Volume 138 Spring 2023 Roundup Issue 5

But first,

BY JENNIFER TANZIL Reporter

The West Valley Disaster Preparedness Fair was held at Pierce College on Saturday, educating the community on what to do in the event of emergencies.

The West Valley-Warner Center Chamber of Commerce and Councilmember Bob Blumenfield’s office were among the sponsors of the free event that drew a crowd of families, adults and children.

CPR lessons and fire safety awareness were some of the many informational presentations given to educate the public on what steps to take when emergencies such as wildfires, house fires and

earthquakes occur.

Woodland Hills Neighborhood Council Representative Chris Waddy thanked Pierce College for hosting an event that allowed for the community to familiarize themselves with their local government.

“I think everyone here today can see that if we come together and we work together as a community, we can be safer,” Waddy said.

“Being able to work together as one community, one voice and standing behind each other in solidarity is one of the greatest things.”

As one of the event exhibitors, Waddy and fellow council members handed out disaster preparedness kits, flashlights and hand wipes at their information booth.

“So many things were passed out to individuals today that maybe they needed, from hand wipes to water, to support,” Waddy said. “We were able to serve so many people today not just from our booth, but from every booth, so we can let everyone know that they’re not alone and we’re stronger together.”

Pierce College has long served as an evacuation hub for neighboring communities during wildfire season, which Winnetka Neighborhood Council President David Uebersax is grateful for.

“I grew up in Agoura Hills and we have lots of horses up there,” Uebersax said. “When the fires come through, the horse owners all come down to Pierce with their trailers. This is one of the areas not

only for humans to come to, but animals too.”

At a nearby booth, MySafe:LA, a non-profit education and outreach partner of the LA City Fire Department, set up a demonstration to teach attendees how to properly perform hands-only CPR.

Captain and public information officer of MySafe:LA Chris Nevil hoped to educate more people on CPR safety.

“There’s a propensity in certain age groups for more heart issues, but sudden cardiac arrest can happen for all kinds of reasons, such as sports events, car accidents, drowningsthings that can affect all ages,” Nevil said.

Nevil called the ability to perform CPR a “toolkit”.

“It won’t always work, but it’s empowering to know that you can do something if you find someone who is unresponsive,” Nevil said.

Nevil also shared that MySafe:LA offers free services for the community, including teaching wildfire and earthquake safety to school children and installing smoke

detectors in residential homes for free.

Director of Operations at The Preparedness Network Jeffrey Weiss spoke about the importance of planning ahead with co-workers in the event of a disaster striking while in the workplace.

“If you’re a business, organization, church, or anything else, you have a responsibility not only to yourself but to the members of your organization,” Weiss said. “Businesses have to develop a training program so they can respond to their employees and co-workers when a natural disaster happens.”

Weiss stressed that people shouldn’t automatically wait for first responders to arrive. The moments before they arrive are crucial when dealing with emergencies and no time should be wasted.

“It doesn’t matter how big or strong you are, you can succumb to a natural disaster by falling apathetic to it,” Weiss said.

Representatives from SoCalGas tested the knowledge of attendees

by quizzing them on general gas knowledge, including how to recognize a gas leak and what to do in the event of encountering one.

Reseda resident Maria Gonzales came to the event with her mother. They took turns practicing CPR on a mannequin.

“I wanted to know where to go and who to call in those emergencies,” Gonzales said. “As a Valley resident, it’s really important to get connected with my community and to know what to do when a natural disaster happens.”

West Valley-Warner Center Chamber of Commerce board memberSusan Tenzer encouraged the community to get familiar with the services in the area.

“All of the services here are available to the public to make use of them,” Tenzer said. “We are available for any questions on disaster preparedness, to help you and your family. Just call the West Valley-Warner Center Chamber and we can be of assistance.”

BY NATHALIE MIRANDA REPORTER

The story of Darja and her tough life trying to make it in America was told with amazing acting, writing and special effects.

