CO U R I ER Pasadena City College
Serving PCC Since 1915
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT PCCCOURIER.COM
OCTOBER 8, 2015 VOLUME 112 ISSUE 05
Online student education planning tools to get facelift Keely Damara Managing Editor
Eric Haynes/Courier (Clockwise) Hoyt Hilsman, Bill Thomson, Martin Enriques, Tom Selinske, James Osterling and Marshall Lewis during the forum in the Westerbeck Recital Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 7. The candidates are running for two open positions on the PCC District board.
Candidates battle at the forum John Orona News Editor
Candidates for the second and fourth seats on the Pasadena Area Community College District board gathered inside Westerbeck Recital Hall Wednesday night for an open forum moderated by the Pasadena Area League of Women Voters and co-sponsored by the Faculty Association. The candidates, three from each district, were allowed opening statements before fielding questions from the audience on everything from labor relations to their governing philosophies. The current trustee representing district two, Jeanette Mann, is retiring at the end of the current term after 30 years on the board. Social scientist Martin Enriques, businessman Tom Selinske, and professor James Osterling are all hoping to win the seat encompassing parts of Sierra Madre and Pasadena. District four, which covers most of Pasadena, including PCC, is served by seven-year incumbent William Thomson. Thomson is running for his second re-election and third term on the board. He is opposed by former student trustee Marshall Lewis
and author Hoyt Hilsman. The tone of the forum was set from the opening remarks when Hilsman explained why he is running, and echoed the sentiments of many students and faculty in the process. “[PCC is] a source of pride for the community, but in the past few years there has been real failed leadership here,” he said. Despite world-class programs and consistently high rankings for degrees awarded, the school was placed on academic probation by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, which cited nine recommendations that the college must improve on by this time next year. One of those recommendations—transparent, collegial, and participatory leadership—became the theme for the night. “The very first thing you have to do is obey the law,” Hilsman said, responding to a question about how he would change the school. “You can’t meet in secret in violation of the Brown Act and expect to get away with it. You can’t cut down winter intersession in violation of labor contract and think you are going to get away with it.” All the candidates agreed that an open atmosphere was needed, and each explained why they
could provide a change of direction. “It’s not enough just to say transparency,” Lewis said. “I was there along with some of the faculty and staff in the audience getting dragged out of meetings.” Lewis, who does not have the polished resume of some his opponents, emphasized his active role in the numerous shared governance councils during his time at PCC. “If you’re going to ask faculty, students, and staff to put in the work for shared governance you then have to accept [their decisions],” he said. As the candidates outlined the way they would change the board for the better it was incumbent on Thomson to highlight what PCC has done well. “It’s easy to talk about these things but it’s difficult to do them,” Thomson explained. “I have a track record of listening.” Thomson cited his availability to meet with anyone to discuss concerns and the recent decision to allow women’s basketball coach Peron to be reinstated after several groups lobbied the board as examples. Thomson also explained some of the board’s
FORUM PAGE 2
Hope and help for homeless students Erica Hong Staff Writer
Two PCC professors are spearheading an effort to address the school’s homeless student population by collaborating with the city of Pasadena. Social Sciences professors Cheryl Beard and Lynora Rogacs are in the very early stages of trying to form a committee along with their officemates in social sciences to address the homeless student population long-term, while going into crisis-intervention mode in hopes to get these students supplies, services and shelter. Beard said she stumbled onto the situation only about a week ago and
Rogacs made a public comment at last week’s Academic Senate meeting to bring it to the school’s attention. They quickly put together care packages for the estimated six homeless students and delivered them to Rebecca Cobb, the dean of Student Life. “[We’re] really at the beginning. Very, very beginning,” said Beard. They have reached out to the City of Pasadena to assist PCC with training and resources. According to Rogacs, the city has had success in reducing the homeless population locally and is on board to help PCC get these students the services they need. Rogacs and Beard hope to implement a formal process to assist all
faculty in identifying signs that a student may be homeless and establish a list of resources to better understand the social and psychological issues that are unique to homeless students. They also hope to have a permanent place for food and hygiene supply distribution. They are working with the Food Recovery Network Club at PCC to get perishable foods but need a physical space with a refrigerator for students to access the food and hygiene supplies. Together they are discussing plans to raise funds to have a store of sorts with supplies available in non-descript recyclable bags. “Everybody wants to help, we’ve
just got to march in the same direction,” said Beard. Rogacs and Beard also realize they are dealing with a very sensitive situation and understand that these students want their privacy and often to remain anonymous. Some of the students may be athletes, or young women concerned for their safety. It’s likely they are dealing with the stigma associated with being homeless. “It’s heartbreaking. In this wealthy community, we can do better,” said Beard. According to USA Today, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid
HOMELESS PAGE 2
Student Services is preparing to roll out new online tools this spring to aid students in their education planning by implementing new virtual counseling software. Both programs, Degree Works and Intelliresponse, are geared toward getting more vital information to students’ fingertips. Degree Works, which was purchased with the Banner software that students know as LancerPoint, “is a comprehensive academic advising, transfer articulation and degree audit solution,” according to the company’s website. Students can use it to create their own education plans, see plans that counselors have made for them in one-on-one sessions and see completed coursework and what courses they need to reach their educational goals. This is a huge improvement on the program that counselors are working with now, said Myriam Altounji, one of six counselors on the Degree Works support team. The current program doesn’t include the ability for students to incorporate their education plans into their LancerPoint account. “The way that it’s set up now, the system that we have currently—although great—isn’t accessible to students,” said Altounji. “It’s only for counselors and all we can do is email students their plans.” Students can even create “what if ” scenarios with the tool, accessed through LancerPoint, in which they can choose different areas of interest and see how their current coursework
