Volume 137 Fall 2022 Roundup Issue 11

Review: Fun festive farce comes to town

"Inspecting Carol" runs through this weekend at the Dow Arena Theatre

BY SAMMY JOHNSON Opinions Editor

During the holidays, people get a little crazy with shopping and getting ready to have friends and family over. If you need help getting into those frenzied feelings, the Pierce College Theatre Department has a show for you.

Sharply directed by Esdras Toussaint and well-paced, Daniel Sullivan’s “Inspecting Carol” features energetic acting and frenetic comedy to tell a farcical holiday tale.

The play runs through Dec. 11 at the Dow Arena Theatre at Pierce College.

The stage is peppered with cardboard cutouts of buildings, designed by Frederica Nascimento, and it boasts a familiar sight for those familiar with “A Christmas Carol”— the Scrooge and Marley bank building.

But despite its lack of complexity, the cardboard town is not what it seems at first. The set is not of a town, but of the stage of the “Christmas Carol” play.

“Inspecting Carol” is a meta presentation of the crew behind the Charles Dickens story, and stars members of a sort of actors’ union struggling to prepare for an upcoming performance.

As such, the play opens

behind the scenes in the Soapbox PlayHouse, featuring actors bickering about protests in South America while arguing over where they’re supposed to be during the play.

Kevin Emory (Dale Van Slyke) says that the Soapbox is not financially stable enough to host the upcoming play. “Penniless!” he screamed.

After the Union members

undertake the first rehearsal, Emory mistakes an aspiring actor, Wayne Wellacre (Ryan Snyders) for an inspector for the National Endowment for the Arts, who could take away their grant

actor, so they put him in the play and chaos ensues.

The acting during most parts is a little over the top, but the actors give off energy that reflects a certain amount of effort, especially with Betty Andrews (Pantea Kiani).

The performances of Wanda Parsons (Whitney Evans) and Slyke come off as a bit more calm and collected.

Prop master Rory Cohen shines from backstage, thanks to several funny creations such as a turkey that keeps showing up at weird places and Luther Beatty (Bella Bitran) uses a crutch that is too big.

As “Inspecting” goes on, the characters rehearse for their performance in “A Christmas Carol,” with each rehearsal being disrupted with humorous antics.

The second act serves as the final rehearsal, supposedly showing the play within the play as its final product, until something humorous once again interrupts them, throwing them back into disarray and forcing them to overcome their problems.

Spending a couple of hours away from your hectic holiday activities is a good way to kick off the Christmas season.

money and shut them down.

This scene gives Snyders a little time to shine and show off his acting skills.

The company believes Wellacre is pretending to be an

Journalism instructor remains unshakeable

Despite facing backlash, Adriana Chavira continues to teach

BY CHRISTIAN CASTELLANOS Reporter

Bold, supportive—a few words that best describe the way former students felt when they spoke of their high school teacher Adriana Chavira.

But she didn't always feel that way about herself.

Chavira’s experiences as a student journalist in high school was one of the many reasons that led to her breaking out of her timid shell.

“I'm very shy, and so just having to force my way to get out of that, out of my comfort zone while doing interviews, definitely helped me as well,” Chavira recalled.

Today, Chavira is a journalism teacher at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

In September, the district almost suspended her when she refused to censor an article her students wrote about faculty and staff who didn’t comply with LAUSD’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Sitting for an interview at

a local coffee shop on a quiet Wednesday afternoon, beverage in hand, she begins to recount moments in her life that led up to the present.

An LA native, Chavira spent her childhood with LAUSD, moving from Hollywood to the San Fernando Valley, where she graduated from John H. Francis Polytechnic High School. She went to school at the California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a minor in Chicano Studies. Chavira would later go on to continue her education again at CSUN, where she received her Master’s degree in English. All the while being a part of her school newspaper and working at a movie theater.

The journalist spirit has been with Chavira since childhood. Her household was a constant flow of news and politics thanks to her father, who would bring home a daily copy of the LA-based Spanish newspaper La Opinión.

“My sister and I learned to read Spanish using La Opinión. We learned how to read and write from that, we'd always watch the 4 o'clock news on Channel 7, then

the 6 o'clock news on Channel 34,” Chavira said. “Staying up-to-date with the news and the impact it had was always big in my household since I was in elementary school and so from that, I just kind of got interested.”