Pierce College’s latest theater production, Ironbound, directed by Christian Barillas, opened Friday night and told a beautiful story with a memorable performance by the cast.

Ironbound is a story about Darja (Olia Panasenko), who is a Polish immigrant who moves to New Jersey with her first husband Maks (Itzhak Matos). The roughly 90-minute play follows her years after moving and the men who have come into her life. Tommy (Kris Hernandez) is one of the love interests and Vic (Joshua Gould) is a man who helped her in a moment of need.

The play is equal parts funny and dramatic and the actors were to

blend the two extremes together.

The play opened with Darja and Tommy having an argument because he’s been sleeping with other women and Darja confronts him about it. It’s a very heated argument but there are some comedic lines that were delivered perfectly. Even through a very emotionally draining argument, Tommy’s dry delivery made the scene funny and enjoyable to get through.

From the very first scene, Panasenko’s skill as an actress shined. Her voice gave emotion and desperation during the scenes where she was yelling that it sounded like she was on the verge of tears. Her facial expressions seemed so natural that multiple times throughout the show, it didn’t even feel like there were actors performing on stage, they were just real people. There were also moments that showed Darja leaning into a crazy side of her and Panasenko seemed to

take that on. She had a manic look in her eyes and her voice was borderline hysterical. Her performance did the character justice.

Matos’ performance was short but impactful. His first scene with Darja was a flashback that was moving, funny and sad in the end. Matos did a great job expressing the emotions that Maks was feeling with his facial expressions and lively attitude.

Vic was the most comedic character and Gould portrayed that well.

Vic’s scene with Darja encapsulated what the whole show was like. It was hard to watch Darja go through all the challenges she was facing, but it was made easier to swallow with each comedic line throughout the scene.

The special effects also added so much to the show. The lights that were made to look like car headlights were particularly helpful in setting the scene, as well as adding a cool

effect to the actors on stage. There was also a timeline being projected onto the back wall in between each scene that was helpful in following the story.

But by far the best use of special effects was toward the end. The back wall lit up with lights and a moon to portray a night sky. The music that played and the lights hitting Darja made the emotional scene particularly beautiful. The show had a few obvious errors, like a candle not lighting or a jacket not zipping up but nothing so drastic that it made the show impossible to get through. The few errors that happened were quickly made up for by the performance of the actors and the stage crew.

The play was beautiful in all aspects and didn’t leave room for disappointment. The actors gave a wonderful performance in telling a story of love, heartbreak and dreams.

Photo by Owen Meza

Olia Panasenko and Kris Hernandez acting in

Photo by Fabiola Carrizosa

Store dog Huckleberry stands at his event booth representing Zoom

Room Dog Training in Woodland Hills, Calif. on March 25, 2023.

Photo by Fabiola Carrizosa

Firefighters perform a demonstration of how to extricate people from a car wreckage in Woodland Hills, Calif. on March 25, 2023.

Photo by Jennifer Tanzil

Susan Tenzer, Irv Selman and Florine Goodman from the West ValleyWarner Center Chamber of Commerce distribute hand sanitizers in Woodland Hills, Calif. on March 25, 2023.

STREET BEAT

SHOULD WE CHANGE THE DRINKING AGE FROM 21 TO 18?

EDITORIAL: From the desk of the Roundup

Biking at Pierce College? Tricky business. With 426 acres, more than 2,000 trees, thousands of roses, small herds and flocks of livestock, Pierce is begging to be explored.

It would make sense to get around with a bicycle. Try walking from the Village to Earth Sciences. Pierce is a huge campus.

So why isn’t there a dedicated bike path on campus?

“Ifeelthatitshouldstayat21becauseof accidentsthatI’veseenfromsocialmedia, umthere’salotofunderragedrinkingand goingbehindthewheelthathascauseda lotofaccidents.”-AshleyMendez,STEM

Currently, no bicycle riding is permitted on sidewalks and walkways. Also not permitted, is riding on sidewalks adjacent to classrooms, library, gyms, gardens, grass areas, or in any other college facilities.