PROGRAMS PAGE 2
MOON FESTIVAL pg. 4 &5 South Pasadena Chinese-American Club’s annual festival brings together locals of all ages
ROCK4PEF BENEFIT pg. 8 Pasadena Educational Foundation’s Rock 4 PEF Benefit Concert with Art Alexakis from Everclear
NEWS
2 COURIER
October 8, 2015
School placed on enhanced monitoring Kristen Luna Editor-in-Chief
In early September, PCC received a letter from the Accrediting Commission of Community Junior Colleges (ACCJC) stating that the college had been placed on enhanced monitoring because of it’s poor record of documenting student learning success. Student learning outcomes (SLO) are statements made by each faculty member that identifies what students will learn and be able to demonstrate after they complete their course. The outcomes of those should be expressed through their knowledge and/or skills of what they learned in that specific class. ACCJC determined that only 57 percent of PCC’s SLOs were assessed. Out of 117 schools, PCC was one of only 15 schools that received the notice. “The reaction to everyone that I talked to directly and the indirect censoring action is pretty much that it’s a wake-up call,” said Robert Bell, assistant superintendent of academic and student affairs. “It’s a wake-up call when you’re put on probation. Then when you realize that there aren’t many other schools in the 117 campus system that have similar numbers of assessment, the wake up call is we need to team together and figure out how to get it done.” Though the school was already placed on probation by ACCJC, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and Accreditation Liaison Officer Kathy Scott believes the problem is easily resolvable.
FORUM
Continued from page 1
past decision making, saying the winter calendar was dropped due to budget projections from the state. “We have to look at reality,” Thomson said. “Had we known [about the ability to fund winter] we would not have made that decision [to cancel it].” “It’s not enough to just hand out your phone
PROGRAMS
Continued from page 1
applies to that interest and what they’d need to complete to achieve that goal. “So, as a student you could pursue your various interests and look to see how many more requirements it would take to change your interest,” said Cynthia Olivo, the associate vice president of student affairs. “Which I think many students are going to like.” Intelliresponse, which costs $80,000 and was funded entirely by the Student Equity Initiative and Student Success, Support and Planning Initiative, is a much simpler tool. It tracks the search queries made by students on the college website and populates a “top ten” list of the most searched topics. This list regenerates regularly, ensuring that it is always reflecting what students are most interested in at any given time. Next fall, Olivo said PCC plans on implementing a class scheduler tool that takes data provided by the student and Degree Works and uses it to provide students with a list of courses that fit within their schedule and contribute to their educational goals and suggests the order in which to take them. Student Services is also working
“A number of colleges got the letter of enhanced monitoring,” said Scott, who serves as the school’s accreditation liaison officer. “Even colleges that weren’t on sanction with ACCJC. They’re just looking for us to improve by the next time we turn in our report, which would be March.” SLOs are a requirement of ACCJC and it is the responsibility of each faculty member to develop those outcomes for their class and indicate whether their students have met those outcomes, which can be through a final project or test. It is then the faculty member’s task to assess those SLOs and submit their results into a system called WebCMS. WebCMS is an online system that is similar to a spreadsheet allowing the accrediting team to log in and look over the results for each class. “We haven’t been documenting that assessment and that’s key,” Bell said. According to Scott, the countless student services available throughout the campus such as tutoring, counseling, the Pathways program are continually helping students achieve academic success and recently being ranked number one in awarding associate degrees shows that students are in fact succeeding. “It really is an issue of compliance and making sure that we have all the paperwork and making sure everything gets in the system,” Scott said. “Just because the paperwork isn’t done properly doesn’t mean that faculty aren’t assessing and making sure that their students are continually improving.” The school updated their computer system
two years ago and many on campus experienced issues with it. “The school hasn’t had the best process in terms of getting the information into the system,” Bell said. “We need to find an easier way for faculty to do that.” Aside from faculty not being able to easily input their assessments, Academic Senate representative and social sciences instructor Kaitzer Puglia feels the overall SLO assessment, structure, communication and message has been inconsistent. “The information needs to be structurally consistent and faculty need a lot of lead time to complete the SLOs, as well as an understanding for what the end goal is supposed to be,” Puglia said. Paul Jarrell, the dean of instructional support, is leading the learning assessment committee alongside SLO coordinator Melissa Anderson, who will act as the chair of the faculty committee. According to Jarrell, the committee was formed to “reinvigorate the process, make it a little more streamlined and a little bit more accessible. “As well as do a better job of indicating to faculty the why’s, the where’s, the how’s of doing SLO’s,” he said. Currently, the committee has between six to eight faculty members who are working to redesign the process of assessment so that it fits better with the integrated planning model. “We want to be able to have the student learning outcomes data feed into our program review
process and the program review process was one thing we were cited for in the accreditation report,” Jarrell said. “The integrated planning involves program review. To make sure that we automate all this so processes feed and data feeds from one end to the other is very important in the long run.” The accreditation standards require that data be broken into various groups such as by gender and ethnicity as a way to try to identify achievement gaps. That can be “very cumbersome to do it it’s outside of some kind of software system that ties into the database that has that information regarding students,” Jarrell said. “This semester we’re going to allow faculty to submit it in a paper form so they don’t have to struggle with a piece of software that they don’t feel comfortable using,” Scott added. “Ultimately though we want to move to more of an automated system because it’s going to be difficult for us to continually do this on a paper system.” Even though Scott and Jarrell are confident that this issue will be resolved and will not affect our accreditation, some on campus are still in high alert due to being on probation. “This isn’t a question about whether we want to do it, we know we have to and now we just have to make the commitment to getting it done,” Bell said. The school is required to report to ACCJC on SLOs every year and the next report will be submitted next March.
