some questions and concerns.
Academic Senate member and psychology professor Ann Hennessey voiced her concerns over the disinfection processes for classrooms and the overall campus.
“In our building, we did our own cleaning because the people that were employed to clean didn’t really clean very often or very thoroughly,” Hennessey said. “My big concern is, given people already employed weren’t cleaning as sufficiently, what’s the plan? I’m just concerned about safety relating to cleaning.”
Proper sanitization would be one of the most important factors in reopening the Pierce College campus, which Montevirgen said the Senate would be prioritized with the newly introduced cleaning procedures.
BY ARIEL GILAn overgrown baseball field fades in the spring sun at the same time as a petition to #letthekidsplay grows in signatures.
Third baseman Dirk Ryan has created a petition to help kick start the LA Counties baseball season and plans on gaining the attention of the district and Western State Conference.
“The whole district opted out of the season because of COVID,” Ryan said. “I saw a lot of my buddies from different counties starting to play. I just thought that it was kind of unfair that we haven’t gotten a chance to go and practice with our teams while they’ve been practicing all fall and all spring.”
The petition created currently has 98 signatures as of April 21, two away from reaching the goal.
Bringing this issue to light opens another window of opportunity for the players. Opportunities that have been potentially put on pause for them.
“Mission College, Valley College, Harbor, COC, pretty much everyone in LA County didn’t get to play,” Ryan said. “All of us want to play and this is one of our last chances to go to a fouryear or go play professionally. It was more just to help everyone out and give them a shot at least.”
Head baseball coach, Bill Picketts has a plan for his players
in regards to getting them back in the spotlight.
“My goal right now for my student athletes that have been here a couple years, to get them out of here next year,” Picketts said. “Hopefully I can get them to play all summer, they can get some video out there and get some recognition from colleges.”
Since their season has been stripped away from the players, they have lost out on many potential career and educational opportunities.
“For me I had a few coaches
that wanted to come watch me play but I didn’t have a season to do so,” Ryan said. “I had the opportunity to go to a four-year and I couldn’t show them what I had because our season got canceled.”
Pitcher Donovan Waitman had a potential offer for a division two school that had been put on pause due to the pandemic.
“I actually had an offer to Cal State LA before the pandemic,” Waitman said. “I really only came to Pierce to play this past season and hopefully go to a next college but because of the pandemic I
wasn’t able to finish out my year and get exposure for the next college.”
Infielder Garrison Pregulman misses the connection shared with his teammates in a physical setting.
“We couldn’t do what we love and do what we came to Pierce for,” Pregulman said. “We couldn’t practice, connect, see each other, do anything besides Zoom.”
Picketts commends the team on their sense of sportsman ship and passion for getting back into
“They have stuck by me and stuck with each other and they’ve all taken this in stride,” Picketts said. “I think this petition and their frustration has gotten to that point where they have to do something to make themselves feel as if they did everything they could to get back on the field.”
With word being spread of potentially returning back to campus, this includes classes and sports programs.
Interim athletic director Susan Armenta is focused on maintaining safety while also trying to maintain the happiness of Pierce College students and players.
“I’m really excited that we can provide this opportunity to be on campus and show other departments that we can do this safely and hopefully effectively,” Armenta said. “Hopefully we can start moving towards all departments and all programs coming back on campus throughout this summer and fall.”
Picketts has a goal to get his players out and seen. He sees his players as his family.
“We’re here to get them to that next level,” Picketts said. “It sounds like such a cliche but they’re almost like your kids.”
“Know that there has been a district wide evaluation and discussions about the cleanliness of the campuses and know that the chief facilities, executive level at the district office, that some of these things have already been reported to the board,” Montevirgen said.
Senate members shared thoughts on how to implement the re-engagement plan.
Psychology professor Chad Snow presented his idea on some specific matters regarding contingencies for negative scenarios.