The time a bike path would save on a student's already taxing schedule is a big plus. With a dedicated lane, students would have more time to eat, study and get to class.

And wouldn’t that add to Pierce’s enrichment of its community? Consider one of its goals to “increase opportunities for student access, readiness, retention and success.”

“Idon’treallyagreewithit.It’s alreadybadasitis.Peoplearestill youngandwillmakemistakes.It wouldcausealotofproblemsifit went into effect. More car accidents, justalotofproblems.Peoplemyage are f--- dumb.” Marvin Caballeros, History Major.

A bike path would certainly increase those opportunities. With concerns about global warming, it does not help that Pierce College is a commuter

school, which no doubt brings up issues of its implications of greenhouse gas emissions. A bike path on campus will

continue the “eco-friendly campus” that Pierce has aimed to be since 2003, when it launched the largest community college

solar-powered system in the country. So what would this bike path look like? It would run through

COLUMN Mental health care may be on its way

BY RUEBEN SANTOS Reporter

"Ifyou’re18andalreadyconsidered anadult,Ithinktheyshouldgive therespecttopeopletomaketheir owndecisions.Andifyou’reold enoughtogotothewar,youshould beoldenoughtodrink”. Giovanni Akvarpour,GlobalStudiesMajor

Imagine stepping outside into the record breaking heat and the cold winters of California with only the clothes on your back, change in your pocket and the realization that the sidewalks are now your new home. Especially for the homeless suffering with mental illness, the journey back to stable living can be treacherous.

Which is why the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act is the first of its kind that will provide service to any individual who is currently both homeless and suffering from mental illness issues such as schizophrenia or even bipolar disorder to name a few. This will ensure that individuals who are homeless and suffer from mental health disorder get the care and services that they need.

“Isay,itshouldstillbekeptat21, becauseyoumayneverknowthat therearestillirresponsiblepeople outtheredrinkingunderrage.”

Pedro Moretia Environmental Science Major

Governor Gavin Newsom on March 22 signed his proposal of the CARE Act at Santa Clara County California. Along with other families, service providers and local leaders.

The fact that both Assembly and Senate approved this back in Aug. of last year is a plus for individuals who not only need care, but who are also unhoused.

During the signing of Governor Newsom’s proposal, Newsom explained the responsibilities of the California counties and the future timeline.

“Istayneutral.It’saweirdin-themiddlesituation.SomepeopleI thinkarematureenoughat18to handlethatbutIthinksomepeople stillaren't.”JeremyDonoway, MarineBiologyMajor

Correction:

Christian Barillas

actors Olia Panasenkoand Khris Hernandez at the Perofrming Arts building at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on March 16, 2023.

“It will take us now a year to begin the process of implementation. We have seven counties that are committing themselves to the first phase,” Newsom said. “Every county in the state of California will be responsible for implementing this program. We will start with counties large and small.”

With that being said, Governor Newsom also expressed his plans of funding the program and how the operation, if all goes to plan, should work in phases.

“The first phase will be supported by

start-up grants of about $63 million, the courts will receive some of those funds,” said Newsom. “The counties that are part of the pilot program will receive the funds first. This is all unprecedented support for housing, support for a spectrum of services through our $14.7 billion homeless proposal package, $11.6 million of community behavioral for health resources.”

Governor Gavin Newsom said that $1.4 billion will be used for workforce development to train social workers, counselors and staff.

“This is unprecedented support that we are committing to over the next few years to make this program work,” said Governor Newsom.

How exactly the program will work is a question that has been raised by many, as receiving treatment when needed is something anyone will take. This plan can be a step in the right direction in terms of addressing homelessness, as well as the high cost of the mental health systems.

An article from CapRadio by columnist Chris Nichols titled “Here’s what we know so far about Gov. Newsom’s Care Court proposal” explained, “Care Court would be a referral-based program. It would allow first responders, law enforcement, behavioral health providers and family members to refer people struggling with addiction and mental illness”

It is further elaborated that a judge will be able to appoint the person referred to a public defender and be ordered a clinical evaluation to find out if they meet the criteria for the program. A ‘CARE Plan’ can be ordered if they meet the requirements, which will provide a 12 month outline of a treatment plan with medication.