number,” Hilsman added. Other topics of contention included what Selinske, PCC alum and former PUSD board president, calls “the most important decision a trustee makes,” selecting a president-superintendent. According to the ACCJC evaluation report, since 2009, PCC has had three permanent Superintendent/Presidents and two interims. The last of which, Dr. Mark Rocha, or “the $400,000 man” as Enriques referred to him, left amid controversy and discontent. Enriques also noted that it may have been worth the money and lawsuit to
get rid of Rocha. Lots of questions regarding the role and treatment of adjunct faculty were also on people’s minds, according to moderator Yvonne Pine. “I have a great idea,” Lewis offered, “hire full time faculty.” “There is something to be said for having a professor in their office, for having a professor that doesn’t have to run [between] three schools,” he said. Osterling, as a part time professor of finance and real estate at USC, took a more tempered approach.
“I don’t think part-time faculty are going away,” he said. “We need to strike a balance between full-time and part-time.” Osterling also suggested one of the improvements the school needs to make is to ensure students know “how to get two-year degree in two years.” The candidates were available outside the Center for the Arts after the event, along with campaign literature. The Board of Trustees election will be held Nov. 3 and voter registration ends Oct. 15.
on adding other tech tools to help students manage their education plan, like transcript evaluation software for transfer students and revamping the current two-and-a-half-hour orientation video, which has been viewed over 92,000 times, to be more interactive. PCC currently has a student body of about 30,000, creating a great demand for counseling services. Olivo said that she hopes these new tools provided to students will help the 21 full-time counselors, 25 adjunct counselors and two transcript evaluators allocate more of their time to students who need a little more one-on-one time. “One way to increase student success is to provide the tools,” said Olivo. “So that the students who can be self reliant can take that information and run with it and then we can focus on the students who need our support.” Just like with the student-named LancerPoint, PCC is holding a contest for students to name the Degree Works program. Students interested in participating in the contest can submit their suggestion to successplan@ pasadena.edu.
HOMELESS
Continued from page 1
(FAFSA) reported there were approximately 58,000 homeless students across the nation in 2013. Beard said she is amazed that even being homeless, these students still choose to get an education here at PCC. She knows they haven’t given up hope. “It’s up to their PCC family to help them,” said Rogacs. Rogacs said there are many reasons students are homeless or just need help financially. She said it can be as simple as they need help filing for assistance. But when it’s more complicated, PCC needs a protocol and steps to identify the situation and help students get the assistance they need. Many of these forms require a student to give a permanent address, which complicates the situation. They may not have a phone or transportation to get them to the
appointments they need. Beard believes it may take into the next year, but they plan to get everyone trained from the janitors to the president. The process may be just beginning but the professors in social sciences are reaching out to the community and students for help. They have put a “band-aid” on it said Beard by getting them some quick supplies and food, but “the weather is changing.” Rogacs and Beard are considering keeping supplies for homeless students in their office, room C349, and encourage students to bring by supplies that can easily fit into a backpack. They do not recommend confronting students they think may be homeless and to respect their privacy, but encourage reporting it to campus police or PCC faculty. “We’re not going to stop until get everybody on this campus is trained to stop this, to say something,” said Beard.
POLICE BLOTTER Monday Sept. 28: An administration member at the Community Educational Center stated a disabled student has reported being physically abused at his/her home. The student met with a counselor and a psychiatrist was notified to meet with the student. Tuesday Sept. 29: A male reported being assaulted near the north side of the L building when he was bumped into while
riding his skateboard. He stated that the man who bumped into him began to curse at him. A male student reported his backpack was stolen from the Mirror Pool area while it was left unattended with a group of individuals near the area. The student returned to the area and the group of individuals and his backpack was gone. • For more reports on the police blotter, visit pcccourier.com
Angelique Andrade/Courier PCC professor Lynora Rogacs and assistant professor Cheryl Beard hold one of the several bags of supplies provided by the college’s newfound committee developed to help PCC’s known homeless students on Monday, Oct. 5.