“One thing that my department might do is to have a backup plan privately if we are to return to campus 100%, because something wonderful happens and we’re able to go back,” Snow said. “We have to do what we have to do, but there’s always the ability to have a backup plan that’s not in place in any sort of official way.”
Montevirgen also explained the different plans and strategies of the re-engagement on campus and went into depth about the several aspects behind expanding the in-person classes.
“We will be going into each of the rooms and actually assessing what the room capacities are, because what we’ve often realized is that 50% of the room capacity--if the six feet social distancing is still a necessary requirement--would actually not necessarily work,” Montevirgen said. “What we say today may just change tomorrow. We’re going to need to be nimble enough to adapt accordingly.”
With vaccination rates rising in Los Angeles County, more activities have restarted, including in-person athletic conditioning for student athletes at Pierce College.
Conditioning, which began Monday, April 19, is open for swimming, baseball, basketball, soccer and football.
To ensure their safety, Pierce requires student athletes to coordinate their practices outdoors.
The swim team’s conditioning for this week was held at John Shepard Stadium instead of Steven E. Schofield Aquatic Center because the lifeguards are in the process of being recertified.
For now, the athletes have been doing strength training exercises and cardio on the field.
According to swim head coach Judi Terhar, they are hoping to be at the pool facilities April 26.
“There is no comparison on land because swimmers need to have water,” Terhar said. “As soon as we get back in the water, these guys will come alive like a plant or a flower blooming.”
Terhar said that despite the obstacles the past year brought, the athletes have been coping well.
“We’re trying to make the best of what we’ve got, and we’re very grateful to be back on campus,” Terhar said. “[The students] have done amazing. They’re very resilient.”
Interim Athletic Director
Susan Armenta explained the process of getting students on campus and the procedures student athletes must go through to enter campus. Students have to do a pre-screening questionnaire every time they come to campus as well as have their temperature taken.
Armenta has watched the different sports practice as coaches enforce these new procedures such as social distancing and mask wearing. Armenta said she often reminds
athletes to social distance and wear masks properly.
“Being athletes we’re used to giving high fives, you know, cheering each other on. So, I get that it’s going to be a hard habit to break but we’re doing our best,” Armenta said.
The basketball team conditioned on the tennis court on their first day back on the Pierce campus. Basketball players were limited to exercises that did not involve equipment to lessen the risk of spreading COVID-19.
Head basketball coach Charles White shared what he missed the most about coaching his athletes in person.
“I missed the relationships, I have a lot of relationships with these guys. Some of these guys have been around me for a couple of years, some even longer than
that. I miss seeing the camaraderie and seeing God’s work,” White said.
Interim head football coach Anthony Harris said it was great to see the student-athletes in person.
“They’re really happy to be out here and with our new coaching staff, we made a really good impression on the kids,” Harris said.
Harris said the players were happy to be back.
“They were ecstatic,” Harris said. Our main focus now is to get them ready and when the time comes we can start using equipment.”
Head soccer coach Adolfo Perez said he was ecstatic to be back.
“This is day one. When I heard the news that we were going to return it was like Christmas for
me,” Perez said.
He acknowledged the players for their commitment especially during distance learning.
Perez last year was supposed to coach his 20th season with the team, but COVID-19 had other plans.
“I’m excited. We’re back for the 12th [conference title], that is our motto,” Perez said.
Soccer player Julianna Euyoque, said that being on campus is surreal.
“I honestly didn’t expect for us to be back. It is very different and quiet. We would normally see high schoolers in the stands, but today is different,” Euyoque said.
Pierce student athlete, Maria Sandoghdar, said that she’s grateful to be able to be on campus training again. Sandoghdar competed on the school’s swim team prior to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
“We feel lucky because I know a lot of schools wish they could be on campus,” Sandoghdar said. “Even if we can’t be at the pool this week, I’m completely thankful that we get to stay. I’m extremely thankful for Judi [Terhar] and the athletic director.”
Sandoghdar said that she felt relief when the school announced they were going to allow athletic conditioning.