According to Nicholas,”The plan would be developed by county behavioral health specialists, the participant and a newly established position called a “supporter,” who would help the participant understand, consider and communicate decisions,

giving them the tolls to make selfdirected choices to the greatest extent possible.”

It is also worth mentioning that in order to guarantee treatment, the judge can also go ahead and extend treatment by an additional 12 months after reviewing the plan.

"The program would include what the Newsom administration calls “a housing plan” for participants who need it. But it would be up to the judge to order a local government to provide housing, as not all participants are expected to be homeless.” said Nichols

It’s clear as daylight that there is a heartbreaking crisis here in California and especially in Los Angeles. You are left to wonder if the City of Angels was named so out of irony.

“The rest of the state, including the remaining Bay Area counties, must follow by Dec 1. 2024. The state estimates between about 7,000 and 12,000 Californians would be eligible for CARE court. Newsom set aside $63 million to help countries roll out the new system” said Marisa Kendall, Mercy News reporter.

In terms of allocating that money as efficiently and effectively, Newsom does indeed have a plan to do so, which can help with another issue, which would be the state's shortage of mental health workers.

Apart from the $63 million that will be given to the first counties to implement the program.

“Newsom set aside $1.4 billion to hire, train and retain new social workers, counselors and other employees in an effort to fight the state's shortage of mental health workers. Last year, he funded $12 billion into housing and services for homeless Californians and those at risk of losing their homes.” said Kendall

Everyone should be treated equally regardless of what you look like, where you come from, or what you’ve done.

the walkway, connected by additional paths around campus. There are already streets with minimal traffic that can accommodate a bike path. These streets include the Village Loop, the Avenue of Champions, Pierce Lane, Stadium Way and Park Lane.

And if Pierce is committed to the safety of everyone on campus, then a separate path for bikes would reduce vehicular and pedestrian accidents.

A bike lane opens the possibility to explore the campus. Pierce touts itself for being a bigger campus than UCLA, but UCLA has a thriving bike culture to get around town. Pierce does not.

Even CSUN with its tinier campus can accommodate bike traffic, and it has a bike shop.

One of Pierce’s values includes seeking “better ways to serve and innovate.” If it wants to consider itself an innovator, then consideration of a bike path would certainly be a step in the right direction. A dedicated path serves more than just the student body and would contribute to an added sense of community. Or at the very least, let's make it easier for students to find the bicycle safety rules online.

Photographers:

advertising call (818) 710-2960

Photo illustration by Christian Castellanos

Pierce college council talks safety

The PCC met again last Thursday for a brief overview discussing on campus issues, public safety and academic statistics

BY ALEC BENNETT REPORTER

The Pierce College Council (PCC) met on Thursday to discuss how they can prioritize public safety and student success while attending the school.

During the last meeting in February, the PCC raised serious concerns about crime and safety on campus. There were reports in the first month of the spring semester that an incident of sexual battery was committed on campus.

Deputy Isaac Jorge was the representative for the Sheriff's Department during the PCC meeting. According to Jorge, crime on campus has actually decreased at Pierce College, compared to previous statistics.

“We were one of two campuses for the month of February that crime had actually gone down,” Jorge said. “Which is surprising now that we have more people on campus.” Another issue brought up during the meeting regarding safety was an increase in unhoused people walking on campus. Jorge

said that there’s been frequent calls to the Sheriff’s department regarding this dilemma.

“It’s a tricky situation because a lot of these unhoused people are students,” Jorge said. “We go there or we get a call, they provide IDs and prove that they’re taking a class.”

Deputy Sampson was also in attendance at Wednesday’s meeting. He attended the meeting in a moving vehicle, because according to Sampson, Valley College had reports of a potential bomb threat on campus. Sampson was commuting to the campus in order to provide a training program for faculty and deputies to be prepared for situations like this.

