Woodland Hills, California Volume 142 - Issue 6
2,
Pierce students grapple with food insecurity
Brahma Bodega and local pantry face high demand for aid
By Delilah Brumer Managing Editor
Three points for each can of vegetable soup. Four points for pasta. Ten points total, per week.
Pierce College student Carolyn Mansager is not a math major, but each week she is faced with a challenging arithmetic problem: How can she stretch her Brahma Bodega points to ensure she has enough to eat?
Like more than 60 percent of Los Angeles Community College District students, Mansager experiences food insecurity.
Pierce’s free food pantry, the Brahma Bodega, has provided her with support over the past two years. Facing increasing food costs and high demand, the Bodega instituted a point system this semester, which assigns a value to each item and limits students to 10 points per week. Previously, students were allowed to take up to five items per week, regardless of what the item was.
Mansager, a non-traditional college student majoring in American Sign Language and business, said the point system has been limiting for her, as a vegetarian.
“Now, with the point system, I’m getting the same things over and over, because that’s what I can eat and afford,” Mansager said. “If their goal is to address food insecurity, they are failing for me, with the point system. I don’t want to make it seem like I don’t appreciate what I get, because I do, but they were doing better in the past.”
The Brahma Bodega offers students a variety of free services to combat food insecurity, including two hot lunches per week, 10 points of items from the
pantry per week and two snacks per day. But limited funding coupled with vast need means that the Bodega has to limit what each student can take, according to Geremy Mason, who leads the Bodega.
The Bodega is funded through state budget allocations, receiving $400,000 per year, according to Mason. That funding is used to purchase food for the approximately 300 students per day who use the Bodega, and to pay Bodega staff and student workers. The Bodega also provides other resources such as free farmers markets for students and their families, providing fresh food to more than 1,000 people, according to Mason.
“We want all students to know that we’re here to support as much as we can,” Mason said. “There are budgetary constraints, and simultaneously, the Bodega is servicing more and more students, with the same finances.”
To receive food from the Bodega, students need to sign up for a Bodega card. According to Mason, about 1,200 students have Bodega cards this semester.
The Bodega does not have a maximum family income eligibility for who can receive food support.
“If you don’t have your basic needs met, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to do other things outside of that like go to class,” Mason said. “We try to combat that hunger so students can focus.”
Debbie Decker, the executive director of the West Valley Food Pantry in Woodland Hills, works with her organization to provide nutritious free food to about 9,000 people per month, including many Pierce students. She said that in the past several
months, the local community’s demand for food has increased, due to the cost of living, inflation and the loss of jobs and housing due to the recent wildfires.
“We’re seeing extreme need,” Decker said. “People are making choices between food or medication, or food or housing. That’s a terrible place to be in, so there’s a need for food assistance.”
The pantry held a grand opening for its new facility, located about two miles away from Pierce, on March 29. The new facility was initially made possible by a $3.5 million state budget appropriation in 2021. Unlike the Bodega, the pantry requires verification that recipients are low-income, but Decker emphasized that most Story continues on page 4.
Gerardo Escobar / Roundup News
Dominic Borja / Roundup News
Rashad Muhammad / Roundup News
West Valley Food Pantry Executive Director Debbie Decker accepts a certificate from County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath during the new facility grand opening in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 29, 2025.
Delilah Brumer / Roundup News
Students wait in line to check out at the free Brahma Bodega located in the Multicultural Center, LLC 5110 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 12, 2025.
Janet Harper / Roundup News
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Volume 142 - Issue 5
Nazanin Bahrampour did not say “The Persian community is a tight knit one and Nowruz is a way they come together to celebrate.”
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Spring break is typically depicted as a time to party with friends while having a week off school. While this may hold true for some, for others who need to take care of young children, this break may prove to be more of a hassle than it’s worth.
In the past five years, spring break for the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) and Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) have been on the same week two times, in 2023 and 2020.
