Volume 124 Spring 2016 Roundup Issue 9

No longer in the books

Proposed Media Arts Building recommended to be defunded by Faculty Advisory Committee

taught, according to Connelly

“Our current studio facilities are totally inadequate,” Connelly said.

“We use cabinets as a wall.”

Floor general to Hall of Fame

Former Media Arts Department student inducted into Hall of Fame

JONATHAN HINTZ

Staff

jhintz.roundupnews@gmail.com

There are few that can have their names solidified as a sports great, but those that do will never be forgotten.

Brittney Henderson, 28, will be one of several women inducted in Pierce’s fourth annual Hall of Fame on Thursday, May 26, at the Woodland Hills Country Club.

Averaging 20 points, 21 rebounds, three blocks, and 5.1 steals per game Henderson is the first women’s basketball player to be inducted in Pierce’s Hall of Fame. She will be the third woman to be inducted into the hall of fame.

Henderson is humbled and honored to be inducted into Pierce’s Hall of Fame.

“It’s a humbling and exciting experience to be inducted into the hall of fame,” Henderson said. Henderson comes from a basketball family. Her father, Jerome Henderson, played professionally in

Moving up the ranks

the NBA for several teams, which included the Lakers and Bucks. He would go on to play also in Argentina and France.

Henderson started playing basketball as a hobby when she was a child. She felt like it was in her blood, since her father was a professional player.

Despite her father being a professional basketball player, Henderson was never pressured into playing the sport.

“Both of my parents were very supportive of what my sister and my goals were,” Henderson said.

Henderson’s family will be attending her hall of fame induction this year.

“Playing basketball was instilled in me since we are a basketball family,” Henderson said.

Henderson played in the 20062007 season for the Brahmas, along with her sister Tiffany Clay.

Clay will be presenting the hall of fame award to her sister at the ceremony.

Playing in the point guard position, Henderson became a

Students Organization, was announced Tuesday as the winner of the election held last week and will be the new face of the ASO as their next president. Lombrano defeated Chris Ruiz 91-33.

Student Engagement Coordinator Lara Conrady Wong said Lombrano has worked very hard to reach this point.

“I know that she number one, is a great student, number two, is a great leader,” Wong said. “I know she has the students interest at her heart and that is what is motivating her to take this on.”

Nobody ran for vice president.

Mher Mkrtchian won treasurer unopposed, and Andre Necochea Barnett was victorious over George Amparan for club council president 62-57. All student elected officials will hold office from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017.

leader of the team and guided them to a 28-5 record for the season.

Despite their record the Brahma’s were unable to make the nationals championship due to Santa Barbara

The Faculty Advisory Committee voted to recommend defunding the proposed $32 million Digital Arts and Media Building, planned to be built where the old library stands, due to it being the lowest priority construction project, according to Project Manager Ed Cadena.

Director of Facilities Paul Nieman said at Pierce College Council on April 28 that due to unforeseen escalation and unstable pleasantry of the construction, the amount of funds that are available to build a Digital Media Arts project would greatly reduce the amount of square footage. Therefore, the recommendation is that the project be defunded.

Nieman said that it’s important to remember that if the Board of Trustees decides to vote to move forward that the Digital Media Arts project will be one of the projects from this college on their minds.

Connelly said students working on computers in the lab complained about flashes from the cameras distracting them, so they hung curtains to divide the room.

Sean McDonald, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Photography, said the department needs a sound proof photo studio with 14-18 foot ceilings that is full functioning for both video and photography.

“We are just beyond frustrated with where we have gotten to with what is going on,” McDonald said. There is not adequate space to store all of the equipment, according to Mcdonald.

“It’s as neatly organized as possible given the space constraints,” McDonald said.

Los Angeles Valley College and Los Angeles Mission College are both getting new Media Arts buildings, according to Connelly.

After 13 years in the Navy, one business management major hopes to make a big impact on campus in the year to come.

Barbara Lombrano, current vice president of the Associated

Students casted 129 ballots in the elections that were held on the Mall on April 27 and April 28.

Last year 509 students voted using survey monkey where any student with a laptop and the link was able to submit a ballot. Juan Astorga,

using political moves to not allow Pierce to advance.

“We were supposed to move forward in our season, but Santa Barbara didn’t allow us to turn in our paperwork in time to continue our season,” Clay said.

Pierce’s Athletic Director

Bob Lofrano was pleased with Henderson’s leadership of the team and her aggressiveness on the court.

“She directed and lead the team well,” Lofrano said. “She played hard and lead in rebounds, and placed third in steals statewide.”

In her time at Pierce, Henderson directed her studies toward Media Arts. She was a reporter for the Roundup, and also had a show on KPCRadio.com.

After she finished college, Henderson attempted to enter the WNBA and tried out for the Los Angeles Sparks. She made it to the final five of hopefuls to make the team, but due to contract negotiations with the current players of the team, she was cut.

Henderson became a coach for the Reseda High School girls basketball team, and lead them to several state championships.

Henderson is now looking forward to her future, as she is working on receiving her Master’s Degree in Communications.

Cadena said the project is $5 million over budget at PCC on Feb. 25. At PCC April 28 Cadena made a general statement that money for construction is not going as far as it used to and it costs more to do projects with rising costs.

The FAC recommended allocating $4 million dollars to make improvements to the Art and Media Arts departments, according to Media Arts Department Chair Jill Connelly.

