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Collegian L.A. FOOTBALL CLUB SCORES FIRST WIN, WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE LEAGUE? SEE PAGE 8
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Wednesday, March 14, 2018 Volume 180 Number 2
The Voice of Los Angeles City College Since 1929
star Watch
photo by felICIa v. gaddIs/CollegIan
Over 450 middle and high school students show up for the Annual Math Competition at Los Angeles City College’s Student Union on Saturday, March 3, 2018. Students who sat for the test answered 10 challenging math problems.
students find sums in saturday math event By FeliCia v. gaDDiS
photo Courtesy of bob freeMan, hollywood walK of faMe/hollywood ChaMber of CoMMerCe
Mark Hamill is flanked by “Star Wars” creator George Lucas and co-star Harrison Ford as he receives his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, March 8, 2018. Hamill studied Theatre Arts at Los Angeles City College and went on to appear in several television series and films, but is best know for his character Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” franchise.
Counselors Promise Better Service By Sahara velaSQuez People attend college for different reasons. Some go to college because they don’t have the money to pay for a four-year institution, others just want to get their associates degree, or a certificate in a specific field. Students at Los Angeles City College may enlist the help of counselors to guide them in selecting the classes they need to achieve their goals, but scheduling time with a counselor can be incredibly hard. In order to make an appointment students are instructed to log on to the school’s website Mondays at 8 a.m. In many instances, students bypass the online option and go directly to the Student Services Building. However, the lines there are long and they give up because they have classes to attend. Cassandra Aguiniga is a theater major who has had negative experiences in her First Year Experience (FYE) with counselors. “When I was in FYE, we went into counseling as a group with other FYE’s,” she said. “The information they gave was more generalized. They didn’t tell me what I needed for my major. While tak-
ing class, that’s how I figured out what I needed to do for my major. But, basically I shot in the dark to figure out what I needed to do.” In the student led Facebook group, “Too Broke to Afford Books (Whaddup LACC?),” students say they have had better experiences with counselors, Cisco Aguilar is one of them. He is a nutritional science major and says he was pleased with his counseling sessions. “I have only seen one counselor and he’s worked out great with advice and placement with classes,” he said. “I finished on time as the order he picked was awesome. I see the counselor once per regular semester.” Aguilar says that when he needs to schedule an appointment he makes sure to set an early alarm for a Monday morning so he can get in with a counselor. “I feel like the counselors do an effective job of letting people know what classes they need to take to satisfy the transfer requirements for their major,” says aerospace engineering major Steven Diermissen. “I find that the counselors try to push you to take more classes to complete the requirements faster. The downside to this would be a delay in transfer and an im-
pact on your GPA if you fail or drop the class.” Luisa Cortez-Ortiz is the new counseling department chair. She is aware of issues that students occasionally encounter with counselors, so she has provided advice for students to have a better experience. “We have recently made a few changes to provide access to students who want to make an appointment. We now offer students the ability to make appointments on Mondays at 8 a.m., online and in person, and on online on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. This is a change from our Monday only appointments at 8 a.m.” She also says that the department has noticed that many students make thirty minute appointments to complete tasks that can be taken care of during their express counseling hours. In those cases, the front office staff will refer and sign up students for express counseling, which is available from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Thursday and on Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sessions last five to 10 minutes. These sessions aim to help with class registration, change of home campus, major and educational goal, transfer planning, and prerequisite clearance, among others.
“The Counseling Department is also encouraging students that are part of specialized programs; CalWORKs, EOP&S, Guardian Scholars, OSS, etc. to make counseling appointments in those areas since there are counselors available in those areas as well,” she said. As for students who have been misinformed about what classes they need to take to transfer, Cortez-Ortiz advises students to use assist.org because it has the most current information on transfer requirements. She also advises students to contact the school of their choice and to meet with a campus representative at the transfer center to be better informed about the transfer process. “The Counseling Department is also currently developing our current practices, and we are creating solutions to remedy counseling access for LACC students,” she said. “We are being very intentional about planning as we revamp our counseling services. We are aware of the challenges students have had in the past. We are working closely with ASG and student advocates to ensure that as we are making changes we first and foremost maintain student feedback and consider their needs first.”
Middle and high school students solved problems—math problems during the Annual Math Competition hosted by Los Angeles City College on March 3, 2018. It was a fun way to challenge and reward students who participated with a certificate or a cash award. The four students with the highest scores received cash prizes. First Place won $500, Second Place won $300, Third place won $200, and Fourth Place received a $100 cash award. However, each student received a certificate just for participating. Los Angeles City College associate professor of Mathematics Vin Lee opened the competition with a warm welcome for the students. “This year, 450 middle and high school students registered,” Vin said. “Not everyone who registers sits for the exam.” Vin says 297 students sat for the test this year. The exam consists of 10 challenging problems and most are word problems. The test required a deep understanding of algebra and geometry, and educators designed it to challenge students in different ways. Each question was worth 10 points, for a total of 100 points. Professor Naeemah Payne is math faculty and a mathletics coach who came to LACC in 2002. “I work with a team to dismantle questions and get them prepared for grading,” Payne said. “This competition is a mental Olympics for students, mentally very challenging.” Jared Cano, an 11th grader from Fairfax High School entered the math competition for extra credit for his math class and because he enjoys math. “It’s hard,” Cano said. “That’s what I like about it. It’s very difficult.”
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Cano sees himself pursuing a math-related career in the future. The high school student says he would consider attending L.A. City College. Enoc Garza and Daniel Flores are 9th and 10th graders from Alliance Gertz-Ressler High School. They entered the math competition because they just love math. “My teacher, she like talked about it a lot and I like math and she told me to come,” Garza said. Flores sees himself as a programmer. “We have our homeroom,” Flores said. “It’s a programming base, so we take programs that are already made and adapt them to do small projects.” This includes turning an LCD display into a thermometer. Ultimately, Daniel wants to be an inventor. Norma Marshall, Hannah Abikzer, Logan Conner, Zoe Carlow and Matthew Kahsay, all Juniors at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (LACES), congregated at a table after the competition. They discussed the test and proudly displayed their certificates. The students explained the reasons they participated in the competition. They all gave the same answer: “extra credit.” Some in the group say they intend to pursue careers in mathematics. Abikzer wants to work in “bio engineering.” “I don’t know exactly which career yet, but I like math,” Marshall said. Professor Lee looked as though it had been a long morning, but he still looked excited. He shared his feelings about this year’s turnout. “This was the best one we’ve had and the biggest,” he said. “We utilized the entire Student Union. Every year we have more parents and teachers involved. I’m very happy.”
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