Spring break for Pierce has been after the eighth week of instruction for more than a
decade. This year, that lands on April 7 and ends on April 13. This differs from LAUSD, which begins its break the week after on April 14, ending April 18 to coincide with Easter.
These breaks not being aligned can cause a multitude of problems for students, faculty and staff.
Pierce community members may rely on their children’s school schedules to take classes at Pierce. Uncoordinated spring breaks may result in children being left without their primary caregiver because they are on campus.
This may result in either causing money to be spent to
hire a babysitter or having Pierce students with children miss class for a week.
According to Care.com, the average starting rate of a child care provider is $25 per hour. If a school day is an average of six hours long, for four days, that can total $600 for the week.
For those without children, the break serves as a time for many to get together with either friends or family. But this may prove difficult if two friends or family members go to different schools.
California State University Northridge’s break was held from March 17 to the 23, two weeks before Pierce’s.
The year prior, CSUN’s break and Pierce’s break had a week between the end of one and the start of the other.
To remedy these problems, Spring Break should be centered on the Easter holiday. This way it can accommodate those who celebrate the holiday with family, allowing them more time to travel, while allowing others time to get together with friends and take a break from school.
The standardization of when the break is would allow for both parents and children to be out of school at the same time.
A dedicated day could help the farm stay
When most people think of a farm, they may imagine it being in a rural area surrounded by fields that touch the horizon. But some people may be surprised to find out they can find one in the middle of the city at Pierce College.
The Pierce farm offers a unique opportunity to educate people on crop cultivation, animal husbandry and where their food comes from. A place to learn about farm work may not be easily accessible because farms are usually located quite some distance away from cities.
Many people in the Los Angeles area may not know that the school has a farm, and even some Pierce students don’t know it exists. To increase awareness about the farm and the services it provides, Pierce should host a Farm Day when
look into
On April 2, 2008
The Roundup published an article about a collection of protest posters related to the Armenian Genocide being displayed at the Pierce Art Gallery called the “Power of the Poster.”
The curator of the collection, Ramela Abbamontian hoped the exhibition would increase awareness of the genocide and serve as a learning tool.
The exhibition included replicas of posters used at the time the genocide
people are invited to observe and learn more about what the farm offers.
Having a Farm Day is important to spread awareness of these resources. In addition to raising awareness of what the Pierce farm can offer, a Farm Day can also help bring in additional funding through donations, a farmers market selling the crops the school grows and charging a fee for a petting zoo or horseback riding.
The school first opened in 1947 as the Clarence W. Pierce School of Agriculture, according to the Pierce Academic Pathways website. Despite the school branching out into other fields such as automotive technology, nursing and physical and planetary sciences, the farm is the foundation of the school and should be given a bigger spotlight.
Raising awareness through a Farm Day can help increase enrollment in agriculture-related classes by making people aware that the farm as a learning tool is here. A Farm Day would open the doors to people who want to get some farm work experience, even if they are not fully committed to pursuing a degree in agricultural studies or adjacent disciplines.
Being able to secure additional funding through a Farm Day can also prevent the need to sell further acreage of the farm to feed back into it. A 2014 article by the Roundup details how historically, parts of the farm that were considered surplus or unnecessary were sold to continue to fund the agriculture department, but little profits were actually seen. The chair of the agriculture department at the time of the article, Leland
Shapiro, said the continued sale of the land made it harder to maintain the animals and crops, and train students.
Beyond the educational services the farm provides, it also benefits the community during times of emergency. According to the Roundup, the Pierce farm served as a large animal evacuation center during the Franklin and Palisades fires that broke out this past winter. Agriculture was at one point Pierce’s signature field of study, although it has dwindled. A Farm Day should be held to potentially bring in money to help sustain the farm, and raise awareness about the opportunities it provides.
took place and work of artists who “want recognition for a part of history that has been often covered up,” according to Abbamontian.
Director of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics Carol Wells added that the genocide is not well known outside the Armenian community.
Wells said she believes that art has the power to make a difference politically.