“As part of training and support, it’s my duty to go out there and support them,”Sampson said. “We set up an entire command post, and now have four canine units on Valley College searching for bombs.”

Sampson discussed the importance of a new mass communication tool called Everbridge.

According to Sampson, this

tool will allow deputies and faculty to frequently be updated on potential safety threats on surrounding campuses across Los Angeles County.

“With this new mass communication tool, we’ve been training all the administrations for different kinds of emergency management training,” Sampson said.

The importance of having better access to Wifi across the entire campus was also discussed by the PCC panel.

Faculty shared their frustration with the school’s inability to provide good WiFi signals in certain classrooms. This problem is important to solve because not having a good WiFi connection prevents students from working efficiently on their assignments.

Pierce College President

Ara Aguiar demonstrated her frustrations with Pierce College’s insufficient WiFi connections when she explained that certain buildings can’t access the same strength of connection compared to others.

“We need it. We don’t need someone else to tell us that we need

WiFi at the Child Development Center,” said Aguiar. “We know that that’s been a challenge for a long time.”

While there’s still room for improvement regarding safety and better technology access, the PCC continues making efforts in order to address these issues directly.

After the pandemic, Pierce

enrollment statistics have been at a near all-time low.

It’s crucial that Pierce College continues to see a decline in criminal activity. Incoming students need to feel motivated to choose their educational path at Pierce College.

Safety on campus is an essential for students to be motivated and

successful on campus. Hopefully with these safety improvements, students will feel more welcomed in the campus space.

The PCC will hold their next Zoom meeting at 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 27.

Getting ready for red carpet appearance

The Academic Senate members meet again in person

BY MARJAN SHARIFI AND NATHALIE MIRANDA REPORTERS

The Academic Senate meeting that took place on Monday led by Academic Senate President Barabra Anderson discussed a few topics that were in the name of benefiting Pierce students.

Transfer Center Director Sunday Salter encouraged those in the meeting to help students who want to attend a CSU or UC.

“Cal State LA and CSUN have reported that about a month ago that they are rolling out the red carpet and they are still accepting students,” said Salter. ‘If you even catch it in the breeze of students saying, “Man, I wish I would have applied”, please pull them aside and say, “Can you just come down to the Transfer Center?”.

The Transfer Center is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Zoom, Monday through Thursday. Students can click the link and they are greeted.

"They can be anywhere in the world and still get help,"said Salter. "They can also just email me and I will help them.”

Salter also said that UC and CSU campuses have started

Fentanyl and Narcan presentation

Pierce College held a presentaion on drug use and prevention on Tuesday, March 21. Speakers talked on fentanyl, opioid misuse, drug testing and using Narcan in case of an emergency.

notifying students about their admission offers. The Transfer Center website also has a whole section dedicated on how to appeal if students want to do that if they have been rejected from a school they really wanted to attend.

Other topics brought up were an assessment that changes the way professors handle their Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) after grades are due every semester. Professors have things called SLOs that they must complete at the end of every course for every one of their students.

The SLOs help the school determine what they need to do to improve in their teaching and learning decisions. Before this assessment was proposed, Pierce professors had up to six weeks after final grades were turned in to complete their SLOs compared to the rest of the schools in the district that only had a week or two. The late deadline was putting Pierce behind in terms of their learning decisions.

The Assessment Timeline is proposing that Pierce changes their six week deadline to a

single week after final grades. This change will help Pierce make timely learning decisions that will benefit students’ learning.

Academic Senate members such as Sabrina Prieur agree with the proposed assessment as she believes that having a stricter time requirement on SLOs can help Professors and Staff assess how students are learning, and what the school can do to help change and improve its courses.

“If you’re paying $1,000, I think you should get $1,000 worth of education and if we’re not getting that information out to help you (students) then we’re doing you a disservice,” Prieur said

The discussion surrounding the budget was a lengthy one, with many members of the senate throwing around ideas to best organize and keep track of their spending.

