/ccclarion @ccclarion @ citruscollegeclarion
Masks are not required, but enccouraged, with new policy BY MIRANDA PALMAS
A&E EDITOR
MPALMAS@CCCLARION.COM
AND MARK SNOW
CLARION citrus college
Mask mandate lifted, effective immediately
MANAGING EDITOR
MSNOW@CCCLARION.COM
Masks are no longer be required to be worn indoors for all vaccinated people. An email was sent to employees at 8:42 a.m., after school had started, on April 11 by Greg Schulz, superintendent/president of Citrus College. The email was not sent to students. Citrus Director of human resources and district chief negotiator, Robert Sammis, made a presentation on the mask mandate being lifted April 5 at the Board of Trustees meeting. The district and employee representatives reached an agreement at the meeting to follow the decisions of the Los Angeles County Department of Education to recommend, but not require masks indoors. “Mandatory weekly testing still remains in place for all students and employees on campus,” Schulz said in the email. “Due in part to the Los Angeles Department of Public Health’s
Anxiety spikes as in-person classes return
KCURIEL@CCCLARION.COM
MARK SNOW - STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The mask mandate was lifted on campus as of 8:52 a.m. April 11, halfway through the spring semester. Students, faculty and staff are strongly recommended to wear masks, but they are not required.
guidelines, LACDPH strongly recommends, but no longer requires indoor masking,” Schulz said in the email. “...Citrus College will continue to closely monitor the status of the pandemic and will communicate any changes to our safety protocols
as appropriate in the future,” Schulz said in an email to employees.”In the meantime, we will continue to follow any requirements issued by federal, state and local public health agencies.” The email also said that unvaccinated employees will still
have to wear masks per CAL/OSHA requirements. College nurse Shauna Bigby and Board of Trustee member Anthony Contreras did not respond to emails sent on April 6 by the Clarion for clarification on the mandate.
Transportation becomes difficult amid increasing bus fees and gas prices Public transportation has been a way for college students to get to school and classes they need to take in order to achieve their academic goal. Students struggle with fees in order to take public transportation to school or even home from campus.
April 12, 2022
BY KARINA CURIEL
Class Pass ignored as ridership decreases AGARCIA@CCCLARION.COM
Volume LXXV • Issue 12
STAFF REPORTER
NICHOLAS LIRA - STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
BY ANDREW GARCIA
ccclarion.com
Students face difficulty transitioning from online classes to in-person
A Foothill Transit bus waits for passengers on Foothill Boulevard in front of Citrus College on April 11. Students have found it tough to use.
STAFF REPORTER
Online at
Bus driver Junior, who refused to provide his last name said, “Many students take the bus but to be honest there has been a serious decrease since the pandemic hit the communities near us.” Many students do not live close to public transportation, which makes it difficult to get to school. There are also many scenarios that make it hard for a current college student, like class schedules
not aligning with scheduled bus stops. The cost of public transportation also comes into play when paying for school. “Taking the bus is honestly a hassle when it comes to getting to school, it was so difficult that I had to save until I could afford a car.” Andrew Macklif, a current student at Citrus College said. Citrus College has a Foothill Transit class pass that many
students don’t know about and also may not have enough money to renew to get to their desired destination. Many students cannot afford to buy a car causing a huge conflict with students getting to classes. Public transportation offers many public services, but might not be worth the cost for college students that are trying to afford school and living expenses.
On March 15, 2020, the U.S. locked down to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This meant that inperson classes would transition to online. Now that in-person classes have returned, more students are finding themselves anxious to return to a classroom setting due to the lack of face-to-face interactions with other students for the past two years. Kaili Hiramoto, a student at Citrus College, said that the process of making new friends is harder. There are not as many students on campus, so that makes socializing even harder. “Whenever there’s a break in my class, most people go on their phones instead of trying to talk to each other,” Hiramoto said. “I feel like a lot of people forgot how to talk to each other.” Carissa Dycus, a freshman at Citrus College, said the pandemic made her more of an introvert. “Not being able to hang out with that many people, it almost like, lowered my tolerance to people,” Dycus said. “I realized I could only hang out with a few people at a time before my social battery would be drained.” Students are facing similar issues to one another, struggling with different forms of anxiety due to the lack of face-to-face interactions throughout the pandemic. Some students have spent a majority of their time at Citrus College online, so the transition to in-person has been intense. Justine Marshall, Citrus College alumna, transferred to Cal State Long Beach last year, and has still been having some trouble transitioning to in-person classes. “I became so used to my routine, so having to go to an actual school and find my classes was a little overwhelming at first,” Marshall said. “I felt so out of place and it took so long to feel fully comfortable. Even now, things still don’t feel exactly the same as they were before. It’s been a little harder to socialize.”