Copy by Gerardo Escobar
A photo of archived Volume 108, Issue 5 of The Roundup News.
Pranks go beyond just making people laugh Are pranks worth it?
By Emily Garcia Reporter
When done correctly, practical jokes have left a positive impact on society because pranking is more than rubber snakes and whoopie cushions, it connects people to trust and entertain each other. The light-heartedness that comes from a prank can build rapport, strengthen relationships by creating new memories. When the joke is thoughtful and done with respect it can enhance societies benefits between group interactions.
Humor is a gateway to society’s shared understanding of breaking barriers and connecting to other
can benefit mental health.
Psychologist Susan Albers stated, “a good laugh can reduce our stress level, increase our immune response and, some studies suggest, help us to live longer.” Laughter releases neurochemicals, such as endorphins and oxytocin, that are associated with happiness.
Jokes are complex and take a lot of skill to make them memorable. It’s both a learning and teaching skill that reinforces social norms.
With the help of social media pranks are shared and enjoyed among a community of pranksters allowing a popular ritual, senior prank day, to be continued and shared among both teachers and students. There is no particular date for this ritual but it is popular among schools worldwide. Although sometimes pranks can be taken too far, EdWeek.org discovered that students check with a trusted teacher or even law enforcement to ensure that their pranks will not do any harm but rather create a fun memory to remember a fun
bond people together. Memories are constantly being made, but only the most humorous are remembered and brought up in the future. How many times have you said, “hey remember when we pranked…” When a friend is the subject of a practical joke the experience is laughed off together which allows people to strengthen their relationship and there’s a sense of inclusivity.
According to Cleveland Clinic, when pranks are done right, it
Pranks cause more harm than joy
By Elizabeth Tirheimer Reporter
Pranksters pull seemingly innocent tricks on victims with the intention of it being humorous, but it can end up anything but funny to those who are in the line of fire.
Pranks come in all types of forms, from something such as changing the time on an alarm clock ahead an hour to make somebody believe they’re late for work, or to the extreme of staging an abduction on a friend. Regardless of the situation, pranks are just not funny and end up being so much more harmful and detrimental to people’s lives.
Pranksters may think what they are doing is harmless, and is all in fun and games, but pranks can be a form of emotional or psychological abuse depending on the extent and how often they are being played.
Humor is also subjective, so what is funny to one person might be extremely upsetting for someone else.
A piece published in the National Post said, “But beyond being unfunny or predictable, many other pranks are just plain weird; totally lacking even an attempt at what we know to be humour.”
A prankster may not know what has happened to their victims in the past so the chances of encountering someone who may have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may happen and is not in the best interest for anybody involved. You don’t know how the person is going to handle it, and it may even resurface some past trauma that they have worked on.
What’s your favorite April Fools prank you’ve done or been on the receiving end of?
According to the same article, senior pranks provide a safe space for students to be given “the opportunity for creative leadership” which could potentially assist in the success of future students.
Senior pranks are a once in a lifetime experience that reshape the young and drive them to prepare and plan with leadership, critical thinking and creativity while also keeping safety in mind.
When pranks are done in good spirit it’s fun and memorable for everyone involved.
According to Psychology Today, “Pranks may qualify as a form of emotional or psychological abuse. Pranks can be how a person attempts to gain control over their partner, family members or friends. Pranks can invoke fear and give the perpetrator a feeling of power over others.”
Sometimes a prank just goes too far without someone realizing the extent of what it’s going to do to the person who is being pranked. Being pranked can induce anxiety or fear in someone due to a sudden unexpected scare or situation, and it can induce panic and increase heart rate which can be dangerous for some.
Majority of the time a prankster doesn’t realize the repercussions of a prank let alone the legal repercussions of what their prank may have in store for them especially if the prank itself led to injury.
According to Circeo Law Firm, “Pranks can be considered harassment or assault if they cause someone physical or emotional harm. Even if a prank doesn’t cause harm, it can still be considered a crime involving vandalism.”
