Students work toward making design dreams reality

Making progress towards their goals, four students look to the future

RANDI

For more than a decade student designers were used sporadically in theatre productions on campus, but “Waiting for Godot” changed that this year.

Michael Sande has been the theatre manager for 13 years and said in that time there has never been four student designers for a production.

Maeve Kiely, DJ Medina, Vanessa Stewart and Cynthia Ayala were the four students chosen to design for the play.

Kiely was the costume designer for Godot and has attended Pierce since she was 14 years old.

“I took technical theatre classes in 2010 and have attended Pierce for five years,” Kiely said. “Every semester since 2010 I’ve taken classes.”

Challenges arise during the production of a play and each person can handle the issues differently.

“It was hard to believe in what you were doing and to get over that vulnerability,” Kiely said.

“As a designer you have to gain that confidence in what you are presenting to others. Even if they don’t agree or like it.”

Kiely plans to transfer to UCLA by Fall 2017 if she is able to take all the classes she has left. Medina was the sound technician for the play and started attending Pierce in 2002 right out of high school for music.

“As time went by and life happened I never finished my

Gym lockers burglarized

Crime rate is down but rise in gym lockers burglaries

ENRIE AMEZCUA

Staff enrieamezcua.roundupnews.com

Pierce College’s crime rate is lower despite burglary reports in the women’s South Gym locker room and other areas.

L.A. Sheriff’s Department

Deputy Al Guerrero presented to Pierce College Council that the crime rate on campus is lower, but has yet to provide the crime stats for this year. However, Guerrero said that the two main issues that are still high that the department has to deal with are traffic incidents within the student lots and burglaries.

“We got an additional deputy and that helps with keeping constant patrol on campus,” Guerrero said. Burglaries were at a high in 2008 with 18 reported and reached a low in 2013 of seven reports, according to the Clery Act Crime Statistics from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Community College Bureau.

Deborah Hefter has been a Pool Supervisor for six years and said that burglaries within the lockerroom happen every so often. She said that the locker room is a tricky area to keep an eye out as there are many ways in and out of the gym and someone could easily walk in.

Students are responsible for bringing their own locks and securing their possessions when general education course,” Medina said. “I moved away for a while and when I came back about a year ago I found theatre as my calling in life.”

Medina hopes to become a sound designer once he completes his degree program. With the training and knowledge gained from Pierce he said he could fit into any position of the theatre that is needed.

“With any production there are going to be many obstacles. The pre-show took forever, it’s what everyone listens to while waiting for the play to begin,” Medina said.

Setting up the speakers was one of the hurdles that Medina using the locker rooms in the gym.

Hefter said the suspect or suspects are not known and it is easy for an individual to walk in behind a student and observe if the student is putting anything of value into the locker.

“[Students] might go in there talking to [their] friends, not noticing the people around you, maybe watching you,” Hefter said. “And when you leave, that's when they'll know what you've just put in there. And that's when they'll just come in.”

Hefter said that there was a locker room attendant that was in charge of keeping an eye out but the position was vacated before the end of the Fall semester. They are in the process of filling the position, according to Hefter Athletic Director Bob Lofrano said that despite students being careful, theft will occur no matter where a student might be. No matter what school a student goes to, theft is just as common as getting up in the morning, according to Lofrano.

“That's why you tell the students don't ever put anything in your locker of value. Let them steal your underpants. But don't put your [valuables] in there,” Lofrano said.

Anthropology major Emily Juarez uses the locker room for her weight training class and although she hasn’t had anything stolen she said that her professors always say to keep valuables out of the locker room.

“Nothing’s really happening. There's no bigger changes. You bring your own lock and if it is easy to break into, then it sucks,” Juarez said.