READ MORE AT
CCCLARION.COM
2 Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Announcements
CLARION
#CITRUSCOLLEGE WANT TO BE FEATURED IN THE NEXT ISSUE? USE THIS HASHTAG ON SOCIAL MEDIA
OWLSTAGRAM:
CITRUS COLLEG
CLARION Editor-in-Chief Anthony Rossi
arossi@ccclarion.com
Managing Editor Mark Snow
msnow@ccclarion.com
Staff Reporters: Aaliyah Murillo
amurillo@ccclarioncom
Andrew Garcia
agarcia@ccclarion.com
Andrew Perez
aperez@ccclarion.com
Brooke Spears
bspears@ccclarion.com
Karina Curiel
kcuriel@ccclarion.com
Melissa Orozco
morozco@ccclarion.com
Miranda Palmas
mpalmas@ccclarion.com
Mizuki Smith
hsmith@ccclarion.com
Nicholas Lira
nlira@ccclarion.com
Clarion advisers: Patrick Schmiedt Stacy K. Long The Clarion is produced by journalism students and is distributed every other Tuesday during the semester. Ads are not endorsed by the Clarion. Published opinion is that of the writer. Views expressed do not represent those of the adviser, faculty, administration, Associated Students of Citrus College and/ or CCCBOT.
Clarion Promise The Clarion recognizes the immense responsibility of reporting the stories of the Citrus community. We promise to deliver these stories as accurately as possible, without favor or fear of reproach. The Clarion is knowledgeable of the power of the written word. It will shape the opinion and reputation of students, faculty and the institution. We exercise the right to publish, but also the right not to publish for the purpose of being complete in our reporting.
ADVERTISEMENT
3 Tuesday, April 12, 2022
CLARION
90 cards for 90 years
News
Sharon Lewis was gifted nearly 95 cards for her 90th birthday from her community BY ANDREW PEREZ
STAFF REPORTER
APEREZ@CCCLARION.COM
Sharon Lewis, a former member of the Citrus College Foundation Board of Directors, celebrated her 90th birthday in February. With it came lots of love and support for all she has done on campus. An idea to get her 90 cards for her 90th birthday came from her friend Rose Wentz and they fell short. However with help from the Citrus community, she received close to 95 cards, Director of Foundation and Alumni Relations Christina Garcia said. “It’s the contacts that she has through her volunteering and her friendships that over the years that make people want to send the cards in,” Garcia said. Lewis described the feeling of receiving that many cards as a happy time in her life. “It was probably the happiest month and a half I’ve ever had in my life,” Lewis said. “…And each one was just wonderful to hear from people that I didn’t know even cared about me.” At 90, it is nice to know people like you and still care about you, Lewis said. Lewis said it is nice for older people to be told how they are appreciated, and that is not usually done while people are still alive.
KIMBERLY TOTH - COURTESY PHOTO
Sharon Lewis sits in front of the nearly 95 cards she received from her friends, family, and those she has influenced on her birthday.
“That’s really special for an older person to be told how they’ve been appreciated and we don’t do that with our family or friends usually and after they’re gone then we talk about it, too late,” Lewis said. Lewis said one unexpected gift came from Athen Services Executive
Vice President Gary Clifford and his wife Linda who came with a bowl of cookies and a card that popped out with flowers with a $100 bill in it. Each one of the cards was special knowing people took the time to make her day, Lewis said. Lewis has deep roots in the ADVERTISEMENT
community. She was a cheerleader for Citrus back when it was a high school and also had a family business in Azusa for a number of years with her husband Charles Lewis, Garcia said. Lewis is retiring from the Citrus College Foundation Board of Directors after serving many decades. However, she will still be involved in being a reader for scholarships as well as remain active with the Citrus Alumni and Friends Association, Garcia said in an email. Lewis said she was given a special honor with a scholarship being named after her when she retired. “I was given such a special honor from the foundation, they have named that scholarship to be Sharon Lewis Bright Future Scholarship. What an honor, how could I ever dreamed that could happen for me,” Lewis said. Lewis said that it is the highlight of everything she has had to do with Citrus. Lewis said one of the best people to work with on the foundation board was Garcia. Garcia said Lewis has invested in the future of the foundation and they are better people because of her. Garcia describes Lewis as kindhearted, generous and eager to help students. She has affected many students by supporting them through the foundation with scholarship support,
gift card support and emergency grants, Garcia said in an email. Kimberly Toth, a student at Citrus who majors in photography, used the foundation to help fund her education during a difficult time in her life as her husband dealt with health issues. “Money was, you know, tight for our family and the foundation helps me with the scholarship to fund my classes for a semester,” Toth said. “Otherwise, I would have had to not attend school for a while.” Toth along with Garcia met with Lewis to take birthday portraits for her 90th birthday with all her cards. Toth said Lewis paid for lunch which they enjoyed at her home. Toth said she hopes to be able to photograph Lewis’ husband’s birthday in June. While at lunch, Garcia said Lewis mentioned her receiving a card from Superintendent/President Greg Schulz. Lewis said it was impressive and she did not think he would do something like that. Schulz will be a great person to have on campus Lewis said. “I think he really cares about it, cares about the students and cares about getting the community involved,” Lewis said. “…After the things we’ve been through and different things that have happened, he’s going to bring it together because he wants to.”
FALL 2022
LONDON, ENGLAND SEPT. 8 – DEC. 2, 2022
Enroll in 12 or more units of CSU/UC transferable credits next fall!
STUDY ABROAD WORK TOWARD YOUR DEGREE OVERSEAS! Visit www.citruscollege.edu/studyabroad for up-to-date program information and meeting dates.
WINTER 2023
PARIS, FRANCE JAN. 7 – FEB. 4, 2023
Enroll in 3-6 CSU/UC transferable credits next winter!