“I genuinely thought that we were only going to be gone for a couple of weeks,” Sandoghdar said. “With teammates, we get to motivate each other, and seeing each other over Zoom isn’t the same thing as motivating each other in person.”
Basketball player Jamie Crespin shared some of the problems she ran into at home
while practicing over Zoom.
“The hardest thing was definitely trying to push yourself like a coach, they’re constantly yelling at you or looking at you. Trying to push yourself and really just wanting to actually do it because it’s a lot different when you’re here with everybody else, it’s a lot easier, everybody’s working hard and I know I got to push myself too,” Crespin said.
Pierce basketball player AJ Werner shared his lack of motivation he faced while practicing over Zoom.
“Sometimes you just wake up and it’s like you don’t want to go. Turn on your laptop just to go to practice. Motivation was kind of hard sometimes, not like anybody’s like talking in your ear, keeping you accountable like coaches over here today, you know, they’re telling you what to do, it’s like you’re not getting that same thing over zoom,” Werner said.
Basketball team captain, Larry Williams, shared what he missed about the in person training.
“I missed the competitiveness and being able to talk to everybody and push people to go harder, make everybody try to hit their full potential,” Williams said.
Armenta is meeting with the district to plan the next phase of their athletic training. She hopes to get students practicing with equipment and indoors by conducting weekly COVID testing for students and cleaning and disinfecting equipment and facilities after every use.
She said that the students are excited to be back in action on campus.
“I think even the slightest hope of coming back to campus instilled excitement and energy,” Armenta said. “Not being able to do a lot of things that we’re used to doing takes a mental toll.
I feel like all students had that toll, but I think student athletes in particular because we’re used to that interaction with our teams and our coaches.”
PHOTOS AND COPY BY RAQUEL G FROHLICH
Why does a high school student, software developer, Reiki practitioner, horsemanship mentor and cafe owner meet most nights at Burbank’s Courtship Ranch? They are all horse owners as well, studying or working during the day, and going out to see their four-legged friends at night.
To these equestrians, their horses can be their best friend, their psychic, their partner—or a combination of all three. Tista Wicklow is a former Pierce College student who co-founded an online equestrian community with her best friend and business partner Charlotte Chanler.
From bathing to cleaning up their manure, they bond over their passiom for horses.
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More than a year into the pandemic, the higher education sector continues to see a trend in the decline of applications for financial aid, disproportionately impacting low-income students.
The belief behind this drop is the disruption the COVID-19 crisis brought, but there are other obstacles students must overcome to have access to these grants.
Pierce College President Alexis Montevirgen said that he doesn’t attribute the pandemic as the only reason behind the applications decline.
“Part of the difficulty is the arduous process of applying for financial aid,”Montevirgen said. “How can we simplify it? I think we’ve begun addressing some of these things.”
According to recent data from the California Financial Aid Commission, the California Community Colleges reports that “applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completions among graduating high school students are down by 11 percent (19,330) compared to this same time last year.”
Additionally, the Public Policy Institute of California reports that for the 2020-2021 enrollment cycle only 38.6% of California’s high school seniors completed the Free Application for FAFSA which is about a 10 percentage point drop from the previous year..
California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley said there are options for financial aid for students.
“While there are many types of financial aid available for California community college students, most financial aid is contingent on filing a FAFSA or California Dream Act Application,” Oakley said.
Taft High School senior Amanda Maturino plans to attend Pierce in the fall and major in psychology. Maturino said she was driven to pursue psychology after the suicide of her childhood friend.
“Everything I will do as it pertains to education and hopefully being a psychologist, I will dedicate in my friend’s honor,” Maturino said. “I could definitely say it has been an inspiration because it made me really open my eyes to see what people really go through that nobody
knows about.”
Maturino said she sees community college as her best choice.
However, she also said that she has very little knowledge about her other financial options.
“I haven’t really talked about it with my counselor, as we only discussed signing up,” Maturino said.
“But ever since the pandemic, I haven’t really talked or called my counselor to talk about college. So as of right now, I don’t really know much about grants.”