Media Arts is currently scattered across campus. Most of their facilities are in trailers in The Village. The digital darkroom, a lab used for the production and editing of visual content has been located in a trailer in The Village for the past 9 years.

Media Arts Department Chair Jill Connelly said priorities for her department include improving the photography studio and having the radio station in the same room as the lab. With the current setup, it is challenging for professors to supervise and instruct students in the radio because it is in a separate building from where the class is

dean of student engagement, would support a two week window including online voting next year to improve voter turnout.

“Individuals can log on anytime and gives our students a greater opportunity to vote,” Astorga said.

There are 49 clubs on campus this semester, all of which are a part of ASO, and funded by the $7 fee students pay each semester to be a member, according to Wong. ASO also funds events such as movie screenings and lecture series in The Great Hall, transfer events and scholarships.

Wong and Astorga are looking forward to working with Lombrano. Astorga hopes to increase the number of events in the coming semesters.

“We have great ideas on how to continue and increase student engagement,” Astorga said. “Idealy I’d like to see us to be able to fill up the Mall with activities and events on a more consistent basis.”

Lombrano said an early priority in her administration is getting everybody prepared and she wants anyone applying for ASO positions

“We are at the point where a lot of our high schools have gotten grants and upgraded their facilities, so students are going to have better facilities at their high schools,” Connelly said.

McDonald said ideally Media Arts will be able to build their building. Plan B would be to renovate the old library. Plan C is to move into building 8200 after North of Mall is complete.

At PCC April 28 Cadena said that North of Mall will be substantially completed in the middle of May.

“If you have been peering over the fence, you can see things are looking a lot better,” Cadena said. “The Insides of the buildings are moving along as well.”

Construction on building 800 was halted due to led and mercury contamination. Cadena said the amount of contaminants is “smaller than larger.” “We will know where we are at once the contractor initiates that remediation removal of those contaminants,” Cadena said.

Instead of Building 800 being opened for the fall of 2016 it looks like spring of 2017 is a more likely date to shoot for, according to Cadena.

in the fall to get their paperwork done and do training in the summer.

“So we have a group of people ready to hit the ground running when fall starts,” Lombrano said.

Lombrano said she would like to update the constitution for the first time since March 2012, because it is supposed to be broad and bylaw specific, which “our constitution does not currently fall into,” according to Lombrano.

Up to two student senators represent departments, but often departments are not represented at all, according to Lombrano. She would like to end this and

[See New face of ASO, pg.

Mohammad Djauhari / Roundup Barbara Lombrano, Vice President of the Associated Students Organization, was voted as ASO President and will start her term

July 1.

Mohammad Djauhari / Roundup

Coming from a basketball oriented family, Brittney Henderson accomplished a successful time playing for the Brahmas during the 20062007 season. Henderson will be inducted into the Pierce Hall of Fame on May 26.

MAX SULLIVAN & GABI SORIANO

“Playing basketball was instilled in me since we are a basketball family.”

-Brittney Henderson Person’s title

STREET

Is the current drop date too soon?

“You have more than enough time to get out of the class with a W instead of fail. You have more than two months to see if your doing good and see if you’re able to pass it. You can pretty much either decide to stay and pass the class or bring up your grade and get out with a W as opposed with a fail.”

-Jose Navarro, 24, Accounting major, Freshmen

“I think it may not give some students sufficient time because there are students who do work really hard but may not pass the class. I feel Even two weeks before the final would sufficient enough for them to know whether or not they are going to make it.”

“It seems really late but yeah I guess if you’re failing then you get a chance to take the class again. Sometimes students flake. They stop trying and things happen in their personal life. Their job becomes a problem because they have to work a lot and they realize they can’t get their midterm, their essay, their paper. They can’t get good grades because they are too wrapped up in other things. It gives them a shot to reboot.”

-Political Science Professor Denise Robb

“I feel it is because it gives students ample time to make a decision. It’s called a strategic drop. By May 8th you know whether you’re going to fail the class and you have to make a decision of whether you’re going to continue and waste your time or learn you’re lesson and adjust next time you take that class.”

-Joe Hernandez, 29, International Development Studies major, Junior

“Dropping a class makes you look bad. You don’t get to explain yourself when you transfer to universities. They just see that you dropped the class, and people automatically assume that you are irresponsible or you don’t know how to handle yourself. But life happens and I feel that there should be something like that where you can trade the grade instead. Yeah, so there’s more room for you to live life and be a student.”

Rene Paredes,

-

Corrections

Volume

Page

Let’s take a break, together

College Hour is an effective way to increase extracurricular activities and involve students in campus life. It also creates a window when professors are available for meetings and to run clubs.

College Hour is an hour of school where there are no classes scheduled on campus between the morning and afternoon blocks. For example, there will be no classes between 12:35 p.m. and 1:35 p.m.

This creates a time when all students are free and available to join a club that matches their interest. It is also convenient for the mass of students who take morning classes and are already on campus when their last class ends at 12:35, as well as those who attend in the afternoon.

Students achieved much higher rates of retention and graduation, maintained better GPA’s and had higher good standing rates when participating in extracurricular activities, especially at a leadership level, according to a study from California State University Sacramento.

The study followed freshman students from 2002 to 2007, and said this is especially true for students who do not live on campus and commute to school, which makes up a large demographic of Pierce College. Commuters who participated in at least one extracurricular activity graduated within six years 74 percent of the time, opposed to only 34 percent for those who did not. Clubs meeting during college

hour will make it far more likely to fit into the schedule of students, and more convenient to participate if they are already on campus.

