Volume 138 Spring 2023 Roundup Issue 6

BY LINDSEY WHITTAKER Reporter

say alum instead, to be more inclusive and reflective of the diverse student body.

with pride

are going to help show the way,” Fields shared. “Because as we've seen from all of our data, we've seen a huge increase in the number of people who are not associated with any one specific gender.”

Fields notes that Pierce has made progressive and inclusive changes on Canvas but the nonbinary community is always evolving just as gender expression is always evolving.

“It used to just be she/her, he/ him, they/them which was a great step forward,” Fields explained. “But now we're actually looking at those that are maybe blending pronouns. So, he/they, she/they, and he/she.”

In honor of Pierce College’s 75th Anniversary, students who sign up will receive a free graduation package, including a

cap and gown, a yard sign and a commemorative license plate frame.

Cifra said students graduating this June are encouraged to sign up early.

“It is also our incentive for them to apply earlier, because we want to know who they are ahead of time,” Cifra said.

Enrollment numbers increased

Since late start classes started on Monday, headcount is 112% compared to the district at 110%. Vice President of Academic Affairs Mary Jo Apigo reported that enrollment is at 118%, far above the district wide average. Apigo was cautiously

optimistic about the growing rates and hinted that there is still a long way to go in terms of getting back to 2017 enrollment rates.

“The sobering news is that when we compare the 2017 numbers, headcount is down 21% and enrollment is down 23%,” Apigo said. “So our numbers were great compared to last year and there's still some work to do as we try to recover back to the 2017 numbers.”

The next Academic Senate meeting will be held at the Faculty and Staff Center Monday, April 24 at 2:15 p.m..

Graduation

marks a huge milestone in a student’s life, and Pierce College might have a way to make the LGBTQIA community feel more represented.

During the Academic Senate meeting on Monday, Vice President of Student Services

Jason Cifra announced that students graduating in June will receive a commemorative license plate frame with the word alumnus or alumni.

Professor of astronomy Dale Fields mentioned that it might be a good idea to have the frames

“We have students from all over and we need to actually be more responsive in recognizing everyone's individual identity,” Fields said.

Cifra said that the order of license plate frames has not been officially submitted so there still may be time to make the edit in time for this year’s graduation.

As the campus representative to the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee and LGBTQIA affairs, Fields said that changing the frame would make non-binary students who are not out to their family and friends feel a part of without risking their privacy.

“I think it's both a protection for our students that aren't out, but also a great benefit for those that do want to see something that doesn't force them to the current cultural straightjacket,” Fields said.

Fields believes that there are many ways that gender can be removed in communications where it is not absolutely necessary.

From helping students to display their authentic names and pronouns to appear in Canvas to providing more gender-neutral restrooms, Fields thinks Pierce can always do better. And Fields encourages students to use their voices and get involved

“I really hope that our students

Brahmas swing and miss against Ventura

BY ALEC BENNET REPORTER

Another tough loss for Pierce College Baseball, the team was defeated 14-4 on Tuesday at Joe Kelly Field against Ventura County. While the team has had a difficult season so far, both the players and coaches remain optimistic for improvement ahead.

Despite not getting the results he was looking for, head coach Bill Picketts was still proud of the hardwork and dedication his team put out there on the field.

“Obviously the outcome wasn’t what we wanted,” said Picketts. “But I saw some good things, I got some guys off the bench and saw some new at bats.”

Picketts said that the main problem that allowed Ventura to win was that we were walking too many players, and made occasional poor defensive decisions.

“Probably the biggest issue that we had was that we walked too many guys,” said Picketts.

“We had some opportunities to get out of innings early, but we didn’t execute our defense.”

Picketts also said that his team simply wasn’t prepared for this game, and that hopefully with intensive practice and a refreshed mindset, they will see improvement in the next game against Ventura County.

“We just need to show up. That was the speech I just had with them,” Picketts said. “I didn’t think they were ready to play today, and that showed in the scoreboard.”

Starting pitcher Brent Chavez felt confident in his performance, and said that he was commanding some pitches well, but wants to improve.

“The fastball and changeup was good,” said Chavez. “But I was struggling with the command on the slider.”

Chavez also said he felt consistent with good pitch placement on the corners of the plate, but the umpire was missing some strike calls.

“I feel like I painted the corners sometimes, but the blue wouldn’t give me those,” Chavez said. “It’s

alright, we just have to be better next time.”

Utility player Danny Gonzalez said he was hoping for a better performance from the Brahama’s, but he was still proud of the effort given.

“Overall I definitely feel we could have done a little better on our end,” said Gonzalez. “But I think our defense did pretty good. Our pitching was a lot better this week too.” Gonzalez said that the main

improvement needed is more consistent hitting and better approach at the plate.

“Well, I think on our end we just had to do better overall,” Gonzalez said. “There’s no other way to say it, just better

accountability at the plate.” Even with difficulty making contact at the plate on Tuesday, the Brahmas have been consistent throughout the entirety of the season. The team’s overall batting average is listed at .269, according to the Pierce College athletics website.