Senate Treasurer Alex Villalta said that the projected budget for Pierce in the upcoming school year is $92 million but that number is far from being set in stone.

Photo by Alec Bennett Faculty and staff meet via zoom for the Pierce College Council meeting on. March 23, 2023

Photo by Owen Meza Academic Senate President Barbara Anderson speaks at the academic senate meeting in building 600 in Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 27, 2023.

Photo by Hunter Hammerot

Tjhin (left)

French

Eid Mubarak! Sacred Bonds

The unbreakable bond between women is a difficult image to perfect.

Capturing that reality for women from different countries was a French movie called “Lingui,” which premiered on the third day of Pierce College’s French Film Festival on Wednesday.

“Lingui,” which translates to “sacred bonds,” portrays the rocky relationship between a mother and daughter in Chad, Africa. When the daughter becomes pregnant at 15 years old, her mother finds a way to help her get an abortion. Despite her own beliefs and the country’s laws against it.

The screening was followed by a discussion led by History Professor Sheryl Nomelli.

“It’s beautiful,” Nomelli said., “How she comes around and finds a way to support her daughter

and give her daughter the life and future that she couldn't have.”

The discussion after the film covered topics about the laws against abortions in America, and related back to the struggles the women in the film faced. They also discussed how powerful the bonds between the women in the movie are, and how important that is not only in the movie but in their own lives as well.

English Professor Donna Accardo expressed the importance of these depictions in the film, especially during Women’s History Month.

“It shows the power of women,” Accardo said. ”That even in a very oppressive and patriarchal culture, they find ways to protect and support one another.”

This film not only captured the world from a women’s point of view, but it also matched the festival’s theme of French and francophone culture.

Even though the film takes place in Africa, the language and culture is influenced by French and Muslim cultures.

French Professor Denis Pra, one of the organizers for the festival, continuously shared his love for French language and francophone culture, with this being the third year the event has taken place.

“It’s a way to bring French and francophone culture onto campus,” Pra said. “To discover all these things, to open your mind and learn new things.”

Chemical Engineering major Shreef Elbarbary thought the movie was very relatable to his own culture, and that these events are important to have on campus.

“It gets a lot of people together to talk about different perspectives,” Elbarbary said. “It's more activities we can get involved in.”

The last movie of the festival, "Gagarine," will be shown on Multicultural Day at 2:30 p.m. in the Multicultural Center, and will host a discussion led by Art Architecture Professor Patricio Gallegos.

scano.roundupnews@gmail.com

Anew season approached as Pierce College celebrated the Persian New Year for the first time in the Multicultural Center Thursday.

Known by the name of Nowruz, which translates directly to “new day,” the event marks the arrival of the Spring Equinox. Those who celebrate the holiday usher in warmth and growth into their lives after a year of hardship.

Nowruz is celebrated not only in Iran, but in various parts of the Middle East and Asia. The holiday is traced back to ancient times and to Zoroastrianism, one of the world's oldest recorded religions.

Multicultural Center Coordinator and event organizer Tatevik Melkumyan said that it was important to begin celebrating a variety of cultural holidays to help

entice campus unity, marking it as a new beginning where culture no longer has to be solely shared within the confines of student’s homes.

“We have a large Persian population not only at the college, but in the community as well,” Melkumyan said. “I just wanted to do something to make the students feel as celebrated on campus, as well as represented at the college. Things that they may experience at home and then connect with here so that it's not completely separated from them at school. So part of the culture and identity is represented.”

Sophomore Aida Ebrahimi was excited to hear about the event after receiving an email announcing it.

“I felt really included and excited because I've never been to a school that celebrates Persian New Year or acknowledges the holiday,” Ebrahimi said. “I find it really nice to know they are playing Persian music, they're serving Persian food and that I have my

Persian community around me.”

Psychology major Luna Von Dahlern said she was excited to reconnect with Persian culture, which she grew up around.