Other activities such as lectures, panel discussions and movie screenings in The Great Hall can also be organized during this time to engage students.

Once this hour is available, we can use our creativity to have regular events every day that will captivate students and make them want to stay on campus and

participate in student life.

We can hold a weekly outdoor open mic on the stage. Whether playing guitar, singing, reciting poetry or a collaboration, students can relax in the grass and socialize with each other while watching live entertainment.

Students can also use this time to unite and work on group projects, or for study sessions.

After implemented, more students will become more immersed in their education.

When students befriend each other and become more active on campus they are more likely to continue coming to class and maintain good grades, according to the California State University Sacramento study. College Hour is a terrific way to improve retention, and create a college atmosphere on campus that everybody wants to be a part of. Pierce should look to implement this idea and make it a reality. It would liven up the whole campus, and draw students in

22, Public Health major, Senior

Some students and professors spend the majority of their day at school. Week in and week out, the routine stays the same and for those who may work. The weekend does not seem like enough time off. I believe we should have furlough days at school, because it gives students and professors an extra day off to finish their work ,or to take their mind off the stress that comes with it.

Professors may not like the idea of a furlough day, because that means it is a day that it is a day without pay, unlike holidays. The school staff may oppose furlough days, especially when they do not necessarily ask for them, but in the end it can be seen as a greater cause to benefit the school’s budget.

With having a few furlough days throughout the semester, the money that will be saved can help balance out the school’s budget, and benefit other projects or necessities.

Professors may not like the sound of having a pay cut, but furlough days can be used to do whatever one wants to do with that spare time. According to an article written by USATODAY.com, there have been professors all over the country that used those days to do volunteer work, or worked on side projects that interested them. Erin Kowalick is a teacher in Kihei, Hawaii, who used her 17 scheduled furlough days to volunteer to teach dance to the local children.

Photographers:

Using that sting of having an unpaid work day can eventually be turned into something positive for professors.

I also believe that we should have furlough days because they can also be used for professors to use those days off to assign extra credit to their students. Since it’s a free day, students can use that extra time to catch up on assignments they may have missed to raise their grade. For students, furlough days sound like a breeze, because it gives us a 24 hour vacation, and those who take over twelve units can sure use one. Students can also use these extra days off to pick up extra shifts at work, especially the students who are living on their own and have between balance work and school.

The life of a stressed out college student is anything but joyful. Furlough days can help students forget about the stress for a day, and can also put their energy into volunteering or dedicating more time into his/her hobbies.

I believe our school should have furlough days because ultimately they would be used to relieve stress for both students and professors, and they would also help benefit the school in the long run. We all have the same amount of time in a day, furlough days would give us a chance to use it wisely and effectively.

Normally people would say having furlough days is better than having bulk vacations, because they believe that more days off means the likelihood of losing momentum increases. However, more days off at a time actually can be beneficial. For this, I believe Pierce should have more bulk vacations, rather than just several furlough days throughout the semester. I refuse to believe that momentum can be lost completely in the matter of a week. The real determinant of success lies within the student, not the amount of time taken off school. I have seen many students come back from week-long breaks, such as spring break, and pick up right where they left off. So I see the vacation as an excuse, not a valid reason.

Bulk vacations should be more common for several reasons, and one of the most important being the support it would provide for professors who teach the same course to multiple classes.

Most professors teach the same material to more than one class. They use the same lesson plans in order to make it easier for them to keep track of things. However, what happens when Pierce gives the campus a Monday off, and everyone returns to class on Tuesday? The professors are now thrown off. Their Monday/ Wednesday class ends up falling behind compared to their Tuesday/ Thursday class.

This begins to make life more stressful on the professor, considering they end up grading

different materials when they had planned for all the same work to fall under the same days. Not only that but it also causes more stress for the students, considering they now have to play catch up with the other class, making them rush through the material much quicker than they normally would if only they were at the same pace.

Students also would benefit more from bulk vacations because it gives them an opportunity to do more things, such as go on a trip. Often times furlough days are considered good because it allows the students to have a day for relaxation. The first thing I usually hear when we have a day off is someone asking what could be done. A beach trip, shopping, etc. Although many do take advantage and do something fun. How much can you really do in one day? With multiple days, it now gives students the option to enjoy themselves while they are still young. It increases the chance of working students to have a day off of work and school in the same day with several days off of school instead of just one, presenting them with the option of participating in something fun themselves.

In addition, bulk vacations simply seem more convenient for everybody. Furlough days are a lot harder to keep up with. With many different dates to remember, students are more likely to remember when a week-long break is,as opposed to just one day here and there. Overall, I see it to be a win-win situation.

decisions, these materials are free from prior restraint by the virtue of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Accordingly, materials published herein, including any opinions expressed, should not be interpreted as the position of the L.A. Community College District, the college or any officer or employee thereof.

Quotes gathered by Jose Herrera| Photos by Laura Chen

-Brandon Christian Hernandez, 25, Sociology major, Senior

Illustration by Nelson Simmons

Brahmas STOMP its way to UCLA

Students get first hand experience of campus life with Student Transfer Outreach and Mentor Program

JOSE HERRERA Staff jherrera.roundupnews@gmail.com

More than 1,000 Southern California community college students, including 24 Brahmas, gathered Friday April 29 at the 17th Student Transfer Outreach and Mentor Program (STOMP) to learn more about the opportunities UC campuses offer.