Gonzalez also gave a message to Pierce students to encourage them to not give up on their home team.

“Stay with the bulls, cause the bulls get hot,” Gonzalez said.

Despite a difficult loss last Tuesday, the Brahmas have seen improvement with both offense and defense throughout the season.

With only three home games left, the Brahmas still have room for change regarding the remainder of the spring 2023 season.

The Brahmas face Moorpark College on Saturday, April 22 at Joe Kelly Field.

Photo byOwen Meza Pitcher Brent Chavez throws a ball to home base in Joe Kelly Field at Pierce College at Woodland Hills, Calif., on April 11, 2023.

Photo by Lindsey Whittaker Academic Senate members Cara Gillis, Alex Villalta, Barbara Anderson and woman talk at Academic Senate meeting in Woodland

Photo by Lindsey Whittaker Astronomy professor Dale Fields talks at the Academic Senate Meeting in Woodland Hills, Calif., on April 10, 2023.

Bring Pierce back to its roots with a sustainable community garden

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is more than just a minor inconvenience.

It’s an antiquated solution to a problem we no longer have.

Permanent Daylight Saving

Time should be enforced because not doing so would be detrimental to people’s health, the economy, and overall productivity. Many other countries (as well as Alaska and Hawaii) have been surviving just fine without it.

Legislation has passed in the US Senate that would make

Founded originally with the intent to focus on crop cultivation and animal husbandry, Pierce College, which was then known as the Clarence W. Pierce School of Agriculture, opened in September 1947.

The campus sits on 426 acres with 226 acres dedicated specifically to farming and agriculture. Yet for some reason, there is no sustainable community garden on campus.

Why is that?

Pierce has an ideal location, and this is the great

opportunity to incorporate hands-on learning, strengthen community bonds and provide fresh and organic food options to not only students and staff on a daily basis, but to the outside community as well.

It would also be an excellent way to showcase the campus and highlight all the hard work of agricultural students.

According to the Los Angeles Pierce College website, agriculture is still California's number one industry.

“With 88,000 farms and

ranches, California agriculture is nearly a $36.6 billion dollar industry that generates $100 billion in related economic activity,” according to the LAPC.edu website.

According to Pierce College's Agriculture Department, they are still achieving all three of the school’s original goals for the program:

1. Educate future farmers and ranchers, veterinarians, veterinary technicians, florists, equestrians, horticulturists and others involved with our vast

industry.

2. Educate "city folk" on where their food and fiber come from.

3. Prepare students to transfer to a four-year institution or graduate school.

According to a Los Angeles Times article from 2014, the college once leased land to a Farm Center that employed more than 200 Pierce students a year and provided the agricultural program on campus with feed and other materials through this partnership.

Pierce could start this again.

They could create a Farmer’s Market and sell produce grown on its land, by its students, and host special events such as the Harvest Festival throughout the year to continue to bring awareness to the campus.

The college has the opportunity to create jobs, build community and help feed Angelenos.

Now is the time to rebuild this program into something that would make the founders of this college proud.

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Opinion: Daylight Saving Time has got to go

Daylight Saving Time perma-

nent later in 2023. The Sunshine Protection Act would put an end to the biannual “Spring Forward, Fall Back”. The fact that it passed unanimously in a divided Senate is testament to the frustration felt over the years about the fluctuating time.

Each time we change the clocks forward or back, it disrupts the relationship our brains have with the sun, according to The Washington Post. When we mess with this relationship, it throws off our internal clocks, making it difficult for our bodies to adjust to the new time difference, leading to a lack of sleep.

The American College of Cardiology states studies have revealed that there is a 25% increase in heart attacks on the Monday directly following the “spring forward” in March and a decrease of a similar measure in the fall when the clock goes back again

One more recent study by The National Library of Medicine points to an increase in hospitalizations for atrial fibrillation following the spring time change.

The spring back also brings a 16% increase in vehicle and deer collisions, according to a recent study.

Back when DST originated, it

made a lot more sense. In 1918 the Standard Time Act was created and enforced in an effort to save fuel costs during the first world war. A recent paper published in the International Association for Energy Economics stated that as society grew, lighting accounts for only a 0.34% savings during the days in which DST applies.

Daylight savings was started to save money, but now it actually costs us instead.

According to the Lost-Hour Economic Index, DST costs the US economy $434 million in lost production and medical expenses.

The Air Transport Association estimated that DST cost the airline industry $147 million dollars in 2007 due to confused time schedules with countries who do not observe the time change.

People just do not want to work when they are tired. The Monday following the spring time change is actually called Sleepy Monday in light of it being the most sleep-deprived day of the year. When workers are tired, they are more likely to slack off throughout the day.