As a reporter, Chavira worked for the Whittier Daily News, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, the Desert Sun in Palm Springs and the Press-Enterprise in Riverside. Chavira mentioned she enjoys features about people and shared a story about meeting her literary idol.

“I covered an event with Chilean writer Isabel Allende,” Chavira said. “Early on in my career, I covered a lot of Latino issues or Latino events and that kind of stuff because I was often the only person of color in the newsroom or bilingual person as well, and so there was an event where she was speaking at a luncheon for one of the school districts in the Whittier area. That was a great opportunity, just to see someone that I really admired.”

Chavira also covered news about city government which she called “very dry” and has experience with police reporting

which according to her, “is a good way to hone your reporting and writing skills.”

Chavira’s LA roots however, were calling her back home.

“My career was kind of at a standstill I guess for lack of a better word, and I missed being in LA and I wanted to come back to LA,” Chavira said. “At that time, I didn't see myself getting into the Los Angeles Times or being hired by them, and I just decided to... I was kind of unhappy with journalism for a variety of reasons, and so I just decided to switch careers.”

At the time, LAUSD started a program for people looking to switch careers, Chavira said. She joined the six-week training “bootcamp” program, as she put it, on how to teach and how to deliver lessons. After passing the program, Chavira was hired at Garfield High School in East LA to teach English and spent five years there before moving to Birmingham High School, and ultimately joining Daniel Pearl Magnet School where she has been for the past 14 years.

[See Chavira on pg. 3]

Location: Performing Arts Building

Photo by David Pashaee

Ryan Snyders as Wayne Wellacre performs in “Inspecting Carol,” directed by Esdras Toussaint, at LAPC’s Dow Arena Theatre in Woodland Hills,

Photo by David Pashaee Journalism teacher Adriana Chavira in her classroom at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School in Lake Balboa, Calif., on Nov. 18, 2022.

EDITORIAL: From the desk of the Roundup

Help those that need it the most

While Pierce College prioritizes helping disadvantaged students of all types through its Academic Accommodations, there are some out there who need more direct assistance in the form of dedicated counseling and workshops.

Special Services, now known as Academic Accommodations, should launch a program to work with students who are on the Autism spectrum, helping them to develop friendships and study habits, as well as assist with transferring and career goals.

Academic Accommodations, Pierce’s current answer to conditions such as autism, is sufficient enough for high functioning students. Those who need a little more help

Pro:

due to sensory issues can take tests in an isolated, distraction free environment. Students who need academic support are provided with accommodations such as help with note-taking, additional time with tests, the right to use electronics in class and the right to record lectures.

But students who have a harder time and are a bit lower functioning will probably struggle with things such as applying for accommodations or developing study habits and academic goals.

Counseling provides some of these services, to an extent. But Pierce should offer a more personalized coaching system to help autistic students with the initial navigation of college life.

This “Comprehensive Autism Program” (CAP), as it’s called at Golden West College, could

provide that assistance to those who need it.

Developed in 2014 by students and Disabled Students Programs & Services faculty, the college’s program serves as a good role model for Pierce. It provides students with personalized care by pairing them with counselors that can work with them throughout their time at Golden West.

As well as offering services, these counselors can act as academic coaches, helping students with case management oversight and academic planning. Students are also given the opportunity to attend workshops and partake in activities.

Aside from counseling, students have launched an organization within the CAP. Members of this program have

the opportunity to meet weekly with an adviser to discuss life as a college student. They can ask questions, discuss topics and ask for advice.

Following this model and using it to serve autistic students could expand college life at Pierce for those who want to take advantage of it, but need a little push to fully achieve their academic potential.

There are other ways Pierce can help autistic students.

To help people on the spectrum, you first need to be familiar with said spectrum. This applies to everyone from the professors teaching the adults with autism to the people providing them with workshoprelated assistance.

And just like autistic collegegoers can learn from workshops, professors and faculty can as

well. With a well planned set of workshops, perhaps taught by students and staff of the CAP at Golden West, the staff and faculty at Pierce can better understand autism and learn to work with it. Students can also benefit from a survey, courtesy of the Academic Accommodations, to help identify symptoms of learning disabilities, and get help from a psychiatrist on getting a diagnosis.

If Pierce follows in the footsteps of Golden West on treatment of autistic individuals, it could open many opportunities for people who otherwise might not be fortunate to have a chance at college.

newsroom.roundupnews@gmail.com

Setting resolutions helps you stay disciplined

BY TRISH ALASKEY Reporter

Setting New Year’s Resolutions is common, achievable, and is a tradition that has been around forever.