Pranks are supposed to be a joke and funny but at the end of the day it’s more harmful than it is humor. People who are affected by the prank often are left humiliated with loss of trust toward the person who played it.
“In middle school, we put a ‘kick me’ sign on our teacher and someone actually kicked them. We got in trouble for that.”
Jazmin Holmes- Business Marketing Major
“Me and a couple friends filled some water balloons with fart spray and put it in another friend’s car so when he opened the door it popped. It completely stunk up his car.”
Alessandro Aranez- Electrical Engineering Major
“I took out the creme of an Oreo and put toothpaste in it. I gave it to my siblings and they ate them.”
“My school wasn’t allowed to do a senior prank, so I bought a big bag of tiny plastic ducks, like a hundred of them, and left them around the school for a harmless prank.”
Madison Cho- Philosophy/Political Science Major
Interviews by Joseph Acuña
Photos by Gelareh Behdad
Emily Romero - Nursing Major
Photo Illustrations by Jeremiah Bigalbal Lopez
PCC talks new buildings and old problems
By Alyssa Lupercio and Zamourad Iqbal Reporters
Budget discussion and campus construction continue to be top of mind for the Pierce College Council (PCC), which met Thursday, March 27, on Zoom.
PCC Chair Brian Gendron led the meeting to discuss campus updates.
Multiple buildings are planned to be demolished in relation to the Academic East, Academic West, Child Development Academic and Industrial Technology construction.
Project manager Soufiane Boudiaf presented an update
on the construction plan and its progress.
“We are about 30% in terms of construction progress,” Boudiaf said. “We already poured half of the second-floor decking, which is really good.”
Boudiaf revealed that the Academic West building is headed toward the second phase of construction.
The Child Development Academic Building framing is 90% complete and is now in development for details, according to Boudiaf. The Industrial Technology Building is also in the works, with needed finalizations aiming to be started late April.
Buildings set for demolition
Student food insecurity
(Continued from page 1)
college students that come to the pantry qualify for food aid. According to the United States Government Accountability Office, about 3.8 million college students experience food insecurity nationwide. The office explains that “studies have found that students who experience food insecurity are more likely to have lower grades and are less likely to graduate compared to their peers.” Mason and Decker both emphasized the importance of combating food insecurity to ensure students’ success in college.
Pierce anthropology and philosophy tutor Ariella Daniali has used the Brahma Bodega since 2022. She said the Bodega helps her because she can pick up quick foods such as instant
include buildings 1200, 1300, 1400, 1500, 3600, 3800, parts of the Child Development Center, the Botanical Garden and Pierce College Village, except for 8100 and 8200.
Senior Sheriff Deputy Isaac Jorge updated members on recent incidents at Pierce College.
“We have had a little uptick in crime, a couple of vandalism and graffiti in some restrooms,” Jorge said. “We have a bike theft, a golf cart theft from one of our trailers and a lot of gas has also been stolen from the gas carts.”
Jorge also added the recent changes in the sheriff’s department’s operations on community college campuses.
“All of the other deputies and security officers at the community colleges will start wearing cameras from April 1,” Jorge said. “It is just to give you where when we receive a call for service, and somebody calls us on the camera.”
Michael Habata, from the Diversity Committee, raised concerns that students are afraid to attend in-person classes because of fears of immigration enforcement, based on reports from other faculty.
“The faculty members reported that they had students who had stopped coming to in-person classes due to fear of possible raids on campus and their students who were anxious not only for themselves but for their family members and children attending K-12 schools,” Habata said.
Vice President of Student Services Jason Cifra mentioned that new policies will be
implemented for the fall semester of 2025. Priority registration will encourage more students to register, and services for financial aid and enrollment will be provided.
“We are also going to be committing to more financial aid workshops, and as well as Super Saturdays, that are targeted to a special population, to make sure the work that we are doing is really sticking to the students that need it,” Cifra said.