OPINION
3 COURIER
Editorial: PCC’s homeless students need much more help and support Homelessness among college students has been on the rise for years. This semester two professors have taken it upon themselves to provide care for students who are homeless. In addition to their efforts, the college as a whole needs to do more to ensure that all students, regardless of living conditions, feel safe and cared for on campus. Professors Lynora Rogacs and Cheryl Beard are on the right track. Although, previously unaware of the issue, both Rogacs and Beard have taken steps to help PCC students who don’t have a home to return to after school. Both professors have begun putting together care packages, which include hair gel, deodorant and a first aid kit. They have also started working toward a long-term goal of mandatory training for all staff on campus to ensure that they handle situations of homelessness with empathy and thoughtfulness. Although this is the right response, it shouldn’t be the burden of two professors to care for all the
homeless students on campus. From the janitors to the Board, this issue should be discussed at all levels because to ignore it would be ignoring the students at PCC who experience this serious issue. PCC already provides a variety of educational needs, including services for veterans and the disabled. If student success and education is really at the forefront of PCC’s staff, then services for homeless students would match those of other students confronting additional challenges. With further resources available, homeless students would be more able to concentrate on their education instead of worrying about where they’ll sleep at night. PCC should look to the City College of San Francisco for ideas. CCSF has designed a program that targets homeless students and students who are considered at risk. The program, HARTS, includes financial aid, food vouchers and resources linking the college to the broader community.
A program like that would serve to help homeless students who struggle to find places to sleep and cannot afford to buy food on or around campus. Staff at PCC should also look into reducing textbook costs, which have risen 1,041 percent since 1971, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Textbook costs are a pain for any student, much less those who do not have the resources to afford them or safely store them. Professors should request that more of the required texts be put online where students can access them for free. As awareness for homeless students grows, so too should PCC’s response to handle the situation. All students are here to learn. Some may have homes, others don’t, but regardless of a student’s living situation, PCC should provide resources to ensure that everyone gets the most out of their education.
October 8, 2015
VOICES
What should PCC be doing to help homeless students?
“The counselors should definitely be a little bit more open for students to come and talk to them about their needs in general, not just as a student.” Brian Clark, Nursing
“PCC should offer programs for students that don’t necessarily have the means to complete their work and offer them computers and use of the printer if they have nowhere to do that.” Madison Bin, Psychology
$100 million homelessness proposal
Cartoon by Mick Donovan
Arielle Taccad Staff Writer With already over 44,000 homeless people living in the streets of Los Angeles and counting, Mayor Eric Garcetti declared the situation a “state of emergency” and recently proposed to spend $100 million as an effort to ease the problem. “We wanted to do two things—one was to declare a sense of urgency; that this was an emergency, which legally allows us to open up our shelters earlier, even before we get rain or cold days, which is the legal requirement,” Garcetti said in an NPR interview. “But it was also a political emergency that we want to see an increased amount of funding, not only to see at the local level—and we’re working together very closely with the County of Los Angeles on this—but also from
COURIER Editor-in-Chief Kristen Luna Photo Editor/ Managing Editor Keely Damara
Online Photo Editor Katja Liebing Asst. Online Photo Editor Eric Haynes Social Media Editor Amber Lipsey
our state and national leaders where we’ve seen a lot of housing dollars cut back over the last few years precisely when we need them the most.” Ever since the mayor came into office two years ago, there has been a 12 percent increase among the rate of homeless people in the city. In addition, 13,000 Los Angeles residents identify as homeless each month, according to an estimate made by Economic Roundtable looking at data from 2002 to 2010. So what is different about this new effort? The mayor and city officials plan to open up more affordable housing and permanent supportive housing and shelters. In addition, $12.6 million will be taken from unexpected tax revenue for short-term rental subsidies and services as well as $1 million to create centers where the homeless could shower and store their belongings,
according to New York Times. On September 29, Los Angeles County supervisors agreed to add $50 million toward funding. About $905,000 will go toward more shelter beds during winter months and $1.1 million will be earmarked for homeless veterans for moving costs, according to Los Angeles Times. By declaring this a state of emergency, it seems clear that Garcetti and city officials have good intentions. However, the real question is whether or not they are really capable of doing it all? For decades, city officials have made multiple efforts to help the homeless. None of which seemed to have worked. In 2006, for example, Bring Los Angeles Home promised to end homelessness in 10 years. L.A. County officials also launched the Homeless Prevention Initiative. They had all
Serving PCC since 1915
Online/Features Editor Mick Donovan News Editor John Orona Opinion Editor Hannah Gonzales Lifestyle Editor Monique A. LeBleu Sports Editors Ahmad Akkaoui and Christian Rivas Scene Editor Erica Hong and Nagisa Mihara
Design Editor Samantha Molina Staff Writers Ericka Bernabe, Anthony Carter, Alex Chhuon, Julius Choi, Melody Congote, Lilith Garcia, Andi Harding, Rachel Ho, Erica Hong, Timothy Mably, Kelly R. Murillo, Elissa Saldana, Arielle Taccad Staff Photographers Angelique Andrade, Irma Carrillo, Nate
Fermin, Anthony Galindo, Monique A. LeBleu, Alexis Luengas, Kristen Luna, Samantha Molina, Josie Rodriguez, Daniel Valencia Faculty Adviser Nathan McIntire Photo Adviser Tim Berger Advertising Manager Daniel Nerio
The Courier is published weekly by the Pasadena City College Journalism Department and is a free-speech forum. Editorials and comments are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the institution and its administration, student government or that of the Pasadena Area Community College District. The Courier is written and produced as a learning experience for student writers, photographers and editors in the Journalism Department.