The origins of New Year’s Resolutions can be traced all the way back to 4,000 years ago with the ancient Babylonians.

According to history.com, the new year for the Babylonians started mid-March at that time because that is when crops were planted.

During the 12-day festival

Con:

BY VANESSA ROQUE Reporter

The time has come, where one realizes another year has ended and another is soon to follow.

For some, this becomes a catalyst for transformational shift, and for others, this becomes a promise they cannot keep— the promise of a radical change for the better, a promise to help one grow and flourish.

After the first month of

surrounding the new year, the Babylonians made promises to the gods saying that they would repay all of their debts and return any objects that they borrowed throughout the year.

This religious practice is what is said to have started the tradition of New Year’s resolutions as we know them today. Nobody really knows how, why, or when, but the ritual has since somehow evolved into more of an exercise on self-improvement for most Americans. This is not a bad thing by any means, but is quite the opposite. Goal setting can be beneficial to our physical and mental health and overall

wellbeing.

According to Stastista, The highest ranked resolution of 2022 was to live a healthier lifestyle. Twenty three percent of people aimed to reach this goal. Just behind that, twenty one percent of Americans said they wanted to concentrate on personal improvement or overall personal happiness in the upcoming year. New Year’s resolutions are just goals or intentions that people set for themselves each year. According to positivepsychology.com, goal setting is important to those who want to reach a higher level of

success.

Resolutions help to trigger new and improved behaviors, they help us to focus and they give people momentum to push forward in life. Accomplishing goals also helps to give people a sense of achievement.

Challenge yourself and set small goals each day that help guide you toward reaching your overall objective. Setting and achieving small goals helps us to stay motivated by giving us a sense of accomplishment. The more tasks we accomplish in a day, the better we feel about ourselves.

Announce your intentions.

Share them with friends and family so that they can help to support you in this endeavor. By doing this, it holds us accountable and keeps us motivated to continue down the path to success.

You can do it and you should do it. We all have improvements we want to make in one way or another. Now is the time. Be creative and break it down into easy to reach goals and you can never go wrong.

talaskey.roundupnews@gmail.com

promises such as I’ll lose weight, I’ll start saving money and I’ll stop smoking becomes a distant past. Losing weight can be difficult and if the person does not have a strong enough reason why the weight should come off and stay off, this will become too big of a task to accomplish.

Saving money can be hard for one that needs to have the newest gadgets and is easily bored with what they currently have.

Quitting smoking is not an easy task, and if the person has

not found an outlet to deal with their stress, the habit can surely come back with a vengeance.

The months following a person’s New Year’s Resolution falls into an abyss of comfort and living life on auto pilot.

Not to be a Debby Downer, but many people have buried their dreams in their comfort zones. Meaning, the hard work and change of daily habits is pushed to the side for a person’s predictable behavior.

Choosing to play before work has the capability of destroying a person’s ambition,

imagination, and dreams.

The influence from social media platforms and big corporations plays a role in the New Year’sResolution trend.

Companies target the people that make these limited promises in the hopes that they will sell their products and gym memberships.

These companies fuel the fears of their consumers with potential regret and guilt.

Many of the New Year’s Resolutions are formed to shame a certain unwanted quality in a person, and when

one rejects part of themselves it tends to backfire.

To make a transformational shift in one’s life, coming to terms with why you choose to live the way you do is paramount.

We do not need a New Year’s Resolution to create a healthier and happier life for ourselves.

We can access our abilities to grow and flourish anytime of the year.

Quotes gathered by Rachael Rosenberg

Photos by Benjamin Hanson

Helping student-athletes reach their potential Former Brahma passes knowledge to the next generation

BY JAYNA KUKLIN News & Copy Editor

Athletic counselors are more than people who help with athletics— they help those students become their best in academics.

For athletic counselor Joseph Roberson, this job wasn’t his first rodeo.

“I was also working in general counseling,” Roberson said. “Before that, I had been a counselor’s aide at Santa Monica College.”

Roberson, a Pierce College alumni from the class of 1996, was also an adjunct professor at College of the Canyons (COC) and California State University, Northridge (CSUN).

Roberson said that when he was graduating from CSUN with a degree in sociology, he didn’t find his options viable in a career.