With the budgeting process being a highly discussed topic, Vice President of Administrative Services Rolf Schleicher mentioned that Pierce is trying to keep enrollment high.
“Enrollment is everything. I mean, that’s what we’re here for,” Schleicher said. “Instruction, making sure support services are where they need to be, the facilities are what they should be.”
Schleicher added that finances are limited despite the school’s size.
“We are not given a whole lot of money to run a big college at this level, but we do an outstanding job, in my mind,” Schleicher said.
Pierce President Ara Aguiar announced that a Budget Summit was set to be held and hosted by the Budget Committee, featuring a panel with administration. Aguiar also mentioned that the budgets are constantly recalculated, and this meeting provides information about the budget and its progress. The meeting was set for Tuesday, April 1.
An updated crime log was not provided for March 26 through April 1.
noodles when she doesn’t pack a lunch, as opposed to feeling hungry during the day.
“Geremy is like a campus parent because he meets our basic needs,” Daniali said. “I think it’s really cool to have a place on campus like this where we can get staple items like beans and rice and stuff, and sometimes produce as well.”
For more information about the Brahma Bodega, visit www. lapc.edu/student-services/spr/ brahma-pantry.
For more information about the West Valley Food Pantry, visit www.westvalleyfoodpantry. org.
Photographer Janet Harper contributed to this story.
818-710-4311 The crime log is made publicly available at the Pierce College Sheriff’s Office.
Reporting by Delilah Brumer
LEFT: Boxes of food sit inside the new West Valley Food Pantry facility during its grand opening event in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 29, 2025. Photo by Delilah Brumer.
Screenshot by Alyssa Lupercio / Roundup News
A screenshot of Pierce College President Ara Aguiar as she speaks to the Pierce College Council during a meeting on March 27, 2025.
Review: Sophocles’s story is reimagined without feeling repeated
Dominic Borja / Roundup News
Chorus actors surround Deniz Boysan as they rehearse a scene from “Antigone” in the Dow Arena Theater at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 25, 2025.
By Joseph Acuña Reporter
Pierce College’s performing arts professor JP Evans brings together a cast and crew that understood their vision, conveying that through performances worthy of praise.
“Is this the beginning or is this the end?”
A question asked throughout the tale of “Antigone,” posed before her birth with her father, Oedipus, where this play begins. A cursed lineage, he is banished at birth, foretold of evil deeds, is saved and grows to complete the path laid before him: Unknowingly murdering his true father and marrying his birth mother, fathering children of his own and becoming king. Learning of the truth of his deeds, Oedipus blinds himself and disappears, never to be seen again.
Without a king, the land is cast into chaos. Now grown, the two sons fight for power, dying in each other’s arms, one given a king’s burial while the other is
Origami making event held at Cleveland Park
By David Cohen Reporter
Under the supervision of ASO Member Louis Ochoa, the Origami Club set up a table in order to conduct one of their meetings at Cleveland Park, the grass that is situated on the northern end of the Pierce College campus. The club meets every Wednesday and Thursday between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Origami is a Japanese art form where recognizable shapes are made through the folding of paper. This art requires a great
degree of difficulty and can only be excelled at by people who have a high level of attention to detail, according to Ochoa and the members of his club.
Ochoa said that origami requires patience and focus otherwise it may not be successful.
“It’s a struggle to maintain the folds and being able to remember what the next fold is if you get distracted,” Ochoa said.
Some people, such as thirdyear student Joie Solano, are attempting to return to it and make it a part of their lives again.
Solano said that origami is a
left to rot, by word of the new King Creon (Meagan Truxal).
Forbidden a burial, Antigone (Olivia Espinoza) struggles with her new purpose, conveying her torment to her sister, Ismene (Melinda Birke), who wrestles with the idea of betraying the king’s order.
Set to marry the King’s son, Haemon (Elias Ruiz), Antigone must choose between ignoring the indecencies of human laws for her own happiness or put an end to the mistreatment of her brother and humankind.