sort of strategies such as outreach, housing, and rehabilitative services, but they failed to follow through with their plans. What if this happens again? The $100 million proposal has not been approved yet and the situation could go any other way since plans and strategies are still being formed. But if the government does follow through with all their proposals, especially the $100 million budget plan, then chances are this homelessness situation may change. For now, it is still not clear whether this $100 million proposal would work or if Garcetti and city officials are capable of doing what they promise to do. Only they know the answer to all of this and if they have the true political and moral will to fight this crisis.
“They should give them a little support in life that they can’t get outside of school because that’s really helpful.” Christopher Sinani, Business Marketing
“The school should definitely be investing in some sort of on campus housing, not only for the homeless students, but for the out of state students as well.” Emmanuel Rosario, Sociology
Be Heard
Letters to the Editor
Corrections
The Courier welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be about 300 words and may be edited by Courier staff. All letters must contain your full name and a correct daytime phone number. Letters can be delivered to the Courier office in CC 208 or sent by email to luna.courier@gmail.com
The Courier staff endeavors to ensure accuracy in all aspects of its reporting. If you believe we have made an error, please contact us at (626) 585-7130 or via email to luna.courier@gmail.com
Phone: (626) 585-7130 Fax: (626) 585-7971 Advertising (626) 585-7979 Office: 1570 E. Colorado Blvd., CC-208 Pasadena, CA 91106-3215
“At least provide food because I know housing is really difficult, but if it is possible I think PCC students and staff should look into that..” Emhek Desai, Speech Communications
Reporting by Christian Rivas Photos by Eric Haynes
SCE
4 COURIER
Chin
M
Fest
The annual Moon South Pasadena C featuring lion an U.S. Shaolin Kung Pasadena
Daniel Valencia/Courier
Monique A. LeBleu/Courier
ENE
October 8, 2015 5
nese
Moon
tival
n Festival hosted by the Chinese-American Club nd folk dancing and the g Fu Center at the South a Public Library.
Monique A. LeBleu/Courier
Monique A. LeBleu/Courier
Daniel Valencia/Courier
FEATURES
6 COURIER
October 8, 2015
Stair climb to the top of the U.S. Bank Tower Lilith Garcia Staff Writer
Kristen Luna/Courier PCC student and Altadena resident Lucas Matison, 18, at Robinson Stadium on Wednesday. Matison won and completed the 75-story climb in 8:56 at the annual Ketchum-Downtown YMCA’s LA Stair Climb.
The tallest building in Los Angeles was conquered by a Lancer in record time last month. “We are always humbled by our Elite climbers, but this year our course record was broken not once, but twice! Meet newcomer, Lucas Matison who now holds the record, finishing this year’s climb in 8:56!” the YMCA Stair Climb page posted on their Facebook. Matison, 18, broke the record on Sept. 25, recording the fastest time while climbing the stairs of the tallest building in Los Angeles during the Ketchum Downtown YMCA Stair Climb. The U.S. Bank Tower is the tallest building in Los Angeles and the tallest building west of the Mississippi. It is 1,005 feet high, comprising 75 stories (1,664 steps). The Ketchum-Downtown YMCA Stair Climb for Los Angeles is an annual race that helps communities in and around the Downtown LA area. “Our time-tested YMCA programs support children, teens, families, and seniors in some of
the most under-resourced neighborhoods in the city,” explains the YMCA website. The previous record time was 9:28 which was set in 2013, but Matison obliterated that mark by more than 30 seconds. Every year, all types of individuals of different fitness levels participate in this race. About 4,000 people a year participate and walk or run up the stairs. At the end of the race a block party awaits them with food and live music. “I found out about it from a friend who I run with and he has done the stair climb for nine years in a row, so he told me about it and I thought I’d give it a shot,” Matison said. Matison practiced for such an intense race by running up steep hills around trails where he lives in Altadena, running consistently with a friend, and climbing stairs in a building similar to the U.S. Bank Tower. “I got to practice in the Wells Fargo Center, which is 55 stories, so I got to practice for about a month before the race. So I was pretty confident about it by race day” Matison said.
He explained that there’s a certain technique to stair climbing that requires upper body strength as well. “One technique that’s really helpful is to use the railing, you pull with your arms on the railing. It saves your legs a lot and it helps,” Matison said. Although this was Matison’s first stair climb race, he has competed in sports such as cross country in high school. Last year he was part of the American team in the World Mountain Running Championships held in Italy and placed 18th in the world for junior athletes ages 16 to 19. He not only loves the sport for its competitiveness and for the thrill but because of the people who participate. “I love the sport just because the people are so amazing. That’s my favorite part about it,” Matison said. Does he think he can repeat the feat next year? “The pressure is on,” he said. “I mean, if I could that would be awesome. Right now I have no idea how I can because I went all out to get it. But hey, with another year of training, it’s definitely possible.”