The fall time change comes with less daylight later in the day which leads to an 11% increase in depression - which decreases

productivity. When people say that they like daylight saving time, what they are really saying is that they like longer and brighter days. They like spending time outside with their friends just hanging out. They like summer. It makes people grumpy, tired, and the economy loses money in the process. So let’s just get rid of it already.

lwhittaker.roundupnews@gmail.com

While the future of Florida’s Stop Woke Act is still up in the air, to say it will damage our education system is a massive understatement.

Not only is the proposal damaging to education, but also to our democracy. It would rewrite history in ways that would make America unrecognizable and more divisive than ever.

At the core of what the bill represents is an attack on

critical race theory (CRT), an academic term coined by several American legal scholars in the 1970s. It offers a race-conscious approach to learning and understanding systemic inequalities and structural racism.

The irony is completely lost on the politicians who are writing policies like the “Stop Woke Act'' because they believe that instruction grounded in CRT is discriminatory towards white people. The term has been completely twisted and taken out of context to push a political agenda.

The bill would prohibit

instruction not only on race relations but it would also diminish African-American contributions to literature, science, music, geography and the arts.

Unless students take a specialized class, they often do not get to learn about stories outside of the white, male experience. Women are rarely mentioned in history textbooks and the stories of the Black experience as it really happened are under constant threat.

It is particularly dangerous because it will not stop in Florida and it will threaten

teachings on gender studies, women’s history, LGBTQ+ studies and many other diversity courses.

According to an EdWeek. org analysis, 44 states have introduced similar bills or other steps to limit the teaching of critical race theory and other such discussion of race, racism, and sexism. 18 have already enforced bans or restrictions through legislation or other avenues.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has already proposed another bill, popularly known by detractors as Don’t Say Gay, which forbids instruction

on sexual orientation and gender identity for all grades in Florida.

A similar bill was passed in North Carolina this week which limits what teachers are allowed to discuss when it comes to race.

Classes that teach diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential in creating an empathetic society and accurate view of our country’s history. Without this inclusive approach to teaching about our collective and varied experiences, we end up with a very white, male expression of who we are as a country.

All Americans want to be free to share their stories, to be recognized and respected. “We The People” means all people, not just the ones that fit within certain parameters. America has a dark and complicated past that cannot be ignored. The problem began as a racial issue and it has to be solved racially. Anyone who argues that they feel oppressed by critical race theory has missed the mark and still has a lot of work left to do.

Photo Illustration by Daniela Raymundo

A literary tale of determination French Film Festival continues with Balzac adaptation

The French movie “Lost Illusions” or “Les Illusions

Perdues" showcases the rise and fall of a young man, the protagonist, Lucien de Rubempré who came from humble beginnings. In the movie, we see how French society functioned in the 1820s and how the intricacies of Lucien’s life played out in it.

Located in the Multicultural Center hosted the French Film Festival, screening the French film, ”Lost Illusions” on Monday, March 27.

The movie, released in 2021 is an adaptation for the famous Balzac novel. The Film Festival was free for students and community members.

The event was catered by Pascal Patisserie and Cafe, and they served a variety of colorful French pastries

such as eclairs and fruit tarts.

English professor Donna Accardo thanked Student Services and the Bookstore for contributing to the raffle prizes, as well as Pascal Patisserie and Cafe.

French language instructor and French Club adviser Denis Pra helped organize and host the event. He mentioned how community at Pierce is important, especially after the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“It’s great to be here on campus to share music, food and cinema,” Pra said.

After music, food and a raffle, the film was screened.

The Q&A session after the film prompted discussion about the themes that were explored.

Communication professors

Yeprem Davoodian and Jennifer Rosenberg conducted the Q&A session. Davoodian stated that the movie had many concepts that could be discussed.

As Davoodian prompted

the audience to weigh in on what they thought about the film, the discussion became lively. Students and community members talked about topics ranging from the film’s storyline, news media, politics, World War II history and its relationship to mass media, social structure and French history.

Accardo, who also helped host the event, emphasized the importance of a vibrant student and campus life.

“A lot of students are still struggling with the idea of whether or not they should come back to campus or not,” Accardo said. “And to see this kind vibrant discussion and these kinds of wonderful works presented by our own faculty, I think is the best example and reason to have students say it’s a great place to be.”

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Keyboard player John Aguil, singer Dominique Merrill, and bass player Kevin Merrill perform in the Multicultural Center in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 27, 2023.

MARJAN SHARIFI Reporter

Attendees of French Film Festival engage in a Q&A with Communications professors Yeprem Davoodian and Jennifer Rosenberg in the Multucultural Center in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 27, 2023.

Communications professor Yeprem Davoodian answers questions at the French Film Festival in the Multicultural Center in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 27, 2023.

Communications professor Jennifer Rosenberg answers questions at the French Film Festival in the Multicultural Center in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 27, 2023.

Photo by Owen Meza

Photo by Ashley Shelmire

Photo by Ashley Shelmire

Photo by Ashley Shelmire