“I work on Tuesday, but today I took off to be here,” said Von Dahlern. “I grew up in Germany and my step siblings are both Persian, so I grew up with a lot of Persian food, which is delicious.”

For Senior Administrative Assistant Sean Khalifzadeh, it was a shock to see the amount of Persian students that attend the college in person, stating that with Iranian heritage of his own, it’s nice to see people unite with events like Nowruz.

“I didn't realize how big of a community there was at Pierce,” Khalifzadeh said “Being half Iranian, it's nice to see people around and what we share in our culture. I hope we have more of this.”

khojati.roundupnews@gmail.com

Starting the game off with confidence and high energy, the Pierce College

Men’s Volleyball team won their first game this season.

The Brahmas won against the El Camino Warriors Friday with a final score of 3-0.

Head Coach Joseph Arechiga said this was the team’s first win in over a year, so they felt incredible finally securing a victory.

“This is a team that I knew could beat the first time we played but we just made too many mistakes,” Arechiga said. “I think we showed spurts of that in the third set but the first two were very solid playing so it’s just a great victory.”

In the first set of the game, the teams went back and forth until the Brahmas pulled away in the second half and took a commanding 1-0 lead.

“We've won sets previously

this season, but every time we won a set, we've had a huge slump in performance,” Arechiga said.

“We won the first set, which was awesome, but I was like, ‘Guys, let’s not have that slump again, let's keep it hot.’ And then we came out with three to four aces and got a nice lead from there. We changed the pattern and then we pushed through that so I think that was huge.”

With their momentous performance carrying into the second set, the Brahmas played a continuous dominant game that further extended their lead to 2-0.

Assistant Coach Farzad Ramin said the energy throughout the game was consistent since the team worked on having the same mindset to play as a unit.

“The key moment was that we had the same energy from the first set to the last,” Ramin said. “We went down a little on the last set because we have some injuries, but we came back from that with a win.”

While exhaustion played a vital role, the third and final set had the audience on the edge of their seats. Coming to a tie, and then falling behind, the players tempered their emotions and kept their energy up, leading to a long-awaited victory.

Middle Hitter Bryan Ta expressed his excitement about winning their first game this season.

“There were some tough moments in us missing serves,” Ta said. “But we all got back together and supported each other to bounce back. We feel really great and excited to focus on what we need to work on for future games.”

The next volleyball game is an away game that will take place on March 31 against Antelope Valley at 6:00 p.m.

nkhait.roundupnews@gmail.com

SOPHIA CANO Reporter

NICOLE KHAIT Reporter

KYANNA HOJATI Reporter

Men's

volleyball took home a welldeserved victory

Students gather at the Multicultural Center in Honor of Nowruz

Film Festival captures women’s connections

Photo by Owen Meza

History Professor Sheryl Nomelli, French Professor Dennis Pra, and English Professor Donna Accardo draw tickets for a raffle before the screening of "Lingui" in the Multicultural Center in Woodland Hills, Calif. on March 22, 2023.

File Photo by Audrinna Meza Outside Hitter #20 Brandon Ta preparing to score a spike for the Pierce College Brahmas in Woodland Hills, Calif. on March 10, 2023.

Photo by Audrinna Meza Pierce College Multicultural Center Staff accommidating guests on their choice of delicious foods as they celebrate Nowruz - Persian New Year on March 21, 2023.

Dealing with love, work and survival.

A drama that follows a Polish inmigrant, Darja, as she navigates life in New Jersey.

Ironbound will have a second weekend at the Dow Arena Theater from March 31 to April 2. Tickets are $15 for students, $18 for seniors and $23 for the rest of the public. Free parking for all ateendees.

For tickets visit: brownpapertickets.com/event/5747459

Photos by Owen Meza

Actors Olia Medkova, (Darja), Itzak Matos and Khris Hernandez acting in the dress rehearsal for the play "Ironbound" at the Performing Arts building at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on March 22, 2023. The play will premier on March 24 at the Dow Arena Theater at Pierce College.

Photo by Owen Meza.