Books, Straight outta Riverside Cydney Ee: Living the pop star dream
Mick Donovan Features Editor
“My neighbors are all drug dealers; they’re good at what they do. And I’m good at what I do. Seriously, that’s the way life goes.” Making people cry. That’s what Susan Straight is good at. And she isn’t an enforcer for her drug-dealing neighbors. She’s an author, and a really good one at that. “Sometimes people say, ‘I read your book and it made me cry. Damn, you’re really good at that. What a strange thing to be good at,’” Straight said. “And it’s true, I’m really good at making people cry. And that’s an odd job to have, but since I was 3 and learned to read, that’s what I wanted.” Straight, award-winning author of “Between Heaven and Here,” has published 10 books, is a mother of three daughters, has chickens and a dog, cooks for her family and neighbors and lives to write and read. Straight does not live an overly luxurious life. She and her husband do not live in a big fancy house or in a ritzy neighborhood. In fact they live in Riverside where Straight was born and raised and where she said she will most likely die. She spent many years on the road traveling for book releases and signings all over the country. One of her three daughters would always accompany her, taking turns for who would go next. Straight was constantly writing and reading, even when traveling. She writes whenever she has the chance and will use whatever medium is readily available. More often than not when on the road, she would find herself writing in her car at night because it was the only place she could. She noted how she also wrote three whole pages of a novel she published on the back of a Disneyland ticket while visiting the theme park. “I don’t do much of anything else. I read, I watch TV, I take care of my kids, I cook a lot for a lot of my neighbors, they cook for me, and then I write fiction. It’s simple. But at night, I’m reading. When I’m in
Rachel Ho Staff Writer
Kristen Luna/Courier Author Susan Staight stands in front of the Circadian during her writing workshop on Tuesday. the car, I’m reading.” This past Tuesday, Straight visited PCC as a speaker for the Writer in Residence program. She taught a workshop and gave a short lecture. During the lecture she touched on what is probably the most important aspect of being an author: to get your story read. English Professor Kathy Kottaras, was excited to have Straight come to PCC to enrich the minds of her students. “As a prolific author and creative writing teacher, Susan Straight brings a wealth of experience to our students.” Kottaras said. “Her writing focuses on local stories, marginalized voices, and issues of social justice and equity.” She moved the students and lit light bulbs in their heads. She walked them through the ABC’s of being a successful author. “A, you finished it,” Straight said. “B, you sent it out somewhere. C, it was published. And D, someone e-mails you out of the blue and says ‘Oh my God. I read your story and I couldn’t stop crying. And I thought about it for a week.’ Ultimate victory, as far as I’m concerned.” It isn’t about the money. It’s about reaching the audience. If an author can get one person to read a story, finish it, and be moved by it, that is the greatest success they could achieve. “If someone buys your book, or
picks it up at the library, and stays up until 3 o’clock in the morning to finish your book,” Straight said. “Your book is a huge success. I don’t care about the money. It doesn’t matter. You’ll have the money, but let’s say you write one bestseller, ten years go by, what do you have now? You had a bestseller ten years ago, that’s cool. But I wanna publish. Everything has to do with success, in terms of reading. If someone finishes your story, and walks around thinking about it, can’t get it out of [their] mind for a week, don’t you think that’s the best success you could possibly have?” Probably her most important part of the lecture, however, was how to develop a book. Whether it’s a short story or a full novel, there is one very crucial part to creating your story. The character. “Here’s the best piece of advice I could give you,” she said. “Who’s in charge of the story? Are you in charge of your story? Nominally. Just as much as you can be in charge of your kids…You are actually in charge, just of the writing part of the story. But who’s in charge of the story part? Your characters. Let them do what they’re gonna’ do.” She ended the lecture on that note. Being an author will never be about the authors themselves. It is always about telling the character’s story. “It’s their [the character’s] story.” Straight said. “It’s not about you.”