The Transfer Center provided a free bus to take students to UCLA where the STOMP Conference was held in Ackerman Grand Ballroom. Prospective students and admitted transfer students were received by UCLA faculty, and encouraged to participate in all it offered.

Karina Salcido, communication major and UCLA leadership representative was one of the tour guides. “This is our 17th annual, and a lot of things we take from surveys that people have responded [help decide the events for today],” Salcido said. “We use that information from previous conferences, and use that to keep tailoring it to future conferences.”

The featured workshops included Admissions Presentations, UC Panel, Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) Panels, Resources for Parenting Students, Tours, Summer

National College Fair

Pasadena Convention Center was jam-packed with students and college representatives

DONNA ROBLES Staff drobles.roundupnews@gmail.com

Colleges and universities filled the Pasadena Convention Center on April 28 for the annual National College Fair to discuss topics pertinent to incoming students, such as common mistakes they make on financial aid forms.

About 375 schools from across the United States and some international universities were invited to participate in the annual fair. The National College Fair is funded by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).

Claudia Carroll, counselor at Santa Monica College and a co-chair of the committee, was pleased with the number of students who attended the fair.

“The National College Fair is designed to provide students an opportunity to be exposed to colleges. It is one of the biggest college fairs,” Carroll said.

New face of ASO

[ Moving up the ranks, pg. 1]

shift the process more toward shared governance where students represent their peers as a whole so everybody is represented.

“We have for a long time had a lot of these [shared governance] committees meetings that we never have student representation,” Lombrano said. “And that is what ASO should be dealing with, is the issues for our students and things here at

Opportunities and a Department Fair. STOMP Co-Chairs Jewel Bourne and Lucy Plasencia organized the conference and went through months of planning and preparing volunteers with their leadership team for the long awaited date.

“I’m on the leadership team, so we met every week for the past two months, and we’ve been non stop, especially this week,” Salcido said. “For our volunteers we’ve been keeping them up through email and provided them with tour guides, well at least for my

The fair had two parts to it, one in the morning and one at night. Both contained the same agendas which are the panels and the different college and university booths.

There was also the Community College Transfer Options (CCTO), where they discussed the advantages and affordability of attending a community college. Workshops such as writing UC and Common App essays, choosing a major, becoming a student-athlete and more were presented.

Students from middle school interested in community colleges were invited to the fair. Allan Sianders, 17, is a junior from Rancho Dominguez Preparatory looking for the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program.

“I haven’t decided yet for my major because I plan to go to the military,” Sianders said.

Jonah Cohen, 17, from Milken Community Schools, checked out schools that offer an Illustration or Animation Program for his major.

“I’m aiming for Cal Arts or Rhode Island School of Design who isn’t here today, but I did research on them,” Cohen said. “Cal Arts has this vibe of nurturing their artists to tell a story.”

The National College Fair happens every April in Los Angeles, according to Carroll.

“It’s open to all students at any grade levels, and we also invited community college students who want to transfer,” Carroll said.

Pierce College and helping to come up with the solutions on these issues.”

Wong said it is important for students to know that ASO is here for, and to represent them.

“The number one responsibility of officers is to represent the students, and be an advocate for overall student welfare and the needs of the pierce college students,” Wong said.

Astorga said that if students are more involved in campus activity and have a sense of belonging, they have higher retention rates with an end result of meeting their goals, such as transferring or graduating.

“That is really what Conrady and myself are committed to,

component.”

The Department Fair gave attendees the opportunity to talk with members of different departments such as Applied Linguistics, Nursing and

held and among them was one focused on summer programs that are available for those interested.

According to Program Coordinator for the Center for Community Colleges Partnership Chely Gonzalez, who led the workshop on summer programs, these workshops present students with first hand experience of life at UCLA. By completing the summer programs students are given the chance to join a mentorship program.

“Our mentors work with students to help provide insight and a student’s perspective into the transfer process,” Gonzalez said. “There’s a lot of things that students can know about transferring that can come from a counselor or an admissions representative but hearing it from a someone that recently went through the process itself gives it a different feel.”

The housing tour lead by volunteers and resident life Allison Duffy, Imelda Islas and Samir Ahmed guided groups of students to the housing buildings Holly and Gardena specifically as those two are primarily designated to transfer students.

Incident Report

April 27 - May 3

Reported by: Samantha Bravo

4/27 - Handicap placard

Student stopped and cited to appear in court for using someone elses handicap placard and for altering the expiration date on the handicap placard.

4/27 - Traffic Collison

- Chely

Physics & Astronomy. Sister UC representatives participated in the fair as another approach to provide exposure to UC environments across California. A variety of workshops were

“A lot of people consider staying in the dorms at least their first year,” Salcido said. “So we thought that it was very imperative for students to actually see the dorms that are offered especially for students because there are transfer communities.”

Yu-Ning Chen, sociology major at Pierce, said her favorite part of the event was that it gave students the time to ask questions and learn about the campus.

“It was really useful, all the resources and workshops,” Chen said.

Town Hall topics tackle tough issues

Annual Town Hall comes back to Pierce College to encourage students to get involved

TANYA CASTANEDA Staff

tcastaneda.roundupnews@gmail.com

Economics, violence in society, education, the refugee crisis and climate change are topics set to be addressed at Pierce College’s annual Town Hall on Friday, May 6.

The event is modeled after Cal State University Chico, who have been doing Town Hall for about ten years, according to assistant professor of Political Science and event coordinator Denise Robb. However, Chico only does the event for students majoring in Political Science.