“And she [my counselor] had to say “You know what, Joseph, you spent a lot of time trying to help the people around you pursue their educational career.”,” Roberson said. “She was like, ‘Have you ever thought of being a counselor?’.”

Roberson said that despite his unfamiliarity with what his counselor was saying, he ended up applying to the Master’s in College Counseling and Student Services Program at CSUN.

Women’s volleyball head coach Edison Zhou had high praise for Roberson, especially for how helpful he is with the student athletes.

“All my athletes love him because he helps all the athletes from the bottom of his heart,” Zhou said. “He works very hard to give his “kids” the best education plan and transfer options.”

Zhou also said that whenever he needed help, Roberson was the first person that he thought of.

“For me he’s like an older

In a typical intro to journalism class, Chavira teaches her students ethics and the value of the First Amendment, as well as teaching them to write many different styles of articles and photography. In the advanced classes, the students are put in charge of putting together the school yearbook, news magazine, news website, and social media. She hopes that her students learn the value of keeping up with the news as well as the importance of media literacy and writing accuracy. For Chavira, the constant bombardment of news from social media is why she stresses to her students the importance of being informed.

“All of those messages can also easily be manipulated. You often see people sharing misinformation,” Chavira said.

“As well as learning about journalism, they also need to know how to verify facts, how to make sure that something is true, and also when someone tells them something, when they're interviewing, how to verify facts as well. That's definitely very important. And you know, kind of question everything as well. Don't just take everything at face value.”

All throughout her entire career as a journalist, Chavira has never had an article face the chopping block for any reason. All that changed in Nov. 2021.

The Pearl Post, a studentrun newspaper at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School which Chavira advises, published an article about the district-wide mandate that required all faculty and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or work remotely and not be allowed on campus. The Post named the teacher-librarian and wrote about the effects of the mandate. They corresponded with the affected individual to conduct an interview but was

brother,” Zhou said. Zhou also thought Roberson was the best choice for athletic counselor due to having played football when he was a student at Pierce.

Football head coach James Sims echoed Zhou’s sentiment on Roberson’s caring attitude towards the student athletes.

“When I got hired, he was already the athletic counselor,” Sims said.

Sims also said that Roberson’s

son was a football player at Pierce.

Head swim coach Judi Terhar said she knew Roberson for 20 years, even when they both went to CSUN together.

“Joseph and I went to school together at CSUN and both of us graduated with a Master's Degree in College Counseling Student Services,” Terhar said. “He has a tremendous responsibility and opportunity to speak to our student athletes out of both his personal experience, as well as from what

much,” Miranda said.

For Chavira, this issue began in Dec. 2021 and ended when the district rescinded her suspension.

Chavira hopes for more awareness of student journalism rights from LAUSD, adding that the district was in violation of California Education Code Section 48907 which, “specifically protects student advisors from retaliation, firing, suspension, whatever, because of something that their students wrote.”

Receiving a suspension at a school that bears the name of a deceased journalist is also ironic, according to Chavira.

he has learned in school and life. I know him well enough to know that he takes nothing for granted.”

Terhar praised Roberson further, specifically in the way that he treats the athletes.

“Joseph cares about the studentathletes as people first, students second, and as athletes third,” Terhar said. “This is important because 95% of our studentathletes will not be making a living at their chosen sport.”

Terhar said that Joseph is a

genuine and positive athletic counselor at Pierce, and she believed no one is better equipped for the job than him.

Athletic Director Susan Armenta said she has great respect for Roberson as a person and as a counselor.

“He is very inspirational and I know our student-athletes value his support,” Armenta said. I value him as a member of our athletic department.”

Armenta also stated that there

were a lot of things that made Roberson a great choice as an athletic counselor, and she echoed Zhou’s statement on how he was a student-athlete at Pierce himself.

“He was a student-athlete himself, so he knows the challenges and struggles with balancing sports, academics, and life responsibilities,” Armenta said. “He’s had tremendous life experiences that he shares that often resonate with our studentathletes. He attends their games and practices, showing his support, while building rapport with them.”

Armenta said that she is confident Roberson will help student-athletes with their educational plans due to how meticulous and detail-oriented he is.

Roberson said he was able to get to where he is now with assistance from the LACCD staff.

He also said the biggest challenge for him was to get students connected with the campus.