This past summer has been a fruitful one for 21-year-old Cydney Ee, who beat out fellow pop star hopefuls from Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco to emerge as the champion in the Chinese-American talent competition ETTV Top Idol. If there was anything that influenced Ee’s passion for music, it was Disney Channel. As a child growing up watching shows like “High School Musical” and “Hannah Montana,” she realized from a young age that she wanted to be a singer someday. When a friend sent her information about Top Idol via Snapchat over the summer, she decided to try it out for fun. An innocent audition transformed into six weeks of competitive performing. “I really didn’t plan to [join the competition],” Ee admitted. “But I just went for it and it became this.” In between working at a regular job in the mall, taking summer classes, and being on an internationally televised singing competition, it was not entirely a smooth ride for her. Every week would involve learning a new song, working on new choreography, picking out a new outfit and several hours of rehearsal and preparation. All her efforts finally paid off when she placed first in the Top Idol national finals in August. “I wasn’t really expecting the win,” Ee said. “I didn’t really feel anything crazy—it hasn’t really sunk in yet!” In spite of her newfound success, Ee is committed to remaining focused on school. “Music is definitely just something I do on the side,” she said. “College gives you a reality check for what you want to do in your future.” Ee cites performing arts instructors Brad Steed and Zachary Matthews as mentor-like figures to her. Although she has never taken any
Nathaniel Fermin/Courier Former PCC federal workstudy worker and winner of a pop vocal competition Cyndey Ee, sits in the music lab in the Center for the Arts building on Sept. 30. of their classes, she forged strong relationships with them and her fellow co-workers when she worked at PCC’s music lab. “The music lab staff was pleasantly surprised to learn that Cydney, one of our student workers in the lab, had won a pop vocal competition!” said Steed. “Although she isn’t working in the lab any more, we were all thrilled that she was chosen as a winner, and hope that by her participation in this event, she will receive more recognition and acclaim for her singing ability.” Coming up next for this promising young musician is a performance at the “Dream Idol Night” event at Club Nokia on Oct. 9. The event, headlined by YouTube star Jason Chen and Taiwanese pop star Princess Ai, will celebrate the best of Mandopop and Asian-American music. Also coming up on Ee’s slate is new music. “I’m looking to make more songs,” she said. “I’m writing a little but that bit’s a little hard to get back into.”
7 COURIER
SPORTS
October 8, 2015
Football shut out in 33-0 loss
Nathaniel Fermin/Courier Lancers second-string quarterback Marc Peart hands off to sophomore running back Justin Carroll at Cerritos College on Saturday, Oct. 3. Hannah Gonzales Staff Writer Playing without their starting quarterback following his arrest last month, the Lancers endured another winless night Saturday during a SCFA National Northern Conference game against Cerritos College. The loss puts PCC at 0-5 for the season and 0-2 in conference. Cerritos (4-1, 2-0) opened the scoring when a failed snap on fourth down produced a turnover. By halftime, the Falcons were leading 22-0. Despite 10 fumbles in the game, a school record breaking number, the Cerritos defense produced five sacks, an interception and three fourth down stops.
PCC quarterback Marc Peart, filling in for Jett Even, completed 8 out of 19 passes and was taken out halfway through the game due to a concussion. “I think I did OK,” said Peart. “[I] missed a couple.” Two Lancers who managed to do well despite the score were wide receiver Ricky Blair and linebacker Jalyn Williams. Blair led with four catches for 56 receiving yards and Williams collected 13 solo tackles out of 18 total tackles in the game, the most any Lancer has made in 20 years. Due to his impressive performance in the game, Williams earned the SFCA NNL Defensive Player of the Week Award. This is the second time that Williams has won the award.
“We played well overall,” said Blair. Even and Nathaniel Degraffinreaidt, the two players arrested on Sept. 26 and accused of robbery and assault, did not play or attend the game at Cerritos. Prosecutors said last week that they do not intend to charge Even but would pursue charges against Degraffinreaidt. “Unfortunately we’re waiting to see what happens,” said head coach Thom Kaumeyer. “If things pan out the way it should then we’ll reinstate them and if not then we’ll move on to the next phase.” The Lancers will host East Los Angeles College this Saturday for a non-conference game at Robinson Stadium.
Men’s soccer begins new losing streak Ahmad Akkaoui Sports Co-Editor
The Lancers ended their losing steak by tying 1-1 against El Camino College on Friday but quickly tallied another loss in a 1-0 defeat against East Los Angeles College on Tuesday. The Lancers are trying to change things around within their team and it proved to work on Friday. PCC played together and made sure to communicate. The team played 90 minutes of hard soccer and defended well. Sophomore defender Sasan Shirmohammadi didn’t play on either gamewith a knee injury so they lacked length and aggressiveness on the field, but the team was able to make up for his absence. The status of his return is unknown. There is a chance he won’t play in their upcoming game against Cerritos. Despite being outshot on goal 9-3, the Lancers only allowed one goal. Some credit goes to freshman goalkeeper Yusuf Elmasri, who ended the game with eight saves. Head coach Edgar Manvelyan said it was a “well-deserved tie for both teams.” Freshman midfielder Adam Alonzo had one shot-on-goal on Friday. He couldn’t help but compliment his teammates for their effort and hard work. “We played a lot harder than we usually do and our captain [Fausto Espinoza] pushed us a lot harder,” Alonzo said. “We got a good goal by [Artin Almary] and that gave us motivation. After the goal, we joined as a team and we defended.” On Tuesday the Lancers played
Samantha Molina/Courier Freshman forward Artin Almary defends the ball from the Huskies at East Los Angeles College on Tuesday. “one of our best games” of the season against ELAC. They dominated the first and second half but luck wasn’t on their side. ELAC had two goalkeepers that played and they both had a great game. They ended with 10 combined saves against Pasadena. Derek Bell was one of the players mentioned that stepped up in Shirmohammadi’s absence. He played out of position at center defender against El Camino. “We had a bunch of chances. We just couldn’t find the back of the net,” Bell said. “I feel like we honestly played very well yesterday. The
result didn’t show it but we were controlling the ball and moving it well. We had our chances to tie the game.” “We gave up an early goal but still played awesome soccer,” Manvelyan added. “We played with three forwards in the last 30 minutes and still couldn’t score. We have been playing well the last two games. We just need someone to score for us.” Manvelyan said his team is ready for Cerritos on Friday. The Lancers (0-2-1 in conference) host Cerritos College (2-0-1 conference) on Friday at Robinson Stadium.