Evans has chosen to bring this play not to modern day, but to Los Angeles in the year 2156, where dystopia is home and kings have returned.
With a backdrop of browns, blacks, and abstract shapes giving the feel of a foreign graffiti builds an atmosphere that feels lived in with a backstory of its own.
The environment’s simplicity is welcome, never distracting, and allows the Dow Arena Theater, smaller in size, seating roughly 70 people, to be properly used.
Actors come from every angle, crawling from the theater’s
balconies, running in from every opening available to the production. Hectic in nature, choruses are chanting, breathing life from the walls, surrounding your senses, but never reductive to the central actions.
A futuristic take could have been distracting, but it’s downplayed, emphasizing the unwavering price of silence. That is where the performances of everyone involved deserves an ovation-a standing ovationbecause nothing is lost in their dance.
Synchronized from beginning to end, cues hit but never telegraphed, shows a professionalism and ambition that the actors strive for. With a runtime of about an hour and a half, “Antigone” chews up every second of it and guides the audience through the ripples of time with a splash.
“Antigone” will run until April 6, with showtimes for Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. To purchase tickets, or find additional information, call (818) 719-6488, or visit LAPCtheatre.org.
way for her to be in the moment and helps her focus on the real world.
“It forces me to be off my phone and not be distracted. Most of my hobbies and schoolwork are online so this is a breath of fresh air,” Solano said.
Origami artists use objects that have flat or 90-degree edges to straighten out the crevices in the pieces of art that they are trying to make.
“It’s really hard to manage small crevices,” said freshman Yanitzy Alatorre. “Straight edges or pencils are your best friend in this situation.”
of junior
Communications studies major Kristy
a
using only a pink piece of paper at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 26, 2025.
Left: A close-up
Joie Solano’s hands working on her origami snake at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 26, 2025. Photo by Brian Khoury.
Right: A close-up of an origami rabbit face at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 26, 2025. Photo by Brian Khoury.
Zuniga creates
rabbit face
Brian Khoury / Roundup News
From bedside care to the boxing ring Brahma becomes finalist in boxing challenge
By Zamourad Iqbal Reporter
As Juan Juarez faced his opponent, he was nervous. However, he held himself with a confidence that served as a positive force behind his triumph during the boxing match.
Juarez, a Pierce College nursing major, became a finalist in the Golden Glove Welterweight boxing challenge on Saturday, March 15, at the Pasadena Recreation Center. The prestigious challenge brings together amateur boxers to compete annually.
Juarez expressed his feelings about making it far in the Golden Glove Challenge and spoke about his future goals.
“It felt really good, I was training for three months for this one thing. My arm was hurting,” Juarez said. “I had a torn bicep and fought with it. I won twice in two knockouts. I want to go to the Olympics, which starts in three years. I have to work very hard to go to the Olympics.”
Juarez said his greatest inspiration for being strong and pursuing boxing has been his life
experiences that drove him to the path of boxing.
“I wanted to become a fighter because my sister had a boyfriend who used to raise hands on her,” Juarez said. “He talked about women in a certain way, and I had to defend my sister and learn how to box and fight.”
Juarez said he has always been an optimist about his strength and being an athlete.
“I was a good off-route. I just needed to learn the technique and everything,” Juarez said. “I was already athletic and strong and had a boost of confidence.”
During the match, despite being nervous, Juarez kept calm and knocked his opponent down.
“I was kind of nervous because I didn’t know his power,” Juarez said. “However, as soon as I felt him, I stayed calm and kept on counting him until he was knocked out.”
Sade Thompson, Juarez’s mother, described him as having a dedicated work ethic and a commitment to boxing.
“He has an injury on his arm, and despite that, he still managed to obtain a knockout,” Thompson said. “He is resilient, always working out hard, no matter what
the weather is. He always makes sure that he stays on task, he works, goes to school, and boxes, and he is very dedicated.”