At Pierce, the event is not limited to one major. With English, Psychology, Economics, Geography and Political Science, Pierce is the only college in the nation that has a multi-disciplinary Town Hall event. Professors are hoping the event remains successful with 397 students participating this semester.

Denise Robb, Kaycea Campbell, Marra Kraemer, Ray Lim and Jack Kranz are the five professors involved in the event this year. The professors meet

how do we engage leadership, either with students who are in ASO or in a student club or participating on any activity in campus, that they can feel like they have a purpose, that they matter,” Astorga said. “Individuals here are going to bend over backwards to help them be successful.”

President elect Lombrano believes it is important to take an active role in improving student life, and creating that environment for success.

“It is ok to complain about problems and issues, but if you are not going to try and be part of the solution you shouldn’t disappear and complain about it,” Lombrano said

regularly to make decisions pertaining to the Town Hall. One of the first orders of business was which topics would be discussed at the event, and to involve students in a variety of issues. With five different topics to choose from, students are allowed to choose the issue subject matter they are most passionate about.

According to Robb, the main goal of this event is student success.

“Studies show that students that participate in this tend to do better, and that’s what our last year showed too. They tend to get better grades. They tend to graduate. They tend to transfer,” Robb said. “And they even sometimes get more involved and vote and involve in their communities.”

In addition to the event, Kraemer has developed a writing workshop specifically tailored for the research paper the students are required to write. Kraemer devotes time every Monday from 3 p.m. to 5

p.m. for students participating in the event.

With a big group effort coming from all those involved, both professors and students alike are recognizing the importance of work beyond the classroom.

“Once the 45 minutes of lecture is over, it’s gone but students think about it more actively when they do it outside the classroom with events like this,” Economics professor Kaycea Campbell said.

According to this year’s student speaker Tanisha Saunders, the event is a learning experience that helps students realize they can make a difference. It helps them find their voice while also listening to other perspectives. It encourages students to take a stance and form their own opinions and solutions to many different issues.

“I think it’s a positive way to get students involved in creating solutions for current issues that are affecting the community and society,” Saunders said.

Minor traffic accident in Parking Lot 1. Reported at 6:30 p.m.

4/27 - Injured Student

An elderly student tripped and fell chipping her tooth in Parking Lot 1 around 9:30 a.m.

4/28 - Verbal Altercation

There was an argument between a student and a coach in the South Gym around 11 a.m.

4/30 - Non Student

Swimming coach reported 2 males in the locker room were not students, both were warned and advised trespassing and told to leave campus around 8 a.m. in the North Gym.

There have been multiple burglaries in the gym locker rooms this semester. Students are advised to use locks and not keep valuables in their lockers.

Pierce College Sheriff’s Station

General Information: Emergency: (818) 710 - 4311

Matt Reyes / Roundup Zahra Yazdani, Pierce College student majoring in chemistry, receiving her packet from a volunteer at UCLA on Friday April 29, 2016.

“ We thought that it was very imperative for students to actually see the dorms that are offered .”

Gonzalez Program Cordinator

Brahmas Host For First Time

win, 3-1, in a high energy Brahmas will host the women’s volleyball state championships for the first time next semester as well.

full of fans from all sides of the aisles, and they were not afraid to share their support for their favorite team.

FPierce College hosted the Men’s Volleyball State Championships.

Long Beach City College and Orange Coast College faced off on May 1, 2016, in the South Gym for the title.

LBCC secured the

The last significant sports event hosted at Pierce College was the Victory Bell three semesters ago on Nov. 1, 2014. The event is a rivalry between the Brahmas and Valley Community College where the two football teams compete for an ornamental object shaped like a bell.

The significance of the men’s championship occurring at Pierce was felt by not only the community from LBCC and OCC, but also fellow Brahmas.

The North Gym was

Emotions were high for both LBCC and OCC. To secure the championships the team must win 3 out of 5 games.

As the Championship commenced, both teams played hard, and by the end of the third game LBCC sealed the win and the state title for the ninth time.

Middle Right: Long Beach Community College fan takes a group photo after they won the 2016 Men’s Volley Ball State Championships on May 1 hosted by Pierce College in The South Gym. In Woodland Hills, Calif.

Upper Left: (Left to right) Gianluca Grasso, Max Gamboa, Wyatt Henson and other teammates from Orange Coast College huddle in a timeout during the 2016 Men’s Volley Ball Championships hosed by Pierce College on May 1, 2016. In the South Gym at Pierce College Woodland Hills, Calif.

Left Page: The Long Beach City College Men’s Volley Ball team erupts in celebration after just winning the Men’s Volley Ball State Championship on May 1, 2016 hosted by Pierce College. At Pierce College In the South Gym Woodland Hills, Calif.

Above: (Left to right) Tina Rodriguez, mother of Dior Rodriguez, cheers for Long Beach with Martha Mama, mother of 18, Elai Mama. The Long Beach City College won the Men’s Volley Ball State Championships on May 1, 2016 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Upper Right: Gary Trejo, from Long Beach CityCollege, sets the ball for his teammates in the Men’s Volleyball State Championships on May 1, 2016 hosted by Pierce College. LBCC won the championships 3-1. In the South Gym at Pierce College Woodland Hills, Calif.

Middle Right: Andrew Pearson reacts in excitement as his team, Long Beach City College, scores against Orange Coast College in the Men’s Volley Ball State Championships hosted by Pierce College. In the South Gym at Pierce College Woodland Hills, Calif.