LIFESTYLE
8 COURIER
Rock4PEF: ‘LA’s best kept secret’ John Orona Staff Writer
Poor weather couldn’t stop the music at the second annual Rock4PEF benefit concert Sunday night, although it was enough to force the music show, headlined by Art Alexakis, lead singer of alternative rock band Everclear, inside the community building at Farnsworth Park in Altadena. The concert was organized by the Pasadena Educational Foundation and benefits music and arts education in Pasadena Unified School District public schools. Taylor Mathews, season five finalist on “America’s Got Talent,” excited the crowd by playing a mix of crowd favorites and soon-tobe-released songs from his latest album, scheduled for release in spring 2016. Mathews, a Louisiana native, is no stranger to helping out PEF now that he has arrived in southern California. He performed at last year’s inaugural Rock4PEF concert, headlined by Brian Aubert and Nikki Monninger of Silversun Pickups, and even put on a free, week-long concert tour for all the high schools in the PUSD earlier this year. Mathews was joined onstage by Stuart Serventi, 13, of Saint Philip the Apostle School, who won a contest to play with Mathews after showing him his singing and guitar skills. “I just made a video of myself playing and I was the winner
[chosen] to come onstage,” Serventi explained. The pair had played together previously when Mathews joined Serventi for his school’s Fall Fest showcase, according to Serventi. “This is really wonderful for him. He really loves [performing],” said his mother, Lara Serventi. Mathews was followed by the winners of last month’s youth Battle of the Bands, also hosted by PEF. The first act was Grey Goo, a six-piece band of young musicians between 8 and 12 years old. The energetic band of current and former Field Elementary students showed great stage presence and excited the crowd with covers of Kendrick Lamar’s “i” and “Lazy Eye” by the Silversun Pickups, who gave an acoustic performance last year. The recently formed band looked like seasoned pros, brushing off early technical difficulties before finding their form, and even throwing in guitar and violin solos. The other youth winners, Not Exactly Monday, then got the audience moving with covers of “Shut Up And Dance” by WALK THE MOON and the Neon Trees’ “Everybody Talks.” The night’s MC and lead guitarist of the band Sugarcult, Marko DeSantis, pumped up the crowd before the headlining acoustic performance. “There’s a lot of rock’n’roll in Pasadena and Sierra Madre and Altadena!” DeSantis exclaimed, referring to the wealth of young local
October 8, 2015
Daniel Valencia/Courier Jacob Davich performs at the Rock4PEF at the Farnsworth Park stage on Sunday. Rock4PEF is a benefit concert meant to support and spread the word of the essential benefits that the arts bring to students. bands, as well as to several famous musicians living in the area. One of those famous locals is of course Art Alexakis himself, an LA native who now lives in the Pasadena area and realizes first-hand the importance of music education. “Every child should have the opportunity to explore their musical horizons,” Alexakis wrote on the PEF website. “This community event is a powerful way to bring the music community and the community at large together to further this important work.” As Alexakis took the stage, the children were mostly shuffled out and parents pulled up close to the platform and sang along to Everclear hits in the intimate acoustic set. Alexakis chatted with the audi-
ence throughout, and was even able to crowd-source a keyboard effect during “Everything to Everyone” by having the onlookers mimic the song’s opening “ee oo ee oo” keyboard sounds. DeSantis was able to sum up both the growing tradition and
prestige of Rock4PEF, as well as its importance for art education. “Rock4PEF is the best kept secret in Los Angeles,” he said. “All the other disciplines are important, but the arts are what make life worth living.”
MORE TO
EXPLORE A Space Celebration with Bill Nye
October 24 Pasadena, CA
You have a world of ideas. Let’s hear them.
Tickets: P L A N E TA R Y. O R G / m o r e t o e x p l o r e Students! Get $10 Off: Use voucher code STEM at checkout
#Planetary35
PJ L
PREMIER J U S T I C E L AW
1-800-515-3730
Need A Lawyer? At CSU Dominguez Hills, our students represent many cultures. And share multiple perspectives. With one of the nation’s most diverse campuses, including a thriving international community, we encourage our students to embrace their individuality. While preparing them to collaborate in a global workforce. U.S. News & World Report ranks CSU Dominguez Hills among the most ethnically diverse universities in the West.
• Car Accidents • Lemon Law • Immigration ~ LOW FLAT FEE
CSUDH.EDU/International (310) 243-3422
Susan Susan Lee Lee Yu, Yu, Esq. Esq.
facebook.com/csudh twitter.com/dominguezhills
ALL ALL CONSULTATIONS CONSULTATIONS FREE FREE
CSU Dominguez Hills | (310) 243-3422 | 1000 E. Victoria Street | Carson, CA 90747
CSUDH_Ad_PasadenaCC_Courier_Fall2015.indd 1
www.premierjusticelaw.com
9/18/15 4:47 PM