Thompson spoke about how Juarez has grown as a boxer and as a person.
“It taught him how to shift his energy instead of being upset,” Thompson said. “He found a positive outlet to release his frustration and turning negative energy into positive.”
According to Juarez, the toughest part of being an athlete is showing up every day.
“The hardest part is being consistent, getting tired, feeling sick, and your arm hurts,” Juarez said. “Despite that, you have to go every day if you want to be better.”
Juarez’s coach Brandon Krause also believes that the difficult part of boxing is to keep going. But he said Juarez continues to push himself.
“The toughest part is just keeping it up anytime, it’s a boxer’s journey,” Krause said. “He could have given up, but he hasn’t, and he continues to strive, and he’s seen the fruits of his labor.”
How Girls Who Code is hacking the gender gap in the tech industry
By Melanie Somoza Reporter
Thetech industry is rapidly growing and evolving, yet the gender gap remains a pervasive challenge with women still underrepresented in the field.
According to WomenTech, although women make up approximately 35% of the tech workforce and with only 8 to 9% holding leadership roles, the Girls Who Code Club is working to change that.
Through events such as their mini hackathon, web development workshops and coding challenges, Girls Who Code aims to cultivate a community where people of all genders can come together to navigate the tech industry and bridge the gender gap.
“This club opened a lot of opportunities for me,” club Vice President Yanilette Montano said. “I created a study timer app that I want to showcase, so it’s really motivated me to become a leader, especially in a space where I’m underrepresented as both a Latina and a woman.”
Women of color face larger obstacles in the industry, with African American and Latina women making up less than 4% of the workforce, according to Accenture.
To help students prepare for the challenges of entering a maledominated field, Girls Who Code
provides hands-on experience and networking opportunities.
“I’ve made a few websites and those are projects you can use to apply for jobs,” club Co-President Annabelle Moore said. “Also, talking to people during our events broke me out of my shell.”
Beyond skill-building, the club also works to create an inclusive environment where students feel supported in a field where they are often outnumbered. Though the club operates independently, it is part of Girls Who Code College Loops, an international nonprofit organization that offers internship and job opportunities to its members.
“I remember being one female in a class of 40. I know that it can feel intimidating,” club Adviser Beth Cheung said.
“I hope that students who join Girls Who Code feel like they belong and have a community of support where they can build confidence together.”
Girls Who Code encourages more students to join and emphasizes that the club is open to all genders.
“It’s not exclusive to females, it’s an environment where everyone who is interested in tech can grow professionally and as a person,” Montano said. The club meets on Monday and Wednesday, though times vary.
copresident of the Girls Who Code Club at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 27, 2025.
BOTTOM:
vice president of the Girls who Code Club at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on March 27, 2025.
Nursing major Juan Juarez, the winner of the Golden Gloves Welterweight Challenge, at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 27, 2025
Victor Montiel / Roundup News
TOP: Annabelle Moore,
Photo by Hannah Huffman
Yamilette Montano,
Photo by Hannah Huffman.
April 2, 2025
From caring comes courage: Pierce students learn to ‘Stop the Bleed’
Tourniquets, bandages, and arm dummies were seen being used by attendees as they learned how treat an open wound.
Cristina Sachdev, a registered nurse from Northridge Hospital taught and demonstrated how to respond when it comes to controlling a hemorrhage, reviewing and practicing vital skills, and how important it is to act quickly.
“Stop the Bleed” was hosted by the Northridge Hospital and the Student Health Center on Thursday, March 27, in the Multicultural Center.
Copy by Karla Delgado BOTTOM:
(Left to Right) Pierce student Oleksandr Makaruk practices packing a wound and applying a tourniquet as anthropology and geographical sciences professor Kia Atsales guides him during Stop the Bleed event at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 27, 2025. Photo by
John Cordova
(Left to Right) Pierce intern Cassie Austin, practices applying a tourniquet on Northridge Hospital Registered Nurse Cristina Sachdev during “Stop the Bleed” at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 27, 2025.