Bottom Right: Matthew Ujkic, Orange Coast College, jumps into the air to spike the ball at the 2016 Men’s Volley Ball State Championships hosted by Pierce College at the South Gym in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Copy and Photos By Taylor Arthur

Let that fancy footwork do the talking

Dance club president has his sights set on a degree in kinesiology

SHIR NAKASH Staff snakash.roundupnews@gmail.com

In Pierce’s North Gym, a group of nine students pays close attention to their 18-year-old choreographer, Patrick Ramos, as he demonstrates the carefully constructed movements they will soon practice together.

Every Monday afternoon, these students come together for their kinesiology athletics class, headed by Coach Jenny Ghiglia, and work on perfecting the routines they’ve created. The one-credit class is very new, born just this past semester, but for dancers such as Ramos, it has already become an important part of student life.

Ramos, who wants to major in kinesiology, has been drawn to dance ever since he started watching competitive dance shows on TV as a kid. He used to dance solely for fun, doing talent shows with his church’s youth group in elementary school. In sophomore year of high school, however, Ramos joined Taft High School’s dance team, and started dancing professionally. Since then, Ramos has joined three different dance teams, including Pierce College’s Urban Dance Crew.

“[The team] was Coach Jenny’s brainchild, but it was an idea which she never really had the time or the people to make a reality until this semester,” Ramos said. “So when she put out fliers that there were going to be auditions for a dance team, some alumni from

Taft, who also go to Pierce now, texted me that I should try out.”

Ramos said he actually didn’t know that the team he was trying out for was also a class he could receive college credit for. In order to add the class, students had to try out for the team first. A few days after his audition, Ramos received the add slip from Ghiglia, securing his spot.

“It’s hard to find people who do the same type of style, so what I wanted was to get people who are talented and who can represent Pierce diversely through dance,”

Ghiglia said of the process.

“They auditioned either as a solo or with someone else they felt comfortable with and ultimately

12 were accepted.”

Two members have since dropped out but, of the 10 that remained, Ghiglia was able to form a leading council. Ghiglia appointed Ramos, the crew’s main choreographer, as the team’s president, and 18-year-old Nataly Fermanyan was made dance club captain.

Like Ramos, Fermanyan is also a first year kinesiology major who came to Pierce after graduating from North Hollywood High School in 2015. She took a class taught by Ghiglia where she realized that there was no hip hop class or team at Pierce. Fermanyan talked to Ghiglia about it and the instructor said she thought it

would be a good idea to open one.

“We’re very new so we don’t know exactly how we work yet, but we’re also a very positive team and we’re on an emotional growth,” Fermanyan said. “We try to build each other up instead of break each other down, so everything else just kind of falls into place.”

Ramos laughed that their team is indeed growing in every aspect except for numbers, since it’s too late to audition and join for this semester.

“When we started, there was nothing and no one really knew what to do, but now we’re growing in a sense of foundation and body,” Ramos said. “By

establishing rules, guidelines, and hierarchy, we’re trying to set up the precedence of the entire club’s future.”

Ramos said that the PC Urban Dance Crew provides him with the perfect outlet to relieve stress. When he’s tired of homework or

he’s feeling unhappy, teaching his teammates a new routine or choreographing a new dance helps him take the edge off and stay sane.

[For the full story visit theroundupnews.com]

So Shakespeare and Darwin walk into a bar

Anthropology major applies the evolutionary curve of adaptation to acting

PAULA BARRANTES Staff pbarrantes.roundupnews@gmail.com

The years students spend in college are meant to be eye opening and prepare them for the real world. For anthropology major and aspiring actress Ekeme Ekanem, balancing school and acting —and never losing sight of who she is as a person—is key.

Born in Buffalo, New York, Ekanem moved with her mother to Phoenix Arizona at the age of two. Ekanem says Buffalo’s “closed minded attitude and cold weather” is what motivated her mother to leave.

As an aspiring actress, Ekeme, 19, moved to California two years ago to be closer to Hollywood in hopes of expanding her opportunities. She attended the Arizona School of Arts, but wanted to pursue an education in Anthropology, which was another reason why she decided to come to California.

“I want the best of both worlds when it comes to acting and academics. I know I want a Ph.D, but I also want a great role and a lasting career in acting,” Ekanem said.

On the other side of the textbook page, reads the script and the pursuit of a career in the world of entertainment, Ekanem still does auditions all the time, one of her roles was in a scene with actress Judy Greer in FX’s show “Married.”

Maintaining focus in both worlds is a role that Ekanem plays really well, and even though acting may seem like a career with less stability she has full support from her “free-spirited” mother.

“She’s like a, ‘whatever you want to do’ kind of person. She moved to Costa Rica just because she wanted to. I am

a little less free-spirited than her,” Ekanem said. “I like the security of going to school and having a set plan, but I also like the ‘not sure plan’ of acting.”

As president of the Anthropology Society, Ekanem is no stranger to interacting with people and likes the opportunity of learning more about different human customs and cultures.

“The connection with people and the opportunities to travel is why I originally chose linguistics as a major. It not only teaches you how to communicate and learn about other cultures, but you also get paid to go places and travel and that’s the coolest thing,” Ekanem said.

Ekanem was the vicepresident of the Anthropology Society last year, and became president at the start of the 2016 Spring semester. She has formed friendships with members of the club, including current Vice-President Sharon Basch.

After working closely together, Bach thinks Ekanem fulfills her role well. Bach has noted that Ekanem is very effective and follows through

with the club’s activities and with her duties as president.