People in leadership positions in higher education, including counselors and advisors in community colleges and high schools in California, are failing their students by not proactively engaging them about grants and scholarships. There is room for improvement, but without taking a concrete step forward, the low-income sector of students will cut them off awareness to eligibility to the large pool of government aid available to them.
There is also the option of making FAFSA or Dream Act enrollment as a requirement for high school graduation.
Another segment of the student body is the undocumented students who do not qualify for federal grants but are missing out on scholarships and aid available to them.
California Student Aid Commission Executive Director Marlene Garcia said undocumented students are eligible for financial aid.
“The Cal Grant deadline is especially important for undocumented students who must complete the California Dream Act Application by March 2 in order to be eligible for state-based aid,” Garcia said.
Dream Act applications are also down by 15 percent (2,712) compared to last year.
Dream Resource Center Lead Kimberly Castillo said she noticed more undocumented students requested appointments to receive help filling out their applications.
For these non-traditional students, grants have become more competitive with so many hurdles or requirements barring students from the much-needed aid.
“I have heard in the past that students are sometimes afraid to apply because the application asks
for tax information, and sometimes students do not have access to their parents’ tax transcripts,” Castillo said.
Castillo also points out that a decline in financial aid applications is connected to just plain unawareness.
Maturino, a first-generation college student, was also affected by the pandemic. Her mother is on disability, and they both depend on her stepfather for additional income.
“I do not think I can afford classes if I do not have some form of financial help,” Maturino said. There is an evident correlation between missed out opportunities and the way schools and counselors approach students interested in continuing their education to pursue a degree.
“I’d like to work with the local high school so that perhaps when they do application workshops to college,” Montevirgen said. “FAFSA application goes hand in hand with it and it’s already done and filled out so that students don’t need to, and so every high school graduate is already familiar with the pro-
BY DOMINIQUE DUNGOTraveling to Cincinnati to promote his new book at a convention in a hotel, customer service expert Michael Stone struggles to find his sanity while seeing everyone around him sound and look like his ex-lover, Bella.
On April 14, the Pierce College’s Film club discussed Charlie Kaufman’s 2015 film “Anomalisa” through a Zoom meeting as a part of their movie series that deals with mental health issues.
Cinema professor Ken Windrum said through Zoom, “Stone may possibly be protesting against modern American consumerist society, and maybe we should look at him as a rebel who’s sick of the fact that all of America looks the same these days.”
Windrum said the movie takes place in what he calls “airport America.”
cess.”
Economic need is an aspect of everyday life that has become more prominent with the pandemic. But every year, there is opportunity to design mass campaigns to call attention to these grants that can take away the burden of economic need for those pursuing higher education.
Oakley recognizes the difference money can make in the life and aspirations of a college student.
“For too many students, finances are the main barrier to achieving their college goals,” Oakley said. “However, every year there is money left on the table because students simply don’t apply.”
Oakley emphasized the urgent need to turn this trend around.
“If we don’t get more students to complete the FAFSA, we could see a lost generation of tens of thousands of Californians who are left behind and cannot pursue their college education because of the lack of financial support,” Oakley said.
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COVID-19 pushed most Los Angeles Community College District courses to strictly online.
Now, with some classes set to return in the fall, professors and students are preparing to come back to the classroom.
Shaheen Vaaz is the associate professor of Theatre Arts at Pierce College and teaching via Zoom has been “a mixed bag of emotions.”
“I never thought I’d be so excited to be on a stage with students again,”Vaaz said. “It has been such a long time without face-to-face contact. Acting without the whole body involved is really hard, and when you are not in the same room as your partner it is even more difficult.
It is tough to teach classes like theatre arts online, getting students to warm up, break the ice and trust each other is nothing like it is in person.”
Since most classes have shifted online, Vaaz’s students are now starting to get the hang of the unique way of learning theatre without a partner.
