Los Angeles Collegian Volume 181 Issue 3

Page 1

Collegian Los Angeles

Wednesday, October 17, 2018 Volume Number Wednesday, February 28, 2018181 Volume 180 3Number 1

The Voice of Los Angeles City College Since 1929

Facebook, YouTube: The Collegian covers AB 705, changes to math and English courses. Mary Paronyan anchors Collegian Wired, East Hollywood News

BY ARLEN RAMIREZ AND CINDY AGUILERA

LACC Alumnus Mike Stoller

GRAMMY AWARDWINNING MUSIC PRODUCER RETURNS TO CAMPUS

The Dream Resource Center opened its doors on Oct. 1 providing a haven for undocumented students looking for assistance and guidance from supporters. Located in the Kinesiology building, dreamers, allies, and undocumented students are welcome to take advantage of free services like immigration resources, application assistance, scholarship opportunities and DACA related information. The DRC aims to bring undocumented students in, as well as, AB 540 and DACA recipients attending LACC. The mission of DRC is to actively encourage awareness, provide immigration resources, counseling, DACA updates, and opportunities to students that fit the profile. There, students can work with a team of counselors, coordinators and volunteers to create unity and a safe space where they can dream their way toward suc-

Legendary music producer and former L.A. City College student Mike Stoller fielded questions from students and faculty and told stories about his life in music, at the Herb Alpert Music Center. BY FELICIA V. GADDIS Jailhouse Rock,” “Stand By Me,” “Charlie Brown,” and “Yakety Yak” are all songs synonymous with the rock and roll era. They are also all songs co-written and co-produced by Grammy Award winner and former Los Angeles City College student Mike Stoller. According to Stoller, and his collaborator the late Jerry Leiber were the first in the music business to hold the title “Producer”. They took the 12-bar blues to a whole new level and transformed the American music scene. They wrote and produced songs for musical greats like the Coasters, Otis Redding, Ben E. King and Elvis Presley.

SEE “DREAMERS” PAGE 6

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BEATRICE ALCALA

MGM/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-SA-3.0 -

SEE “MUSIC PRODUCER” PAGE 6

NEWS BRIEFS COMPILED BY TIERRA AKIYOSHI

Free Mental Health Services Offered to Students This is a free on campus service provided by LACC. All students are eligible to receive short-term psychotherapy sessions for free in the Student Services Building, Room 120. The sessions are for problems related to depression, anxiety or stress, which students often experience in the course of school life. Business hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday. Students must bring proof of current enrollment and payment of the health fee.

COLLEGE FACILITIES TO TURN CAMPUS Dirt Lot into Parkland Oasis

PHOTO BY FELICIA GADDIS

LACC plans to liven up the empty lot, shown on Oct. 13, 2018, between the Chemistry building and the library with a new community garden. Plans are set to be finished by Spring 2019.

West Hollywood Library to Provide Free Flu Shots

College facilities reimagines the empty dirt lot in front of the Martin Luther King Library as a parkland oasis complete with a community garden and shade trees. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of the semester.

L.A. County Health Department and L.A. County Public Library are providing a free flu shots at a number of locations. A free flu vaccine clinic is planned for Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, from 1 to 5 p.m., at the West Hollywood Library at 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Adults, babies and toddlers, children and teens are all eligible for vaccination.

BY FELICIA V. GADDIS

INDEX Opinion & Editorial campus life a&e news Scholarships Sports

2-3 4 5 6 7 8

Trash, sandbags and toppled orange hazard cones are all that you see now on the fenced-in, dirt field in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. Library. However, College Facilities and the L.A. City College Biology Department have a plan to turn a dirt lot into a parkland oasis. Kahlil Harrington, LACC’s Director of College Facilities uses his mouse to quickly shuffle files on his computer’s desktop. He smiles as he sits behind his desk in his office as he looks for plans for the fenced-in dirt field in front of the Martin Luther King Library. “After the L.A. Build folks got done demoing the gym, they left the lot. And the plan was that we would leave it like that with the

fence around it until we determine what we’re going to do with the space …” Harrington said. “So I said, ‘We cannot leave that area looking like that. The students, the faculty and the people in the community need to have a better option.” The area Harrington is talking about sits right in front of the MLK Library, surrounded by the Chemistry, Communications and Science and Technology Buildings. Now, it is a lifeless brown field enclosed by construction fencing. However, Harrington, with the help of Kya Construction and biology professor, Sean Phommasaysy are turning this brown field into a temporary park scape complete with community garden and shade trees. According to Harrington, the

field will include decomposed granite—which is similar to brick dust. There will be pathways and artificial turf areas, park benches, picnic tables with umbrellas and four fragrant magnolia trees for shade. Near the trees and park benches, there will be mounds with mulch and drought-tolerant plantings selected for the area by biology professor Sean Phommasaysy. In an effort to save money, LACC facilities will grade the pathways that connect the Chemistry, Communications and the Science and Technology Buildings, instead of the outside construction company. Santa Ana based contractor, Kya will construct the compressed granite pathways and accent granite, according to Harrington.

“There are also areas of large boulders,” Harrington said. “We’re going to bring in some huge boulders and drop them in there to give it some accent … a park-like feel. And we’re going to put plants around it.” Phommasaysy is a paid consultant on the project because of his background in botany and landscaping. He knows, however, that it’s not just about choosing the right plants for the area—aesthetic is also important. “As a botanist, as a biologist, my approach is to put in things that are ecologically appropriate,” Phommasaysy said. “I [also] understand that most people want this wow factor and so my job is

SEE “COLLEGE FACITILIES” PAGE 6

Financial Aid: Apply for Your Money Now BY RUSSELL VICENTE Midterms and the holidays are just around the corner, and the financial aid season for 2019-2020 started Oct. 1, 2018. The most important task for students who seek financial aid for 2019 according to L.A. City College staff in the financial aid office is to log on and complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA online at fafsa. gov. Completion of the required form almost guarantees an LACC student’s tuition will be paid by the College Promise Grant (formally known as the BOG Fee Waiver). The grant allows for enrollment fees at California Community Colleges to be waived for residents who qualify. Students who complete an application for the Promise Grant may find they are also eligible for other grants. It is easier than ever to apply for financial aid. Over the summer, the U.S. Department of Education provided two new ways for students and their parents to apply: the myStudentAid Mobile App and the redesigned fafsa.gov website. “Right now the new applications cycle started for the 2019-2020 school year,” said LACC Financial Aid Manager Michell Anderson, “so students that are interested in receiving financial aid next fall for example are encouraged to fill out the FAFSA or the California Dream Act Application which is for the Dreamers or the AB 540 students.” The U.S. Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid recently launched the myStudentAid app whose user-friendly interface makes it easy to apply and get aid from a smartphone. “New this year is that you can now do the FAFSA from any mobile device,” Anderson said. “It used to be that you had to do it on your computer. Now you can do it on your telephone, it works quite well.” Students will need important information to complete an ap-

SEE “FINANCIAL AID” PAGE 6


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.