“She has continued the trend of pushing forward and making sure that the people who are involved find something that they are interested in. Our club has expanded by a lot, and I think it has to do with her leadership skills,” Bach said.

Joseph “Noble” Eisenlauer, professor of anthropology and archaeology at Pierce College, is the faculty advisor for the Anthropology Society. Eisenlauer met Ekanem through the club, and believe that she does a good job of fulfilling her duties as president.

“She gets along well with people and she follows through, when she says she’s going to do something she gets it done. I don’t think in the past we’ve had such good, consistent communication with our membership,” Eisenlauer said.

“The biggest legacy I want to leave behind is that we won’t understand each other until we want to understand each other. In the end we are all connected we are all human,” Ekanem said.

Taylor Arthur/ Roundup

Patrick Ramos poses for a portrait in the studio at Los Angeles Pierce College on May 1, 2016, in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Taylor Arthur/ Roundup

Patrick Ramos dances in the studio at Los Angeles Pierce College on May 1, 2016, in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Taylor Arthur/ Roundup

Ekeme Ekanem, president of the Anthropology Society, poses for a portrait on a bench near the Art Hill on May 2, 2016, at Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif.

“I want the best of both worlds when it comes to acting and academics. I know I want a Ph.D, but I also want a great role and a lasting career in acting.”

-Ekeme Ekanem Anthropology major

Pre-vet club raises funds

KELLAN BRADLEY Campus Lifestyle Editor Kbradley.roundupnews@gmail.com

The goal of the Pierce college PreVeterinary club is to help current pre-vet students to achieve their goal of being accepted to vet school by providing information and resources.

Pierce College's Pre-Veterinary program is one of the most unique two-year programs out there.

Having articulation agreements with UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and several other colleges across the nation, Pierce pre-veterinary students are granted access to apply directly into graduate veterinary school after completing the AS degree at Pierce College, along with completing an upper division genetics course at a four-year institution.

Ensuring that Pierce students receive as much hands-on experience as possible as PreVeterinary students, Pierce college has established the Pre-Vet Club which has several attractions and events that are available to students in the pre-vet program.

Pre-vet majors are encouraged to participate in the pre-veterinary

club as it demonstrates their dedication to helping others in their profession.

The pre-vet club is also a place where pre-vet majors can come and get help for some of the more challenging classes they are taking. “The club is a perfect place for new students to come and get help from other students who have possibly taken the class that they are currently in before. We want to help each other grow and meet our goals.” states club Vice-president Casie Lew Jamie Bizzini, 19, is a pre-vet major first year participating in the pre-veterinary club. “I thought this would be a way for me to be more involved in our veterinary program at pierce,” Bizzini said.

The club president Candace Stines, 21, who will be attending UC San Diego to major in microbiology feels that the club is a very important part of the veterinary program. “We are very diverse, we have a lot of people who have been here for a few years and are waiting to apply to vet school,” Stine said.

The pre-vet club does a lot of extracurricular activities outside of the classroom. The club participates in annual trips.

One of these trips includes an annual trip to UC Davis School

Cesar Chavez film screening

of Veterinary Medicine, where they tour multiple facilities at the veterinary school and have the opportunity to sit in on a few of the third-year classes to get a glimpse at what veterinary school is really like.

The club also throws various fundraisers throughout the year to help raise money for the Pierce College farm. Last year the club raised more than $33,000.

“We do a lot for the community.

The club participates in various programs. One in particular called ‘Walking Shield’ which is a program where students fill backpacks with toiletries for over 200 Native American children across the United States,” Stine said.

During the spring semester, the club starts making preparations for Beyond Farmwalk/ Open House. The Open House brings faculty, staff, and students together to provide information and public demonstrations from Automotive Technology and Fine Arts to Physics and Veterinary Science.

The Pierce College Pre-Veterinary club meets every Thursday in Room CFS 91126 between 5:30 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.

LUCAS WIGGINS Staff Lwiggins.roundupnews@gmail.com

Drum cadences resonated through the doors of the Great Hall Wednesday evening as club members welcomed the Pierce College community to a free movie screening of “Cesar Chavez.”

Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlàn (MEChA), a club established for students who are interested in Chicano Studies, greeted guests with an Aztec dance performance from Circulo Ajolote, according to club President Christian Diaz.

“We’re trying to promote cultural awareness, so we have Aztec dancers performing for about 30 minutes,” Diaz said. “It’s something that our ancestors did, something that we still identify with, and it’s something that we’re trying to show is still beautiful and is still going on.”

Cultivating cultural empowerment in the community by providing an example for individuals to follow is the source of motivation behind the events hosted by the MEChA club, according to Diaz.

“I feel like if they see me like ‘oh, he really loves where he is from, he really loves his roots, why can’t I?’ I feel like that’s going to spread out to other people,” Diaz said.

Inspired by positive attendance at their last event, the club strived to transfer that same momentum into this occasion as well, according to Diaz.

“We did day of the dead for Halloween last semester, and it was actually really successful with a big outcome,” Diaz said. “It was a really good event and we’re hoping to have the same with the free movie screening and Aztec dancers.”

Angelita Rovero, a professor of Chicano Studies and the club advisor, intends to utilize the event to raise cultural awareness among students.

“The idea is to bring students together and to be aware of history, and courses such as Chicano Studies,” Rovero said.

Teaching evening classes at the college, Rovero has committed herself to cultivating the deep passion and love that she has for her culture within her students and the community, according to Diaz.