“One of my greatest challenges is trying to make sure that I do my due diligence and supporting students and whatever their educational and life goals are,” Roberson said. “I have to find ways to support them and their goals no matter what, but at the same time give them an accurate perspective of what’s out there.”

Roberson also shared that even though some people may perceive him as an extrovert due to working as an athletic counselor, he actually isn’t one.

“I very much enjoy being alone,” Roberson said. “My role here requires me to live as an extrovert so I think the power in that though is this. I enjoy not needing anyone’s support or validation.”

jkuklin.roundupnews@gmail.com

never granted one, according to Chavira.

“They got a published article and then about a month later, I got an email from her asking that her name be removed,” Chavira said.

“She cited HIPAA law, saying we were violating it.”

There was never any request to remove the whole article, Chavira said. “But even just a removal of some information is still censorship.”

For Nathalie Miranda, the reporter who wrote the article, the rest of the school year was stuck in limbo, leaving the Post to wonder what was going to happen next.

“Before the threat of suspension came, Ms. Chavira made it very clear that it was up to me and the other editors to decide what to do,” Miranda said. “She wanted to leave the decision completely up to us but then when the threat of her getting suspended came up, it kind of felt unfair to make that decision for her.”

According to Miranda, Chavira told her and the editors she was not worried about suspension and ready to face the consequences.

“I grew a new kind of respect for her after that. She was just so prepared to defend her students to the end, and I loved that so

“This is not something that I ever thought would happen in my school,” Chavira said.

For Stanford University sophomore and former Editor-inChief of the Pearl Post Itzel Luna, the way Chavira and Post staff members handled themselves made her proud.

“It once again shows how important it is for student journalists to do this work and to not back down in cases where administration is trying to shut you down and trying to get you to do something,” Luna said. “In a broader sense, it really shows that student journalism is incredibly important, and a really good reminder that it's really important to stand up for your rights.”

When asked if the Pearl Post was affected by the censorship issue, Chavira said that hasn’t stopped them from reporting the truth.

“It gave the student editors a sense of empowerment through this. It made them appreciate journalism, appreciate the First Amendment and appreciate their press freedom rights as well,” Chavira said.

Photo by Arwen Dominguez

Athletic Counselor Joseph Roberson on the baseball field at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Nov. 10, 2022.

Photo by David Pashaee

Journalism teacher Adriana Chavira in her classroom at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School in Lake Balboa, Calif., on Nov. 18, 2022.

“I grew a new kind of respect for her after that. She was just so prepared to defend her students to the end, and I loved that so much,”

-Nathalie Miranda Writer

[From Chavira pg. 1]

Best of the Semester

As school increased its face-to-face activities, Pierce College brought back several traditional events.

There were sports games, concerts, the Parade of Breeds and Club Rush on The Mall.

Here are some interesting moments from the fall semester.

Copy by Felipe Gamino

Photos by Fabiola Carrizosa, David Pashaee, Rachael Rosenberg, Benjamin Hanson, Felipe Gamino and Dillon Sattler

Audrey and Jackson Popoff drive the Clydesdales from Unhitched Ranch to perform a demonstration at the Parade of Breeds at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. Photo by Fabiola Carrizosa

(L to R) Shannon Canchola, Jason Stoll and Micah Wright play during a music performance in the Performing Arts Mainstage at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Oct. 27, 2022. Photo by David Pashaee

Students participate in the Fall Dance Concert at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Nov. 19, 2022. Photo by Rachael Rosenberg

Colin Mitchell throws a pitch during an intrasquad game at Joe Kelly Field in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Nov. 19, 2022. Photo by Benjamin Hanson

Jordan Stivers (left) helps Mushka Kluwgant and her 1-year-old son, Leib, pet Gorda the goat during Club Rush on the Mall at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Sept. 14, 2022. The annual event returned to campus for the first time since the pandemic began. Photo by Benjamin Hanson

Chancellor Francisco Rodriguez sits in a 1957 black Porsche at the opening of the new auto building at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Oct. 20, 2022. Photo by Felipe Gamino

Hundreds attend the "Walk to End Alzheimer's" to show their support and raise money at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. Photo by Dillon Sattler

Brahmas of the Semester Fall 2022

Photo by David Pashaee

Photo by David Pashaee

Photo by Benjamin Hanson

Photo by Arwen Dominguez

The Brahmas of the Semester were the top Pierce players and coaches in their respective sport. They were selected based on their stats on lapcbrahmas.com.