John Cordova / Roundup News
LEFT: Northridge Hospital Registered Nurse Cristina Sachdev gives instructions to attendees on how to properly stop the bleeding on an open wound during “Stop the Bleed” at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 27, 2025.
RIGHT: (Left to Right) Emergency Medical Technician John Tyndall and Ariana Armenta demonstrate with a prop how to stop the bleeding on a person’s body part during “Stop the Bleed” at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 27, 2025.
Rashad Muhammad/ Roundup News
Rashad Muhammad / Roundup News
Men’s volleyball falls to Corsairs in four sets
By Alfonso Vargas Sports Editor
The Pierce Men’s Volleyball team’s struggles continue as the conference closes in, losing five games in a row and dropping to 4-13.
Santa Monica College increased the Brahmas losing streak as they walked into the South Gym beating Pierce 3-1.
Although the team was defeated, Head Coach Joseph Arechiga believes the games speak of the team’s resilience.
“We still competed very well up until the very end of the fourth set. I think it’s very impressive. Shows how hard these young men work and how much they want it,” Arechiga said. “Obviously, it’s frustrating to come out with a loss, but the fact that they battled and made it a good game and competed with almost no subs, I think was very telling of who we are as a team.”
The first set was a competitive exchange between both teams.
Pierce started the opening set strong with an early 5-3 lead. The Brahmas stayed resilient, staying ahead until Santa Monica took their first lead of the game at 11-10. The game kept its intense back-and-forth with Pierce forced to take a timeout when Santa Monica tied it up. Unable to recover from the timeout the Brahmas lost the set 21-25.
A clear shift occurred for Pierce heading into the second set.
Both teams were equally matched. They both started strong, tied up 4-4. The Brahmas would rack up momentum,
taking control of the game, even leading by as much as 6 points in the set. The Corsairs fought back, mounting a comeback and cutting the deficit to one point, but the crowd stood up and roared when the Middle Hitter Lars Hart went for two back-toaces, halting their momentum.
Pierce would stay in control, winning the second set.
High energy was a contributing factor to the team winning the second set and tying up the match 1-1.
“I think we were just playing better as a team. I think the energy was definitely high, and that influenced our game the most, and we were able to connect with each other,” said Outside Hitter Luis Penate.
Adding on this Arechiga who said that the team just had to trust themselves despite no adjustment in the lineup.
“The biggest thing was just letting them know we got to trust who we are because there was no other coaching adjustments made, there was no substitutions or tactical adjustments made to the lineup at all,” said Arechiga.
Both the third and fourth sets went similarly for Pierce. The Brahmas kept it competitive in both opening sets with a tied score but the Corsairs intensified their performance taking control, overwhelming Pierce, beating them 25-18 in the third and 2516 in the fourth set winning the entire match 3-1.
Arechiga believes they shifted away as the sets went on.
“I think in the fourth set, we got away from that, and that’s where we see the big shift in the points and scores, because we went
away. So first set, we were away from it. Second set, we trusted in it. Third set, we went away from it. At the very end. Fourth set, we kind of went away,” said Arechiga.
Setter Brandon Ta said he hopes the work they put in will result in a win.
“Not really looking at the end result, just trying to make the work the goal, and then hopefully that will translate into a win.
At their chance of revenge, the Brahmas will be on the road to go against the El Camino Warriors on April 2 and will soon host Moorpark for their final home game on Wednesday, April 9, at 6 p.m. in the South Gym.
Head Coach Joseph Arechiga gives his team pointers against Santa Monica College during a time-out in the South Gym on March 28, 2025 at Pierce College in the Woodland Hills Area of Los Angeles, Calif.
Dominic Borja / Roundup News
Gerardo Escobar / Roundup News
Setter Karl Manolong (#10) and middle hitter Gavin Arnold (#3) move toward the ball in a game against Santa Monica College in the South Gym in Woodland Hills, Calif. on March 28, 2025