“Students are figuring out how to look into those zoom boxes and get the energy they need from their partner,” Vaaz said. “Theatre is all about energy, the energy from each other and the energy from the audience, so being on Zoom has been tough for theatre art students.”
Alex Villalta Auto Service Technology ProfessorJanel Javier, one of Vaaz’s advance theatre art students, has struggled with advanced acting classes being on Zoom.
“Theater is all about the exchange of energy,” Javier said. “Acting with someone who is not really there is extremely difficult, but I am making the best of it and learning as time goes on.”
Though Javier is making the best of these unique advance acting classes via Zoom, there is no place like the main stage for her.
“I am so ready to go back,” Javier said. “As a theatre major,
I miss being in person with my friends and cast.”
Alex Villalta, Associate Professor of Auto Service Technology at Pierce College felt the challenge to transitioning to Zoom classes.
“It was a huge change for everybody, it’s been quite challenging,” Villalta said. “It has been a roller-coaster, so much uncertainty.”
Villalta is one of the few professors that has actually been able to be on the Pierce College campus with his students this semester.
“My class is the only class taking place right now.” Villalta said. “We dropped class size down to half and then split that half between two different days. The reality is that if we maintain this same protocol, I think it is safe for us to come back. I have not had a problem yet with any students not following protocol, they are always maintaining their distance, wearing their gloves, their mask and their safety glasses.”
Though Villalta is happy to be on campus right now, he is still angered that other classes have not been able to return.
“It is so frustrating because students are so eager to come back in,” Villalta said. “If our state is allowing us to have dinner inside of a restaurant, why can’t schools begin again?”
“Anyone who has ever traveled around the country will know that when you get off the interstate, every town has become the same town,” said Windrum. “Like when Paul Simon sang “each town looks the same to me, the movies and the factories” in his song Homeward Bound. It was like a reflection.”
Pierce student Ben Ruano said through Zoom he is currently taking an existentialism class and he’s noticed a lot of that in the film.
“I noticed a lot of oppression and monotony with how they were so obsessed with consumerism,” said Ruano. “It felt like others kept attacking him and disintegrating his individuality.”
Windrum said the film is based on a somewhat real syndrome called Fregoli syndrome which is the name of the hotel Stone stayed at.
“It’s the delusional belief that one or more familiar people - usually persecutors, follow the patient and repeatedly usually change their appearance,” said Windrum. “It’s an actual mental condition.”
Windrum said Fregoli was an italian theatre actor known for doing quick changes on stage when performed.
“The character in the movie doesn’t have the syndrome in a technical sense,” Windrum said.
Windrum said the film was written and directed by Charlie Kaufman, but co-credited to Duke Johnson who’s the animator.
“Kaufman in my opinion is the finest screenwriter we have working,” said Windrum. “He became very famous for “Being John Malkovich”, “Adaptation”, and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” - all of which he did not direct.”
Pierce student Dave Ojeda said he thought it was humorous that Tom Noonan voices everyone in the film and questioned if the film was meant to be animated.
“It reminded me a lot of the show South Park,” said Ojeda. “Matt Stone and Trey Parker basically voice all the characters.”
Windrum said through Zoom that Kaufman wrote “Anomalisa” as a 45 minute podcast and it was later an idea he’d work with an animator.
ASO representative Alex Wick said the film made instant sense to how everyone’s faces looked the same, sounded the same, and how he related to the film instantly.
“You’re trying to break out between some type of egomania and self pity,” said Wick. “A device that rang out to me a lot is that we’re kind of like robots roaming around.
Film club Vice President Lizi Esscobar said through Zoom that Stone wanted something from the outside to fix him.
“At the end it all comes down to Stone and his own interpretations around him,” said Esscobar. “He’s projecting and the results of that made him destructive to the people around him and himself.”
President of the Film club Travis Raser said, “It perfectly encapsulates that disconnection from both reality, but specifically current contemporary American society.”
“If our state is allowing us to have dinner inside of a restaurant, why can’t schools begin again?”