“She’s great. She guided me, and

in a sense rooted me in my past. I feel like I have an identity now, I feel like I’m a better person,” Diaz said. “Because of her I fell in love with myself and my culture, and i’m just hoping that other people can do the same.”

Melissa Robles, the treasurer of the club, aspired to hold the event on the National Holiday for Cesar Chavez, but due to campus closure, Robles and other club members were forced to defer the event to a later date.

“Cesar Chavez day was last month on March 30. We really wanted to do it that day, but school was closed so we decided to hold it off a month to really plan it out diligently, so that it could be as successful as we wanted it to be,” Robles said. “It really means a lot to us that people come out, because we are not a very well known club on campus.”

The MEChA club will be hosting several more events throughout the year, according to Rovero.

“We’re going to have a cinco de mayo celebration in the Great Hall next week,” Rovero said. “We’re also planning day of the dead around November 1, 2016.”

Shelby Gil, Atmospheric Science major on politics, education, and having a voice:

“I watched some debates and I agree with what a lot of what Bernie has to say and what he stands for the working class because I grew up in a family that’s working class. No one in my family was able to go to school and get a degree because it was too expensive…I’ve kind of always kept an ear on politics but this is my first real election to be a part of and vote in so why not? Why not have a voice?”

Quote gathered by Max Sullivan | Photo by Travis Wesley

Comic strip by Tobennh Dacanay

No more drama in the L.B.C. Long Beach wins the state championship on Pierce College ground

DANIELA TORRES Staff dtorres.roundupnews@gmail.com

For the first time, Pierce College hosted the Men's Volleyball CCCAA State Championship on Saturday, April 30.

The Long Beach City Vikings came out victorious over the Orange Coast Pirates (32-30, 18-25, 25-21, 27-25).

The first set brought a lot of tension towards the crowd as Orange Coast College began to take the lead. Halfway through the set the Vikings cut the lead down, surpassing the Pirates.

“It feels great to win. I'm just so proud and excited for the boys. They put in so much hard work this year. They bought into this system, and they bought into each other. It was just great to see them be rewarded for all their hard work,” Long Beach City College coach, Jonathan Charette said.

The Viking’s libero Dior Rodriguez said the team had been preparing for the State Championship game since fall semester.

“Preparing was more of a mindset coming into the game. We practiced learning how to go into these crucial moments of close games. What really helped us was the Semi finals and the Finals,” Rodriguez said. “The bond we have helped keep everyone together on the bench, and on the court. The hard work from fall brought us here.”

“We used to wake up at 5 a.m., sometimes earlier for practice. We just kept on pushing towards the end.”

Pierce coach, Lance Walker, feels that the Brahmas still had a successful season despite their losses.

“Every single one of my guys is going to be moving on and

transferring somewhere. I have guys going to USC. I have one guy going to Irvine Concordia on a full ride scholarship, and we have a guy going to Santa Barbara,” Walker said.

“This is what we do. It's one thing to win games and put up numbers, and it's another to win a life.”

Charette believes that the bond his team has is what helped them build their strength.

“We knew that OCC was going to have a lot of threats in a lot of different areas. So we wanted to be able to read and respond,” Charette said. “I think the guys did great. What brought us here is how good of

teammates they are, and how good of relationships they were able to build.”

LBCC’s Athletic Director, Randy Totorp, feels that the relationship the Vikings have with each other makes the team unique.

“The [Vikings] are really resilient. They don't fall apart internally,” Totorp said. “Their strong bond brought them together through tough moments.”

Pierce will be hosting the Women's and Men's Volleyball State Championship this upcoming season as well.

According to Walker, this is the

first State Championship Pierce has hosted for any sport.

“As a coach it makes me very proud to represent our program. This year it was a great honor for us to be hosting. The teams honored our gym by playing the best volleyball they could. That is amazing for us, and we're very proud of that,” Walker said.

Walker believes that Pierce hosted one of the best finals ever.

“I don't think anyone has run a final as well as what we did. We've set the bar for years to come. Next season will be another promising year.”

SCHEDULE

May 4 - May 11

Swim and Dive

Thursday, May 5 - Saturday, May 7 State Championships @ East LA TBA

Former Brahma drafted by the Panthers

MITCH NODELMAN Sports Editor mnodelman.roundupnews@gmail.com

Former Pierce College tight end Beau Sandland was picked by the Carolina Panthers in the 2016 NFL Draft on Saturday with the No. 252 pick in the 7th round.

Sandland was one of the nation’s top recruits in 2012, where he was ranked as the No. 2 junior college tight end by ESPN, and was rated four stars by 247sports.com

The Simi Valley native caught 24 passes for 267 yards, and three touchdowns during his tenure at Pierce.

He would then transfer to the University of Miami for a season where he caught nine passes for 94 yards. The following season he transferred to Montana State University, redshirting for the 2014 season.

-Lance Walker

Men's volleyball head Coach

It was last season where he made his mark. He had 37 catches for 632 yards and nine touchdowns. He earned All-American honors from the Associated Press and first-team all Big-Sky, per nfl.com.

Taylor Arthur / Roundup

Adrian Faitalia, outside hitter for Orange Coast College, sends the ball over opposite hitter Charles Belvin and middle blocker Elai Mama of Long Beach City College in the state championship game in the South Gym at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on Saturday, April 30.

“I don't think anyone has run a final as well as what we did. We've set the bar for years to come. ”